A Whiff of a Mysterious Liquid

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 46516

Astra looked around her. Nobody had seen her. "Alchemists," she thought. Her curiosity was stronger than her fear. She placed the bottle at the bottom of the straw in the basket, and then went directly back to Shirini's. As Shirini should have known a lot about medicine and potions, she might be able to tell her what was in the bottle.

Astra gathered the old straw from her room, and the main room of the house, and gathered it under the kettle. She then replaced the old straw with the freshly cut straw, and placed the bottle on top of a table. The fresh smell of the newly cut grass brightened her mood. She had two more tasks. She was draw water for the kettle, and start it boiling, and then would work on the carpet.

First, she had to find a well, or go to the river. Astra saw a bucket on the ground next to a large, square piece of wood. She suspected that might be where a well was. As she arrived at the bucket, she saw a rope tied to one end of it. She lifted the wood, and found that it was a well, with the surface of the water only being a couple of paces deep. She drew the water, and walked over to the kettle and poured it in. It took her about half an hour to draw enough water to fill the kettle. Now to start a fire. Shirini left a flint and iron for that purpose next to the kettle. Astra struck them, again and again, and after a minute, a spark flew into the kindling, and a small flame flickered and the straw smouldered. Astra blew on the old straw gently, and the flame flared, and spread to the rest of the straw. Shirini had left some wood near the kettle. Astra picked the smaller pieces, and placed them in the bright part of the flame. They started to glow. Now Astra added larger pieces over the flames, stacking them up in the shape of a cone. "The fire can now take care of itself, without my help", thought Astra. Now it was time to work on the rug.

Astra rolled Shirini's carpet, which may have been the most valuable piece of furniture that she had, and lugged it into the yard. She took the rope from the bucket, and tied it between two trees, and then draped the carpet over it. Now what could she beat it with, to get the dust out? She was looking for something long and flat. There was nothing in the house that looked like it would work. She searched the woodpile, and found a sturdy branch about the length of her arm. "That will do," she thought.

She extended her arm, and then pounded the rug. She heard a satisfying, low *thump*, and a puff of dust rose from the rug. Astra continued to pound the rug. *Thump* *Thump* Dust swirled. *Thump* *Thump*.

After a time, no more dust rose in response to Astra's pounding. She rested, quietly satisfied with doing her job well. If she had been told, two weeks ago, that she, a princess fawned upon by the court, and a warrior feared for her skill, would be doing menial labour and be pleased to do so, she would have taken it as a provocative insult. Now she gave it no thought, happy that she was, for the time being, both safe and useful.

After a few moments rest, Astra lifted the rug from the rope, and lugged it into the large room. Shirini should be happy with this; Astra was much stronger than she was, and saved her from a tiring chore.

Astra was getting ready to look for the clothes to wash when she was distracted by the bottle. She knew better than to drink it, but she was curious. What was inside? Maybe a whiff of it would not hurt her, just to get an idea of what it was? She was not sure. She looked found a clean rag, and held it in front of her nose. She uncorked the bottle just a bit. She took a shallow sniff.

  1. The liquid had no scent.
  2. The liquid smelled like an expensive perfume.
  3. The liquid smelled somewhat like the mysterious tar.
  4. There was a strong smell of peppermint and alcohol.
  5. When Astra revived, Shirini said, "You should use more caution when dealing with strange liquids."

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10/28/2004 3:14:23 AM

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