While Elara took care of the grease, Erik finished sifting the SARI, at which point he grabbed some clayey soil that had been left over from the construction of the shelters. After separating and sifting the clay, Erik summoned the prismatic barrier containing the stone dome with the water laced with traces of Zaryonite, bringing it closer until it was floating right in front of him.
Carefully, Erik deactivated the barrier and let the stone dome fall to the ground. Then, he opened a small hole in the stone sphere using a spell. Holding a bamboo container, Erik rotated the stone sphere so that a small stream poured into the container. Once Erik had filled approximately one-sixth of the bamboo container, he quickly closed the hole in the stone sphere and created another barrier to contain it.
"The charcoal is ready."
At that moment, Ebonique returned to Erik's workspace and commented in a somewhat flat voice. The star-haired boy turned to look at her, noticing that the dragoness was carrying what appeared to be a medium-sized hollowed-out stone filled to the brim with fine black powder. With a smile on his face, Erik remarked in a satisfied tone.
"You did it perfectly, Ebonique. You're the best."
"Hehe."
Hearing the compliment, Ebonique couldn't help but laugh a little, then set down the stone she had hollowed out herself and used as a mortar. With familiar movements, Ebonique shrank down and let herself fall onto Erik's head before asking.
"What's next?"
"Now we have to mix the ingredients. Luckily, we managed to get water with traces of Zaryonite; that saves us a lot of time and work."
Erik replied in a calm voice, while, on the cut stone he used as a table, he began making a circle in the mound of sifted SARI. As she looked curiously at the strange ingredients, Ebonique asked.
"Can I help with anything?"
"It's not necessary." Erik replied calmly, taking the clay and the ground charcoal. "This part is easy. We just have to add one part clay and half a part ground charcoal for every three parts of SARI. Then we mix it well without using mana, so we don't affect the SARI."
"Erik, the grease is ready."
While Erik was mixing, Elara returned with a bamboo container filled with purified liquid grease. Erik turned to look at her and commented with a smile, as he extended his right hand to receive the container.
"Thank you, Elara. You arrived at just the right time."
With a cheerful smile, Elara handed the bamboo container to Erik, who set it on the table before picking up the water container. With slow movements, Erik began adding water to the mixture as he kneaded it.
Soon, Erik managed to create a paste firm enough to form a cylinder that didn't stick to his fingers, at which point he carefully began adding the grease. As Erik kneaded the mixture, Ebonique and Elara watched him in silence, almost hypnotized by his focused expression and his methodical, steady movements.
"Well, now this is ready." After a few minutes, Erik commented as he pinched the dough, then turned to look at Elara and added with a smile.
"It's time to start molding."
"How do I do it?"
Elara quickly asked in a serious tone, trying to hide the slight blush on her cheeks. Erik pointed to the shelter where he had slept for a while the night before, and replied.
"I made the molds last night; I left them in the shelter. They're some boards with triangular grooves."
"I'll go get them!" Elara announced, then hurried off toward the shelter.
Meanwhile, Ebonique flew over to the dough, then pinched off a piece of the whitish dough with her claws, which had the texture of modeling clay. Stretching the small piece of dough between her claws, Ebonique looked at Erik and asked curiously.
"Is that all there is to it? Do we already have the chalk?"
"More or less." Erik replied as he rubbed his hands. "Now we just have to put the dough in the molds, do the pre-drying, and align the Zaryonite inside the mixture to improve its conductivity."
"Align the Zaryonite?" Elara, who was coming back with two boards with carved grooves, asked curiously. Erik took the boards from Elara's hands and replied.
"Yes, it'll be a bit tricky since I'll have to rely on a spell, but nothing to worry about."
"I see…" Elara commented in understanding, then looked at the dough and asked. "Now we just have to put the dough into the molds, right?"
"Exactly." Erik replied as he placed one of the boards on the table, then took a bit of grease and spread it over the grooves. "But first, you have to grease the mold. After that, it's just a matter of pressing the dough firmly into the groove. Remember, it's very important to press hard enough to get out the air bubbles, or the chalk might crack when it dries."
"I understand."
Elara nodded and commented in a serious tone, never taking her eyes off Erik's movements, wanting to avoid making a mistake when it was her turn. Once he finished pressing the dough into the groove, Erik looked at Elara and said.
"For the pre-drying, you just have to place the molds near a low flame. But remember not to use mana at any point. In the meantime, I'll start preparing the base for the potion."
"Leave it to me." Elara announced, clenching one of her small fists. Erik nodded with a smile and said.
"I'm counting on you, then."
While Elara took the dough to press it into the molds, Erik grabbed the leftover ground charcoal and the stone dome with the water containing traces of Zaryonite, then walked several meters away from the shelter. Ebonique asked as she floated above the stone sphere.
"By the way, what is a 'potion base,' Erik?"
"Well, the potion base is basically a liquid base in which the ingredients are mixed." Erik replied in a calm voice as he collected gravel from the ground using phantom hands. "There are many different types, and it depends on the kind of potion you want to make. But in this case, we're going to make the simplest one."
"What do we have to do?"
Ebonique quickly asked, her eyes shining with curiosity, which made Erik smile. His beloved contracted spirit was supposed to look like this—curious, restless, and adorable; all that worry just didn't suit her at all. With a calm smile, Erik began gathering fine sand and explained.
"First of all, we need to filter the water with traces of Zaryonite that we got from the rocky ruins and boil around 5 liters of the water that Zoe brought yesterday."
"How can I help?"
Ebonique floated in front of Erik, about a meter tall, and asked. Erik pointed to the ground a few meters away and commented calmly as he began to draw a small diagram in the dirt.
"For now, I need to make a sort of tunnel in the ground with two openings. That will be our oven."
"I understand. Leave it to me!"
Memorizing the drawing on the ground, Ebonique exclaimed confidently, then started digging the hole. Erik couldn't help but laugh softly, but he quickly turned around and walked over to a leftover log from when he built the shelters. Using magical edge, Erik carved a bowl into the log, then grabbed the sample sack Frank had brought.
From the sack, Erik took what looked like a bead made of dried resin, which he placed inside the hollowed-out log. Pulling out a quartz splinter from the sack, Erik summoned the barrier that held the Vidrena roots and made it float toward him. After cutting the quartz so that one end was pointed, Erik made a hole in the other end and threaded one of the Vidrena roots through it.
Tying the root to the quartz, Erik ended up creating a kind of loop with the Vidrena root, which he slipped onto his middle finger, leaving the quartz hanging like a pendulum. At that moment, Erik heard Ebonique's curious voice behind him.
"What's that, Erik?"
"Let's just say it's a 'rudimentary mana detector.' It'll come in handy later."
Without turning around, Erik replied while sending light pulses of mana into the quartz through the Vidrena root, causing it to move slightly. Even more curious now, Ebonique floated in front of the quartz pendulum and asked.
"A mana detector? How does that work?"
"The concept is actually pretty simple." Erik said, as he picked up his machete and channeled mana through it while placing the quartz pendulum on top. The quartz began to move slightly.
"Quartz vibrates a little when it comes into contact with mana. But it's too subtle to notice with the naked eye, which is why I tied it to the Vidrena root. Thanks to its crystalline and fibrous structure, it acts as a resonance box and turns the vibration into the movement you see."
"Ohhh…" Ebonique let out an adorable sound of realization, which made Erik laugh again. He then asked playfully.
"And how's the hole coming along?"
"It's done!"
Ebonique replied with a smile, placing her claws on what would be her waist in her dragon body. Erik turned to look and found the hole perfectly made, so he turned back to look at his adorable spirit and commented with a smile.
"Great job."
"Hehe." Ebonique laughed cheerfully, forgetting her worries for a moment, then asked curiously.
"Are we going to boil the water now?"
"Exactly, but first we need to prepare a couple of things." Erik answered as he picked up the hollowed-out log with a solidified Myst hand, then looked at Ebonique and added.
"For now, you'll be in charge of putting charcoal in one of the tunnel's openings, and I'll cut some rocks."
"On it!"
Ebonique replied, flying off to get the charcoal. Meanwhile, Erik cut a nearby rock to create a perfectly smooth slab, which he used to cover the entrance that Ebonique had filled with charcoal, which he ignited with an electric arc. Once the slab was hot, Erik placed the hollowed-out log on top, melting the resin inside with a spell.
"Are you going to coat the inside with resin?"
Sitting on Erik's head, Ebonique asked curiously, watching his actions closely. Erik had conjured a spatula out of solidified Myst with a spell and began to spread the melted resin inside the log, gradually creating a glassy, even coating.
"Yes. Since we don't have a cauldron, we have to improvise." Erik explained as he took the log off the fire. "Basically, this combination of Thornhelm wood with a glassy film of Glowsap resin should keep out impurities and conduct heat and mana moderately well—the most basic functions of a cauldron."
"Ohhh..." Ebonique exclaimed in realization. "Now we have something to boil the water in."
"Exactly."
Erik said with a smile as he pointed at the log with his index finger. Soon, different runes formed over the log, gathering into a circle. From the center of the runic circle, a small stream of water began to fall, cooling and cleaning the improvised cauldron.
Once it was clean, Erik poured about five liters of the water Zoe had brought into the log, then put it back on the hot stone slab. As the water began to heat up, Erik turned to look at Ebonique, who was flying around the log at about 30 cm tall, visibly curious, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Well, Ebonique, your job now is to focus on keeping the fire going in our oven and let me know the moment the water boils. I'll be getting some other things ready."
"You can count on it!"
Ebonique quickly turned to look at Erik and replied confidently, patting her chest, which made Erik chuckle a little. The star-haired boy then reminded her in a serious tone.
"By the way, keep the flame medium-low and try not to use mana near the log—it could complicate things."
"Don't worry, I won't use even the slightest bit of mana!" Ebonique replied quickly, full of confidence, so Erik nodded and went to prepare the other necessary things.
…
Picking up a leftover branch from the ground, Erik began to carefully carve it until it was perfectly clean and even, then used a vine to braid what looked like a helical whisk. When the whisk was ready, Erik enclosed it in a Myst barrier and began making a water filter using gravel, sand, and charcoal in a small wooden cup with a hole in the bottom.
Tying the filter to a tree, Erik placed a bamboo container underneath and started filtering the water with traces of Zaryonite. Then he carved a stone with a magical edge, soon managing to create a mortar. With the mortar ready, Erik stretched out his finger to create a circle of runes that let a small stream of water fall into the mortar, then added the equivalent of two tablespoons of SARI.
After grinding for several minutes, Erik ended up with a cloudy, milky liquid, which he set on the ground to settle, while he went to look for a large stone. Several minutes later, Erik returned with a huge rock, which he cut in half using magical edge, creating two sturdy, perfectly smooth tables.
"Erik! The water's boiling!"
As he was placing the ingredients on one of the tables, Erik suddenly heard Ebonique's energetic call, so he quickly turned to look at the cauldron. Sure enough, the water in the improvised cauldron was releasing large amounts of bubbles. Erik took the stone mortar that had been settling and commented in a serious tone.
"Let it boil for five minutes and then lower the flame. Keep the water at about 90 degrees—you'll know it's the right temperature when small bubbles to form."
"Got it!" Ebonique quickly replied in a serious tone, staring intently at the water while keeping a mental count of the time.
Meanwhile, Erik observed the liquid in the mortar, which had a milky layer at the bottom and a clear layer on top. Discarding the clear part, Erik saved the milky liquid in a bamboo container. At that moment, he turned to look at Ebonique, only to find her diving into the hole that served as the oven, without the slightest fear of the fire.
Soon, Ebonique emerged from the hole carrying several pieces of glowing red-hot charcoal. Setting the burning charcoal aside, Ebonique floated in front of the improvised cauldron and carefully checked the water, totally unharmed and showing not the slightest sign of damage from her direct contact with the fire.
"Erik, I think it's ready."
Realizing that the water was now only forming small bubbles, Ebonique quickly turned to look at Erik, who had come over to her side, and commented with a small smile.
"You're absolutely right, it's ready." Erik put the helical whisk into the cauldron and handed the bamboo container with the milky liquid to Ebonique.
"Pour this liquid in slowly as I stir."
"Got it." Ebonique replied seriously and began to pour in the liquid.
Meanwhile, Erik started sending a small pulse of mana through the whisk as he stirred. Soon, the bamboo container was empty, and after a few minutes, the water began to emit small pulses of cloudy light whenever it came into contact with Erik's mana.
"Ebonique." Erik called to his reliable contracted spirit, handing her the container of water with traces of Zaryonite, and explained.
"Now I need you to help me add the Zaryonite water, but this time you have to be very careful—only do it when I tell you, and never more than 30 drops at a time."
"Understood."
Ebonique replied seriously as she received the container. Meanwhile, Erik continued stirring the water clockwise while sending small pulses of mana through the whisk. Then he announced,
"Add about 25 drops, Ebonique."
Following his instructions, Ebonique let a small stream of water fall, estimating it to be the "25 drops" Erik had mentioned. The star-haired boy nodded, satisfied with the amount, and continued stirring the water clockwise and sending small pulses of mana. Soon, Erik noticed that the glow his mana produced in the water changed, becoming a bit more bluish and clear, so he quickly announced,
"Add another 20 drops."
Ebonique quickly let another small stream fall. After stirring for a full two minutes, Erik noticed that the glow became dimmer but much more uniform. Seeing the glow in the water, Erik ordered seriously.
"Now just 10 drops."
Following the instructions, Ebonique let an even smaller stream fall. After another two minutes, the glow in the water changed, now becoming an intense blue light, to the point where small luminous spots appeared beneath the surface. This made Erik smile bitterly, and he commented with a sigh.
"We went over—it should have been five drops, not ten."
"Does that mean we have to start over?" Ebonique asked, a little disheartened, to which Erik nodded and replied.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean this batch is useless. We'll use it later."
"I've put the chalk molds out in the sun. Do you need any help?" At that moment, Elara arrived in front of them and asked with a smile. Erik smiled calmly and replied.
"You arrived at the perfect time. First, let's take care of the chalk for the finishing touches, and then we'll come back."
***
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