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Parchment Precursor - Research into Unconventional Alchemy XV

Journal of Conrad Azohi - Day 906 after embarking

Reading back, my previous journal entry seems more frantic than what I am usually comfortable with. In my defense, I had recently undergone a terrifying experience, and my mind was addled by lack of nutrition, rest, and an overabundance of rage. That being said, I may have acted rashly when I melted the cages of the slavers. It was an act which seriously endangered my life, and which will likely have negative repercussions in the future.

That being said, I am glad that I managed to discern the molecular structure of that combustive fluid while in my addled state, and so thoroughly document it. Those who have funded this journey of mine will be glad to know that my instincts for alchemy will hold even when I am disoriented beyond a reasonable extent.

To reiterate what I sloppily tried to convey in my last journal entry, I am going to stay here, in Takik, for a while, to attempt to help the citizens of this place organize themselves and earn more recognition from the leadership of the city. As I have spoken about in my last two journal entries, this leadership only interacts with the caravans and merchants who visit the city, leaving their actual populace to the whims of those caravans and merchants. This trend is extended to the point that it is considered the status quo to be trod upon by merchants, and lower citizens are expected to simply pick themselves up and continue in their life after some tragedy befalls them at the hands of these merchants.

The family next door saving me was actually a deviation from the norm, in this respect. It happens from time to time, where a citizen will attempt to defy the merchants. This is only rarely done because the citizen lacks the resources to save themselves reliably. After discussing it with several citizens, it is a common theme that they wish they could defy the merchants more readily, but every time they do, it is at great risk to themselves.

My belief is that the citizenship of Takik can garner more control of their situation by banding together. To this end, I have begun to work. I've been travelling back and forth to different communities and conversing with the people there. At the same time, to reach out to the populace more broadly, we have begun to produce fliers to pass out. I have devised a type of parchment which bonds with the luminous tattoo ink I detail in my third journal entry. It is surprising to me that something from as far away as the Nuro Lakelands would be so useful.

Lacking a full sized alchemy engine, it is impossible to produce full sheets of cloth or parchment. So, instead, I have been producing this parchment as a loose sludge, which is then pressed into thin sheets and allowed to dry in the sun. The irregular shapes of the molecules force them into particular configurations when pressure is applied. These configurations, along with the presence of vitae and mors in the molecules, allow the ink to remain luminous for longer than it would normally.

These sheets of paper, with their glowing, red-and-yellow lettering, are very eye catching, which will help the citizens of Takik to notice them more readily, thereby drawing them in.