Closed Another Man's Poison (Inoadar)

[Verin Rush]

Verin simply nodded at the appropriate intervals as he listened to Master Parnell talk about Arboreal bases and Serpente bases. He agreed with the man; Serpente, whilst interesting, did not offer the same depth of knowledge that Arboreal poisons did. There was, after all, a limit to the amount of sources for the former, whilst trees and plants were much more numerous, and their properties were still being discovered for today. He conceded, however, that antitoxins were a fascinating venture. He did not voice mush agreement, though, as he didn’t want to appear to be sycophantic towards the man at this point. The time for bargaining was over, there was no need to appear to be too inferior, lest the man grew to not respect him at all. “Indeed, though I cannot think of a single specimen where all of the plant is poisonous, all parts of different plants yield certain desirable properties. And, to my memory, all plants have a art of it which is poisonous in at least some way.” The man might already have been aware of that information, but it was interesting to say the least. “They are, after all, not sentient like us, and must have a way of protecting themselves against anything that wishes to eat them.” Verin smiled at the thought; he had read that nowhere, rather his own logic had determined that as the most likely explanation for the commonness of poison in plants. The blond stifled a smile at the notion that they would head out to the lakeshore today, “No, no,” he responded seriously gesturing to the sky outside, “It is almost noon; by the time we arrive at the shore we will be less than a bell away from losing natural light and, whilst the night can sometimes be a blessing, most of the time when foraging, it is not. I suggest that we leave it for another day, when I do not have any work commitments and you can leave your lovely assistants to manage Ino Vations. We should aim to be leaving Ravok proper by dawn at the latest, if you are agreeable, Master Parnell?” He glanced around, he couldn’t deny that he was not interested in the man’s own workspace; all Verin had oersonally was a modest herbalism kit, which doubled for the purposes of poison-crafting. Verin was aware that he had interrupted the man when he was working on something – he decided to make the decision to ask, “I don’t suppose you would be willing to offer me a small tour of your own lab. It is obviously something that I do not have..?”

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar shrugged and nodded, "That's probably best. I have nothing against spontaneous excursions, but I almost always find that, when I don't prepare ahead of time, there's something I fail to bring that I wish I would have. Let me know when you'd like to do this then, but be sure to give me a few days advance notice."

Verin asked for a visit to the back room and Inoadar paused, prepared to turn and call the fellow out on his presumption. But he realized it would be best for the fellow to know what capabilities his equipment had. If Verin gave him advice on processing some arboreal source, he would be far better served to know what he might do better with better gear.

He cocked his head, one eyebrow raised, as he considered the request. Then shrugged, "Very well. I'm not doing anything particularly advanced, but I AM using some of my better gear." He stepped back into the workroom, flipping the door open behind him to indicate Verin's permission to follow without actually holding the door for him.

Ariella waited for Verin to enter before returning to the front counter. At the crowded work table stood a small girl of about ten. Dark haired and dark eyed, her brown skin could only be seen in her eager face. The rest was hidden beneath clean hand-me-down clothes. She immediately started to spout on about the tasks she had completed and the results she'd achieved, clearly proud of her work.

Inoadar, too, was proud and he ruffed her hair and turned back to Verin, "Verin, this is Verennia, my apprentice." He turned a stern look to the little girl as he continued. "She will NOT be going with us when we take our little excursion to the shore..." He held up his hand to stall her protest, "...as it is not a safe place even for grown men, let alone little girls." She sagged in disappointment as Inoadar walked past her to a wringer assembly.

He called back to her, "But you CAN show Verin how fast a young lady can separate different weights of a single fluid sample in our spinner. Be sure to offset the weight with either a second equal sample or something of similar weight." The child brightened immediately and hurried to the device with three thin vials. There were spots for six and she spaced them equally apart in the perimeter ring housing and started cranking. The vials became a blur as Inoadar continued.

"Verennia has just finished drying some Brickroot and separating the cilial layer from the core. It is very difficult to strip the actual cilia themselves without rupturing the membrane bubble. So what we do is dry it and grind it..." he walked over to the table-mounted grinder, not much different than a pepper mill. "...you probably have a smaller, hand held version if you have any sort of portable kit...philterers, samplers, herbalist, assayers, whatever..." he shrugged.

"Then a solvent enzyme allows the different elements to be unbound when re-hydrated, but the actual separation still must be done by hand. Thus, the spinner. The only real difference here is the gearing, which allows for more turns per crank, so it achieves a higher revolution count. Plus it holds up to six vials and has a more sturdy base and bearing case."

He walked over and patted the little girl on the shoulder, removing the two vials, which now clearly showed two layers of differing density. He took a swab and absorbed the the lighter top layer. "Fortunately, for this toxin, we need the heavier fluid at the bottom." he tapped her shoulder and she looked up at him. "Verennia, let's let Verin do the next batch while I set up the wringer."

He walked to the other table, showing him some fresh root, ready for his makeshift oven. He showed him the dried, ground root powder and the bluish enzyme liquid. "And last, the most indispensible device in any crafter's kit...the eyedropper!" He chuckled a couple of times. "Fill each vial about halfway with the powdered root, then add a few drops of the enzyme, one at a time, until it fully dissolves. Then put them in the spinner and give it a whirl until you see it separate."

x

[Verin Rush]

When Parnell turned around to show him into the back of the shop, Verin breathed a sigh of relief. From the look on the man’s face, Verin had wondered whether or not the man might kick him out on the spot. There was no animosity between them, as far as he could tell, but he considered that the poisoner might not yet trust the man, possibly to not hold his end of the bargain, if Verin began to learn things now, rather than later. He was grateful though, when he was permitted entrance, and knew what level of trust the man was bestowing upon him, though he said nothing. He nodded at the young girl in greeting and smiled as the man introduced Verin to his apprentice. Said smile grew when he watched the girl’s face drop, clearly upset when Master Parnell told her she was not allowed to accompany them to the lakeshore. “Indeed, it is not a place for grown men at the best of times, little Miss.” Verin offered words of placation, “So it is no place for a young lady such as yourself. But I am sure that Master Parnell might bring back anything we find; he will share his knowledge with you, as he is doing now.” He glanced up at Parnell as the girl rushed off to get the equipment she needed to show him her continued work. He nodded briefly; the herbalist’s kit that he had bought had not come cheaply and, so far, it had provided everything he needed. Verin watched closely as the girl worked, following the poisoner’s words with rapt attention; it would not do now to appear to be day-dreaming and miss something important. He didn’t need Parnell to think any less of him, or he would not think his own help and teachings useful. And he was instantly glad that he was paying attention when the poisoner told the girl to allow him to try the next one. He looked down at the girl, “Thank you for letting me observe you,” he said kindly, “It might be possible that one day you could rival your Master.” Despite a cool exterior towards adults, Verin had always had a soft spot for children; it cost him nothing to boost the girl’s ego a little. Following Parnell, he listened to the instructions, nodding at the appropriate juncture. Then, first, each vial was filled to about half way with the powdered root. None of them were equal in quantity, some going a little over the half way mark, others falling slightly under, but they were more or less the asked amount. Verin would just have to make sure that some received more of the enzyme solution than others. Picking up the eyedropper that Master Parnell had offered to him, he placed it in the solvent and squeezed the tip, though not enough to fill the whole thing. He had learnt that too much pressure in the thin tube would result in a lack of control in releasing the fluid. One by one, he took care to only put enough of the enzyme solvent into the vials; the first was the slowest, and by the last, the drips were falling steadily before he needed to stop, which he did. After e brief glance in Master Parnell’s direction, to confirm that what he was doing as correct, he took the vials and stoppered them [?] before sticking them into the spinning machine. Following the same method as the girl before, he ran it as a similar speed until he could see the mixture in each of the vials separating.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar collected the swabs after soaking the top layers of fluid from the vials Verin had finished spinning. "Now even though we don't need this thinner fluid for any toxic purposes, it still has its uses. So I'll just run these swabs through the wringer. Now unlike the small tool that comes in the portable kit, this has fittings for a spring press to account for varying thickness in the same length of material being run."

He took the top plate off the device, and pulled the top braying roller off as well. Like all the other fittings, they both had slotted flanges on the ends to fit over the guide posts at the ends of the apparatus. These posts guaranteed that everything would line up vertically. Inoadar picked up a handful of metal rings with the same slots through their centers. "These are bearers." he said. "They are of precisely ground thicknesses. I have at least two of every thickness up to one quarter inch in one fiftieth increments. Normally, you place equivalent amounts of thickness on both posts to provide an exact allowance of thickness on whatever is run through. It's great when the thing you're running is the same thickness all the way through."

He then reached under the table and pulled out a different fitting. This had a pair of long narrow metal plates, separated by spring columns at both ends. There was a second top plate with threaded flanges that could adjust the tension on the springs. "This is the spring press I mentioned. It replaces the use of bearers and goes above the top roller but below the top clamp. It's for applying uniform pressure, rather than uniform thickness. It works very well for roots, although they often have to be soaked first to soften them up a bit."

He took out a tray and slid it through the gap made for that purpose below the apparatus. "I sometimes use coated paper or very thin metal shims to keep the fluid from sticking to the rollers. But the rollers themselves are metal so they don't get much build up of residue. Also, I boil them clean frequently. And the lab set comes with multiple rollers and cover slides." He held up a cylinder of metal and showed how it slid snugly over the roller's hard rubber core.

There were several swabs soaked with the fluid from the vials. Inoadar tightened the top clamp on the wringer after placing only six fiftieths of an inch worth of bearers between the rollers. "After some trial and error, you learn what thickness works for certain things. Go ahead and run those swabs through. That fluid works as a natural binding agent for several fungal enzymes, so I hang on to it. Saves me a few mizas."

x

[Verin Rush]

Verin followed the man around, periwinkle blue eyes ever observant as Parnell spoke. In the lulls in action and conversation, the blond also took the time to look around the room. Some of the instruments were familiar to him – he didn’t own many of them himself, but he had read much about them and the theory behind how they worked was not something that he had skipped out on trying to understand. Others pieces of equipment were, however, completely unfamiliar to the elder Rush brother. With the anatomy of some, he could deduce fairly accurately what the instruments might be used for, but others, he had no idea how to use the mechanisms, or what their purpose might be. Here, he was glad that he had gone against his pride to seek out the teachings of Master Parnell – today was showing him that his own knowledge was severely lacking in comparison. The bearers, for example, when he picked one up to examine more closely as Parnell was describing its purpose, seemed… maybe not essential, but incredibly valuable when it came to more precise work, though he put the bearer back down when Parnell mentioned the spring press and raised it so that he could see. He nodded once, “Do you also have a number of different spring presses to dictate different pressures? Or is there some way you… modify the device?” he asked as he tilted his head to the side, looking for anything remarkable which might answer the question for him. Verin hid his smile as he watched the poison-maker slide a tray into the instrument he had just prepared. From the state of the shop floor and the laboratory they were now in, the blond had no doubt that Parnell kept his equipment spotless and in nigh on immaculate condition. It was one of the first things that Verin had learnt – on rare occasions, that a careless poisoner might stumble across some new concoction by accident. Residue left behind from a previous use of the device might react with the new agents to create something unfounded. But such instances were rare; more likely would be that the residue would react and render the new creation utterly useless. Or too volatile. Verin angled himself in front of the wringer and slowly turned the handle, which in turn turned the rollers, moving the tray. He wasn’t sure on the appropriate speed, but he was sure that Master Parnell, or the little apprentice girl, would set him straight if they noticed something wrong with his actions. Ultimately, he settled on a slow pace, tough fast enough that the rollers were not in danger of stopping, and nothing would get caught and stop the process. “I wonder… how do you tell what the fluid will safely bind? Will it not bind others because of conflicting properties?” What he was really asking was whether or not he should learn through trial and error; if this liquid acted as an agent for certain fungal enzymes, then it stood to reason that another would do the same job for others in the same base, and indeed, there might be more for enzymes in other families. From the way he phrased it, Verin got the impression that Master Parnell had discovered this on his own, and if so, he would likely not have a definitive answer. “I imagine it is actually better to use organic products, such as that, rather than something artificially produced for the same purpose.” He was merely voicing his own opinions aloud, though it was likely that they were wrong. Verin has always been one for doing, rather than reading, and he loved to experiment for the sake of experimentation. He would likely test it at a later date anyway, but he voiced his thoughts to gage the poisoner’s own opinions. OOCSo.. time for you to teach the player, not the character! -this fluid (which acts as a binding agent) is created from the left overs from the spinner, which we ran through the wringer? -what does this wringer actually do? I don't see the point of sticking a liquid through it; did we just put through something solid to remove liquid? -swabs of what, exactly? Did we take the useful half of the spinner and put it through the wringer, and we're keeping the "useless" half for a binding agent? Confusion ahoy.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Verin asked about how to modify the spring press. Inoadar retrieved it and pointed out the threaded fittings on the side. They looked like the alignment flanges on all the other fittings, but had a small surface that allowed a middle portion to be rotated within. "When this is fitted on the wringer, turning these dials will adjust the amount of pressure that the press applies to whatever is run through. Much better than having to have different presses for every conceivable pressure."

Inoadar watched the visitor turn the handle on the wringer. When the tray started to move, he hurried to where Verin was turning the crank and pulled a slide handle on the side. The tray dropped only a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to stop being pulled along with the rotations of the rollers. "Oops, wrong tray. They're supposed to stay in place." he offered with mild embarrassment.

The bottom of the tray was soon covered in a shallow layer of fluid. Verin asked him how he knew what the fluid would safely bind, and if it would fail to bind elements of conflicting properties. Inoadar was impressed. This was a good, in-depth question that would take even an accomplished crafter quite some time to answer perfectly.

"Very good, Verin. I may never be able to say all of what it may or may not bind. However, I can tell you that this is only a simple binding agent. There are far more complex agents than this. I can only say for certain regarding a half dozen fungal based toxins that it will bind those that have the same metabolizing catalyst. Which is to say, for instance, two "ingestion" type poisons could have their effects bound into a single dosage."

He went out into the front room and returned with a vial without a label. There was only a red spot of ink on the cap. "This is one such, though it is an "injury" type, not "ingestion". It is a blend of "Engeron Bane" and "Wildleash". There is brief unconsciousness caused by the Wildleash. But I have found there are times this unconsciousness needs to be extended. "Engeron Bane" is exactly that, a sleep agent. That binding agent allowed me to combine them into one. It also blends the consistency into a more viable form. Wildleash can be difficult as an "injury" type, since it's so pasty."

He set the unlabeled vial of greenish liquid on the worktable and continued. "It IS somewhat of an oddity that an agent obtained from a root source would work best on fungal compounds. I really can't explain that. Nor can I say that this is a definitive limitation. It could well be that there are numerous exceptions to this rule. I just simply haven't found any yet." He shrugged, "One of Nature's safeguards, I guess."

Now he got a calculating look as he went on. "I...hear...of more complex binding agents. Those that can combine different metabolizing catalyst, so that, say, an "injury" type could be bound to an "inhalation" type so that both effects would manifest if simply inhaled, OR installed through a wound. Perhaps even someone with an immunity to a particular toxin could have it bypassed by that toxin being bound to type they are NOT immune to."

Inoadar did NOT go so far as to say that this was the very thing he'd been experimenting on when Verin had shown up. This was not something he would share with the young man. He had shared quite enough for now. He was not going to do ALL the young fellow's work for him.

x

[Verin Rush]

When he had entered the shop front, it hadn’t occurred to Verin that he was lacking in so much knowledge when it came to the equipment used to make the poisons. The joy he found in Arboreal bases was that there was little poison making, rather it was poison preparation, which was ideal for his small kit. He made a mental note that, if he were to ever expand, he would come to Master Parnell for advice on what to buy and fill a lab with. He conceded that a single spring press that could be adjusted was far more sensible than countless numbers, as they could be adjusted, compared to the barers. Verin couldn’t help but smile as he received praise off of the experienced poisoner. The slight element of the patronising words didn’t escape Verin, whether Master Parnell intended it to come across that way or not, but the blond didn’t mind it as he knew that the other man was only offering praise where praise was deserved. It wasn’t a particularly difficult question for Verin to pose, having basically formed itself out of Master Parnell’s own explanation of what they were doing, but pride swelled up inside himself nonetheless; he was glad of having an active mind, where he was more interested in the process, rather than the result. More to the point, he was please at appearing to impress the man, ad showing him that he wasn’t just some mindless student with little knowledge or purpose, particularly as he was supposed to be repaying the man with knowledge of his own. He wasn’t expecting a complete answer, so was content with the one that the poisoner supplied to him – it was enough to be going on with, and offered Verin the chance to return home and continue with a similar experiment. He did wonder, however, “Is there any way to tell whether or not a certain substance will respond well and appropriately as a binding agent to a poison?” He asked as he stood there; now that Parnell had not given him a task to complete, he was able to set his mind completely to his new train of thought. “I mean, in terms of how early one might realise that it had done its task safely, without compromising the integrity of the poison itself. Could you notice changes as you were creating the concoction… or would you have to wait until you could test the poison on a subject in order to find out whether or not the poison worked in the original manner intended, if at all.” That was all he voiced for the moment, as it was more important to receive such an answer, as to whether or not he should be vigilant of anything in particular as he created the poison with an experimental binding agent. Other questions which he didn’t voice began to delve into the realms of anti-toxins, and whether or not they would still be effective against a poison which was now created in a different manner. Would the anti-toxin also need the same agent, or a different one to counteract the use of the one used in the poison? It was, no doubt, a stream of thought that would lead the elder Rush twin nowhere, but he found the concept to be an interesting one which he looked forward to do some experimentation towards, even if the results turned out to be worthless. “When might you be able to leave your shop for an excursion to the lakeshore, Master Parnell?” He asked, changing the topic suddenly; he wanted to set up the next meeting now, before he forgot. Whilst Verin was fascinated by the laboratory Parnell could boast of, he was conscious of having to go to work that evening, in a few bells. “I currently hold down a modest job at the Malt House, but the tavern owner is relatively flexible, if I give him enough days’ notice.” He smiled a little, embarrassed to mention his current occupation, but it needed to be said that he couldn’t be called upon on a whim to head to the shore.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar moved to a large central glass cylinder with accommodations for three fittings. They all had thick rubber rings with metal protrusions thrust through them to extend into the interior to some degree. There was extra length to these metal fittings to allow them to be pushed in considerably further. The exterior ends were all threaded to allow them to either be capped or to accommodate attachments. There was a heavy metal-clamped base that sealed the bottom, but when opened, served to allow placement of items inside the central chamber.

One of the side attachments was a reversible valve and another was a pump. The valve allowed air to either be pumped out to create vacuums when necessary, or to increase air pressure inside the chamber, depending on which side of the valve was fitted to the extension. Both of these attachments were removable to allow more common pipettes, tubes or coil fittings to run to other processing arrays if needed.

The pump was plainly visible for what it was, so Inoadar did not explain it to any degree. What DID merit some account was what looked like miniature scaffolding that Inoadar was setting up on the base. There were boll-joint ends to connect them and many had clips on sliding tracks and pivots.

"This is the "third hand" assembly. This is for setting up items to be suspended within the pressure chamber. I have nozzles that fit through the rubber grommets for projecting gases and streams of fluid onto items under pressure. This whole thing comes with several sets of pumps and valves, closed and open, to arrange complex combinations of suspended arrays and directional sprays and jets of chemicals from other processes occurring simultaneously."

He lifted a hinged box from under the worktable. It had recesses to accommodate every small length of the bars and supports of "third hand" gear. "I don't presently have anything that needs to be suspended for a demonstration. I just wanted to show you the basic set that comes in this lab. There is a far more extensive one that comes in the elaborate grade lab set." his eyes got a faraway look for a moment as he anticipated the day he would work with such a set. With the opening of the 'Nitrozian-Moletta Sanitary Station' the day before, that day was right around the corner.

He refocused as Verin asked him more questions. "That is answered simply enough with the use of a control sample. Use a compound that you already know is dependent on an agent of whatever sort. Then just compare the results of each stage of the process for similar indications of stability. If you don't have a control sample, I'm afraid there is no single answer to that. Often, the first sign is a slight bit of thin liquid residue, or the incomplete blending of colors. Bubbles, if the process is not requiring high heat. Most of the time, it does require testing to be sure."

He was replacing the parts of the "third hand" as he remarked. He considered for a moment. "Well, depending on how much difference YOU think this weather we're having might effect the trees on shore, I am available at any time about the same. I think it might be pretty busy with some new developments in town. I suppose mid-season, say the 40th or 45th. It's difficult to be sure, but I can usually work around whatever comes up."

He nodded in Areilla's direction and patted Verennia on the head, "I have good people to fill in while I am gone."

x

[Verin Rush]

The young man nodded at the appropriate intervals as Master Parnell set up this new piece of equipment and explained what it did. To him, the ‘third hand’ seemed almost like a shortcut, a way of speeding up the processes that would normally have been done by hand. Verin imagined that a tool would be useful for the poisoner in a more industrial sense, as he no doubt had many poisons on the go at any one time – and this was probably due to the fact that he had requests and deadlines which forced him to work quickly and efficiently. But to a dabbler in the art of poisoncraft, such as Verin, he had little need for speed and outside assistance. He was happy to use more primitive tools to get the job done, even if it took him a little longer than it would were he using better equipment. The tools that he was more interested in, and possibly hoped to acquire at some point in the future, were the ones that helped a poisoner work with more precision, such as the wringers and springs. Unless he could see it in action, this ‘third hand’ – which he thought was aptly named to explain its primary purpose, in his mind – seemed almost… superfluous to the blond. But Master Parnell, whose expression had taken on a glazed over quality, seemed to venerate this contraption, and Verin assumed that he must be missing something about its importance. Then Parnell answered his questions again and he focused a little more intently than before. The answer was as he had expected; just to use controls constantly and compare the results. It would likely cost Verin much more than it currently did in supplies in order to run controls at the same time, but he imagined that the long term benefit might be worth the effort; using otherwise useless extracts from his endeavours would ultimately save him a few Mizas. “Bubbles, residue, incomplete blending…” those were easy signs to look for, and he looked for them now anyway, just in case something had gone wrong somewhere down the line in his creations. It wasn’t always an exact art, but sometimes even the slightest bit too much of a particular ingredient would render the poison unusable. He wondered, however, if some mixtures would not show any sign of spoiling, and there would be no way of telling until the poison was used. But he did not voice his last doubts as he glanced out to look at the Ravok sky. “I believe I must depart now…” he turned back to look at the other man, meeting his gaze as he smiled politely, “You, no doubt, have enough of your own work to be getting on with, and don’t need me in the way as you work.” He glanced over to where the small apprentice girl stood and gave her a wider, more genuine smile. “I have to heard to work myself in a few bells, and have a few errands to run before I start. This seems like a perfect place to leave it.” He considered for a moment, counting forward to find what day would be most appropriate for him, and he spoke vaguely, “Winter is always going to be a tricky time for looking for Arboreal bases… but why not let’s try our luck on the 41st? It will have to be an early start, of course, with the trip to the shore. I shall meet you by the boats two bells before dawn proper, at about the 6th bell.” Parnell nodded his agreement and Verin inclined his head, “Until then, Master Parnell.” He said finally, and turned to leave.

[Abstract]

Grade Awarded!

~|-|~

Verin

Award :

Skills

~ Rhetoric – 2
~ Observation – 2
~ Poison – 2
~ Investigation - 3

Lores

~ Nolan Parnell: Poisoner
~ Master: The Difference Between Title and Name
~ Verennia: Nolan’s Assistant
~ How to Extract Poison from Bickroot
~ Basic Poisoncrafting Equipment
~ Poison: Substances Don’t Always Bind

Other

N/A

~|-|~

Inoadar

Award :

Skills

~ Observation - 2
~ Intelligence – 1
~ Teaching – 3
~ Poison - 1

Lores

~ Intellingence: Deducing Motive
~ Verin: Potential Poisoner
~ Earning ‘Friendship’ With Knowledge

Other

N/A

~|-|~

Notes

Good thread! Inoadar, your descriptions of poisons are just… crazy. Is there really this much detail in the poison article, or are you just really knowledgeable in this? And where would you learn about… poison-making?

Anyways, I can’t wait to what happens in your next thread ^-^