Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Orichalcum" data-source="post: 2932931" data-attributes="member: 3722"><p><strong>Alea Iacta XI: Romantic Comedy Chp. IV: An Alchemy Experiment</strong></p><p></p><p>Metellus is hosting a discreet campaign fundraising gathering from among his father's friends and clients when there is a familiar whinny from the stables. He excuses himself and hurries to the back of the villa, where he sees Llyr dismounting from Talat, who is enthusiatically munching on an Italian orange.</p><p></p><p>"Llyr! I didn't expect to see you back for some months!" Metellus exclaims, embracing his friend.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, well, I wasn't expecting to be either, Tribune. But I left a bit early -wanted to get away from family stuff - and then, crossing Gaul...it just went by very quickly. I think we crossed all of Gaul in about three days. I suspect Talat is picking up some new talents as she grows older."</p><p></p><p>Talat takes this opportunity to mentally project into Llyr's mind, "More bright fruit? Lots of bright fruit here. No fruit yet back in cold land."</p><p></p><p>Llyr tosses another orange to the daughter of Epona and smiles ruefully at Metellus. </p><p></p><p>"Family problems, you say?" Metellus asks. "What's going on?"</p><p></p><p>"It's nothing much. But since my cousin died - you remember, Aeduana sacrificed him? - there's been lots of arguing back and forth among my aunts and uncles about the succession. The King of the Brigantes' remaining son, my cousin Brendan, is very religious and quiet, and not really suited to lead the tribe well. But that leaves, well, Kynton and me."</p><p></p><p>"Kynton would be a horrible leader," Metellus blurts. </p><p></p><p>"Oh, everyone pretty much agrees on that except his mother - and the lovestruck girls, I guess. But that meant there were lots of arguments going back and forth. And i didn't want to get any more involved - my uncle's healthy and strong, after all - so I fled back here," Llyr explains.</p><p></p><p>"Well, we're certainly glad to have you back. The campaign's in a bit of trouble, and Heilyn's gone bankrupt with all the money I invested in his master's smithy - though that seems a bit fishy - and Cornelia's being sued and Meloch may get tortured because of it!" Metellus answers.</p><p></p><p>"Cornelia's in trouble? And Meloch's getting tortured? You do need me!" Llyr exclaims. After Metellus has explained the situation more in detail to him, Marcus and Heilyn return back to the Metellus family villa.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, good, Auxiliary, you'll be perfect for this," Marcus says by way of greeting. "We need you to go to all the alchemists' shops in Roma and try to buy quicksilver."</p><p></p><p>"Pleasant day to you too, sir," Llyr says back, deferentially and just a bit ironically. "How much quicksilver am I looking for, and at what price?"</p><p></p><p>"Llyr! How is Britannia?" Heilyn booms. </p><p></p><p>"Safe," Llyr responds elliptically, and Heilyn nods in understanding. </p><p></p><p>Marcus continues, "Well, what supposedly happened is that someone sold two large grain amphorae full of quicksilver to Heilyn's master for 600 sestertii. This seems improbable - so we need you to find out more about the supply in general, how expensive it usually is, and then procure some so you and Heilyn can run experiments on it."</p><p></p><p>"Consider it done," Llyr salutes, finishes grooming Talat, and then leaves to wander the streets of Roma, looking for alchemists.</p><p></p><p>Some hours later, he has discovered that quicksilver is extremely expensive - about 10-25 sestertii for a small clay vial, perhaps 1/500th of what would fill a grain amphora. It's generally made and used either by alchemists, particularly those experimenting with the transmutation of metals, or priests and witches, for whom it seems to feature as a ritual component in some spells. It requires a good deal of care and delicacy to work with, apparently, due to its instability. He returns with two small vials from different shops to Metellus' villa and reports to the group assembled there.</p><p></p><p>"I have the vials, and we can start experimenting with them to see how flammable they are, Tribune."</p><p></p><p>"Umm...could you maybe do the experiments at Cornelia's mother's house?" Metellus asks plaintively. "My parents are still a little upset about the impromptu parade and orgy that nearly destroyed the villa last month, and I'd rather not burn down the place with dangerous alchemical inventions."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, sure," Heilyn says, "Cornelia's mother has that nice scrying-proof ritual room set up. I'm certain that will be an ideal place to conduct our work..."</p><p></p><p>So the two Celts, together with the help of Meloch and the curious Cornelia, who stays at a safe distance so as not to get burned, retreat to Licinia Luculla's workshop, which conveniently has an open hearth underneath a skylight. Licinia herself, luckily, has departed Roma again due to the heat. They begin by setting a small amount of quicksilver on fire, which produces a nasty and poisonous gas, nearly causing me to keel over, but little actual flame. They then experiment with mixing it with water and dirt and various other substances, to little actual effect. Finally, having eliminated many other possibilities, Llyr opens up a small secret compartment in his pack and takes out a carefully wrapped small oilskin bag.</p><p></p><p>"What's that?" Cornelia asks.</p><p></p><p>"Greek fire," Llyr responds. "I thought I'd try mixing it with the quicksilver."</p><p></p><p>"Isn't Greek fire incredibly illegal within city boundaries?" she questions.</p><p></p><p>"Well, yes...but sometimes it's very useful!" Llyr defends himself. He sets about mixing a bowlful of the liquid fire with a small amount of the remaining quicksilver, which floats on the surface of the oil, covering it completely, and then places it on the hearth, and steps back, extending a lit torch somewhat gingerly.</p><p></p><p>The bowl goes up in a sudden explosion, sending a thin jet of flame high up through the skylight in a sudden bright light, which dies down after a minute, leaving no trace of the quicksilver, the Greek fire, or indeed the bowl itself. It roughly matches the description that the Master of Naxos gave of the smithy fire.</p><p></p><p>Ogulnius the steward pokes his head nervously but hopefully through the doorway. "Did you kill the pygmy?"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Orichalcum, post: 2932931, member: 3722"] [b]Alea Iacta XI: Romantic Comedy Chp. IV: An Alchemy Experiment[/b] Metellus is hosting a discreet campaign fundraising gathering from among his father's friends and clients when there is a familiar whinny from the stables. He excuses himself and hurries to the back of the villa, where he sees Llyr dismounting from Talat, who is enthusiatically munching on an Italian orange. "Llyr! I didn't expect to see you back for some months!" Metellus exclaims, embracing his friend. "Yes, well, I wasn't expecting to be either, Tribune. But I left a bit early -wanted to get away from family stuff - and then, crossing Gaul...it just went by very quickly. I think we crossed all of Gaul in about three days. I suspect Talat is picking up some new talents as she grows older." Talat takes this opportunity to mentally project into Llyr's mind, "More bright fruit? Lots of bright fruit here. No fruit yet back in cold land." Llyr tosses another orange to the daughter of Epona and smiles ruefully at Metellus. "Family problems, you say?" Metellus asks. "What's going on?" "It's nothing much. But since my cousin died - you remember, Aeduana sacrificed him? - there's been lots of arguing back and forth among my aunts and uncles about the succession. The King of the Brigantes' remaining son, my cousin Brendan, is very religious and quiet, and not really suited to lead the tribe well. But that leaves, well, Kynton and me." "Kynton would be a horrible leader," Metellus blurts. "Oh, everyone pretty much agrees on that except his mother - and the lovestruck girls, I guess. But that meant there were lots of arguments going back and forth. And i didn't want to get any more involved - my uncle's healthy and strong, after all - so I fled back here," Llyr explains. "Well, we're certainly glad to have you back. The campaign's in a bit of trouble, and Heilyn's gone bankrupt with all the money I invested in his master's smithy - though that seems a bit fishy - and Cornelia's being sued and Meloch may get tortured because of it!" Metellus answers. "Cornelia's in trouble? And Meloch's getting tortured? You do need me!" Llyr exclaims. After Metellus has explained the situation more in detail to him, Marcus and Heilyn return back to the Metellus family villa. "Ah, good, Auxiliary, you'll be perfect for this," Marcus says by way of greeting. "We need you to go to all the alchemists' shops in Roma and try to buy quicksilver." "Pleasant day to you too, sir," Llyr says back, deferentially and just a bit ironically. "How much quicksilver am I looking for, and at what price?" "Llyr! How is Britannia?" Heilyn booms. "Safe," Llyr responds elliptically, and Heilyn nods in understanding. Marcus continues, "Well, what supposedly happened is that someone sold two large grain amphorae full of quicksilver to Heilyn's master for 600 sestertii. This seems improbable - so we need you to find out more about the supply in general, how expensive it usually is, and then procure some so you and Heilyn can run experiments on it." "Consider it done," Llyr salutes, finishes grooming Talat, and then leaves to wander the streets of Roma, looking for alchemists. Some hours later, he has discovered that quicksilver is extremely expensive - about 10-25 sestertii for a small clay vial, perhaps 1/500th of what would fill a grain amphora. It's generally made and used either by alchemists, particularly those experimenting with the transmutation of metals, or priests and witches, for whom it seems to feature as a ritual component in some spells. It requires a good deal of care and delicacy to work with, apparently, due to its instability. He returns with two small vials from different shops to Metellus' villa and reports to the group assembled there. "I have the vials, and we can start experimenting with them to see how flammable they are, Tribune." "Umm...could you maybe do the experiments at Cornelia's mother's house?" Metellus asks plaintively. "My parents are still a little upset about the impromptu parade and orgy that nearly destroyed the villa last month, and I'd rather not burn down the place with dangerous alchemical inventions." "Oh, sure," Heilyn says, "Cornelia's mother has that nice scrying-proof ritual room set up. I'm certain that will be an ideal place to conduct our work..." So the two Celts, together with the help of Meloch and the curious Cornelia, who stays at a safe distance so as not to get burned, retreat to Licinia Luculla's workshop, which conveniently has an open hearth underneath a skylight. Licinia herself, luckily, has departed Roma again due to the heat. They begin by setting a small amount of quicksilver on fire, which produces a nasty and poisonous gas, nearly causing me to keel over, but little actual flame. They then experiment with mixing it with water and dirt and various other substances, to little actual effect. Finally, having eliminated many other possibilities, Llyr opens up a small secret compartment in his pack and takes out a carefully wrapped small oilskin bag. "What's that?" Cornelia asks. "Greek fire," Llyr responds. "I thought I'd try mixing it with the quicksilver." "Isn't Greek fire incredibly illegal within city boundaries?" she questions. "Well, yes...but sometimes it's very useful!" Llyr defends himself. He sets about mixing a bowlful of the liquid fire with a small amount of the remaining quicksilver, which floats on the surface of the oil, covering it completely, and then places it on the hearth, and steps back, extending a lit torch somewhat gingerly. The bowl goes up in a sudden explosion, sending a thin jet of flame high up through the skylight in a sudden bright light, which dies down after a minute, leaving no trace of the quicksilver, the Greek fire, or indeed the bowl itself. It roughly matches the description that the Master of Naxos gave of the smithy fire. Ogulnius the steward pokes his head nervously but hopefully through the doorway. "Did you kill the pygmy?" [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
Top