Second. I went to the post office identified as the drop off point for Morningstar's package. The package was laying outside covered in Yellow Paper Stars and Operator Symbols like some deranged Kindergarten art project. Beneath all the doodles was a box, and in this box were various vials of varying substances. One of which, labelled Spirits of Salt, is almost certainly hydrochloric acid. The other vials were labelled "King's Water", "Auripigmentum", "Cuprite" and "Calamine Lotion." There was also one empty vial labelled "Azoth."
More importantly however, there was a return address here, as well as the name of the Sender's. "Your dear friends, Yuri, Gabe and Samuel." Yuri. Yuri L. Polzin. Uriel. Someone who actually knows what is going on. And now we know where he is. So our next course of action is obvious.
But as obvious as it is, there are equally obvious risks involved. When we saw Uriel last, he was with the largest group of Pale Men I have ever seen, and there were utterly trashing the Oathbreaker's Asylum. This likely means that Pale Men might be hanging around Uriel. But we already captured one Proxy. And really, the only other option is to continue running away, and that has not been working out so great.
Roland of course agrees with me. This is the most obvious course of action. The only thing we can really do that might have some effect on our predicament.
The Azoth we acquired from Morningstar has yielded little in the way of results. I have poked and prodded it in every way I know how, but there were no new results. I listened to it, but it did not speak. Roland suggested I try to boil the Azoth. Will it become steam if I do? What effect would Azoth have in steam form? How would it feel?
It is fortunate I had the foresight to save some of Morningstar's Azoth. I filled up the empty vial with it. I now have a full set of... Whatever it is these substances are for. Med reported that Azoth has adverse reactions to Hydrochloric Acid. So how would it react to things like Cuprite and Calamine Lotion. Why Calamine Lotion?
... I will sleep on it, I suppose.
Azoth would certainly also have an adverse reaction to aqua regia as well.
ReplyDeleteThe usages of the other substances are less clear. Calamine is an antiseptic and insect bite soother. It could have been for personal use.
Orpiment is a painting pigment, and a poison. It's been out of widespread usage for a century for precisely that reason. Did you receive it as a powder or crystal?
Cuprite... well, it's a copper ore and a coveted crystal. There's the association of copper with azoth but that's a rather flimsy connection.
What's interesting is why they used the old names for these substances. A method of obfuscation, or is someone out there still practising alchemy? If there is some concoction which requires all of these as ingredients, I wonder what it's for. Assassination is all I can currently think of.
As for the azoth taken from Morningstar, it's highly likely it's lack of reaction is due to it being dead. You can test this by pouring a little of a mixture of water, hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, dissolved chlorine and bleach. If it's alive, it will absorb the substance and grow in mass. If dead, it won't.
I also advise against boiling the azoth. Azoth has a higher boiling point than water, so it will not turn into steam, but it will release more vapor than usual, and that's not something you want to be breathing in, dead or alive.