Sam shifted the bags, careful not to drop them as he fumbled for the handle. Pushing the door open, he could hear the three professors arguing over the potion. Still. Glass bottles and vials tinkled as he placed the supplies atop a workbench, and he flinched at the noise. Luckily, no one seemed to notice him there. He unloaded his gathered supplies as quietly as possible.
"We really should test it on a smaller scale," Professor Brunelle said in a shaky voice.
"No." Professor James shook his head, rereading the original. "You must follow this precisely. Besides, it requires a whole newt, which you can't expect to halve properly."
Professor Kerrigan shrugged. She stood in front of a chalkboard on which were written the rarer ingredients. "What about this?" she asked, pointing to one listed item. "This cannot possibly be correct."
"I am sure of it," Professor James said. "Kadai geremat en nolenkadus is milled tree bark, of the outer bark to be specific."
Professor Kerrigan stared at him until he continued. "Kadai from the root kad, meaning scale. Geremat is crushed, so ground scales of nolenkadus. Nol is tree, and kadus is protector: tree bark. So they want you to grind the outer part of the tree bark."
"They would have specified species." She shook her head.
"Albert and I agree it must mean the bark of the fir trees found on the western ridge."
"These other ingredients are extremely volatile. If you're wrong, we could die." She put her hands on her hips.
"I'm not wrong. And the rest of the language department agrees with me."
They were probably bullied into agreeing, thought Sam as he prepared the distillation apparatus.
"Sam, did you get everything?" Professor Kerrigan asked without turning from the chalkboard.
"There are still a few more, and one I'm not sure how to get."
She nodded. "Go ahead and start with the extractions. I'll procure the remaining items. Albert, keep lab notes. Record everything. Jacob, triple-check that translation." She took Sam's proffered item list and headed back to her office, leaving Professor James staring after her with his mouth agape.
The language professor then huffed and stormed out of the lab. Sam pulled the necessary solvents from the storage cabinet, and Professor Brunelle followed close on his heels, already scrawling away in his notepad.
Kadai geremat en nolenkadus echoed in Sam's mind. Professor James's explanation seemed reasonable, but Professor Kerrigan's intuition in regards to potions could not be matched. She had been the head of the department for several years now, and her lab produced some of the most potent solutions in modern times. Working with Professor Kerrigan drew Sam to attending Shivano City University. For her to question an ingredient meant they should all be very cautious moving forward.
"What's that you're doing now?" Professor Brunelle asked, startling Sam out of his thoughts.
Sam stifled a groan and explained the extraction procedure while Professor Brunelle took notes. The historian smiled and joked while making his own observations of the process. Soon, Sam found he enjoyed the older man's company.
"Do you think the translation is correct?" Sam finally worked up the courage to ask.
The professor shrugged. "Jacob James is the best linguist in Necros and the preeminent authority on the ancient language."
Sam continued to work through the potion preparations as Professor Brunelle recorded his every action.
"Well, that's all we can do today." Sam yawned.
"We'll start early tomorrow. Mallory is eager to begin mixing ingredients, and I'm sure James is eager to argue with her while she does so." Professor Brunelle smirked.
"Professor James will assist with the potion?" Sam asked.
The older man laughed. "No. He just doesn't want to miss the excitement." He then rolled his eyes. "He also wants to make sure you and Mallory follow the steps as outlined in the ancient text."
"We're perfectly capable--"
"I know," Professor Brunelle interrupted. "But having another witness can only help prove the validity of your work." He took his notepad with him and left Sam to lock up the lab.
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