------ Kordic Arc Chapter 15 ------

I gasp, desperate to inhale as an intense burning sears my throat. It quickly rushes up my nose and into my eyes. The tears gushing out blind my sight while my body cringes and writhes.

“Cangral gland,” Morgana’s voice states. I hear her push the jar’s cork tight. She sniffles a little before continuing. “The Cangral use the odour from this gland to defend themselves which is why extracting the oil from this gland makes a potent ingredient.”

“Kah! Why… Kaha! Would… someone use… ha, ha… that?” My hoarse voice stinging with each word.

“It is enriched with mana,” she begins to reply, pausing to sniffle again. “However, the effect is able to bypass most magic immunity~” I can hear her taking steps to my right, sliding the jar onto a shelf. “For a potion... that may yield new effects.”

Wheezing heavily I wipe the stream of tears from my face, the torrent of snot beginning to overflow from my nose. This is horrible!

“Why?” Is all I can squeeze out.

“Because~” She begins to answer, her blurry face leans closer. “Some rural concoction of mild ingredients may be palatable for most. You could make a meagre living from it and the locals would flock to gobble it down, believing it is doing more than it really does.”

Morgana pulls back, her hand reaches over to a jar. She slowly spins it on the wooden table, the clay grinds against the surface in a low rumble. “What truly sets apart an apothecarian from a mere herbalist is the depth one delves to understand and create. When you brought those ingredients to me, most were boring.”

Her hand stops toying with the jar before I hear the steps of her feet move around to my left. “When I sampled the fourth jar… I saw some potential. A speck, just small enough to notice, which could attempt the journey.”

Again, she leans in. “I can take your senses through a tortuous abyss to unlock the knowledge.”

The stinging pain has subsided enough that I can breathe easy, my eyes are swollen but no longer tearing in pain. I take a moment to think. What she has said is serious from the powerful stench of that gland. She has worse? I would shudder at the thought normally. Normally…

It could be the fatigue from being in shock from earlier, but the feeling of fear does not take hold when I think about the kind of horrible pain and agony I could experience if I go through with this. I nod to her. Why not. It sounds like a challenge. I am probably stupid for doing this. No. I am not “probably” stupid. I am absolutely stupid.

“Hmmm~” Her tone changes, lighter than before, with a playful ring to it again. “Don’t disappoint me.” But it changes again, becoming lower and more intimidating.

It feels a little rude of her to switch like that. She also sprang that ridiculous odour as soon as I entered her workshop. While my sight begins to clear I inspect the surroundings.

Around me are shelves and jars… There are stands of vertical shelves with three racks throughout the room, leaving little space to walk. Only two tables are in the entire room, under which some tools are stored. When I had entered the smell was confusing, with many odours mixed together, until she opened that Cangral gland.

Morgana walks towards a woven basket and removes the lid before removing what looks like a thin black stick. With her fingers she makes a small flame to light the stick before blowing the flame out to leave a small glowing ember. The stick is then placed on a small dish on her table while a stream of smoke gently rises from the glowing tip.

Soon my clogged nose picks up a smoky scent. A faint fragrance leaves a pleasurable feeling as my strained sinuses relax. I take a breath through my nostrils and the mucus easily begins to flow and clear up.

“There are more ways to deliver medicine than consuming a potion. In fact, some ingredients would be harmful if eaten.” Morgana begins to say as I stand perplexed by the effects of the smoke. “Smell and touch are other ways to deliver the effects. An example of ‘touch’ would be a paste which resists flames, applied to the skin or equipment to prevent burning. For this incense, there is a little more that is needed than the medicinal herbs. Charcoal powder and saltpetre allow the ingredients to burn, Gumagar binds the ingredients together before being dried. Well, to start with I will have you assist in my work to prepare ingredients. Focus on remembering them all or you won’t go far.”

Each of the jars has a label of sorts carved into the clay. With the amount of containers I see around me I can imagine she has many ingredients I have not heard of.

“What do you usually make?” I feel I have to ask.

“Hmm…~” She ponders for a moment, “I would say everything~ but that is a lie, because I lack enough ingredients to make everything. Mostly there is a demand for healing and mana potions. Disease cures are a problem though~ since most cures only work for one ailment. Stamina, awakening, and body strengthening potions are desired by workaholics~ Then there are a few requests for poisons~ to deal with monsters and pests of course.” She winks to me while waving her finger.

“You sell to a lot of people then?”

“No, I do not deal with common consumers~” Her smile becomes a little twisted. “The potency of my works are a little too much~”

Then who buys them?

“But if someone finds themselves on the verge of death and they need just a liiiiiittle boost to come back to life~”

“Ah!” It makes sense to me now.

“Mmhmm!~” She smiles and nods.

If she has a nasty ingredient like that Cangral odour that can bypass mana resistance, then she could cause some more potent effects to save someone in a dire situation. I have also done something very potent with that shocking magic to bring Varrel back. Maybe there are ingredients here that could do the same?

“I like your expression~” Morgana says in a light voice.

Hm? What was my expression like? I had been lost in thought.

My attention jumps when the door loudly groans as it is quickly forced open!

“Morgana!” a muffled voice firmly calls out. Standing at the room’s entrance is a man covering his face with his fur coat’s sleeve, glaring over at us with his brow’s furrowed. “We told you not to use these kind of ingredients in the main building!”

“Buuut it’s raining~” Morgana pouts.

“I. Don’t. Care. Take it back to your workshop!” he declares before retreating back out of the room. I could tell his eyes were tearing up a little. The potency of that Cangral gland must spread through the walls.

“Awww well~ that’s what I get for showing off,” she sighs, placing her hand on her hip. “I guess we can go to my main workshop. This is just where I do my ‘acceptable’ work,” she sarcastically punctuates. After picking up the Cangral gland jar Morgana looks over at another jar and gestures to it with her head. “Take that one for me, don’t… spill it okay?”

I hesitate for a moment. The clay jar feels pretty heavy and… it is warm. My grip tightens on the rough surface and I wrap my arms to hold it tight against my belly.

“Nnnn… I don’t have anything to cover me from the rain!” Morgana vents as she approaches a door leading outside. The hard rainfall continues to ripple outside. “Well… better run then!” she says, pushing the door open with her leg.

I follow her outside and try to kick the door closed. My balance is almost thrown off but I recover. Over my shoulder I can see Morgana making her way through the rain away from the main building.

My feet splash through the wet mud and dead grass as I trace her steps. She winds through the thin shrubs in the monastery yard along a path. The torrent of rain drenches its way through my clothes again. I had only planned to dry my coat once, I will have to do it an extra time if I want to return.

When we cross through another row of shrub hedges I see a long house built in the small opening around the hedges. Morgana runs up to the main door, taking shelter under the thatch roof which is a tall triangular shape along the length of the building.

I duck under the stream of water falling from the thatch to stand beside Morgana as she tucks her Cangral gland jar under her left arm to open the door with her right. Powerful fumes escape through the door, stinging my nose immediately. I have to brace myself to not lose my senses.

“Ahhhh! I hate doing this,” Morgana whines as she works to shake the water from her hair. “I need some dry weather to keep my ingredients preserved… But then again~ the moisture helps the moss and fungus to grow…” she begins to contemplate.

“Um… where should I put this?” I ask, adjusting my grip on the heavy jar in my arms.

“Ah. Over there.” She points to a shelf with a free spot.

While looking around the dark stuffy room my eyes begin to blur a little from the fumes; however, I can make out that the building is full of many jars and boxes. There are dried ingredients hanging from the roof scaffolding of differing colours, decorating the room’s appearance.

“Well I was going to do this later~ But this is where you’ll be working most of the time. I have plenty of pupils who only want to work in the monastery’s workshop.” Is what she says…

I can clearly understand why, no one wants these nasty ingredients around them. I am not surprised that her pupils do not want to deal with them either. Well… I also did not know she had others whom she taught.

I begin to dry off my soaked wool coat, using magic to draw out the water faster.

“Ah!?”

I turn to look over at Morgana, she has stepped closer and leans in closer.

“You’re pretty good at that.”

Awkwardly, I nod.

“I had my suspicions that you were mixing your ingredients with the use of water magic. It certainly produces a finer product.”

“Oh? You can do it as well?”

“Mmhmm~” she smiles, “But~ I would not want to use it for everything, I’d be drained quick if I did!”

“So, what do you do?”

“Tools are a wonderful way to get the same result, without draining mana.” She points over to an assortment of bowls, tools, and various containers. “Therefore~” she hums, “You’ll be working those muscles!”

I shudder and dread a little about these jars. Which ones are creating the strong fumes that stings my nose and eyes?

Ah…

Morgana opens another jar; it is a big one too, she had to stand on her toes to get the lid off. Her face is covered with a wool scarf she must be breathing through.

Guh!

The smell! I nearly pass out and have to hold my body up with my hand against the floor.

“Mmmm!~ This turned out wonderful!” she exclaims.

How is this wonderful!? I gasp, unable to retort. The only thing I can compare this to would be the smell of shit from an outhouse… though I have never encountered an outhouse so foul.

Morgana closes the lid again and turns to me. “Many basic potions are simply the base ingredients dissolved in a solution.” She raises a finger. “Water is a good choice for dissolving ingredients; however, it does not draw out magic. Most use the digestive juice from Bogviles to draw out magical effects.” Her face turns back to the nasty jar. “Though~ Bogvile extract has many limits. I prefer to grow something with more impact to it!” she winks.

I do not feel her enthusiasm right now, my guts want to churn up breakfast.

“Rot is the breakdown of something into something else. By cultivating the miasma that causes it I can use the miasma for my potions.”

Woah wait! I just heard her say something crazy. Hold onto that thought for a moment, I have to gasp for air! The fumes feel like a burning heat against my throat.

“I’ve gotten a little more used to it, my mother raised me around this kind of work.” Morgana says, her hand patting my head. She lightly coughs afterwards.

“Isn’t miasma harmful?” I ask in a coarse voice. From what I had been told about miasma, it is pretty bad stuff. I’ve had to come up with some various methods to clear it out to avoid infections.

“Well~” She points her right index finger against her brow. “Sometimes it can be bad. Ah! Take pickled vegetables as an example, that is a kind of miasma. Vinegar has a strong, sour smell and taste. Some pickling can help create a potion’s effect; however, different cultures of miasma have different effects.”

“Cultures?” I respond, it is a strange way to refer to miasma with that word.

“Right~ My mother believed that miasma is a kind of spiritual life with different personality. She compared these traits to social cultures.”

“So… did she worship spirits of rot?”

“Ahhhh~” She pauses as her eyes look to the side, “Yes, in a way.” After turning back to me she continues, “The miasma is an important part of life, creating life from death. It is hard for most to believe so, we never found warm reception where we went. Anyway~ with that out of the way, shall we get to work?” Her eyes begin to focus on me. She begins to take her wet coat off and slumps it before me. “It is getting cold now, be a dear and dry it while I set things up.” She smiles.

“O… Okay.” I feel much of the nausea has passed, so I should be able to focus myself in order to do some work.

* * * *

She really did work me for what I was worth. My hands are red from the sores, pain pinches my neck and shoulder muscles, and my mana is nearly drained. I can recall some of what I did; however, from the fumes and the labour I lost some senses. I know I did a lot of grinding ingredients with a pestle, releasing the odours within. Hauling jars from the cellar room under the main floor up the stairs was also difficult. My mind begins to draw blank again as I stare at the wooden floor planks, as if the patterns of the grain mesmerize.

“Time to eat!” Morgana calls, as she stands up and stretches back. I think she had put some food in a pot over the fire some time ago during the work. She spoons out something from that pot.

Great… More of that bland grain mush.

Then she turns to another jar, scooping out a black and purple mush. It kind of looks like a mix of berries. She hands one bowl to me, the steam rising up against my face invites a welcoming warmth against my skin.

It is a paste of berries! The smell is much better than the bitter and repugnant odour of the other ingredients I worked with. It did not sting my eyes, gag my lungs, or churn my stomach.

I can feel my eyes lighten. The saliva in my mouth begs me to eat. Though, I will have to wait… It is way too hot. I will have to torture myself and wait while I cool it.

“That is an interesting way to use your talents,” Morgana comments, her face lightly smirking at me.

“Is it weird?”

“Oh yes. Using such a small amount of mana like that would be unnoticeable to most though. I am a little envious that you can focus it that well, using such skill for cooling your meal seems like a waste to me~”

I get another chill when she finishes her sentence.

“Looks like I will have to put that skill to use or else you will end up using it for something weird again~”

Oh… Looks like she plans to not only drain the strength in my hands and arms but also my mana now. Maybe I should feel worried, but right now I feel more hungry than anything. I suppose it would be good training?

If I think about it, I have most likely hit a plateau for building my mana’s skill. I have been unable to really challenge myself doing wax paper or writing. Without anyone to heal my skill may even wane.

“I’ve just the ingredients to test you with~” she says, rising up to find something. Her hands reach for a jar that she caresses. “Mmmm~ It is still warm!”

Why is it warm? I gulp, not because of hunger but because I feel worried about her plans.

“Well, you can do it after we eat.” Morgana returns to her spot where her food steams.

Mine is cool enough to eat now and it is definitely better with the berries. The berries are different from what I have had before. While the actual fruit is the same, the flavour has been changed, I take notice of some ground bits inside the berry paste. She must have added more to it than just the various berries.

“Oph, thaff wuff…” Morgana begins to say, her mouth puffs hot steam as she attempts to speak while eating hot food. After gulping a mouthful she continues to say again, “That was quick.”

Ah. Yes it was. I look down at my bowl. It is already empty. I’ve been scraping the moist paste from the bowl to get as much as I can. Since I am already done, that would mean it is back to work then?

Morgana notices me look over at the warm jar she had told me about. “Interested?” with a smile she teases.

I shake my head. I am not interested, probably curious because there is likely something nasty inside…

“Don’t worry about what is inside right now, in fact I want to avoid opening it. But~ you can use mana to stir it without opening it.” she says while waving her spoon.

Hmm.

I walk over and pick up the warm jar. I can feel the warmth inside. The lid is actually tied down by reed rope to keep the lid from opening. After sitting back down, I place the jar in my lap to get in a good position.

“How much do you want done?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I suppose you can do it for a while. It will be a test of sorts to see what happens.”

I place my hands on the sides of the jar and focus mana inside to feel around. Normally I have noticed that feeling with mana has its limits with things that do not live. So, a jar full of stuff provides nearly no feedback while something living will ‘push back’ in a way that is probably related to mana resistance.

The feeling inside the jar is… new to me. I can feel that there is a thick fluid inside that gives some feedback. It is not solid, and as I use water magic to swirl the substance inside, its texture mixes like smooth mud. Only, I can feel the details of it swirl while normal mud would give no feeling.

During the swirling I notice a particular change happen. The feedback increases as if tiny specks of sand are shivering and popping. The mixing and blending continues to strengthen the amount of feedback which does not repel my mana. It draws it in. My mana may be even feeding the activity inside.

Phsssss.

“Oh?”

Morgana and I both notice the sound of leaking pressure from the edge of the wood lid. Even with the lid tied down, there is a fizzing noise that is bubbling out from the rim. I look up at Morgana. Is this okay?

She sticks her spoon in her mouth and hums for a moment to herself before she pulls it out and talks. “It is a miasma… or at least I had originally thought it was but I had been testing to see what it lives on. Miasma lives on life, especially the decay of life. However, what is in that jar acts more like a Mahr. Mara live on mana.”

“Mara?” I respond, recalling something about how people believe that some Mahr cause nightmares from feeding on someone’s mana.

“Yes,” she says, tapping her spoon against her chin. “A Mahr can live without any material food. That jar is filled with a mixture of high mana ingredients completely preserved in vinegar.”

I take a sniff around the lid to see. Ah. I can smell vinegar from the lid through the spots where the fizz bubbles.

“Vinegar kills miasma, and miasma creates vinegar when suffocated so, I fermented a concentrated mixture of high mana ingredients before adding the Mara to it.”

“Why?” I had to ask, “Would that not consume the mana? It could have been a potion ingredient.”

“Correct!~” she says with a wink, pointing her spoon at me. “Most potion makers run into the problem where their mana potion spoils, losing its effect. I found out when I made some tests like this that there are Mara that exist like miasma, unnoticeable by most senses, which get in and eat the mana in these potions.”

“Oh, then you can keep them out as well.”

“Ah~ no. Not really what I have been interested in.” She begins to smile. “Why would I do that when I can put these Mara to use~? I do the same with miasma.”

“Hmm!” I look back at the jar. Different miasma can make different things. Vinegar or alcohol are just two examples. If there are miasma like Mara what kind of byproduct do they make then? My hands grip the jar’s sides while I lift it off my lap. What kind of effect does this have now, or has she isolated it yet?

“Hmmhmhm~” She hums.

“What does this do?” I had to ask.

“Inquisitive~? Alright.” Morgana says, placing her spoon on her bowl. “It is a catalyst.”

I tilt my head.

“Something my mother and probably a few others noticed was that mixing the spoiled manaless potions often caused a reaction with other potions to cause something else. My mother particularly investigated this while many others chose to avoid it.”

“Why would they?”

“Well~ some of the new effects were... not so safe.” She begins to say before her mood cools, “The work had some bad results for my mother, her skin deformed and she gained a very poor image. She never taught me any of it until she isolated some safe cultures.” Her head looks off to the side.

“Ah… I can feel it is powerfully active inside here.” I comment, my mana still swirling inside as I feel around some more.

“You can feel it?” Morgana looks back at me, a little bit of surprise on her face.

“Sort of?” I reply, glancing back at the jar.

“Heh. Maybe I should be more envious~ it took my mother most of her life before she was able to feel the Mahr with her mana. I could tell you were sensitive to mana but I had not gauged your exact ability.” She begins to lean in. “So, what do you feel?”

“Umm… a kind of rumbling but from countless tiny bubbles stirring around as my mana flows inside.”

“Right. The Mara becomes active when given mana. Heat is also produced from the activity but not enough to truly boil. The pressure increase is likely something similar to fermentation.”

“How do we know what it will do?”

“Well~ We will have to mix it with everything~!”

“Even the smelly stuff?” I frown.

“Hehe~ Yup,” she giggles.

How do you find that part fun?

I will have to record and track it. Fortunately I can make my own wax paper. Pressed between two thin plates of wood I have a couple of sheets of paper for taking notes of things. The old magic theory book I have had for years is full of notes written over the original text.

While Morgana continues to eat her meal I stir the warm jar some more. I guess that as I feed mana to it we will be able to take out portions to test. That should be similar to how I have cultivated yeast for brewing.

I can assign a page with each mixture to record the different trials. For instance, how does it work with blood leaf? It is a common ingredient for healing potions.

Using ingredients for mana potions like rain weed and cama root could spoil the mana effect; however, that could also feed the development of a new effect. If Morgana’s claim is right.

“Let us start with this one first~” Morgana begins to say as she rises up having finished her meal. She walks over to another jar and places it a table. “Mix a handful into this one and stir it with a closed lid. I’ll find what I want to try out next~”

“Right.” I respond, rising up onto my feet. I have to bend over to pick the warm jar back up to carry it to the first test. “What is in here?” I have to ask first.

“Oh~? Cama root, rain weed, and gripper egg.”

“Gripper egg?”

“If you harvest the eggs before the female gripper can lay them, the shell is still soft. That soft shell blends better and has a stronger effect on stimulating mana like the other ingredients there.”

“Okay.” I respond while opening the jar’s lid.

“GEH!” I gag at the smell!

“Oh right~! There is some ground cumerin powder in there. It is a very potent spice. Don’t rub your eyes after touching it for a while~”

I am already tearing up from the fumes. The strong smell of the spice and pickled cama root is unable to mask a strong odour of sulfur. I would say the eggs make that smell if I had to guess.

The jar of Mara miasma stuff I carried over has to be untied before I can take some out, which I restlessly work on, squinting to squeeze the tears out. My eyes sure are getting sore from all the tears. I would hate to see how swollen they are.

With a quick scoop with my hand I take some of the Mara miasma out of the jar, the sandy grit clings moistly between my fingers. I have not noticed an odour from it at least! Plop! I close the lid after quickly throwing that handful into the test jar. Then I take a piece of paper out and note down what is in the jar.

Smearing some of the muck on my hands over the paper does trouble me. There is nothing to wash my hands in here. Well… it is still pouring rain outside. I will rinse the muck off out there before I attempt to write any more.

While returning I find Morgana has collected three more jars and she has continued to search for more. I survey the room again. There are at least ten shelves around here with five to ten jars on each… and then I notice Morgana go downstairs. “Long day…” I sigh to myself.

* * * *

My swollen eyes grow tired as I flip a piece of paper over to write on the backside. “Gimm...lic marrow…” I mumble, blinking slowly as I try to focus on writing each word. I try to record what each ingredient does naturally… although some are already altered through some other process Morgana already did. “Is this it?” I ask while my neck turns slowly to search for new jars. I do not see any new jars… where is she by the way? I rise up onto my toes to look over the scattered assortment of jars. “Oh…” I sigh.

Her head is resting over a pile of furs as her hips lay over a pile of cushions. It looks comfy. Too bad she collected all of the cushions and furs for her bedding, as now I don’t have any spot to crash.

My balance feels off as I quickly recover my stance to avoid falling over. First, I should take a piss and see how late in the day it is. While prying the door open I can tell the rain has slowed considerably. The cool air is moist from the rain with a scent that is refreshing. My sore eyes, dry throat, and sweaty skin feel like they are beginning to heal! Alright then. I will walk back to the dorms and sleep in my own bed.

After relieving my bladder I make my way back to the monastery. The sky is dark and starless from the clouds. Rain only falls in a gentle sprinkle that draws out the strain from working in that stuffy workshop.

When I get closer to the main building, passing through a shrub hedge, my eyes meet with the familiar violet red eyes of Leni. She’s out training with a wooden stick again.

“Kordi!” She exclaims abruptly, “Where you at?”

“Where did you go.” I reply in a half dead manner, correcting her speech.

She pauses for a moment before approaching me. “Spa…!” Her face turns sour as her eyes open wide, her cheeks puff to hold her breath. Was she about to request a spar? She is backing away as if I have a sharp blade drawn. “Cough cough!” her body cringes while coughing to the side.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Uweh!” Yuck, she’s gagging. Don’t puke please.

Actually, that does remind me that one of Morgana’s potion jars did use someone’s vomit. I had asked how she got it; her reply was to gesture that she stuck two fingers down a previous assistant’s throat. Thinking about it again, I made a similar “Uweh!” expression. Morgana was half ready to grab a pot to catch anything that may come out.

Leni recovers a little before sending me a glare over her shoulder, which would be more threatening if her back was not hunched over from gagging. She runs off, tossing her training stick at the pile nearby.

I find myself smirking. “Leni repellant!” I remark with cold chuckles.

Corrected I stand, it is an everyone repellant. While I make my way to my dorm room everyone holds a hand to their face or pinches their nose before quickly making way away from me or hugging the far wall as I pass by. Maybe I should be more considerate. Nah, my body is drained from using mana to stir all of those jars. I barely can hold my eyes open to navigate my way back to my room.

When I get to my room I collapse chest first onto my bedding.

“Cough! Wha- the?”

Oh, looks like Baldwin’s in bed as well. It must be late then… Usually I am… here first…

* * * *

I wake to the sound of rain. Am I outside? While shuffling around I feel like I am on my bed. There is no wetness. I also smell a strong smoky odour of pine. The window is open. I look around to also see a bowl of burnt pine mixed with cold coals.

Still tired I try to think about what to do today. Yesterday was long and I never planned anything for today. I will have to find Morgana again to follow up with her for more.

Baldwin is not here. The daylight through the rain clouds is bright enough that morning has just passed. With that in mind, I should try to get some breakfast before they start serving lunch… not that lunch is made any different.

While heading outside I notice Glacia in the hallway. She yawns while glancing outside one of the windows partially opened. If she is just getting up then it is pretty late in the morning.

“Ah, Kordi…” She says with a short pause.

“Morning?” I reply.

“Umm… are you perhaps… working under Miss Morgana?”

“Yeah… I suppose I am now.” I scratch my head.

Is it that important for word to spread that much?

“You should… wash up after your work,” she continues to say before turning around and walking off the other way.

It takes a moment before I realise what she meant. I had not noticed it somehow but the dense fumes from Morgana’s workshop had clung onto my clothes!

Raising my arm up, I sniff my wool coat. Hmm… there is a mix of bad odours, though nothing to gag at. Maybe my nose has been burnt and cannot smell the strong odour well anymore? Leni’s expression yesterday must better reflect how bad the smell must be. In fact, Baldwin opened the windows and burn pine needles over night. That would have to be his method of countering the smell…

I will have to apologize to Baldwin. Maybe I will apologize to Leni... Maybe!

It will delay my plans for breakfast but I should rinse off and see if I can wash the smell out of my clothes. My nose can notice the smell of spoiling and spices and it must be worse for the others. I cannot help but feel my stomach turn a little from the faint smell.

The heavy rainfall outside is convenient for washing the smell off. I can collect rainwater that runs off the building roof and even if I end up soaked from the rain I need to wash everything anyway! If I had some tallow or soap I could clean up a little better but I guess giving it a good rinse will do for now. Maybe Morgana has some good advice for removing the smell, as I did not detect any bad odours from her when I had met her before to trade.

There are some barrels with opened tops for collecting runoff from the roof so that I do not have to walk down to the lake. I think about the lake for a moment while I dip and rinse my wool coat and pants. The ice covering it is thinning as it becomes melted. Before that, it was still possible to draw water by picking a whole through the ice to scoop water during the winter.

Either way, it is still too cold for me to want to go for a swim which would be a good way to wash up instead of using a bucket with a fabric rag. For now, the rain is a good shower and I quickly end up soaked. While I become chilled I need to do this to weaken the smell.

“So, you’re the witches new toy?”

I check over my shoulder, squinting as the rainfall runs around my face and eyes. Someone is standing at the nearby door, leaning against the door frame while holding the door as a shield against the rain. As my eyes adjust I can make out her appearance. I recall seeing her before in the writing room while I was with Leni and she was pretty mean around Leni.

“A runt like you probably thinks doing work like that will get you somewhere,” she continues to say when I do not respond. “It is a problem for you right? She won’t teach you anything useful over there. Just go make paper, I hear you can do that,” she concludes, turning away and closing the door.

For a moment I just stand there, rain running down my head. Was that it? Okay, I have no idea what she is getting at. I will not be taught anything? I learned quite a bit and I have some anticipation about what the results of our tests will be. Though, I will admit while thinking back on it, Morgana’s introduction was VERY intimidating. I should be surprised I did not quit early… maybe I am just bad at quitting or saying no?

Well, I should go back to washing my clothes. It will take a while to dry it all before I can get around to finding some food.

Eventually I get around to drying the wool and eating some food before I make my way back into the main hallway. One day I will have to buy some extra clothes. I should have enough billets for it; however, I do not see much on offer in the market area. This makes me unsure about how it would be best to get more clothes.

While thinking about that, I do not know Morgana’s morning schedule, only that she spends a bit of time in the markets most days to buy and sell. I do not feel like doing my morning run today since I would have to dry everything off all over again…

This downpour is getting to me. It had a new and refreshing feeling to it but now I am starting to share the mood everyone else seems to have. A melancholy lingers inside the dark stuffy halls. More windows are open as it is a little warmer but the humidity makes the dull mood stick even more.

A dry wind would be nice.

I hear some more lively conversation in a room I pass by. It stands out a little at first until I catch a familiar tone. I lean in to focus on the words.

“My my~ You won’t forgive me~? I only got a liiittle carried away~”

Ah, I know who that is. It saves me the effort of finding her now.

“You should focus more on your duties as a teacher, you know!” a voice retorts back in frustration.

I peek through the partially opened door and clearly see Morgana sitting on a table… instead of the chair next to it.

“I don’t need~ too,” she lightly replies.

I lean a little more in to see who else is in there.

“You don’t-! Ughhh, the agreement was that you would focus on this first and not… ah, that.”

Ah, I catch her glance at the same time. It is that girl from earlier who talked to me out in the rain. She is sending me quite the glare now.

“Just in time~!” My head is locked in a vice like grip by Morgana’s arm against her waist. She begins to pull me into the room. She moves quickly and I struggle to keep my footing as my head is tugged along. “Let me introduce you to Kordi~ He will be working with us now so, become good friends okay~?” she exclaims in a bright mood.

I manage to look up through her headlock. Wow… the mood is very heavy for such an upbeat introduction.

Three others are sitting on stools throughout the room, two of them have their arms folded over their chest. One is the girl I sort of met. The second is an older boy who leans back with his arms folded to widen his chest. The third is a girl who is distanced from the others and is just looking to the side with a blank expression.

What is she looking at? The wall? There is nothing on that wall to look at.

The one male inside is a young man… or an older boy? It is hard to tell, as his frown makes him look a few years older than the complexion of his face. Maybe his crossed arms and puffed chest makes him look a little older.

“Now now~ Kordi is very talented at blending ingredients so, I’ve procured him for my work~” she adds, tightening her lock. “He helped me catch up on a lot of work I had been neglecting~ So, I missed our scheduled work.” Her arm releases me so that she can clap her hands together in apology.

I pull back and gain distance, wary of her reach.

“I will catch you up on what we were going to do Kordi~” Morgana says, gesturing to the tables and stools in the room.

I cautiously make my way to the nearest stool, keeping some distance from the others who have stopped glaring at me at least.

“I was going to talk about the use of Schnargoyl for potions, as they are very aggressive predators that many hunters and adventurers have to deal with to keep their homes safe. As a result, their materials are pretty common. That and no one likes the taste~” she smiles, pointing her finger up.

“And poisonous.” the guy grumbles.

“Correct~” Morgana points to him.

Ah, so it must be cheap and plentiful.

“There are many small glands that excrete a weak toxin. That toxin is likely a defense against parasitic Mara that they share their dark habitat with. Toxins against Mahr are particularly potent for their effect on magic~” she continues to add, crossing her legs as she slides back onto the table. “Now then, how would I use this ingredient if it is poisonous to consume?” Her finger taps on the table as she poses this question.

I look over to the others. The grumpy guy and girl both have an expression as if they are saying, “Why would you eat poison?”

“Just don’t eat it,” a monotone reply comes from the blank girl who glances over at Morgana.

Morgana simply nods. “Right~ Everyone keeps focusing on eating or drinking the ingredients for their effect, forgetting that there are other ways. A salve for example will draw in the effect through the skin without the weak poison passing through. Or drying the extract within charcoal and burning as incense will affect anything in contact with the air. Alternatively I would rather remove the poison through a reaction~” She smiles over at me.

Oh yeah, we were setting up some tests to see if we can catalyze a change in the ingredients.

“And destroy your workshop again?” the grumpy girl retorts.

“Ah ha~” Morgana lightly laughs, waving her hand at the girl.

Wait, her work wrecked her workshop before? I am worried about that now. One of those jars could become pretty dangerous if the effect changes to something like becoming very flammable!

“I moved my workshop for that reason~”

“After you were told too.”

Morgana hums and looks away for a moment.

I get the feeling her students are not very happy with her as a teacher. I can begin to understand thinking back to how she introduced me through opening a jar of Cangral gland.

“Anyway~ I will have us mix some Schnargoyl gland extract into other ingredients for salves,” she says, sliding down from the table. “Oh? Did I forget to bring the glands?” her head tilts while looking around the room.

“It stinks too much to keep in the store room here.” the grumpy girl informs her.

“Awww~ Well then, I will be out for a bit. Introduce yourselves to Kordi for me~” Morgana makes her way out of the room.

I do find myself having a hard time seeing the serious side of her now. She knows her potions and ingredients extremely well but this teaching thing is pretty weird to sit through. I turn to the others again. “Uh… Hi.” I manage to say in greeting, “I guess you know my name.”

“Already forgotten.”

Wow. That’s rude. This grumpy girl has no intention of getting along. Is the grumpy guy next to her like that as well?

“Jhor Kernan,” he states, noticing my glance change to him. I nod, he is still intimidating with his arms always folded.

The blank girl is… looking at the wall again. Okay then. Blank girl and grumpy girl it is! Now then… the room is pretty quiet now. I should try asking a question that has been on my mind.

“Are there only you three here?”

“The other two, our seniors, left for Calbin.” Jhor answers.

“Just two?”

“Yeah, there aren’t many here,” he adds as his face relaxes a little.

“She’s nearly lost her position as an instructor for having so few students under her,” the grumpy girl says as she leans her head against her right hand.

“Is that because she makes some… strong potions?” I ask.

The grumpy girl glances at me.

“Look, I just need to learn the normal stuff. She knows more than the other potion makers here but she tries to avoid making the kind of potions people actually want. Instead she side tracks herself to make foul and dangerous concoctions and she wants us to help.”

Her eyes roll off to the side. She is not in as aggressive of a mood at least. Oh wait. Her bad mood towards me was probably because I sparked Morgana’s mood to make more foul and dangerous things.

“Yeah, we came to find her for yesterday’s lecture only to find the room was soaked in the stench of one of her nasty ingredients,” Jhor sighs.

The blank girl’s face is a little more expressive now that she looks like she recalls that experience, eyebrows narrowing together as she gently cringes at the thought.

“Cangral gland, I think it was,” I comment.

“Sure, okay,” grumpy girl rolls her eyes and replies.

Oh, I can get why she does not like that gland. It was a horrible experience after all. Morgana did mention some potent uses because the extract from the gland has some way to bypass certain magic immunity.

“Doesn’t it make good potions?” I ask.

The grumpy girl rolls her eyes even further into her head!

“Hnnn…” Jhor scratches his forehead before responding, “The smell is wicked, the taste burns, and it stings when rubbed into the skin.”

Now I feel bad for them if they had to go through some trials to test the effects…

“So, has she found a way to remove those bad effects?”

“Nope,” grumpy girl immediately retorted, folding her arms. “She is persistent to keep making more. It is a waste of talent.”

“I thought people would order from her. She even has a stall in the market.”

“Well… there is a market for her,” Jhor begins to say.

“It is a small market,” blank girl adds in.

“She wouldn’t have a place here if it wasn’t for my uncle, Grandmaster Grisgane Kharle, who owed her mother for healing him. Otherwise such witchcraft would not have a place here,” grumpy girl concludes. Wow, she has a pretty respected relative if they are a grandmaster. I think there are more than one grandmasters in the monastery, each with their own specialty.

“Yeah… if you are desperate for something then a witch’s concoctions are an option. No one would want to regularly use what Morgana makes,” Jhor says after a sigh.

“So… is she a good teacher?” I feel I have to ask, judging from the mood.

“Eh…” Blank girl shrugs, gazing to the side.

“Pretty much.” Grumpy girl’s reply comes with a gesture to the blank girl. “I have to pay respects for her mother’s work at least.”

“Well… I didn’t have any luck with the other potion teachers, and Morgana has to accept at least three pupils. She does teach some very good potion recipes for common use,” Jhor comments, tilting his head.

“If you can get her to focus on it.” Grumpy girl says while she leans in against her table, her expression has become less… grumpy. She is almost smiling.

“Then you got her back into her old mood.” Blank girl adds, her eyes glance at me.

“Right! We had some regular lessons in a row for once.” Though her reply comes in a lighter mood, grumpy girl is grumpy again.

The mood has lightened a little at least… even though it is only a little lighter.

“Do you want to bet what else she will bring back?” grumpy girl says. She makes a poking gesture in Jhor’s direction.

“I don’t want to think about it!” Jhor retorts with a frown, placing his fist against his head as he recalls something.

“What will it be, spicey? Sour? Foul? Nauseous?” she continues to jest.

“What do you think, new kid?” blank girl asks, leaning down on her table while still sitting.

“Uh.”

“Right, if you guess wrong then there will be punishment!” Grumpy girl is now expressing a smile with sinister intentions!

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“She WILL bring back more than just the Schnargoyl glands!” Her finger points to me while her other arm holds close to her chest.

Ah. I see.

Somehow I am not surprised anymore. Only knowing Morgana for a day I can see what they mean again. If I think about it, she will likely grab something that catches her attention while she is in her workshop and carry it over. The bet will be about what she will bring back. I know from last night that we made a bunch of experiments using different ingredients mixed with Mara, these experiments would certainly catch her attention. However, she will not be able to carry it all! So, the question is what will be so irresistible that she HAS to take it?

“Whaaa… he’s really thinking hard,” grumpy girl comments, her right eyebrow furrowed down.

While I was tired at the time there was one jar filled with… Hyssp? I believe it was called that. It had good properties for absorbing through the skin as an anesthetic that felt cool to touch. There was a very noticeable reaction right away compared with the other mixtures, so I can assume that it will show the most progress after resting a night. If I recall it had a… musky wax smell to it? Not the overwhelming spicy, putrid, and musky smell of a Cangral gland at least.

“Musky wax!” I declare.

“Huh?” all three reply.

“What is that supposed to mean?” The grumpy girl doubts me.

“I guess he’s optimistic.” Jhor leans towards her.

After a short wait Morgana returns only holding one jar between her arms.

“Don’t tell me! You left the Schnargoyl gland?” grumpy girl asks.

“Huuu… Of course not~” Morgana replies, breathing heavily. “I really~ wanted to bring something else interesting, but I couldn’t hold both~” she pouts.

All of our faces have an “I knew it, she tried to bring something else” expression.

“I should have had someone help carry them~” she adds, glancing at Jhor.

She wanted to bring more than one!

Jhor also flinches at her glance, he is the most physically built of the others. She probably gives him more of the heavy labour.

“Let’s get this lesson over with. I really~ want to get back there.”

I catch a glimpse of the grumpy girl sighing in relief, the weight on her mind lighter.

The lesson is very… simple? Morgana begins to talk about the process of identifying the glands, extracting them, and how to tell if the extract will be useful and potent. I take notes of it, like how the glands are pressed against stones to squeeze out the gland oil, which should be clear and without blood or discolouration. More careful work and fresher glands result in more potent extract.

The smell has a sting behind its musk, nothing like the Cangral glands. The gland is not meant as a defensive spray and instead it coats the Schnargoyl’s skin to protect it against the parasites that live in the caves the goyls rest inside. Since the goyls avoid direct sunlight, they need to stay in darker areas like thick woods, swamps, and caves.

Apparently, if a goyl cave is raided the shed skin that has dried into layers on the cave floor is very useful. However, the others frown at the thought of scraping nasty old skin sheddings from a dark cave floor. I take note of it anyway.

By the lesson’s end Morgana wraps things up with a recipe that can be used to make a salve against the various cave insects and parasites. It is a reasonable product that adventurers stock up on before heading into any cave. With the demand for spider silk and gobite, adventurers who hunt goblins often come back from their raid with afflictions caused by insect bites and parasites. Rubbing some Schnargoyl salve on greatly prevents those afflictions.

“With many of the monastery’s residents leaving for Calbin to fight goblins, they brought up much of the salves stocked with them. So, making more Schnargoyl salve will earn you much credit with the monastery.” Morgana begins to conclude. “I will be available to inspect your results and provide feedback to help you improve your work with salves.” She finishes, her tone is not very enthused anymore.

The mood of the others is quiet, yet there is a sense of relief and satisfaction I can see from them. Much less grumpy, even if they are still quiet.

While the three others sort their things and leave, Morgana approaches me. Her hand grips my shoulder from behind, her limit reached.

“Now then, that work is for the others, I have something else for you~”

Somehow I do not think that is a good thing.

Her arm leads me from behind to leave the room. I suppose she intends to go to her workshop outside. I am also curious to see what has resulted from our work yesterday, although there is a sense of tension in my chest. The other students have planted a seed of worry in my heart now…

My mind stews over some of the possibilities while we walk. Could the results make things smell worse? How do we actually test the effects? Will I have to actually eat anything…?

Many of the ingredients are not edible; salves are often the choice for those. The Schnargoyl salve for example needs an oil from pressing the pit of a poisonous berry. The oil is not something that anyone would want to consume in case the poison is in the oil.

Blanche Berries they are called, white and spongy fruit that causes severe stomach pain when consumed. Their pit is about the size and shape of a finger bone and has a fair amount of oil inside; however, the oil shares much of the same poison. The oil is great for making a paste. Its toxins help preserve the mixture, and it is not toxic against the skin. If anything, it helps improve the effect of the salve against insects and parasites.

However, someone had to eat the stuff to know it is bad to eat… I have had that feeling for a while now. Morgana knows a great deal of things about her ingredients and their effect on the body. How does she learn that?

I had picked up from listening to Morgana that her mother suffered from some very bad complexion because of her work. Vapours from boiling somethings that resulted in damaging her skin maybe? I do not know all the details.

Since the work I helped Morgana with yesterday aimed to mix in a catalyst with various ingredients, the result could dramatically change the ingredients’ effect. That begins to worry me. Something that heals could suddenly harm! Though, what kind of harm it could do makes me ponder a little. Ah, no! I should not think about that and avoid putting anything in my mouth!

We arrive in Morgana’s workshop. The rain had lifted enough that we are barely wet. While I am relieved about not being soaked from the walk, the smell from inside her workshop touches my nose and my feelings turn to apprehension.

There is a more ‘earthy’ smell of rot today instead of the musky kind from yesterday. There are many of her ingredients which have some soil mixed into compost which has the same sort of smell. I never asked what someone would do with a dirt potion. There would not be enough time to go into every recipe within a day.

Morgana’s pace speeds up as she swoops over to inspect some jars. She presses her hands against them and leans in close. Her lips widen with a smile as her hands caress the jars. “This one first~!” she exclaims, working the rope off the lid.

“Ah-” I react a little late. My face begins to cringe as the lid vents out a heavy fog that soon drops to the floor. My nose catches a bit of the scent... Moldy vegetables?

Ah, this one had some roots in compost before we mixed in the catalyst Mahr. It feels cool, and the misty fog that hangs low is cold. Brewing and such usually results in something warming up, and compost piles will usually vent out a lot of heat. But this did the opposite?

“Hu… hu~” Morgana looks over the opened jar. Her expression has a hard time containing itself. She grabs a fork to carefully dig into the mixture.

I step a little closer to see but I stand too low to see into the jar. I can hear the sound of her fork forcing its way through the cold loam mixture, a spongy cracking noise making it sound like it is frozen inside.

After some work Morgana digs out a small bit on her fork. Covered in the dark loam I make out something clear and crystal. Morgana’s intense glare inspects it in great detail as her lips part.

“Dig. Dig more out please~!” she orders, turning away with her fork held carefully.

Well… she said please, so I climb up on the nearby stool to look inside. I can make out some more small crystal-like bits inside that a small fork can pick out. The loam inside is firm from being so cold and each chunk I break apart gives off the faint smell of moldy rot.

I would have no idea what this could be used for; however, these small crystals buried within seem interesting enough. With a few flicks I can knock the loam off to clean them a little, though the process takes a while.

Over my shoulder I can see Morgana has set up nearby. She is picking off the small amounts of loam still on the crystalline bits. When I place some more on the table space between us she takes another crystal to clean.

It feels very brittle. Each piece is slightly bigger than a grain of sand or salt, barely moveable with the thin points of my fork. The chunks that are bigger are just clumps of many smaller pieces that break apart when they are touched.

“Any idea how this formed?” I ask, speculating how a mixture of composting roots would form crystals.

“That depends~” Morgana replies with a sly tone.

I look over at her.

“I mixed in that paste of petoto oil, pine needle, and cama root you had provided me~”

“Ah-”

Hold on, there is one more ingredient in that mixture. The petoto seed oil simply makes the digestion of a potion’s effect faster. Cama root has a mild effect to stimulate mana flow. The pine needle ingredient was actually a way to bind the ingredients into wax. I had intended to try an find a way to bind more magical properties into wax paper; it was not meant to be consumed.

“I had mixed in some magic minerals into that paste to see if it would-” I begin to say.

Morgana spins around in her chair and stares at me.

“Umm…” I pause.

“Mmhm~?” she nods.

My stomach tingles from her stare and I cannot help but glance away.

“I… I had refined some minerals from gobite that were… sensitive to mana. When I was in Calbin… Maybe it would do something to help magic ingredients.” I mumble.

Morgana claps her hands together. “The Mara miasma might be crystallizing themselves with the surplus mana against those magic minerals~” she declares, holding up a small speck between her fingers.

“How do you know that?”

“Hmm... The Mara miasma is pretty dead~ Instead of the surplus magic effect being released it is being trapped.”

Oh, that could explain why this jar is cold instead of warm like many of the other jars mixed with various miasma. Adding the magic minerals really threw off the reaction.

“Maybe there are some surviving Mahr in here.” Morgana looks over at the jar. “It could be a way of storing their ‘food’ before hibernating~”

A flash of light catches my eye.

“Ouch!”

I see Morgana rubbing her fingers as a thin plume of smoke rises from her hand.

“Huhuu~ That hurt. I tried using a bit of fire magic near a speck and that happened~”

“Huh?” I tilt my head.

Morgana pinches another speck and places it on the table, then she makes a small flame at the point of her finger. When the flame draws near the small speck, it suddenly vanishes as the speck pops into a small bit intense flash of light. The remains are a tiny black spot on the table.

“Oh ho~”

“It didn’t amplify the flame…” I comment.

“Right! It… compressed it~?” She tilts her head against her hand.

“Is that useful?”

“I dunno~!”

“Well. I’m not eating it,” I declare.

“Ah-!” something clicked in her head. Morgana jumps out and runs into another room of her workshop. I hear a clamour before she returns with a struggling buck-rodent in tow. She seems pleased with herself.

I start feeling bad for the little guy though. She must have a few of these buck-rodents around for this purpose. At least that answers how she probably figures out a lot of her potions’ effects.

While I think that Morgana struggles to pin the rodent down. She attempts to push the rodent’s mouth towards a piece of the crystal placed on the table. Of course, the rodent twists its head away.

“Kordi~!” she exclaims, “Help put it in~”

I take one look at the rodent’s mouth. Its large buck teeth are probably the size of my thumb. “No way,” I retort.

She gives a glaring pout in return. “Fine~ Mix it into a bit of what’s in that jar,” she says, holding the rodent with her hands and gesturing with her chin.

I move over to the jar which has a label carved into the clay reading ‘Pinch’. Sure enough, I open the jar to find it is filled with a yellow paste that smells bitter like the pinch herb. I scoop a bit out with my finger and sprinkle a few specks of the tiny crystals over it before wiping it on the table.

Morgana brings the rodent closer and it surprisingly stretches its neck out to smell it with interest. The pinch herb is pretty bitter, but it has a potent stimulant effect for one’s stamina. Once close enough, the rodent licks it all up, smacking its tongue and shaking its head from the bitter flavour. It does still eat the paste as if it knows it is edible.

“Wha!”

In a sudden move, the buck rodent twists itself free of Morgana’s grip, falling to the floor. Upon contact it races off behind a shelf. Then it appears for a moment, dashing between the jars and shelves. It leaps at one shelf, clasping the wooden side and scaling up it. Then it stops for a second, looking over its shoulder. It jumps back down and speeds off again, darting around the floor, leaping between the legs of a stool, and brushing past Morgana’s leg.

“Eee!” She jumps at the sudden feeling of it rushing past her shin.

“Is this… normal?” I ask.

“Yeaaaah…~” she answers in a sense. “Normally they perk up a bit… but this is a liiiitle…~” her eyes look away to try and track where it ran off to.

I look around a shelf to find the rodent has collapsed on the floor, its whole body is limp with legs sprawled out. I can see its abdomen racing to draw air in and out as it pants.

“Oh~! That was fast,” Morgana states, looking around the shelf as well.

“That is not normal either?”

“Not to that degree.”

She picks the buck rodent back up and carries it back to the room she brought it from.

“Alright~” she begins to say as she returns back from the rodent room, “let’s call this mana salt. It looks like salt after all~”

“Hmm, yeah,” I reply. It does seem like rough salt in appearance.

“Then, what shall we use next~?” she hums, looking over her collection of clay jars. “Or~ should we look at the other Mara miasma tests? Those could have interesting results as well.”

This is just the first jar after all, there are more. Of course, it was chosen because it had the strangest change of all the tests. Morgana began collecting the different test jars from yesterday.

“Of course, we will need to also work on making more mana salt. Be a dear and continue cleaning up the salts from that jar while I sort through this~”

I nod, returning to the stool near the cold jar of mana salt. This process could be better. It takes a while to pick out and clean the salt after all. By the end of this will I get any answers to my original question? My plan was just to get the magic minerals into some wax paper to make magic paper, something my roommate was researching.

Somehow I’ve stumbled onto this mana salt with Morgana. Would it work with the paper as well? Hmm… It is hard to say since the effect is intense and over quickly. That may be a bad idea for magic paper, especially if someone wants to avoid hurting themselves.

I look over at the table. There was a pretty small but intense flash when we tested fire magic on the mana salt. It was hot enough to burn a black speck against the table. Overall the result is tiny, probably the total amount of heat from the fire was focused on that point. Which sounds similar to my own magic skill actually.

The emphasis on focusing magic instead of increasing the flow is something others have praised me for, but I cannot think of what I could use this for right now. That buck rodent collapsing in exhaustion makes me worry about ingesting the mana salt…

I suddenly gag, gasping for air. Immediately I smell a horrible smell that retches my guts and burns my nose and throat. Over my shoulder I catch the image of Morgana, her face alight with an expression of satisfaction as she wafts the raunchy smell of musky rot! What did she just open? I cannot recall what ingredients could be making such a stench as I fall to the floor to crawl away.

Please… at least give a little warning!