Do No Harm: Scientific Log of Charity Valcourt

[LeSidhe]

A well-kept and detailed tome that serves as a mix of sketchpad for somatic concepts, glyphs, and circles, as well as a log and technical diary. Some of the entries are written in a pristine hand. Others are rushed and jumbled, as if seeking to drill down an idea that is fleeting and vaporous. Entries are written in Mordentish unless otherwise stated.

[LeSidhe]

7, Janvier, 777.

I have spent the past two weeks in Barovia, on what’s proven to be a most productive detour from my relocation to Dementlieu. It turns out that field studies have truly paid off, and I am hoping to take some of that knowledge into the storied halls of the university.

The medical research is moving apace, particularly with regards to my studies of the alchemical processes. The wealth of essences to be distilled and researched is simply staggering in this lovely little country. Fortunately, the essences have an immediate, practical use for the overdriven Outlander populace, making it somewhat easy to rally assistance in acquiring the sometimes-questionable reagents for distilling. Harvesting the tongue or offal of some raging beast is a lot more appealing to these adventurers, if it can be applied to making their weapons bite deeper.

Still, they don’t seem to understand that there is more to the essence of a being than the production of some raw and caustic material capable of increasing killing power. No, I am quite confident that alchemy remains a discipline in search of the purest essence, and the key to some form of self-perfection.

M. Collier, among others of his ilk that I’ve met, seem intent on seeking such a perfection in their own way – a certain one-ness of the mind through control of the body. I find it fascinating, but I know that I have my own path: It is a path of science, and a path of achieving control through knowledge.

There is much to learn, and I am confident there are some secrets hidden inside these ancient creatures that populate this bizarre little land.