The next morning Tahir woke up and began his morning routine. Although tedious at times, he rather enjoyed his routine because it distracted him from his daily troubles. The house Tahir and his mother lived in had a small room directly adjacent to the front of the house that served as a small indoor store when his grandmother was alive. In the store area there was a counter where his grandmother would conduct business. She used to sell herbs and remedies to support her family.
His grandmother was always well regarded in the neighborhood because the remedies and herbs she sold worked, and she wouldn't gouge others over pricing like other herbalists, pharmacists, and especially the alchemists. Alchemists wanted hundreds of gold just to buy a small spiritual plant that was easily available in the forest right outside of the city, that is if the commoners could survive a journey there. While commoners, who usually didn't have any cultivation wouldn't have any chance of making it out of the forest alive, those that worked for the alchemists, pharmacists, and herbalists had some level of strength, and could easily retrieve the herbs needed. They would bring back dozens each day.
Although some commoners were lucky enough to be able to find cultivation techniques or resources. They never made much progress because resources were typically overpriced and only available to those with more means. Most commoners that had a cultivation base would typically end up working for the local crafters and resource providers in the city in the hopes that they would receive a boon from their employer for a job well done. However, that rarely happened. And even when it did, they would only receive the most basic pills, slightly wilted herbs, or weapons that barely qualified as a successfully produced product. However, when one has never had clean water, they appreciate the muddy stream.
Because his grandmother used to sell remedies at reasonable prices, she never earned much, and the little money she was able to save has been used over the last few years to support Adria and Tahir. It also earned the ire of other business owners in the commercial area of the city since they couldn't charge exorbitant prices to the commoners.
Tahir's grandmother had a small amount of cultivation, which allowed her to gather the items she needed to make her medications. Unfortunately, Adria never liked trying to cultivate because she didn't like sitting in one place for long periods of time. Ironically, she now found herself in a situation where she couldn't do anything but stay in one place for an extremely long period of time. Tahir looked all over the house to try and find the cultivation manual his grandmother used to see if his mother or him could cultivate, but he never found the manual. He determined she must have used a method passed down from word of mouth. Unfortunately, she passed before she could pass it to him.
Tahir finished his morning routine by starting a porridge cooking in the kitchen. While the porridge was boiling, he went to his mother's room to help her sit up since she's usually awake by this time. Normally, Adria sits in silence while Tahir helps her sit up, but this morning she suddenly grabbed his hand. When he looked at Adria, he saw she had a pensive look on her face. After a couple of moments, she locked her eyes onto his. She pointed under her bed and said, "Son, reach under the bed and grab that box that's there."
When Tahir looked under the bed, he noticed a rectangular wooden box. When he grabbed the box, he noticed that it had a carving of 4 stars surrounding a small circle framed on the right by a crescent moon. This entire image was enclosed in a larger circle. The top of the box was a slat that he could slide to open. He looked at Adria and she said, "Go ahead and open the box." When he opened the box, he saw 2 books and a rusted iron ring with a string looped through it.
As he looked at the items in the box, his mother spoke to him. "Those are 2 books on herbs, and as for the ring, that was your grandmother's she gave it to me shortly before her passing. She told me the ring has been passed down from generation to generation in the family, and that I should never lose it or sell it, not that anyone would want an old rusted ring."
She continued, "Take those books and study them. Also, keep the ring. I don't know how much longer I can hold on. If I didn't think you'd find a way to follow after me as soon as possible, I probably would have given up long ago. But I don't want you to look for a way to die. Look for a way to live. Read those books on herbs in the city. You may be able to find a job with one of the herb shops of one of the Jedrek family's rivals. Although they won't treat you too kindly, they wouldn't make it so you want to leave since the longer you stay, the more helpful you'll be."
Tahir took out the 2 books and saw that each page contained a specific herb followed its uses and preparation methods along with a colored illustration on the side that depicted each herb and flower from multiple angles. It made it much easier to identify each plant. As he looked through some of the entries. He noticed that some of the plants currently in the backyard of his house had some applications for relieving fever and easing pain. Tahir was quickly losing himself in the text but was brought back by his mother as she continued talking. "I didn't want to give you this information too early because I knew you'd start working as soon as possible. However, I know we're down to our last, and you're old enough to start working now. Hopefully, you may be able to take over where your grandmother left off one day."
Tahir looked at his mother with a gentle face and said, "Ok mom. I'll start learning what's in the book. In the meantime, let's get you sitting up." He then helped his mother sit and left to go prepare bowls and utensils for breakfast. When he reached for the bowls on a shelf in the kitchen. He noticed he was still holding on to the string with a ring on it. He placed the string around his neck and continued to prepare a tray for his mother.
On the way to his mother's room. Tahir heard a soft rapping at the back door. He placed the tray on the table next to Adria's bed and made sure she was ok to feed herself before going to answer the back door. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the smiling faces of Gin and Rin.
He stepped to the side and directed them to the back room with the cabinets. He then closed the door and followed them into the room and began teaching. When lessons were done, he started preparing lunch, and gave an invitation for Gin and Rin to stay while he prepared the afternoon meal, which they gladly accepted. While the afternoon stew was on the stove, Tahir pulled out the herb books and began reading.
Rin looked over Tahir's shoulder to see what he was reading. Intrigued, she asked, "What's that? What are you reading?"
Tahir looked at Rin's face resting on his shoulder and said, "It's a book on herbs. I'm learning to identify different herbs."
"Can I learn too?"
Tahir thought about it for a second and handed the second book to Rin. "Sure. Have a look. It's good practice for your reading. Be careful with the book and write down any words you don't understand on a practice board in the back room."
Rin grabbed Gin and took him and the book into the back room to begin reading until lunch.
After a few hours, Tahir was almost finished memorizing everything in the first book he read. Just as he was about to turn to the last page, Rin pulled Gin back into the room to ask for help with some of the words in the herb book. After Tahir pointed out the new words for the siblings, Gin asked, "If we bring you some of these plants, will that pay for lessons as well?"
Tahir gave Gin a long look. "The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, but don't try it. The people who would have those herbs are people you can't afford to offend. They're most likely petty and willing to chase you both down until you're dead, or worse."
Gin looked at the floor dejectedly while replying, "Ok." He suddenly looked up with a smile plastered on his face. "Don't worry. I won't go after those plants."
Tahir thumped his forehead. "Good. And don't even think of going outside the city to find them in the forest. Even if the beasts in the forest don't kill you, there's no telling if one of the guards or these shady adults would try to kidnap you and sell you into slavery, or kill you because they said you looked at them oddly while going in or out of the city. Just lay low. Trust me, sometimes being invisible is a boon rather than a curse."
"But you see us. You help us."
"Gin, don't be mistaken. I help you all because it helps me. These lessons are business. Me hiding you is to keep my sources of income going. It would be best if you remain vigilant, even with me."
"You'd betray us?"
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying keep your eyes open and don't blindly trust anyone. There's hardly anyone that's worthy of your trust anyway. And that's true for all beings. If you want the type of blind loyalty that will allow someone to jump in front of an attack or danger for you, take in a dog that you can afford to feed. As for me, I don't believe in going back on my word. I also believe in helping when it doesn't hurt me to do so, but ultimately, I'll watch out for my mother and myself first before I watch out for anyone else. Otherwise, I'd end up sold to the highest bidder and helping the seller count the coins. Think about it. I can't even trust my biological father to keep his wife from further antagonizing the victim of their crimes nor his blood related illegitimate child. Trust is always earned over a long period of time."
"I get it."
"Good. It's already dark outside. Go spend the night in the back room and leave in the morning when it's light out."