Once again dawn comes, the rays of the sun shine shily through the window into Jack's face. From the distance sounds a long drawn out howl. The young man lying on the white linned bed opens his eyes and with a scream and sits his torso suddenly making a 90º angle towards the bed, his face contorting in pain and horror. Horror towards the happenings of the previous day and pain due to the sudden movement of his injured leg.
Noticing the softness of the bed, Jack calms down and starts looking around. There is a strangeness to this room. Like any other bedroom it has a wardrobe, a vanity table, with a strange side mirror that goes from floor to roof,a couple bedside tables with books stacked both atop them and stored into imbued shelves. Not like any other bedroom it's the wooden chest at the bed's feet, the gas lamps in the corners between it's six walls and the crooked frame window of which's windowsill is ocuppied by a plant pot, on the left corner, and a sleeping black raven sleeping on the right corner.
Lifting the sheets, Jack inspects his hurt left. Someone seems to have had some fun bandaging it all the way from his knee to his calf. There is also an herbal smell emanating. He tries to move his toes, he is sucessfull, then he tries to lift is leg, it feels numb and there is a constant sense of pain, still:
-I think i can stand.
With that he carefully lifts his legs out of the bed and lowers them on to the ground, with a push he attemps to stand only to fall back down his injured to numb and weak to hold his weight.
From the window's direction comes the rustle of wings, then the raven lands on the bedside table closest to Jack. Two items seems fall down as the bird makes it's landing, one of the stacked books and a wooden crunch that the young man assumes was hanging against it just out of sight.
-Well, thank you Mr.Raven.
-*Kraa**Kraa*
Picking both the book and the crunch from ground, Jack tries to stand up again with the help of the later. This time he is able to stand.
-Now, trial step. Success! - After his first step Jack walks around the room till he felt he could come close enough to regular speed. Unfortunatelly he soon felt his leg loing strength, he had to find whoever had tended to his injury so he could know how bad the damage was.
Sitting on top of the bed again he curiously grabs the previously fallen book. It is titled "One herb, a thousand brews". Curious, Jack opened the book and started reading the introdution.
"To the amateur brewer a recipe might be enouth, a drop of blood, a spoon of bone powder and some old ginger roots, two turns clockwise, three counter on boil followed by another two just before flasking and you got the basic blood replenishing potion. But to a master brewer this is a complete waste of ingredients, a drop of blood can reduce the effects of the potion if the blood itself is not compatible with that of the drinker, better use it for a ritual then, the bone powder is needed only when the brewer lacks intent. The main ingredient is the ginger, but a master will know that in truth the roots choose not hazarly be thrown on the cauldron, but choosen according to need. If the porpose of the potion is to trully replenish blood after severe loss then the main root of the plant is the choosen part, if the porpose is to improve circulation due to anemia, then secondary roots are better a choice otherwise the drinkers condition might aggravate into nose and ear bleading at best."
"Following the previous example of bad use of ingredients, in this book several other examples will be given, based on the experience of a select group of master brewers, about where and how to use your herbs, how to study their effects and how to prevent unecessary wast."
"In the name of the masters, I shall urge the reader to recall the word of our dear Mr.Hemlock: 'Roots, stem, leafs, flowers, petals. Waste not, to everything has its use'. "
Putting the book aside, Jacks inspects other titles available:
"Herblore: An encicolpedia for all your needs(Pictographic edition)"
"Household jinxes"
"Daily Hexes"
"Hexes versus Jinxes"
"An introdution to Rituals and Sacrifices"
"A thousand uses for human flesh, blood and bones."
"Demonology: Master, Servant or Companion the best demon for you"
With sweat covering his brows and a shiver running down his back, Jack backs away from the collection and moves towards the door. He open it slowly and peaks into the next room. I lookslike some kind of medieval lab and an old woman dressed in over mended blackish rags moves with great agility between the various stands and shelves picking pots here and there which she brings to a central island where brass cauldron sits on fire witha sickly yellow mess boiling inside.
The old womam starts mumbling to herself. A sense of déjà vu comes to Jack's mind. Isn't this the old woman from his dream?
Seeing that the woman hasn't noticed his presence he gives an extra step inside the room, keeping close to the wall and trying to listen to the woman mumbles as she adds an ever increasing set of ingredients to the concotion.
-Mermaid tears? I got tears of a lake Grundy. - She sais has she drops the contents of one of the vials inside the mixture, which changes color from the sicly yellow towards a slimy green. -Seems good enough, now the final ingredient, thanks to our most recent guest, virgin's blood.
Jack feels his heart beat just a bit louder as the crimson liking falls onto the brew and it changes towards a warm turqoise color.
-Now let's just leave it in the fire for the next hour. Perhaps a turn at half to make sure it blends well? Can't wait to drink it, should I leave a portion for the countess? Nah, the ol'man wouldn't stand for it. Now our guest should be waiking up soon, better prepare some proper food.
Jack starts to back up into the room again, tracing his steps twice slower than he made them.
-Should I take some more blood? All I need to say is that it has come time to replace the bandages...
*Thump*
The door closes with unexpected loudness.
Another shiver runs down Jack's back as he is sure his host hearing movement my not bother to prepare a meal to come and see him. So he moves as fast as the crunch and hurt leg allow him towards the crooked window and pushes it open, then jumps over the window sill into the green grass outside and starts running. From behind him he hears a *Kraa* call from the raven, followed by the opening of the door and the old woman's voice saying something, he doesn't know what for he is to far and panicky to listen.
Soon through he tired of his run, his arm hurts from the effort he makes when he leans on the crunch for support and his leg is not responding to his pleas for movement at all.
Looking around he no longer is able to see the place he just left, he is now amidst a town square. A rustle of wings makes him look up to see his bag fall at his feet after beeing dropped by a very familiar black bird, with continues circling for a minute before landing on the shoulders of a middle aged man tranversing the square, comming right in Jack's direction.
Looking at the mess his bag had become after impact, he recalls himself half nacked, so he hastely fishes a shirt from the mess. Meanwhile the middle aged man, has reachead his side and patiently waits for the young man to compose himself.
-Mr.Thorn? - The middle aged man asks.
-Yes, I ... I am Jack thorn. - The young man says hesitantly extending a hand for the shake.
-I'm Shrew, Enoch. Glad you could make it to Spook's. - The middle aged man animatedly says extending a hand trice the size of Jack's and shaking his with such enthusiasm the young man felt he arm about to come off.
Mr.Shrew, contrary to his namesake, is a big man, skinny, except for the head which is as big as they come, but tall enough. Jack's high reaches 1.70 and he is considered average low, but for the top of his head barely reaches this man's chest.
It reaches the beard through. Mr.Shrew is bald enough that there is a shine as the sun reflects on atop his head. Perhaps that is why he seems to compensate with a long beard, groomed into an entranced patern with some pins arresting it in place.
- ... forgive miss Pots antics, inside she is a sweet of a person...
- Sorry, miss Pots? - Jack interrupts the other man, realizing he just missed the first half of the conversation.
-Ah! Must be my size, it happens often. It's a family condition, Mr.Thorn or Jack, you mind I call you Jack, you can call me Enoch or just Shrew like the others.
-I don't mind, ehm... Enoch. Can we perhaps talk else where?
-The town's inn is just at the end of the street, it neightbours a small tavern. We could go for a drink and you can check in the room we prepared for your stay.
-Sounds amazing.
A while later the two sat at a table being served by a ver small woman whose shoulders barely stand above it.
-Here you go, Shrew. On the house for ya and yer guest. Allways nice to see new faces. - She says with a close to literal ear to ear smile adorning her face.
'How can one strech their mouth that wide?' - Jack wonders as he stares.
-Ahem, thank you for your hospitality miss Seepy. - Mr.Shrew says in clear dismissal.
The smile widens even more, making the young man's eyes open as wide as they can, as said miss Seepy turns and hops around.
-I must say Jack you will find some inhabitants of this town stand a bit on the odd side.
-So I see.
-They are all prefectely normal, worry not. Some were born with it and sought refuge among our little community. Others are just to enthusiastic about our new little project and already trying to incarnate their roles, like miss Pots.
-By miss Pots you mean?
-Our resident witch, should your company help us promote the town. She is also one of the two certified doctor's residing in Spook's.
'That woman is clear to deep into her role, instead of the doctor perhaps she should consider a carreer in representation as a method actress. And those books? Props? A bit much.'
-Will she open her house to tourists?
-If someone get's injured, she might have to get them inside for treatment, but otherwise no.
-So she is thinking about representing her role even as she works?
-Oh, most certainly. Most population in this town is inclined to do so, at least for now.
'Crazy town.'
-I hope miss Pots, didn't get offended. I must say her props, plus her acting scared me silly after... - Jack can't avoid a shake thinking about the creature from the previous night.
-The wolf, there is a reserve up north. They had notified us just before your sad encounter, this one left his pack and has been wandering alone for a while, this time it came to far south.
-You know that I will have to put this in my report? -Jack informs Mr.Shrew expecting him to frown at his words, but the man just smiles saying:
-I wouldn't ask you not to, but please let me assure you that the reserve has sent people to deal with the beast.
-Very well, so Enoch, what does your town as to offer to tourists?
Mr.Shrew's smile widens so much it rivals little miss Seepy.
-Let's go for a tour this afternoon.