Worldbuilding Prompt #390 - The Peril of Potions

This post was inspired by a prompt in the Worldbuilding Community.

It is; Irresponsible tests and wonderful discoveries. What medicines in your world were discovered/created via irresponsible or dangerous tests? What effects were discovered?

I have to admit I've interpreted the prompt pretty loosely (but then I kind of always do that...)


Image created by AI in Wombo.art

The chamber was some kind of awful mess, like the bastard child of an alchemist's laboratory cross-bred with a barber-surgeon's office. It's soot-covered ceiling was twice the height a room this size would normally have, giving the space a strange, out-of-proportion feel but also allowing unexpected reactions to vent themselves somewhat more safely.

Three of the walls were lined with wooden tables, liberally covered with assorted hand-blown glassware. Behind them were shelves, covered in glass bottles, jars and vials. They contained all kinds of samples, reagents, chemicals and completed potions. Most were unlabelled.

The fourth wall was different. It held a large wooden slab, upended so that it was about twenty degrees from vertical. It was like a large table propped against the wall.

Strapped to this table, and writhing against it with all it's rather limited strength, was a goblin, clad in nothing but a rag for a loincloth. It was clear the creature had no hope of breaking the sturdy leather belts holding him firmly at waist, neck, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. It didn't stop him trying, but the result was pitiful to watch.

On the opposite side of the chamber was another figure. Human, but his already short stature diminished further by a hunched stoop. Terrible posture, but then he did appear to be ancient. He was wearing expensive purple robes embroidered with complex sigils and signs, and his fingers bore rings of incalculable value.

"Well, my little man," he rasped, his voice ruined by age and too many pipes of assorted herbal smoking mixtures. "Let's see what this blend does. Open wide for Mr Dabra !"

It was clear the restrained goblin had no intention of obeying willingly, which is why his tormentor held a strong steel funnel in his left hand. Jamming it into the creature's mouth, he upended the vial clutched in his right hand, pouring the fizzing green contents into the funnel.

Mr Dabra's victim coughed and spluttered, earning him a pinched nose that forced him to swallow. A few seconds later, his attempts to escape became frantic, even more desperate than before, until he hiccoughed and a gout of flame billowed from between his lips.

The mage was stood to one side all this time, taking notes. "Hmmm, it seems a mix of Potion of Speed and Potion of Dragonbreath doesn't work well. The first is of a shorter duration, and the second appears reduced so as to be almost pointless. On to the next blend."

Moving to the bench, he selected two bottles from a shelf, carefully pouring equal amounts into a beaker. One was a glistening red oozing fluid, the other a freely flowing clear liquid with flecks of gold sparkling from within. After a quick stir, he picked up his funnel and approached the bound goblin again.

In crude, poorly enunciated Firathi, the goblin desperately begged. "No mazza, no ! No potans, no moar, plizz !"

"Oh do shut up !" was all the reply he got, as the funnel was forced between his teeth once more. This time, the result appeared to please Mr Dabra better. Marks which had deliberately been cut into the poor creatures body closed up rapidly, and at the same time he rapidly faded until it appeared the leather straps just held his shape.

Mr Dabra stood with a stopwatch in hand, counting off the minutes as the apparently empty leather straps flapped around. After around twenty minutes, the goblin faded back into view. "Invisibility and healing. A good mix. Both seem to work at twice their normal efficacy," he inscribed into his journal.


Image created by AI in Wombo.art

"Right, one more test before lunchtime. What shall we try...."

He ran his hand around the benches until he came to a small corked bottle with a free-flowing oily blue fluid inside. "Here we are, Fire Resistance and Elixir of Youth. Should be enough for a quick test before lunch."

By this time, the poor goblin was hanging limp in his bonds, out of energy and out of hope. All he could do was pray for a respite when his cruel captor went off to take his lunch break.

There was no resistance to the steel funnel this time. The potion was poured into his waiting mouth in a single motion, and Mr Dabra retreated to pick up his journal again, ready to take notes.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the goblin appeared to lose a few wrinkles as his skin tightened. A curious gurgling came from his stomach. A stomach which started to rapidly distend. The captive goblin bucked in his straps. He let out the beginning of a scream. A scream which was terminated by a loud, soggy "BANG !" as the unfortunate creature exploded.

Lumps of flesh, bits of bone and strings of internal organs splattered against the walls of the laboratory as the goblin's insides became his outsides. A few glass jars were shattered, but there was no other significant damage.

Mr Dabra calmly wiped a piece of brain from his glasses, strode over to the door and shouted out to his assistant. "Igor, I'll take my lunch now ! You'll need to come in here with the bucket and mop again. Then fetch another goblin !"

In case you're wondering, this piece was inspired by a conversation with a couple of people I regularly play Dungeons & Dragons with. We were talking about how much of a shame it was that D&D 3.5 (the version we tend to play the most) had dropped the potion miscibility table that had been such a fun feature of 2nd Edition, and had then bought a version of it back in 5th Edition.

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
34 Comments
Ecency