Firebrand

Chapter 399: Bloody Reactions

Chapter 399: Bloody Reactions

Bloody Reactions

Martel stared at the little clay jar in his hand, which continued to frustrate his efforts. He knew it would be difficult to learn but he thought that his experiences with Sindhian and Tyrian magic had taught him patience. Perhaps they had, but it did not lessen his frustrations. Every time he thought that he had managed to trap the spell inside the oil, nothing happened when he removed the lid to allow airflow back.

Martel had not really seen Master Jerome during these bells, and although a master craftsman and enchanter, presumably, it did not seem useful to ask him for advice. By his own admission, enchanting with fire lay beyond his skills. It was time to get some help from Master Alastair, who fortunately had a lesson with him later that day; this time, Martel would not allow anything to distract him. Inquisitors, maleficars, nothing.

***

"Master Alastair, I have a question!"

The Master of Elements stared at his pupil as they stood within the hall of his domain. "Yes?" he asked, seeing Martel take a look over his shoulder rather than continue. "What is it?"

"Sorry. I half expected someone to burst through the doors. Anyway, Master Jerome is trying to teach me enchanting, but I use the term loosely, as he doesn't really have much expertise with fire. I'm supposed to enchant these little fire pots, but I can't get it right, and I could really use some advice."

His teacher laughed. "Is that what's twisting your socks?" He adopted a more solemn expression. "Sorry. Creating fire pots is one of the more demanding tasks that enchanting with fire can present. I'm a little surprised that Master Jerome started you with that rather than something simple, to teach you the basic skills first."

"As mentioned, not his area of expertise."

"True enough. How long have you been trying? You could have come to me straightaway."

He could have, but Martel had somehow convinced himself to try sailing by his own wind first. "I'll remember that next time. You mentioned I should learn the basics first. How?"

"You know the heated stones that we use for the warm pools in the baths?"

Martel not only knew them; he thanked Sol for them every day in winter.

"My work, I am proud to say. I enchant one of those stones from time to time, as Master Jerome needs. Now, my skill is not at a level to create a permanent artefact, but they certainly last for a winter or longer. Master Jerome should have some old stones in need of being enchanted again. Ask him to give you one to practice on first."

"But a stone is earth," Martel pointed out. "Won't that be much harder to enchant with fire? At least the oil is easy to connect with fire."

"Yes, but that's not necessarily a disadvantage. While connecting your magic to the stone will be challenging, once you master it, you should have no trouble with other materials. Furthermore, a stone will not burst into flames. You can push your magic as hard as you want without any risk of it suddenly combusting, ruining your efforts. In some ways, although it sounds counter-intuitive, you may find it easier to learn enchanting when you work with something unsuitable for fire."

That made a lot of sense. Rather frustrating that the last fivedays had been in vain where enchantment was concerned, but at least it sounded like he would be on the right track. Tomorrow, he would try out Master Alastair's advice for his Solday bell in the workshops.

"With that out of the way, let us test your counterspell."

"I think I learned it as well as I can," Martel argued. "Last lesson, I reacted to all of your attacks." He really wanted to move on to the next spell that Master Alastair had promised to teach him.

"Yes, last lesson when we both stood still and with nothing else happening. Get ready for a duel, lad, and let's see how well Mistress Moira has taught you!"

***

Up in Mistress Rana's laboratory, Martel stared at the ingredients laid out on the worktable. One of these was not like the other. He had received the list yesterday as usual, so he already knew what it was, but he still found it difficult to believe. On a small plate, pieces of a chicken heart lay in a puddle of its own blood.

At least it was not a human heart, though Martel wondered what potion required this. So far, he had only used things like claws or fur when it came to reagents made from living creatures; he had once opened a jar on the shelves that turned out to contain eyeballs, and even if he could not see them – or the reverse – lying inside their clay container, he made an effort to never look in the direction of that shelf.

"Another elixir for another disease. Note that the heart may come from any living creature, though chicken will be the easiest and cheapest to obtain. You may find this recipe particularly useful, as it is a cure for the bloody flux, which is a common disease in army camps."

Martel was unfamiliar with the malady, but the name sounded unnerving. He did find himself curious why it would spread through camps in particular, as compared to a city or such. "Why is that?"

"A question I cannot answer, unfortunately. My guess would be that the high concentration of people so closely together somehow causes it, but there must be a deeper reason, as all diseases spread more easily, the closer people live together, yet somehow, bloody flux is the most prevalent."

Intriguing, even if it also sounded unpleasant. Martel wondered if Mistress Rana ever made studies into what caused diseases; being able to prevent them in the first place had to be far more efficient than afterwards scrambling to cure them, once they had taken hold.

"In any case, the heart is a reagent like any other, to be awakened and used along with others. Only difference is, you will want to wash your hands both before and after you have handled it. All right, get to it. You know what to do."

So he did. Martel gathered up the ingredients, carefully balancing the heart on its plate, as he moved to the hearth with its awaiting cauldron.