Rajit: Level 15: Clean Burning

Small flames erupt from a gritty crimson sludge as it spatters against a pitted stone lab bench. The small flares of light reflect off the goggles of a glum looking blonde halfling as she frowns at their lack of intensity. “Fire on contact with the air, but can’t get the crystals out of solution without drying them. Can’t dry them without contact with the air… Maybe I could use some kind of slow acting desiccant? Even better if it coats with the salt crystals.” Rajit tapped a pen on her notes as she considered the problem. “Maybe an airtight jar, sealed with wax. Put the gelled salts in solution into the jar, a bit of dust of dryness in wax, heat until the wax melts and then that should leave me with a jar of crystals wrapped around wax and a tiny bead of stabilized water.”
 
Rajit set about building a prototype, settling on a cylindrical bottle like a double-sided ampoule designed to shatter and fail when thrown. She blew the glass carefully, not wanting the pressure of the contents to set this stuff off early. After all once it started burning it would be very difficult to get the fire out, or off of whatever was burning and before she threw it these things would be on a bandolier at her hip.
 
The first test went surprisingly well, as she swiveled the ampoule over the flame of a burner the wax coating the dust of dryness melted and with a sudden snap the moisture was pulled into a tiny bead within the ampoule. What remained were tiny flakes of deep red crystal, many resting on small waxen clusters. The ampoule held against the negative pressure with the sudden vacuum inside the glass cylinder. Rajit gave the contraption a gentle shake and the flaky crystals tinkled as the crystals bounced around within. Rajit lifted her goggles as the grin reached all the way to her eyes.
 
“Trial 13: Red flames, moderate temperatures. Approximate burn length… 52 seconds.” Rajit scratches notes as she watched the roaring flames sputter and die, leaving behind a blackened rock but no lingering flames. “Sample has yet to produce any lingering flame or set alight nearby fuel, suggesting potential safety in limited use in nonflammable environment… possibly due to low radiant temperature? Throw 14 when you’re ready big guy.” Rajit looked up from her notes to see Gilbert heft another one of the ampoules.
 
Gilbert looked down at the small glass object, barely the size of one of his pinky fingers. In the past he would have just thrown the thing as instructed but Rajit’s gift of a headband of intellect had made him a very curious monkey indeed. Rajit was looking at the crystals as a weapon, an area denial one at that. But these crystals were also very predictable in their burn length. They might be useful as fuel… “Big guy?” Gilbert closed his hand and flung the ampoule towards the rock. Predictable the glass shattered and the same blaze instantly consumed the area... “... 58 seconds. I think that one burned a little better. A few tweaks and we’ll be there.”
 
Rajit reaches level 15, taking her 4th level in Artificer Wizard. She learns to create Jars of Firesalts (Create Bonfire.) Additionally continued experimentation with pressurizing containers has allowed her to combine her glue-like substance from her Gecko Glue (Spider Climb) spell to create Glue Grenades (Web.) The deep red crystals she has learned to stabilize also have interesting properties when mixed with glass. While the magic is only temporary she has learned to activate Infralenses (See Invisibility) granting her a deep red impression of nearby presences. Rajit’s turn back towards purer alchemy has allowed her body to heal, for her feat she gains an ability score increase, boosting her Dexterity by 1 to 18 and Constitution by 1 to 16. She has acquired a headband of Intellect for Gilbert and gifted it to him. Gilbert’s burgeoning intelligence has changed the way he views the world and made him more aware. Gilbert has begun to take an interest in the power of heat energy, particularly in ways it might make his life easier by powering things. He has developed an interest in steam technology. Gilbert’s feat is an ability score increase, boosting his Constitution by 2 to 16.