You feel sick.
“Sick” is an understatement; your insides roil and writhe.
It’s still dark when you wake, and from then until after sunrise, your experience is… unpleasant. Your en-suite bathroom is a lifesaver; you’d hate to have to use a public restroom for this. Between your trips to the bathroom, you curl up into a ball, cursing that vendor and his bucket of grey water and pot of grey stew; you knew you shouldn’t have eaten anything from that place…
It’s only after Ameronis arrives after 8:30, expecting you to be up and about already, that things take a turn for the better; having not been willing to make the journey downstairs, you’d been lamenting the fact that you couldn’t get any boiled water from the canteen to make some soothing Laitil tea. Ameronis, baffled by seeing your uncomfortable expression, is concerned about your condition and agrees to go acquire some hot water for you.
Teacup obtained, you shoo her away and make said tea, using your pre-made powder mix; you have just enough for one cup. This concoction has saved you before; reducing nausea and inflammation, settling stomach cramps and digestive issues, offering pain relief… you’d never be without it while travelling. You manage to fall asleep after about 30 minutes, and when you wake again after 10am, you’re feeling so much better.
Now, no longer feeling like your digestive tract is filled with snakes and bubbling water, you’re thirsty, and starving. But, now it’s too late to get breakfast in the canteen. Figures. Oh well, you’ll just have to go out for it. You didn’t really have anything planned for this morning, so…
Having finished the last of the Laitil mixture, you grab your supplies and go about making up another batch. However, you realise that you’re running low on two ingredients, and are out of one entirely; Sayleon powder, Yaris root, and Nytia petals respectively. You think back to the last time you made the mix, and remember telling yourself to remember to replenish the Nytia when you next get the chance. Better take care of that ASAP; might as well do it today. You can head to the market, grab breakfast at Banes Way, and get both done at once.
Finally emerging from your room, you seek out Ameronis in hers. She’s busy transferring some details from her small notepad to a larger, red, leather-bound book, though she stops and packs these away when you enter.
“Ah, there you are. Good to see you back amongst the living. Feeling better?”
You tell her yes, and your current plan. After that, you’re not sure what you’ll do next, but you do want to go speak to Lomack about taking up that work offer. You might go round the back of Stardust and see if you can arrange a meeting with him. But later. Banes Way first.
You ask Ameronis what she plans to do, and she leans back, staring at the ceiling.
“Nothing really. Not until this afternoon; I’m supposed to be meeting Victor at The Forest of Virtue after 2 o’clock. Aside from that…” She shrugs. “I think I’ll just tag along with you. Unless you horribly object. In which case, I’ll probably tag along anyway, but at a greater distance…”
Oh please… But it’s fine. She can come if she wants. But only if she’s ready to leave right now.
——
At Banes Way market, you find your way back to the apothecary and browse the selection. He has some Sayleon powder, and Yaris root can be bought pretty much everywhere, but he does not sell Nytia petals. You buy some of the other two ingredients and ask him if he knows of anywhere else you can try. He lets you know of two other apothecaries nearby; he suggests you try those.
One is relatively close by, and near to the washhouse, so you decide to try there first; you can drop of your disgusting outfit from yesterday in the process.
At the washhouse, you and Ameronis avoid attracting attention as you give your small bundle of clothes to Magara. She’s ironing as usual, though she looks to be almost done with the huge basket of clothes she’s working on. She takes your things and lets you know they’ll be ready by tomorrow morning; even though you only have a few items, Villedays are always busy, she says. You pay and thank her, and slip away before any of the others can spot you; you can hear their muffled voices laughing and chattering in the other room.
—-
Past the bustle of the market and the high-street, and the grittier area of The Warrior’s Edge, you move a little further into Steelhaven where the buildings take on a different look. While some are new builds, others are repurposed and refurbished; it seems a great many of the old factories have been transformed into housing units. And rather luxurious ones, at that. The area here is neat and quite quiet, with well-to-do folk going about their business in a fairly relaxed manner.
Recalling the directions from the market apothecary, you soon find “Herestra Surgery” and step inside. Rather than being a simple apothecary, it is actually a small surgery; you notice a couple of doors, with “Consultation Room” and “Sick Room” respectively. There is a small waiting area nearby where a couple of people are currently sitting, one of whom has a nasty cough. There is a receptionist near the front door, and on the other side of the room, you see the apothecary display, suitably bigger than the one in the marketplace. You’re about to wander over when the receptionist asks if she can help you; you pause, mid-step, and tell her you’re just looking for some ingredients, and you gesture to the display. She nods and lets you carry on your way.
Approaching the display, you now see a young man who was partially obscured behind a cabinet, in the process of weighing some white powder. He doesn’t seem to notice you at all, or else is focused on completing his task; you wait until he pours the measured mix into a small bottle, then clear your throat. He turns to you.
“Oh! Good morning. Do you have a prescription?”
You tell him no; you’re just trying to get a top-up of some Nytia petals.
“Hmm… “
He scratches his head for a moment, then turns to the array of bottles and jars on the shelves, sifting through them. When he finds the jar he’s looking for, you immediately spot the dregs in the jar; about 3 measly petal fragments by the looks of things.
“Looks like we’ve run out. And I don’t remember seeing any in the storeroom… But I wouldn’t be able to dispense any for you without a prescription anyway; you’ll need to speak to Dr. Herestra first. You can make an appointment over at the reception.” He gestures back to the reception desk.
A prescription? You’ve never needed one before; the market vendors you bought from before reaching Derna gave you the stuff with no problems. Is there some kind of regulation in place in Derna, or is it just in this place? It’s a little inconvenient, but not the end of the world. You still have one more place to try anyway, so if it’s the same result there, you’ll just see about making an appointment.
Further along, you reach “The Doctor’s Order”, the second apothecary, and head inside. This place is primarily a much larger apothecary, though you notice a door with a golden panel with “Consultations” engraved on it as well. There are dozens and dozens of shelves covered with bottles and jars, both against the walls and in several aisles, and a whole wall of small draws that extend up to the ceiling behind the main counter; a ladder on rails is needed to reach the top.
The shear volume of shelves, and the dark, carved wood make the room feel a little closed in, but the room is warm, with a variety of interesting scents, and seems somewhat cosy. A young man sits behind the counter, and greets you with a smile as you glance at him, but leaves you and Ameronis to wander about and look at the variety on display. Pretty much every herb you’ve ever heard of has a label on a bottle somewhere, with countless more that you’ve never heard of. There are powders and dried objects, and unidentified things pickled in green and yellow liquids, and each place has a panel with a name and a brief description of what’s in it.
You get somewhat distracted browsing the array, wondering what might make good additions to your first aid kit, but snap yourself out of it. Nytia first, then browsing. Rather than spending 50 hours trying to locate it yourself, you go over to the counter and ask the young man. He doesn’t even begin to look, but shakes his head right away.
“No, unfortunately, we’ve been out of stock for some time. We should’ve had a delivery a few days ago, but that hasn’t arrived.”
You sink slightly. Even more unfortunate. You ask him if he has any idea when he can expect to get some more.
“Hmm, let me ask…”
He turns and walks to a doorway behind him, leaning into the room beyond. “Doctor, do you know when we’ll be getting more Nytia in stock?”
There is silence for a few moments, and he moves away from the door, stepping aside to let a lady out to approach the counter. Fair haired and dark-skinned, she wears a white coat beneath a thick, leather apron. She appears somewhat frustrated, and seems to measure you briefly as she looks at you, but she smiles and speaks warmly.
“Tomorrow,” she says confidently. “Bad weather delayed the shipment, but I got word this morning that the ship made it to port. I’ll be collecting it later this afternoon, so it’ll be ready by tomorrow if you’d like to swing by then. If not, I’ll be happy to recommend some alternatives; Maiden’s Tears and Quax are both great for pain relief…”
You thank her for the information, but kindly refuse the offer of alternatives. For now, you’ll just stick with your tried and trusted recipe. Maybe you’ll consider trying something new once you’ve got that. You’ll come back for the Nytia petals.
“Not a problem. We’re open from 7am to 6pm. So, until then.”