An Epidemic of Delirium Tremens

[Janick Beauchamp]

Let's see: benzodiazepines, Asobi 95% tihaar, sedatives and of course, mineral water: the ingredients I need to make people asleep for the long haul, and potentially kill them in their sleep. Even if they survive, they will suffer all the long-term side effects of alcohol at a highly-accelerated pace; however, if my calculations are correct, the resulting poison will have 40% abv as opposed to 95%, so it's no longer azeotropic goodness, but death by vodka, and survivors will also get allergic symptoms, much as is the case with the alchemized mead, she thought, while brewing enough witch brew to fill up a proton bomb. At the same time, the dark side is being infused in the blood, which, in turn, is mixed to the witch brew, while ensuring, as always, that the blood wouldn't be contaminated. Strands of purple-black Force-energy are flowing into the cauldron, not suspecting that, outside, one [member="Cal Bridger "]is following the trail up to her on Utapau, which would ultimately lead him to an upscale neighborhood of Kessil, called New Barkhesh, and with a lot of McMansions around the Utapau Alchemy Castle. Meanwhile, Alyssa and Griet were elsewhere in the castle working on other items, such as allergy-inducing lum and mead for the former, and drill bits, bottles for the latter. In fact, it would also give a strong aftertaste to anybody that survives the poison, enough to get the consumer disgusted by any further consumption of alcohol.

"It seems that I'm a little reluctant, but sometimes discretion in the kill is better than wholesale massacre. And, even if they survived, they will be changed forever: nerve damage, liver damage, gastritis, blood vessel problems. For this reason, this brew should be kept for assassination attempts on targets of strategic importance and, as such, is a last-resort item"

 

[Cal Bridger]

Cal Bridger stood at the exit to his shuttle. This planet was strange. But it appered to him the the darkness that was calling to him was coming from here. He hd leared about the differneces in the force. How there is cosmic, and there is living. He focuesed on the calling. It was dark and made him feel.. weak. But he knew he must stop it. The force was crying out that there was something wrong. And that thing was comming from this planet.

Walking back up the ramp to his shuttle he examined the readings of air quality and toxisity. It was clean. He smiled and stood up walking over to the box of his belongings he had stowed into a corrner of the small space craft. He lifted it up and opened it. Inside were many of his posessions. He shifted through his robes and other items looking for his weapon. The weapon that he had been awarded as he progressed from a student to a priest. There under his cloak was the anteint weapon. The lightsaber. He picked it up and admired the cerimonial markings and symbols along the hilt. It was tradition that the preist would mark it with his family crest when he progressed from a preist to a garidain. The hilt was a beutiful shining sliver. The markings were in a dark black color yet they still reflected the dime light.

He strapped teh weapon to his belt and made his way to the exit of the space craft. He picked up is staff and sorrouned hmself in is cloak. "Whatever it is I am looking for.. I.. I will find it." He said walking off his ship.

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Please, Alyssa, Griet, get out of here! The potion can get real dangerous to you two; I have to get the potion to safety before it's too late!"

With that said, the potion was nearly over, and she realizes the potion could, in fact, rather unstable: one handling mistake and the potion is as good as gone. I could always booby-trap some unsuspecting location that needs to be kept secret, provided the poison survives, or I could serve a portion of the drink to the intruder coming for me: I feel this intruder is there for me, and not for Griet or Alyssa, she thought, while realizing that the safest way to store the poison is chilled, because of the alcohol content, and that a booby-trap would need heat as a trigger. Meanwhile, Alyssa and Griet have taken a speeder back to the airbase, since Griet feels that Alyssa will be safe there, given the security level of the airbase, leaving behind some WIPs, and making sure the cauldron is secured inside the castle's cold room, while having more booze at the ready for when [member="Cal Bridger "]comes. Or rather, using the batch of mead being brewed by Alyssa before she left. Less dangerous, but less potent, too. Time was short for Janick, while the would-be intruder was about to close in on her position, to get the mead finished, while the same black spirit ichor was flowing into the yellow liquid, just less of it as was the case into the poison.

 

[Cal Bridger]

Cal approached a few locals. None of which spoke basic. His rudimentary knowledge of the native tongue was defiantly more of a problem then he suspected. Yet with the information he gathered he knew that on this planet. There were witches. Powerful witches. Cal had heard legends of them and their dark alchemy and spells. He felt a shiver run up his spine as he was told about the dark castle just north of this small village. "This seems like the start of a bad fairy tail." Cal said to himself as he began to walk down the gray trail to the north.

Half an hour had passed by and Cal could finally see the dark castle in the distance. Its steeple was high above the clouds and it loomed over him. He could scene dark energy leaking from the tower. He wanted to turn back. Maybe if he went back to his ship and returned he could one day become a guardian. But he also knew that there was no way he could live down refusing a calling from the force. Something bad was brewing in that dark place. So dark alchemy no doubt. As he approached he took out the hilt of his weapon and clenched it in his hand. Before him laid a dark drawbridge with a moat of black oil. He stood there for a moment looking for some way to bring it down or get across the moat. That is when he heard the creaking from the bridge as it began to lower. "Am.. I.. expected?" The young boy was puzzled. Holding fast to his staff and lightsaber hilt he walked across the wooden bridge into the dark fortress.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

So the one looking for me was having a hard time following the directions given by the Pau'an locals? she thought, while Griet and Alyssa are now within the airbase. If there were wooden bridges and what was likened to a network of oil moats in place in the New Barkhesh neighborhood of Kessil, these were painful reminders of the Mando attack on the planet. The city did get around to complete the reconstruction of the streets, but the oil moat [member="Cal Bridger "]was crossing was, in fact, hot asphalt; the hot asphalt that was appropriate for the soil may, once poured, look like oil. The wooden bridges were intended to be temporary, to be removed once the streets in that neighborhood are rebuilt. Now that the batch of mead was, in fact, finished, she didn't hesitate to pour a glass of the alchemized mead for the guest, putting it on the table, and another glass of the good mead for her. She can also feel that, even though it's likely the newcomer isn't there for Force-lessons or alchemized items, it's still worth trying to get him to acquire those items. Now, she could still feel that perhaps Cal could learn a thing or two from her... provided alchemy isn't in his plans. As she opens the castle's door:

"Welcome to the Utai Magic Circle. I know, with the reconstruction of the roads around here, in the aftermath of the Mandalorian attack on this planet, sometimes the streets are made to look like oil moats, but that's because the city is using a new asphalt mixture that does not require a road roller. In a day or two the street pavement will be actually in condition to be usable as a road, and the wooden bridges will be removed over the next few days after that. Now, is there a Force-power would you like to learn? Or an item you want to get imbued? Or do you simply wish to eat?"

 

[Cal Bridger]

Cal walked through the dime hallways clutching his weapons as he did. When he heard about the possibility of witches and spells he thought back to the stories of the night sisters. They were ugly and evil creatures that used the force to commit all kinds of evil deeds. As he rounded a corner he jumped back at the sight of someone. The room was large and there was a fireplace burning bright lighting up the room. On the walls there were large paintings and strange looking antiques.

The person in the room turned around to face him. Cal felt his face grow hot as she looked into her eyes. "She can't be a witch.. she .. she is beautiful!" He thought to himself. She began to speak in a rather friendly and respectful way. Cal now felt awkward that he was holding his weapon. His quest he had embarked on now seemed pointless. A desperate cry for adventure. That has led him to interrupt a.. force religion? He was unsure what to call witches and magic. The woman walked towards him and asked a few more questions. He was blushing at this point but luckily the dime light from the fire made it hard to see. "I am Cal Bridger. I.. am here because I sensed a disturbance in the force. I demand-.. Umm.." He felt like he was being a little to strong. "Um.. I am new here. I don't really now my way around.. could you maybe point me in the right direction on where the disturbance might be.. located?"
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"The whole castle is, in fact, tainted by the dark side because of the number of alchemized talismans that are produced here, ranging from swords, suits of armor to drill bits. Also I can feel that you think of my beauty as something exotic in the witchcraft world"

That, even though beauty is rather common these days among Force-users. And also the drill bit part is mostly on Griet but I did one or two of those, especially at the early stages of the production run, she thought, realizing that [member="Cal Bridger "]was, in fact, changing his initial plans but there was no reason for Alyssa or Griet to return to the castle for the time being. As for large paintings and strange-looking antiques he was looking at in the living room, these would be paintings of major ORC engagements, commissioned from local artists, and also of the Circle's members: one of Griet, one of Alyssa and one of Janick. And, of course, items such as Charon headdresses, Charon hides collected from Alakaha when fighting the mirrorverse-Zero Sith, and also a Mustafarian Sith Lord from that same mirrorverse encounter that led to the ORC fighting Charon and the Zero Sith. For now, anyway, Janick may have an opportunity to explain herself on the topic of the disturbance in the Force that brought Cal here. And maybe the topic of the alchemized booze if it came to that; the male FU didn't notice that there was one glass of alchemized mead on the table.

"Do you want more information as to exactly what I use alchemy for?"

 

[Cal Bridger]

It seemed awkward that he was here. Like he showed up to a party that he was not invited to. Yet he sensed that the darkness was in this very room. He sensed a plot stirring, one that would hurt the galaxy on a major level. But he felt like he could trust the beautiful witch. But what she said made him feel strange, as if he was out of his skin. He being a servant of the light side of the force couldn't believe the whole castle was the dark side. He was unsure of so many things. Should he start destroying things? Or should he.. learn.. for them.

Before he could think another thought the woman approached him and handed him a drink. Perhaps it was a way to make peace with him. After all he was the intruder in this situation. He took the drink from her hand and smiled. " I apologize. Perhaps I was following the wrong path." He said all confidence leaving him. He took a sip of the drink and the woman smiled with an evil grin.

His throat burned and his sight flashed. He could see bright lights then dankness. He felt his breath stop and he tumbled to the hard castle ground. The woman looked over him and keeled down beside him. Then everything went dark.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

With [member="Cal Bridger "]now knocked out by the effects of the alchemized mead, she has seen the very same effects being played out as were the case on Aing-Tii, and Caupona Station, where the Charon and the Ta'jar Blood Gang respectively were suffering from delirium tremens after drinking the very same sort of drinks. She then uses telekinesis to haul him to the castle's basement, where he would seemingly be allowed to recover without distractions and have a good night's sleep, to the extent that is possible while suffering from delirium tremens. He's useless to me dead, so perhaps I can infuse him a bit of knowledge as to why the whole line of alchemized drinks exists in the first place, while he sleeps, she thought, while she was carefully positioning the body before she gets her hands closer to his head. And then Janick's brain started to perk up as she starts infusing the rationale behind those alchemized drinks into Cal's head while he slept, using the dark side: I made those drinks so that customers that have loved ones suffering from alcoholism can get them to seek help for their alcoholism - I know from experience that people are more likely to seek help for alcoholism if they get embarrassed in public because of it. However, they are not meant for mass production, and, for that to work, they need to be drinking the stuff in public.

 

[Cal Bridger]

He dreamed of a woman sitting alone at a table. Suddenly there was a drink in front of her and she drank it. He heard a voice over the image. It talked about the effect of the alcohol. I saw the woman turn to other things. Her life in shambles. She divorced and married some abusive man by the end of the dream she was sitting in shambles and she was wearing rags.

Cal jolted up from his sleep. "What happened? Where am I?" He was in a dark room that smelled like the drink that had knocked him out. Feet and arms were shackled to a wall. He looked around in the darkness and could see nothing. Then suddenly a sound was heard from the other side of the cell. And an outline of a woman could be seen.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"You are in the castle's basement: you drank an alchemized drink that caused you to pass out. While you were asleep I injected the rationale behind these drinks in you, using a spell"

Perhaps [member="Cal Bridger "]was under the illusion that he was shackled because he was hung over: there were no shackles anywhere in the castle. That cell was, in fact, where the witches that resided in this castle had their naps while alchemizing stuff in the basement. It would do him no good to have him drink more, she thought, while remembering that he seemed to be badly hung over, much like someone with delirium tremens. Now that he had a vivid memory of what happened to the last person that drank it before him, a female Ta'jar Blood Gang member, he might want to think twice about drinking mead in the future. Even unalchemized mead. But she had contingency plans in place if he proves not to heed the message Janick tried to send him. I may as well donate ads and funds to the local Alcoholics Anonymous chapter. I'm not an evil witch, or at least not without actual motives, she thought, but she was aware that she had to keep such gifts for when tax writeoffs might prove necessary. Just that, in this community, Janick donated a library; perhaps the local populace would expect more or at least different from her or the Circle in the future.

"I did you a favor: I am trying to prevent you from becoming an alcoholic. While I might be, of course, fighting fire with fire, there are other organisms for other methods dealing with alcoholics"

 

[Cal Bridger]

He listened inventively to her. "Well if I wasn't brought here to fight you, or to stop you.. why would the force guide me here?" He said in a quite voice pondering. As his vision cleared he realized that he was not shackled, and his lightsaber hung from his belt while he saw his staff in the coroner. The witches intent wasn't to harm him. She was using alchemy and witch craft to help the galaxy. This wasn't a quest to bring justice and destroy something, it was to be humbled and learn. Perhaps his one sided view on the force was why he sensed it as darkness. He knew the impression that the force was bringing on him was to become as a young student and be humble.

"Please.. teach me." He said respectfully bowing to the woman in front of him. "I have so much to learn. And I now that.. my intrusion was unsuspected and wrong. But the force brought me here to learn from you. I am sure of it." He spoke softly and awaited and answer.

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Let's say that you learned a lesson that was a little harsh. There is a difference between being confident and arrogant. Arrogance can lead to peril: not only it will lead you to situations where you bite more than you can chew, it can also lead others to ignore you"

Janick chuckled afterward. So he only knows telekinesis, precognition, telepathy and Force-sight? she thought. No biggie, I can teach him a variety of different stuff, but there is only a finite amount of new tricks Cal can learn without hitting a wall, she thought, after scanning [member="Cal Bridger "]for what he already knew, and not to teach him those things again, else he might get frustrated and fall to the dark side unless he is already dark-sided. Now that Cal no longer seemed willing to act as an intruder, and even tried to make amends for his home invasion attempt, she then proceeded to give the all clear, telepathically, to Alyssa and Griet, still huddled at the airbase for safety: Now that the would-be intruder has been caught, you may now return to the castle. I trust the wooden bridges and asphalt puddles haven't been too troublesome to you. And then, before Alyssa and Griet were to return to the castle and fly above the intricate, six-inch-deep canal network of what could be oil moats in a speeder, Griet telepathically acknowledged to Janick: Roger, roger. I hope that he will actually learn something from you.

"Also you realized that titles can mislead. You also realized that witchcraft does not necessarily imply evil or ugliness, much like one may call oneself a Jedi and use the dark side, or otherwise behave more like a Sith, and also that Sith-hood does not necessarily imply the use of the dark side, hence the Light Sith, which are much less common than Dark Jedi. Yes, the Force sent you to me to learn from me. But is there anything specific you would like to learn?"

 

[Cal Bridger]

"There is so much you could teach me. But.. I wish to know more about alchemy and how to change forms of things using the force." he stood and looked her in the eyes. He smiled. "Perhaps there is a way to make my weapon a bit more powerful?" He said walking over to his staff. This staff had been his tool through most of his apprenticeship. It had been his walking stick through the painful and dreadful winds of failure. But it had been the rod that helped him out of it as well. He thought of this as an opportunity to pay it back for the years it had helped him."Yes. Lets start there." He said as a grin spread across his face.

It wasn't until they entered a better light that he realized how pretty the witch was. She had pale skin and a dark demeanor yet Cal could not help himself to feel attracted to her. On her chest there was a red symbol of strange design. Cal looked at it for an appropriate amount of time before looking her in the eyes. "What is that symbol?" He asked as they walked.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Alchemy? What's in use here is about the infusion of what witches call spirit ichor. There are so many different varieties, but first, if you do not object, let me take a blood sample: I don't want you to get sick using the staff, because spirit ichor tends to amplify any toxic effect already present in the blood. Once the staff is alchemized, it will be able to resist lightsabers and reflect blaster fire. As for the symbol on my chest: let's say that it is a clan tattoo from when I started out as a witch"

While Janick was about to fetch a sterile venipuncture kit so that she could get a blood sample from [member="Cal Bridger"], Griet, on the other hand, returned to a castle where qualifying the tarmacadam around it as some sort of oil moat made her laugh and not just a little bit. Just that Alyssa returned to sleep after realizing that the intruder drank one glass of that alchemized mead, apparently satisfied with the quality since she realized that it caused him to repent from the intrusion, and perhaps even from becoming an alcoholic. And yet, she had to get Cal's permission to get the blood sample made, and, if that permission is granted, and the blood is usable for alchemical purposes, it can be sprayed onto the staff so that Cal can then infuse the spirit ichor into it. Janick had to make sure that the venipuncture kit was to be disposed of after use, and she even had a special courier service fetch the used up venipuncture kits on a regular basis, on the Circle's fees. Now that Janick has returned to the room where the young knight in the process of redemption was curiously awaiting her.

"Oh and may I take a blood sample?"

 

[Cal Bridger]

She lifted up his sleeve and injected a needle. His dark red blood filled the vile making Cal feel woozy. The girl stood up and smiled at him. "Thank you.. for offering me this." He said going over and grabbing his staff and began following her

The dark corridor gave him a strange feeling as they walked through. The sound of her boots clinking against the tile as they walked filled the empty halls. He wanted to ask her questions. Maybe start a conversation but the awkwardness of there meeting and pure intimidation that he got from her slowed his tongue.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"The reason why blood must be sprayed over the item being alchemized is because the spirit ichor are bound to the blood"

And certainly each question left unasked is an opportunity wasted, she thought, while wondering how would his state of mind affect his learning. She knew that the student's state of mind was a crucial consideration in getting the student to learn more: if the student was a dark-sider, the student could readily exploit its greed, and even learn Drain Knowledge from her while they were at it. Yes, the circumstances under which [member="Cal Bridger "]came to the Utapau Alchemy Castle were awkward, unlike all the other clients she had, just that she took advantage of the confusion to get the venipuncture done without even getting his permission. But she realized that she will have to filter the alcohol out of the vacutainer, and to do so, she needed to cast another spell on the vacutainer which, while not negating the need to dispose of the vacutainer after the item was alchemized, allowed it to break down the contaminants into inert constituents. For example breaking down the alcohol in the blood into carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Then the alcohol in the blood will no longer have an impact on the finished product.

"I feel you might have questions for me: don't be shy, ask them, since the Force sent you to me to learn: each question is an opportunity for you to learn"

 

[Cal Bridger]

Cal was left a little shocked by her response. However he was not going to say anything. He just wanted to get his staff and get out. His eagerness to learn came as a shock to him. He wasn't sure why or how he even came here. The force was going numb to him and the presence that he sent before was gone. This woman was not a threat, she was just a business woman who wanted less drunk people.

"I am sorry, please continue with my staff." He said handing it to her. In touch lit the room where they stood there was many paintings and pictures that Cal wanted to ask about and learn of but he was suddenly eager to leave. The whole situation just seemed awkward.
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"You still learned a few items from me even if you choose not to learn how to perform alchemy"

Did the need for blood actually remove his drive to learn about alchemy beyond a demonstration? Did the knowledge of why there was even blood being used in the first place curdle his blood? Either way, his drive to learn is steadily decreasing; perhaps the lesson the Force wanted him to learn took place before any notion of alchemy even comes up, she thought, while spraying the blood, using a spray dispenser that deposits a very thin film of blood, so thin in fact that it would no longer be visible once the spirit ichor have been bound into Cal's quarterstaff. By now it became clear to [member="Cal Bridger "]that there is more to his learning than just learning more about how to use the Force. And to Janick's learning, too. As she focused her Force-energy onto the staff, strands of purple spirit ichor became infused into the quarterstaff, rendering the blood transparent, and steadily making it so that it can 1) be lightsaber-resistant and 2) able to deflect blaster fire, and it was much more draining than using Detoxify Poison on the vial of blood. It was soon ready... and then he would be having an imbues quarterstaff capable of deflecting blaster fire and resisting lightsabers - but still a bludgeon.