A long corridor in a dark room, shelves lining its sides, pots, jars, backs, crates and other containers filling all boards of the shelves. A young woman was walking down the corridor, apparently looking for something. She held a light vial in her left, a stepladder in her right. When she had reached what she was looking for, she opened a pot from the topmost board of the shelf, filled a small bag with a pinch the coarse reddish crystals from the pot, then made her way back.

Korinna was moving fast, it was hard to justify being in the storage on her own if she had no task to work on. Master Paramonos was ever vigilant, so she snuck through the atelier with greatest care, peeking around every corner before hurrying down the hallways. She made it back to her chamber without being noticed and immediately blocked the door behind her with a wedge. She hurried over to her bed and laid on the floor to pull forth the tiny chest she kept there. She unlocked it with a key she always had with her and opened it. Many other ingredients were already stored inside, a tiny vial of a greenish liquid, another with a watery blue liquid, a small paper envelope containing plates of a various metals, a sheet of valuable vellum parchment, a single lump of a soft yellow substance, a tetrahedron of black volcanic glass, a scroll with notes. Korinna put the bag of the reddish crystal into the chest and took the scroll. She unrolled it and crossed one of the items off the lest. Just two more to go. She locked the small chest and shoved it back far under the bed. Tonight has been a success. She inched closer to true knowledge, she would pierce the shadows soon enough, but she had to be prepared for when she finally did.