Chapter 94: Quicksilver

Chapter 94: Quicksilver

"You want HOW MUCH quicksilver, milady?" - alchemist repeats in a slightly horrified voice.

"A posson." - I repeat mildly. Next to me, Alistair blinks.

"That doesn't seem that much." - he adds.

"Young sir, a posson of quicksilver would weigh almost four livres." - alchemist retorts - "And it is far more than I keep at any time. Quicksilver is poisonous, you know. Gives you shakes if you don't handle it with caution."

Curious. This is unusually early for people to realize that heavy metals are poisonous. Then again, professor Schlagenblum did quiz me a lot on lead toxicity in the beginning of the year. Wonder how it came out. Maybe poison detection spells react to heavy metals? Oh well. Gotta tell the guy something.

"I see. Oh well." - I reply blandly - "I won't ask for how much you have. Guess I'll just visit the merchant guild and place a purchase order. Maybe they have enough in stocks, but in the worst case, we'll just have to wait a couple weeks. Sorry about that, Al."

"Why not just buy it in parts?" - he inquires entirely reasonably.

"How many alchemists who sell ingredients do you think there are in Parsee?" - I quip - "We're in one place. There is another shop, if it can be called such, down in Greegney district." I pause, nod thoughtfully at alchemist's grimace and continue - "They deal in, well... dubious merchandise. While they probably would take an order for quicksilver, if we go down there, we're going to get ripped off or they will sell us a stolen mess that kinda sorta maybe looks like quicksilver. If you squint. No one on the market would carry it, not on the open at least. And I'd rather not clear out the only respectable alchemy shop in Parsee completely out of a rare ingredient."

I pause, shrug, and continue - "And while I can place the order right here, it would be quicker and cheaper for me to just order it directly through Merchant Guild. I do get preferential prices as the corporation owner."

And now alchemist looks like he just choked on his own tongue. "...Are you, by any chance, Lady Gillespie?" - he then proffers in a constricted voice.

"I am, yes. What of it?" - I quip. He looks down.

"I am deeply ashamed to ask, unhelpful as I have been, but... Lady Gillespie, I have had read in a newspaper that your retainer, monsieur Lamarchand, had envisioned a cure for consumption. Is it... could I... how much would..." - she stammers.

"You don't have consumption." - I cut him short - "So whom are you asking for?"

"My wife and daughter, milady." - he whispers - "My wife is bedridden, and I fear she is not long for this world, and my daughter coughs her lungs out every day. I... maybe..."

I sigh. "Bring me a sheet of paper and quill." - I tell him - "I'll write you a note. Lemand is going to present the treatise on the method for sir Pasteur's approbation in two days. They will need volunteers to demonstrate the method on. If you approach Lemand before then, you can get your family in on that. For free. The note is so that he knows I sent you." I pause, and lean over the table - "Don't make me regret writing that note, monsieur. If you do, I will make you regret being born. Briefly."

As the alchemist departs as a trot, Alistair leans to me and whispers - "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Hello there. I want to buy a posson of quicksilver." - I tell the clerk. He jots it down dutifully, casting a questioning eye towards me. "That's it." - I tell him blithely.

"Ah." - is his reply, and he leaves the room with an order without another sound. I blink at Mihel. "Wasn't he supposed to let me know the estimate for getting it together?" - I inquire.

"I think we have that much in stock already." - he retorts uncertainly just as the clerk returns with a wicker jar in his hands. The top is corked and sealed with wax, and the liquid lazily sloshing within is definitely mercury.

"Four d'or and three ecu, milady." - the clerk proffers crisply, as he pulls out the same purchase order and prepares the quill.

Al hops up before I do, digging through his pocket. He lays down four gold and three silver coins on top of the purchase order. The clerk glances at me, I nod and he closes the order as sold, passing the quill over to me for signature.

___

"You know?" - Alistair muses from his chair - "I thought I've seen something spectacular during the practicals on dueling. A feat of magic, as it were. And now I'm sitting here and thinking that yesterday, I was but a nave fool. That was not spectacular. Not in comparison to just how mindboggling your current performance is."

I shrug and poke the welded seam. In order to fix Al's version of Bec De Corbin, I had to nudge a lot of things. Reshape the beak to better follow the curvature of swing, strengthen the spike by reshaping it into a narrowing hexagon, and finally slice the face off the hammer, make a proper hollow, pour mercury in and friction-weld the face back on its place. Nothing too outstanding, just half an hour of careful nudging with telekinesis and molecular disassociation spell. Satisfied that the welded seam is entirely sealing, I dismiss the conjured water filling up the rest of the cavity, leaving it full of mercury and vacuum, then give the thing a cautious swing. Feels pretty right, so I pass Bec De Corbin to Alistair. Who takes it, hefts it, swings it very cautiously... Swears, swings it again, stares at it, then turns to me shaking his head.

"It's ridiculous how much the whole balance changes just because the hammerhead is filled with mercury instead of iron." - he proffers - "It feels odd when you swing it, but also... Right, I guess? I definitely have a better feel for how it will swing now."

"Well, you should. Ah, Al, a word of warning." - I tell him - "Mercury-filled hammers are also called dead blow hammers. Be careful with it. It will strike much stronger than the bounceback would suggest. Definitely don't bounce it off the head of any student in here, you'll give them a concussion."

He chuckles. "Indeed. No worries, Alyssa, I will take my time practicing moves and blows with this on wooden logs and rocks before I even consider sparring with someone I go to Academy with. It's common sense when you're learning to handle any unfamiliar weapon, really."

"Oh? And you handle those often?" - I quip.

"Not as often as I would like, actually." - he retorts - "It is hard to find something genuinely new nowadays."

Oh-huh? Well, there is only one answer to that. "I can put together a couple more of unusual weapons, if you want learn them too." - I suggest and he grins, bowing in my direction. Kusarigama Al? Heh.

"By all means do, if you'd be so kind. I'm getting quite tired of swords and pikes." - he proffers.

Well... you asked.