“The whole of Nature,” said Reynevan, taking advantage of the chance to shine, “every thing, living or dead, every materia prima is imbued with the energy of creation, the original spirit, original material and formative power. Hermes Trismegistus calls it totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, the power of all powers, which can overcome every subtle thing and pervades every solid thing. Hence also a basic principle of alchemy: solve et coagula, dissolve and coagulate, which means the process of dissolving that energy in order subsequently to coagulate it, capture it in a colloid. One can do likewise with anything, with any substance. Including metals and minerals.”

“And gold?”

“Gold, too.” Bruno Schilling nodded eagerly. “Most definitely.”

“A collodium of gold, called aurum potabile, is one of the most powerful elixirs,” explained Reynevan, still excited. “It considerably enhances the life force and the intellectual and spiritual powers. It is also an infallible remedy for insanity, dementia and other mental ailments, particularly those caused by an excess of melancolia, of discharges of black bile. Making a colloid is, however, extremely difficult, and only the ablest alchemists and sorcerers are capable of doing so. And it only works in very special and rare circumstances—”

“Very well, that’s enough,” said Horn, waving a hand. “I don’t need a concise course in alchemy. Drinkable gold aroused my curiosity and you have satisfied it. Let’s return to the matter at hand. That is, poisons. And poisoning.”

“One is linked to the other.” The renegade wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Skirfir prepares various elixirs for Grellenort. Liquid gold, liquid silver, liquid amethyst, liquid pearls—they are all used to enhance magical potency and abilities and strengthen the immunity of the body and spirit. We were also given some of them at Sensenberg, so I know how they work. But Skirfir also concocted poisons. Grellenort’s designs were no secret. He wanted to eliminate senior Hussites, poison them, but in a way that wouldn’t arouse the slightest suspicions. So it would look—”

“So it would look like death caused by a wound,” said Reynevan, taking advantage of Schilling stammering. “A cut received in battle or an accident. To make it impossible to link the death with the poison. Sudden death always arouses suspicions of poisoning—there is an investigation at once and the toxin is traced back to the poisoner. But regarding the poison we’re discussing, there are no symptoms, the victim doesn’t feel or suspect anything. Until—”

“Until he is cut with iron,” the renegade interrupted in mid-sentence. “Or steel. But nothing else. Death is inevitable. They called that poison ‘Dux.’”