novelzi Chapter 38: A watchful eye
Chapter 38: A watchful eye
The man sighed.
"You drive a hard bargain," said the shopkeeper. "I will get you these herbs, but do I have your word that you will give me another gold coin if I get double of these herbs for you?"
Damien smiled reassuringly, "Of course. As long as you arrange to double the amount of the herbs, another gold coin will be in your bag."
"Tsk, you are being so cheap," the shopkeeper clicked his tongue. "Alright, two gold coins for double the amount of these herbs. I will go to the main pharmacy in the evening, so I will bring you these herbs three days from now. You can come and get them later on."
"Okay, got it," Damien heaved a sigh of relief. He nearly thought that he wouldn't get his hands on these herbs with how the man was looking at him.
He deposited an advance payment of a single gold coin before taking his leave with Xavier.
"What are you trying to do with these toxic herbs?" Xavier asked as the two of them stepped out of the clinic where herbs were sold.
"Hmm? It's nothing serious," Damien replied with a casual shrug. "I know you must be thinking something along the lines that —oh he must be preparing for some sort of evil takeover by creating a poison by mixing these things."
And given the twisted expression caught in headlights on Xavier's face, Damien knew that he was bang on with his deduction.
"Jeez, I am just trying to make a numbing potion." Damien rolled his eyes as he thrust his hands in his pockets while suppressing his desire to knock a few teeth out of the man's mouth behind him.
"A what?" Xavier asked. He had never heard about such a thing before.
"A numbing potion," Damien explained as he knew that if Xavier didn't understand what he meant by numbing potion he would certainly not understand what was an anaesthesia. "It's ugh—it's a potion to make people lose their ability to feel pain for a short while."
"Thank you for your wise advice, Lady Wistoria," said Xavier as he got to his feet, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Bee in your bonnet, Xavier?" Wistoria asked. "Did something happen for you to look so troubled?"
"It's nothing, Lady Wistoria— it's just," before Xavier could stop himself, he was telling Wistoria about how Damien wanted to make a numbing potion. "I mean why would he go to such lengths to assure that beastmen would not feel pain? We don't need such a foolish thing."
He held the hilt of the sword in his hand tightly, with a haunting look.
Wistoria studied him before turning to look at the sky which had darkened. The stars glimmered in the dark sky. Wistoria crossed her hands behind her and said to Xavier, "Everyone is different, Xavier. Not to mention the living who can think for themselves are not static, they are dynamic."
"You cannot continue to tie yourself to the past— and continue looking at the present with glasses that have specks of the forgotten dirt."
She dropped her head and looked at Xavier before saying, "I made the mistake of connecting the past with the present and almost lost my brother. You shouldn't do the same. Don't make the same mistake that I made, and try to let go."
"I understand, Lady Wistoria." Xavier gripped the hilt even tightly as his eyes darkened.
Three days passed by in a flash, of course for Damien who was eagerly waiting for the shopkeeper to return, these three days felt like months.
Once the three days were over, the first thing Damien did was to go to the clinic and stock up as many herbs as he thought would be useful and at the same time, he brought back the herbs for the anaesthesia as well.
"Now, let us get this party rolling," said Damien as he huddled inside his room with the herbs for the numbing potion.
His eyes were fixated on the ingredients lying on the floor.
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