Shaydee Guide to Alchemy (book)

A Shaydee guide to alchemy

Hiya all,

Well I may not be the guilds best alchemist but since I'm the only one willing to write anything down ya will have to settle for less. I started out as Elanthea's worst alchemist... and now I'm at least decent at it. I learned by my mistakes, which were many, and this book is designed to help those who, like me, are completely clueless about alchemy.

Anyway...I guess I should make my thank you's first to all those who helped me in the gathering of information: Khajit, Bakar, Sakahr, and especially Nishu. I think we were the first wannabe alchemists to collaborate our thoughts. Ok now for the apologies... sorry for the bad grammer, missed punctation and mispellins. I ain't that well educated which is why the Bards Guild rejected me.

For all you poison enthusiasts out there if ya think you're gunna read this book and get all the secrets of poison... think again! That aint my job. Thats the job of another female (and probably better looking) S'Kra Mur thief we all know and love. Let her do the teaching. I'm just here to teach you how to use the tools.

Here are the tools of alchemy:

jar mixing stick mortar pestle Wayerd pyramid stove bucket Charcoal flint

ingredients:

herbs viper sacks water oil a catalyst

ALL ABOUT CATALYSTS and Mortars

Natural catalysts: Seolarn weed, Glayster flower Store bought calalysts: Dracon crystals, Tukai stones

There are two kinds of catalysts. Those you can find by foraging and those ya have to buy from the alchemists store. The stones and crystals are stronger than the foragable ones. Therefore I recommend using either one of them if you have the money. If you don't have the money...steal the money! Ya ain't a thief for nothing.

I recommend against stealing the catalyst unless you're a pretty experienced stealer, though. The alchemist seems to keep a close eye on them. All catalysts whether they are foraged or bought need to be crushed before ya can use em. Here is where the mortar and pestle come into it. My recommendation is that you steal 'em. Heck, ya need the practice anyway. Just don't steal water cuz the alchemist seems to watch these like a hawk. (Well she is kind of crazy, ya know. 8 copper for water is very important to her.)

Once you get the mortar, put it either on the ground or in your backpack. I recommend in the backpack so that you won't loose it if there is a blackout or some snert wanders by and takes a fancy to your mortar.

1. Take the crystals in one hand and have the other hand empty. Now you need to BREAK MY CRYSTALS and put the broken piece in your mortar in backpack(Put my crystal in mortar in my backpack). Keep breaking the larger piece of crystal til it can't be broken down any more or stash it away for later use.

2. Next step is to GET MORTAR then GET PESTLE and then to CRUSH MY CRYSTALS IN MY MORTAR WITH MY PESTLE. I know that is long but its pointless to crush a crystal that might be on the ground or the one in your backpack instead of the one in your mortar, especially if it's a gem and not a dracon crystal. Therefore the length is necessary. It's also pointless to crush a crystal in someone else's mortar that might be on the ground so make sure you use MY.

3. Keep crushing until the crystals become a powder. Now the catalyst is usable, I tend to store them in the mortar til I need 'em.

Every solid that you need in alchemy basically has to be crushed. This includes viper sacks, herbs, and catalysts. So you will get good use of your mortar. No more aimlessly crushing stuff for practice then tossing it out in the bucket.

Some herbs that you forage cannot be crushed because it's pointless. One of these being Muljin sap. I have yet to figure out why it's pointless...but there is a rumor that the wild grown Muljin sap has been spoiled by a bug which destroyed its usefulness. People are working on killing off the bugs but at the moment if you need to use Muljin sap in a potion, buy the store models from the alchemist. These were taken from a tree in a green house and no insects have broken in there, so they're usable.

MIXING A POTION

To mix a potion first you need a crushed solid. Im gunna use a jadice potion as an example but same goes for any potion.

1. Take a jadice flower and crush it

2. Crush a catalyst

3. Take a Jar and pour some water into it. (You can buy the water at the alchemists. Holy water wont do! Some cleric has messed with it. The only water that is really useful is the stuff you can buy). Now put the crushed catalyst and the crushed jadice powder into the jar. LOOK IN MY JAR to make sure everything is in the right jar. It can get confusing if you have two jars or if there is a jar on the ground.

4. Get a mixing stick then MIX WATER IN JAR WITH MY STICK you should notice a chemical reaction that makes jadice potion.

Some potions require oil instead of water so know what you're trying to mix before you start. The procedure is still the same though.

Why would you wanna make a jadice potion? Well it makes the herb more effective for healing and it will last longer than just chomping on the raw flower. Also, it's a great way to train mech lore and you can actually use the product.

USING A STOVE

When I first started mixing poison I had no idea how to use a stove! I couldn't even boil water. I know we are sometimes refered to as the Chefs guild but as Tamasan once said... I'm a lousy cook! I know how to use a stove now but it hasn't improved my cooking very much. Here is how.

1. Drop the stove on the ground and guard it. That is the only way to work it. No use holding a hot stove, and it will also leave your hands free to do other things.

2. Open the stove. (Hey what a novel idea!) Ok, now take some charcoal and PUT CHARCOAL IN STOVE.

3. Now take some flint and a knife or something to strike the flint against and you will LIGHT CHARCOAL IN STOVE WITH MY FLINT. It won't work if you don't have a knife in your hand, and it's no use lighting some peice of charcoal in your backpack, so make sure you light the one in the stove. If it won't light, maybe its already been used up. Chuck it out and get another.

4. Close the stove. Ya don't want all the heat to be lost. Once you see the smoke come out you can start timing what ever it is your cooking.

Some points to be aware of... Don't put your jars IN the stove. It won't do any good. Put them ON the stove. Make sure the jar has the ingredients in it before you put it on the stove. There isn't much point heating an empty jar.

A common question is "how do I know the water has boiled?" Well, the only way to know is by timing it. how long? Ask the guild leader. She will tell ya the timing. That's not my job. If you leave the water on there too long it will evaporate, which means your potion is ruined.

It's no use lighting two charcoals at once because although your stove WILL get hotter, it will also change the timing to some unknown number of minutes. Best to not light two in there until you really get experienced and have a good feel for the recipe.

Take out all the used charcoal and throw it away into a convenient bucket. There is one the lockpicking room of our crossing guild and one out NE gate. There are other buckets around Elanthea ya can empty your trash into or feed it to the Gelapod at the pond. He'll eat anything. Keep Elanthea beautiful. It will create less fog.

A final note on stoves. Don't forget to pick up your stove when you're done. I've lost more stoves that way!

Wayerd pyramids

The Wayerd pyramid is a handy tool for alchemy because it will dry a herb or other substance, and certain substances will be stronger if you dry them before you crush them. Experimention will teach you better than I can, and I can't give you ALL the answers...so go out and try things.

The pyramid works with the suns rays...therefore you have to be outside to use it and it has to be daylight. Check the TIME before you try to use the pyramid and OBSERVE WEATHER.

Open the pyramid and put the herb into it then close the pyramid. The sun's rays will shine on it and you will hear a humming sound. It takes about 30 hums to dry most substances. You can do this while you're crushing your other things or on a ferry, or anywhere you are just sitting around. You might wanna guard the pyramid so it can't be stolen by some passer by.

Pyramids are rather tall and don't fit into most containers. Also all the things you need to lug around to do alchemy will get rather tiresome to carry, so I suggest you get a vault (yes, alchemy is a very expensive hobby).

NOTES ON POISON

Heh heh heh. I ain't gunna tell you how to make it! When you're old enough, the guild leader will teach ya. Some hints though:

Listen carefully to what she has to say and make notes.

Timing is everything so watch the clock.

Be prepared to screw up and poison yourself and/or everyone in the room. If you make a mistake.. you will make a poison gas cloud.

Be responsible with the use of poisons. It's a skill ya don't wanna abuse because we wanna keep this skill and not have it outlawed by city hall. If your goal is to mix poisons just for murder... then maybe its time to take up knitting instead.

Dont sell poisons! I can't tell ya what to do.. But I highly recommend against it. If we start selling poisons to non thieves, we are just passing along power that can be abused by some other guild. They have nothing to lose by misusing it, but we do! It's in your hands, and loyalty to your fellow thieves is worth FAR more than a few plats.

Do NOT under any circumstances give out the recipe for poison to ANYONE including other thieves. If they are old enough to learn it they can get the recipe from the guild leader. It's her job to teach them, not yours. Also, some thieves may be spies from other guilds trying to infiltrate the secret, so trust no one. Respect this as a guild secret and keep it, or you may find Kalag's thugs on your case. (Not to mention a few upper circle thieves.)

Poison doesn't stay good on a blade forever, so make sure you use it with in the hour that you poured it on the weapon or bolt.

Try as you might, ya can't poison a blade that has been blessed by a cleric. The two just don't go together. It's like mixing oil and water. If you have doubts about your weapon, try attacking an undead first and if it passes straight through 'em...it's not blessed.

So far ya can't tell by looking at a weapon if its been poisoned or still has poison on it. Just make sure you remember which ones you have done, or put them in a separate container reserved for poisoned items.

Don't get discouraged. Thats easy to say but hard to do. I get discouraged. Poison ain't easy to mix and are even harder to get ta congeal. Ya gotta be patient and prepared to fail miserably many times. Trust me though...it will get easier in time.

Good luck in your quest to become the perfect alchemist!

Shaydee