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Darklight Oil - Research into Unconventional Alchemy XXII

Journal of Conrad Azohi - Day 1,192 after embarking

The last few months have been, thankfully, calmer than those that came before. Most of the remainder of my time spent in Takik was spent training a few citizens in novice-level alchemy, and discussing with the new leaders of Takik topics of how a government should conduct itself. Naturally, as I had been instrumental in the revolution of Takik, many of the new leaders sought my input. The former rulers were drawn out of their estates and disbanded, either forced into exile or, for those who were proving to be more stubborn, imprisoned. When I finally left the city, the new rulers, each one a leader of a different community in the city, insisted that they equip me well for any journey I undertake. They gave me a well made Ulka, which is a type of raft which can be easily adapted into a cart by simply attaching wheels, a selection of dried meats and vegetables, a map of many local areas, some thin, lightweight clothing, and some new alchemy equipment which they had me design. Two locals insisted on journeying with me as well. A fisherman named Hornon and his son, a teenager, named Jaku. They have been a great help already, maintaining the Ulka and catching some fish.

At first, we traveled along the length of the river. After about five days, however, we left the more populated regions of the river and began to get into the wilds. These lowlands have more greenery than farther up river. In these regions, we started seeing some of the effects of the poisoning of the river. Trees and shrubery along the shoreline were dead, their roots turning black. Thankfully, with the river being purified, the ecological damage will not be permanent. Those plants which died will fall, but future generations will survive without much trouble. The damage to animal life might be more long lasting. We hardly saw any animals at all, and those few small, primitive communities we encountered were mostly abandonned, their citizens being unable to take care of themselves without the water the river supplied. After a week of passing by these deserted homes, we eventually encountered some people. The river flows fairly swiftly, so we were a long way away from Takik at this point, but, thankfully, many who had fled from up river had come down this way, and gathered around this community, so it was easy enough to find someone who spoke the language of Takik.

It seems that most vegetation in these lowlands tend to either be very dry or require constant watering. So, when the river was poisoned, the plants that needed water were also poisoned. So, any edible plant matter was either toxic or too dry to supply the necessary water for a human to survive. Those who tried to survive mainly tried to do so by hunting, and that became unviable as well, because animals had to also migrate away from the river. However, this community was lucky in that it had a type of tree which grew a long distance from any water source. This tree, through necessity, hoards water, holding it in large, fruit-like pockets which it survives off of until the next rainy season. Though, with the sudden influx of people, the supply of these fruits was beginning to shrink fairly rapidly, and people were afraid to drink the water of the river for fear of the toxin, not knowing it had been almost entirely purified. I had Hornon share the information about the river being mostly safe, and, just to be certain, had him share the technique of purifying the water of the black toxin, in case they find any regions where the poison still lingers. I had Hornon do this because, as I stated before, I don't want to be any more recognizable than I already am, and it seemed a wiser decision to have someone else deliver the news than to try and disguise my appearance. As a result, Hornon became something of a town hero. I don't think he took to it very well.

The town members gifted him a jar of an interesting type of oil, along with many other small trinkets. When shaken vigorously, this oil glows with a dim, indigo light, which slowly fades until shaken again. Apparently, it is something of serious significance, as it is difficult for them to create and this oil will produce light on command for years before becoming chemically inert. The community only had a few dozen jars of this oil in total. It took me a little over two weeks to devise the oil's molecular structure. However, when I did, I was dumbfounded. This mixture of two different molecules glows brighter than any yet-discovered lambent compound, yet has a molecular structure so simple by comparison that it will likely throw the entire alchemical community back home into disarray. I will certainly be conducting continued research into this oil during my travels.