It had been just under a few days since the Squalor's Splendor left to return to Evershoal. Hearing that the harpies were expecting some assault, Quincy wanted to try to make some items to help with whatever trouble might happened when they arrive. For this effort, Quincy stocked up on reagents before the ship left port to be able to make some mystically infused items, namely trying to make the Spell-wrought Tattoo he recently obtained the recipe for.
The first step would be to make the ink. The main component of the pigment was going to be made from soot from mostly ground down charcoal but some from burned animal bones to make the main black base; but highlights of red and yellow were added by using rust scrapped of nails and other pieces of abandoned items made of iron due to the amount of corrosion they had suffered from the sea-air and sulfur respectively. Even though Quincy had the raw components, pulverizing them into a fine enough powder to be utilized proved difficult. Once the powder was prepared, it was mixed with the most distilled alcohol Quincy could find before they left.
After the ink was prepared, Quincy took out a piece of animal skin parchment, scribing the tattoo on one side, and the magic seal to be used to channel the energies to transform the ink into something mystical. Using the templates he had received from Biff, Quincy traced the patterns initially with drawing charcoal to make sure that the designs were done correctly so the ink and reagents would not be wasted.
After all the prep-work was completed, Quincy waited to start the final process of soaking the parchment in some of the reagents, and mixing the ink with another set until the ship entered some doldrums and little activity on the ship. The final mixing was necessary to start the reactions for the item creation, but also started a time limit before the reagents would become inert, denature the ink, or dissolve the parchment. Being distracted or making a mistake due to the ship rocking or activity would cause all the work thus far to go to waste. After several minutes, the necessary inscriptions were made and the moment the last brushstroke was made, the parchment began to hum with magical energies and heat up, at which point, Quincy lifted the parchment up and spoke the activation word, causing the parchment to combust and the ink on the tattoo side start curl in on itself. Once the parchment was completely burnt, the ink that had been on the tattoo side was for a moment floating within the air, and then condensed into the needle utilized to transfer the tattoo onto someone.
“Well, that was both fulfilling and a bit exhausting. I wonder if I have enough material left to be able to make more of them. Best to be prepared.” Quincy said aloud to the empty room he was working in. “But for now, I think I am going to take a break.”