The only difference between “f*** around and find out” and science is whether or not you write down your findings -- Anon Guest
Mishi checked his ears for blood. Okay. None there. That meant that there was an increased chance that the hearing loss was temporary. Next, he risked wiggling his fingers and toes. Nothing hurt too badly. Sitting up -carefully, of course- revealed that he was now some distance away from the smoulding ruins of his former workshop. Ow. Living hurt.
Patting his pockets, Mishi found the fireproof notebook[1] and the pencil hidden inside the dragonhide binding. One eye closed so he could focus, Mishi wrote, Saltpetre[2] and glycerine mixture results in an explosion similar to Fireball. Following some thought, he added, It is clearly beneficial to be experimenting in a tumbledown shack.
Indeed, if he had been working in the stone cellars of royalty, he might be an interesting stain associated with a cautionary tale by now. Mishi waited for the ringing and the double images to go away before paging back to the outline of the experiment. Finding a blank space, Mishi added, DANGEROUSLY UNSTABLE to the ingredients list and steps to prepare.
On one hand, he now had a potion of fireball. On the other hand, it had a tendency to go off at inopportune moments. If there was a way to stabilise it so that it was more likely to explode when people wanted it to, Mishi might be on to a winner.
As it stood, he was overdue for some more ridicule. Here it came in the form of Gamma Tenbello, with her big basket of bandages and salves. "I saw the mushroom cloud," she yelled, making sure to shape her words clearly. A very mobile mouth helped Mishi lipread and they both knew it. "So I knew you were in trouble." She looked over to the burning petals of Mishi's former shack. Then looked back to him.
"Saltpetre and glycerine. Don't mix them. And if you do mix them, be careful how you put it down." He let the old wise woman help him up, and gratefully accepted the loan of her walking stick.
"That's almost as bad as the black powder," she grumbled. "Don't let this one get away from you, eh?"
"It's amazing what one can do with ordinary household substances," Mishi mused, taking a seat on the ironwood stump so Gamma Tenbello could tend his injuries. The adrenaline was wearing off and he could feel that he had come away from it all with a multiple[3]. "Though if this one gets away from me, there will not be much left of the people who steal it."
Gamma Tenbello couldn't disagree. "There's hardly enough left of you. I'm going to have to drag you back for convalescence at the inn."
Mishi wanted to deny it, but she was also splinting both his legs, binding his feet, and picking shards of glass out of his flesh. "At least there's plenty of wood to make a travois with."
Tenbello handed him her hip flask. "Get this inside you before the shock wears off. You're going to be feeling everything in five minutes."
He was starting to feel everything now. It was not a fun experience. Ow. "Maybe we should line up some planks for me to lie on now... Save some time."
Tenbello was already strapping him to a sturdy plank. "Probably smart that you don't move more than necessary, anyway. This is some bad multiple."
He watched her build the travois around him and then stop to jot some notes of her own.
"You're writing a book too?"
"Aye, the care and maintenance of dumb-ass artificers. You're my case study. Subject Dipshit."
He'd laugh, but it hurt too much.
[1] Essential equipment, for reasons that become increasingly obvious the more you learn about tinkering, artificing, and experimental work in all realms.
[2] Better known in chemistry as potassium nitrate.
[3] It doesn't matter what injuries there are, just that there's lots of them.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / blamb]
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