Bloodroot

"The root is not named for the color, though it does have a reddish hue when cooked. And that's usually the first step in preparing it- nevermind. It's primarily part of a paste which stops bleeding and helps a wound heal without it going... sour."

— Maesa Winters, Journeyman Apothecary

Apothecaries have been experimenting for ages with various ingredients, and they produce something useful as often as they get it disastrously wrong. Further experiments also tend to make ingredients obsolete as new methods emerge. However, there are some ingredients which have survived the test of time and remained useful. For every instance of the Mor Ghona mushroom or Ceridian antitoxin, there is a success like the bloodroot extract.

As a plant, bloodroot is commonly found in wetlands where the yearly weather cycle keeps the soil at just the right water content. This often means an "untamed" stretch of wetlands, as villages will often drain the wetlands to expand into or put effort into earthworks in order to hold more water away from their settlements. Alchemists and apothecaries have tried cultivating bloodroot and discovered it to be a tempermental plant to work with. If there is too little water, and the resulting root is too bitter and lacks the properties essential to its use in medicine. (It has been noted it remains useful to thicken stews, but there are other options for such a task.) If there is too much water, the plants will become blighted and they are entirely unsuitable for consumption in any fashion. Thus it takes a devoted person to truly find the proper balance, making the root expensive but not terribly rare.

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Known Uses

Bloodroot Extract

One of the fashions the root has been used is to create an extract which helps with digestion troubles. The first step is to collect the root and boil it in clean water until the root begins to fall apart. After that, the remains of the root are removed by straining the liquid through a sieve and discarded. The liquid is returned to the heat to reduce into a dark red liquid which intensifies the bitter taste of the root and has an almost oily finish over the tongue. A spoonful of the extract added to a bowl of stew or soup helps food pass through easier, for those having an issue.

Bloodroot Binding

A more widely-known preparation of bloodroot is to roast the roots in a vessel until a blood-red color is vividly present. Once that is done, the roots are ground in a mortar with some salt crystals and sunwheat flour. Enough liquid is still in the root to join the ingredients into a thick paste which can be kept stable for over a year, if necessary. Commonly it is sold in small tin containers, though waxed cloth pouches have also been used. When applied to a wound which bleeds stubbornly, there will be a stinging pain followed by the blood flow ebbing. The solution is only temporary, and the patient must soon be brought to someone with the ability to help the wound close. For a large enough wound, bloodroot binding is not recommended as it may cause permanent damage to the body.

Red Death

At some point, an alchemist attempting to bring the qualities of bloodroot to a higher potency discovered their job had gone too well. When preparing bloodroot extract with certain types of alcohol instead of water, the resulting liquid caused those who drank it to die mere hours later. If applied to a bladed edge, the wounds would sting and the victim's muscles refused to obey. Where most responsible alchemists would have stopped investigating, the inventor shared their research to others and asked them to make sure he didn't make a mistake. Within the year, assassins were openly using this new tool in their arsenal. Further research discovered a way to prevent the worst effects of ingestion, through purging the stomach of its contents within the first hour. Knowing the "Red Death" had been given to the victim was important, but not difficult to track down as the bitterness can easily overpower most foods.

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