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 Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 12:45 pm
 It had been a week since his initial meeting with BlackIce and Erasto was keen to get to the meeting place. He had been busy ever since returning from the trip scouring the swamp for those secret ingredients that only grew in the wet environment and also collecting some of the more basic wise spread plants. Normally he wasn't the type to share his secrets, but he made the exception after meeting BlackIce. It was obvious that they both have similar ways of thinking and they also had the same purposes for making various concoctions. Yes, Erasto did occasionally make potions to help cure sickness and other such silly things but only when the payment was good or if business was really slow and he was looking for something to do.
He had spent yesterday cramming all the herbs he would be bringing into a satchel he had gotten from one of his trades some years back. At first he had thought the item useless but then he realized that it would be helpful. With this he could gather and carry many things at once, saving him multiple trips out to gather things. Saving time was appealing and in the end he had accepted the trade. Now with the plant filled satchel weighing heavy around his neck Erasto made the last stretch of the journey to the meeting place. He was looking forward to sharing his knowledge as much as he was eager to learn what BlackIce had to teach him. He glanced back to make sure Seela was still keeping up. He had worked the lizard hard in the last few days but her help was needed both in gathering materials and making potions. She was still there and not lagging too far behind. Good, Erasto turned his attention back to where he was walking, spotting the meeting place just ahead.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:19 am
 BlackIce had not wasted the week since meeting Erasto, heading home to gather the herbs and other materials which he planned to take back and show him. Some had been harder to get them others and while BlackIce was typically against sharing his hard earned materials - in this case he thought it was likely to be worth it. The stallion Erasto was older then himself and though he was loathe to admit it likely had more experience in this field of study..and better yet was going to show him some new herbs, which had been the whole point of his little trip away from the mountain to begin with.
Having packed a satchel with the required materials and started back down the trail, picking up the pace slightly so that he wouldn't be late to the meeting place they had set up. The trip was not far but BlackIce had cut the time frame close so that he could gather as much as possible.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:50 am
Erasto trotted the last bit to the meeting spot. He could hear Seela grumbling as the lizard was forced to move even faster now to keep up with him and it brought a smirk to his lips to know the lizard was suffering. He never did understand why Seela put up with half of the things that he made her do. Yes, she had bonded with him some time back but he was fairly certain that any other familiar would have had enough by now and left. He supposed it showed a resilience in her that few other creatures had. Turning his gaze he watched as Seela made in to him and then collapse at his feet. He could have told her she did a good job of keeping up and to rest but Erasto wasn't much for giving praise.
Turning his attention away from the exhausted lizard Erasto cast his gaze about. BlackIce wasn't here yet, but they hadn't exactly set a time to meet, simply a day. As much as he hated waiting about he was willing to do so, just this once, so that he could gain the knowledge of mountain herbs and learn what potions they could be used in.
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:52 am
BlackIce had suspected that Erasto would beat him to the meeting place and while it annoyed him somewhat to think about being beaten to the location he took solace in the fact that it meant he wouldn't have to stand around and wait. In any case the delay had not been something he could prevent - not if he wanted to bring all the materials he had planned, the mountain was sometimes a cruel mistress and as such gathering materials tended to take a bit of time as well as a bit of luck. Still he had brought a good amount and topping the rise to see that his prediction had been correct and Erasto waited for him down below BlackIce picked up his pace, trotting swiftly towards the other stallion.
"Sorry to keep you waiting ." He called out as he approached though he failed to offer any other explanation, in all honestly he doubted the other stallion really cared what had kept him as much as he just wanted the knowledge he had brought along. That much the two undoubtedly had in common.
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:09 am
Spotting BlackIce approaching Erasto inspected the stallion. He seemed to have brought quite a bit fo supplies with him, a good sign since it meant they would have plenty to work with. Between the things that BlackIce was bringing and all of the herbs and other materials that he himself had brought it looked like they would have their hooves full for quite a while. Good thing he was committed to this swapping of information or he might not be willing to stick around for so long.
Nodding his head in greeting to BlackIce. "I only just arrived myself." He told the younger stallion, though part of him had planned to get here first, just because he liked to be present as others arrived. His eyes moved to the bundle of materials that BlackIce had brought. "We have much work ahead of us." Thought that was obvious, considering everything that had been brought between them. "Is this the best spot to do the work? Or is there a better spot elsewhere?" Mostly he wanted to make sure that others would not come along during a critical part of a particular potion.
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:34 am
BlackIce glanced around them at the others inquisition. "This spot is fairly private I believe, at least I have never spotted anyone here when traveling through - however we can always move into the trees a ways to ensure privacy if you'd prefer?" He asked the other stallion - it would certainly be annoying to deal with inquisitive travelers while they were in the middle of a potion. Then again such travelers might provide an amusing test subject at the same time... no right now he was here to learn, he could always play with the potions after he learned them.
Eyeing the materials Erasto had brought as well as his own the stallion considered for a few moments. "We will need a fairly good sized clearing if we are to move about freely and not be constantly worried about getting in the way of each other or tainting the potions though."
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:55 am
Erasto considered the options. This area did look to be fairly unused compared to some of the places he had seen on the way. As much as it would be nice to be completely away from prying eyes, this particular spot did have it's benefits. As BlackIce said, and he knew from experience, it was better to have a large open area to do this kind of work, especially when learning. "This area will suffice for now." He decided after a couple of moments. "WE can always move to a different location later if needed. But that would take time as they would likely have their supplies spread out and creations in the works.
"Let us begin then." He stated and then glanced around the area once more. "We should each use half of this area to set up what is needed, that will keep the contamination rate low." The one thing he hated more than anything was getting a potion contaminated and ruining the batch. He moved away, picking the space he would work with. "Once we are set up we will begin creating potions, to keep this fair we will swap back and forth until we run out of daylight." First thing was first though, he needed to get his supplies sorted and so he set about doing that.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 10:07 am
BlackIce waited patiently as Erasto considered the option, he would let the older stallion decide what area he wanted to work in as he was likely more experienced when it came to these sort of things. He would be lying however if he said he wasn't pleased with the older stallions decision, it would be far easier to work on his concoctions out here in the open where one did not have to worry about low tree limbs and other such things getting in their way.
"That sound good to me." He told the other stallion as Erasto laid out the plan, it made sense to him, and judging by the suns position they would have plenty of time to trade information before they lost the light. Like the other stallion BlackIce moved away and chose a nice clear flat space in which to set up his supplies. Dropping the bag he had brought he started to pull things out and organize them, separating his ingredients and equipment into piles based on what potion they would be used to create.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 1:50 pm
While he busied himself with setting out his own supplies, Erasto kept an eye on the younger stallion as well, paying attention to how he laid out the various plants and materials, seeing which ones he kept close and which ones were kept further away from others. Sometimes a potion could be ruined simply by having another plant too close and it's properties affecting the outcome of the concoction. Of course those mistakes also sometimes led to new and interesting discoveries. After all, potion making was more about experimenting until one got the desired affects than anything else.
Slowly he sorted the various herbs, some of which he had placed in separate bags within the main bag, into the necessary piles he would need to make the potions. The first one he would show BlackIce was relatively simple to make, however it was not one to be taken lightly, as it could easily drop a fully grown stallion in a matter of minutes if too much was ingested or if some splashed onto the creator. The effects would eventually wear off, the time of length depending on how much was ingested, but it had it's purposes - mainly subduing unruly candidates. He ran his eyes over the ingredients, double checking everything was in it's proper place and then glanced at his lizard Seela, giving her a look that said if she got in the way she would become an ingredient herself. "When you are ready, we shall begin. I have something simple but very handy to show you."
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:54 am
BlackIce took great care in the way he organized his materials,several of the high mountain plants, particularly the needles of certain pine trees looked very similar to one another and mixing them up could be somewhat disastrous. The stallion found himself somewhat torn about which potion he would show Erasto first..but when the other stallion spoke BlackIce decided he would wait and let his subconscious work on that particular problem while Erasto shared his concoction.
Taking one last look at his own preparations to make sure that everything was where it should be and would stay there BlackIce turned and moved towards the other stallion satisfied this things were properly secured. "I am ready whenever you are." He told Erasto as he came close, ear's pricking slightly as he looked over the other stallions plants and preparations.
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:28 am
Erasto waited until he was certain that he had BlackIce's full attention, but already he could tell this stallion truly wanted to learn and share their secrets, so he had little to worry about. "This one doesn't have a name yet, but I have used it plenty." Using his hoof he pulled a turtle shell close to him. And then began picking up herbs. "Mint...to make it more desirable to drink," he said as he picked up one. "A small amount of moss." He added that. "Swamp water." He said dumping a small container into the shell. "Though you could use river water for this, you would need to at least double all the other ingredients to make it potent enough." Swamp water was ideal though. "Give it a stir."
Picking up a stick he gave the care a slow but careful stir, making sure not to slosh it around too much. "Now the most important ingredient, but the one you must be most careful with. "Root of the Swamp Milkweed" For this he took his time, carefully transferring the root into the mixture. Then he picked up a large rock and place it atop of the rock, then using his hoof he carefully squished the root. Using the stick he removed the rock and gave the concoction another stir. "If you have an unruly subject who will not submit to you, make them either drink this or simply splash it on them. It works faster to ingest, but even half of what is in this turtle shell can drop a stallion larger that me in a matter of moments. They will recover with time, but they will be slow to return to their full strength and mental capacities. It gives one enough time to restrain them and perhaps even pour something else down their throat." The gave BlakcIce a small smile. "And as a bonus, I have yet to find anything that will react with this, so it's safe to give another potion while they are out without jeopardizing your experiments results." Of course it could prove wrong in the future, but all of his potions worked just fine with it.
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