I excused myself to skim through the Grimore. I found a section devoted to keeping out some form of trouble. I had to find a specific stone. It was called Vivianite. It is a crystal that grows on decomposing corpses. It is called the death crystal. It is grows on corpses that are waterlogged. There has to be an iron rich composite nearby. It is very fragile crystal. The use of this stone should make the black powder similar to the one that Erebus had made. So I wrote the ingredients and went looking for them. I went to the fourth floor. There is an old archway. It is covered in ancient writing that I don't know how to read. I don't need to pay anything to go through. It is just a plain old portal. I went to the swamp and found a corpse with multiple Vivianites growing on them. I picked the largest ones and left the others. I picked up cinnabar and the iron cauldron. Also had to find the space dedicated to cauldron brewing.
Then I collected a few other ingredients before roasting them separately in varying temperatures on a skillet. I had noticed that Grandma came to watch me make it. She had the proud grandma face on. I placed the iron cauldron out. I added a cup of beef bile, half a cup of cinnabar, a Nepalese black Apple and a spoon of crushed Indonesian long pepper. Next I added chopped puff adder skin along with a bezoar from a Siberian Ibex. I had to stir clockwise swiftly and I also had to slowly stir counterclockwise after every five stirs. It was tedious work but it was worth the effort. Then a pinch of fennel pollen, sumac, pink salt and slimy moss. I added dirt from a grave that was a hundred years old and mud from the dead sea. I crushed the large Vivianite crystals and sprinkled it in. Three counterclockwise stirs followed by four quick clockwise stir. Then came the eye of toad.
Then next was powdered shark teeth specifically great white shark's teeth. I grabbed a few and smashed them with a mortar and pestle. Then sprinkled them in. Next was a handful of wood ash, a pinch of Iranian saffron, two Indian peacock feathers. A few clockwise stirs and then a handful of multhani mitti otherwise known as edible earth was mixed with rosewater and made into balls before I threw them in. A few more stirs and next was a few drops of Komodo dragon blood. I had to slowly stir three times clockwise and added a pinch of grain of paradise. The moment the grains touched the cauldron it began to boil rapidly. I took a step back and I saw the liquid rise to the brim and slow recede to the bottom. It began to dry into the glittering powder I saw Erebus make. Once it was cool enough to touch I picked up the paper on which I wrote the instructions to see if I missed anything. Apparently I followed it correctly so the paper burst into green flames.
After I confirmed it looked the same as the one Erebus used. I poured it into a glass jar. I labeled it, "For emergencies only" I had noticed the carvings on the floor kept grandma at a healthy distance. I also noticed a faint shadow on the opposite wall. It felt like someone was spying on me. I took the last bit of the black powder on the bottom of the cauldron and walked a little bit closer to it. I pretended that I was trying to see if it glitters correctly in the fireplace. A few moments later I threw the powder at it and watched as it caught fire. It was a Handi. It screamed in pain as it turned to ash. Grandma cackled as it burned. I collected the ashes and jarred it too. Then both were kept in the safe. I sat down to find answers. I drew a map of the town. I marked the places where all of the supernatural ones frequently visit. I noticed that in three hundred years there is one place they don't come out of. It was a hot spring Mrs. Kol mentioned she uses during the wintertime.
I decided to investigate. I found the place was enchanted so only the ones with vision can see and enter. Everyone else just walks by. Their sight moves from the Elmer's residence to the Henderson's residence on the other side. I was impressed by the cloaking charm. I had walked in and grandma followed me. She was grinning as she saw the place. Her tattoos disappeared and she looked so different. Her raven hair was in ringlets flowing to her ankles. Her black gown had turned lime green and it looked like she was a princess. She grinned, "I am a princess until I was wronged and I asked for help. None came to my aid. I was shunned despite my innocence. So I took matters into my own hand and I helped myself." I had to applaud her bravery. The place was beautiful and it was the one place innocent blood was not spilt. So it was a small safe haven. Grandma promised to keep this place a secret since she got to be her old self just for a little while.
I took her home and opened the Grimoire. I found an artifact that forces the holder to speak the truth. Thus upending injustice. She was curious how it would work. It was called Verity. It is a ring. Once worn it can only be taken off when the wearer speaks the truth. If they refuse they will suffer. I am the guardian so I volunteered to take it. I am a neutral third person. She asked me where the ring was and I pulled it out of my left hand. The skeleton king gave it to me along with the rings of power. She was amused. We went to the floating palace. Where Queen Priscilla was hosting a ball. As the guest of Queen of Adroit I am supposed to present a gift. I gave her the ring. She didn't hesitate to put it on. Jetta asked her to come clean and she confessed her crimes to the court. The law was absolute. She admitted to poisoning her father and framing her sister so she can be queen. She also lied saying her sister was involved with the darklings. The court declared she was guilty so she was sent to exile to the badlands till death. Jetta was exonerated and everyone apologized for what they did to her. She was already a queen so she can't take the throne but someone from the bloodline can. I sarcastically volunteered mom before heading home.
I got the ring back and Grandma went back to her palace in Nyx. I was allowed to come. She was careful. I was the guardian and we might have end up on the opposite side of the war. She grinned, "You did something your predecessor failed to do. I am in your debt. You are my flesh and blood. Your mother will be made Queen of Adroit. She will make a fine queen. You can rest assured Calec won't betray you. She is bound by oath to obey." I explained that the portraits and sculptures mentioned her going into the forbidden zone. This is a place where we keep artifacts which are too dangerous. All waiting to be destroyed. If unleashed would cause catastrophe. She stared for a moment and summoned Calec. She tried to deny. But in the end they fought and she summoned a different sorceress. Merida was her name. She had flowing raven. She dressed like a gypsy. I had a feeling she would kill her own family on command. Merida was ordered to live in Tenebrae mansion as the resident sorceress. Granny promised to visit from time to time. She was warmed to obey my orders or suffer her wrath. She waved her hand towards the fireplace and a portal opened to my home. I gave granny my jeweled hairpin. She took it without question and I went in with my new mage.