Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Ymiden 3, Arc 720

Excerpt from Doran’s research journal.



~~~

“Professor?” Plia Yishnai Velanar, a young woman of mixed Eidisi and Ellune descent with grey skin, black hair and black eyes, and one of Doran’s research assistants, asked tentatively and looked at the Mortalborn who sat at the desk at the back of the laboratory, garbed in one of his customary bespoke suits and a lab coat and rubbed his forehead with a hand as he poured over his notes, as if he were about to develop a headache. He had come to the conclusion that the amount of Ellune blood that was in the potion needed to be reduced. He was not entirely sure by how much he should reduce it though.

The current version of the potion contained ten drops of Ellune blood (he had decided on that amount since the adrenaline potion that he had finished the cycle before and that was based on Lotharro blood had worked best with ten drops of blood) in addition to the usual reagents that a potion contained, such as a primer (to prepare the base liquid for the reagent) and a binder (to make sure that the reagents wouldn’t negate each other).

Should he start the new series of tests with nine drops though – or would eight or seven drops be better? Or should he start with the smallest amount of blood possible and work his way up – and see if he could split the drops into even smaller units if that wasn’t enough?

He furrowed his brow for a moment, deep in thought as he considered the two options, before he finally looked up at his assistant.

“I have retrieved the reagents and prepared the worktable. We can start now”, Plia told him. He inclined his head fractionally and cast another glance at his journal and the entry that he had made the trial before, and then he closed it and rose from his chair in one swift motion.

“Thank you, Plia”, he told her, smiling lightly at her and walked over to the worktable with her, eyeing the setup with a look of contentment on his face. She had, as always, done an excellent job, but then again, he hadn’t expected anything else from her.

The young woman that had barely dared to raise her voice in class when he had first met her approximately two arcs prior had turned out to be a diligent and hard-working assistant.

In the end, the Mortalborn decided on a bit of a compromise. He decided to produce five vials of the Ellune potion that contained a different amount of blood each, from five drops to nine drops (he had come to the conclusion that one or two drops definitely wouldn’t be enough, unless you added another reagent in order to strengthen the alchemical effect). While he worked, Plia stood next to him and handed the various reagents and tools that he needed, quietly, so that nothing would disturb his concentration.

That was another trait that the Mortalborn appreciated about that particular research assistant of his. Plia had become much more confident – she asked questions now, when she was working with him as well as in class – but she didn’t talk needlessly when he needed to focus.

Approximately half a break passed before he placed the last vial into the vial holder that stood in front of him and turned to his journal once more, in order to write down a few lines about what he had done so far while Plia put the various reagents and tools that they had used back where they belonged. He finished his notes just as the young woman walked towards the door, unbuttoning her lab coat as she did so. “Wait, Plia”, he told her.

She hesitated for a moment before she turned to face him, raising a darkened eyebrow questioningly as she did so.

“Why don’t you come with me this time and watch Mister Shaw and me while we test those potions on the rats?” he asked as he tucked his research journal into his bag and grasped the vial holder, holding it carefully as the vials in it were quite precious.

It would be good to have another pair of hands, he decided, someone that actually possessed some knowledge of potion crafting (Mister Shaw, another one of his research assistants, specialized in the handing of lab animals and the effect of potions and medicines on them and not the crafting of the potions in questions); besides, it was time for Plia to branch out and learn more about what developing a new potion entailed – that the work did in fact only start after you had mixed the various reagents together.

Fortunately, Plia seemed to be quite happy to come along.

Harold James Shaw III, a human male in his twenties (who was not particularly fond of his pretentious name and who very much preferred to just be called Harold or Mister Shaw) was already waiting for them in the area of the Institute of Sciences were the lab animals were kept, a surprisingly clean, light and spacious room. He was standing in front of an open cage, a black and white rat with beady dark eyes, shiny fur and a pink tail on his palm, when Plia and Doran walked in.

When he saw them, he put the rat back into its cage that was filled with straw and contained a little house, among other things, and locked it before he turned to face them. “Rats are surprisingly different from each other when it comes to their behaviour”, he informed them. “They have distinct personalities, just like we humans … and humanoids, of course”, he added and winked at Plia who blushed slightly. “Welcome, Miss Yishnai Velanar. Has Professor Thetys finally decided to let you in on a few more of his secrets?”

“Anyway”, he continued and cleared his throat. “I’ve already selected the two groups of rats for today’s experiment, prepared the cage that we’ll put them in for the experiment and gotten some fresh ice”, he informed Doran, gesturing towards a large metal container that Doran knew to be insulated so that he ice that was stored inside wouldn’t melt as quickly as it normally would when being inside a building.

“Perfect”, Doran remarked and set his vials and his journal down on the table in the center of the room before he turned to face Mister Shaw once more. The set-up of the experiment was the same as the trial before. There was a reason why they were using two different groups of rats. One of the groups would be treated with the potion. The other group, the control group, wouldn’t receive the potion. Both groups would subsequently be confronted with low temperatures so that they would be able to compare their reactions.

Mister Shaw would, as always, be responsible for handing the rats and observing their reactions, for the most part while Doran himself would take care of the alchemical and chemical side of things and record their findings (animal husbandry had never been and would never be his forte, no matter what) while Plia would watch, at least this time, although he considered involving her more once her alchemical studies had progressed (she did seem to possess a certain interest in alchemical research, beyond just crafting potions).

As the Mortalborn had already more or less expected, nine drops of Ellune blood were too much while five drops did not lead to a strong enough effect. The best dose seemed to be between six and eight drops, depending on how strong a resistance to cold one desired. Of course, it was likely that some adjustments would have to be made once he moved on to actual clinical trials with different groups of humanoid volunteers.

Still, this was a good sign in his opinion. With that thought in mind, he bade the two mortals farewell (Mister Shaw had decided to stay a while and make sure that the rats were indeed fine) and made his way back to the Obsidian Prism where he lived in order to unwind and engage in a few activities that didn’t have anything to do with science (he considered sitting in a laboratory from sunrise to sunset and not doing anything else to be counter-productive for the most part).

After a delicious meal that had been prepared by Elias, one of his servants and a short training session with his sword, the son of Ziell sat in the comfortable red armchair in his study, by the window, as he often did in the evening. There was a book in his lap, a book on mythology with a few gorgeous illustrations this time, and a crystal glass with brandy that he occasionally took a sip from stood on the low table made of dark wood next to him.

There had been a time when he had been averse to alcohol, cigarettes and similar things, but he occasionally indulged nowadays. There was no point in life if you didn’t enjoy the things that Idalos had to offer, after all.