The Let's Play Archive

Hadean Lands

by ManxomeBromide

Part 8: Elementary, My Dear Forsyth

Part 8: Elementary, My Dear Forsyth

Last time, we finished exploring the immediately accessible regions of the Retort, completed two new syntheses, and failed to ignite gold by failing to ignite blackwood. This time we'll push the boundaries a bit and sweep up all the knowledge hidden out of sight.

We did, at least, succeed in making the breath-holding potion, and the crawlway under the Scaphe Arcade was flooded. Let's see what's at the other end.

quote:

>DRINK BREATH HOLDING POTION
You swallow the clear potion. The liquid burns icily down your throat, and then settles as a cold heaviness in your lungs.

>DOWN
You jump into the chilly water. The potion seems to be working—you feel no urge to breathe.

In the water, the bundle of paper dissolves.

Arcade Crawlspace, Flooded
This crawlway runs north and south—or it did, before it collapsed and flooded. Now you are floating in not-very-clean water, weakly illuminated by a few remaining sophic lamps.

To the south, the crawlway runs into murky darkness, out of sight. The way north is blocked by fallen beams. The hatch—and air—is a rippling patch of light overhead.

A glint of bronze is visible in the debris. It looks like another chime—B natural, if you're not mistaken.

>GET CHIME
Taken.

>WEST
The crawlway north has collapsed, so you can only swim south or up.

>SOUTH
You kick downwards and pull yourself along the crawlway. The passage is cramped and claustrophobic, and even with the potion, your chest feels tight. But you soon see light ahead, and an open hatch becomes visible above you.

Observatory Crawlspace, Flooded
You are floating in the submerged crawlway, which runs back to the north. Another collapse blocks further passage south. A hatchway above gives access to the open air.

>UP
You pull yourself out of the water.

Alchemy File's place is in the labs in the Eastern Wing. We've just entered the Observatory, which is the domain of the Aithery File.

quote:

Observatory
You have found your way into the observatory, the Retort's guiding eye. The dome overhead is set with windows, and each window shows a different sky and a different array of stars.

One level above you, an ironwork bridge crosses the dome, north to south. A ladder descends at either end, but only one of the two is lowered, and that one is obstructed by a fracture that cuts off the north side of the dome. The south-side ladder is folded up under the bridge; its counterweight hangs near the floor.

The door to the east is closed. Open alcoves to the north and south house additional equipment, but again, the north side is fracture-blocked. You also see the flooded crawlway hatch at your feet.

In the center of the chamber, beneath the bridge, stands the compass pedestal with its capsule of elemental water.

Swabbies aren't allowed in here... You must be getting sneaky, kid.

I choose to take that as a compliment. Also, hello, what's this?

quote:

>EXAMINE ELEMENTAL WATER
A delicate capsule, no longer than your thumb, full of elementally pure water.

That sounds fantastic. Adventuring is thirsty work!

quote:

>DRINK ELEMENTAL WATER
As a pure elemental substance, the water will draw any impurities into itself. Your body is made of impure water. Allowing the elemental water to touch you would—well, it wouldn't turn you into a splash of brine, but it would poison you pretty effectively.

Hands off the pure elementals, swabbie. No marchmen will melt themselves in my classroom.

Interesting. Our experiences with earth and wood to the contrary, this implies that elemental substances are generally unusually dangerous. That said, the capsule seems like it should protect us, right?

quote:

>TAKE ELEMENTAL WATER
You pull the elemental water away from the compass. It resists for a moment, then comes free.

Score. Now let's check this place out. Ensign Forsyth probably hasn't been here before.

quote:

>X DOME
The dome windows show... to be honest, you've never understood the theory. Each one is a world where the Retort has ever been—or each one is the heart of some constellation—or each one shows an aspect of the Retort's relationship to the Cosmos. Or something.

They are beautiful, though. You see skies that vary from velvet black to jewel-bright arrays of stars.

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT DOME
Through the lens, the dome looks like everywhere you've ever visited in your life.

>X BRIDGE
The bridge is the Aithery, one of the four dragon-nests. Normally the Captain would be standing up there, gazing up at the heavens and steering the Retort on its way. But now the bridge seems abandoned.

The bridge runs from one side of the dome to the other, about ten feet above the floor. Access is by two ladders. Unfortunately one of them is blocked by a fracture, and the other is folded up under the bridge. Its counterweight hangs down, as it should, but the mechanism seems to be jammed.

>SOUTH

Observatory Alcove, South
This alcove houses the magnificent Horological Calculator—a complex machine whose controls include an armillary sphere, a dial, and a slot. There's a blank tin slip in the slot.

Two papers, a coarse sheet and a delicate sheet, have been discarded here.

More delicious knowledge!

quote:

>READ COARSE SHEET
"THE SYNTHESIS of VIRIDIGRIS (the lower oxide of orichalcum): This process is quite simple. Place orichalcum and vinegar into a retort; apply the Hermetic sealing. Heat until the vinegar just begins to boil, and then invoke the Phlogistical Catalysis."

You memorize the instructions, including the Phlogistical Catalysis. You also pick up the sheet. Just in case.

The heavy sensation in your lungs begins to fade.

>READ DELICATE SHEET
"THE SYNTHESIS of SUBLIME SPIRIT (the eighth distilled essence of mineral oil): Place mineral oil and nickel into a retort. (Thin pieces of nickel are best, as the surface area must be large.) Invoke the sealing, followed by a word of entension (to prevent the oil from igniting). Introduce elemental fire into the retort to begin the distillation. You may then easily extract the desired fractions."

You memorize the instructions, and also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

>EXAMINE HOROLOGICAL CALCULATOR
This majestic piece of machinery is intended to condense heavenly observations into a portable form. You've used the result—small slips of tin engraved with the equivalent of dozens of astronomical ephemera; they're crucial for certain very precise sorts of alchemical operations. But you've never used the Calculator itself. That's Aithery work.

The Calculator is the size of a large console desk. The upper surface is dominated by an armillary sphere, or rather a nested set of spheres: gleaming brass orbits and cycles, balanced to follow the movements of the visible stars. On the front is a smaller dial, surrounded by the marks of the Greek alphabet, to which it can be set. Next to the dial is a tiny slot.

A tin slip rests in the slot, ready for engraving.

This is a lovely piece of clockwork, but at the end of the day it's a glorified card punch. Can our instruments determine more about it?

quote:

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT CALCULATOR
Through the oculus, the horological calculator looks like a vast complexity of brass gears and mechanisms. Not too different from the mundane view, really.

The heavy sensation in your lungs is dissipating.

I suppose that since it's a giant piece of machinery dedicated to astrography, we'd have better luck with the planetary lens.

quote:

>LOOK THROUGH LENS AT CALCULATOR

This is a flawless plan that cannot possibly go awry.

quote:

You look at the horological calculator through the lens. Then you look away, blinking away a terrible headache.

Your lungs feel nearly normal again.

Whoops. Well, we've learned several new rituals and we've also picked up Elemental Water. Not only that, we only have to go swimming once; the Observatory was locked but just with an ordinary lock. By leaving this room in the normal way we end up back in the Paper Garden none the worse for wear.

On the way out, though, our breath-holding potion gives out.

quote:

You suddenly realize that you haven't breathed in ten minutes. You suck in a startling gasp of air.

You know, I was wondering why the finger on this Monkey's Paw had just curled up while I was preparing to play through this update...

Ratosolov posted:

I gotta admit, I'm hoping Forsythe ends up walking in the footsteps of their predecessor, the great sage of alchemy Threepwood, and performs an entire complex ritual using only jury-rigged fakes instead of actually appropriate ingredients.



So close, and yet so far. As for exploiting substitutions, the future is yet to be written. We'll see what we can do.

In the meantime, though, the Paper Garden's "lake" went down a great distance and we couldn't reach the bottom. Let's brew another breath-holding potion and check out the bottom of that lake.

As long as we're in the Nave, we forgot to check the alien script with the planetary lens earlier.

quote:

>LOOK THROUGH LENS AT MARKS
When viewed through the planetary lens, the black marks are blurred and indistinct.

That's not terribly useful, but it's also not the generic no-information answer, and it's not what we got when we looked at ourselves. Curiouser and curiouser.

quote:

>DOWN
You jump into the chilly water. The potion is still working—you feel no urge to breathe.

In the water, the bundle of paper dissolves.

Garden Pool
You are floating in a well, eight feet across and perhaps ten feet deep. The water is cold and still. The water's surface is a sheet of light above you, and the base of the well is a circle of darkness below.

In the center of the darkness you see a darker hole. It's an opening in the floor below you, a narrow shaft running downward out of sight.

>DOWN
You haul yourself further downwards, into the channel.

Bottom of Shaft
You are at the bottom of a narrow vertical submerged shaft. Little light reaches you, and the water is icy cold.

At the very bottom of the shaft is a mud-covered slab. Its surface is irregular, but the mud is too thick to make out what's carved there.

>CLEAN SLAB
You brush at the mud, trying not to stir it up into the water around you. Letters come into view, neat enough to read even in this murky light.

>READ SLAB
A word is carved on the slab. You have never seen it, but you have an unspoken sense: it is a word of emulgence, a word of blending. Like the blending of earth and water into mud.

You memorize the word of emulgence.

Well, that's certainly a thing. I'm sure we'll find a use for it eventaully.

In the meantime, it's also time to systematically check the entire marcher for sparks with the oculus, and start unlocking the doors and cabinets we've found in our first pass. We'll start with the door locked with the Venture File seal, down in the depths. We don't have a Venture seal, but we do have a mold for Venture seals, and a rod of metal with a very low melting point:

quote:

>EXAMINE VENTURE MOLD
A thumb-sized clay disk with a reverse impression of a Marcher Venture File badge.

>EXAMINE VENTURE MOLD THROUGH OCULUS
Through the oculus, you perceive the symbolism of the Venture File: exploration of unknown lands.

>EXAMINE VENTURE MOLD THROUGH LENS
You peer at the Venture File clay mold through the lens, and perceive an association with the Retort itself.

>PUT VENTURE MOLD IN KILN
You push the Venture File clay mold into the kiln's heat; but you have to yank your hand away instantly.

>DRINK FIRE RESISTANCE
You swallow the cloudy potion. The liquid leaves your mouth feeling slightly numb. Within moments, you feel a prickle in your skin; your hands go cold and stiff, like a long walk on a chilly autumn day.

>PUT LEAD ON VENTURE MOLD
You slide the lead rod unhurriedly onto the Venture File clay mold.

The lead melts immediately, filling the Venture File mold.

>GET MOLD
You lift the Venture File clay mold, and blow on the lead until it cools a bit. Then you dump the seal out into your palm. It's a perfect—well, it's a pretty good impression of the Venture File badge.

Interesting side note here: a marcher in the aither is, apparently, its own world.

I search the East Wing on my way down to the chasm.

In the Opticks Lab:

quote:

You focus on the violet spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. It concerns the pronunciation of the Crystalline Tempering. This formula seems to aid crystal formation in mineral substances.

In the Opticks Annex:

quote:

You focus on the cyan spark through the oculus. It brings to mind the lodestone of purity creation and the Minor Animus, both of which you already know.

In the Mechanica Lab Crawlway two things that aren't sparks but are interesting:

quote:

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT DOORWAY
The oculus shows the dark doorway as associated with time.

>LOOK THROUGH LENS AT ANDERES
You peer at Lt Anderes through the lens. She has Gaian associations, as human beings always do. The image is oddly distant, though.

In the Storage Nook, off of the Main Store:

quote:

You focus on the magenta spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. The text being read describes an alchemical tool. "DISPERSAL BRUSH: Conjured alchemical symbols generally fade after use. However, it is sometimes necessary to erase such a symbol directly. Touching the item with a dispersal brush accomplishes this. To create such a tool, place a feather quill within a bound in a neutral environment. Begin with a simple sealing; sprinkle alcohol spirits upon the quill; conclude with a word of culmination."

Oh hey, we can make one of those right now.

quote:

Opticks Annex
This is a quiet corner south of the Opticks laboratory. You've spent many hours here with the other scrubs, snatching extra practice time in your spare hours.

A round standing table in back is set up for ritual use. A gestalt shelf is fastened above it.

On the gestalt shelf are a moon-metal rod and a rotor card.

A storage bin contains a chip of flint.

A white feather has fallen to the floor near the table.

>GET FEATHER
Taken.

>PUT IT IN BOUND
You put the white feather into the tabletop bound.

>TAKE ALL FROM SHELF
moon-metal rod: Taken.
rotor card: Taken.

>SPEAK SIMPLE SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the simple sealing word.

The arc begins to glow palely around the white feather.

>PUT ALCOHOL ON FEATHER
You carefully drip rubbing alcohol onto the white feather. The quill absorbs the liquid without darkening.

>SPEAK WORD OF CULMINATION
You declaim the word of culmination. It falls solidly into place; the bound flares and then darkens.

The feather ruffles in an unfelt breeze, and takes on a subtle sheen. It is simpler than the dispersal tools you've used in class, but it should be effective.

>GET BRUSH
Taken.

>X BRUSH
The brush is a white feather with an icy sheen.

Given our suspicions about what we are, this might be a bad idea, but science calls.

quote:

>TOUCH SELF WITH BRUSH
You brush the feather across the back of your hand. It emits a peculiar crackle. You yank it away. A human being shouldn't be erasable, but you've seen enough alchemical laws broken today...

Indeed, a human being shouldn't be erasable. Back to our Spark search. In the Eastern Hallway, a fuchsia spark:

quote:

You focus on the fuchsia spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. "Music is the most complex of ritual elements; one might well call it 'obfuscated.' We begin with the nursery-school lessons: the pitch A is associated with iron, the color red, the liver; B with bronze, orange, the stomach; C with brass... yes, you can all chant along. But this is simplified to uselessness. What of non-classical metals? We now associate C-sharp with rutilum, F-sharp with aluminum, G-sharp with nickel. Researchers have invented entirely new scales to deal with the spectrum of aither-metals. Then the Eastern Empire uses the well-tempered scale; thus while F-sharp is the mode of extension, G-flat is the mode of ostension, G-natural is intension, G-sharp is paratension, and H—yes, there's an H—is the mode of recension..."

In the North Arcade:

quote:

You focus on the topaz spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. "Well, you hear stories, right? Things folk see at the moment we rig out. Flashes, no more. The ghost of the Cold Crucible, lost and drowned in a Thalassan sea... Well, aye, I know the Crucible arrived safe home, and never reported any trouble on Titan. Mayhap the ghost is what didn't happen. Or what will... Still want to gripe you were posted here 'stead of to the Crucy?"

Maybe that's why I associated Thalassan lands with Titan.

In the Confusing Cracks:

quote:

You focus on the carmine spark through the oculus. It brings to mind the periodic table of stone, which you already know.

And lastly, right at the door locked with the Venture lock:

quote:

You focus on the sepia spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. It concerns a phlegmatic sealing word. It has a stable, passive pattern—Yin in the Oriental traditions, cool and moist in the Greek.

Onwards!

quote:

>OPEN DOOR WITH VENTURE FILE SEAL
You touch the lead Venture File seal to the door, and the lock pops open.

>EAST
(first opening the pine door)

Deep Stacks
The tomes in these stacks are little-regarded treasures, or so the librarians tell you. For certain, though, a marcher never discards a book. The shelves are overstuffed.

The room is unfurnished; you see books and nothing beside. The only door is west. However, the south wall is split by a bulging yellow intrusion.

You can see a crackly sheet and a moldering sheet here.

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS
You peer through the oculus. Everything acquires a colorful, hazy fringe.

The oculus reveals an indigo spark floating in the air.

>X INDIGO
You focus on the indigo spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. It concerns the synthesis of an alchemical compound. "THE SYNTHESIS of JACKSON-MUD (a perfect balance of elemental earth and water): Begin with a medium of simple sand, and the Hermetic sealing. Invoke the Crystalline Tempering. Add one of the pure elements to the retort, and speak the word of entension; then add the other, and speak the word of emulgence."

You consider these memories.

>EXAMINE INTRUSION
A bulbous yellow outcrop bulges in through a crevice in the south wall. The growth looks more like undersea coral than anything else. But it must have originated in some other world, perhaps a Thalassan land.

You notice something poking out from underneath the outcrop—the corner of a bit of paper, trapped between the coral and the floor.

>GET BIT OF PAPER
You try to dig your fingers into the yellow coral. A small chunk comes away in your hand.

>READ MOLDERING
The paper describes two mathematical structures: a symmetric sequence and an antisymmetric sequence.

You memorize the information, including the two formulae. You also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

>READ CRACKLY
It's a reagent receipt. "THE SYNTHESIS of BAMURIATIC ACID: This substance is similar to muriatic acid, but even more corrosive and toxic. Exercise caution! Prepare your retort with the mineral fluorspar in a bath of vitriol. Invoke the sealing; heat until the crystal has entirely dissolved. Discontinue the heat. Add saline solution, but be sure to first use a word of entension (to prevent a premature reaction.) Once combined, a word of culmination will allow the reaction to complete in a controlled manner."

You memorize the instructions, and also pick up the sheet. Just in case.

I don't believe this substance was ever called "bamuriatic acid" in our history, but there's really only one substance it could possibly be. And we can make it.

Let's go to the Chymic lab and do something possibly unwise.

quote:

>PUT FLUORSPAR IN RETORT
You put the fluorspar crystal into the retort.

>PUT VITRIOLIC ACID IN RETORT
You pour a measure of vitriolic acid into the retort.

>SPEAK HERMETIC SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the Hermetic Sealing.

The retort's equator begins to glow pearl-grey around the fluorspar crystal and the reservoir of vitriolic acid.

>TURN ON HEAT
You twist the knob. The gas burner hisses, and then bursts into flame.

The gas flame heats the vitriolic acid.

>Z
Time passes.

The gas flame heats the vitriolic acid.

>Z
Time passes.

The vitriolic acid bubbles over the flame.

>Z
Time passes.

The fluorspar crystal slowly dissolves into the acid, giving it a rich amber tint.

>Z
Time passes.

The amber acid bubbles over the flame.

>TURN OFF HEAT
You twist the knob. The gas burner goes silent, and the blue flames die.

>SPEAK WORD OF ENTENSION
You declaim the word of entension. The world seems to hold its breath.

>PUT SALINE IN RETORT
You add a quantity of saline to the retort. The liquids mix, but not entirely—the retort now contains a swirling mixture of amber filaments.

Before I finish this ritual, I'd like to review what we know about bamuriatic acid. It is similar to muriatic acid but much nastier. The basic process of making it involves dissolving fluorspar in sulfuric acid. It is also named bamuriatic acid. Mendeleev started a tradition of using eka- as a prefix to mean "the element one down on the periodic table." So, astatine was once known as "ekaiodine" before it was isolated, and hydrobromic acid would be "ekamuriatic acid" by extension. That, plus the components, strongly suggest that we have just created hydrofluoric acid.

We've been storing our various reagents and products in random flasks we find about the lab. The thing is, hydrofluoric acid will cheerfully eat through glass.

Are we about to make a serious mistake?

quote:

>SPEAK WORD OF CULMINATION
You declaim the word of culmination.

The amber mixture blends together, all at once. But there is no boiling, no explosion. The liquid steams silently away, filling the retort with vapor. When it clears, the solution has been reduced to a few drops of—well, if a clear liquid ever looked malevolent, it's this stuff.

You locate a wax-lined vial, tap the bamuriatic acid into it, and flush the retort.

>X BAMURIATIC
Bamuriatic acid is powerful enough to dissolve stone and corrode glass. You've made only a tiny amount, and it's contained in wax-coated vial, but you're still wary of it.

I wonder if the unaugmented, fully-human Ensign Forsyth would be so foresighted.

(Fun fact: in real life, with actual chemistry, we do in fact produce hydrofluoric acid by reacting fluorspar—well, OK, we call that mineral fluorite—with sulfuric acid. We don't have the luxury of the word of entension, though.)

Well, that was an entertaining, if slightly terrifying, diversion. Up next, I'll check the northern wing for sparks. We hit phlogisticated gold almost immediately; in the Study Room in the scrubs wing, we find the last thing we needed to make the Aura Impermeability Inscription:

quote:

You focus on the apricot spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. It concerns a formula. The Ka Sealing word creates a boundary circle. It is derived from the Classical Egyptian analytical model of the human mind, or spirit.

In the Master Rector's quarters:

quote:

You focus on the periwinkle spark through the oculus. A new memory comes into focus. The subject is an advanced aura inscription. "ROYCE'S INSCRIPTION, to RENDER ONE'S AURA INVISIBLE: Invoke an environment of spiritual peace. Begin with a quartz token in the bound; this represents the ka soul. Invoke the Ka Sealing. Sprinkle copper percalcinate over the token, representing the ba soul. Invoke an idempotent structure. Pour sublime spirit over the token; this represents the evanescence of the soul's name. Close with an elementary word of binding. This inscription will render the subject's aura indetectable to malign forces, though only briefly."

That also sounds like it would get us past the aura vortex and possibly even past the defense mechanism on the Birdhouse. We can't perform it until we crack the secret of Gold Ignition, though—we need elemental fire to create sublime spirit.

This means our next task is to perform the Aura Impermeability Ritual and use it to facetank the aura vortex. Let's get to work.

quote:

>TURN ROTOR TO RAINBOW
You turn the rotor until the rainbow is visible.

>PUT ROTOR ON SHELF
You put the rotor card on the gestalt shelf.

>PUT QUARTZ IN BOUND
You put the long quartz prism into the pedestal bound.

>SPEAK KA SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the Ka Sealing.

The arc begins to glow indigo around the long quartz prism.

>PUT ORICHALCUM IN BOUND
The indigo light ripples as you push through the arc. You align the orichalcum rod against the long quartz prism.

>SPEAK WORD OF ANAPHYLAXIS
You intone the word of anaphylaxis; it makes your mouth itch. The orichalcum rod and the long quartz prism vibrate against each other, emitting a high, irritating whine.

>OPEN CITRONELLE
You pop open the impet, and the citronelle aroma rolls out, cloying-sweet.

>SPEAK BINDING OF ANTIPATHY
You begin invoking the Binding of Antipathy, forcing out the bitter phrases.

After long moments, your lips start going numb; you inhale the lemony aroma, which seems to soothe them, and continue chanting. Soon the indigo light flares, and the orichalcum rod begins to dissolve into the quartz.

When the orichalcum is entirely gone, a symbol shines on the surface of the long quartz prism.

>GET PRISM
You pick up the long quartz prism, careful of its inscribed impermeability symbol.

That's a nice little bit of extra flavor text for why the strengthening aroma lets the ritual succeed. That's a trick you won't manage with an adjustable bound, that's for sure.

On the way back to the Medical Wing, we pass the cabinet that's held shut by horrible gunk, and it occurs to me that I am carrying three vials of incredibly powerful acids. Is this easier to deal with than we assumed as video game players?

quote:

>POUR MURIATIC ON GUNK
You sprinkle some muriatic acid onto the cabinet, but it doesn't affect the gunk much.

>POUR VITRIOLIC ON GUNK
You sprinkle some vitriolic acid onto the cabinet, but it doesn't affect the gunk much.

Well, it looks like we can't open it for free. But thanks to our diligent exploration we have a much more powerful acid to try.

quote:

>POUR BAMURIATIC ON GUNK
You dribble the bamuriatic acid over the cabinet, and the guck starts to dissolve away. (The smell is horrific.) You can't get the cabinet entirely clean, but you manage to free up the hinges, at least.

>OPEN CABINET
You open the cabinet. The inside is still pretty filthy; you see a dull sheet and a glossy sheet inside.

That did it. Our reward is knowledge—we won't need to waste the bamuriatic acid on this again.

quote:

>READ DULL SHEET
"TO CREATE MISUBA'S LODESTONE (to locate the center of a labyrinth): Prepare an environment of earthy influences. Place a silk thread within the bound, and a labyrinth symbol upon the gestalt shelf. Begin with the Mithraic Sealing. Pour a sample of viridigris over the silk, and then lay a shard of elemental earth onto it. Strike a chime in the mode of recension. Now lay elemental fire upon the labyrinth symbol (not into the bound!) Finally, the Minor Animus will bind the lodestone to potential motion."

You memorize the instructions, including the Mithraic Sealing. You also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

>READ GLOSSY
"OEHLKE'S INSCRIPTION, to MIMIC THE AURA OF ANOTHER: Invoke an environment of spiritual peace. Begin with a quartz token in the bound; this represents the ka soul. Invoke the Ka Sealing. Sprinkle copper percalcinate over the token, representing the ba soul. Invoke an isomorphic structure. Pour elemental water over the token; this represents the mutability of the soul's name. Close with an elementary word of binding. Touch the token to the donor, then to the recipient. NOTE: Imitating the aura of a superior officer is malfeasance under Naval law."

You memorize the instructions, and also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

Interesting. We now have two ways to mimic auras, with very different requirements. This one looks like it's feasible to do, too, though we've already consumed the orichalcum we'd need to produce the copper percalcinate. That'll have to wait for after a reset.

In the meantime, though, we used that orichalcum to make an aura impermeability enchantment. Let's use that and slip past.

quote:

>TOUCH QUARTZ
You press the long quartz prism against your hand. The impermeability symbol discharges with a bone-vibrating hum.

You feel a sudden wave of uncaring, a calm detachment, as if all trouble and pain were a story told to someone else.

>SOUTH
You walk towards the door, unafraid. The malevolent chill is still present, but it feels trivial, a problem for someone else to worry about.

Then it doesn't feel quite so trivial. Your protection is wearing away. You hurriedly step through the door.

Medical Wing
This would be a waiting room, were it not as cluttered as every other part of the medical wing. The uncomfortable-looking chairs are outnumbered by the obscure-looking equipment.

You know that the open glass box is an aeroclave. Next to it rests a heavy steel tank, a pressurized container of elemental air. A miasma gong hangs by the door.

You see a workroom to the east, and a very dark doorway to the west. A passage south leads to more of the medical wing, but a fracture blocks it.

You can see a crusty scalpel and an impet of eucalyptus oil here.

The sense of detachment fades away. The reality of the world reasserts itself.

Here we are in the Medical Wing. We can't actually leave it, though, because we have no way to get past the aura again just yet. There's an entry to the Void, though, so we can reset if we absolutely must. Overall, though, we are in luck; the Medical Wing includes everything we need to escape it.

It also includes my favorite piece of alchemical technology in the game.

quote:

>EXAMINE AEROCLAVE
The aeroclave is an enclosed glass chamber, with a gasketed panel on top. This device is used to sterilize medical instruments in a stream of elemental air—quite sufficient to dissolve away blood, grease, disease, or any other vestige of living matter. A hose runs from the nearby tank to the base of the chamber; the coupling bears a large brass knob.

The panel stands open, but the aeroclave chamber is empty.

>EXAMINE ELEMENTAL AIR
The air tank is several feet high, a construction of solid steel, painted with warning notices. A heavy hose runs to the aeroclave. The tank also sports a needle valve, used to fill portable containers with elemental air.

>GET ALL
crusty scalpel: Taken.
impet of eucalyptus oil: Taken.

>PUT SCALPEL IN AEROCLAVE
You put the crusty scalpel into the aeroclave.

>CLOSE AEROCLAVE
You push the glass panel closed. It takes a bit of force, due to the tight gaskets.

>TURN ON AEROCLAVE
You twist the knob, and elemental air hisses into the chamber. You can see the jet swirling behind the glass, almost invisible, like ripples in water.

The filth on the crusty scalpel erodes away in the elemental air! The metal soons shines clean.

You release the knob, and the flow of air shuts off.

>OPEN AEROCLAVE
You pull the aeroclave open. An ozoney whiff of elemental air drifts out; your nose prickles.

>GET SCALPEL
Taken.

Remember how elemental water would poison us because it would remove all the "impurities" in our body, like the basic proteins and nucleic acids required for life? Why not harness that property of pure elemental substances by building a sterilizer unit out of it?

Let's check the back room.

quote:

>EAST

Medical Workroom
This side room is equipped for routine medical workings. You see a white workbench with a ritual bound and gestalt shelf. The only exit is back west.

You see a small clay disk on the floor. It looks like another reverse mold—this one is for Aithery File.

You also notice a fist-sized glass bubble with a valve on it.

You can also see a ragged sheet and a narrow sheet here.

>READ RAGGED
"MUSANTE'S INSCRIPTION, or THE PROPHYLACTIC SCALPEL: This token serves to neutralize malevolent auras and other dangerous psychic manifestations. Begin by placing a knife within the arc; the environment should be confused by a strong aroma. Invoke the Ka Sealing. Speak a word of essential nature; remove the contaminating aroma; conclude with the Binding of Antipathy. To use the inscription, wave the blade within a field of cleansing vibration."

You memorize the instructions, and also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

>READ NARROW
You pick up the sheet. It details a formula: a Major Animus—similar to the Minor Animus, but capable of directly manipulating physical objects rather than merely guiding their movements.

You memorize the information, including the Major Animus. You also add the sheet to your bundle of paper.

>GET ALL
Aithery File clay mold: You pick up the Aithery File clay mold.
scratched bubble: Taken.

Some new toys, a new formula, and a new ritual that is our ticket out of here.

quote:

>PUT SCALPEL IN BOUND
You put the clean scalpel into the workbench bound.

>OPEN EUCALYPTUS
You pop open the impet, and the eucalyptus aroma rolls out, soapy and bitter.

The new aroma clashes unpleasantly with the citronelle.

Whoops, I didn't clean up after the aura impermeability ritual.

quote:

>CLOSE CITRONELLE
You snap the citronelle impet closed. Its aroma fades.

The mix of aromas clarifies, leaving the room smelling of eucalyptus.

>SPEAK KA SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the Ka Sealing.

The arc begins to glow palely around the clean scalpel.

>SPEAK WORD OF ESSENTIAL NATURE
You intone the word of essential nature. The metallic nature of the scalpel rises to the surface.

>CLOSE EUCALYPTUS
You snap the eucalyptus impet closed. Its aroma fades.

>SPEAK BINDING OF ANTIPATHY
You begin invoking the Binding of Antipathy, forcing out the bitter phrases.

After several long minutes of chanting, the pale light flares and goes out. The scalpel now carries a symbol of prophylaxis.

>GET SCALPEL
You pick up the clean scalpel, careful of its inscribed prophylaxis symbol.

All right. Let's head out. But before we do, let's make use of this glass bubble.

quote:

>PUT BUBBLE ON TANK
You press the bubble onto the needle valve. The valve emits a sharp, rising hiss; you can just see the jet of elemental air, like a heat-ripple inside the scratched bubble. After a few seconds, the valve shuts off, and you remove the fully-charged bubble. The pressure within gives it a heavy appearance, like clear oil.

That's three of the four classical elements. Only fire remains. Of course, to get out of here, we still need to use the scalpel. The ritual said to wave it "within a field of cleansing vibration."

quote:

>EXAMINE GONG
The gong is a bronze disk, no larger than a dinner plate, but thick as your thumb. It is suspended in a frame on the wall. You're told that its sound helps drive away the evil miasmas that cause infection; at least, any time you've been in here, an attendant has struck the gong regularly.

>RING GONG
You strike the gong with your knuckles. A deep reverberation fills the room. You're not sure if it's making you healthier, but it's certainly pleasant. However, the sense of malice around the door doesn't shift at all.

Sounds like a cleansing vibration to me.

quote:

>WAVE SCALPEL
You wave the scalpel.

The air ripples—the gong's resonance beats like sea-waves in your ears as the motion of the scalpel roils around you. The cloud of malice shivers, shrinks, and fades, leaving only a trace of impotent hatred in the air.

The gong continues to resonate.

>NORTH
The door feels quite ordinary now. You walk through without any fuss.

Behind you, the sound of the gong fades, and the aura-cloud comes rushing back in all its hunger. You quickly step away from the doorway.

The elemental air would let us clear the gunk out, too, just like it did in the aeroclave.

There was a cabinet locked with the sigil of the Aithery File. We've got the mold for that, now; we can melt the Venture seal into an Aithery one with the same procedure we used the first time.

quote:

>MAKE FIRE RESISTANCE
>GO TO PYRICS
>DRINK FIRE RESISTANCE
>PUT AITHERY MOLD IN KILN
>PUT LEAD ON AITHERY MOLD
>GET MOLD
(the Aithery File clay mold)
You lift the Aithery File clay mold, and blow on the lead until it cools a bit. Then you dump the seal out into your palm. It's a pretty good impression of the Aithery File badge.

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT AITHERY SEAL
The lead Aithery File seal displays an anchored nature, overlaid with the symbolism of the Aithery File: guidance through the Higher Spheres.

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT MEDICAL
Through the oculus, you perceive the symbolism of the Medical File: the care of the crew.

>LOOK THROUGH OCULUS AT ALCHEMY FILE
Through the oculus, you perceive the symbolism of the Alchemy File: the subtleties of ritual.

But before we leave the Pyrics Lab, let's solve the mystery of gold ignition and elemental fire. We tried to light the blackwood before in various fires, to no avail. However, the other wood samples could be lit, and they burned with flames of different colors—and thus, of different temperatures. We select the winter-oak splinter, for it burned with the brightest and hottest of the flames. This lets us perform the gold ignition procedure with only two additional steps:

quote:

>PUT GOLD IN CROCK
You put the phlogisticated gold rod into the vapor crock.

>PUT CAMPHROST IN CROCK
You put the lump of camphrost into the vapor crock.

The lump of camphrost is shrinking visibly. The vapor drifts from the open crock.

>LIGHT WINTER-OAK
(in the gas burners)
(first taking the splinter of winter-oak)

You hold the splinter of winter-oak to the gas burners. The winter-oak catches quickly, and burns with a yellow-white flame.

>LIGHT BLACKWOOD WITH WINTER-OAK
You hold the burning splinter of winter-oak to the splinter of blackwood. The blackwood catches quickly, and burns with a star-blue flame.

>PUT BLACKWOOD IN CROCK
You put the burning splinter of blackwood into the vapor crock.

>CLOSE CROCK
You close the crock and seal its lid.

The camphrost is nearly gone. The vapor accumulates in the crock.

>Z
Time passes.

>Z
Time passes.

The blackwood flares up. Then, with a violent hiss and an electric-blue flash, the camphrost vapor ignites.

The light swirls around the phlogisticated gold, like innumerable fireflies drawn to something greater. You hear a distinct basso pop as the metal bursts into flame—the lambent gold aura of elemental fire.

In the brief flare, the splinter of blackwood is extinguished; the lump of camphrost vaporizes.

>OPEN CROCK
You unseal and open the lid. A remnant scorched aroma drifts out.

>GET GOLD
Taken.

The burning splinter of winter-oak is noticeably smaller.

>BLOW OUT OAK
You blow on the splinter of winter-oak until the flame goes out.

And with that, we now have pure samples of elemental wood, earth, water, air, and fire. We have also covered the entire map of the Marcher, getting at least adjacent to all rooms we can't enter. Our knowledge of the Retort now matches the ensign's:


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Next time: There are four locked cabinets that we could not open but now can. We have a great deal of experimentation and practice to do with the rituals and materials we have now found. And finally, there are four places we haven't yet managed to go, and we will visit one of them next update.

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