Mr. Pirelli's Magical Elixir (Pharmacist/Solo)

[Capsule]

"This is ridiculous," Capsule muttered to no one in particular.

"Shhh! He'll hear you," the chubby boy to her left hissed out in warning.

Capsule, along with thirty or so more Pharmacists, was lined up in the back of a dimly lit warehouse. There was a low buzz of excitement, but not the kind you would expect from a class of willing Adventurers - or in Capsule's mind, anyway. She seemed to be one of the few that had not been bullied or coerced into coming, as the bulk of her "classmates" were chattering quietly with each other in anticipation of the "main event."

The "main event" was, in actuality, a "How to Class" for Pharmacists, apparently with the low leveled and beginners in mind. Capsule would have argued that she had the basics of her crafting class down, but she was still inexperienced in many areas. The number of potions she had made up to this day were minimal, and did not even reach the number of ten. She was a novice at best, a fact she wasn't fond of reminding herself of. Her few concocted potions had turned out successful, at least. Looking around at the nervous, smiling faces of her peers, Capsule felt that she might be able to help a few of them out if they had any problems. Most of them were under level five in the crafting class. 'I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast -'

"Squeeeeee~! <3 There he is!"

"Who girl, who?"

"Like, only the greatest Pharmacist ever! Kissinger! Gosh!"

"Oh mah lawd~! He's soooo cute~!"

Capsule didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like cracking one of the girls over the head with a steel pipe - or both. Yeah, both would be just dandy. She shot a glare at the girls and the rest of their giggling entourage. "Bunch of airheaded ninnies."

The chubby kid beside her was moving his jaw up and down, his deep set, piggish eyes shining bright with fear. "Do you have some kind of death wish?!"

"Excuse me?" The boy jumped and shrunk back when Capsule trained her venom laced eyes upon him. The girls were a little too far off, but this kid would make the perfect throttling bag. "Do you have a death wish, punk?" It wasn't often that Capsule felt aggressive. She could feel the adrenaline starting to course its way through her veins, and might very well hit this kid if she didn't pause to collect herself.

The kid's double chins were now jerking almost as violently as his trembling mouth. "N-n-n-no, ma-ma-ma'am. I j-j-j-just me-meant that you might g-get yourself in tr-trouble with them." He smiled, though it was forced and uneasy. "S-some of the people here are bullies, a-and I know how they operate, so-"

The boy's nervous squeaking was drowned out by the sound of the warehouse door opening and closing. The boy's demeanor did not change when the grating sound of metal on metal scraping together resounded throughout the room, but Capsule's did. She squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands over her ears as she ducked low to the ground, trying to keep the sound from further penetrating her ears.

"SILENCE!" The mysterious voice was deep and authoritative. "You all know how this goes. Take your seats at once and keep your questions to yourselves."

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Words:
563

Muse:
Faxing Berlin

Notes:
Book and movie references go~.

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

Silence and compliance followed the voice's commands, and the soft whispering of feet shuffling across the ground replaced the giggles and idle chatter. Capsule grudgingly trundled further into the room, where a series of tables, cauldrons and stools sat. There didn't seem like there would be an issue with supplies, as they were already laid out in equal amounts, ready for use by the students.

Capsule chose a seat near the back, and was joined by the fat kid and a few others that were foreign to her, but apparently known by the boy. He shyly waved and nodded at them, while they ignored his presence altogether. The squealing girls from earlier were sitting up in front, sharing a table with the Kissinger fellow they were oh so smitten by.

The redhead searched the gathering of students for their teacher, intent on telling him that she did not belong here and had somewhere she needed to be. While he left no time line, the Adventurer that had crafted her weapon for her may have other customers coming in soon, and she did not wish for her new knife to be snatched up by another. Time would first have to be set aside for her to make him a few potions, as well. He didn't give any specifics, so she planned to make him two healing pots and a flask of poison. While she wasn't particularly fond of the stuff herself, poison always had its use.

She gave a soft sigh of dismay as the contents of the short message flashed through her mind once more. If she hadn't stopped to check out that stupid flyer down in the marketplace, she wouldn't be in this jam right now. The flyer was put up by a Pharmacist, and claimed that it could stimulate the growth of hair, thus curing baldness. The name of the Pharmacist, hilariously enough, was "Adolfo Pirelli," and his potion was dubbed "Pirelli's Magical Elixir." Just as Capsule was wondering if it smelled of piss, the man himself strutted over to her and accused her of admiring his handiwork. The man then had the gall to insist that she, too, could achieve greatness by following in his footsteps, and before she knew it, she was being dragged by the hand to an associate who could point her in the right direction, and was even given a free sampling bottle of the stuff by the man. ’I’m sorry,’ she thought, more to herself than the Blacksmith.

It would have been nice to rest her weary head down on the table in front of her, but it sounded like class was about to start. Being in a classroom setting felt strange after being out of school for five years; she hoped she still remembered the customs. She straightened up and faced the instructor, a tall man with greasy, black hair who had finally made his presence known. While inconvenient, this class would (ideally) give her the time she needed to brew some potions, though she would have preferred to have done so in the comfort and safety of her own home.

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Words:
520

Muse:
Faxing Berlin

Notes:
Hm~.

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

"First thing's first, class." The teacher stood in front of large chalkboard, a puppet wearing a floppy, wizard's standing at his side. "I am Professor Snape." The puppet moved from his side to scribble the man's name on the chalk board in scrawling, cursive font.

Capsule had to press the palm of her hand against her mouth to suppress the tide of giggles bubbling up within her. It didn't surprise her at all that someone would make an avatar based on a fictional character. Given the way things turned out, though, they were surely regretting their decision. 'Unless they enjoy roleplaying, of course.' Either way, it was bound to make readjusting difficult later. 'If,' she reminded herself. 'If.' Optimism was never her strong suit.

"Look at you lot," the voice up front resumed. "I've never seen a sorrier group in my life - excluding Mr. Kissinger, anyway." He regarded the young man with a furrow of his brow, before continuing. "For the returning students, you know my habits and demands already. For you newer students...I advise you to look to your upperclassmen for how things are done here. Furthermore, I am not in the habit of repeating myself, so do pay attention. Interruptions had best be highly important, understand?"

There was something about the man's speech that irritated her, as well as a few things that sounded odd to her ears. The stern look in his eyes made her refrain from making a remark out loud. The man definitely had eyes that could kill, and while this was not a combat zone, she was not eager to push her luck. 'Calm. Remain calm.'

"Now, today we will be practicing our potion making skills. You are to make a healing potion and one flask of poison, is that clear?" The classroom gave a barely audible "Yes, sir!" "I do not believe that I need to explain how to make simple potions once more, so you new students will simply have to borrow some notes if necessary. I shall be keeping an eye on your overall progress, and will interfere if any of you nitwits summon an eldritch abomination or manage to create mustard gas."

The man dismissed them by sharply turning his back, causing the ends of his robes to billow out behind him. A collective sigh of relief from the class followed, and was quickly replaced by a low murmur. Adventurers put their heads together as they quietly discussed potion making among themselves. Capsule’s table, which was overflowing with other misfits like her, was equally noisy. Unlike the others, however, she had little interest in socializing or asking for help. Hell, she was confident that she didn't even need it, and instead turned her gaze back to the small collection of herbs, tools, and the empty cauldron in front of her. If those scrubs wanted to waste time figuring things out, then good for them; they were on their own with that. To Capsule, it was every man for himself.

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Words:
500

Muse:
The Looks that Kill

Notes:
Nup.

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

While her table mates were busy muttering to each other and going over their plans, Capsule was already in action. There were five base herbs at her disposal - four for the healing potions she was supposed to be making, and a single one for the poison that would presumably be made last. In her opinion, it was better to do the non-toxic stuff first, which is the same line of thought she followed the first time she made poison. Grumbling to herself about how inefficient and annoying it was to not be able to make potions by the batch, Capsule picked up a single root and laid it down in front of her.

She knew by now that there were easier ways to make a potion, chiefly by grinding the herbs into a fine powder before boiling them. Before she could do that, of course, she would need to finely chop the herbs up so that they were easier to grind. She began this procedure by pinning down the herb in her hand with her fingers, the tips of which she curled so as not to accidentally cut herself like she had with the turmeric last time.

The knife they had been supplied with was a little dull, but decent enough for the task at hand. Capsule was able to chop up her first herb with little trouble whatsoever, and had none with the second. She moved quickly, but carefully, and swept up the bits to add them to her mortar once she was done. The Chubster and his associates were still talking quietly with each other by the time she picked up the heavy little club that sat in the bowl of her mortar. She almost considered telling them to hurry up, but that was their problem, not hers.

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Words:
301

Muse:
Playgirl

Notes:
Potion #1: 1/3

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

Next came the part she was not entirely fond of – the grinding. Capsule scrunched her face up a bit as she poked at the contents of her mortar with her pestle. This mortar and pestle set looked as crummy and worn as the one she had back at home, which had taken her quite a while just to ground up some turmeric. There was a low clank as she drove the blunt end of the pestle into the mortar as hard as she dared to, which wasn’t much. The fat kid made a little noise in the back of his throat in disapproval at this scene.

”What on earth are you doing?!” He had cried out in indignation, but his voice came out as squeaky as a puppy’s chew toy. ”These are delicate and borrowed pieces of equipment! You must treat them as if they are an extension of your own body.”

It was strange, but Capsule suddenly felt the urge to punch him the face – or smash the mortar against the crown of his head, and poke out his eyes with the pestle. Luckily for the boy, she was not a violent woman, and had the self-control necessary to prove it. So she just chose to ignore him, and went back to (roughly) grinding up her sliced and diced herbs. She could feel the eyes of the boy on her as she continued, but did not look up from her work.

Eventually, the boy turned back to his own place on the table, and the soft sounds of chopping could be heard from him and the other students. Capsule found herself uneasy, and suspected that they were talking about her through the Telepathy system. A quick glance in their direction told her that not one of them had a finger or hand to their ear, which was a required part of the system. Suspicions denied for now, Capsule averted her eyes.

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Words:
322

Muse:
Playgirl

Notes:
Potion #1: 2/3

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

'Finally,' Capsule thought as she finished grinding the herbs into a fine powder. The work was bothersome, but seeing the result was oddly exhilarating. The parts she considered to be the hardest over with, Capsule looked to the cauldron beside her. There was already some water resting in the bottom of the pot, but that was only there to help make the mixture easier to mix. What she really needed at this moment was the little bottle of Impure Solvent staring her in the face.

'I have to get this out of the way, first.' She took her mortar and carefully turned it to the side, watching as the powder inside rolled around a bit, then turned the bowl completely upside down after bringing it over the cauldron. The powder just sat at the top, waiting for the flames under the cauldron to cause the water to boil and sink the mixture down. Capsule decided to help this move along faster by uncorking the Impure Solvent and pouring it directly onto the powder.

As expected, the powder sank to the bottom of the cauldron. Capsule picked up a long, thin spoon and lowered it into the pot to stir up the ingredients. The scrubs at her table were still poking and prodding at the herbs in their mortars by the time she was done with stirring. The poor fools were going to be here all day, at this rate. "You guys may want to pick up the pace~. Although it was not explicitly stated, Snape seems like the sort to put time frames on everything."

As disgruntled as her group appeared, they did pick up the pace as suggested, and had their cauldrons bubbling along with hers. Capsule still had the advantage of time ahead of them, though, so she was finishing up her brew and collecting it into a flask while they were still poking and prodding with their spoons.

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Words:
321

Muse:
Playgirl

Notes:
Potion # 1: 3/3

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

After some time, when most everyone was finishing up their first potion, Snape began making his rounds with his puppet at his side. He stopped occasionally to peer over the shoulders of his students, and then based on their work would stiffly congratulate or venomously mock them. Capsule felt confident enough in her abilities to not worry when the man approached their table last. He started at the far end of the table, then slowly worked his way over to the chubby boy that sat beside her. The chubster, who Capsule would soon learn was named Higgins, shook in fear as the potions master scrutinized his work.

"Miiiister Higgins," the man began. Higgins' fat little chins waddled to and fro as he continued to shake. "What. In the name of all that is holy. Is this?" The man's speech pattern was annoyingly stilted. Capsule almost felt sorry for poor Higgins, who was surely about to be abused in every way possible. "I wouldn't feed this muck to a dog," he said after testing the boy's potion. "I see you haven't learned much since the last time you were here. Care to explain how you screwed up, yet again?"

Higgins stammered out an unintelligible reply. The boy sounded like he was on the verge of tears, and even began wheezing after a few seconds of failed explanation. Capsule stared forward, a frown slowly working its way onto her face. She did not like this one bit. It was borderline bullying on the "professor's" part.

The boy was pushed to the point of painfully awkward sobs by the time the man was done with him and moved onto Capsule, whose hands were visibly trembling. 'Better you than me,' she thought in the end.

"Hmph. I'd rate this as grade A garbage, suitable for the homeless tramps that wander the streets. It's passable, I suppose. It's nowhere as good as Mr. Kissinger's, of course." This Severus Snape wannabe was starting to grate on her nerves. It was a perfectly good potion, for neeps sake.

She sat in her seat, quietly fuming and wishing ill will on the man as he made his way back to the front of the classroom. "I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Some of you are beyond help." His nose was too straight to fit the part of the role he was playing. "Fortunately, you have a second chance bequeathed upon you. Learn from your mistakes, and make your second Medicinal Formula fit for human consumption." He ended by glaring at Higgins.

"Come on, guys," Capsule said once the man's back was turned. "We can prove that pompous ass wrong if we work together."

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Words:
450

Muse:
Playgirl

Notes:
Two more to go. Bluh.

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

"Actually," the low, drawling voice started, "There has been a change of plans." The class fell deafly silent at the man's words. This was not going to end well. "Instead of making another Medicinal Formula, I want you lot to try your hand at making Medicinal Tablets." There was a bit of laughter in the man's voice that made Capsule clench her fists in irritation. "This may seem too advanced to most of you, but that does not mean that your blunders will be excused. Are we clear?"

Capsule growled softly to herself in dismay. She had no idea how to make pills or tablets, especially not by hand! The fat kid beside her was now sobbing quietly to himself, while their other table mates looked as pale as the naturally ginger Capsule. "Do any of you know how to make this stuff?" She ignored the chubster, as he was much too distraught by this news to be of any use to her.

The Fox-tail at the end of the table slowly raised a hand into the air. "I- I've made medicinal ones like these outside of the game, but with a pill press…" Great - with a pill press they didn't have here. "It shouldn't be too hard to make them by hand, though."

"Good. You'll have to walk us through what you can, then."

"Ok, first thing's first - you guys are going to want to grind up your impure tablets, first. Just pretend that they are herbs and treat it like any other first step for potion making."

Capsule shrugged as she complied and picked up two Impure Tablets the puppet had passed around to the students. She dropped these into the bowl of her mortar, and began grinding the pills into dust with her pestle. This felt wrong somehow, but she had to trust the Fox-tail on this one, seeing as how she was clueless on how to make these freaking pills.

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Words:
326

Muse:
Shy Boy

Notes:
Medicinal Tablet 1/3 posts

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

The Fox-tail watched them work before starting on her own grinding. Capsule and the chubby kid finished first, but did not attempt to do the second step without the female's help. "Whew! You're off to a great start so far, guys! Now, we dump our powder into an empty bowl, and add the Impure Solvent to the mix. Once you get that stirred up, we can move onto the last few steps." It seemed so simple when she said it, but Cap was sure that one of them would still manage to screw it all up.

The redhead uncorked her bottle of Impure Solvent, and carefully poured it into the bowl of grounded up tablets. The powder was quickly reduced to a bowl of gunky, whitish clay. Capsule dipped in the provided metallic spoon and began to stir the gunk up, making sure to evenly distribute the solvent amongst the powder near the middle and bottom. When she was done, she had something that resembled moist and pliable clay.

"Yeah, Capsule! You've got it! Um, Higgins? Why does yours look so…" She shook her head. "...You do know that you need to add the entire bottle of solvent, right?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I - I'll fix that right away!"

Capsule resisted the urge to snort as the girl carried on. "Ok, while he is doing that, I want the rest of you to scoop up your mixture, and gently roll it into the shape of a tablet. And no - not the electronic kind, but a medicinal tablet." She finished with a stupid little laugh, but no one else thought her "joke" was funny. "Uh - um…"

While she floundered around for words, Capsule pulled some of the gunk out of her bowl. It felt weirdly like that toy clay stuff she had played with as a child, and even made her feel like one as she began to roll the stuff around in her fingers. It was a little tricky at first, but she managed to make a perfectly shaped tablet, which she apparently would need to trim down some so that it was easy for Adventurers to swallow. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now you just pop it in the oven, and you are good to go!"

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Words:
381

Muse:
Shy Boy

Notes:
Medicinal Tablet 2/3 posts

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

As the Fox-tail had stated, this was indeed the easy part. All they had to do for this stage was to place their pills over the small fire pit in the back of the classroom. It was a highly simple process, which would only fail if they allowed the pills to cook for long, which frankly would be a stupidly careless mistake. Still, Higgins watched over his pill (marked with a neat little "H") with the intenseness of a mother hen looking over her chicks. Capsule watched as well, but would turn her head away every so often to give her aching eyes a break from staring at the small heat waves.

The Fox-tail was relaxed more than the rest of them; she knew how this all went, after all. Capsule shot the girl a curious glance. "So, if you don't mind me asking - how do you know about pill making? You look a little too young to be working for a company that makes them."

The girl's ears twitched. "Oh, well… You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, ya know? I'm actually a lot older than I look, and now, I don't work for a company." The girl gave her a sly smile. "I made drugs - the kind you can't buy from a drug store or get a prescription for. Things like Ecstasy are what I mostly made."

Capsule, unsure of what to do or say next, simply did nothing. That seemed a lot safer than continuing with this conversation. Illegal behavior was something she tried to avoid, not encourage. Higgins looked even more disturbed than she felt, and even tried lecturing the Fox-tail.

The redheaded Enchanter chose to ignore them both, and focused on watching her pill finish baking. It was thankfully not a long wait, either. Within a few minutes of baking, the pills were ready for inspection.

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Words:
314

Muse:
Playgirl

Notes:
Medicinal Tablet 3/3 posts

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET