The Witch's Apprentice. Chapter 3
A story based on the solo journaling RGP Apothecaria
Hello, and welcome to The Hermit’s Pen! If you are new here, I recommend starting from Chapter 1. Otherwise, welcome back!
In Chapter 2, we followed Sarah as she was foraging for reagents in Glimmerwood Grove and along the shores of Meltwater Loch. After an encounter with a unicorn and an angry eagle, she ran into Grok, a friendly giant who’d suffered a wound after someone shot an arrow at him. While Grok ran off to gather Sea Beast’s Saliva from the eagle’s nest, Sarah waited at the shoreline, planning how to collect Shock Fish fluid without getting electrocuted.
Now, let's dive back into the adventure.
Chapter 3: Curing Ailments
Sarah was resting against a rock when the ground started shaking and Grok emerged from the trees with a handful of Sea Beast Saliva.
“Stupid bird,” he grumbled,
rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He extended the slimy hand toward Sarah. “This it?”
“Yes, that’s it,” she said glancing at the hand. “Wipe it on that tree, and I'll try to store it in a container somehow.”
Grok nodded and grabbed a hold of the small tree. “Sticky,” he muttered as he wiped the slime of his hand with such a force that leaves fell to the ground. But finally, most of the saliva sat on the tree and not on his hand.
Sarah found a small vial in her backpack and used her small knife to scrape the slime into it. She thought about closing it with a cork, but worried she wouldn’t be able to open it again.
The Saliva safely stored, she looked up at Grok. “We’re going to need some Shock Fish fluid also. It’s quite nasty to gather, but I have an idea.”
Grok listened with interest as she laid out her plan. ”Could you lift me over the water, if I hold on to the handle of your sword, you think?”
”That easy.”
”Great, let’s try that.”
Before long, she was hanging over the loch, gripping the huge sword with one hand and stirring the water with the other. Ripples spread across the surface, and soon shadows of fish, about a foot long, gathered beneath her. Now she just had to collect their fluid without getting shocked.
She quickly pulled her hand back, careful not to touch the fish. Now the surface was a frenzy, alive with Shock Fish. Then she carefully lowered a small bottle tied to a string, hoping it would work.
The fish splashed, and sparks of electricity danced around them, but somehow, she managed to pull the bottle out without touching the fish fluid.
"Pull me back in," she shouted, gripping the sword’s handle tight as it began to move.
Back on solid ground, she inspected the bottle. "All right," she said. "Now we just need to boil the Shock Fish fluid with the Sea Beast Saliva to make a poultice. But I’m afraid I’m not very outdoorsy, do you know how to light a fire?”
Grok nodded. ”Yes, that easy,” and before long, a small fire was burning on the bank of the loch.
Sarah rummaged through her backpack, finding a small pot. She added the Shock Fish fluid, the Sea Beast Saliva, and a little water from the lake. “Now it just needs to boil,” she said, hoping the mixture would work as she stirred it over the fire.
While the potion simmered, she eyed the arrow sticking out from Grok’s finger. “We’ll need to pull that out. Then we need something to wrap it with—some cloth for a bandage.”
Grok nodded, stood up, and began untying his loincloth. “We use this?”
Sarah jumped to her feet, hands flying up. “No! God, no.” Her face flushed. “There’s got to be a better option.”
”Then what?” Grok asked, frowning.
She bit her lip, glancing at the supplies. There was some bandage in her pack, but not nearly enough to cover the gash left by the arrow. Sighing, she tugged at her skirt. There was only one real solution.
“We’ll use this,” she said tearing the fabric into strips. “hopefully no one will notice I’m walking back from the forest in my underwear.”
Soon, the tincture had boiled down into a thick, glowing mixture. She scooped a small amount of the potion onto the cloth and carefully wrapped it over Grok’s wound.
He watched her with curiosity as the mixture began to sizzle slightly against his skin, sealing the wound with a strange, shimmering light.
Grok flexed his fingers, inspecting the bandage with a curious grunt. “Me thank you,” he said, looking at her with a huge smile. “You in trouble in woods, you call Grok.”
Sarah smiled, brushing a hand through her hair. “I’m glad I could help. It’s always nice to make new friends.” She glanced at the rest of the tincture in the pot. There was just enough left for another wound.
All in all, not a bad deal for helping a friendly giant. But the sky was darkening now, and she still needed to find the Slime Shells for Henry.
She thought back to her meeting with the unicorn. How she’d thought it might be bog goblins. It had been scary at the time and it was no less scary now that it was getting dark.
“Actually,” she said, turning to Grok. “Maybe you can help me now?”
Grok, still crouched near the fire, raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”
”Could you walk me home?”
“No,” Grok said, shaking his head. ”Grok no go near village.”
”I understand,” she said with a sigh. ”Maybe just to the edge of the forest then? You see I am quite scared of being alone in the forest after dark.”
Grok was silent for a moment, his eyes thoughtful. Then he nodded. “To forest’s edge.”
“Thank you,” she said, standing up and brushing dirt from her knees. “Just give me a second. Then I’ll be ready.”
Without waiting for a response, she hurried to the rocks by the water’s edge, where she’d seen some Slime Shells while she was hiding from Grok. They clung to the stone, but with a few swift pries, she loosened them. Hopefully, this would be enough to cure Henry’s breath.
The next morning, Sarah woke when someone knocked on the door. Blearily, she sat up and glanced at the window opposite her bed.
It was barely light outside, who could it be, this early? With a sigh, she rolled out of bed, stumbled downstairs, and swung open the door, blinking groggily.
Outside, Henry waited. “Do you have the cure,” he said with a breath that hit her like a physical force.
“Please wait in the garden,” she said covering her mouth and trying not to gag. She slammed the door in poor Henry’s face, but the stench was too much to take. Trying to shake the lingering smell from her senses, she walked to the little workshop behind the kitchen.
“Let me see,” she said, leafing through the journal, silently cursing Henry for being so early. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. It says here that both the Fairy Dust and the slime from the Shells can be added raw, so I guess I just have to mix it together.”
She found a mortar and pestle on the shelves and mixed the two ingredients together.
As she stirred, the mixture began to sparkle with a faint glow. That must be it, she thought. Now I just need to add some water, so Henry can gulp it down.
After adding the water, she stirred for another minute, then poured the gooey tincture into a small glass and went to open the kitchen window.
Covering her mouth, she opened the window and called for Henry. “I am sorry,” she said holding the glass out the window. “But the smell is too much to bear this early in the morning.”
Henry answered with a grunt. Then he took the glass and gulped it down without even looking at it.
She waited for a moment, then pushed the door open. “Well? How do you feel? Any difference?
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I don’t smell anything, but the garden” she said and stepped outside with a smile.
“Really?” Henry asked, uncertainly. “Is it really gone?”
Sarah nodded, letting out a sigh. “Seems like it. But just to be sure…” She turned back into the house and returned a moment later with a small vial in hand, the mixture shimmering inside.
“Take this. In case it comes back.” She handed him the vial, fighting the urge to laugh at the idea of calling it “Fairy Slime.” She really needed to come up with a better name.
Henry’s face lit up. “Thank you, Miss Williams! You’ve done me a great service.” He pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and poured a handful of coins into her palm. “Here, the standard 20 silver pieces.”
“Thank you,” Sarah said a little surprised. She hadn’t even considered the need for money. But obviously nothing was free. Sooner or later, she’d need to buy food, or... well, everything really. She tucked the money into a small purse, glancing back at Henry.
“Would you like to join me for breakfast? Since I am new here, I was thinking that maybe you could tell me about High Rannoc and the people who live here.”
“I would love to have breakfast with you,” he said with a smile, “but since you want to know more about High Rannoc, why don’t we go to The Frog and King? They have the best waffles north of Moonbreaker Mountains.”
“All right then,” she said with a smile. “Lead the way.”
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