Alchemy Adjunct or Adverse to Medicine (Padraig & Faith)

[Padraig]

Would Faith raise a fuss, was Padraig to take matters into his own hands and kidnap her away from her work? Not likely. Not likely at all. Still, he grinned, a gesture completely devoid of any semblance of guilt and he shrugged. "If anyone heard, they'd only assume it was one of my students realizing he'd procrastinated his way to a project due next trial." It had happened more than once after all, and was sure to happen again.

But yes. Alchemy and essence. It was as good an explanation as any when it came to the choosing and application of reagents. "Or mirror glass, or chameleon glands," Padraig offered when Faith showed Hooker the handkerchief and told him how she'd created it. Which in itself was a wonder. Similar in some ways to what an alchemist might do, so far as results, but differing in the process. At any rate, now that Hookor understood how the idea behind the raft had come about, he could begin by identifying a problem, and then devising a reasonable solution.

Once Hookor had given the problem some thought, and proposed a wished for solution, Padraig frowned thoughtfully and ultimately nodded. "It's very possible yes. I would say its even possible, in fact likely, that you'd be able to begin with the raft as your foundation, and expand on the solution from there. So, what you're suggesting seems to be a modified, slow acting release application of the raft? The delivery is simple application. Currently the raft is stored in airtight glass containers." Airtight so that the stuff would retain its thick liquid form until the time of application.

"One might instead deliver the stuff via drip, but it would need to maintain a thinner, more liquid consistency while in an airtight container...so that it could in fact, drip," he said...Thus, the first trick Hookor must consider from an alchemical standpoint. "Then we have the delayed, modified release. In essence, slowly. Think along those lines then," he suggested, and seemed to propose several riddles to choose from. "What makes a sloth move slowly? What causes honey to drip at a snail's pace? Or for that matter, why does a snail move at a snail's pace?"

[Faith Augustin]

Faith shot a grin to Hookor as he looked between the two of them. If he but knew the half of it, she thought. However, she lowered her fists with a mock-glower to Padraig and a smile which spoke volumes of her feelings for her husband. Still, they had jobs to do and professional demeanor to maintain, as well as the fact that Hookor's question was, genuinely, fascinating to her. Faith's brow furrowed slightly as she considered it, then she turned to Padraig and nodded. "It's a good point," she said, her brain ticking over. "What would be good, also, would be the ability to negate it's cauterizing properties immediately, and in a targeted way. So, if you have an area where you wish it to continue working, for whatever reason, then you can do so, but the area you wish stopped, you apply this to." Anything which made the application of this more sophisticated, more targeted. That would be good. It could save lives, save limbs she said, earnestly.

It was when Hookor talked about something sustained in delivery that her attention was solely on him. It was what he was used to, of course, this kind of conversation, between the two of them. "Excellent point, but what if... well, not simply precise delivery with a time delay, but precise negation with immediate, but graduated, effect. So not just negation, but the ability to strengthen or weaken the affect also?"

To Padraig, though, she shook her head. "No, it isn't just that. We can't get any on healthy skin, it's incredibly caustic and damaging." She said. "We put the first powder on, then the.. what if we put it on sticks, right on the end?" Faith said, her enthusiasm shining in her eyes as she considered this. "Then, we dry the wound as much as possible and apply the end of the stick. It reacts and burns the skin, cauterizing the wound. But it can over burn. It's best used on wounds which are...." glancing at Padraig she grinned. "Not over explained." He didn't need and he certainly wouldn't want the gory details. "But like meat, it keeps cooking and the application of the powder if far from a fine art. ." Looking at Padraig, she wondered. "Could you stop the reaction so that we could have these sticks or brushes or whatever, so that we can trigger the reaction in a more directed fashion?"

[Hookor Crook]

"Viscosity!" Hookor answered with the enthusiasm of a child getting candy. The thought of the honey reminded him of the sap he and Casey would harvest from the trees near the Baron's Estate back in the Bay. They would take it to Horace and he would make the most delicious syrup from it. Crook sighed internally at the thought of his father. Padraig's suggestion had quite some merit, and the half-eidisi's mind began to run through the possible applications. One could allow it to slowly string out of its container, covering the edges of a wound like a baker would place icing upon a cake. Or one could place a dollop of the coagulant atop an area, then spread a thin film of it upon the area, if such was needed.

"Indeed, so much we could do with it." Hookor said. Then Faith began to refine the idea even further. She proposed placing a form of the silver nitrate on the end of an elongated, pointed object, where one could apply it from.

"That would be marvelous. The application would have the precision of a surgeon's blade." he suggested. Hookor smiled at the thought of being able to cauterize wounds while actually performing surgery, in real time as the surgeon went along. Just like cutting and tying, but without the hassle and side effects of stitches.

"With your suggestion of altering the strength or concentration of the caustic agent, one could use it not only to cauterize wounds, but to remove excess flesh in areas where perhaps a blade would be too dangerous, or not able to fit." he added. Crook thought on it some more.

"The container and the application tool would have to be made from a material that would hold the silver nitrate, but not react with it." his mind was working over time now, but he wanted to give his teacher and tutor the opportunity to add their own thoughts...

[Padraig]

The trickiest part about hosting two or more individuals of above average intelligence in one room; individuals who were neither shy or lacking in opinions or ideas; was that sometimes the simplest and most straightforward of solutions became lost in the mix. Simple being relative, of course. For a few long trills, Padraig stood frowning, glancing between the two medics, and wasn't exactly sure what the problem was that needed fixing. Did they not already have the solution?

But then it occurred to him that it wasn't that the solution wasn't there, it was..."Application. Right then," he said, regarding the silver nitrate in particular. "I can't imagine that the process the two of you are describing, is very practical out in the field." Faith in particular would recognize that thought process. The raft in fact had proved itself to be a critical tool out where medical facilities could be limited to a single tent on the edge of a battlefield, or to a lone healer in the open with a small sack slung over their shoulder.

"So one solution might be to find a way to apply the powder to the stick without activating it straight away," he considered. But then he considered it a little bit longer. "That's still going to be a step or two more than the ideal. What if," he proposed with a smile, "the stick itself is the cure...in a sense. Your tool would be imbued with the powder, so that it actually becomes the substance in a reusable form. In that case, the essence of the silver nitrate would be the reagent." Of course during those times it was not in use, he pointed out, the substance would need to be inert...In a dormant state, so to speak.

"So the silver nitrate in this case would be one of your reagents. Another." Frowning thoughtfully, considering the most simple and straightforward solutions first, he then added, "Plants and trees are dormant in the cold season. Frogs and gold fish can appear frozen solid and dead though the winter, but thaw out and come back to life in the spring. In both cases, the trigger that ends that state of dormancy, is heat." So they had their second reagent, he explained, which was the essence of life types that were able to achieve some form of dormancy. And they had their trigger to bring their tool to usefulness just at the moment they'd need it.

"Because the trigger would be heat, at some level," Padraig said. "You would need to store these reusable implements at colder temperatures. Maybe a container imbued with cooling sand, or outfitted with one of the never melt ice crystals." As for the trigger? Heat, was what he'd suggested. As for how much, or whether it would require another reagent or trigger of some kind, or whether it was simply a matter of taking the tool in hand, he'd leave that to the two medics to toss about.

[Faith Augustin]

The three of them together worked and, while there were no doubt some issues of communication in terms of her and Hookor knowing what they were talking about, Padraig was an undoubted genius in Faith's eyes - and not just hers. Faith smiled in pleasure at Hoookor's enthusiasm, nodding her head, but then Padraig took it one step further and talked about an instrument, imbued with the essence of silver nitrate and Faith's mind ticked over the possibilities. "Not heat, no." she shook her head and smiled at him. "Liquid. Any wound has liquid. Every wound does, and it won't be impacted by the conditions," she said, a slight frown crossing her face. After all, one had to consider all the angles.

Looking between the two of them she thought about it, tapping her fingers together. "Consider," she said. "If the imbuement is permanent, then if it's raining in the field or something, then it won't matter. We can let the item get wet, although it would be better not to, because we aren't using up our precious time with the silver nitrate." So, she said, if it was triggered by liquid, then a waterproof container to carry them in should be fine. They'd need to think of a way to clean them, but then actually, sterilizing them in boiling water was certainly an option, then putting them to dry.

There were a number of strengths to this, she said, enthusiasm lighting her eyes. "We could make a set. Ranging from very thin to thicker. Like my knitting needles or crochet hooks," she said to Padraig. It was what had given her the thought, after all. "With the precision that we are gaining, we could cauterize larger wounds, and a set of them, say five or ten, each numbered and in increasing size, they could be invaluable." She turned earnest silver eyes to Padraig, her smile delighted.

"That way, if we're working in sub-zero temperatures, either by fortune or design, we can always trigger it, easily. Liquid touches the end of it, it works. I mean, if there was no blood, then we wouldn't be cauterizing, and blood is always liquid." Glancing between the two of them she sighed slightly. "I'm sorry, I have a million things to do. I would like nothing more than to spend the morning with you both, discussing this. But what do you think? We can go with heat if you'd rather?"

Either way, she had a few more moments before she had to go, and she turned to the two of them with a raised eyebrow and a hopeful expression. "This is a good idea, isn't it?" Things which made medics lives easier made it easier to save lives and that? That was worth the world.

[Hookor Crook]

Though he was likely too polite to say, Hookor could tell Padraig was a little frustrated...like they were all over thinking the situation. The suggestion he made, a heat trigger made sense. Then Faith piped up and said a liquid trigger. This also made sense. Then it dawned on Hookor, that they were way over thinking all of it.

"Blood." he said, echoing Faith's thoughts. "Not only is it a liquid, but relative to room temperature, or that in the field, it is warm...it is heated, to body temperature." he added. They likely did not even need a trigger, as the silver nitrate reacted with blood to cause its coagulating and cauterizing effect.

"I really do think that a tool to implement it, and a resin, or some such thing, to have it adhere to the tool, might be all we need." he said, then with a shake of his head, and a coy snicker,

"We may not even need alchemy at all." he said, then chuckled at all of the thought they had put into a problem, when the solution was right before them. Hookor turned to Faith, then to Padraig,

"What do you think?" he asked, his tone now with genuine inquiry. Though he wanted to learn alchemy, in all honesty, if this was a problem without a needed alchemical solution, he was fine with that, and they could move on to another problem. That said, he was no expert, and they still needed to find a way to create the tool they were discussing...alchemy or not.

[Padraig]

Padraig supposed that genius could be considered to be subjective, in a sense. He might know alchemy inside and out, backwards and forwards, and the arrangements and alignments of the stars in the night sky as well as he knew the lines on the back of his hand. He might even be considered something close to genius in his own field, while another man might be called a literary or artistic genius, while not being able to grasp even the most elementary concepts of physics, chemistry or alchemy. Faith was an undeniable genius in the field of medicine. But in some instances, what she said...and in this case some of what Hooker said too, sailed right past him. And he wasn't too proud or afraid to admit it.

"So, liquid instead of heat as a trigger...Or rather moisture," he said with a thoughtful frown. It certainly made sense, and as Faith said, ought to require a waterproof container. "Different sizes should be perfectly doable," Padraig agreed. "But no, heat's not necessary and probably not practical. I think that the idea of liquid is a better one." As for Faith's apologies, he smiled and shook his head, smiling a little as he did it. "I'm afraid I'm in similar straits. I've got a lecture that'll I'll need to be dashing off to any bit now."

Turning to Hookor then, he grinned again, even snorted in amusement. "I think you're right. And it serves to demonstrate just what I alluded to earlier. That thin line between chemistry and alchemy...Or in this case, that place where they tend to overlap. Medicine and chemistry knowledge will do you well in this case." Still, the time they'd spent was not at all wasted. The three of them had probably learned a thing or two from each other, Hookor had picked up a good deal of knowledge in the field of alchemy, regardless of it not being necessary in this case. Time well spent, so far as he was concerned.

"This lab isn't just for alchemy students, though it's mostly them you'll see here any given time of the trial. But our chemistry and medical students sometimes use it as well. There are cabinets full of supplies, materials and ingredients at your disposal," he told Hookor. The man in fact would probably find everything he needed in the lab, did he want to fiddle around with the idea a little bit longer. "I'll need to be running to get to my lecture...But if you'll remember to lock the door behind you when you're done, you're welcome to make use of the lab."

[Korva]

Rewards!

Name: Faith

Knowledge:

Alchemy: The thing line between chemistry and alchemy has a lot of overlap
Alchemy: Starts at choosing the materials.
Alchemy: Purification is important.
Alchemy: More than one reagent can serve a specific purpose.
Alchemy: Application of a substance must be considered
Alchemy: Triggers can help, or hinder.
Surgery: Silver nitrate to clean and cauterise wounds
Surgery: Application of silver nitrate

Loot: NA
Injuries: NA
Renown: NA
Magic XP: NA

Points: 15

- - -

Name: Padraig

Knowledge:

Alchemy: The thing line between chemistry and alchemy has a lot of overlap
Alchemy: Starts at choosing the materials.
Alchemy: Purification is important.
Alchemy: More than one reagent can serve a specific purpose.
Alchemy: Application of a substance must be considered
Alchemy: Triggers can help, or hinder.
Surgery: Silver nitrate to clean and cauterise wounds
Surgery: Application of silver nitrate

Loot: NA
Injuries: NA
Renown: 15
Magic XP: NA

Points: 15

- - -

Comments: I don't see many sciencey threads! It was an interesting read and I really got a feel for how passionate everyone was about it! Hookor, if you come back just let me know what you'd like for knowledge as you've automatically gotten the 15. Great read guys, I enjoyed it immensely.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM or ping me in Discord. Thanks!

**Made by the magnificent Kes