Anemone and Astrape both entered the building, which was adorned with many swords of different colors, sizes, and shapes. There were many other things besides swords, metal chest plates, leggings, hammers, knives, shields, chains, and other tools. The walls were made of concrete with very few decorative pieces, such as paintings and carvings. While the roof was made of wooden beams stretching across. There were two wall torches and one lamp with teal glass in the middle.
In the middle of the room was another grindstone along with a wooden table. On the table were blueprints, along with a pencil that was the same as the one at Galland's Bows. Astrape looked around, and in the corner of the room was a beautiful blade which had a gradient of blue, from the spine of the blade to a light green at the sharp edge. The blade also had three diamond-shaped holes along the length. Neither Anemone nor Astrape knew if they actually did something, or if they were just for design. The handle looked as if it were a naturally grown handle instead of forged. While located at the tip of the handle, nearest to the beginning of the blade, the handle forked off, creating a natural guard.
Astrape picked up the blade and noticed it was the perfect weight for her; the grip looked rocky, but it was quite comfortable for something of the sort, though she planned to still wrap leather on it.
Then the big, burly man with white hair walked in, stepping behind a small wooden counter.
"Oh, you picked the Terra Blade. Some stranger dropped it off one day, it is quite the blade. Very light for a short sword, but very sturdy. He even dropped off a belt and sheath for it. Oh, I am Khan by the way."
Khan then picked up a leather sheath from under the counter, along with a small belt. He then slapped them on the table while Astrape walked over, carefully putting the blade on the counter.
"I don't know much about the sword, but I will ask for four gold for all of this together."
Anemone then pulled out four gold coins, putting them on the counter, trading them for the merchandise.
"Thank you for your service, young ladies."
"Thank you, sir," Astrape said while putting the belt around her waist, attaching the sheath to the left side of her body, before finally sheathing the sword.
Anemone and Astrape left the building. Astrape admired the young man on the way out, but Anemone couldn't care less. Anemone saw the erthy-looking handle, and the bow handle from earlier, and decided it was a good time to use more of the Iron Boar hide, and get more leather, maybe ask the man to just turn the rest of the hide into leather, as it would take off time for future works that she may ask of people.
"Astrape, go back to Father, or just go back to the tavern we first visited, it is where Father and I are staying, room four. I will be back in a bit."
Anemone parted from Astrape's side, and she returned to the leatherworker who made her trusty bracers. It wasn't for armor this time, but just for leather. Anemone entered the building, and it was identical to earlier. Anemone pulled out a bit of hide that she had left and gave it to the man.
"Could you turn all of this to leather, please?"
"It will be about two gold, just give me until after the festival, as I will be busy tomorrow."
Anemone laid the hide on the table and just left, as she didn't want to be there a long time.
***
Father finished his meal and was quite happy, aside from the wound on his leg that was stubborn and wouldn't go away. The wound seemed to grow rapidly from the beginning stages until about the size of a finger, then it slowed down dramatically. The pain was so consistent that his brain began to block the signals of pain. Now it just felt like a numb area with no sense of touch.
Father paid for the meal, putting his hand on the table to help himself up, then stumbled forward. The pain that disappeared from him when he sat down flooded back all at once. A young man saw this, grabbed Father, and helped him stand up.
"Are you okay, sir?"
"Yes, thank you."
Father thanked the man before walking out of the inn. He needed to go rest and think of ways to deal with this. He either needed to search for a fellow life magic user or someone who knew about curses.
As Father went inside the room they were staying in, he found the jar in which the Nossith was kept was empty; in fact, the glass was shattered completely, as if the creature had broken it themselves. Father collapsed onto the edge of the bed, barely able to sit up, and grabbed his book and quill, dipping the quill into ink, and began to write.
The necrosis starts at a small point, rapidly growing to the size of a finger before slowing down.
inreversible?
Can the Life Savant heal it?
Gravebloom can help with necrosis, but I have no idea where to find it.
As Father continued detailing everything he could about the necrosis, Astrape walked into the room, and before her eyes was his leg with a black dot, and she quickly understood what it was. She wasn't some life magic user, but she knew a lot about medicines, infections, and the bodies of beastkin, humans, elves, and common species.
"Father Hatheway, where did you get that from?"
Father tried to hide it, acting as if it was nothing.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Anemone, just let me look at the wound and tell me where you got it from."
"That centipede creature bit me during the battle with the minotaur. I didn't think anything of it at first, but the next day I woke up with this, and I can't reverse it."
"The Nossith," Astrape said as she kneeled beside Father, examining the wound. "That is what infected you."
Father sat there, for the first time, and he didn't know what to do. The people who would be capable of helping would be very difficult to find. The Life Savant, little is known about her. She would be even more difficult than the Thirasil. Astrape then finished examining the wound.
"I know you most likely already know this, but it is necrosis. Your blood seems to be doing one of two things, sir. Either feeding the necrosis, increasing its speed. Or the necrosis is affecting you even faster than your blood can heal the tissue. There are two medicines to help, neither of which actually reverse the necrosis, as only that can be done by someone well versed in life magic. Gravebloom is the most common, but we would have to go to a graveyard to find it, which doesn't feel right. The other is Silvermoss. It is much more efficient, but it is rare; luckily, we could go to an apothecary nearby and get a temporary fix."
Father perfectly understood all of this. If it were Anemone in his place, she would have gotten overwhelmed, but luckily, Astrape and Father were speaking the same language.
"We should go to an apothecary then." Said Father.
Father then stood up and began to limp as he made his way down the stairs of the tavern to leave the building. This was difficult, but it was doable since Astrape was holding him by his side with his arm around her neck.
"Thank you for your help."
"Of course, Father Hatheway."
"Please, just call me Father." He said, forcing a smile on his face.
"Of course, Father."
Astrape continued helping Father through the front door. The place Anemone and Father were staying was an amazing place. It was near almost every shop, but that included the leatherworker's place. If they didn't hurry, they might catch Anemone, and she would force her way into the problem until they confessed what was wrong. That didn't happen, though, and Father entered the nearby apothecary.
The store side of the building, in which they were allowed, was pretty small. There were tables here and there with jugs, barrels, and containers underneath each. Not a single ounce of space was wasted; the walls were decorated with many shelves, each of which had glass containers filled with herbs of many kinds. The store was organized very well, which would have pleased Anemone's eyes if they had allowed her to know what was happening and come here, but they didn't plan on doing that.
The pharmacist was an elderly man with a dark brown beard and little hair. He was wearing a brown shirt, leather boots, and trousers with a white apron around his waist. He was currently using a mortar and pestle to grind up some green and blue plants. Father thought it would be a good idea to start the conversation with a joke.
"How do you still have color in your hair? I wish I had some color."
The man then raised his eyes with a bit of annoyance, which faded to reveal a smile as he laid his eyes on Father, as a fellow elderly, he knew the struggle.
"You see where I work, right? I can make my own miracle drug." He said before laughing.
Father was nervous at first glance, but soon felt relieved by the pharmacist's laugh.
"I'm gonna need that miracle drug."
Astrape stepped forward, interrupting the conversation.
"Would you happen to have any Silvermoss or Gravebloom for sale?"
The man began to think, putting away the tools that he was using to give his full attention to the pair.
"No, I do not."
Father, for the first time ever cursed under his breath.
"Damnit.."
The pharmacist could see the look of despair and worry on Father's face and continued speaking.
"Though I was going to put up a quest soon for more. I know exactly where some of each grow, and I can tell you the location as long as you accept the quest. I need one jar of each; normally, about three jars' worth are harvestable at a time. I will hand you the containers; all you need to do is retrieve them."
Astrape spoke up.
"That doesn't sound too hard," She said to the pharmacist, then turned to Father. "Although we will have to make up a reason to Anemone, or just do it behind her back."
"We should save this quest for tomorrow, then. I think the 'reason' for doing it should just be that it is good for wounds and could save us time in the future."
"Okay, Father. Tomorrow it is." She turned back to the pharmacist. "How much is the pay?"
The pharmacist feigned surprise as he continued looking at the two.
"The 'payment' is the information on where the herbs grow."
The pair understood this, but Astrape especially still hoped for a payment, just to pay back some debt to Anemone.
"Well, thank you for your help," Father said. "We will be back tomorrow with the herbs."
He then grabbed the containers and began to leave, but not before the pharmacist stopped them.
"Since you both are adventurers, I would recommend getting a spatial ring or a dimensional ring, whatever you would like to call it. They will come in handy, though they are quite pricy."
"What do they do?" Astrape responded.
"They store items, think of it like a vault in a ring." The pharmacist then tapped a golden ring on his finger that had a light purple gem.
Suddenly, a large sword appeared in his hands, aimed at us. It was just an ordinary sword, but it was still a magical experience for Astrape. Father already knew of these, but up until now, he had seen no point in acquiring one.
"Now obviously, you don't need to actually tap the ring, just think of what you want and pretend to grab it. Then, when you are done with it, just imagine storing it."
"That's so cool!" Astrape started to fangirl over the ring. "I'm going to save up and acquire one.
The man then opened his hand and the sword disappeared.
"Well, you both have a fantastic afternoon."
"And you as well." Responded Father and Astrape in unison.
The pair then left the building.