Spirits of Wine [self mod]

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

Early Cryxatum, Era 14 PF

The room was cold. The room was always cold. Her luggage sat in a corner of her cold room, prepared in the afternoon before pracenda. The suns had just risen now, and Amelia's blue eyes opened to the usual reality of her room at the Ablutos'. Today she was scheduled to leave for Vortex.

She had had the strangest dream, she could remember that much but the details escaped her, lost to the subtle grey area between sleep and consciousness, when the dead and the living were said to be able to commune most easily. Many things were said about this connection. Some were folklore, others had some truth to them. The girl's face was buried into her pillow, hair in an interesting state of disarray. Amelia would never have been caught with such messy hair during the brightening - not if she had a say in it. She rose slowly, pulling the sheets close to her, skin chilling a little from the cold air no matter how accustomed to it she had grown over the months.

She got dressed and washed her face. The water was cold, too. At least the maid had stopped waking her up for the most part, giving her a little more privacy than had previously been the case. It was surprising that Shiandi had even agreed to her visiting Vortex, but a break from these four walls would be welcome. Her full arsenal was arranged inside her bags; she could leave any time. Yet there was something buzzing in her head, something missing.

Call it female intuition, but she had a feeling she was going to need something... more. One more tool for her Vortexian adventure. It occurred to her while she was brushing her chestnut locks. There was something of hers that could be put to better use than collecting dust in her closet. And she knew exactly what it could be turned into.

Amelia pulled the box out and retrieved the item. She still remembered perfectly the circumstances of her winning this object in Jaedaxia, and smiled at the memories of it. The crystal decanter that came with her third place in the poetry contest.

No-one would mind if she postponed her departure till next brightening to turn this into a worthy addition to her collection. Might as well have some Nexian fun before the long journey to Vortex.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

It was a small shop by the Docks, and one Amelia had heard mentioned quite a few times. It sat quietly not far from Mama Juju's house, meaning that the girl paid a lot of attention to her surroundings as she moved down those streets. By no means an impressive shop when seen from the outside, it was called 'Front Storm Alchemy'. Precisely what she needed. The interior was barebones to say the least, little more than a counter and some pieces of furniture for one to sit and wait for their turn. People never had to wait for long, however.

In fact, Amelia did not even have time to seat herself before the door behind the counter opened and the Alchemist, as if knowing she had entered, walked into the room. He was a large man, with some Orcish blood somewhere in his ancestry, yet he did not seem immediately threatening, with his leather apron and intelligent eyes. Such was Negus, the Master Alchemist who ran this business.

"Serale, good sir," Amelia smiled tentatively, straightening her clothes as she spoke, "I am in need of assistance from a good Alchemist. I would like to purchase a strong glue, it that is possible." Negus stared at the witch for a long moment and gave his answer in a deep, warm baritone. "I have some natural glues as well as an elixir with very strong cohesive properties, called Mighty Glue. The latter will be more expensive, but is the strongest glue known to Alchemists; in fact, there is only one other elixir capable of undoing its effects."

The half-elf pondered over the choice for a moment. "Um... I would like the elixir, I think. I need this to be permanent." She certainly did not want to use saliva ever again for this. "A vial of Mighty Glue will be 100 Crowns," Negus said quietly, "be careful not to glue your fingers together. The glue starts to take effect a few seconds after removal from its vial. If you get stuck, you will need a dose of Mighty Solvent."

Amelia imagined herself with a piece of glass glued to her hand. That would not do; she would have to be very careful indeed. Speaking of glass... "Excuse me, good sir, but I was wondering... do you make your own glassware, and if so, do you also sell it, or do you buy it from another craftsman?" She knew that the trade called Alchemy used high-quality containers of many kinds, and she needed some special ones for herself.

"I could make them myself," Negus answered curtly, "but it is just not worth the time and effort. I do not sell mine, but I can give you the address of a good artisan." "Thank you so much," the witch smiled, and listened intently as the Alchemist shared the location of the workshop whose services she required. With that, she simply paid the correct amount of Crowns for the Mighty Glue, thanked Negus once more and was on her way to her next destination.