[Winter Reach] Malchemical Dysfunction pt 1

[Lorogh]

10th of Cylus 722

Following the consequence in this thread...

Lorogh had decided to wait before assembling the heavy crossbow. The celebration where he'd present it to Sergeant wouldn't be for another few trials. Besides, he wasn't entirely happy with the woodwork, and wanted to check the fit of all the pieces again, and maybe consult a more skilled craftsman as to how best to reduce the material without creating 'rattling' malfixtures. The next day he awoke, and took the stairs down from his sleeping area to the large workshop where all of his mechanical magic took place. He smiled as he saw the pieces all organized and set in their places. But then he frowned. Something was a little off. He looked at the alchemically strengthened bow limbs. While they appeared still to maintain the surface strength and tension of steel, small degradations had begun to form along the surface and edges. It almost looked like, rust, but when he smelled the limbs, they appeared to have contracted some form of strange mold.

He decided to test their flexibility again, just to be sure that their integrity wasn't compromised. Sure enough, when he bent each one forty-five degrees, they bent, but didn't return to true, and even had formed stress-lines at the point where they flexed. In short, they were useless to him now.

Well that was a disappointment, but far from demoralizing the cadouri, he saw this as an opportunity to improve upon his processes.

He took his alchemical journal off of the shelf, and with a piece of graphite began brain-storming what might've gone wrong there. His process of immersion in a solution had worked to temporarily transfer steel's toughness and pliability to the bamboo limb, but apparently that moisture had caused it to form a sort of rust-like residue that weakened the limb. Even as he wrote down his findings, he noticed the gray mold-like substance stretch across the laminated bamboo's surface. It would definitely be of no use to him now, at least not as a crossbow component. But he did hold out hope that he might turn it into a potent alchemical reagent, perhaps. He earmarked that possibility for another day, jotting down the intention to explore the properties of the moldy, rusted bamboo.

But for now, he had to replicate the result of the last experiment, to ensure that it was indeed his process that was to blame for the dysfunction. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to explore other methods of alchemical transference, to see which method would prove the most beneficial toward that end.

In the moments that followed, he outlined the three potential processes that he could imagine might work. He already knew that immersion in solution would work to a point, but apparently risked some imperfections that caused the wood to degrade rapidly. Then there was the dry method, where he could apply a sort of laminate that was derived from the same solution, only without the same method of immersion. In other words, using oil rather than water. Finally, he outlined a method that was a sort of hybrid between the use of oil laminates and water solvents. He could use the steam of his solution on a limb that has been slathered with the oil laminate. This process was a little experimental, and he didn't know how safe it might be to expose himself to the solvent's steam. But he did have a way of dealing with that, in ensuring proper ventilation throughout his workshop. It just would make that process a little more involved, and a little less comfortable.

With these three processes outlined and detailed in his journal, he got to work on the spare bamboo slats that he had on hand, for the creation of the bow limbs.

[Lorogh]

Wood was a temperamental medium. It wasn't enough merely to have the medium, in a certain shape, carved a certain way. There were many factors to consider, such as the grain direction of the wood, how that compared to it's opposing part. This became an even greater consideration when trying to replicate the same results as an entirely different piece of wood. A hundred little things could've been different, and Lorogh had to measure and account for all of them. That was where his various crafting journals came into prominence. He always measured and accounted for every single observed attribute that a piece of material he used, and as such was made more aware of why the results may differ from one piece to another. It not only informed greater ways of designing contraptions, it also told him why they failed in the way they did. Why this metal lathe didn't return to true after flexing, or shattered outright. Why this piece of wood was too brittle or too green, and so on.

It would've been quite a lot to worry about, if he didn't keep notes! But as he looked at his notes, and compared the results of various projects, he became more aware of how the differences in material and composition of objects could manifest in failure or success, to varying degrees between one of the two.

All that aside, he ensured that the bamboo limbs, despite any other extenuating circumstances that might alter their functionality, exhibited diametric symmetry. That is, that however the grain moved, it would point in the opposite direction of the other bow limb. These were carefully labeled before he made any other changes to the pieces of wood.

Once these designations were made, and the prospective bow limbs set aside, he proceeded to carve and drill the various parts that would need it, for each of the six limbs. Three pairs, perfectly diametric, or as much could be managed. He removed the material slowly as he could, maintaining as much accuracy as he could with the use of stenciled lines on the pieces of wood. The stencils ensured good accuracy with regards to the shapes he ended up with. Sanding it down was a bit less precise, and more a method of playing the process by ear. Nevertheless, after the holes were drilled in the appropriate points, and the bow limb carved into the proper shape, he sanded down the rough edges.

He repeated the same process with the next couple of pairs, using the same stencils and measurements and keeping his sanding as uniformly vigorous as possible. When at last he was done, he compared the pieces, and found them uniform enough. Any differences were sanded down or readjusted. Yet for all his work in trying to maintain symmetry and precision, he'd come out very well with three pairs of limbs that would serve well for his alchemical experiment.

[Lorogh]

Thus he began to set the groundwork for each of the three processes. First, Lorogh followed his process for the first, failed alchemical experiment, where he was left with a powdery wooden corrosion material. A material, which he noted now was broken down into a dusty substance that smelled like mold and resembled rust. He had theories about that substance, and resolved to keep it in a sealed jar labeled "corroded wooden dust", with a reference number pointing toward an entry in his alchemy notebook. Perhaps he could derive some sort of alchemical property from it. He had ideas, such as using it to formulate a corrosive agent. But that could wait until a later date. If his first process, the one he was now trying to replicate, worked he would end up with double the amount of that corroded wooden dust, and confirmation that his process was indeed flawed.

So he set the bamboo bow limbs into the watery solution, then added the bits of steel rust and steel shavings, and finally a drop of the oil he'd used with a match lit against it. Then he sets this into its cubby, to absorb the fluid.

Next, he moved onto the new experimental procedure, which involved using an oily laminate to slather over the bow limbs. The oil was mixed similarly to the solvent he used, which was water-based, which he used for the first process Only this oil was rendered until it was made more viscous. Similar ingredients were all made to create it, apart from salt water. This he slathered over the bamboo bow limbs, the second pair, and then hung them from the outside of his furnace, where it would be left to dry.

Lastly, was a more elaborate and perhaps outlandish process. A sort of hybrid approach, through which he slathered the bow limbs in oil similar to the second process, and then hung it over a the same solvent of saltwater mixed with rust and steel amalgam material. The small cauldron containing the solvent was left unheated for now, while Lorogh hung the oil-laminated limbs above the pot. Then, shutting the stove, he proceeded to light the coals, and soon enough the solvent would boil, its steam sinking into the pourous material of bamboo, with any luck, resulting in a result that would inform Lorogh what effect such a process could have on the medium of wood.

This done, he took his lunch of bread, jam, and beer, and waited for the processes to complete. He had high hopes.



A break later, he removed all of the limbs from their respective processes. First, the oil-laminated limbs from the heat source, then the oil-laminated pair of limbs from the steam solvent bath, then the first experiment, where he'd tried to replicate his original failure.

He performed the same checks and tests that he'd performed on the original pair of limbs. Testing their ability to flex at forty five degrees. The first pair of limbs performed identically to the originals. The ones given a solvent bath. The second, oil-laminated limbs that were left to dry near a heat source were tested, and did well, coming back to true, and showing no signs of corrosion yet. The third, flexed far too easily, almost as if they were made of some puddy-like substance. They flexed every which way, like a ribbon or the consistency of cloth, only they were made of a somewhat thick limb of bamboo. It was the strangest sensation, and certainly worthy of further inquiry. But for now, it would remain a curiosity to be later explored. He couldn't think of a way to use it in his crossbow design, at least not as a bow limb. So he put these aside in a properly marked drawer, corresponding to the appropriate entry in his alchemy journal.

Another few breaks passed. When Lorogh went to check on his replicated experiment with the salt water solvent, he found that the limbs were similarly starting to form signs of corrosion. He sighed in relief. This was good, it meant he'd remained true to his process and replicated the error, and thus would be better able to avoid it in the future when dealing with the medium of wood. He supposed the immersion in water must've been the deciding factor in its developing rust. Especially as the oil-laminated bow limbs weren't developing any of the same signs of degradation, and were seemingly hardened to a steel-like consistency.

Thus he'd have his bow limbs which were as hard as steel with the flexibility of bamboo. And also twice as much of the corroded wooden material of unknown worth. He did have high hopes for the dust.

[Avalon]

Review & Rewards

Name: Lorogh

Points awarded: 10

Knowledge:
Alchemy: Medium (Wood): A porous material that accepts alchemical alterations readily through solvents and oils.
Alchemy: Replicating an earlier failure is an important part of understanding alchemical processes.
Alchemy: A corroded material may contain properties that can encourage corrosion.
Alchemy: Imbuing a piece of wood with extra flexibility.
Alchemy: Ensuring equal parameters and conditions is important to be able to tell the difference between the processes used.
Science: The process of deductive experimentation.

Loot: Two measures of corrosion-imbued dust. Two flexible, bamboo bow limbs imbued with steel hardness. Two super flexible bamboo sticks.
Renown: N/A

Skill Review: Appropriate to level.

Notes:

Ohhhhhhhhh! A Lorogh thread! So I should start this review with a confession - I know nothing about Alchemy. Less than nothing. There was a fair amount of panic on my part, but I forged ahead into the unknown.

Second confession? I learned a lot about alchemy. I did read up on the basic principals a bit, just so I would have a foundation, and I'm glad I did. This was a heavy alchemy piece and the way you worked through the issues and problems as this character went was stellar. For background, I read the thread the resulted in the consequence, and this one followed along beautifully.

The way Lorogh thinks and considered his processes is fascinating. He is very thorough and detail oriented. When writing that type of character, it can get monotonous really fast, but I never felt that reading this solo....so good job!

I'm looking forward to reading more about Lorogh and his alchemy!! Enjoy your rewards!

Avalon