Minuit's Research Notes

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Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:45 am

From Minuit's diary of medical research.
Medical Observations: Subject #43, Unknown Rivvil Male #3

Patient Profile:
Patient was found passed out in an alley near the city port docks. Odorous and symptomatic clues hinted at alcohol intoxication. Patient carried no noticeable token of organizational affiliation.

Preliminary physical examination determined patient to be a rivvil male of approximately two decades of age. No outward sign of disease or physical impairment could be found.
Patient showed superficial chronic scarring on the left flank, between the seventh and eighth ribs. Single gash, epidermis deep, fully healed, physical trauma caused by sharp object at least a year prior.
Patient was accomodated in a cage and left to sober up in preparation of the experiment.

Experiment:
Patient was stripped of clothes and shackled to the operating table. Immobilisation was achieved through physical restraints alone. No substance was administered that could alter sensory perception or muscle tone.

[What follows is a gruesomely detailed and cold-blooded account of the procedure: The live dissection of a fully conscious human being, and application of electroshocks to various areas of the body to assess the level of pain expressed by the subject; based on screaming and muscle contraction. The findings are noted with fastidious accuracy, and ranked by numerical value with the scientific unit of "Kilosades".]

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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:47 am

From Minuit's diary of anthropological research.
First Entry:
Prolonged conversation with Cameron Hyers (Rivvil, Male, Older Middle Aged) revealed that in the rivvil society he originated from, the killing of mere commoners is considered a crime. His sacrifice of but a handful of simple blacksmiths to an outerplanar entity was seemingly considered an act so outrageous that he had to flee the Lands Above entirely. The fact that he couldn't simply relocate to a community adjacent to his native "Burrowhome" and had no choice but to find refuge in the Underdark suggests that said moral outlook might be endemic to rivvil societies in a wide radius.
Further research, and reports from additional rivvil sources will be needed to establish the validity of this hypothesis.

Second Entry:
I have interrogated a slave named Hart (Rivvil, Male, Young Adult) about my recent discovery concerning rivvil morals. He confirmed that killing commoners is seen as shocking and morally "wrong" in rivvil societies. When I asked him about the the reason behind said outlook, he answered that it was because killing people was considered "insane" and "cruel". I am unsure what he meant by that.
My theory is that the rivvil perspective on the killing on commoners finds its roots in rules intended to preserve productive capacity and trade from the disruptions that the death of workers would cause. These rules eventually evolved into a moral framework.
Of course, I still need further data to back my initial hypothesis, let alone validate this theory.

Addendum to Second Entry:
On an unrelated note, I have been told by Hart that cutting a slave's hair without first asking the owner's permission (even for a single lock), is considered very rude in rivvil society. A pity, his hair was pretty and I wanted to keep some.
I think I will ask his owner for consent. It was time I met this "Vance" anyhow.

Third Entry:
I have encountered Vance Gravelle (Rivvil, Male, Age Uncertain), the leader of the Sharps district and high priest of the sect of Cyric. Meeting male priests will never stop being weird, even though they exist amongst my kind as well in some communities and faiths. So awkward!
Vance seemed different than the other rivvin. I suppose that was to be expected, given that he not only managed to survive admirably long in the depths, but even ended up thriving here and seized power for himself. He could not have achieved this feat without possessing an at least rudimentary understanding of Underdark denizens, particularly of my people. My suspicions were confirmed when he began speaking our tongue: Xanalress.
His relative familiarity with both rivvin and Illythiiri could prove very useful to me, in my research. I could use him to bridge the gap between cultures, and to explain the more alien and idiosyncratic elements of rivvil societies.
I will need to tread carefully however, interacting with him feels like playing a game of Sava.

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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:00 pm

From Minuit's diary of medical research:
Medical Notes: Subject #51, Unknown Rivvil Male #4

Patient Profile:
Patient was found in the sewers by my servant, Pravus. Patient proved uncooperative and was incapacitated. Metal collar around the neck identified patient as one of the city's missing slaves, registered to the Slavemaster.

Preliminary physical examination determined patient to be a rivvil male between two and three decades of age. Suboptimal living conditions may have contributed to premature aging.
Patient showed extensive dorsal scarring of both chronic and acute nature, congruent with background as a slave, suggesting recent escape. Additional trauma in the form of second degree burns and hematomes was found all over the body.

Experiment:
Patient was stripped of clothes and shackled to the operating table. Immobilisation was achieved through physical restraints, and recurrent personal intervention by medical assistant.
One-inch incisions were performed under each knee, and patellar tendons were severed to reduce patient mobility. Fingernails were torn off with pliers, to expose the nerve-rich dorsal phalanx of the fingertips.
Substance Y25, an experimental hyperalgesic, was administrated to exposed fingertips and knee-joint incisions. After a delay of twenty seven seconds, patient's expression of pain increased from five Kilosades to eight Kilosades, indicating initial success in this stage of research.
Request for patient termination was denied, and patient was transferred to cell for follow-ups.

Note: Procedure was performed before a live audience, possibly having increased patient's psychological discomfort and introduced inaccuracy in pain expression measurement. Error margin: 1 Kilosades.
[The subsequent entry in the journal lacks the clinical, impersonal language permeating the rest of the pages. The text is much more elegant, written in a beautiful, flowing cursive:]

[REDACTED] from the Surface has recently contacted me with a request for contagious disease samples. Given the individual's affinity with golemechanical artifice and propensity for device-crafting, I suspect the goal is the weaponisation of the sample in some form or another.

I had saved and preserved a biopsy sample from an autopsy I performed on one of the corpses dumped around Andunor by Surface spies. Aside from [REDACTED], I believe I am the only one in Andunor who still has a sample of the Renor plague.

I had originally intended to infect live subjects with it, and selectively breed stronger, deadlier strains which resisted treatment. But in the wake of my current preoccupations, between my ongoing medical research, arcane studies, and clerical duties, it would be unrealistic of me to expect to carry said task any time soon.

The question then becomes whether this token of goodwill on my part will prove to be the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership, or whether I will simply be disposessed of the only Renor plague sample in my hands, with no personal gain to make up for it.
Dilemmas, dilemmas. I hate doing this, but it's time to roll the Spider Dice.

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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Mon Jul 16, 2018 7:00 am

From Minuit's diary of medical research:
Medical Notes: Subject #53, Baelara Mel'nozz

Patient Profile:
Patient was introduced by colleague and personally requested procedure. Status as daughter of Matron Mel'nozz precluded the use of potentially dangerous, experimental techniques

Despite patient's constant state of irritation and general apathy suggested the possible presence of underlying endocrine deficiencies, preliminary physical examination did not reveal anything out of the norm for a young Illythiiri female.

Experiment:
Patient stripped of clothes and laid on the operating table voluntarily before being shackled. Immobilisation was achieved through physical restraint alone. Anaesthetics were omitted for religious reasons and beause patient proved impolite.
Area of surgery was disinfected with 5% tracker slime / alcohol solution prior to placement of medical leeches on the belly and torso.
Point of entry to abdominal cavity was marked with brush, and incision was performed using scalpel. Manual, screw-driven mechanical tissue expander was used to widen access hole.
Patient's liver was removed using flesh saw and secured for future use. Intermittent application of sterile gauze was utilised to reduce blood pooling in abdominal cavity.

Ghoul liver was supplied by third party and prepared a priori of the surgical procedure. It was properly treated with medical maggots to remove putrefied flesh.
[The text goes on to explain the lenghty and painstaking process of attaching and stitching an undead organ to a living body, written in a coldly clinical language, down to the grittiest detail.]

Anaphylactic shock was avoided through careful application of negative energies to area of graft via two selectively dampened arcane spells: Negative Energy Ray and Ray of Enfeeblement. As expected, leeches who absorbed the excess negative energies in patient blood withered and died. The body's natural regenerative capabilities were heightened with a prayer to the Queen of Torment, using patient's suffering as sacrificial offering in exchange for the blessing.

Incision to the belly was stitched using spidersilk thread and covered in dual layers of honey and animal fat before being wrapped in gauze.

Patient was given a solution of antiemetic mushroom medicine infused with low-dose negative energy, and instructed to take one drop each cycle for a tencycle following the procedure. Follow-up was scheduled for bandage-removal and check-up.

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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:52 pm

From Minuit's diary of medical research:
Medical Notes: Subject #53, Visit #2

Patient Profile:
See initial notes on Subject #53: Baelara Mel'nozz.

Procedure:
Patient returned for routine check up. Patient confirmed having taken post-operative medicine as prescribed (one drop each cycle for a tencycle). Bandages were removed and surgery scar was checked for adequate healing. Suture removal was deemed unnecessary given the used thread's absorptive nature. Exposure to decayed meat did not induce salivation in patient. Physical examination did not reveal any noticeable side-effects from the operation. Patient expressed an inability to experience the normal effects of inebriation following alcohol consumption.

-Hair loss (X)
-Skin shedding (X)
-Muscle atrophy (X)
-Unnatural nail growth (X)
-Unusual bouts of hunger (X)
-Gangrene (X)
-Dementia (X)
-Inability to experience inebriation (Y)

[The rest of the entry is written in an elegant, flowing cursive:]

I still hate her, but I think I like her. I want to hurt her, but I want to help her. I think she is my FRIEND.
[A glittery pink amethyst ink was used for the word; it is written in an even more flowery cursive and underlined several times.

Beneath lies a portrait of Baelara Mel'nozz. Her face is depicted caringly, framed by her long alabaster hair which seems to billow freely in the wind. Her body, however, is dissected, like in an anatomical sketch: The skin of her limbs is missing as though it had been flayed, letting show the muscle and sinew underneath. Her ribcage is torn open to display her heart. Her guts are hanging out, spilling down to the lower edge of the page.]

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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:25 am

From Minuit's diary of medical research:
Medical Notes: Subject #53, Visit #3

Patient Profile:
See initial notes on Subject #53: Baelara Mel'nozz.

Experiment:
Patient was allowed to remain clothed, and was shackled to the operating table. Forehead manacle was set to maximum recommended tension-force to ensure optimal immobilisation of skull.
General anaesthesia was judged non-critical to survival, therefore local anesthesia was employed to ensure patient consciousness and awareness during procedure.
Anaesthetic / muscle-relaxant / vasoconstrictor solution (30% essential tekkil oils, 45% orbb'zathul venom, 20% enfeeblement potion, 5% quol'talith) was injected into the muscles of the retrobulbar area behind the eyeball, using brass syringe.
Additional vasoconstriction was attempted through eyedrops of 10% quol'talith / water solution, directly applied to the cornea.

Screw-adjustable eye-speculum was inserted underneath eyelids. Speculum was expanded to achieve widening of palpebral fissure, and provide ease of access to area of surgery. Conjunctival peritomy was performed with scalpel. Oblique muscles were identified, isolated with muscle hooks, secured with suture, and cut with leaf-spring scissors.
Once eyeball globe was determined to rotate freely inside eye-socket, optic nerve was severed with sharpened spoon, and eye was gouged out. Patient eye was secured in previously prepared glass jar of formaldehyde, for future use (Note: carmine red, damaged, with thin blurry film over cornea). Procedure was repeated for each eye.
Replacement eyes (Note: celadon green, quasi-crystalline) procured for the procedure were inserted into patient's eyesockets. Attachment to pre-existing tissue was ensured through the synchretic arcano-divine ritual detailed below:

[What follows is a dizzyingly complex matrix of focal runes of Draconic, Infernal and Abyssal origin. They are circled by tiny, open-ended spirals of arcane formulae which link towards the main body of the spell-matrix: A prayer about torment, growth, renewal and newfound strength, written in Xanalren script.
It seems the prayer itself fuels the regenerative process provided by the matrix, whilst the arcane and occult components woven into it ensure fine-tuning tailored for the particular organ being grafted.
]

Eye speculum was removed, and patient was freed of restraints.


Note: Patient was dissatisfied with colour of eye grafts provided by colleague, and tried to shoot him with gonne. Alchemy bench is in direct line of sight of surgery table, exposing laboratory to danger of explosion in the event of similar future dissatisfaction. Change its position.

[Beneath is an idle little sketch of the face of Baelara Mel'nozz. It is depicted with vague brushes of a graphite pencil, making it seem indistinct and ethereal, like a blurry vision floating in the air. Only the area around her nose, lips and eyes has been drawn with painstaking attention to detail. The irises of her eyes have been painted over with a mixture of emerald, jade and diamond dust, bringing them out in an eerily vivid fashion.
The same glittery ink has been used underneath to title the portrait in an excessively beauteous cursive script:
]

~Baelara~


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Re: Minuit's Research Notes

Post by PumpkinPie » Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:41 am

From Minuit's diary of medical research:
Medical Notes: Subject #53, Visit #4

Patient Profile:
See initial notes on Subject #53: Baelara Mel'nozz.

Foreword:
Exposure to lethal amounts of negative energy radiation decayed all soft tissue from replacement arm, leaving only bone. Grafting soft tissue harvested from mortal donor was not deemed to be a viable solution for the long-term, due to constant emission of negative energy by the irradiated bones.
Sourcing soft tissue from undead donor was deemed undesirable due to presence of preexisting undead grafts in patient, and side-effects associated with excessive grafting of undead parts (loss of body warmth, pallor of skin, dryness of skin, hair loss, premature aging et caetera.)

Succubi and Brachinae were found to be appropriate sources of soft tissue for the procedure, due to their innate capabilitiy to polarise their own bodies to create a positive-negative energy gradient and absorb lifeforce from victims, as well as their Illythiirioid bodyshape.

Experiment:
Patient was partially undressed from the waist up, and was shackled to the operating table. Forehead manacle was deemed non-essential for the procedure, and left unused.

At patient request, removal of original arm was performed by non-medical personnel using a single vertical swing of curved slashing implement (scimitar) between scapula and subdeltoid bursa. Cut was clean, and shattered through humeral head, leaving acromioclavicular joint intact and coracoacromial ligament undamaged. Arm was discarded, and humeral head stump that remained attached to capsular ligament was dissected with mayo scissors.

Negative-irradiated replacement humerus, radius and ulna bones were placed in position in preparation of fleshcrafting prayer. Manual reconstruction of hand and wrist was found unnecessary due to adequate preservation of ligaments and joints, maintaining proper skeletal structure.

Patient pain-expression was used as sacrificial offering to Queen of Torment to power fleshcrafting ritual (Note: Six Kilosades.)

[The procedure is explained with a cold, clinical detachment, accompanied by a series of anatomical sketches depicting each stage of the procedure: The patient's shoulder boiling as though thousands of insects crawled beneath. New cartilage growing between the bones akin to rapidly swelling tumors. Excess cartilage turning brittle and flaking into mere dust. The dissected muscle tissue from a Brachina's arm slithering in the likeness of a snake of flesh towards the naked bone of the patient's arm. The newly grafted fiendish muscle tissue joining with its host. Fatty tissue growing down the patient's shoulder and spreading over the naked muscle fibers like rivers of molten butter. And finally the patient's own skin being pulled and stretching painfully to cover the new limb, as if it was but a vulgar elastic fabric.]

Patient was freed from restraints and allowed to test newly crafted limb. Motility and range of motion were found acceptable for early post-surgery recovery period.

Note: Patient's screams vibrate with latent arcane power, shatter glass, and strain the eardrums. Muffle her for subsequent operations. Test own ears for potential loss of hearing.

[The bottom of the page bears a quasi-illisible scribble which seems to have been written absent-mindedly, unlike the sober and impersonal notes above:]
Baelara. You will be so pretty. So perfect.

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