20th Day of Summer, 509 AV
The den was relatively quiet for a summer night and Irriari was glad. More often than not, the energy of the colony raised with the weather, and the din often because irksome to anyone trying to focus- especially the artists. She was no artist, but her task at hand was a daunting one. Her poison collection was still quite small- she only had one plant that she had collected in the wild- and poisons that had been stockpiled by the colony over time. The few that she had crafted had already been used or lost their potency.
Irriari looked at Sevrai and spoke, hoping the girl would have some answers,
“How am I supposed to know what all these plants and poisons are? What if I forget?”
She had known for quite a long time that she would have to find some way to scribe the reagents she collected onto paper or find some other way to remember them all. While her books were useful, they hardly ever had accurate drawings of the plants in the Sea of Grass- if they had any at all. The books almost never spoke of which way to prepare the plant to ensure that it was potent enough, and it was a horrible waste of her already sparse material to test every plant each time.
Sevrai quickly opened Irriari's favorite book on poison, 'The Art of Agony: A Poisoners Field Guide', and flipped to the back of the book. While Irriari couldn't understand the cramped writing that skirted the edges of the pages, she did enjoy the sketches of the plants. Some were quite detailed, like the one on the current page.
“This is the 'Bloody Tear' plant.” Sevrai read.
Irriari examined the drawing carefully and traced her claw tip lightly on the stem of the plant. The plant was drawn to size, though Sevrai had assured her that if a plant was too big, as many were, that the author would have make a note of it, with an approximate scale. The drawing had a close up box of the toothed leaf, which was supposed to be the most poisonous part of the plant. It also included a listing of where the plant had been found, organized by the most populous areas to the least. Finally, Irriari's favorite feature of the book was the short quote at the bottom of the page. They were often succinct, and funny, however they offered a quick description of the effects of the poison. Out of all her books, this one was the most consistent, but both Sevrai and herself realized that without the ability to write, she would be very limited in her own abilities to make such a book for herself.
“Sevrai, grab me a few sheets of paper, and a bottle of ink.”
She had traded dearly for these with a cousin in the colony who found her interest in poison to be entertaining and novel. But regardless of her cousins stance, the price was firm, 5gm for ten sheets of paper a medium sized bottle of ink. He had paid less from the trader, but the colony did not get to replenish their stock as often many of the artists would like, so any of their stockpiled wares were not cheap.
Sevrai returned with the bottle of ink and paper and sat them in front of her carefully. Thankfully, her two Hasale'ith'savanht plant had dried well over the past few days and kept most of their structural integrity as she prepared to etch their image into the paper.
The den was relatively quiet for a summer night and Irriari was glad. More often than not, the energy of the colony raised with the weather, and the din often because irksome to anyone trying to focus- especially the artists. She was no artist, but her task at hand was a daunting one. Her poison collection was still quite small- she only had one plant that she had collected in the wild- and poisons that had been stockpiled by the colony over time. The few that she had crafted had already been used or lost their potency.
Irriari looked at Sevrai and spoke, hoping the girl would have some answers,
“How am I supposed to know what all these plants and poisons are? What if I forget?”
She had known for quite a long time that she would have to find some way to scribe the reagents she collected onto paper or find some other way to remember them all. While her books were useful, they hardly ever had accurate drawings of the plants in the Sea of Grass- if they had any at all. The books almost never spoke of which way to prepare the plant to ensure that it was potent enough, and it was a horrible waste of her already sparse material to test every plant each time.
Sevrai quickly opened Irriari's favorite book on poison, 'The Art of Agony: A Poisoners Field Guide', and flipped to the back of the book. While Irriari couldn't understand the cramped writing that skirted the edges of the pages, she did enjoy the sketches of the plants. Some were quite detailed, like the one on the current page.
“This is the 'Bloody Tear' plant.” Sevrai read.
Irriari examined the drawing carefully and traced her claw tip lightly on the stem of the plant. The plant was drawn to size, though Sevrai had assured her that if a plant was too big, as many were, that the author would have make a note of it, with an approximate scale. The drawing had a close up box of the toothed leaf, which was supposed to be the most poisonous part of the plant. It also included a listing of where the plant had been found, organized by the most populous areas to the least. Finally, Irriari's favorite feature of the book was the short quote at the bottom of the page. They were often succinct, and funny, however they offered a quick description of the effects of the poison. Out of all her books, this one was the most consistent, but both Sevrai and herself realized that without the ability to write, she would be very limited in her own abilities to make such a book for herself.
“Sevrai, grab me a few sheets of paper, and a bottle of ink.”
She had traded dearly for these with a cousin in the colony who found her interest in poison to be entertaining and novel. But regardless of her cousins stance, the price was firm, 5gm for ten sheets of paper a medium sized bottle of ink. He had paid less from the trader, but the colony did not get to replenish their stock as often many of the artists would like, so any of their stockpiled wares were not cheap.
Sevrai returned with the bottle of ink and paper and sat them in front of her carefully. Thankfully, her two Hasale'ith'savanht plant had dried well over the past few days and kept most of their structural integrity as she prepared to etch their image into the paper.
