The third night. Siderius had gathered all the needed ingredients to make his explosive projectiles. The last step was to combine them together.
He had made three types of clay balls. Three balls that had one compartment. Seven balls that had two compartments. And two balls that had three compartments.
The first three balls were filled with the byproduct of Arvenox and lamp oil.
The original recipe of Arvenox, Cindrox, produced a byproduct called Slagbark. This slagbark was a dense crust that could be mixed with other elements to create what was called Flamebark, a special powder that could stick on metal and once ignited, would make the sword burn for quite awhile.
The slagbark had earth element so it protected the actual blade while also infusing it with the heat and aggressive nature of the flame. This was a deadly tool to use against monsters that had weakness to Fire.
Arvenox, however, did not produce slagbark. Instead, it left a black liquid residue that wasn't metal friendly at all.
However, it still had the violent nature of the Fire element with a new unique ability. The liquid could stick onto any surface extremely well.
Siderius named this byproduct, Slagpaste, keeping the original inspiration of the Cindrox recipe.
By mixing slagpaste with lamp oil, Siderius was able to create a special oil that was very sticky and easy to ignite.
He poured this new oil into the three balls with one compartment.
Prior to the explosive armor, if this oil was to stick onto the enemy, they would have a much harder time to deal with it. A perfect ammo to use in combination with the black powder projectile.
Next was to create the explosive projectiles themselves.
These seven clay balls had two compartments. One for the fuel and one for the trigger.
The fuel was black powder. By mixing saltpetre with crushed charcoal and sulfur, Siderius created the explosive black powder and filled it into one compartment of the ball.
The trigger was the oil of vitriol. Because of its violent nature, if it came into contact with the black powder, without needing an ignition, the black powder would explode immediately. A perfect impact bomb that needed no further explanation.
Siderius carefully filled the seven balls. He had to use an Alchemical Seal for this task to avoid any unwanted accidents.
Both of these ingredients were highly dangerous and one mistake could cost him his life. Instead of trusting his stable hands, Siderius trusted the Formation Seal of Salt even more.
The walls within the compartments of these clay balls were made very thick to avoid any leaking of the ingredients. Siderius didn't want them to explode in his pocket.
Once the explosive ammo was crafted. Siderius moved on to the final two clay balls that had three compartments.
Black Powder Projectile and Sticky Projectile were good. But Siderius could make an even better ammo with one simple element that he already had.
Phosphorus, the most toxic and violent element one could come across.
Even a tiny bit of air would ignite it immediately and its flame wasn't easy to put out. It would stay on the enemy and burn them to their death.
To avoid the Phosphorus igniting itself, Siderius had to fill the third compartment with lamp oil. This would prevent the Phosphorus from burning but still make sure its violent nature would come out easily. The flammable lamp oil only helped this goal and not prevented it.
The other two compartments of these two clayballs were similar to the black powder one. Both were filled with black powder and the vitriol oil.
Siderius put all of the clay balls inside a leather pouch on his waist. Each was separated by different pockets for ease of use.
Lyara had made herself clear that she would come after him. Revealing himself in front of anyone was now a risk.
This included delivering the cure to Carsten. Siderius didn't know if he could trust the miners. However, he couldn't bring himself to walk away either.
It wasn't because he was worried for Carsten. It was simply because the access to the Rocky Pit was too precious to let go.
The access to minerals and elements. Both sulfur and salt were acquired from there. And there were so much more he could gain from them.
So Siderius chose to keep his connection with the miners and helped Carsten.
"I still have some time tonight. Just for precaution, I should make another one…" Siderius mumbled.
He brought out a few ingredients and crafted another item.
The very next night.
Ashe was waiting for him in front of her house.
"Are we going now, Master?" Ashe said.
Siderius nodded. "One thing before we go. Remember to protect yourself and if there's anything wrong. Run away or hide."
Ashe's lips quivered a bit. "How can I do that, Master? I won't abandon you."
"Not abandon. You have no combat experience. Your presence will only hinder me. If there is a fight, your safety is your first priority.
As for me, I am more than capable of protecting myself."
Ashe shared a sweet smile. Even though Siderius said the truth, she still felt like Siderius cared about her. She didn't say anything more and only nodded in agreement.
Then they went into the Rocky Pit. And everything had happened the way it did.
Siderius gave Nadia the bottle of Arvenox to save Carsten. But then Alex betrayed her and destroyed the tonic.
A fight between Siderius and Alex broke out, which Siderius won easily. Even though he had to use a few dirty tactics.
Nadia was more foolish than Siderius thought. She protected the traitor in front of his blade.
This gave Alex enough time to go out of harm's way and gather the miners.
Nadia was a good leader but she didn't know how to play the game of politics. Alex successfully convinced the miners to attack Siderius. It was in the name of the great bounty reward that the Bailiff had announced.
Siderius suspected Lyara had everything to do with this.
The lone hunter defused some of the miners with his speech, lowering down the enemies he needed to face.
The rest were violence and blood. Miner after miner fell to the ground by Siderius' blade. He seemed almost invincible with the cloak of darkness on his side. After all, he could see perfectly in the night and they couldn't.
Pax, a servant of the Starcrow clan interrupted Siderius and sent him flying a few times.
The witch hunter was able to soak Pax with the Sticky Projectile, the clayball that contained the slagpaste. Now he had become a walking flammable torch.
Siderius loaded up the sling with the Phosphorus Bomb. He didn't just want to hurt Pax. He wanted to end the fight right then and there.
And Pax, with his arrogance and confidence, didn't even think to dodge the Phosphorus Projectile at all.
The clay ball hit him in the face. The acid spread out and came into contact with the black powder.
The black powder was ignited and exploded. Along with it, the Phosphorus lit up with a blinding white light.