Subscribe to download
Toxin Removal - Research into Unconventional Alchemy XXI

Journal of Conrad Azohi - Day 1,095 after embarking

Today is the three year anniversary of the day I embarked on this expedition. In the last three years, I have seen wondrous civilizations, nearly died in a desert, met a lost alchemist from my homeland, discovered the existence of a civilization in places previously unexplored by anyone from the eastern world, was captured by slavers for two weeks, and helped overthrow a government which abused it's citizens.

I have been doing some soul searching over the last couple of days. I managed to devise a method of purifying the river of that putrid toxin. Using some copper and a fairly compact system, we can break apart the molecules and create an inert, copper-mors compound which doesn't dissolve in water, and bubbles up the surface, forming a film that can easily be scooped off. It was fairly easy to set up stations further up-river where people could employ this method to begin removing the poison. However, had I not been here, the act of poisoning the river would have likely killed the entire city of Takik, as well as any other cities down-river which rely on it's water to survive. In fact, I believe many of those cities haven't yet received the knowledge I have attempted to spread concerning the process of transmuting distilled water out of common materials. There is a chance that many of those down-river communities are dying off.

However, the realization that the city is so reliant on me has made me reflect on what I've done. Had I not been here, there would have been no attempt to change the governing laws of Takik. If there had been, it would have been a struggle for the downtrodden masses to succeed. A struggle which may have gone on for many years, at that. They wouldn't have had the weaponry and resources I've been able to supply. My aide likely shortened the conflict from years of investment to only a few months. As much as we alchemists try to say that we can't do everything, these facts bring it into sharp relief how powerful our abilities are, especially contrasted against those who have no knowledge of alchemy.

I've voiced the thought that I might soon choose to leave Takik, and explore the rest of this western world. The new leaders of Takik seemed distressed by this thought. It seems they cannot imagine maintaining control of their city without my aide. This makes me begin to doubt that I actually did the correct thing in helping to give these people control of their situation. Have I given these people power over a place they don't have the ability to manage? Will this place collapse without me here to prop the new rulers up? If I leave, will Takik fall into ruin, ultimately destroyed by my actions? I am nervous.

At the same time, I don't intend to stay here forever. I hope to finish this journal and return to my Imperial homeland. As much as this city has welcomed me, and as much as I have done for the city, I won't spend the rest of my life here. So, I must face the fact that I could be a stain on history for my actions, upsetting a balance of power and placing responsibilities on shoulders ill equipped to bear those responsibilities. The first traveler from across the Ahran, a harbinger of doom, who destroys the first city he encounters.

I need to consider what I will do. I think I might stay here a while yet. Perhaps two months, or longer. I need to give these leaders time to adjust to their new position of power. I should also make sure that they are secure in their city. Perhaps I will train a few trustworthy people in the fundamentals of alchemy. Obviously, it would take years to teach someone everything they would need to know in order to fill the role I have created for myself, but I can teach them how to make the things I've equipped them with, at the very least. After this adjustment period, I will head out, likely down the river, and stop by the cities that the toxin has spread to, and equip them with the purifying method I have developed. I will need to travel in disguise, though. I've garnered a reputation already, and I don't fancy the idea of being recognized everywhere I go.

I intend to make my next journal entry some time after leaving, so I might be silent for some time.