Back in my room, I flipped through The Alchemy Handbook, looking for anything related to petrification. I found the right page and soon had several other reference books open around me.
However, the entry regarding petrification reversal looked very complicated. I frowned, letting out a sigh as I studied the list of ingredients. The materials included mandrake root and a petrification venom sac. The sac sounded like some kind of monster organ, but I had no idea how to obtain one. Other ingredients included a lodestone and a coil. I didn’t even know where to get a coil, but I knew it was made from a length of metal wire and shaped like a spiral.
Once the ingredients were gathered, one added the mandrake essence and the venom sac to the beaker, then placed the coil inside. Next, a lodestone was brought close to the coil, but not put inside the liquid. That process allowed for an invisible something to flow through the coil. By infusing mana into the lodestone, it would increase the amount of that something, and as a result, the mandrake essence and the petrification venom sac would react and create the potion.
But there were a lot of obstacles first.
The wire needed to make the coil was very expensive in our kingdom. Blacksmiths had to heat and hammer metal over and over to shape it into a long, thin strand. Only the very wealthy could afford it—sometimes it was used to make birdcages.
Then there were lodestones. Lodestones were a type of rock, occasionally found in mines, that had magnetic properties and could attract iron. It wasn’t easy to obtain, and certainly not something you’d use regularly.
There were so many things I didn’t know about the process, so I referenced not just The Alchemy Handbook, but every last book in our family’s library. It was difficult enough just to understand what I was reading, but the biggest problem was that I still wasn’t sure if I could even make it. Would I be able to control my mana without knowing what that mysterious something was, flowing through the coil?
I flopped onto the floral-patterned sheets of my bed. Leaf came to nuzzle at my side. Just having him there was comforting, but…
I don’t know if I can do this.
I gently hugged his soft body, letting his warmth soothe me for a little while.
“Thanks, Leaf.” I slowly sat up, petting him, then gathered up all my notes to discuss with Father.
“You really did your research, Daisy. I’m proud of you.”
I found him in the sitting room and showed him my notes. The weight of his hand as he patted my head and the pride in his voice warmed my anxiety-ridden heart.
“It looks like there are a few items on this list that will be difficult to obtain,” he continued. “Mr. Oliver is the commerce guildmaster, though; perhaps he has some ways to track down rare materials. Why don’t we invite him over to discuss?”
I nodded and agreed without hesitation. Father immediately dashed off a letter to Mr. Oliver to invite him to our home.
A few days later, Mr. Oliver came to visit, bringing with him an egg tart pastry called a dariole, which had been popular lately in the capital. He set it down on the table alongside the tea a maid had prepared. I sat on the sofa next to Father, while Mr. Oliver was across from us.
“I heard you found a cure for my daughter’s petrification. I can’t thank you enough. The reason you’ve invited me today is to discuss obtaining the rarer items you need for the potion, correct?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I was hoping you might be able to help me find three ingredients in particular: petrification venom sac, metal wire, and a lodestone.” I handed Mr. Oliver a piece of paper, on which I’d written the names of the ingredients.
“I see,” said Mr. Oliver. “Well, they’re certainly not items I’d expect a young lady to have. I believe I can acquire a lodestone and metal wire through my contacts. As for the venom sac, since it is a monster organ, that may depend on timing. If there’s no stock available, we can commission the adventurers guild to acquire some. I’ll get to work right away procuring the ingredients and once they’re available, I’ll have them delivered to your house immediately.” He nodded and smiled.
Seeing him so confident filled me with relief, but there was one other thing I had to tell him.
“I’ve researched the materials, equipment, and the procedure. However, as I’ve never made this kind of potion before, I will likely have to figure it out through trial and error…” I trailed off hesitantly, looking down at my lap.
“How about this,” Mr. Oliver offered. “If you can make the potion and cure my daughter’s condition, I will pay you three gold coins. If it doesn’t work, I’ll pay you five silver coins for your time and effort. Is that all right?”
“You would pay me even if I fail?” I asked, baffled.
“Miss Daisy, if you intend to run a business someday, you must learn to accept money in exchange for your work. Even if the treatment doesn’t succeed, you will have devoted valuable time to my request. Your labor should be rightfully compensated.”
Mr. Oliver was a seasoned merchant, and I had learned yet another valuable lesson through my negotiations with him.
About a week later, all three ingredients I needed arrived: the lodestone, the petrification venom sac, and the wire.
The venom sac was the most dangerous. If the membrane ruptured, the venom inside would leak out, which would be disastrous. It was sealed inside a bottle, padded with cotton, and then wrapped in thick cloth for safety.
I definitely shouldn’t touch that with my bare hands. Imagine if I ended up getting petrified while trying to make a cure for petrification! That wouldn’t be very funny. Okay then, I need to figure out a way to handle it without touching it…
I crossed my arms and looked at the bottle, deep in thought. Then it struck me.
“Tweezers!” I yelled out loud, clapping my hands.
Right! The kind Father and Mother use for grooming! With those, I can hold the sac without touching it! It’s perfect! I need tweezers!
“Miss Daisy… What’s this about tweezers?” Kate happened to be passing by and peeked through the door, looking at me. After all, I’d just shouted “Tweezers!” in the middle of the sitting room. She looked a bit put off; that was the look that said, “Oh no, Miss Daisy is being strange again.”
I have feelings that can get hurt too, Kate!
“There’s something I need to handle during an experiment, but I can’t touch it with my hands,” I explained, blushing slightly. “So I thought tweezers would be perfect for the job.” I asked Kate if there were any spares.
“I believe we have some extras in storage,” she said. “I’ll get permission from Her Ladyship to lend you some. Please wait a moment.” Kate nodded before heading down the hallway to speak to Mother. Before long, she returned with a pair of tweezers in her hand.
“I have a message from Her Ladyship as well. She says, ‘Please refrain from suddenly yelling things like ‘Tweezers!’ if you are in the house.’”
Scolding delivered, Kate gave me the tweezers.
“She didn’t have to tell her…” I muttered, putting the tweezers into my box of supplies. I tucked the box under my arm and carried it off to the lab.
On the way there, I stopped by the garden and asked one of the red-petaled mandrakes for a root. She(?) happily popped out a few with a smile and handed them over with her leafy hands.
I wondered if mandrakes’ personalities depended on the flower. The blue ones seemed to be different from the red ones. Maybe the blue ones are boys and the red ones are girls? I thought with amusement as I made my way to my lab.
I stepped into the lab I’d been using since I was five. There’s only a year left before I leave this place… I thought, setting down the box and taking a seat.
Marcus had already prepared the distilled water as usual.
Time to get to work! I gave my cheeks a little slap for encouragement.
First, I needed to turn the wire into a coil. The Alchemy Handbook had a drawing of the shape I needed. I started by bending the wire around the middle, trying to make a spiral, but it ended up looking more crooked than coiled. I tried again, and while I managed to get a spiral this time, the loops were uneven.
Hmm. I wanted a nice, even coil about as thick as my finger.
I stared at my finger for a moment. Oh, I know!
I left the lab and went to look for Dan, the gardener. It was late autumn by now, and the garden was looking a bit bare. I found him raking up fallen leaves.
Incidentally, my little garden still looked like a spring garden thanks to the fairies, full of bright green leaves year-round.
“Hi, Dan! Thanks for your hard work,” I said.
Dan put down his rake and gave me a polite bow. “Hello there, Miss Daisy. Out for a stroll in this lonely old garden?” he asked, surrounded by dry, fallen leaves.
“Have you seen any straight, dry twigs about as thick as my thumb? I’d like one if you’ve seen any,” I asked, showing my thumb to him as an example.
“Well, there’s a pile of swept branches and leaves over there. Hang on just a second,” he said.
He knelt beside the mound of sticks and leaves, rummaging through it for something that could match my request. “How about this one?” he asked, handing me a smooth, broken twig about as thick as my finger. It was perfectly straight, with no knots to get in the way. It was just right!
“Yeah! This is exactly what I needed! Thanks, Dan!” I took the stick from him and thanked him as he grinned happily at me. Then I hurried back to my lab.
Once inside, I sat down at my workbench and laid out the twig and the wire. Then I carefully wound the wire around the stick. Yes! It’s working perfectly! The loops are so nice and even! When I’d made the spiral shape, I gently slid the twig out. Next, I bent the two ends of the wire into a U-shape so that the coiled part sat at the top like a handle. Now it would fit perfectly in the beaker.
I was finally ready to begin. Everything was prepared, and all that was left was to start the experiment.
I finely chopped up my mandrake roots and dropped them into a large beaker filled with distilled water. I placed it on the heater and brought the water to a boil, fully extracting the essence like when I’d made the powerful antidote potion.