“Help yourselves, but I must warn you. The work done in this guild is a delicate matter. Try not to break the concentration of my underlings too much. A slip of the finger can turn a soothing medicine into a deadly poison. In the meanwhile, I will prepare a list of ingredients as well as the names as earlier discussed.”
With a bow, we leave Severian to his business. Thankfully the alchemists’ guild had always been eager to share their knowledge. They say the guild itself was created for the purpose of sharing knowledge and advancing their studies.
Carefully we watch over the shoulders of the alchemists. Some are occupied grinding their unrefined materials to dust, while others are writing formulas I do not understand. Those that are brewing a new concoction are carefully measuring their input. With each new addition, the potion changes colour, covering every side of the spectrum.