Sky walked over to me with Alice in tow. Her face was complicated; it seemed she had listened to Vice's story. Sky looked at both Alice and Vice. "Can I trust you three together after you part from this town? Truth be told, I've gotten a little attached to little Alice here, and ideally, I was hoping you'd stay a little longer." I grinned. "Don't worry about us; I have a reliable new partner. As long as Vice is with us, I think we'll be okay."
Sky gave a wry smile. "I sure hope so." She stuck out her hand for Vice. "Take care of them both, okay? They are still so inexperienced." Vice looked a bit taken aback but then gave a small smile. "I don't need you to tell me that, hall monitor. This time I will make sure I keep them out of harm's way." They shook hands, and then Alice said a small word, "Friend." Vice hesitantly patted her head. "That's right, friends."
One thing that made me a bit worried was Sky's absence; I knew it was coming, as she had a role to fulfill. Sky had helped me out a lot in town so far, not just in teaching Alice, but I was pretty sure her presence alone scared away a lot of people with bad intentions. Vice filled the role of a fighter, but I was afraid she probably wasn't all that good at teaching. I needed someone who could take Alice under their wing eventually. It could be me for now, but honestly, I wasn't that good as a mentor—not compared to Sky. Perhaps in the next town, we could expand our members again.
I asked, "Sky, will you be staying in Edgefield?" Sky shook her head. "Nope, I need to leave around the same time as your group. I just came here to basically check up on my hometown and see if we could get some resources sent here. I am the head guard north of here in Memori City." My jaw dropped a little; Memori City was a big city close to the capital, and being the head guard there meant she was someone pretty damn important. Sky saw my shock and smiled. "Aren't you glad you had the best guard in all of Caslund at your service!" I smiled back. What a cheeky comment! But it was true that, in the entire country of Caslund, she was a pretty big deal given her title. Caslund might be one of the smaller countries in Nestra, but its military power was no joke. Given we were in Edgefield, if we kept our pace north, we would eventually arrive in Memori City.
I perked up. "It might be a while given we will be stopping in a lot of places before Memori City, but we will visit you once we reach the city." Sky held her arm out for me this time we shook hands. "Sounds like a plan! I will show you all the best spots once you reach Memori."
With that, I began working again. I completed the last of the 100 vials, packed them in the crate, and smiled at a job well done. With that wrapped up, I loaded them onto a small cart and decided to make my way over with my group. Once we reached the now-familiar mayor's house, I noticed none of the maids or ground workers were around. I found it odd, but I proceeded toward the front door. I gave it a knock, but I didn't hear anything going on inside. I decided to push the door open.
I called out, "Mayor? Key here; I have the goods we talked about." Instead of a response, I heard crying.
I had a bad feeling about this. As I continued deeper into the house, I saw a bunch of people gathered in a bedroom. I spotted the mayor's wife crying loudly next to a bed. I had met her briefly; her name was Felica. She was a blonde-haired woman with an older face she had purple eyes and wore her pajamas I guess she didn't care who saw her right now; she seemed nice when I talked with her. Here she was now, crying her eyes out next to her husband. It appeared they were gathered around a small girl. I recognized the girl as the one I saw at his house the other day—it was his daughter, Angel. Her face was pale; she had sweat all over her. Marcus was rubbing his wife's back as the rest of them looked stunned.
I called out to him, "Mayor, we got the shipment in. Is everything okay?" Marcus turned toward me, his face grief-stricken. He looked desperate as he saw my face. He rushed over. "Key! Just the man I wanted to see! The medicine has worked for everyone I've given it to, including my daughter. Unfortunately she has always had a weak immune system, so the virus seems to have come back. The medicine you gave me isn't working anymore. I talked with a few doctors in town, but they said it could be because the medication needs to be a higher dosage. Please, Key, my daughter—she looks bad. I guess this strain is worse; she might not even make it through the night. Is there anything you can do?"
I swallowed nervously. Well, shit, this was bad. I didn't even know what in my medicine was the cure. Upping the dosage might be possible if I knew the specific thing that was curing the disease, but without that knowledge, I was clueless. I needed an excuse—something that could get me out of this mess. As soon as I thought about saving my own skin, I regretted it as I looked at Alice. She seemed sad. Sometimes I swear she was more perceptive than most when it counted.
With that, I felt a slap on my back from Vice. "You heard the man, Key! Get your head in the game. We need a higher dosage." I tried to say, "You know I don't—" but Vice cut me off. "Is that all the pep talk you gave me earlier amounts to? Didn't you say you wanted to help? Get to it, partner; this girl's life is in your hands."
I nodded; she was right. I needed to kick my own ass for even thinking of abandoning this poor young girl. The wheels in my brain began moving. A higher dosage—how would I achieve that? I looked at Marcus. "I will need a bit of time some of your empty vials and your permission to give your daughter the new medicine. I promise to save your daughter!" Marcus gave a smile of relief. "Yes, Key, anything you need! Please save my daughter!"
I got to work, taking a few of the empty vials back with me to my stall. I needed to make at least four vials of medicine. There were regular herbs, some fruit, honey, some roots, and my red-colored water in the mixture, so I needed to isolate the cure. I could rule out the fruit; they were just common fruits for flavor. I could rule out the roots; they were just random fruit tree roots. The honey was a filler, and the dyed water was out. That left the herbs.
I had used four different kinds of herbs, which I mashed down. The point of the roots and herbs was to give the mixture a mystifying flavor—just enough of a hint that it was medicine. I wanted it to be complex enough too, so I had used many different kinds of herbs. I needed to isolate which of the four herbs was the cure. I happened to know their names they were selected carefully since I couldn't risk picking anything harmful. The first was called Filana; it was dark green and leafy. The second was Dusk Eye; it was white and had a flower on the end. The third was Reythorn; it was an odd herb with a yellow thorny bulb on the end. Lastly, we had Eden grass, a slightly golden, marshy grass.
Of the herbs, the one that was most likely the cure was probably Reythorn. Herbalists have studied it a lot, but it has mostly been written off as a useless herb. It also takes a long time to prepare; you have to take off all the spikes from the thorny bulb. Given I was doing a scam, you would expect me to stay away from this kind of herb, but it was precisely because of how unused it was that it was appealing.
Think about it: if you have something you've never tasted before mixed in with a lot of other stuff, it would feel almost magical in origin. As a scammer, this herb was worth the effort, and now I was confident it was also probably the cure. I would start with the Reythorn. I began cutting up bulbs with my pocket knife. Usually, I just settled for one since they were a pain to prepare, but I would use two and a half in my new mixture. I needed a high dosage if it was going to be effective.
Once I had mixed everything together, about 20 minutes had passed. I took the new mixture back over to Marcus. It was more of an orange color now, given the higher cocentration of powdered Reythorn.
I yelled in urgency, "I got the new mixture right here, Sir!" He rushed over to me in a worried frenzy. He took the vial from me and rushed back to his daughter. In truth, this needed to work on the first vial. Should I be wrong about Reythorn, then it would look suspicious. I mean, after all, what herbalist doesn't know what herb is the cure? For context, most potions have just the cure in them, maybe one other for some sort of calming or drowsy effect. Having four different herbs made no sense. All that would serve to do was dilute the cure. Should this vial not cure Angel, it would basically expose my scam and point to me as a lucky fool.
I held my breath as Angel swallowed it down. Vice put a hand on my shoulder and whispered, "Relax, Key. You're a lucky guy; I'm sure you got it right." The room fell into a tense silence, all eyes fixed on the little girl. Moments felt like hours as we watched her, hoping for any sign that the new mixture was working. Slowly, her breathing seemed to steady, and the color began to return to her cheeks. Marcus and Felica watched with tears in their eyes, their hope rekindling with every second that passed.
Marcus turned to me, his expression a mix of relief and gratitude. "Thank you, Key. I don't know how to express how much this means to us."
I gave a small nod, trying to hide my own relief. "I'm just glad it worked. Make sure she gets plenty of rest and let me know if she needs anything else."
Felica came over and hugged me tightly, her tears soaking into my shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
I gently patted her back. "You're welcome. Take care of her." Marcus added, "Your money is on the kitchen table. I counted it before you arrived—all 100 gold. I don't know how long you plan on staying, but please let me hold an event for you when you eventually depart."
I blinked in surprise, momentarily taken aback. "An event? I didn't expect that."
Marcus nodded earnestly. "You've done so much for us. We want to celebrate your help and spread word of your skills. People need to know there's hope in these dark times, and you've shown them that."
Felica chimed in, "It would be a small feast, just friends and family. We'd be honored if you would accept."
Looking at Alice and Vice, I sensed their support in this. "Alright," I said, a grin breaking through my initial hesitation. "That sounds good. I'd be happy to have a nice meal before we set off."
Marcus clapped me on the back, his face lighting up with gratitude. "Thank you! We'll make it a memorable evening. We'll gather everyone tonight, and I'll ensure it's something special."
After a few more moments of shared relief and gratitude, I stepped outside with Vice and Alice, the weight of the situation slowly lifting from my shoulders. Sky looked at me with concern as we stepped out. I explained what happened. Sky smiled, "Looks like I need to pick you out a good outfit tonight then."
With that, we set off back to the stall. I felt a sense of accomplishment—one that I had never experienced when I was alone. The prospect of an event filled me with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Celebrating my success with the townsfolk would not only bring them joy but also help solidify my reputation as a merchant who could make a difference. As we walked, I couldn't help but think about the road ahead. Our journey was just beginning, and with companions like Vice, Alice, and hopefully more to come, I felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps I could truly become a merchant who brought more than just goods, but also a little light into the lives of those we met.