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Exotic Fertilizer - Research into Unconventional Alchemy VII

Journal of Conrad Azohi - Day 510 after embarking

I have spent a few days in this tunnel with my savior. I believe he might be a formally trained alchemist from my Imperial homeland. Despite the fact that he won't share any details about himself, it is clear that he understands what I am describing when I mention specific elements or alchemical traits. I have gathered, through conversation with him, that the sustaining elixir he creates actually uses mors to dampen and slow down biological processes, making it possible to survive longer without proper nutrition. This also tells me that it is very dangerous to drink a large amount of the fluid at once, as it would entirely stop biological activity, instead of just dampening it.

I have found how he brews the drink. Deeper in the tunnel there are what appear to be a type of fungus, similar in shape to a mushroom. They grow in clusters around mounds of a sweet-smelling type of soil. My host states that these mushrooms possess the very unusual property of consuming gold, vitae, and mors. Of course, there are very few naturally occurring compounds which contain all three of those elements in the entire world. However, according to my host, there must have been one of those compounds here, in the cave, for them to have survived before he came here. I'm not sure I believe his words, but the evidence of my eyes lends some credence to what he says.

He uses compounds found deeper underground to craft a material which the fungus can survive on, and he farms them, placing them in boiling water to create the elixir that he survives on. Apparently it is not sufficient to survive on alone, however, as he states that he trades with some travelers for dried meats and fruits. He has told me that these traders will come when summer ends, and that it will be my fate to go with them, as he does not desire company.

My host confuses me in many ways. He must be from my homeland, yet does not wish to know anything of the developments of recent years and seems set on living his life in isolation. I haven't pushed the matter of him returning, but I do believe he would be opposed. It is a shame, for he strikes me as a brilliant alchemist, and the academic world would be well served to see him return. Though, in the meantime, I suppose I must be content with learning what I can from him. So far I have copied down the recipe for the fertilizer he farms the mushrooms on. It is detailed in the next few pages.