The Haunting of Brightwood Asylum
Part 2
"So what was in that mixture?" Alice asked. She was amazed at how quickly Thornapple had acted, and that she had been so well prepared.
"Mostly sage, cacao, a bit of mandrake to intensify the effect, herbs and elements that are supposed to be calming for spirits."
"Asphodel?" Alice asked tentatively. She remembered reading that the plant had an effect on spirits.
"Oh no!" Thornapple replied. "We didn't want to drive her off or make her pass on. Not until she was ready to."
Delia snickered. "You just wanted to get her a little baked, that's all."
"No!" Thornapple gestured emphatically. "No! I just wanted her to relax a little and..." Her cheeks flushed "Oh god, I totally got the ghost high, didn't I?
Delia's snicker blossomed into a full on laugh, echoing off the stone walls as they descended the winding stairs, deep into the bedrock below Balefire University.
Neither Alice nor Isblomma had ever been down here, but for Thornapple, this was like home. The subterranean labs were the realm of the School of Occult Technologies, whose students spent more time here than anywhere else on campus, honing their craft. At this late hour, they should have the place mostly to themselves. Alice was lugging an unwieldy stack of books. They had torn through the library, trying to keep up with Thornapple as she careened through the stacks, barely slowing to snatch some dusty arcane text off the shelf and add to Alice's growing pile before dashing off to the next that she thought might be of use.
As her arms began to ache, Alice wondered how she had ended up the one carrying these. She had heard the stories of the House of Winter, and knew Isblomma was probably far stronger than all three of them together, but she seemed far too absorbed in silently following the running banter between Delia and Thornapple to offer a hand. She was transfixed, fascinated, like this was completely alien to her, as the two continued to chatter, occasionally teasing or gently shoving each other like children. Whatever was going on inside Isblomma's head, Alice didn't have the heart to interrupt.
Thornapple led them through a maze of corridors before arriving at the right door, gesturing them inside, and closing the door behind them. It looked more like a machine shop than any lab Alice had seen before, but Thornapple assured them all that they would have everything then needed. Lorelei had died traumatically, and she was bound to the place where it happened. So the solution seemed simple. All they would need is something new they could bind her to.
"Mostly sage, cacao, a bit of mandrake to intensify the effect, herbs and elements that are supposed to be calming for spirits."
"Asphodel?" Alice asked tentatively. She remembered reading that the plant had an effect on spirits.
"Oh no!" Thornapple replied. "We didn't want to drive her off or make her pass on. Not until she was ready to."
Delia snickered. "You just wanted to get her a little baked, that's all."
"No!" Thornapple gestured emphatically. "No! I just wanted her to relax a little and..." Her cheeks flushed "Oh god, I totally got the ghost high, didn't I?
Delia's snicker blossomed into a full on laugh, echoing off the stone walls as they descended the winding stairs, deep into the bedrock below Balefire University.
Neither Alice nor Isblomma had ever been down here, but for Thornapple, this was like home. The subterranean labs were the realm of the School of Occult Technologies, whose students spent more time here than anywhere else on campus, honing their craft. At this late hour, they should have the place mostly to themselves. Alice was lugging an unwieldy stack of books. They had torn through the library, trying to keep up with Thornapple as she careened through the stacks, barely slowing to snatch some dusty arcane text off the shelf and add to Alice's growing pile before dashing off to the next that she thought might be of use.
As her arms began to ache, Alice wondered how she had ended up the one carrying these. She had heard the stories of the House of Winter, and knew Isblomma was probably far stronger than all three of them together, but she seemed far too absorbed in silently following the running banter between Delia and Thornapple to offer a hand. She was transfixed, fascinated, like this was completely alien to her, as the two continued to chatter, occasionally teasing or gently shoving each other like children. Whatever was going on inside Isblomma's head, Alice didn't have the heart to interrupt.
Thornapple led them through a maze of corridors before arriving at the right door, gesturing them inside, and closing the door behind them. It looked more like a machine shop than any lab Alice had seen before, but Thornapple assured them all that they would have everything then needed. Lorelei had died traumatically, and she was bound to the place where it happened. So the solution seemed simple. All they would need is something new they could bind her to.