[S/C] Cantos Profanae

[Capsule]

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∝:
873

♪ ♫♪:
Cantos Profanae

✏:
__

@:
Capsule

Avon Valley. After a hitting a few rough spots that really put a damper on her exploration and mapping attempts, Capsule had finally come across the city of Avon. The village folk who lived along the river were nice and all, but it was nice to be in an area devoid of ramshackle shacks or huts. She was in a classical city, one that was quite peaceful by the looks of things. There were also more Landers than Adventurers here, which was rather intimidating, but she suspected that the latter would soon overcome the former - once word got out and people could take a break from questing, carousing and slacking to actual explore the new area.

Capsule was interested in learning more about the alleged Fairy Gates, contraptions that could (supposedly) transport you to other areas. They sounded like fairy circles, but from what she had gathered, they were actually capable of sending you into different cities, like some of the typical portals you found in MMOs. It would be highly convenient, if that was the case. Long treks from London to Avon would be rendered null and void, unless of course the person actually enjoyed traveling. Capsule was the sort to only do so when absolutely necessary, or for the sake of filling out her map. She was no alchemist, blacksmith or mechanic, but she was still curious, damn it. If she could find out any valuable information on these Fairy Gates, she would inform people who could turn that information into productivity.

Well, that was just one of the things on the agenda for today, provided she could learn anything whatsoever. That really seemed unlikely, though. These Landers were kind of stuck up, and definitely not inclined to answering questions from some nosy Adventurer. That meant that she would have to fall back on one of her original goals: crafting. Yes, crafting. There was a new recipe out on the market, something called "Miasma Cleansing Spray."

While visiting one of the small, nearby cities, Capsule had run into a Warden (one of the new classes that had popped up, alongside Heretic), who was talking to a few of his fellow Landers about the pot - spray. It was a spray, not a potion - right? Anyway, he was going on and on about the greater need for it lately, due to the sudden influx of monsters near a castle named Warwick. Capsule had yet to visit the castle, and would like to, but not when she lacked this apparently special spray. She had asked the Warden about the spray, but he was not able to craft it himself. He generally brought it from Pharmacists native to the area, which caused Capsule to make the trek to learn from them. Now that she was here, she had to actually find someone to help her. That was going to be no small task, either.

She carefully picked her way through the city, searching for a market area. That was where she should find a Lander Pharmacist, ideally in some sort of holistic or apothecary shop. They would help her, right? What reason did they have not to? She just wanted to learn how to make this spray, which, from the sound of it, could be really beneficial in the miasma tainted areas and that castle she had heard so much about. It apparently had managed to avoid being turned into a dungeon after the Apocalypse, unlike the Windsor Castle Dungeon.

Duke, her ever faithful, if stubborn, companion, swooped down to land on her shoulder and nuzzle her cheek. The little owl was paying her more attention, now that Fiver was preoccupied with his lover. Duke settled down and threw a wing over his eyes, presumably falling into slumber while his mistress walked up and down the streets of Avon Valley. It did not take her long to find a shop, though she had initially walked past it once or twice, under the assumption that it was a flower shop. It was not.

Angela's Herb's & Remedies was small and homey, and gave off the faint scent of peppermint and rosehip. It smelled like her kind of place. Capsule noted that the little sign in the store window read "OPEN," and opened the frail door leading into the establishment. Almost immediately, a kind and grandmotherly voice drifted out towards her. "Hello there, dearie! Come on in and get yourself settled, please. I'll get right to you in a moment."

There was one other customer in the store aside from her and the owner, and that was a tall, brooding gentleman with a heavy beard. Capsule stepped into the shop and began walking around it, observing the herbs out on display. Many of these she had not seen near London, so she assumed that they were native to Avon. She contemplated buying a few for later – you never knew when a new herb would come in handy, after all. After a few minutes of quiet browsing, though, Capsule walked up to the counter and waited to be seen. That dark, brooding stranger had just stepped off, but not without throwing a look of suspicion at her. Yep. These Avon folks sure were hospitable.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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∝:
999

♪♫♪:
City Grrrl

✏:
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

@:
Capsule

[attr="class","scrotum"]

Angela, the woman running this shop, smiled and nodded at Capsule from behind the counter. "Ah, another Adventurer~. I've been seeing more and more of your kind a lot lately. How are you liking the area?" Okay, so maybe the folks here weren't so stiff, after all. Angela was proof of that, or maybe she just did not want to lose customers over something dumb, like xenophobia. Capsule could really appreciate that.

"It's very nice, and the change of scenery is refreshing. It is a bit chilly, though."

Angela just chuckled. "Oh, you'll get used to it soon enough! Now what can I do for you today, dearie?"

"Oh, I was just hoping you could tell me about the Miasma Cleansing Spray. I honestly wouldn't mind direct instructions, but if you can provide a recipe and some pointers, that would be nice, too."

The woman, her head covered in a thick mass of curly, black locks, just smiled and ducked down to dig through something. "Unfortunately, I do not close up shop until later this night, and I have my own errands to attend to," she said, voice slightly muffled by her current position.
"I do, however, have a few recipes down here, including one for the spray. It has some instructions, too." She popped up from the counter with a roll of parchment in one hand.

Capsule accepted the scroll as it was passed over, and placed a handful of gold coins into the woman's hand. In hindsight, it was a bit more than what the recipe was worth, but money was hardly an issue for the Enchanter, especially since the generous donation received from Caer, all for attending the little Samurai's wedding. "Um, keep the change, please. Oh, is there a general crafting area?" She was prepared to make do with whatever, but still preferred to work with appropriate tools whenever she had the opportunity to do so.

"Hm. We have a crafting center not too far from here, with a small area for Pharmacists. I sometimes host classes there for the other People of the Land. It's generally free to the public, though, so go knock yourself off. Oh - and thanks for the tip." The Lander woman winked, clicked her teeth, and gave Capsule the finger gun. She was starting to think that the woman was genuinely friendly.

"All right, I'll head there right away." Well, not right away - she had to wait for Angela to give her directions, and then she was off.

The crafting center was in a largish building a block away from Angela's shop, and from the looks of it was already swarmed with Landers. Capsule could feel several sets of eyes on her as she made her way into the building. Those stares only grew in number and intensity once she was inside of it, though she was relieved to see that many of the people here were adventurers, just like her. Her fellow adventurers seemed just as relieved as she felt, and the few people at the Pharmacist's table cleaned off a pile of junk to make room for her.

The Enchanter's previously heavy heart lightened as she took an empty seat at the table. The materials they were using were quality stuff, and she would feel awkward for using her flower pot as a burner. Capsule dug around in her magic bag for the few materials she would need - one mana fragment, a base herb, and one impure solvent.

When one of the Pharmacists, a short and brown, spotted werecat by the name of Sorel (Sorrel was taken when he made his character) inquired about her intentions, she answered him honestly. What reason did she have to lie, anyway? The werecat's eyes lit up as he explained that he and the others were after the same thing, and were planning to delve into the miasma infested areas. One of them was apparently a Warden, too.

Capsule got pulled into a short conversation on the topic of Wardens and Heretics, and would have completely gotten lost in it if she didn't have work to do. The others did not mind when she declined, but they did offer her to chat a while during their work. It had been ages since she had last gotten together with another group of Pharmacists, so it was not an offer she could turn down. It was also a good way to take her mind off of the tedious tasks she had to endure for her craft.

She rolled her base herb around in her hands as she chatted freely with Sorel. The werecat was afraid of cats in the real world, and had only gotten his current avatar with interference from his girlfriend. The two of them had agreed to design each other's characters, and she had trolled him by making his into a cat. Sorel had trolled in turn by making his girlfriend's avatar into that of a tall and exceptionally busty woman, when she actually had a chest much smaller than Cap's.

Sorel's descriptions of their reactions when they were transported into the game almost made Capsule cut herself. She was using her butterfly knife, Rousseau, to dissect the herb, and had completely forgotten how sharp the blade was. The tip of her injured pointer finger was stuck in her mouth, and she gently suckled on it until the blood ceased to flow. She seriously had to stop being so damn careless.

Capsule held out the small cutting board with the diced herbs next to Sorel's for comparison, to which the werecat responded with feigned indignance. She laughed at the werecat's impression of a snooty potions master, and tipped the board into her mortar. The diced bits of herb fell into a neat pile, just waiting to be grinded into dust with her pestle. She was not going to disappoint, especially since Sorel was now challenging her to a race. Capsule smirked at the werecat beside her. "Bring it!"

coded by benetnasch of ET

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[Capsule]

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∝:
758

♪♫♪:
Don't Move

✏:
Keiner

@:
Capsule

[attr="class","scrotum"]

Capsule scooped up her mortar with one hand, and picked up her pestle in the other. She placed the bowl in the crook of her arm, and with her pestle began grinding and pounding the bits of herb. It was tempting to just pound and bang away to finish quickly, but she wanted to make sure that her powder was at least consistent in form and easy to brew. Poorly grinded materials were just the worse, after all. That, and another Pharmacist had stepped in as a third party to judge the consistency of their powder when they were done. So while speed was important, the finished product needed to be in tip top shape, too.

She stole a glance at Sorel's mortar, or at least tried to, anyway. The werecat had locked eyes with her, presumably in an attempt to peek into her mortar. The two of them held eye contact for a few more seconds, and then burst out into nervous laughter. They soon went back to focusing on their individual tasks, Capsule trying to speedily, but adequately, grind her herbs up. The real test, however, would come during the final stages.

The third party Pharmacist, a plain faced human by the name of Cornflower Jayne, bent her head down to squint into their mortars when they were finished. The appropriately named Swashbuckler, Cornflower Jayne, had a head full of thick, hay colored hair, which only came to a stop beneath her ears. The woman scowled down at Capsule's powder, but gave a curt nod of approval. She spent a bit more time eyeing Sorel's, though her verdict turned out to be favorable. "Capsule's powder is more refined, but Sorel's had a little lump in it." Cornflower Jayne looked down on Sorel with disgust. "And you call yourself a Pharmacist? You sicken me, pleb."

Had Sorrel's skin been visible, he would have blushed or paled in frustration / embarrassment. Capsule thought the woman's last comment was rude and unnecessary, and felt that Cornflower Jayne was trying a little too hard to be a drill sergeant. This was just supposed to be a friendly competition, not an overly serious Pharmacist boot camp. It was nice to have an edge over Sorel, though, who was still fidgeting with his powder while she moved on to the next step.

Using a small spoon, Capsule scooped up the powder from the mortar and into an empty test tube, until the latter was empty and the former was full. She set the vial down in its stand, and reached for a beaker. The beaker was for the impure solvent and mana fragment, the latter of which she touched with her bare fingers after securing it over the beaker with a pair of tweezers. The fragment reverted to a thick, liquid form, and dripped down into the beaker. It looked like thick, pinkish snot. Did fairies have pink snot?

She lightly shook her head to clear that thought out of her mind, and uncapped the stopper of the impure solvent. The pink snot grew runny as the solvent mixed in with the mana. It did not look appetizing whatsoever, which was probably a good thing; this stuff was to be sprayed, not ingested. Still, she had some reservations on touching it, and thus was especially careful when mixing the two liquids together. Beside her, Sorel was rushing to catch up. The poor werecat was still shoveling powder into his beaker.

Wearing a small smirk on her face, Capsule distributed the powdered herb into her impure solvent and mana beaker, and began mixing the lot together. Sorel was trying his best to catch up, but Cap was already way ahead of him. While he was still struggling to mix his mana and impure solvent with his powder, Capsule was preparing hers to boil.

Once the beaker was placed on its burner, it was time for Capsule to relax and wait until it began boiling. She leaned back in her chair and grinned at Sorel, who was nowhere near her level. The werecat's expression was a grumpy one as set his beaker down and turned on the burner. Thanks to Cap's head start, she was finished before the werecat, and thus was able to turn her burner down to allow the mixture to simmer.

Sorel, the very grumpy kitty, squinted down into his slowly bubbling beaker, and lifted his head to narrow his eyes at Capsule. Capsule just smiled and gave him the wink, teeth click and finger gun. Angela would have been proud.

coded by benetnasch of ET

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[Capsule]

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∝:
1001

♪♫♪:
Don't Move

✏:
Keiner

@:
Capsule

[attr="class","scrotum"]

The head start she had on Sorel was just lovely. Capsule hummed quietly and cheerfully to herself. Competitions like these were the only ones she truly cared about. Her brothers had been big on sports, but she herself could never see the appeal of them. Sports and the like often got her brothers so worked up, that even she could feel the stress they were undergoing. Being stressed out was a very unpleasant feeling, one that she knew all too well from growing up in that household. It was partly why she escaped through video games or books, so that she could relax and wind down. Freaking handball…

Capsule turned the burner off completely, and stretched her arms above her head. She would not continue until the contents were cool enough to work with, though she had to wonder how they would test the spray. It was all very well to take something as completed and functional when you had already made it, but this was her first time making the concoction. Were they going to go out and find a monster or area corrupted by this "miasma" stuff? It sounded like a dangerous venture, especially with the higher leveled mobs near Warwick Castle. They were not Capsule's level or even near it, but they still posed a bit of a threat to her well-being. There was also the chance of getting corrupted with miasma to consider.

Cornflower Jayne leaned over Capsule's beaker, and with an eyedropper tool collected a sample from the container. "Um. Can I help you?"

The Swashbuckler scrunched her face up, as if she had just caught a whiff of something unbelievably foul. "Did I ask for your input, squib?"

The Enchanter's face paled. "N-no…"

"Then shut your trap and get back to work."

It was Capsule's turn to make a face. "Get back to work? On what? The potion is done, I just need to bottle and test it-"

A steel toed boot came crashing down on the table, and then the blonde haired and decidedly butch woman leaned down to sneer at Capsule from above. "If there's work to do, then get to it - now. Don't make me repeat myself." She moved her foot off of the table, but did not tear her gaze away from Capsule. "Hurry up and finish, Sorel. And you, Capsule - go ahead and bottle that mixture. We're going to make a little field trip in a moment."

Field trips were supposed to be fun, but Capsule had a feeling that this would be anything but. With trembling hands and fingers, she picked up a glass spray bottle and poured the Miasma Cleansing spray into it. The liquid was thick and a dark violet. It almost reminded her of tar, and that made her think of monsters coated in it, like poor animals caught in an oil spill.

It took very little time for Capsule to fill and stop up her spray bottle, and with nothing else to do than wait for Sorel so that they could begin the "field trip," Capsule focused on cleaning up her side of the table, along with the tools she had used to make the spray. She took the vial, the beaker and her spoon over to a small, public sink, and used a cleaning rag to wipe the residue from them. She then placed the tools down to dry, and returned to her seat, hands stuffed into her pockets.

Two or three minutes later, Sorel was finally done with his work. The werecat looked annoyed by the ribbing he was receiving from the sharp tongued Cornflower Jayne, and his mood did not improve when he took his seat by her, after cleaning up his own tools. The braver, or perhaps the dumber of the two, Capsule dared to speak up to Cornflower Jayne. "Sooo... when are we starting the field trip?"

Cornflower Jayne just smirked. "It's a very short trip."

She was not kidding about that, either. The field trip went as far as a few feet behind the building, where there a series of jars and large boxes scattered about. It looked like a stocking area to Capsule, though she supposed that they were filled with monsters. Why else would they be stopping in front of them?

Capsule watched with intent curiosity as Cornflower Jayne plucked one of the glass jars up from the ground, and then blinked in surprise as she spied something small and black moving around in it. "Behold, squibs! In my hands, I hold a monster known as 'Black Essence. It cannot be tamed, nor can one talk to it with Tongue of Nature."

"What on Earth is it?"

"Miasma, in wisp form." Cornflower Jayne's eyes were practically glowing with delight. "This is what you all will be testing your Miasma Cleansing spray on. Who would like to go first~?"

To Capsule's surprise, it was Sorel who stepped up first, a small sneer on his face. The werecat winked at Capsule before approaching Cornflower Jayne, spray bottle raised an at the ready. The lid covering the jar was removed, and the jar itself was held out towards Sorel. If the Black Essence was capable of sound, it would have screamed in agony.

Watching it writhe about in fury was more than enough for Capsule, but that did not persuade her to show mercy on the little monster. As the saying goes, "there is no rest for the weary." A few more curious Pharmacists soon came over, each intent on testing their own dose of spray on the wisp of a monster. The Black Essence whisked around and around its jar, until it could barely find the strength to budge from the bottom of its jar. Although it had no eyes, the wisp glared fiercely at each Adventurer, and continued to do so when it was placed on the ground, until each and every last one of them was out of sight. It would have its vengeance someday.

coded by benetnasch of ET

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