Entering the town Eldrick noticed the strange looks from some of the inhabitants. Some left their homes to stare at the travellers. "Petal, what time is it?"
Petal stopped singing. "Petal thinks it is about three hours to dawn. Why does Eldrick ask?"
"Well, I think your singing has forced these good people to wake much earlier than they wanted."
Petal looked at the faces of the townsfolk and turned a deep crimson. As the singing stopped people began returning to their homes. "Peta..." Eldrick quickly covered Petal's mouth with his hand. Raising a finger to his lips. Petal nodded in acknowledgement.
In a hushed tone, Eldrick asked, "Where is the inn?"
Petal raised a hand and pointed to a large building just up ahead. Eldrick caught the sprite and placed him on a shoulder. Taking the initiative he led the way to the inn Petal had pointed out. The large building was larger than Eldrick had suspected as he got closer. The door was twelve feet tall of solid wood. Eldrick studied the door for a moment before he noticed that it had several doorknobs. He reached for the one which was at his level and opened the door. The whole door didn't open just a smaller portal inside the larger door. Chuckling to himself as he stepped through.
"Welcome weary travellers, I am Sprig." The voice was soft, which was in contrast to the size of the speaker. "We have been expecting you."
Eldrick had to look up to take in the speaker. She stood a good ten feet tall. Her gown a bright incarnadine, covered with a spotless white apron. The smile on her face was genuine. She beckoned towards the counter off to the side. Eldrick walking over saw it was his height. Reaching the counter he turned to ask Sprig a question she was gone. Turning to face the counter and the ledger sitting there he saw her standing behind the counter. He couldn't understand how she could move that fast or quietly.
"My Master is ill, where may I find a healer?"
"I will send someone for the healer, once you are settled into your rooms. If you would please sign the ledger." She carefully handed him a quill. Taking the quill Eldrick looked over at Sergei.
"Am I signing my name Sir, or yours?"
"Sign it with your name and company if you please," he began coughing again.
Sprig looked down in shock. "Chase, we need Amare now. And don't let her give you no lip."
"Yes ma'am," was all Eldrick heard from the back room before the crash of a door slamming shut."
"That boy has to stop using his hoof to close the door. I am afraid he may take some time but Amare is the best we have here right now. Well, enough of that let's get you settled here are your keys." Reaching behind her she grabbed keys off the board and placed them on the counter. "I have you on the ground floor, just down the hallway to your left."
Eldrick gathering up the keys handed two off to Gilmhook and kept the third himself. Heading down the hallway he found his room. Helping Sergei in and to the bed before collapsing into one of the chairs. All his energy drained away as he sat down. Before he knew it he had drifted off to sleep.
He woke with a start to thumping on the door. Sitting up, "Who's there?" he called out, forgetting he had requested a healer.
"I believe I was sent for. I am the healer Amare."
Eldrick jumping out of the chair, rushed to open the door. "Please come in." He stood there, shocked. Standing in the doorway was a figure of exceptional beauty, a figure walking straight out of his dreams. Gulping reflexively he stood transfixed.
Entering the room she looked him over, "You are not what you seem, but you are not the one needing my assistance. Lead me to the older gentleman."
Eldrick shaking his head a few times to clear it stammered, "Th..th..this way please." He lead her to the room with the bed and his master.
As she approached she placed her hand to his forehead, an ear to his chest. Picking his hand up by the wrist she started counting under her breath, wagging her finger in cadence with her counts.
"Can you help him?" Eldrick rubbed the back of his, leaning in to see.
Turning to face him Amare's face told him without words there was nothing she could do. "I can provide herbs and such to ease his symptoms but there isn't anything I can do to cure his condition. His body is old, any magic used to heal it would cause it to deteriorate faster. The herbs may slow things down, but from what I can tell he is suffering from some form of poison. Unless I knew what the poison was I cannot treat it." Amare glared at Eldrick. "What aren't you telling me? You are hiding something I can sense it." Rising she placed a hand on Eldrick's shoulder, guiding him from the room. She closed the door to Sergei's room as she led Eldrick to the chair. "Sit! Now, what is it you are hiding from the world and yourself?"
Eldrick collapsed into the chair in stunned silence. This seemed to be the fae from his dreams, the one deriding him for wasting the gift she had given him. She knew he was hiding something, but, he had no way to express it. What if she thought he had something to do with his master's poisoning.
"I, I am not sure what you mean."
"That seems to be the truth. Either you are misunderstanding me or I am not truly being clear." She sat there pondering with her hand resting on the side of her face, thumb under her chin and index finger tapping the side of her slender nose. "Now how can I put this? There is something about you that sparks memories yet I cannot quite place my finger on it." Her finger still moving, her head snapped up her eyes opening wider as her hand which had been on her face quickly drew a sigil in the air between them. "Ah, I see it now," shaking her head as she scowled. "What a wasted gift. By Alie, I am a fool. This is something that must be. Oh I don't like it." She sighed loudly, "I see there is something in your future but not what it is," placing her hands in the small of her back she leaned into them. "I will prepare the herbs for your master. If you can find out what the poison is I will endeavour to create a counter for it. I am afraid to try a generic anti-toxin, it could do more harm than good."
Eldrick sat there in silence, not knowing how to respond. He just watched as she produced her herbs and a mortar and pestle. He wanted to ask which herbs she was using but couldn't seem to get his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth. He caught sight of a few herbs he recognized and some he didn't. Some went into the mortar to be ground up, others were placed into a pot which she produced seemingly out of nowhere.
Without looking at him she held out the teapot, "If you would fill this with hot water please." She held the pot until Eldrick took it. "I believe Sprig has a kettle on and it should be ready right about now. Off you go."
Eldrick left the room to go fill the teapot with hot water from the kettle. As he was heading down the hallway back to the main room the thought of he didn't even know where to find the kitchen or kettle. Entering the main room he saw Sprig cleaning.
"Uh, pardon me, I was asked to get hot water for tea."
Sprig looking up, smiled, "Just through there," pointing to a door at the end of the counter.
"Thank you," he said, heading through the doorway. The kitchen was huge. Turning a spit over the fire, was a creature upper torso of a man with the body of a horse. He stood stock-still, staring.
"What never seen a centaur before?"
"Um, I, I am sorry. No, I haven't I d, didn't mean to stare. I was sent for hot water." Eldrick shrunk back, his shoulders climbing his neck.
"Easy, I am just not used to getting odd looks. I keep forgetting that most who aren't from the Faelands aren't used to seeing many of our kind," he chuckled kindly. "Come here, I will get the water for you. I am Chase by the way."
Relaxing, Eldrick walked over to Chase. "I am going to need to get used to seeing odd things." Eldrick swallowed convulsively, "Uh, not that you are odd. Oh drat I am sorry. I don't know how long I will be travelling the Faelands. Oh, sorry I haven't introduced myself, I am Eldrick." Holding out the teapot the Chase, who took the kettle off the fire and filled it with the hot water.
"There that should do it. If you ever need to talk please come back to visit while you are here. I don't get much company. We don't have many travellers."
"I think I may do that, though I am not sure how long we will be here. We are on a deadline and will need to start travelling again as soon as we can." Eldrick holding up the teapot nodded to Chase, "Thank you I need to get this back to Amare and my master." Turning he left. Over his shoulder, he could hear the good-natured laughter of Chase.
Passing through the main room once more he nodded to Sprig, though she wasn't paying any attention to him. Entering his room again he could hear Amare singing softly, in a language he did not know, coming from Sergei's room. Though the door was closed he knocked politely and waited. He knew better than to interrupt a healer while they were working. He stood there for what seemed like forever before he heard the singing end.
"You may enter, young Ellie."
Eldrick reaching for the handle froze. It wasn't safe to be referred to as Ellie outside of Herigberg. He started trembling. No, I must own this and confront the situation. Reaching for the handle once more he opened the door prepared to defend himself if necessary. He saw Petal standing on a stool beside the bed. Heaving a sigh of relief he understood how she knew though it still wasn't safe.
"I have the tea. Petal, did you tell her about the house of healing?"
"Petal sorry, she can tell truth from lie. There is no point in Petal trying to lie to her."
"Now, now, your secret is safe with me. I am not about to leave the Faelands for at least another hundred years." She reached out for the teapot. "Thank you, Eldrick. I am sure you would prefer Ellie," Eldrick shuddered, "but your reactions tell me you are afraid of something. I will not pry as this could be a personal issue and I have given you no reason to trust me." Waving her hand towards to door, "There are teacups in the cupboard above the station where the mortar and pestle are. If you would be so kind as to bring back enough for all of us, I would appreciate it. This is a simple tea for relaxation."
Eldrick turning around, went to the cupboard, finding the teacups. He noticed there were sprite sized ones as well. Gathering four teacups he returned to the room and placed them on the table to the side of the bed. Amare poured the tea for each of them. Petal was eager for his tea. Picking up his cup he took a sip. Putting his cup back down and waving his hand in front of his mouth.
"Oh hot, Petal burned tongue."
Amare chuckling looked at Petal, "You knew it was hot. But you, silly sprite are typical. Anything with honeysuckle and you just cannot wait." She glanced over to Eldrick, "This tea should help with his breathing and that nasty cough."
Eldrick nodding in understanding. "Could you make up some more of the tea in herb form that I can brew into tea as we travel?" He looked at Amare, his eyes pleading with her. "Unfortunately I haven't been able to gather any herbs recently. I usually gather what is needed as I go depending on what is in the area."
"You have knowledge of herbs from two sources which is good. There are many herbs in the Faelands which cannot be found outside unless they are specifically cultivated." She looked at Petal then back to Eldrick. "I would suggest not looking for herbs while here it could mean failure in your task. But I understand you already know that." She eased Sergei into a sitting position. Taking up one cup of tea she held it to his lips, "Take it slowly it is still hot. This should help with your breathing. Inhale the vapours as you sip at the tea."
Sergei took a deep breath as he took a tentative sip of the tea. Reaching up he took the cup from Amare. "Thank you," his voice hoarse and cracking. He held the cup to his lips but didn't drink again, just breathing in the steam from the tea. Amare nodding to herself reached for her tea. Inhaling deeply of the wonderful aroma, before she took a sip.
"I have forgotten the benefits of such a nice beverage. It has been a long time since I needed to brew it for another and never think to brew it just for my own enjoyment."
Eldrick followed her example. The flavour of the tea was like nothing he had ever tasted before. He sat there in thought trying to puzzle out the ingredients. After a few moments, he gave up and just enjoyed the tea for what it was. Looking up he saw Amare smiling in his direction. A knowing look in her eyes. He smiled back. It was a smile shared by peers. He understood that she was testing him and he had passed her silent test. Cocking his head to one side he decided that asking for the recipe wouldn't hurt, he could always figure it out on his own if given enough time to study the flavours though he had a feeling there was something he wouldn't be able to find outside the Faelands, though he may be able to find something which could be substituted.
"Amare, I have a question about the recipe of this tea. Would you be willing to share it with me?"
"I will write it down and leave it at the front counter for when you leave." Returning her attention to Sergei, she frowned. "You stubborn old fool, drink your tea before it gets cold. Otherwise, it will be bitter. If you like bitter then let it get cold." She looked over at Petal, who had picked up his cup again and was drinking the tea with pleasure written on his face.
"Cool enough for Petal to drink. But not so cold as to be bitter to Petal." He grinned, "Petal like honeysuckle teas."
"I know Petal, I know. I have yet to meet a sprite who doesn't." Amare shaking her head with a wry smile on her face. "I am surprised we haven't had any visitors yet."
Eldrick raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh usually when I make the tea I get a flood of sprite visitors. Enough of them that there isn't any tea left for my own consumption." She looked around the room taking in her surroundings, "then it just may be they don't want to offend Sprig by invading her inn."
Eldrick began feeling sleepy again. His eyes drooping. Amare, looked at him concern on her face. Checking his pulse and temperature. Picking him up, she carried him over to the other bed. "You have been burning yourself out with concern and care for others. Sleep now I will leave a pot for tea and check back in later. I should have known you wouldn't truly rest until you knew whether or not your master was going to survive the night." Covering him with a blanket, she quietly left the room.
Eldrick heard the outer door close with a gentle shnict before he drifted off. Just before he lost consciousness he heard Sergei coughing again. He just didn't have the energy to go check on his master and he knew that would haunt his dreams. That is if he could remember his dreams. His eyes closed and everything just seemed to vanish.
