Arc 716, 32nd Trial of Saun
Alex closed her door firmly, glancing around the deserted streets as she locked, unlocked and locked it again. It never hurts to be careful, she thought as she headed out.
The heavy heat was oppressive, wrapping its humid coils around Alex as she strode down the wide roads. It was still two breaks before the sun would fully be above the horizon, but the unending twilight that shrouded the city lit her path clearly. Her eyes drifted shut as her feet carried her down the path she had trod less than five breaks earlier.
Ever since the Race, Mr.Gardener had seen the writing on the wall. Before Alex had even made it back he had already sent out orders for crates of supplies, realizing that there would be a massive increase in how many healing poultices and remedies he would sell. Since then, they had been working sixteen and eighteen break trials, barely resting. They ate bites when they could steal away from their pots, and Alex was wrung out. Mr.Gardener had been more determined than Alex, and many times Alex would return in the morning only to find him in the same position, having made dozens of draughts or poultices while she slept.
She pushed open the door and headed straight for the back, her mind finally starting to wake up. The dark room wasn't lit, but after spending so long toiling in the small room over the past few weeks, she knew her way around. She hunted around , eyes straining in the darkness until she finally found and lit a lantern. Warm light spread over the cluttered work surface, and she sat down heavily on a nearby stool to figure out her next steps.
Her eyes drifted shut, and she had to force them open several times before exasperation won out.
Enough of this. I need to focus.
She popped the top off one of the many crates haphazardly piled in the workroom, fishing out a handful of berries. They were Brain Berries, a useful plant that worked as a mental assistant. They reduced the effects of sleep loss, among other things, and worked infinitely better than coffee or alcohol. She crunched down, feeling them burst beneath her teeth, the odd sweetness melting away to leave her mouth feeling dry and pasty.
It had been one of Mr.Gardener's earliest experiments- seeing what common medical remedies would work on a Yludih. Several had worked, but many had just resulted in her feeling ill for trials. As most of them required something to be wrong in the first place, she had been subject to illnesses and injuries galore. Brain Berries were, thankfully, one of the few that worked on her.
The effect instantly rushed through her body as they hit her asterism and were absorbed. It felt like a tingle, starting in her toes and rolling through her body as if it were a massive wave. She blinked, her earlier weariness vanishing like water under the sun.
Finally attentive, she looked around the chaotic workroom.
Where do I even begin?
Mr.Gardener had somehow been keeping track of everything, and several crates were neatly stacked on the wall, full of various remedies. But he wasn't there, and she guessed he was sleeping downstairs. She shrugged as her eyes fell on the case of Rockmoss that lay unopened. Though she had never personally made the Rockmoss Tea that was so valuable for drastically healing broken bones, Mr.Gardener had talked about it several times, and she knew the premise. In essence, it simply required grinding up the rocks, and measuring out the correct amount into the teabags that were stacked under the counter.
She pulled out the heavy mortar and pestle, her sore muscle protesting. She had spent innumerable breaks grinding up some plant or another recently, and she was beginning to see muscles she didn't even know she had. She turned to the box and grabbed one of the pots. The growers had realized a trick when it came to Rockmoss. The bone-healing properties of the rocks in its roots weren't found until the plant was at least a foot in diameter and some enterprising gardener had long ago struck upon the idea of simply planting it in a pot that was just over a foot in diameter. This made their job easier, and allowed for far easier transportation of the plants. She upended the pot over the bowl gently shaking it to dislodge the rocks from its intricate root systems.
When every last bit of the miraculous dirt was scooped out, the fun part began. The bowl had a flexible lid, used to cover it when dust would try to escape. The lid had a hole that the pestle sat in, allowing it to grind the small rocks down into powder. It soon settled into a rhythm, and she felt her mind drift as the bits ticked slowly by.