Knights of Anathaeum Herbal Remedies

[Syr Jinhae]

The embrace of the Monastery was always a welcome change after being on the road for many days. He could feel himself being rejuvenated upon entering the Eldyr's Trees influence. Jin's knowledge of Wyld magic was limited but he could not deny its influence. His attempts to grasp the fundamentals of the Order's arcane paradigms had eluded him to some extent. Jin's innate understanding of the Loch had not extended to everything else. A disappointment which he eventually learned to accept. Unfortunate limitations aside, the knight was simply happy to be home.

Jin had a number of reports to make but decided that the scribes could wait. He doubted they would agree with his assessment but such were the liberties of ignorance. The sworn made his way towards the infirmary, he had not come out of his recent missions unscathed. A rogue mage had taken to all manner of heinous acts and was loathe to relent. Very reluctant to put it mildly.

A few expertly woven stitches later and Jin was on the move again. His destination was not far from the infirmary itself but also not easily found. He made his way through a maze of old ruins until he found himself in what had certainly once been a dungeon. Jin knocked on the old door but did not wait for a response before entering the room.

"I see this place is as hospitable as ever," the sworn remarked lightly. "The poultice you gave me worked like a charm. Couldn't feel a godsdamned thing. Problem is, everything I've tried to eat in the last few days has tasted like dry bark. Don't suppose you could do anything about that?"

Orsolya Embermoss

 

[Orsolya Embermoss]

Orsolya was drying leaves with a towel when the man entered. His sudden presence had surprised her for she did not expect visitors, at least not at this hour. Her workshop was a place of “by appointments only.” In fact, she was certain there was a sign by the door.

But the door had opened and she heard it shut. She turned and looked into the dim-lit threshold. “Syr Jin,” she smiled. There could be worse interlopers. “You have been away,” Orsolya heard his familiar voice. She climbed onto the table and tucked her legs beneath her, listening.

The remarks about her little basement, as vast and dark as it could be, were ignored. Where he would enter would be a place of ever-deep plants, the scent of soil and old parchment from tomes that have long outlived their writers. An ornately carved bow hung on the stone wall above a desk, its appearance as though chiseled before the gods themselves were but children. “Like dry bark!” She tapped her cheek with a finger. “If you are to eat bark it should at least be live and green and damp.” She hopped down from the table and grabbed his chin between her fingers, studying him, turning his face to and fro. “Say ahhhhh!” And his breath would be all that she needed to know.

The witch nodded thoughtfully before rushing to a cabinet and searching its contents. “So, tell me, where did your adventures take you? What have you done?” She pawed at a set of mushrooms pulling a dried one from the drawer. Polite enough to let him speak his words, she would shove it into his mouth when he was done. “Chew, and tell me if you can taste this.” If he could it would be rich and earthy. If he could not, she would have more work to do.

 

[Syr Jinhae]

Jin normally would have been surprised if someone tried to grab his face but he simply remained still. He complied with Syr Embermoss' orders and then watched as she ruffled through various ingredients. Originally he had been caught off guard due to her timid nature but quickly learned there were exceptions. The other knight was undoubtedly skilled at her craft, which required an innate curiosity.

"Too far, if I'm being honest," he began to explain with a sigh. "A couple merchants turned up dead in a town to the northeast. I'll spare you the specifics but the state of their bodies was far from natural. Turns out it was the work of a rogue mage. Finding him initially wasn't difficult but he was too slippery by half. I eventually caught up to him near the Delta..." The knight did not say any more on the matter. It was always harder to capture a target alive, and Jin wasn't so inclined when the mage showed no contrition.

Silence sat between them for a moment as he chewed on the potential remedy.

"Nope, nothing," he eventually replied as he discarded what remained of the mushroom. Jinhae supposed there was some benefit to having everything taste the same. Some of the Order's standard rations were about as bland as it got. Food on the road could often be questionable, especially with a knight's purse. Still, it would be dangerous in his profession to be unable to differentiate certain tastes. He'd look pretty foolish if he died from poison just to save himself from a tough meal.

"And you? What have you been keeping up to? I hope you've seen some sun since I've been gone."

Orsolya Embermoss

 

[Orsolya Embermoss]

Her mushroom lay chewed up in his palm as he discarded it so. Merchant princes would pay a fortune for such a thing! It was the most flavorful in all of the Vale. A forager would feed their family for a season! And here it was broken and wet with saliva on her table. She had meant it for her own mix of rice and lentils and… and she had only the one.

Orsolya put on a smiling face, her ears drawing low and tight against her, a gaze that never left the chewed up mush. “I have been training in the yards, yes.” She said, as though there were tears in her eyes that found itself soon replaced with pride. “Against squires, and they make a mess of me, but… I am not you. I am not you Sir Jinhae. I will best them one day, but I am no knight. No sworn, not in truth…” She looked about the room and no wall spoke ‘warrior,’ they spoke only “creature, monster.”

“Jin,” she returned to her tables, her back turned to him as she thumbed various ingredients. If a mushroom that would change the soul had been found lacking, she would need do better. She sprinkled a poultice of bright red and pepper black, ginger, all of the common things that touched the tongue and so very much more from her alchemical drawers.

“You need not spare the hunt of a rogue mage to me, Syr.” She turned her head over her shoulder inquisitively. “He was removed, yes? Dare I wish?”

She would let him answer, folding her poultice thoughtfully. “Hold this first to your chest, and then your throat, a count of one bell each, and finally, your mouth, you need not chew, but rest your tongue to it.” She shivered. “It will not be comfortable, Syr. It will burn. But… if it does naught, you may needs borrow someone else’s tongue.” The witch nodded confidently. She climbed back onto her table once more, watching, waiting.

 

[Syr Jinhae]

Jin sensed a brief moment of animosity from his peer but it was gone a moment later. He had no idea what he could have possibly done to earn such sentiment. The knight simply assumed that it was due to his tired mind, exhausted after his mission. There had always been an odd air about Orsoyla but Jin had never pried. Some things could only be learned through time.

He narrowed his eyes at the woman's statement. "True, you are not me. Nor should you strive to be. Master Selene already has her hands full," Jin added with a thoughtful grin. His methods had caused trouble for the sanctum master in the past, and likely would in the future. The knight's expression suddenly hardened. "You are a Knight Anathaeum, Syr Embermoss. That is an indelible truth, no matter how many squires may best you in sparring. Skill with a sword is not a measure of one's worth. The Monastery is not such an easy place."

His expression then relaxed as he stepped back to lean against the wall.

"Suit yourself. Yes, his body now rests in the marshes. Would have been mine if he hadn't fumbled his incantation. A bit of illusioned fear can do that to even the best of mages of which he certainly was not. Had a talent for fire, charred corpses of his victims could attest to that. As far as I could tell he simply just enjoyed using his talents, nothing more."

The knight followed the Orsoyla's instructions but wore a quizzical expression. "I can't fathom what holding this to my chest would do." Yet he still did it. Jin wondered what burning sensation his comrade was talking about and then his tongue was engulfed in lava. The dusk knight maintained his composure as best he could but failed.

"I do believe my sense of taste is back. Don't suppose you have some water?"

Orsolya Embermoss

 

[Orsolya Embermoss]

“Your words are most kind, Syr.” And they were. Coming from one so legendary as Syr Jinhae, the words were a salve to her own wounds, as though she were the one that sought treatment this day.

“Charred corpses?” The woman was not surprised, though in his words she could smell the scent of such. “The cooling of a marsh was too good for this man. But I am glad that you hunted him well. Magick should never be abused so.”

Orsolya planted her hands against the table and let him press the poultice to his chest. “It is to open your air and ease your breath first.” She said sagely. “You will hold it to your throat next to ease life’s passage. And last, you will hold it beneath your tongue to restore your taste.” She spoke determinedly as though such a thing were easy and known.

“Water, of course.” How could she forget the need he would feel? She pushed off from her table and near-sprinted to a pitcher, pouring a cup. Placing it aside. Pouring another. The first for the fire, the second for sustenance.

And when he was whole again she would ask. “What will be next for you, Syr Jinhae?"

 

[Syr Jinhae]

"It's some time since I've been accused of being kind," replied bemusedly. "You know me well enough that I do not flatter." The words that he had spoken before were not meant to alleviate or pity. His fellow knight had proved her worth more than enough by this point. She may not have accepted this fact yet but Jin was not alone in his thinking.

Jin welcome the first cup and second in equal measure. He had not known such a heat in all his travels. The knight had of course heard tales of cuisine from the East but this seemed something different. Part of him wondered whether his fellow knight was just having a bit of fun. Her serious expression was cause for doubt but who could say.

"It should not be abused and yet so often is." Jin's tone wasn't of sadness but rather annoyance. "For me?" he echoed. "I imagine a plethora of reports and then another mission. There seems to be a lot need doing. Admittedly there is a fell air about happenings of late. I've even heard a council has been called. I'd like to avoid that if possible." He paused in his thoughts as if just seeing Orsolya for the first time. Pale skin seemingly indicative of all the time she spent in her own corner of the monastery. "Join me on my next assignment. We're both Duskers but there isn't much for choice considering our current circumstances."

The knight's suggestion sounded oddly final.

Orsolya Embermoss

 

[Orsolya Embermoss]

His mouth would be fire now, and so Orsolya shoved the water cup forward. She did not, would not, wish this torture upon anyone. Orsolya patted his back as he coughed up what she thought would be smoke, and downed his cup fully. Dutifully, she handed him his second to ease the pain.

He spoke again, this was a good sign. “You would take me with you?” Seriously? Was this happening? Syr Jinhae the knight himself bid her join him on his next expedition? Orsolya blinked. “I will get my things.” Her things were a small accoutrement, a collection of empty jars, a spare set of robes with an overcoat tucked over top, a small tent for sleeping. A tiny mirror, should she need it.

“When do we set out? And for where, and for what?” She wished, she hoped, that it would be a wayward mage that had forgotten the Path.

Orsolya set her pack down, pans clanging, and looked up to Syr Jinhae anxiously. “Do we leave now? Tonight?”

 

[Syr Jinhae]

Jin watched Orsolya with a mixture of amusement and confusion. He would have bid the other knight to take a moment but words were hard to come by at the moment. The second glass of water had certainly proven helpful but still shy of relieving the fire. His pride would not allow him to ask for another glass. An outstandingly foolish display of bravado.

"Calm yourself a moment, Syr," Jin said with a raised hand. He often referred to many of his fellow knights in a casual manner but Orsolya's earlier words were still with him. The Monastery was their home and Orsolya was a knight, Jin would not let her forget that. "I am glad to see you so eager but I have not yet received any direction." He did not wish to dash the other's hopes but Jin wanted to remain honest.

"Do not fret, we will not have to wait long. There are opportunities aplenty," the sworn explained. Too much work and too few knights.

"For now, let's find a venue with fewer mushrooms. Walk the ramparts as it were."

Orsolya Embermoss

 

[Orsolya Embermoss]

“I do not go to the ramparts often, sometimes this place feels like a cage of my own making,” she admitted. In truth she rarely left her basement study but to go further into its depths. And, only more recently, to train in the yard with the squires. “A walk would be quite nice. I will get my coat. And…” She tugged her coat from a peg on the wall and wrapped it over her shoulders, turning from Syr Jinhae and reaching into yet another of her vast wall of cabinets. “Something else, for the special occasion.” Though her voice was as small and soft as ever, she held out a generous wine-skin victoriously. So brave was the knight, or foolish, or proud. She did not know, yet, but she did know that his mouth would yet burn. She had made the poultice herself, and her alchemy was never one of half-measures.

She stepped toward the door, passing Jinhae as she pressed the wine-skin to him, her fingers leaving it almost immediately with the trust that he would grab it. This is what a good knight did, yes? Trust? Her footsteps made nearly no sound as she passed him by and unlatched the door. “It is honey wine, I brewed it myself,” before holding the door open, smirking. “There is nothing magickal in its making, it is just wine, I promise. After you, Syr.” She said of both the wine and the door alike.

 

[Syr Jinhae]

There weren't actually any ramparts to walk but Jin didn't bother to clarify. He could see that his companion had already gathered her cloak. Orsolya's words belied a self-awareness not readily apparent. Jin knew just how easy it was to set boundaries on oneself. All those years ago in Dornoch he thought his desperate fate was impossible to escape. Too easily had he limited himself to one desperate corner of his mind. Jin doubted he would have seen his tenth winter had he not risked everything at the port that day.

The lochknight looked to the wine-skin and then back at Orsolya, trying to gauge her expression. His tongue still felt as if it were being raked over the coals so caution seemed warranted. He did however know that apothecary types could fix a proper brew. Greed overruled reason and Jin opted for a hearty swig. His senses were rewarded with instant relief. It was difficult to judge whether his elation was due to the quality of the drink or merely the cooling it provided.

More sampling was needed.

"Not half-bad," Jin allowed as he handed the drink back to his companion. He had nearly forgone his knightly virtues by keeping the wine for another sip.

Jin welcomed the fresh air as the pair made it back to the surface. There was the usual minimalist fluttering of activity. Squires running errands, scholars shuffling about; a typical day in the Vale. He spotted a pair of knights going through their forms, reminding him of Orsolya's earlier words.

"You mentioned training, has any weapon caught your fancy of yet?"