There were many answers to Reeve’s inquiry.
Most of them, after hours of testing and far too many recalculations, led to the sa conclusion.
A leaf.
Which, frankly, felt insulting given the collective suffering of everyone present.
In theory, the answer made sense. Botanicals were botanicals. Leaves were usually part of the equation. That was normal. Sensible, even.
In practice, however, the researchers were having a very difficult ti accepting it. Especially when leaves were just supposed to be a part of the required ingredients.
The room looked less like a laboratory and more like the aftermath of a scholarly breakdown.
One researcher was gripping the edge of a table with both hands, knuckles white, staring at the display as if it might blink first. Another was hunched over a chair, breathing slowly, eyes unfocused. Soone else had given up entirely and was sitting on the floor, back against a cabinet, muttering under their breath.
"Run it again," soone said hoarsely.
A different voice responded without looking up. "You know this is already the fifth ti, right?"
"I know," the first snapped. "Run it again."
"We’re going to run out of leaves if we keep doing this," another researcher said, hair visibly disheveled. "We already switched equipnt. Twice. And it is still the sa."
Soone gestured weakly at the monitor. "If anything, the results got better."
Silence followed.
Then a chair scraped loudly as soone stood up.
"I know," the first researcher said, dragging a hand down his face. "But if we don’t run it again, are you really telling this is the result?"
"Yes!" another burst out, finally losing patience. "That is exactly what I am saying. A leaf. Not the whole plant. Not a processed extract. One leaf is enough for a full dosage!"
The room went quiet again.
A long, defeated exhale broke the silence.
"Dammit," soone muttered. "I can’t even look at our old stock and call them botanicals anymore."
Several heads turned slowly toward him.
No one responded. But every person in the room was thinking the sa thing.
Were all of DG’s dical herbs really like this?
__
Short answer, yes.
Long answer... maybe.
Because in reality, there were dical herbs far more potent than that. That in truth, DG was only out there selling those that wouldn’t imdiately prompt an inquisition.
Even then, anyone who had actually learned dicinal herb preparation and pill concocting techniques from the elders would know the truth.
A scruple would have been enough.
Just twenty grains in weight could already prepare a life-saving dosage.
And that was one thing Theo Belgrave knew better than any citizen of the Empire.
Not only had he been taught directly by the elders, but as soone who periodically had to prepare and consu Siren’s Breath Tonic himself, he could tell the difference imdiately.
But just when he thought that such a secret wouldn’t see the light of day, an unexpected encounter would have him testing his new limits.
Only, the encounter actually started with a request for help from Ada.
__
It happened only monts before Luca finally woke up.
Ada, having confird that most of the others had already returned to their posts, felt a noticeable easing of tension. The imdiate sense of impending doom had lifted just enough for her to breathe again.
Of course, she still worried about Luca.
But if she were being honest, out of everyone present, he was the one she trusted most to survive.
Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, if Luca couldn’t survive it, then none of them likely would.
It was an odd mindset, she knew that. But such a way of thinking was one that had allowed her to function under extre pressure for years. Acceptance first. Panic later. Do what you can in the mont because one can only do so much anyway.
And in the mont, that ant continuing to man the minimart and the free sample booth.
When the others had co back earlier, there had been a brief hope of swapping shifts. That hope died instantly under the crushing stare of Princess Kira’s newly ford cult of knee-height worshipers, who looked as if they had just been inford of a tragedy on the level of Mr. Mittens going missing.
So they stayed.
They would likely continue staying until Luca, Ollie, and the Imperial Crown Prince returned.
And that was when Ada heard the prompt.
A soft chi.
A custor at the counter.
"Huh?"
That was her first thought.
Her second thought ca a heartbeat later when her senses caught up.
Her nose twitched.
No, there really was soone there.
Ada glanced left, then right. Plenty of people. Plenty of noise. But no one was really waiting to be serviced.
Then she looked down.
And froze.
A small fist rested on the edge of the counter.
It was attached to a very small arm.
"???"
Then another hand appeared beside it.
Ada leaned forward slightly and finally saw two children.
The boy looked like he was doing his absolute best to stand tall. Chin lifted. Shoulders squared. His stance scread "responsible older sibling," even though his height betrayed him completely.
Beside him stood a younger girl, eyes bright, bouncing slightly on her heels. She looked thrilled just to be there.
Ada straightened, montarily taken aback.
There were only two of them.
She opened her mouth, already preparing to ask if they were lost, when the boy spoke first.
"Good morning, My Lady," he said carefully, voice serious beyond his years. "I won this."
He held up his terminal.
On the screen was a clearly displayed reward.
1 Item Allocation.
Ada checked it.
Legitimate.
She looked back down just in ti to see both children beam.
Sothing softened in her chest.
She smiled, already thinking through the list of child-friendly options. Snacks. Trinkets. Maybe sothing fun, the kind of thing Ollie seed to enjoy.
And then the girl suddenly exclaid, loud and proud.
"Jade Plant, please!"
Ada blinked.
The boy winced imdiately. "Ysa," he corrected gently but firmly. "It’s Jade Vine, not Jade Plant. The people said vine, so we should get exactly that."
"Oh! Sorry!" the girl said quickly, then turned her wide eyes back to Ada. "My Lady, for my mom, the Jade Vine would work right?"
"Ysa!" the boy hissed. "You’re supposed to wait!"
The girl crossed her arms. "It’s better if we ask! I read too. They said it’s best to ask!"
She looked back at her brother, then up at Ada again, eyes full of expectation.
Ada sighed inwardly, feeling like this was above her jurisdiction, but ended up speaking nonetheless.
"That would actually depend," she said gently. "First, we need to know what needs to be treated."
Then, second, she would have to figure out what she can do.
User Comments
0 comments from readers