"Thank you Riley, you can leave now." Valetni told the apprentice as he finished dragging a heavy chest into the 'poison' shed.<br/><br/>"But sir, won't you nee-"Riley began.<br/><br/>"I said, you may leave now." Valetni cut him off in a tone that told the apprentice that he would accept no dissent from him this time.<br/><br/>"Yes sir..." The apprentice said, eyes cast downwards as he made his way out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as the apprentice was outside, Valetni hobbled his way to the door, securely locking it. With that done, he made his way to the center of the floor, feeling around for the seem that betrayed the location of the hidden trap door. With a grunt, he slowly levered open the heavy door, allowing access into the roughly hewn root cellar that now served as his private laboratory. Now, safe in the privacy of his hidden lair, and with no watching eyes or listening ears, Valetni was safe to attend to his package.<br/><br/>Laying it on the table normally reserved for the dissection of corpses, Valetni felt his breath quicken. He stared at it, resting so innocently. He had been anticipating this for so long, ever since he had spoken of it with the tanner. The small man had likewise been enthusiastic about the prospect of this, appealing as it was to both of their trades. Now, he was about to see if weeks of collaboration had paid off. With trembling hands, he grasped his package, and set about unwrapping it.<br/><br/>It was beautiful.<br/><br/>Not in the traditional, aesthetic way, but in it's function. What it promised. If it could accomplish half of what Valetni imagined it could...He shook his head, he mustn't get ahead of himself. First, he would have to see if it could fit, he regretted that there would be only one, no smaller size for the likes of Mary, Whereas the logistics of accommodating the gryphon was an intellectual nightmare.<br/><br/>Valetni coughed for several moments, when his fit subsided, he lifted it to his face. The Self Contained Gas Protection Respiratory Apparatus slipped smoothly onto his face. Made of several layers cloth impregnated with Glycerol and a solution of ammonia and formaldehyde built around a leather framework. Pulling the numerous leather straps tight, it formed a nearly airtight seal around his face. Vision was allowed through two glass eyepieces. The mask gave him the appearance of an ant-eater, a six inch long cylinder hanging off where the mouth was, a wooden filter filled with activated charcoal. Respiration was simple, by inhaling, you forced the air outside to run the gamut of the filter as well as the impregnated layers, which would hopefully combat most toxins he would be encountering. Valetni removed the mask, he would have time to play with it later, but for now he was going to have a chat with Vernasus.