Chapter 23
"I'll be locking myself in the lab for the next twenty-four hours, and I will need uninterrupted solace. I cannot be distracted from the task I am about to undertake." Aurelius explains, before reaching over and gripping Zoah tightly in his arms. "Thank you for all of your hospitality and support. My companion and I would have had a much rougher time if we had not stumbled across you."
"I am glad for that and I hope the brew is successful. I'll see you in twenty-four hours." Zoah replies with a smile and a hug before departing.
Aurelius turns and makes his way inside the lab. The large chunk of Turquoise rests in the middle of a table made from metal. He retrieves the bottle of phoenix ashes, holy water, and crystallized tears then places them on the same table.
"Let's hope that blessing is strong enough," Aurelius says aloud as he begins to extract the core of the turquoise. See as how this will be a lengthy process, he also ground up the crystallized tears and set them to boil inside a small cauldron.
Aurelius stoked a fire and placed the phoenix ashes on a pan to absorb the heat of the fire to enhance their potency. He needed them to steam but not ignite, otherwise, he would have to start the process over with another set of ashes.
Aurelius spent the next two hours extracting enough turquoise dust before he was able to finish with that step of the process. Keeping a close eye on the phoenix ashes he began to mix the holy water and the dust while the crystallized tears start to coagulate.
Another two hours and the tears were ready, Aurelius adding the mixture of holy water and dust and cautiously mixing the concoction.
Two more hours pass before the phoenix dust begins to smoke and Aurelius must quickly move them to the cauldron, mixing in the last ingredient and turning up the heat with a trinket he retrieves from the ring on his finger.
"Well, now we watch and wait," Aurelius mutters under his breath, keeping vigilant and watching the mixture for the remainder of the twenty-four hours to make sure it cures properly.
---
Outside, movement stirs in the barn where the barrghest had gone to hibernate, only the ground around the structure begins to tremble as if a minor earthquake. A woman tending to a nearby garden watches as glass shatters and the sound of crashing wood emanates from within the structure.
She screeches out in alarm, abandons the seeds and tools around her, and dashes towards the mansion, screaming for her employer.
From her room, Zoah can hear the crashing and feel the minor trembling coming from the other building. She smirks at the scene, "Aurelius.. just what have you created."
---
Aurelius stands at the cauldron, watching the mixture turn a brighter and brighter shade of red. Finally, it bursts into flames, and Aurelius takes it off the burner. He quickly pours the concoction into a large glass container and caps it. The mixture inside bubbles and roils for a few moments, the flames mixing in and causing the mixture to take on a bright red color until they finally settle.
"Perfect." Aurelius smiles and then opens the mixture and drinks the entire bottle. He winces as it goes down, burning his throat and causing him to drop to the ground. He screams out in agony as the mixture burns through his tissue and into his stomach. The pain sends his system into shock and he blacks out momentarily.
Within his gut the mixture seeps into his system, the burns quickly healing over from the potency and phoenix ashes mixed within. From the inside out, his body chars and then heals over. Black ooze leaking out of his pores and sticking to the ground around him.
More and more of the toxic curse is pushed from his system until a good three feet around him is covered in the sludge. Only then does he stop writhing and come to a rest. A few moments later his eyes open and he begins coughing up a fit.
"Good ..." He says coughing. "The process has worked." He mutters drawing magic into his system and casting the first spell he has since his enemies laid the curse upon him. A wave of magic flows out from him and dissolves all of the black tar in the room.
A mark appears on his head and darkens ever so lightly. The mark then burns Aurelius, catching his attention.
"As I thought. The alchemical mixture managed to route the majority of the curse from my system, enabling me to use low-tier magic, but it cannot purge it from my soul. I'll need some stronger magic for that." He says aloud to himself before standing.
"One step at a time. Now we go and check on our friend." Aurelius says, collecting himself and exiting from the lab.
---
Within the confines of the barn where The Barrghest had holed up to hibernate a quite large creature lay sleeping. Its eyes open, one pair, then another, a third, fourth, fifth, and finally a sixth. Each pair of eyes attached to a long narrow head resembling that of a wolfs snout, though where fur should be, thick scales adorn its skin. Long needle like fangs fill the creatures mouth as it yawns awake.
Its six heads wrap around a large torso, scattered with alternating patches of silver fur and deep red scales. The red scales seem to flicker as if on fire, and the silver fur glints in the light the way ice might do. Lightning crackles from its skin occasionally, hopping between patches of fur the way static electricity might jump.
Attached to its torso are four long limbs which end in razor charp claws. The fur aqnd scales of the torso recede along the legs to patches of blackish-grey scales that glisten as if covered in a thin layer of mucus. A thin mist of swirling vapors pour out of the palms of its feet and swirl upwards around the limbs before disappating into the air.
The creature shifts its two front limbs with the same finesse as it would move hands, reaching out and pushing the wooden panels divinding the corals of the barn. It cracks the wood and opens up a space wide enough for it to stand.
---
Aurelius flattens the grass beneath his foot, watching the gate to the barn with a smile. "What do you think he will look like this time?" He asks Zoah.
"You mean to imply that he has had other previous forms before I met the pair of you? That's quite terrifying Aurelius." Zoah replies, before turning her attention back to the barn doors.
A loud creak emanates from the doors as they grown under a heavy weight. they quickly pop open, revealing a creature more than twenty feet long from snout to tail, riddled with scales, fur, static, and mist. The most prominant feature being its six heads before its newfound size.
"Good morning." one of the heads says aloud. "It would seem that my form has undergone some changes from the last time I was awake."
"I would say so. Too much has happened since you last molted, so i am delighted to see your progress." Aurelius replies.
"I can say that i am famished. I would like to get something to eat." The Barrghest says, taking a few steps out of the barn and onto the grass. "I must also say that I miss the feel of sunlight. The sooner we get back home the better."
"I have good news about that topic. The portals have been re-opened, so we should be able to make our return on this day. As far as a meal goes, we will have to see if our host here would be willing to accomodate for you." Aurliues says before turning to Zoah.
"With someone your size, my pantries will likely empty. So we will need to go shopping for something fresh. Why don't you stay here while Aurelius and I head into town for the occasion. It also makes sense to set out in the morning, with how much time this feast may take." Zoah comments.
"I shall take that into consideration. We shall see you soon enough." Aurelius waves to the Barrghest, tapping his thumb to his pointer finger, channeling his inner source of magic and releasing a bolt at his companion.
'I should also tell you that while you slept i managed to concoct a mixture to lessen the effects of the curse. It is not compeltely gone, but i can now cast a few of my low tier spells.' Aurelius communicates telepathically with The Barrghest.
'That is indeed good news. I shall get used to my new form while you are out. I believe i have a solution to the issue of my new size and fitting inside structures. I'll show you once you have returned this evening for our meal.' The Barrghest replies through the mind-link and then begins to wander the manor, quite happy that its skin is no longer crawling with the need to molt.