Potent: Book 1

Chapter 4: Beginnings

As she entered the potion shop, Stacia looked up in surprise. Custom seemed to be slow but steady.

Evin waved sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" the older woman asked with an incredulous smile. "You're not scheduled to work today."

Evin nodded. "I know. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Master Stacia glanced around the store. "Fine, as far as I can tell."

"Good."

Guiote came around the corner carrying a box of dried echice, ostensibly for grinding. "Hullo," she said to Evin, surprised.

"Evin came to visit us today," explained Stacia. "Just to check in."

"Huh," said Guiote, bemused. "That was nice." Echoing the spoken words were the silent ones, What are you really after? And are you here to make the rest of us look bad, perhaps?
But Evin only shrugged.

"It'd be even nicer if you came with the intention of helping with prep," added the redhead slyly.

Evin grinned at her, saying, "I wouldn't mind, but Master Stacia spaces out our paid days for a reason, and if she hasn't the coin to give me today, I'd rather not insist."

Her master smiled back at her. "You've got some room in the schedule to add a few bells, if you're truly up for it," she offered.

Guiote brightened. "Oh, good! Evin, it's just us today," she said, glancing at Stacia. "With you here, we can get a head start on the week."

For the next few hours, Evin helped out with sundry tasks at the Wheel and Well while Master Stacia and Guiote took care of the customers.

In the back room, she submerged a batch of wintercress in a vat of cold, clear well water. The ratio needed to be correct; one part water to two parts cress. She allowed the mixture to sit. Later, she would strain off the liquid and keep it, discarding the spent plants. This particular infusion could be used to calm the stomach and sweeten the breath.

She thought about her dream as she worked, glad to be in her beloved shop and helping to support her master and coworkers on this wet, dreary day. It was cozy inside, but the chill of her wet feet nagged at her. On impulse, she removed her boots and stockings cast them into an obliging nearby corner.

There was a knock at the back door, and Evin went to answer it.

A young man with a patchy beard stood in the rain holding a large wooden box.

"Come in!" Evin said, opening the door wider and holding it for him. "What do you have for us?"

The man gasped and shook his head slightly to clear the rainwater from his eyes. "Shipment of valley posy," he replied.

"Good," she said. "We're nearly out."

He nodded and raised his eyebrows, and Evin realized he was waiting for instructions.

"Oh," she said. "Just there," and pointed to the floor near one of the storage cabinets.

He put the box down and straightened, stretching. The posy wouldn't be heavy, but the large box seemed as though it was awkward to carry, especially in this weather.

"You should go get something warm to drink," Evin suggested. "Master Stacia gives complimentary brews to delivery people."

The man seemed encouraged by this, and left her in the back room to go and seek his prize.

Guiote entered some time later, wiping her hands on her eborel apron. The young woman's red hair was tousled so that half of it formed a little halo about her head and the rest of it remained plastered tight to her skull from perspiration. "I've got a lull," she said, her sharp green eyes taking quick stock of Evin's progress from her busy hands to her bare feet. "What are you working on now?"