Belladonna

Brewing Bloodroot

Belladonna 6

Brewing Bloodroot

Ana was feeling much better after her talk with Fred. She felt better than better really; she couldn't explain it. She felt like she could have stayed there for another hour or two talking to him. Not only was he funny, but he was also quite brilliant.

Ana knew, however, that at some point Sadie would come looking for her. Ana could not risk being caught talking to Fred again, not after the confrontation in the locker room. So after he left, she made her way back to the dungeons. Instead of going straight to the common room, though, she stopped at Sev's office.

"Enter," he said in his dry, dull tone.

Ana stepped into a dimly lit room that reeked of freshly stewed frog legs. The cauldron still simmered in the corner. Sev stood behind his work bench, finely grinding the dried petals of a belladonna flower; his was hair was pulled back like she was so used to seeing.

"Miss Evans," Sev said with a brief glance at Ana. "Tell me, what potion am I brewing?"

Ana moved forward to better asses the ingredients. "Are you using the whole frog leg, or just the toe?"

"The toe alone."

"How many flowers?"

"Three and a quarter."

"So a poison then."

Ana looked around at some of the other ingredients. Frog toes and beetle eyes were very common ingredients and used in a variety of potions. Belladonna petals were common in poisons; the more flowers used the more toxic the poison. None of this, however, really helped narrow down the poison.

"Five...four..." Sev began counting.

Then she saw the key ingredient: a tangled, orange root with a deep-red, waxy sort of ooze dripping down the end.

"Three...two..."

"Bloodroot Poison," Ana said confidently.

"It's effects?"

"Bloodroot Poison, is a mild to moderate poison depending on the concentration of the bloodroot. It is not lethal, at first, but it is said to be highly uncomfortable and quite painful. It causes roots to sprout from various points of the body, and burrow themselves in whatever they can rendering the victim immobile. The roots also kill the skin tissue from where they sprout, leaving behind large eschars in their wake once removed."

"And the antidote?"

"There are a few things that can be used to counteract the effects. A bezoar, obviously, a cup of Antidote to Uncommon Poisons, or you can drink a whole liter of dragon's blood, which is...ill advised."

Sev remained quiet and Ana realized she'd made a mistake. She quickly searched her head for what she left out, but she came up empty.

"The stinksap from a mature Mimbulus mimbletonia will dissolve the roots," he said.

"Yes, but without a proper antidote, the roots will res-sprout at dawn, and they'll be reinforced in strength most likely killing the victim this time."

Sev's lips twitched with pride. "Grab a blade and slice the bloodroot into seven even strips."

Ana was happy to oblige. She slid on a pair of dragon hide gloves and began slicing.