To create a Muffling Draught, first Burn Healing Paste into your cauldron and let simmer until a green smoke rises. Make sure to do under the quarter moon, and add Wolfsbane when it's at its highest.
Okay, I see what you’re doing here. You’re an Astromancer, huh? Probably pretty into potion making at school? If you don’t mind some input on your recipe, I have a few points to make because this is gonna bug me if I don’t fix it.
For Astromancers, yes, moon phases are important. But, like, timing the moon phase when the moon is at its highest isn’t important anymore. Recent studies by Aki Sato found that as long as the moon is present in the sky during the appropriate phase, day or night, it doesn’t matter what time you do your thing at.
I wouldn’t recommend actually burning the paste, either, unless you need to make an inhalant. And if you do, really hope you’ve got good ventilation or a fume hood or something. Good pointing out the green smoke, though. There’s one component in burn healing paste (I call it Simmer Salve) that lets off green smoke when it burns, which is how you can tell its active.
And I wouldn’t just throw wolfsbane in there. You gotta neutralize it with arnica extract or something that causes minor hypertension. There’s lavender in the burn paste, yeah, but it won’t do much for the heart-stopping thing that wolfsbane does at higher doses.
I’m not trying to disprove you or shame you or anything, I’m here to help. Mostly because I don’t want bad recipes to get around and hurt people who don’t know any better.
[If you couldn’t tell, Gemma will be answering these questions! 😉]
Muffling Draught: Favorite genre of music?
I’m into smooth poppy songs that have a good beat I can work to. Janelle Monáe, Janet Jackson, Kate Nash, all those artists. Also, I liked Miley Cyrus as a teenager and I still like her now.
Burn Healing Paste: are you cautious or are you impulsive?
Kinda in the middle? Cautious when it comes to some things, impulsive with others. I admit I’m a little impulsive with online shopping and protecting my friends and messing with ingredients and I don’t really plan things, okay, I see what I’m doing. I guess I’m a little impulsive.
Wolfsbane: What’s the biggest change you’ve experienced in the past year?
It’s a toss up between Oz letting me consult for the police (finally), the half-drownings happening in town, getting a surprise new roommate, losing two magic school contacts, and Harry changing the diner’s menu. No more mac n’ cheese for us.
