Alter Aeon The Great Library

Welcome to the Alter Aeon Historical Archive!

Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  2885
Title: a book entitled, 'Rare Spell Components of the Island of Sloe'

The book begins with a lengthy forward about the life of the author, Edna
Broderick, after she moved to Vemarken shortly after its founding.  The
details of her establishing her apothecary business and learning about the
different herbs and spell components found on the island of Sloe are mildly
interesting yet altogether mundane.  Edna also apparently served in the
Vemarken government on the town council.  The most interesting highlight of
the book's forward is about when she met Saint Mordin, an event that she
describes with all of the giddy, unbridled excitement of a young child.

Here are some of the entries found therein:

Fire Opals - These powerful spell components were once mined near Venezia
but haven't been found naturally for some time.  Those still in circulation
appear as ovoid white gemstones with reddish veins, and the reddish potions
sparkle when the opal is exposed to light to create the illusion of tiny
flames.  As one might expect, they are especially useful for enchanting
fire spells.

Hocus Crocus - This is an herbaceous flowering plant found in the drier
meadows of the southern Polliwog Swamp.  Its delicate white flowers are a
mild spell component with a broad variety of magical applications.

Kizin Spores - The spores harvested from kizins, the native population of
myconids, are another general purpose spell component.  They can be
collected either when kizins spread the spores during fall reproduction
seasons, or from the corpse of a recently slain kizin.

Luminescent Cave Crystals - These small bluish crystals can be found
underneath the Polliwog Swamp.  Specimens larger than a centimeter produce
an internal glow that, when combined with other nearby crystals, can cast
light bright to see by.  These crystals collect on the ceilings of the
underground tunnels and are said to have been seeded there by a race of
diminutive trolls that once inhabited central Sloe, who called them 'sky
crystals'.

Merlin's Mushrooms - This species of bioluminescent fungus are shaped like
gray-blue cones with wide brims, thus vaguely reminiscent of a
stereotypical wizard's hat.  As spell components, they can used to enhance
of the potency of brewed potions.  They are found in caves within the
Polliwog Swamp.

Nekkerberries - these small green berries have a foul scent. They are named
after a local bogeyman called the Nekker, a sort of stinky fish-man that
supposedly pulls down children that swim in its lake and keeps their souls
in a jug.

Pillywiggin's Bane - this low, sprawling herb has lacey leaves and a scent
like mint mixed with anise. The diminutive pixies known as Pillywiggins are
said to flee from crushed sprigs of the plant, and there are tales of them
dropping dead by simply touching the plant.

Red Fern - Rare red-pigmented ferns grow in the northern Polliwog Swamp. 
They are reputed to have medicinal properties for mammals, such as the
treatment of distemper.

Tuliza - This species of flowering herb grows along the marshy northeast
coast of Sloe near Venezia.  Its small purple flowers prove analgesic when
applied to an aching area of the body, or the flowers can be consumed as a
general painkiller.