In Which The Tea Night Be Poisoned, {Closed}

[Nevin]

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline as I processed this, and felt my pulse quicken. Of all the things I had expected to find in these woods, another alchemist, especially a more experienced one, was nowhere on that list. This trip had just become what was, I would guess, my most successful ever for my alchemical knowledge. If she was willing to share even a small portion of what she knew...

"Fascinating! You're the first alchemist I've met since I finished basic studied and my former master passed away. I've mostly been self taught from texts and personal experimentation. Now, you said you studied poisons and diseases mostly? Were you researching cures? Causation? Ways to accelerate or aggravate conditions? I myself tend towards remedies,
as for now that's what people expect and purchase, so until I have enough liquid assets to fund more extravagant study I have to keep in mind what will sell." I didn't bother hiding the irritation in my voice at that. I had chosen Stonevale because I knew how to make something that would sell well there, but now that I had taken care of the bulk of the problem of the Miner's Lung I was growing anxious to move on and tackle something else.

I also kept quiet on my blood Alchemy. It fell under more personal abilities, and normal Alchemy couldn't do what it could the same way, so I doubted Madison would have any advice on that matter. Before I could continue asking questions, rusty hinges announced someone else entering.

For a moment, a bolt of agitation ran through me. Was this one of the guards, reacting to some unseen command from Madison? Had she decided I was too much hassle or - then I saw the figure entering, and that fear abated. Another mythril mask covering the face - just how similar were their features to those of the briar thing that had pursued me here? - and a casual dress were worn by the person entering the room, carrying an ornate tea set.

Like Madison, this new person, Hyperion, had four amber eyes glowing from her mask. Her tone was much happier than Madison's though, and her eyes seemed to glow with a warmth, while Madison's had what I would have thought was cool interest. I stood up, brushing off the dust that clung to my legs, and bowed to Hyperion before stepping out of the way to let her put her burden down.

"Indeed Miss Hyperion. My name is Nevin, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[Briarheart]

And with that, Hype made a new friend.

Even behind her face mask, I could tell she was pleased as punch. She would want to spend the next fifteen minutes grilling the alchemist about his life, trying to get as much information out of him as she possibly could. The boy was probably skittish enough as it was, being chased through the forest less than half an hour ago by a skulking plant beast and then finding refuge in an abandoned fort that was most certainly already occupied.

I cut her off before she could rattle off questions at a million words a minute. "Hype, can you go get us some biscuits?"

Light flickered in her eyes. "Sure!" The briarbane turned and handed Nevin a steaming cup. "Give it a couple minutes to steep before you drink it," she cooed to him. "You can just put the infuser back on the tray when its done."

And with that, she turned to leave the room, the door swinging on its hinges but not completely closing.

"She's a sweetheart," I said as I snatched a polished sterling silver spoon off the tray and began stirring the contents of my cup. "But yeah, I've dabbled in a lot of things. Method of transmission, various immunities, cures and vaccinations, their effects on different humanoid biologies, and the like."

I didn't want to confirm that I also studied how to make them more resistant to preventative measures and increase the magnitude of the symptoms the infected would suffer. I wasn't taking that chance. Not with what was known about my history and involvement with certain conflicts.

Time for a change in subject. "You said people purchase remedies from you? Do you have a shop? Or are you a member of a guild that will sell your wares for you?"

[Nevin]

Well, that was a decidedly more pleasant encounter than I had been fearing at that point. I slowly sat back down, refocusing my attention on Madison as I held the cup of tea in my hand. It was steeping at the moment and smelled wonderful, but it was still a bit too pale for my preferences so I set it back down to let it brew a bit longer before drinking. I listened with most of my attention on my ...host? as she explained what she had been involved in doing in alchemy. For someone who 'dabbled' the list was quite extensive, even if it didn't seem like she had delved down towards causation or aggravation.

So I sat back as she asked if I was a private seller, or a member of a guild, my mind reeling from that casual implication. Had I missed more alchemists? In my wandering I hadn't exactly met a plethora of others who followed in the profession, and yet Madison seemed to be aware of a guild operating. Was it because I was still limited to mostly herbal concoctions, no advancement towards the realm of the mystic applications? Or was it just bad luck, and poor placement? I coughed and shook my head.

"No, no. I'm a private potioneer. My primary business is in the mining town of Stonevale, out towards Scara Brae. But for now, the issue I settled there to deal with, a lung complaint that had to do with rock dust in miner's lungs,
is handled, so I've taken back up to exploring and experimentation when I can. I had no idea there was an Alchemist's Guild - I've been operating without being a member of one for some time, so I don't know if I'd be able to agree with the restrictions such a thing might try to place on me." I shrugged before checking my tea. Perfect, it had brewed to a wonderful shade. I rescued the infuser from the hot liquid, tried to shake as much of the loose tea free so it wouldn't make a mess, and set it carefully back on the tray. I picked the cup up and inhaled. It was a blend I hadn't encountered before, and there was a delicate floral aroma I couldn't quite place. Hm.

[Briarheart]

I continued stirring my tea. I liked mine a bit stronger, so I'd let it steep for just a bit longer than the boy had.

"Nothing wrong with that," I said with a shake of my head. "I've done my time as an independent contractor. There's good money in it, if you have the right business connections and clientele. It's a good way to build up your reputation, as well. But eventually you're gonna' hit a ceiling, and you're only going to break through it if you join a guild and play by their rules."

I wish I had kept one of their business cards from when I sought to join one. I'd've given it to the kid.

"Stonevale's a small enough town that you're going to be out of luck there, but if you're business there is done, I'd suggest looking into moving to Radasanth. You'd have no problem setting up a shop there and building a customer base, with how many different people travel through that city. They're also home to a couple alchemist guilds. They like to specialize in various forms of alchemy, so you'd probably find one pretty quick that caters to your particular skill set. They have some pretty strict criteria for joining; but once you're in, you'll be set for the rest of your life. They tend to take very good care of their own. Access to stores of ingredients, financial backing to support your business, client recommendations, and so on."

I finally removed my own steeper, tapped it a couple times on the rim of my cup, and set it down on the tray next to his.

"I can't introduce you to one, they don't really like me. But if you decide to set up shop in the city, they'll find you eventually."

[Nevin]

I frowned and blew across my tea. That would.. it would help things out, to be sure. But at the same time I wanted to shake my head - the oversight of a guild would likely quickly reveal my blood magic, and while some people accepted me, I doubted people in a larger city like Radasanth proper would do the same. So I sighed and took a sip of the tea, letting the brew wash across my tongue as I tried to think of how to respond. In the end - I couldn't very well tell her why I wasn't comfortable joining a guild, that would just out me to her directly.

"I'll have to consider that. I do prefer finding my own supplies and experimenting, that's why I was out here in the first place. Being reliant on someone else like that for everything doesn't sit quite right with me - but I do thank you for the advice, Miss Madison." It was good advice, just not something I could take. Instead of speaking further, I set my cup of tea down and rubbed one gloved hand against my leg, working out some of the ache that had settled in after my mad dash through the woods. My eyes lit up as I thought about that and I focused on her. I knew she wasn't human - humans didn't have four glowing eyes - but I didn't know what she was. And I was curious about it, so why not ask?

"Ah, if you don't mind the question, what is the relation between yourself and your guardians? Are you a related species of some kind? Or are they some kind of construct? I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like them before." If they were a construct of some kind - were they an alchemical one? She had mentioned that her studies had focused primarily on diseases and poisons, but there was no reason she hadn't branched out from time to time. If something like that could be made alchemically - were they alive? Did it have preprogrammed responses to situations, hence why she had said if they saw someone acting hostile they would go for a kill?

[Briarheart]

"And with good luck, you won't see any more," I noted flatly over the rim of my cup.

Slowly, I slid just enough of my mask up my face to allow me to sip the steaming brew. I didn't particularly care for it, it tasted like a fistful of weeds soaked in hot water--it certainly wasn't Three-Headed Hydra, that's for sure--but it was good to keep up appearances.

Any minute now, the effects of the salve that lined Nevin's cup would begin to take hold. He'd remember me, he'd remember Hype, he'd remember our conversation; but that's about it. He would forget the compound, the chase that led him here, and what part of Concordia he was even in.

That I kept a small stock of memory hole-puncher poison handy is probably the only reason I don't have anyone who trespasses in my corner of the woods killed on sight.

I slid my mask back into place and set my cup back down on the small table between us. How to answer the boy's question about my briarbane... The alchemist was a curious sort, firing off questions one after the other. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable. So many horrible things I've done, researched, created (some of which I subsequently destroyed)... I figured it would be best to lie to him about their true nature. As far as I was aware, Nevin only considered me an eccentric alchemist living in the woods with her equally weird and manic friend and a few guard dogs at her beck and call.

No reason for him to know that I've dabbled in bioengineering as well.

"They, like me and Hyperion," I began, "are briarhearts. Creatures that were once human, until we were..." What's the best word to use here? Kidnapped? Coerced? Mutated?"

"...changed," I finally chose.

"I won't bore you with the story of how I became one, it's the stuff of dark tales you'd find in the penny fiction section of a bookstore. But my heart was replaced with a parasitic organ that was crafted from the magicks of several forest spirits. It took over my body, replacing my flesh with plant matter."

Filled my lungs with poisonous miasma. Replaced my bodily fluids with acid. Gave me a taste for humanoid flesh and an ever-growing unholy hunger to match.

I shifted my weight on the couch, the rusty springs below the cushions creaking in soft protest. "I do not know how Hyperion came to be one," I lied, "but we crossed paths one day years back and decided life would be easier spent together. The rest of the briarhearts that mill through the forest sort of..." I trailed off, trying to think of how to continue the story. "I guess they congregated around us. Their mental acuity has deteriorated over the years. They call us their mothers."

"It's made bossing them around a lot easier," I added as I reached for another sip of tea.

[Nevin]

I placed the tea cup back on the saucer, then sat back as I processed what I had seen and been told. The leather of my glove creaked as I flexed one hand, staring at the back of it, eyes flat as I thought. Even the condensed version was a dark series of events, and one that while not the same, sounded and felt familiar. Someone taken and changed into something other, by people who probably intended to use her for their own purposes.

I slowly pulled one glove off, revealing the hatch work of red lines that ran across my skin. I picked up the teacup again and swirled the brew around, staring into it.

"One would think that people doing things that belong in dime novel horrors would be a rare occurrence. While I don't have a similar hunger to yours or your... Kin's, I'm still finding out things about what was done to me. These lines are some kind of, symbiotic things that have been forcibly bonded with me. I don't know what else isn't human anymore, I haven't examined myself, and those who did it didn't survive the process. I do know they twisted my magical affinity away from whatever it would have been initially, pushing a predilection for blood magic upon me. I don't know if I'll ever get that back or not, or if that's all I have now." I frowned and sat the cup back down without drinking. I had originally thought no one else like me existed - but that twisted thing that had been in the Church gave lie to that. Was I similar to that? Was there a relation between it and I, like between Madison and her 'children'?

This was also the first time I had voluntarily told someone of my blood magic without being forced into revealing it in some way. While I hadn't regretted telling Rainee or Stare about it in the end, I still hadn't been intending to at first. But... Madison had told me what was done to her, sharing information she did not need to, and I could only respond in kind.

[Briarheart]

"Blood magic, you say?" Now I was genuinely curious. I knew someone who worked with flesh, one proficient with manipulating bone, and now someone who dealt in blood. Lock them in a lab with some spare parts and a few bottles of strong liquor and who knows what would come out of there.

I held out a gloved hand, expecting Nevin to present his own. He did. I leaned forward in my seat, mindful not to bump into my tea cup with my knees as I drew closer for a good look. Sure enough, there was something that bonded with his skin, spiderwebbing out across the back of his hand in dark tendrils. I knew a few things about symbiotic parasites, but this one was foreign to me.

"Can you tell me a little more about this... thing they bonded you with? Do you remember anything about it before the process was complete? Or who did this to you?" I glanced up, meeting his gaze. "Or maybe why?"

I could see it in his eyes that Nevin was not accustomed to discussing this sort of thing with others. I gave his hand a quick, reassuring pat.

"I'm simply wondering, is all. I'm a poisonous, bipedal houseplant with glow-in-the-dark eyes that have seen some weird shit in their time. Nothing you can say will weird me out."

[Nevin]

I brought my hand back to my side and lifted it up, thin red tendrils slipping painlessly out from beneath my skin. They wound together into a little coil, and I waved it around in the air as I spoke, curling and twisting. It always fascinated me, though I didn't often pull them out like this, that the tendrils seemed inherently attached to my will. I knew at one point they hadn't been - but whatever force of will had animated them that day was long gone. I took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"They obey my will, and act as extensions of me. They can stretch out about six feet away from my body comfortably for now. They're strong, and dense, and I can choose to have them act in.... Well, an adhesive manner, where they stick to what they touch, which let's me use them to tear things. Their default state is smooth though." I wiggled the coil in the air, twisting it into a simple letter. The tendrils then split apart and wound into individual spirals,though one continued to squirm back and forth. It was... Invigorating, to speak to someone about these. I would need to show Stare my control over these was more than just using them as vicious weapons.

"As for who and why. They were a Cult, devotees of what they called the Church of Crimson. There was an extensive series of rituals - one of which resulted in the birth of a child. More rituals which even now I don't know and don't care to, and then they grabbed a traveler and sacrificed him in a ritual with the child, and I came, a merging of the two. I knew then that their rituals were intended to create a host for some kind of eldritch being, trying to bring it into our world." I grimaced. The things I had learned since that day.... That Cult had been utterly insane.

"The ritual almost worked, but in the end failed. Something came through, and these tendrils are the remnants. But the being itself is gone, it's will shattered and broken with nothing remaining. The cultists did not survive its brief time on Althanas." At that, my tone was flat.

[Briarheart]

Church of Crimson. Never heard of them, personally. But I guess you're a pretty terrible cult if you're on the street corner handing out recruitment fliers and invites to their fruit punch socials every weekend.

Either way, it sounded like everything had been sorted out, and the only loose end for him to tie up was to figure out how the ritual altered his development, and what he can do with those tendrils. Seems like he has a decent enough handle on them now; but that was for him to worry about, not me.

The soft click of the doorknob announced Hyperion's return. She quietly slid into the room, a polished plate full of neatly-arranged chocolate chip cookies balanced in the palm of her left hand.

"Sorry it took me so long," she said with her usual cheer. "I warmed them in the oven for a few minutes. They're better that way."

The briarbane set the plate down on a short stack of books that littered the table before taking a seat on the couch next to me. What a site we were together--a pair of mythril face masks adorning a couple of plant monsters, one dressed in her harvest festival best practicing perfect posture and politeness, the other in a ratty hooded long-sleeved tunic and wool pajama pants leaning back in the chair, legs splayed apart without a single fuck given.

"Please, Mister Nevin, help yourself!" Hype motioned with a sifan-gloved hand towards the plate, hoping that he would find her cooking agreeable.

I found this moment the best to change the subject. "So, you were mentioning hunting some unique flora near the western shore before you were steered this way. Did you find anything interesting?"