The Wonderous World of Violet Ointments/Text

In this exciting sequel to "Exotic Hides and the Gnomes that Love Them", I, Roldo Twotoes, have unlocked the true wonders of the world of crafting! Violet Ointments! The magical properties of this vaunted new ointment far exceeds that of the previously unchallenged Blue Ointment, but attempting its crafting should only be undertaken by Grandmasters of the trade of Alchemy or Brewing, as it is a strenous, dangerous, and difficult task.

To craft a Violet Ointment, the first thing you need is the basic components. These are two each of Kedgewater, a special type of enchanted water hoarded by the violent fish-men of Kedge Keep. For the more bold craftsmen, you can attempt to simply take it off these dangerous beings, or the pets they keep, but foraging through the ruined underwater halls works just as well for us of a more cautious nature. Futhermore, Violet Ointments requires two bottles of Balsam, a component used and mentioned in eariler publications, and finely, two vials of Blood of Yaralith, a highly magically charged blood that can be recovered from the hostile abominations that live before the Temple of Yaralith. Brew or Grind these components in the usual manner, to create what appears to be a single portion of Violet Ointment. But, dear reader, do not be fooled! This Ointment is untemptered, and will produce little effect if you try to use it in your tailorwork. Acquire the friendship or paid services of a potter, and get from them a urn, of high quality. Seal the Untempered Ointment inside the urn, and then let the Sealed Urn bake inside an oven for a short while. Make sure you have a glass vial ready. Once the Sealed Urn has finished tempering, break it and collect your finished Violet Ointment in the vial. You have now produced a vial of Violet Ointment.

So far, I have only been able to identify two types of materials that are fine enough to warrent being worked with Violet Ointment. These are Imp Hides of the larger imps that inhabit the mines and grottos of the Red Sun Mountains. The smaller ones that reside outside will not do, their hides are too brittle. Futhermore, Violet Ointment can be used to create armor from the otherwise far too delicate Shadow Silk, the silk spun by the creatures known as "Spiderskin" and "Si'Thl", residing in the Darkwoods and surrounding areas. Do not be fooled by the fact that their silk is commonly referred to as "Si'Thl Silk", or "Spiderkin Silk", it is all the same, and will combine into usable swatches if you work two in a Tailoring Kit.

There is one further item, another special recipe, that I have been able to craft with Violet Ointment. This item far outstrips even my last special recipe, and truthfully, it took me many tries to finely get the formula correct. It's an old formula from Master Jarro's notes that I have redesigned and refitted to use the new Violet Ointment. Without further ado, I present to you Roldo's "Mantle of the Forest". To make this most excellent and enchanted object, you need a number of rare materials: Two Giant Asp Skins from the Giant Asps of the Plaguelands, two hand fulls of Ancient Leaves from the Ancient Treants of Shadowdale, FOUR bottles of Violet Ointment, an alchemically created Potion of Spikes in a Bottle, and finally, a regular Shoulderpads pattern. This may seem like extremely tough to obtain, but trust me, dear reader, the result is worth it! Should you successfully create a Mantle of the Forest, I hope you will show it off to me, as the only example I managed to make, I had to sell off simply to cover all my research costs for this book!

I hope this publication has been informative, and wish you the best of luck in creating Violet Ointments! As always, I will continue to research new ways to use this wonderful new invention.