Richard
**It's been a few days since he had visited Atticus Xelnore. The Doctor had undergone a fair few trials since then, but his studies never eluded him. Books which he collected from Xelnore Manor had returned with him to Lazaroth, where here he began to experiment with new spells and thaumaturgical workings. Henryk knew he needed some assistance, and thus who better than his dear friend Doctor Jones?

In the basement of Argith Estate, Henryk awaited in his laboratory with a few tomes laid out, opened up on display. The spells in question had been *'Create Homunculus', 'Life Tether',* And *'Perfect Regeneration'*. Three tomes which the Mage Hand had kept to themselves, hiding these spells from the world as they were deemed unnatural to the world. Henryk, however, saw these as potential tools to further the use of Medical Arcana. Today he wanted to discuss the Homunculus spell, but desires Jones's input.

While waiting, he had a servant bring him a pot of tea. Today was Kandagulu Jasmine— and incredibly luxurious tea, imported from that gods forsaken jungle land. Henryk had some capital to spare, in fact, he was already beginning to make foreign investments to generate more profits.

His attention right now was on the experiment at hand. He already collected some... Resources, but needed Jones's Hemomancy. This process was delicate. Complicated. Macabre and all things wrong. Fortunately, they were in Lazaroth, and the Mage Hand had no authority in this land.

Henryk poured out some Jasmine tea for himself, placing a sugar cube inside the tea, and a little bit of milk. He stirred with his teaspoon before finally sipping the tea. Ah yes. It was nice and warm.

And this laboratory was cold.

...

The Doctor would stand in wait, reviewing the tomes again and again, until Jones made their presence known.**
David
Homunculi. A concept that the Doctor had briefly looked into, once upon a time, but one they possessed neither the skills, nor the funds, nor the information to pursue back then. They had thought of it occasionally, but always lacked something, and as the decades went by, ended up losing interest in the matter completely. It had lost its importance over time anyway. They had no use for a new body, no use for test subjects, and they were way too busy with just helping people to even have the time to think about it.

Really, they'd assumed that it would not be something they would ever look into again, and yet... Here they were. About to dive headfirst back into the subject. Sure, right now, the Doctor had no particular use for homunculi, but that curiosity of theirs had always been difficult to quell, no matter how much they tried to. And who knew, maybe there was going to be some useful way to apply the science - there was no way to know for certain until they tried, right?

And so, the Doctor climbed down into the basement, ignoring the coldness of the place. They paused briefly in front of the door, then knocked, pushing it open a moment later and slipping through the crack before closing it again. "Apologies for being late," They muttered, stuffing their hands into their pockets and sauntering over to Henryk to see what he was looking at. "Fell asleep." They were indeed about twenty minutes late to the originally appointed time, but it sure as hell wasn't intentional.

Perhaps in the time they'd been here, he'd learned of that habit of theirs. Their tendency to fall asleep at the most random of times, sometimes even while standing up or working on the more dull tasks. They didn't have an explanation for it, but it sure as hell was a pain in the ass for everyone involved.
_ _

Well, whatever. The Doctor didn't come here to worry about that, did they? No, they came here for a much, much more interesting reason - homunculi. "How far do you intend to go with this research today?" They questioned, peeking at some of the tomes with no regard for Henryk's personal space. That spark of curiosity in their eyes had been lit, it was hard to miss how much they were looking forward to this. "What exactly is it that we are doing today, Doctor Henryk?"
Richard
**Twenty minutes late, and fashionably so. When Jones finally decided to show up the tea had already began growing cold.** "You're late. I hope the nap was good" **Henryk had spoken as Jones walked in, making a husk chuckle as they groggily walked on over.** "I had tea brought down. You're free to serve yourself. It's Jasmine." **Doctor Henryk had finished his beverage sometime ago while waiting.** 

"For context, I've made a new acquaintance who possessed a series of Mage Hand books. Tomes of forbidden knowledge, generally kept from public eye. Homunculi. I'm sure you've heard the term. The 'little man' is a concept explored greatly in Alchemy. Ancient Alchemists use to tamper with the creation of artificial life— however it was never explore in-depth. My assumption would be that the research of Homunculi are banned by both the Alchemists Guild, and the Order of the Mage Hand." **Doctor Henryk had glanced from Doctor Jones to his books. His hands would pick up one of the tomes as he held it up.**

"Fortunately, my dear friend, we are in Lazaroth. All things dark and macabre are sanctioned here, and thus we can take our research of Medical Arcana to the extreme. We will be experimenting with Homunculi for the purpose of organ research." **Henryk would introduce the goal at hand.**

"You see, I've been utilizing animal organs for some time now to fabricate my concoctions. _However_, the local butchery doesn't always have fresh organs available for use. This is why I wish to experiment with Homunculi. They provide a humane way to experiment the effects of our medication we produce, they provide fresh organs for research... They also provide us an opportunity to understand the development of life, and how organisms are grown." **Henryk had paused, before placing the tome down.**

"My proposal is that we should explore research of Homunculi. To see if their organs are compatible with that of mortals, to test medications on them, as well as use them for other experiments that we may need subjects for." **Doctor Henryk concluded.**

**He would wait to see how Doctor Jones felt about such an idea. To use Homunculi as a means to further their medical research. Additionally, he had other curiosities about artificial life... Something he wouldn't express yet.**

**He looked to Jones expectantly, looking for an answer.**
David
With a wave of a hand, the Doctor dismissed Henryk's statement and went to pour themself a cup of tea, a tad annoyed that it had gone cold. Oh well. Nothing to be done about that. They plopped in a small handful of sugar cubes, making the liquid nigh undrinkable to most, and then stirred, gazing over at the tomes once more as they did so. As Henryk started his explanation, they continued to speak, and upon realizing that the liquid was too saturated and the rest of the sugar would dissolve no longer, set aside the spoon and took a sip, trying to use what warmth of the drink remained to push out the cold of the basement. It wasn't very effective.

However, the more Doctor Henryk spoke, the more they lost interest in the drink. The Doctor's attention was caught by his words, and they lightly brushed over the cover of one of the tomes with their left hand, gaze transfixed upon it. Creating life for the purpose of experimentation... Making the organs used in his various concoctions, and of course...

"An ethical way to experiment upon living creatures," The Doctor muttered without realizing they'd said it out loud. They couldn't help it. Lips curled into a faint smile, and their usual exhaustion was somewhat lifted from their face. Even their heart started beating a little faster. The endless knowledge that this experiment would bring, it was hard to comprehend, the possibilities impossible to figure out right now - but they were endless. Having an endless supply of bodies to work with, to test out anything without having to worry about the ramifications, more blood than could ever be given to every injured person in the world, maybe even... Maybe organs could even be given in the same way blood could. *Phaendar... Can I finally cure you?*
_ _

The Doctor realized that they'd gotten lost in thought and cleared their throat, pulling themself back to reality. "Do you think it's possible?" A short pause, then they shook their head. "No, I don't care if it's possible. No matter what ends up happening, I have no doubt that this will provide valuable data for my- *Our* Research." They turned to look to Henryk, smile broadening ever so slightly, a rare spark of excitement in those usually so dull eyes. "What do you need me to do, Doctor Henryk?"
Richard
**Doctor Henryk would smile, seeing as Jones was unbothered by the idea of engineering artificial life— in fact, he was quiet happy that Jones seemed to taken a liking to Doctor Henryk's idea of experimenting with Homunculi.**

"I'm glad to see you're undeterred. Most couldn't stomach the ideas so macabre." **Henryk had spoken.** "Okay. I'll explain further..."

**With a pause, collecting his thoughts, and beginning.** "The ritual which has been described in these tomes require a _womb_ suitable for incubation of the Homunculi. I have spoken to the local butcher here in Syvathere, and acquired three cow wombs. All their sexual organs in tact, and ready to be experimented with. I'm going to need assistance from you in creating a self sustained artificial womb out of these organs. I believe your Hemomancy will come in use for this process." **Henryk had give a moment for Jones to process what he had said, before continuing onwards with his thoughts.**

"Presuming we create the 'artificial womb', we must collect organic material for the process. As a control, we'll be using organic material from one donor—" **He would look to Jones, meeting their eyes.** "—yes, we can use _multiple_ donors in the process if we so pleased." **He would clarify for his fellow doctor.** "The necessary component will be either yours or my blood. The conductor of the ritual must provide their blood, or else the Homunculi will not obey. Supposedly a telepathic link is forged between the caster and Homunculi once it has been born— allowing us control over the creature." **Henryk provided an elaboration, making it clear that one of the two must provide blood during the process, lest they wish to be victim to a feral beast with no master.**

"Assuming we can make three wombs, we'll have three homunculi being produced. The minimum period to creating these creatures is _seven_ days. For our first experiment, we'll be seeing the difference in incubation period between each Homunculi. I think one week, two weeks, and three weeks is a good first experiment. As for the organic material provided... Who other than _us_ to provide. This is our experiment, after all. There is no need to drag anyone else into this." **Henryk would rationalize.** "Just remember... These creatures are _not_ extensions of us. They are not our children. They are beings without souls. They can _never_ replace you or I— or anyone." **Henryk spoke with a sudden seriousness, a particular depth to illustrate to Jones that they cannot feel merciful towards these beings. No matter how mortal they may seem.**

**Henryk would let out a hefty sigh.** "My, I'm parched. I don't typically speak this much— I can't help but admit I am quiet excited." **He would say, making a husk chuckle.**
David
The Doctor showed a vague hint of amusement at Henryk's mention of 'macabre', though it was one that was quickly hidden. Could this really be considered that macabre compared to the things they'd already done? The crimes they'd committed in the past? Right now, it didn't feel that way, though depending on the way this went... It might end up becoming worse. There was no way to know for certain.

They shook those thoughts out of their head and took a sip from their tea, holding the cup in both hands as the other doctor continued speaking, explaining everything. With the amount of preparation he'd put into this... Had he already assumed that they would agree to this?

That, too, was pointless to dwell upon at this moment in time. That explanation of Henryk's was so much more interesting anyway. The Doctor listened wordlessly, silently amazed at the amount of knowledge he'd managed to find on the topic. When they researched it, there were only a few snippets, snippets that they did find back in the explanation, but that hadn't been nearly enough to construct the full picture they were getting right now. It was astounding what money and the lack of influence from the Order could accomplish.

But then he turned serious suddenly, and the Doctor's smile faltered as they averted their gaze. Right. Of course. It made sense, but... It was still good to have it pointed out so clearly. "I understand," They said just as firmly after letting the silence linger for a moment or two. They shouldn't get any strange ideas from this, this was for science only.

Another few long moments of silence as they pondered, giving Henryk plenty of time to pour himself another cup of tea if he so desired. There was a lot to think about, but there was one question that seemed the most important right now.
_ _

"Whose blood is it that we will be using for this?" Normally, it'd be an easy choice - pick whoever was healthiest, which would likely be Henryk, if not by much. However, in this case... It was a little more complicated. "I'm assuming that my experience with hemomancy would perhaps make me the better subject. Additionally, and do feel free to correct my assumption if I'm wrong here, I do believe that between the two of us, I have the most experience with using one's own body for experimentation." The Doctor looked down into their cup as they said that, a slight discomfort emanating from their expression.

"Either way, I'm sure you'll agree only one donor would be best, to keep the amount of variables as low as possible." If Henryk had any arguments for the case that he should be the one, though... Well, he was welcome to give them. After all, this was a conversation between two medical professionals, was it not? Surely the two of them should be able to respectfully agree or disagree with each other.
Richard
**Doctor Henryk listened to Doctor Jones's logistics that they'd be the better donor. In truth, that maybe the case, to use Jones who has a history for bodily experimentation and their aptitude in Hemomancy. Yet, this was something that hadn't been done for in perhaps centuries. The creation of the _first_ modern day Homunculus. Doctor Henryk had admitted it time and time again, he was a made filled with pride and ego— akin to that of a High Elf like Jones.**

**Henryk would made a sigh, before softly chuckling.** "You bring up logistical points, my friend. But, allow me to be honest... I desire to be the blood donor simply for the honour of being the first to bring _Artificial Life_ to the modern era. We'll be experimenting with both our blood eventually— but who will be the _first_ to do so?" **Doctor Henryk had mused, before pulling out his coin purse, swiping one of his coins from the bag.**

"Lets flip a coin on it. I respect you enough to be the primary donor, and master of the first modern Homunculus. It's why I have no qualms leaving the decision to fate. Heads shall be I, and tails shall be you."

**With that, Henryk let out a hefty sigh, before flipping the coin. The piece of metal would soar in the air, rapidly spinning, before landing in Henryk's open palm. He'd then slam the coin onto the table, covering it. Henryk looked to Jones, nodding, then removed his hand.**

**...**

**Thus, fate decided Doctor Henryk to be the first, as the coin displayed Heads.**

"That question is now answered. For the first three Homunculi, I shall be the donor. The next three we shall use your blood. We'll study and draw conclusions from there." **Henryk would state, moving his hands to his sides.**

**After a brief moment of silence, the raven haired man would let out a slight chuckle, sweeping his hair back with his left hand, as his pale blue eyes met Jones's own eyes.** "I'll admit... That _was_ childish of me." **He would say.** "However the world wouldn't develop without some competition, no?" 

**Henryk would walk over to metal table, a cloth covering it.** "Now then... The primary reason I need you." **He'd grab the cloth and pull it off to reveal three sets of cow organs on display.** "We have some work to do. I was thinking of creating a essentially a flesh sack coated by leather which would contain the womb. We'll be using water and sugar to feed the sacks during this process— it'll still act as an organism after all, to some capacity." **The Doctor explained. He looked to Jones, and waved them over.** 

"Come now— lets change into our _work_ garments. We have some work to do." 

**Yes, it was indeed time to work.**