Potions and Poisons (2)

Jien had expected his opponent to catch up to him quickly, after all he was purposely avoiding using mana at this point because using it rashly would only dig his hole deeper. As he watched the quickly approaching Olivia he switched his rapier to his off hand, baffling most of the guests. Nobody had expected Jien to opt to use his off hand and switching hands just for the purpose of using your main hand for something else while leaving yourself mostly unarmed could be said to be downright idiotic. However when they looked at Lord Losler, Emily, Mark and Runa they didn't find any hint of concern or dissatisfaction in their expressions.

As Olivia took her last few strides to catch up and strike out at Jien he was reaching to the pouch with his alchemical concoctions. He swiftly opened it and ran his finger tips along the corked covers to find what he was looking for. He had taken the initiative to carve simple numerals into the cap of each of the phials so that he could identify what he wanted without having to look directly. Without looking he withdrew the phial with the numeral five etched neatly in its cork.

Inside the crystal phial was a milky liquid that seemed closer to a gel by the way it moved as he pulled it free. He used his thumb to uncork the clear container only slightly, waving it with a flick of his wrist at the incoming Olivia. A single bead of milky gel seemed to escape from the small gap that had been opened, hurtling straight toward Olivia's chest, catching her off guard.

She didn't have any idea what that bead of liquid could do and as such had to act cautiously. She wouldn't let the unknown concoction touch her, or her equipment if she could help it. The trouble was that she was moving with such speed that she wouldn't be able to stop before it would hit her squarely on the chest. The judges were likewise watching this closely. They did not know what Jien was using and there were likely a variety of potions that could have similar visual characteristics. However, they were a bit less concerned then if they were to be struck with weapon. Alchemical agents usually had one way or another to dispel their effects, even if it would require some research. Not to mention that they didn't feel that Jien would be as ruthless as to use something truly dangerous just for this sparring.

Olivia, being unable to stop her forward momentum, slammed her foot on the ground, twisting her hips into a spinning motion and appeared to skate passed the falling droplet by mere inches to the side. She used the momentum of her spin to slash down at Jien, aiming to cut him from shoulder to hip in one movement. What she wasn't expecting was to see Jien almost perfectly mirroring her spin in the opposite direction, both dodging her strike and lashing out at the white droplet with his rapier before it could hit the ground.

As soon as his blade struck the milky blob it seemed to erupt violently into a thick white mist that shrouded a roughly twenty by twenty foot square of the training grounds. This fog quickly covered Jien's locations and he didn't hesitate to move from where he had been to ensure that Olivia would not be able to estimate his new location easily. This potion was simply a massively compacted smoke screen, though it had its own set of issues that made it less commonly used than some other forms of smokescreens like common smoke bombs.

The concoction process was a pain that not many alchemists would go through for the sake of such a product when there were simpler solutions. One would have to distill the product repeatedly until it gained the gel like consistency or it would be released as soon as it was introduced to oxygen. After that, to activate the concoction one would have to apply enough force to break down the gel, otherwise it would remain in its gelatinous form regardless of how you used it. However, if you were aware of how to make use of it it could be quite handy and took up less room than other solutions would.

Jien hid within the fog, while taking light steps to try and avoid immediate detection. The fog was billowing up and out slowly, a property it retained from being in a gelatinous state and the main reason Jien had chosen this solution over others. This smokescreen would be longer lasting and a bit harder to move using wind magic, both a positive and negative in that he himself would have trouble moving it if needed.

This time however he had no intention of removing it. With his low mana and worn down physical form he was going to have to make the fullest use of his resources and fight like he should have from the start. As he walked he would open the cap slightly and flick his wrist to separate more small globules of the smokescreen known as Gel Fog on the ground. These beads of liquid didn't explode in more fog, instead settling on the ground in case he needed them. Though the effort to make them expand into fog from that position would be awkward he felt it best to lay out some potential follow up plans.

He then swiftly put the vial back and withdrew the one marked as eight. It had a light pink color like that of a blooming sakura tree. He used it similarly to the Gel Fog but instead of acting as a gel a small sprinkle of the liquid was released with each sweep of his wrist. The liquid once it had impacted the ground turned into a vapor of its own latching onto the mist and starting to give it a light pink hue.

This was a mild sedative poison known as Sweet Slumber due to it's flowery scent and the fact that those that inhaled enough of it would fall asleep. In many cases it would be used as a sleep medicine, but mixing it with Gel Fog would make a sleep vapor that could help in control an area. Jien watched the pink color lighten as it spread in the surroundings as he backed away toward the eastern edge of the gel fog, hoping that Olivia would fall for this ploy and save him further troubles.