If Karven thinks he’s going to get away with this, then he’s got another thing coming. Even if he doesn’t face proper consequences, at least making him pay some kind of compensation for the trouble he caused seems fair. And if he has as much money as Tansen suggests, then this would still only be a slap on the wrist for him at best. And you’re quite curious to see how much money could be gained from this. You are looking to top up your finances, after all.
Tansen nods, then looks at the VIP room grimly.

“All right,” he says, “leave it with me. I’ll see about sending Karven a friendly, anonymous letter, and we’ll see if he bites. In the meantime, if the boss asks, tell him everything else, but don’t say anything about the bottle. I’ll get back to you when I have news, but in the meantime, just carry on as normal.”

Back downstairs, you loiter with the rest of the common crowd. It’s getting late, but the party is not over yet. However, Tansen reappears and lets you know that if you want, you can clock out anytime now; you’re not required to stay until closing, more than an hour from now. You take him up on that and discreetly exit the main hall through one of the staff side doors. Within 20 minutes, you’ve signed out, changed, and are ready to return to Slaryn House. The doorman returns your battle axe and bids you good night, warning you to be careful on your way. Fortunately, your journey is undisturbed.

The next morning, you wake a little later than normal, but get up, get dressed, and have breakfast quickly. You have several things you need to do, not least of all, speaking to Silas; the sooner the better. It’s a bit too early to potentially wake Ameronis, but you figure you’ll bump into her sooner or later when you get back.

Near the taxi rank, you seek out the newspaper boy and buy the morning edition, nervously reading as you ride along towards Banes Way. The Steelhaven Slaughter is still the most prominent story, with the latest details of the heinous crime and its continued investigation being the primary focus. “Manhunt Enters Second Day Following Brutal Killings”.

Aside from that, you scan for more updates relating to the Bradwyn & Holden’s heist; the piece relating to that incident mostly talks about the response from the locals and the assurances of the Law Enforcers that they will get to the bottom of this and that the safety and security of the residents is a top priority. However, details of the investigation itself are still scarce, with the Law Enforcers refusing to comment on specific details or progress, and refusing to offer speculation.

Is that a good sign? Surely if they’d found any witnesses or clues so far, they would have mentioned it..?

The cab pulls to a stop, and you hop out. For now, you need to focus. You pass by the market, heading back to The Doctor’s Order.

The room is empty, and there is no sign of the young man from yesterday, so you go to the front desk and ring the bell. After a few moments, the doctor appears in the doorway of the private room.

“Good morning!” she says cheerfully, then is struck with a look of recognition. “Oh, yes! The Nytia petals. We did get that delivery yesterday, so they’re available now, but I still need to unpack them. Would you like the petals whole, or would you prefer them ground?”

You think for a moment. Whole petals will stay fresher for longer, but having them pre-ground would be much more convenient. And having them ground up here would probably give you a nice, consistent, fine powder, compared to the bitty, uneven variant that you usually end up with when you grind them yourself on the road.

“All right, no problem,” says the doctor. “I might as well make a larger batch for myself. One moment…”

She goes over to the shelf where the empty Nytia jar is still standing and disappears into the back room with it. You hear some slight shuffling and clattering, then silence, then a faint chugging sound, which steadily grows louder. Then she calls out to you.

“This will take a few minutes, but won’t be long. But, I wonder if you would be willing to do me a tiny little favour while you wait..?”

She re-emerges from the back room holding a small stack of leaflets wrapped in string.

“My assistant is out running deliveries right now, but he forgot to take this. Ironically, it’s only to be delivered to a surgery just a short way down the street. Would you be willing to drop this off for me?

She hands you the stack of leaflets, which seem to be advertisements for some of her poultices and tablets claiming to offer pain relief, soothe inflammation, and freshen breath, among other things.

Sure. Might as well if it’s just down the road and you’d be waiting around anyway…

After walking for about a minute, you find yourself at the address, which turns out to be a dental surgery. You step inside the clean, quiet waiting area and hand the stack of leaflets to the receptionist before you make your way back to the apothecary. Inside the shop is still void of other customers, but now, you can hear a faint grinding sound along with the chugging. The doctor remains in the other room.

With nothing else to do, you turn your attention to the aisles and the many jars that line the shelves. You only had a chance to glance at them last time, but this time you stop and read some of the names of the substances you’ve never seen before, along with the descriptions of what they supposedly can do.

“Looking for anything in particular?”

You glance over and see the doctor standing in the doorway watching you.

Oh, no; you’re just browsing, checking to see if there’s anything useful that you might want to take with you for your travel bag. Finding an ingredient that’s more potent, or a single ingredient that does the job of two or three, is always better in your opinion.

“Oh, do you have any apothecary training yourself?” she asks.

You tell her no, you just… have picked up a few things along the way. Some common recipes and old wives’ tales… a few things that you knew from before, a few things discovered through trial and error… Being out in the wilderness, at risk of bites and scrapes. Having something to soothe, cleanse and heal is essential, not to mention having something to settle the stomach; hunting small game, and eating questionable meals at unknown inns can sometimes have unwanted consequences. And then, of course, you can’t go around with gaping open wounds; being attacked by bandits is one thing, but to then die later because of an infected wound? Certainly not.

The doctor seems intrigued and asks you what ingredients and mixtures you’ve been using so far on your travels. The two of you discuss the remedies you’ve been using; just a handful of all-purpose recipes. Nothing too special or fancy; a simple antiseptic, a healing balm, some general painkillers, solutions for burns and insect bites, and, of course, the soothing digestive tea.

The doctor suggests a couple of alternative ingredients to decrease the total amount necessary for the insect bite and burn solutions. You consider the options, checking out the jars that she highlighted. She then returns to the backroom to attend to the machine, which seems to have finished. After a few more moments, she comes back out with a jar filled with Nytia petals and a smaller one filled with powder.

“Now then,” she says, “how much powder do you need?”

You tell her 10g. That should keep you stocked up for a while.

“10g?” The doctor raises an eyebrow slightly. “That’s… quite a lot. The over-the-counter limit is 4g, and technically even that much can only be given with a prescription for specific chronic conditions.”

Drat! No..! You were sure you wouldn’t have to worry about this here, but you suppose there’s no escaping it…

“Do you have a chronic condition?” she asks.

Um, not… exactly. You’ve just been using it as and when necessary, not for anything specific. You never heard of Nytia being restricted in any way before arriving here, and didn’t realise there was a problem.

You notice that the doctor is now writing something on a notepad she had retrieved from under the counter. You hope she’s not in the process of reporting you for the attempted purchase of an illegal amount of Nytia…
You wonder, if she can’t give you the full 10g, then what is the maximum amount that she is able to give you without a prescription? You start doing calculations in your mind, trying to figure out how much tea you’d be able to prepare with such a reduced amount, but the doctor catches your attention again as she tuts and shakes her head.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” she says. “My condolences; the nytia will definitely help with your condition.” She hands you a slip of paper, then starts fetching more items from under the counter. “Keep the powder dry when in storage, and be sure not to exceed the stated dosage.”

You look at the paper, baffled, realise it’s a prescription; 10g of Nytia powder prescribed by “Dr Valentina” for… “chronic dysmenorrhoea”? You’ve never heard of such a thing, but… seeing as she’s in the process of measuring out your powder for you, you’re not about to refuse.

“It’s always a pleasure to find another fellow apothecary out in the wild, even an unofficial one. You seem to be doing well so far; just be mindful of the quality of the ingredients that you get, and use less rather than more, if you’re ever unsure. And be careful with that powder; the ratio you’ve been using so far is fine, but be sure to keep it separate and labelled; taking more than 2g at once by accident can cause… unpleasant organ damage. The same can be said for most things; too much of anything can cause organ damage, but some things are easier to overdose on.”

She hands you a little glass vial with a “Nytia” label tied around its neck and placed inside a small pouch, and you thank her for both it and the advice; you’ve never considered it before, but the idea of someone mistaking your medicines with seasonings and stirring heaping teaspoons into pots of stew… Unlikely, but not something you want to have to deal with.

“Also, be sure not to lose that,” she says, nodding to the prescription. “Keep them together; much less trouble if you ever need to have your bag searched and they find the bottle.”

Ah, right. You don’t fancy another stint at the Law Enforcers’ station. You tell her that you will.

You pay for the Nytia and buy a few of the other ingredients that she had mentioned, then prepare to leave, giving thanks once again.

“Oh, before you go,” she says, “if you’re willing to do me one last favour, in the interests of science?”

Oh? Science? You’re not one to shy away from a bit of experimentation.

“Seeing as you’re likely to get back on the road soon, if you’re willing to be a test subject, perhaps you would find the new healing salve that I’ve been working on useful. It’s more effective than your simple one, but has a few more ingredients. It should, in theory, reduce the formation of scars in the worst cases and speed up healing in all cases.” She produces a small, round tin. “Take a free sample and use it when you need to, and if you find it helpful, simply spread the word and tell people about The Doctors Order wherever you go. That’s all.” She holds out the tin to you, but then pulls it back suddenly before you can take it. “Oh, but you’re not allergic to Gharic oil, are you?”

No..? You don’t think so. You’ve never heard of it before.

“Well, in that case, do a small test patch here,” she says, pointing to an inconspicuous spot on her inner arm, “and if there’s no itchiness or redness within 24 hours, then you should be fine. But if not, I’m sure I’ll have something to help either way!”