Chlorine Gas
Year 798
Amy wasn't quite sure what this gas she discovered was, exactly. At only 21, she hadn't even finished her university education yet, but her gut instinct was this needed to be tested. It readily killed the few animal test subjects she could get her hands on, legally or otherwise, but she wanted to test it on a human, or a humanoid.
Having heard that Princess Verka was less squeamish than most on the idea of humanoid test, Amy found herself waiting for a meeting with the Princess at Ashe Castle. She guessed being engaged to the Imperial Pyromancer had other benefits, after all.
After some time in the waiting room, Princess Verka came out personally to guide Amy into her study. After taking a seat, Verka began the conversation.
"Your letter intrigued me, which is why you're here. You say you've discovered something with a potential military application?" Verka asked straight away.
"Yes, it's some sort of gas, but it's killed all animals I've managed to obtain quite gruesomely." Amy answered. "I want to move on to humanoid test subjects but I'll get in trouble if I start kidnapping people."
"Describe how the animals die, Amy." Verka said, smiling slightly.
"Horrific acid burns on their eyes, throat, and afterwards when I cut them open, burns inside their lungs like acid was poured directly down their throat." Amy explained.
"And it's just a gas?" Verka asked.
"As far as I can tell, yes."
Verka tried her best to suppress her excitement, and instead cleared her throat.
"As long as you don't care where I get them from, I'll have some humanoid test subjects delivered to your lab. Either myself or one of my sisters will pick up corpses weekly. Give me regular reports on research into this gas. I'll be updating the Empress on progress, Miss Winters."
"Perfect!" Amy said excitedly. "I'll get started right away!"
Amy quickly made the formal good-byes to Princess Verka, and almost ran back to her lab. Humanoid test subjects! This would be marvellous not just for this gas but for other research projects as well. Of course, mustn't kill too many of them, she thought to herself. Human capital was the most expensive type, after all.
Later that week, a knock was heard at her lab door. Opening it, Amy found herself face to face with Princess Verka and more than a dozen guards. They quickly made their way inside, with several of them carrying a rather large box.
"Oh, what's this?" Amy asked.
"Your first test subject. Let's just say nobody will miss this scoundrel." Verka responded. "I'm going to leave several guards here just in case, Miss Winters."
Verka bowed, and half of the guards left along with her, leaving Amy alone with 5 guards and a box that was slightly shaking.
"So who's inside?" Amy asked one of the guards.
"Convicted murderer. Stabbed his own parents to death in their sleep, and was caught desecrating the remains. The Princess was just going to drown him and eat him, but that was before you needed test subjects." One of the guards said, as two others worked to remove the lid of the crate.
"Eat him?" Amy asked.
"She's a rusalki, remember?"
Amy nodded. Of course. Pointing at the sealed test chamber she had set up at the end of the room, the guards nodded and dragged the screaming man into the chamber, leaving him tied up on the floor before departing the chamber and closing the door.
"So what's going to happen to him?" One of the guards asked.
"If it's anything like the animal tests, you'll enjoy this." Amy said. "First we start by breaking that rather large glass jar inside the door, like so."
"I don't see anything different."
"It takes some time. The smell of this gas is quite pungent, so if you begin to smell anything, we're evacuating the room immediately." Amy explained.
The guards and Amy watched for several minutes as the prisoner began to thrash and scream, with Amy writing down notes every step of the way. After nearly 30 minutes, she called all the guards over.
"I need to vent the chamber now, go open that cabinet and put on the masks inside. They're full of protection runes so you'll be fine from any ill effects of the gas." Amy said, gesturing at the tall wooden cabinet next to the chamber door.