Alchemia Nostrum Part 2
Trial 108 of Vhalar 718
Continues from Alchemia Nostrum Part 1.
Sometimes people find themselves at a point where they will try anything that may help them. This was such a point in the life of the painter Yrmellyn Cole. She was in the apartment next to her own, in the Earth Quarter of Rharne. The door was locked and it felt like it was now or never.
Yrmellyn had acquired an assortment of alchemy equipment. It was not a big alchemic laboratory like the one she had once seen in the basement of the University of Rynmere. She would only do small scale alchemy work. The items were a notch better than average quality. She supposed she would be able to afford an upgrade later if she would need better equipment.
Her neighbour was a man named Finn Ashbroken. Yrmellyn had rented out the apartment next to her own to him, but the man seemed to be out of the city. Chances were he wouldn’t return any time near, if ever. She had no idea where he had gone or what he was doing. All she knew was that he didn’t seem to live in the apartment anymore. As she was the owner and held the keys, she decided to use the place for something productive. The contract would end in Ashan anyways, so she found it safe to assume that she could do as she liked with her property.
If the disappeared tenant would surprise her by returning she would deal with it then. One trouble at the time. Right now her main trouble was that she suffered from an odd rash she had gained in Vhalar. It had happened when she had been helping said disappeared tenant to clean. As a consequence, she found herself in a mess. But, as she was an artist she liked bizarre situations and found it interesting to deal with it.
The rash had begun as a small stain on her palm forty trials ago. It had grown. The skin on her right arm had begun to look like dull grey metal with flakes of rust and streaks of verdigris. It was ugly and it was spreading. Twenty-one trials ago she had visited Hannah’s Healers to look for remedies. They had been unwilling to let her try random medicines. Instead, they had done a lot of tests. Due to the odd outcomes of the experiments, Yrmellyn had come to suspect that the cause of the rash might be magic. She hadn’t said that to Oliver Elixo. In the end, she had left the potion shop with a bottle of a brew named All-Purpose Elixir, a remedy for internal use.
In the experiment at Hannah’s, Yrmellyn had seen the All-Purpose Elixir change the looks of the rash. It had gone from gross metallic decay to something that looked like smooth and shiny fish scales. It had been the only remedy who had shown a good effect, even if it only had been a cosmetic effect. She had figured that it would feel better to look like a half-fish than a rust-monster. Oliver Elixo had let her take the bottle and would come and fetch any payment he wanted from her storage room. (Bartering was the only payment method in Hannah’s.)
When she had arrived home that evening, Yrmellyn had tried to attune to the rash. It hadn’t been possible for her to catch any frequencies or notes. The rash had kept its secrets. This had made her believe even more in the theory that the cause of the rash might magic. Disheartened by this finding, she had read the instructions on the bottle of elixir. She had found that the recommendation was to take seven drops in a glass of water every day. She had decided that she could as well try it so she had prepared the drink and gulped it down. It had tasted like water with a very faint touch of something else. No instant wonder had occurred.
The next day she had believed that she had seen the appearance of the rash improve. It was a wee bit smoother, wasn’t it? Hard to know! Hope had made her continue and, the rash had changed. By now it looked like the smooth and shiny scales of a fish, iridescent and somewhat fluorescent. The beauty factor had gone up. Unfortunately, the rash had also begun to spread at a higher pace. It covered most of the upper right side of her body and seemed to be on its way to continue down the hip and leg.
It was more practical with a smooth rash. Her clothing had caught on to the rash when it was rougher. Except for that, going for maximizing the “beauty” had not been such a good idea. She kept taking the All-Purpose Elixir all the same. This was because she wasn’t sure what would happen if she stopped taking it. She’d rather become a fish than a heap of odd rust. At least she thought so. Not that she was going to sit there and wait for a disaster. She knew enough about alchemy to attempt to create a remedy that could counter the magic cause of the rash. It wouldn't be easy, but she had come a long way in this life and struggling with hardships didn’t make her give up.
This was why she was right now setting up a modest alchemy lab in the apartment her tenant seemed to have deserted, The place was barely inhabitable, even if it had improved when they had tidied up there. Perhaps she would come around to spruce it up for real, one of those days, but that was a later thing. Due to the rumours about "a haunted apartment", she figured it would be meaningless to even try to find a new tenant. For now, she would use it as a laboratory location.
Yrmellyn had acquired an assortment of alchemy equipment. It was not a big alchemic laboratory like the one she had once seen in the basement of the University of Rynmere. She would only do small scale alchemy work. The items were a notch better than average quality. She supposed she would be able to afford an upgrade later if she would need better equipment.
Her neighbour was a man named Finn Ashbroken. Yrmellyn had rented out the apartment next to her own to him, but the man seemed to be out of the city. Chances were he wouldn’t return any time near, if ever. She had no idea where he had gone or what he was doing. All she knew was that he didn’t seem to live in the apartment anymore. As she was the owner and held the keys, she decided to use the place for something productive. The contract would end in Ashan anyways, so she found it safe to assume that she could do as she liked with her property.
If the disappeared tenant would surprise her by returning she would deal with it then. One trouble at the time. Right now her main trouble was that she suffered from an odd rash she had gained in Vhalar. It had happened when she had been helping said disappeared tenant to clean. As a consequence, she found herself in a mess. But, as she was an artist she liked bizarre situations and found it interesting to deal with it.
The rash had begun as a small stain on her palm forty trials ago. It had grown. The skin on her right arm had begun to look like dull grey metal with flakes of rust and streaks of verdigris. It was ugly and it was spreading. Twenty-one trials ago she had visited Hannah’s Healers to look for remedies. They had been unwilling to let her try random medicines. Instead, they had done a lot of tests. Due to the odd outcomes of the experiments, Yrmellyn had come to suspect that the cause of the rash might be magic. She hadn’t said that to Oliver Elixo. In the end, she had left the potion shop with a bottle of a brew named All-Purpose Elixir, a remedy for internal use.
In the experiment at Hannah’s, Yrmellyn had seen the All-Purpose Elixir change the looks of the rash. It had gone from gross metallic decay to something that looked like smooth and shiny fish scales. It had been the only remedy who had shown a good effect, even if it only had been a cosmetic effect. She had figured that it would feel better to look like a half-fish than a rust-monster. Oliver Elixo had let her take the bottle and would come and fetch any payment he wanted from her storage room. (Bartering was the only payment method in Hannah’s.)
When she had arrived home that evening, Yrmellyn had tried to attune to the rash. It hadn’t been possible for her to catch any frequencies or notes. The rash had kept its secrets. This had made her believe even more in the theory that the cause of the rash might magic. Disheartened by this finding, she had read the instructions on the bottle of elixir. She had found that the recommendation was to take seven drops in a glass of water every day. She had decided that she could as well try it so she had prepared the drink and gulped it down. It had tasted like water with a very faint touch of something else. No instant wonder had occurred.
The next day she had believed that she had seen the appearance of the rash improve. It was a wee bit smoother, wasn’t it? Hard to know! Hope had made her continue and, the rash had changed. By now it looked like the smooth and shiny scales of a fish, iridescent and somewhat fluorescent. The beauty factor had gone up. Unfortunately, the rash had also begun to spread at a higher pace. It covered most of the upper right side of her body and seemed to be on its way to continue down the hip and leg.
It was more practical with a smooth rash. Her clothing had caught on to the rash when it was rougher. Except for that, going for maximizing the “beauty” had not been such a good idea. She kept taking the All-Purpose Elixir all the same. This was because she wasn’t sure what would happen if she stopped taking it. She’d rather become a fish than a heap of odd rust. At least she thought so. Not that she was going to sit there and wait for a disaster. She knew enough about alchemy to attempt to create a remedy that could counter the magic cause of the rash. It wouldn't be easy, but she had come a long way in this life and struggling with hardships didn’t make her give up.
This was why she was right now setting up a modest alchemy lab in the apartment her tenant seemed to have deserted, The place was barely inhabitable, even if it had improved when they had tidied up there. Perhaps she would come around to spruce it up for real, one of those days, but that was a later thing. Due to the rumours about "a haunted apartment", she figured it would be meaningless to even try to find a new tenant. For now, she would use it as a laboratory location.
