• PM To Join • Poisoned Pastures

[Leander]

110th Day of Ashan 722

110th of Ashan 722: Poisoned Pastures: A local farmer discovers that two of his cattle have died overnight. Within trials, other farmers start making similar discoveries, but it isn't just animals that are dying - crops are dying, too. The farmers worry that the soil might be poisoned!

Leaving his home, Leander took a moment to make sure he locked his door - like he did every morning - and turned right, in the opposite direction that he would normally walk to get to his place of work. On this trial, he was working, but not in his workshop. Instead, he had received a missive requesting his presence out on one of the farms on the outskirts of the city proper.

It was a long walk, so he had left particularly early this trial. But that was fine, he enjoyed the crisp fresh air and morning dew as the sun began to rise. A brisk walk would wake him up (which was needed: he had had a fair bit to drink last night and still felt like he was a little tipsy). Hopefully by the time he arrived at the farm, he would feel more himself.

As he walked, his mind drifted from various ongoing projects he had been working on to the missive he had received. There had been a spout of farm animal deaths - cattle, goats, sheep… you name it, the creatures had died. Except chickens, funnily enough. no chickens had died, the note specified that quite clearly. It started out on one farm, but as time passed, more and more farmers started reporting the same thing with their animals. Up until this point of reading the letter, Leander had assumed there was some disease going around, and silently vowed to swear off meat for a little while until the matter was under control.

But the letter continued, reporting that crops had started failing too. Not whole fields, but patches of land within a field: a couple of crops in a clump, another couple of crops elsewhere… it wasn’t consistent with a traditional bad harvest. Leander was no agriculturalist but he knew that much at least.

Leander was no great shakes at his job either - he still had much to learn - so he wondered why he had been summoned to (he assumed) investigate. He didn’t know, but he headed out anyway. Arriving at the farm just past the eighth bell, the chemist looked around for where he was supposed to go next. Noticing a small group of around ten people in a gaggle a hundred or so feet away, Leander made his way over, plastering on a smile and hailing a greeting to the group at large. He hoped he wasn’t late.

Looking around at the group, his eyes fell upon one face in particular, and his heart would have stopped if he had any control over it. ‘Her’ he thought viciously. He took a step back, having every intention to turn and walk away. Summons or not, he did not want to be within five hundred feet of the bitch naer he had had the misfortune of helping a couple of trials ago.

Before he could turn to leave, however, a man began to speak. “Thank you for joining us so early this trial. As you all will have read from your summons, there has been a selection of farms in the north and east of Rharne who have reported a spate of unexplained animal deaths. Otherwise healthy animals have been fine in the fields one day and, by the next, found dead. In those same farms, crops are spontaneously dying. There seems to be a correlation, a pattern, and we believe it to be a poison causing it. At the rate of animal and crop destruction, there is a risk that the supply to Rharne will be compromised, and we cannot afford to have this… poison spread to the southern farms surrounding the city.”

[Rozkia]

For whatever reason, Rozkia was the first to arrive in the Stormlands. She had no desire to be there of course - it was always some strange pull that got her involved in things like these. The naerikk was armed with shortsword (she admitted freely in her mind it was pointless with her lack of skill) at her hip and casual clothing. A simple white shirt and dark trousers, both loose fitting should she need to move quickly. Atop her back she'd slung one strap of her rucksack over her shoulder despite it being empty she liked to think it would get some use. If the group needed someone to carry things she'd take the role if only to get something out of the situation. She picked at her claws as she waited for people to arrive, and the trickled in one after another until the flow stopped.

Though thinking back on the board that was posted in the earth quarter, Rozkia supposed there were some who were personally selected for the investigation. he naerikk had no doubt people moved away from her - they talked in hush circles and cast glances that she would gladly remove their eyes for in any other situation. Alas, she was here for work and she wouldn't let some stupid lesser ruin it for her. The bulletin board post has been simple following some rumors that a farmers cattle had died overnight. Almost immediately aft the trials proved the same was true for crops but the effect was spreading within certain areas only.

Some claimed bad harvest but that made little sense considering the death of the livestock. Some claimed it a warning from Moseke but if that held true why not the entire city? And wouldn't Illaren get involved in either case? She spent the bits of waiting considering the reason for the deaths and wilting. She had noticed that the board specifically noted that chickens had not been affected. If it was indeed just a soil defect as long as the chickens didn't consume the grass they'd live. But feeding them grain only wouldn't be too healthy would it? She wasn't an animal expert so she couldn't say, nor did she care enough to figure out what chickens needed to survive.

Rozkia paid little attention to the attendees, her focus solely on the man who began to explain the situation in more detail. He was probably one of the farmers - that or he held some rank among them as they let him speak for them. The few that were present looked determined to get to the source and move on, but that didn't stop them from looking fearful and worried. He spoke clearly above the crowd as he acknowledged those present - Rozkia had a hard time not tuning him out, but she forced herself to hear despite having no interest in the topic.

"Some of you may have questions, but please bare with me. There will be plenty of us to answer those after," He coughed wetly into his sleeve before continuing, the sound making her cringe. "We will have everyone split up so we can cover more ground. Each farm that's been affected will be divvied up between our volunteers. That said, your objective is simple; find the cause and the culprit. We have reason to suspect a single entity - but there's nothing we can do ourselves and we'd like to avoid getting the elements involved if possible. So far there have been no deaths other than cattle and crops. Our chickens remain unaffected. The respective farmers will no doubt provide you with more information. The groups are as follows," He then listed the names of the farmers involved, with each of them calling names of their own from the volunteer pool.

Rozkia perked at her name and turned right, a farmer by the Name of Dudley was looking around for her. She walked over and he swallowed hard but gave her a forced smile nonetheless. She nodded but went back to picking her claws, uninterested in the handshake he offered. The naerikk only whipped her head up when Dudley called for Leander. For a brief moment, she thought it impossible - Leander wasn't a unique name, there should be plenty in the world - but she soon found his eyes in the crowd and sneered. Of course, she had no reason to be hostile towards an insect No no, he just pissed her off with his presence was all. She was coming to understand she was very petty and held grudges easily - Leander was no exception.

Dudley seemed aware of the animosity, but he chose to stay silent and wave over the remainder of their party. It was clear they weren't going to be switched around - all the other teams were clearing the area to head to their destinations. She scoffed but took a deep breath - she was here for the job, nothing else was relevant. The naerikk would need to remain civil if they hoped to get to the bottom of the issue. Without much more thought, she turned to Dudley and spoke, not waiting for Leander to catch up or run away. She had hopes for the latter.

"No chickens have gotten sick. Have you given them separate feed?"

[Leander]

The man in charge handed over to individual farmers, one of whom called Rozkia’s name. Then Leander’s name was called. Of course. Sod’s Law that he would be selected to work with the fecking woman. Hie first thought was to turn around and leave. Though he had been requested to be here, he was still a volunteer as far as he was aware, and he had no requirement to stay. He could just leave. But he was intrigued, and why should he back out? If she didn’t like it, she could leave.

Trudging over to join his little party of investigators, Leo examined the naer. He noted the short sword slung onto her hip, and wondered just how effective she was at wielding such a weapon. He hoped not very well, lest she swing it in his direction. Truth be told, even if she was useless with the weapon, Leander had nothing to defend himself except his bare hands, which would be no match. And after their last meeting, with the threats Rozkia had flung in his direction, Leo was not sure… really not sure.

He eyed the weapon pointedly as he approached, nodding to the farmer, who introduced himself as Dudley. “Leander,” the chemist said, introducing himself with an extended hand, which Dudley took with a firm grip and shook. An easy smile fell onto Leo’s lips. There were just the three of them, but maybe he could ignore the naer entirely. Maybe the farmer had the same reservations about working with someone of that ilk. There was a final member of the ragtag group summoned over: a human by the name of Norman. Leo forced a smile in his direction, keen to make friends and ostracise the naer from the group.

Rozkia wasted no time in asking her question, and it turned out that his hope was for nothing. The farmer, releasing Leo’s hand, turned to the naer and Leo saw nothing but gratitude for assistance on his face. No hatred for her being who she was at all. Fate was just not on his side this trial.

“Yeah, so the chickens are fed corn, which I don’t grow. It comes from a farm in the south. I specialise in wheat, oats and barley, with a single herd of cows as an experimental project to see if I can make a viable business out of them. The cows I only acquired in the past two arcs or so, and they eat primarily hay and silage - grass, to you. They also eat wheat and oats, which I do grow. So far, they have been a profitable venture to expanding my farm.”

Leander nodded at all the right places as the farmer spoke. He wasn’t really interested in the viability of the farm, but it was curious to learn about the sustainability of growing feed for his own animals. “Are the wheat and oats among the dying crops?” He asked, scratching his chin as he began to formulate ideas in his mind.

“Mainly the oats and barley, yes. But just this morning I noticed a patch of wheat that appears to be going the same way.” It stood to reason, then, that the crops were being targeted with… something… and those damaged crops were inadvertently being fed to the cows, which was making them sick, fatally sick, it seemed. Leander did not voice this reasoning just yet, just in case he was wrong. Appearing foolish in front of the farmer was one thing, but the bitch standing next to him was definitely more of a catalyst to keeping his mouth closed in the matter for now.

He wondered why she was here, what she could bring to the table. In fairness, he knew very little about what the naer knew and did, but he was predisposed to not want her here, so he wrote her off as effectively useless. “Okay, maybe it is worth going to look at these crops. The wheat first, I think, if they are the most recent to fail, whatever it is that is affecting them might still be evident.” The farmer nodded and beckoned for his three helpers to follow him. As they walked, Leander asked of Norman, trying to assess his usefulness, “What brings you here this morning?”

[Rozkia]

Distaste aside, Rozkia listened to the group of lesser speak in case any information turned out to be important. She inclined her head with Dudley's analysis, unsure what to make of his babbling viability talk. She was almost grateful when Leander asked the questions - it meant she had to interact less. She was here purely as muscle, but a poison so seemingly quick to act was interesting. "And we assume no one has seen anything odd." If they had they wouldn't need an a team to comb through each farm hands land. Dudley nodded

"My, we could have sworn that was why this group was here," The naerikk sassed sarcastically. Examining the crops was part of the process, wasn't it? She would take every chance to belittle Leander, no matter how small. If she had to deal with his presence she would make fekking sure he noticed hers. The farmer made a gesture for them to follow after his eyes darted between them, uncomfortable with the tension it seemed. Good, he could squirm. She stayed a bit behind the group as they moved forward - just close enough to hear and far enough to keep her distance. Leander made small talk with Norman as they made along. Norman seemed like the they type to flee at danger, so Rozkia was curious as well to see what he could offer their group.

"W-well... if its a p-poison, its best to have someone who can note its effects and such," He waved his notebook in a shaking gesture to draw their attention to it and Rozkia paused - he seemed to hesitate in his answer but she didn't question it. Perhaps he had seen something? Or was it something else that made him look so nervous? Regardless he was nothing more than a glorified note taker. The naer sucked her teeth at the thought of dead weight and shifted the empty rucksack to distract herself from her building irritation. So far the only useful party was Dudley and Leander in terms of researching. Norman would likely just watch as the group worked.

"We hope you take decent notes for us to review, then." The naerikk voiced, bring their attention back to her. She smiled but it wasn't a nice one, and Norman seemed to realize this after a trill or two. He stuttered, something about his notes going straights to the Institute catching her attention. "Is the institute aware of the situation here?" She asked, genuinely curious. And why would that stop him from showing us his notes, she wondered in suspicion. She narrowed her eyes at him, her smile gone. He was clearly distressed and her presence made it worse, but was it more than that? She would keep an eye on him just in case.

"Well, I w-wrote to the them about it, yes, but-"

"You are a decent doctor, correct? What do you know about poisons?" Norman flinched when he realized the naer was no longer listening to him as she turned her gaze to Leander and spoke over the suspicious lesser. She was coming to hate her involvement, but if she could gain something from it at least it wouldn't be a total waste of time. "And you," She paused to recall the farmers name "Dudley. Since the wilting started has anyone consumed any crops from the contaminated fields?" The naer didn't care if they had, but it was something to note in case someone - lessers preferably - died. On the subject... "Are the carcasses contained? We have heard its possible for things to become airborne once the host has died." She looked to Leander at this hoping he could confirm or deny. The naerikk had no desire to walk into a possible gas trap. If whatever they ate turned out to be airborne they were all at risk, and not just the small group.

[Leander]

Vicious. That was the best way to describe Rozkia. She was ruthless with her words, which sliced though whoever she spoke to with precision. Half of her words this trial weren’t even targeted at Leander and he still felt the stab of her words like a knife in his stomach. Yet, outwardly, he rolled his eyes and turned away from the naer, choosing to ignore her well-aimed insults rather than rising to the bait and giving her the opportunity to speak more than was strictly necessary.

Instead, he chose to put his attention on Norman, the other volunteer, and nodded along as he listened. The man seemed like a wet mop, truth be told. If the stammer and hesitating speech pattern wasn’t enough, the man’s gait - hunched over and trying to make himself seem smaller than he should be - was enough to make Leander instantly dislike the man. Besides, Leander had a fairly acceptable grasp on poisons and suchlike; they didn’t need to double up. He could also read and write, surprisingly enough. Why did they need a note-taker? Still, it was an extra buffer between him and the naer so Leander said (through his teeth), “Well I’m glad to have you along.”

Rozkia had her own questions, and Leander glanced around at the fields as they walked, only half his ear on the conversation between the farmer and the volunteers. As they walked, Leo examined the crops both near and far. Everywhere he looked, as far as he could tell, the crops were healthy, even thriving. He frowned as his pace slowed, wondering why only some crops had been damaged and not others… what was the purpose, if this is even was deliberate? He opened his mouth to ask more questions but didn’t get the chance, before he realised that everyone, especially the naer, was looking at him.

“Hmm?” He had not heard Rozkia’s question, and from her expression, she’d undoubtedly like to skewer Leander for making her do something so inefficient as repeat herself. “Oh. Medicine is not my particular field of expertise…” (nothing was really) “All I did was clean up a cut on your forehead, Rozkia. But I know a little of poisons, yes.”

Leander was anxious to get to the damaged crops and ailing or dead animals. That would give him more insight into what they were looking for. He sped up his pace, hoping to shimmy the group along, and the farmer thankfully matched his pace. Dudley, also noting that there seemed to me more than a little animosity between two of his volunteers, hesitated before answering Rozkia’s question, but he did answer it in full. “No. Though I have harvested some of the crops recently, they have not yet been shipped into the city for consumption. The dying crops have been purged from the fields though. As far as I’m aware. Only the cows have eaten the wheat and oats. I have been losing income from the delay in selling the harvested crops, so the faster we can deal with this, the better.”

Nodding in understanding, Leander trudged along the path next to the farmer, and they eventually reached the farm proper. “Of course the dead animals are removed from the herd - you think I would just leave them in the field? They are being kept in this barn over here.” Dudley pointed to the nearest barn and Leo turned to look. Then he said, before Rozkia could bite back a scathing retort to the farmer, “I think it would be best to examine the dead animals before the crops - we know animals are dying but have no evidence the source of this… disease is from the crops.”

[Rozkia]

Rozkia raised a brow at Leander's acceptance of the suspicious lesser, but clicked her tongue. Of course they would stick together, a swam of ants, they were. She fixed him with a stare that started the conversation again, but she wasn't exactly happy with what the had to say. She had the urge to trace the skin sealed cut but she thought better of it. Why was Leander taking naer from the street for treatment if he wasn't a doctor? She wanted to growl at him, anything to unsettle the stupid lesser, but she denied herself the pleasure because farmer seemed to answer her questions. Rozkia couldn't even bite the man verbally because the so called doctor had stolen her moment (albeit with a reasonable distraction). Rozkia nodded slowly, following Leander's line of sight to head to the barn.

"Are you saying something else is killing the cows?" Norman inquired, baffled. He'd remained silent after her treatment so she assumed she wouldn't have to hear him anymore. She would disregard his voice anyway, in her opinion it was a stupid question. The naer scoffed, enough to draw attention to her back, but kept moving in order to not deal with the cowardly lesser. Why would she? Instead she pushed open the door to the barn, which was relatively clean save for a few carcasses ad the smell of dead flesh they let off. She refrained from cringing the best she could - the smell was bad but it wasn't the worst as the carcasses were relatively fresh. She swatted around her face to keep the flies away from her as she knelt near one of the dead cows.

It caught her eye that the first cow she could see was laid on its side. More over, its tongue lolled from its mouth, and was discolored and possibly enlarged. The naer couldn't say for sure as she didn't make a living looking at cow tongues, but the coloration and the size looked painful. "How long have these cows been dead?" She demanded, eyes finding Dudley's. His answer didn't matter, but she pointed to the cows tongue for Leander either way before she checked the next cow. Same thing, discolored and enlarged. "Would they not have showed signs of choking with such deformities?" She had an urge to touch them, but she thought better of putting her bare hands on a carcass. "Does anyone have gloves? We would like to touch them without risking anything."

Rozkia coughed as she stood up, the sudden urge to vomit hit her like a truck once she had distanced herself from the carcass. She stepped over one and took some fresh air from the barn door to keep her minimal breakfast from coming up. The smell in closed air was awful, but it didn't occur to her it might have been a problem after a few bits. She groaned as she turned back to go in and Dudley handed her a thin piece of cloth. No gloves then, she guessed with a grimace. She set about doing what she wanted, gripping one of the cows' tongues and turning it slightly where the underside was darker. She hummed as she let the tongue fall limp. It was squishy in some places and hard as a brick closer to the cows throat.

"What can you tell, if anything?" Rozkia directed her gaze at Leander. Though she wanted to belittle him, she in no way meant to with her question. She was curious and that went above her need to make him feel small. The sooner they solved this the soon she could be rid of the three lesser and the sooner she could go home. "We are not entirely sure what we're looking at," she admitted. She ran through what she knew; there were plenty of crops, the majority of which had been unaffected. Of those that were, they've wilted and died, talking cattle that had consumed any with them. Stranger, of the symptoms she could see (the tongues being large and off color) no one had noticed anything until the crops wilted or the cattle had died... Strange. It had to be a poison, but why? What gain was there in poisoning a small farming community? Norman kneeled near one of the cows unbothered by the stench and noting down what the naer assumed to be his notes for the institute.

[Leander]

Nothing was smooth-running when it came to interacting with the fecking naer. Everything he said, everything he did, she found fault in. Leander would bet his left index finger that she could find fault in him breathing and removing precious air from the world. It was unfortunate that he had stumbled across her beaten form in the streets of Rharne, but it was adding insult to injury that he had met her not once, but twice more on occasions that were very specific and really the naer had no place being involved anyway.

Was she following him? Was this Yvithia’s punishment to him for killing that man and fleeing the city? He knew the Immortal of Intelligence had blessed a member of the naerikk race… twice if he was not mistaken. Maybe Rozkia was actually in league with the Videnese. Her spite engendered a natural defence mechanism - he wanted to be nowhere near her. Yet here he was, stuck with… yes he was going to think of her as a spy. He just didn’t know what side she was on.

“No. That’s not what I’m saying,” Leander replied slowly, as if talking to a small child, or a mentally substandard learner. He actually head Rozkia scoff, and he worked hard to keep a smile off of his lips. Wow, for once they agreed about something. “I’m not saying something else is killing the cows. I’m saying we do not know if there is a causal link between the damaged crops and the dead cattle. That’s what I hope to establish by examining the cows.”

Following Rozkia into the barn, Leander noted that she had already made her way to the closest of the four dead cows being housed in the barn. With her back turned (so she couldn’t see him) he nodded in approval at her question, and turned to listen to Dudley’s reply: “That one? Two days. The others, a day.” With Rozkia’s invitation - not that he needed it - to examine the cow, he leaned in close, humming as he also noted the discolouration, it was significantly darker than the pink hue he was expecting. Almost blueish-black, and yes, it did look like its girth was thicker than was safe. Maybe the cows had died from asphyxiation as a result of the poison. It was feasible, he supposed.

Leander was no great shakes at poisons. He knew his way round a number of them, but he was by no means an expert. He tried to wrack his brains for knowledge of any poisons that might cause the tongue to swell. Huh? Oh, gloves. Excellent. Leander nodded, holding his hands out and requesting the same from the farmer. Dudley quickly scurried away. The naer coughed, and Leo glances over at her, unconcerned but irritated from being pulled from his train of thought.

Turning back to the carcass, Leander continued to stare at the tongue, mind still methodically running through the various concoctions he knew of, and trying to remember if any of them could be a match for what had happened here. “What do you know of anticoagulants?” He asked the room at large, noting that Dudley and Norman both shrugged and shook their heads in almost comic unison. He sighed. “Well they’re known as medicines that prevent blood clots. But in high enough doses, as with everything, they are fatal to those who consume it. What I am unsure about is that such a medicine - or poison in this case - would need to be given in very high doses to bring down a bovine creature.”

“If this was caused by an anticoagulant, it would not be potent enough to kill both the crops and the cows. What I mean to say is that even if the poison killed the crops, it would not be potent enough to bring down your cows. Which means that we are looking for two different sources. Though I could be wrong: it might not be an anticoagulant at fault here, I’m only taking a guess from the state of the tongues.”

Standing from his kneeling position, Leander turned to the farmer, “Dudley, would you be so kind as to cut open the intestines of this cow?” His aim was to see what the cow had last eaten. Gross, and he was no veterinarian or farmer, so wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. But as long as he looked and sounded like he knew what he was doing, Dudley would do as requested. Maybe there were two separate things going on here, or maybe it was all interlinked. He had no clue. Glancing over at Rozkia, he noted that the naer had a stronger stomach that he had originally anticipated. He motioned her over to watch while the farmer found himself something sharp to cut into the lower abdomen of the cow in front of them.

[Rozkia]

If Norman wanted to protest the treatment, he sure kept silent about it. As he should, the naer thought to herself. If he spoke forward Rozkia might do something drastic, especially if something utterly stupid left his lips again. Leander's question had her attention for a short while - it was better than glaring holes into Norman's back with boredom. She watched the duo shrug in unison. Typical lesser, honestly. She shook her head regardless and listened to him as he continued. So he had some knowledge of poison? That could prove useful in the future... The naer would file that away for later. Norman who had been otherwise silent halted the progress of the cow dissection with a alarmed stutter.

"S-surely that would be better for a professional?!" He asked. He ranted and raved as all eyes turned to him, going on about dangers and ruining evidence, things the Naer couldn't care any less to hear. She tuned into his ramblings when he mentioned perhaps not cutting open the cow. As much as she hated to be of like thought with the medical lesser - Leander didn't deserve to be called by name, she reasoned - the quicker the figured it out the better. Though it was starting to bother her in more ways than one that Norman was trying to obstruct their search and investigation. That made three times he'd earned her suspicion, and it didn't sit well in Rozkia nor did it bode well for his health in the future.

"You would have us wait for someone 'more qualified' when none will come?" She hissed at timid lesser. Under her glare he turned quiet, but he moved to speak and Rozkia unsheathed her sword drawing a flinch from him. "Why do you insist on getting in our way?" She questioned, signaling Dudely to step forward. Without much care she dropped the shortsword in his waiting hands, and shooed him towards a cow. "We will open this cows gut and you will watch and stay quiet. We are not in a good mood and would hate for you to be a target of our intent." She seethed, flexing a single clawed hand in Norman's face. She certainly hoped that the display of apathy was good enough to strike fear in him because she meant every word.

If he tried to protest further she'd likely wring his neck - the last thing she needed to do in her position and in front of witnesses. She turned around, finding Dudely struggling with the shortsword in front of the cow. She stomped over, fed up with waiting - she ignored the call from Norman to hold on - and snatched the blade. In what was not her finest moment, she stabbed the cow a bit more roughly than intended, and sliced downwards to make an uneven cut along the stomach. "Norman looked on nervously, Dudely gagged and backed away - so much for a farmer - and Rozkia turned to the medical lesser with a sneer to hide her almost gag. "There, is that good enough for you? We are running low on patience."

[Leander]

Leander eyed the man in silence as he protested the instruction to cut open the cow. Yes, in an ideal world, they would have a professional - though Leander didn’t quite know who they could ask? A physician? A veterinarian? None of those people were available and the longer they waited, the less of a chance there was of finding anything. He said none of this, allowing his expression to speak for him. Instead Rozkia did speak, and Leander gave no notion that he had heard her, but he inwardly agreed with everything she said

Still, Dudley did not capitulate and approach the cow’s carcass and, much to Leander’s surprise, the naer took over. Of course she would - bred in the gutter and used to hunting, killing and preparing animals as all savages were, no doubt. With a last, lingering gaze on Dudley, Leander turned to watch Rozkia handle the short sword (surprisingly well) and cut open the cow’s torso. She missed the ribs, and clearly had an idea of what she was doing, so he was left with the understanding that his assumption about her abilities was right.

“That will do just fine,” he replied, before hesitating and adding a much more quiet, “thank you.” The stench now that the cow had been opened was horrendous And the guts and blood spilling out onto the floor of the barn were disgusting.

Steeling himself, the chemist forced himself to approach the carcass. Gloves situated on his hands (thankfully), Leander - who wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for truth be told - reached in, trying to feel for the gut. He knew nothing of animal anatomy… but he did know the basics of human anatomy and how different could it be? The problem was all the blood, which was getting in the way and making it harder to see what he wanted to find.

His legs were protesting his current position, so he ended up kneeling on the ground, in all this filth. He silently hoped that he would be compensated for soiled and ruined clothes and just got on with it. After giving Dudley a hateful glare he could hardly half-heart his way through it now. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly.

“There. You see?” Leander moved to the side, allowing space for Norma, Dudley and the naer to come closer to have a look. “This is the cow’s stomach. I doubt we’ll find what were looking for in here, but the intestines…” Leander groped around a little more, pulling out what he could find of the long, long gut of the animal. “If you could…? Carefully.” He glanced at Rozkia, asking her to use the sword to cut open the intestines along its length. He was holding onto a section that felt fairly solid - if they were looking for something, they would find it in there. “Wait! Dudley, perhaps fetching a little receptacle of some kind will not be too onerous a job for you.”

Assuming Rozkia did as he requested, Leander squeezed his hands together, pushing out the contents of the intestines into the plate Dudley had bought over for them. “There. Now if we are to find anything, it will be in here. Where is my kit?” Standing up, he pulled off his gloves and gingerly held the plate in his now unprotected hand, and looked to find his kit on the table near the door of the barn. Deciding he was looking for an anticoagulant, and dug through his bag for a reagent that would cause a chemical reaction to most common anticoagulants. If there was a reaction, and this would test if one occurred, then they had their answer.