“Behold your poison, Reinmar,” said Jan Bezděchovský of Bezděchov, raising a flacon of iridescent green liquid. Reynevan said nothing and paled. Bezděchovský put down the flacon and scratched his purple nose.

“Your target, you claim,” he began, “regularly imbibes liquid gold, aurum potabile. By so doing he is absolutely resistant to all known toxins and poisons in their fundamental form. It is thus necessary to use a compositum, a many-staged, combined poison.

“By itself, aurum potabile doesn’t react with anything. Nonetheless, one ought to assume that the person taking aurum also takes other medicines for the purpose of maintaining an organic balance, somatic equilibrium and to suppress side effects. Medicines of that kind include confectiones magnae, confectiones opiatae, some panacea, such as, for example, Hiera, and some athanasia, such as Theriak.

“Our alchemic compositum, devised by magisterium Edlinger Brehm, uses tasteless aqua fortis as its menstruum, or solvent. The simplicia used here, if it interests you, include meadow saffron, or colchicum autumnale, and spurge laurel, or daphne mezereum. Nothing special or new here; Medea used meadow saffron in her poisons in Colchís, as can be guessed from the Latin name. The most innovative element of our mixture—and the most lethal—is bufotenin. A magically processed extract from the active substances in the secretions from a toad’s glands.”

Bezděchovský reached for the carafe and poured himself some liquor.

“When you administer the poison, after some time the target will experience the symptoms consistent with a negative reaction to aurum potabile. As usual, he will take the panaceum. The meadow saffron will react to the panaceum, causing diarrhoea. The diarrhoea remedy will react to the mezereum, intensifying the symptoms and considerably raising the body’s temperature. The target will then take Hiera or Theriak, and the bufotenin will react violently to the reaction produced by all of this combined.”

“Will death occur quickly? Painlessly?”

“Quite the opposite.”

“I’m glad. My great thanks, Master.”

“Don’t thank me,” said the reverendissimus doctor, knocking back more liquor. “Now go and poison the bastard.”