"Are you sure about this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Heather shrugged, bouncing Dagrun on her knee as she watched Thora stir the potion. "I don't know…I know you're a witch and all, but I somehow can't bring myself to believe that you were told what to do by your dead mom."
"T' be fair, Freyr was also there," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "I wouldn't have believed it, either, if he hadn't been there." Turning back to the cauldron before her, she used her magic to lift a jar of fine, white powder. She carefully tipped about two tablespoons worth into the cauldron before stirring its contents once more. "How's the wee one doin'?"
She chuckled, looking down at the smiling child. "Happy as ever. She's gumming away on the toy boar Ulfr made her." Tilting her head, she looked back up at Thora. "Do you think she'll start teething soon?"
"I don't 'think' -I know." She visibly winced. "Her wee tusks will be comin' in soon. Ya can't see them just yet, but if ya run your finger along her gums, ya can feel them. They're none too pleasant when she's feedin'."
Heather's eyes widened in horror at the thought. "I'm sorry," she murmured, cringing. "The more you tell me about being a mother, the less I want to be one…"
Thora chuckled. "Trust me, once I learned the horrors o' pregnancy an' childbirth, I was thankful I was infertile. At least, I was at the time." Taking the spoon with her tail, she started going through the contents of a small chest. "But…I got Dagrun out o' it. I suppose it wasn't too horrible."
She gave her a bland look. "I'd agree with you more if you hadn't almost died," she told her, voice bland. "But, I will agree that the end product was worth it."
Dagrun grunted happily as she looked up at her aunt. Her chin, hands, and toy were absolutely coated with drool. She held up the toy, a please exclamation leaving her mouth.
"Oh, yes, you're quite the little drool monster right now," Heather giggled. "You've got that thing thoroughly coated! That's so…gross, to be honest."
Thora snorted, rolling her eyes. "Be glad it's drool she's coated in."
"I heard about her diaper explosion this morning. I think she left Sindri scarred for life."
She dismissively waved her hand. "He'll recover. It's his fault, really. He's the one who thought it'd be a bright idea t' feed her mashed greens an' mashed apples together."
She blinked. "Is that what caused it? I didn't know she was able to eat—well, eat anything that wasn't breastmilk just yet."
"Human children should wait a few more months, but she's got troll in her, so she'll start eatin' normal food sooner. She'll still breastfeed for a while yet, though."
Nodding in understanding, she did her best to try and wipe away some of Dagrun's drool. "Makes sense." She and Dagrun both jumped as there was a flash of light from the cauldron. A plume of silvery smoke rose into the air, worrying Heather. "Is everything alright…?"
"It's supposed t' do that," Thora assured her. "Means it's done."
Her brows furrowed. "What kind of sleeping potion explodes when finished?" Scooping up Dagrun, she stood and went over to the cauldron to see what the final result looked like.
"An extremely potent one that would knock a Boneknapper out for a week." She wore a small grin as she started ladling the potion into a flask. "In all honesty, though, it always does that. It's just what happens when it gets imbued with magic."
A curse left her mouth as Dagrun let out a squeal and threw her wooden boar into the cauldron. "Dagrun!" Her tone was gentle, but scolding. As her magic lifted the toy from the potion, she lightly shook her finger at her daughter. "Ya don't throw toys in mommy's potions," she told the child, though she knew it would be of little use.
Dagrun wouldn't be able to understand sentences for a while yet.
Heather chuckled. "Looks like someone's not getting her toy back until it dries."
"Eh, it's a simple fix. Just have t' soak it in some water for a bit t' purge it of the potion. Then she can have it back." Unhooking something from her belt, she handed it to her daughter; Heather saw that it was a simple, wooden spoon. Dagrun's eyes widened as she took the spoon and she started grunting, flailing the spoon about happily.
"Really? Just water?"
"Aye. It's just a sleeping potion." She let out a small laugh. "If it were a medicinal potion or a medicinal mixture, then I'd have to soak it in wine or mead or whatever counteracts the main ingredient." She finished filling the flask with the potion. "But there isn't really anythin' to counteract sleeping potions -at least this one."
Heather nodded slowly, her head tilted in interest. "Why's that?"
"Because this is one of the sleeping potions that's meant t' knock anything an' anyone out." With only a couple spoonfuls of potion left, she simply dumped it on the ground. "This is the one I use when I can't sleep. Just nearly thrice as potent." She shoved the stopper into the flask while her magic extinguished the fire and lifted the cauldron from the hook.
Glancing around, Heather made sure Thora's brothers weren't in sight. "Is it alright for them to know it's that strong?" she whispered.
She gave her a knowing look. "I can dilute it with water," she replied, voice normal volume. "This flask will last me two years at least."
"Understandable." She somewhat pouted as Thora took Dagrun from her arms. "Aw, no more auntie cuddles."
"That's because it's this little lady's lunchtime," Thora chuckled. "An' then it'll be her naptime. I'll be awhile, so I'm afraid you'll have t' amuse yourself."
"That's fine. I wanted to go check on Windshear anyway." She reached over and gently poked Dagrun's cheek. "You go have a good meal and nap. You deserve it after working up all that drool!"
Dagrun let out a loud, high-pitched happy squeal, making Thora wince.
"Dear gods, child…ya almost made my ears bleed," she murmured, starting to walk off.
Heather quietly laughed, shaking her head as she turned away from them. She crossed the yard, making for the dragon roosts. Death Dance was nowhere to be seen; Windshear, however, was in plain sight, preening herself. She looked up as her rider approached, a soft, cooing sound leaving her throat.
"Hey, girl," she murmured, reaching over and stroking her neck. "It's been a while -do you want to go for a small fly?"
At that, Windshear perked, her eyes widening. An excited purring left her throat and she turned, making it easier for Heather to climb on. Laughing, she rolled her eyes and did just that.
"Glad to see you're still willing to haul me around after getting so spoiled by Thora's brothers," she teased, pulling her scarf up around her mouth.
A curse left her mouth as Windshear shot into the air, forcing her to lurch forward and grip her saddle. "Whoa, girl! Calm down!" she laughed, having to clench her eyes shut against the rushing air.
After a few seconds had passed, Windshear leveled herself. Daring to open an eye, Heather found that they were already high enough to be surrounded by clouds. Opening her other eye, she leaned over slightly; the land below looked tiny from up there.
'Wouldn't it be nice if the world was actually this small for a little bit?' she thought, squeezing Windshear's sides with her legs as the Razorwhip started to do loop-de-loops. 'Then it'd take no time to get to Finnmark and get Dagur back…or to find our dad…'
Letting out a sigh, she continued to hold onto Windshear with her thighs, but let go with her hands. As she flew upside down, Heather let her upper half fall limp and just hang in the sky. Noticing this, Windshear made a concerned sound and righted herself.
"I'm fine, girl," she assured her, smiling. "I'm just…thinking is all."
Windshear huffed, knowing there was more to it than that.
Heather rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright: I'm also being impatient. I just—I just want my brother back. And I want to find our dad. I want to have an actual family again. Thora and Dagrun are good and all, but…" Closing her eyes, she let out another sigh. "Thora doesn't really know what it's like, having to search for your family twice. Or what it's like, having no one around to help you."
Snorting in agreement, Windshear started to descend. She didn't go too far, however -just far enough to allow them a better view of the ground.
"It doesn't help that I'm not entirely sure I believe that she actually spoke with the gods and her dead mother." She allowed herself to flop backwards, her arms dangling over Windshear's sides. "I know her magic is real -I've seen that. But speaking with gods? Speaking with the dead? It sounds like a fever dream to me."
Groaning, she rubbed her face in frustration. "But what if it's not some sort of dream? Dagur once told me he's spoken to Freya on occasion. The gods have no reason to speak with us mortals, though. The only reason they'd want to talk to us is because they're Odin and Freya taking us to Valhalla or Fólkvangr…our only use to them is to be their army come Ragnarök."
Windshear turned her head, looking at her rider. She crooned, worried about her.
Heather rubbed her flank. "Don't worry, girl. I promise I'm fine. Like I said, I'm thinking. You know how I get when I start to think." She chuckled, sitting upright again. "Hey: How 'bout we go to that cove we found a few days ago? The one with all the fish and the sharks you like to eat?"
The Razorwhip's eyes lit up and she clacked her jaws excitedly. Heather quickly latched onto the saddle -a good thing, too, because Windshear suddenly bolted forward, hurrying in the direction of the cove.
"Ten gold."
"Thirteen gold."
"Ten gold and five silver."
"This came all the way from Constantinople! There is no way I'm accepting less than thirteen-"
"Make it eleven gold and I'll throw in some free medicine for that rasp of yours."
The merchant narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked down at the smaller troll. "…What rasp?"
Thora cocked her brow, smirking ever so slightly. "The slight rasp you've got right now. Let me guess: You're also feeling a bit tight in the chest and you've been having an occasional coughing fit every few hours that leads to you nearly throwing up thanks to the phlegm."
Her eyes remained narrowed. "You could tell all that just by standing there?"
She shrugged. "Ormr taught me well," she said, voice innocent. Truth be told, she had seen the merchant hacking up a lung earlier in the day. "So, what say you? Eleven gold and some free medicine for that tin of saffron."
"How bad will the medicine taste?"
"If you like sour things, then it'll be good. If you prefer sweet, then you're out of luck."
The merchant pondered for a moment longer before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. Eleven gold and some medicine." Holding out her hand, she shook Thora's as a sign of agreement. "When can I expect the med—" She blinked, watching as Thora opened the satchel at her side and, with help from her magic, began to mix together various ingredients on the spot.
"There you go," she chirped, handing over the freshly-concocted pouch of medicine as well as eleven gold coins. "Use just a pinch of this in a mug of hot wine. Let it steep about five minutes, then sip until gone. Do this thrice a day and you should feel better by the end of the week." She tucked away her things.
The merchant lightly shook her head, chuckling as she picked up a copper tin. Thora cocked her brow, watching as she closed the tin up.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing much -just that I wasn't expecting to sell some herbs and get herbs back in return," she answered. "But what you gave me has more uses than what's in this tin here." She handed it over. "At least, to my knowledge, it has more uses."
Thora grinned, taking the tin and sliding it into her bag. "It has a lot of uses, especially in medicine," she smiled. "And the copper tin is useful as well."
The merchant smiled. "Ah, that's right -copper's good for magic, isn't it? Nearly forgot about that." She then frowned, turning away slightly as she started to cough into the crook of her arm.
Thora gave her a pitying look. "Perhaps you should go brew yourself some of the medicine? That cough sounds really thick and the warm wine will help loosen it up."
Nodding, the merchant continued to cough, though she was able to get out a few words. "Good idea…"
As she walked out of the building, Thora heard the merchant step through a doorway and call for her assistant to take over. A small sigh left her mouth; she had surprised herself with how well she remembered the native language. She thought she would have forgotten far more words than she had.
'I got the saffron and ginger,' she thought, walking down the street, 'now I need to get the cinnamon. I should be good to go after that." Reaching into her bag, she felt her coin purse. It was still somewhat heavy with coins, though she wondered if it would be enough to get cinnamon. 'If I can't get the bark, then I can at least afford it powdered. But will powdered be enough…? It usually has other powders mixed into it in order to increase its volume while maintaining the price…'
She winced slightly and, reaching up, shifted the strap of her satchel. It did little to help; her shoulder still ached -whether from the weight of the bag or from the odd way she position she had to lay in earlier to get Dagrun to sleep, she didn't know.
'Maybe I'll have Ormr rub my neck later…'
Crossing the market, she entered a different building, this one being much larger than the first. The moment she stepped in, she was assaulted by all sorts of warm, spicy scents. She had to stand still for a few seconds as the smells made her head swim. It soon passed, however, and she started to walk around the room, searching for the cinnamon.
"Lady Thora! I did not expect to see you today!"
She turned, smiling when she saw the familiar half-goat, half-human form of Aphrodisios. "Surprise," she joked, kneeling down to give him a hug. "How have ya been?"
"Very well!" he chirped, giving her a tight squeeze. "And yourself? I've heard from Kelda that you have a child now!"
"I do," she smiled. "I'm afraid she's not with me at the moment, though -she had t' take her afternoon nap." She was grateful that Aphrodisios spoke her language.
"Understandable," he chuckled. "Don't want her to become a little grumpy puss like her Uncle Ulfr if he doesn't get his nap."
She snorted. "Ya have no idea how right ya are," she chuckled. She looked around at the shelves. "Ya don't happen t' have any cinnamon in stock, would ya?"
"Cinnamon? Hm." He paused, a thoughtful expression coming to his face as he scratched his chin. "I think I've got a small amount of it, but that's one of the harder spices to procure."
Nodding in understanding, she followed him as he headed towards a door. Behind it, she knew, his most precious herbs and spices were kept. She very nearly hit her head on the top of the doorframe, forgetting that Aphrodisios' store was one of the few buildings in Enda Fjarðarins built for human height. As she ducked under, she felt her cheeks turn a bit pink out of embarrassment.
"Now let's see…" He pulled open a cabinet drawer; Thora saw that the cabinet was made almost entirely of drawers. "Are you looking for the bark or powdered?"
"Either works, but bark is preferable."
"Hm. I've got a bit of the bark left," he said, reaching into the drawer. When he brought his hand back out, Thora's eyes widened.
"That's a bit of bark?" she murmured, taking the three-foot long roll of dried bark from him. "This will last a person years!" She carefully looked it over, searching for any imperfections or hints of rot. She knew she wouldn't find any, however -Aphrodisios was very particular with his wares and, with something as precious as cinnamon, she knew he personally inspected every shipment.
"Considering that it's so hard to get and so expensive," he chuckled, taking the bark back as she handed it to him, "I would imagine it's used rather sparingly. That, and there are actually three rolls left. This is just the largest."
She cocked her head. "An'…just how much does it cost?"
He blew out a long breath, thinking over the price. "A solid roll like this would cost at least twenty-five gold," he answered. "Cut into smaller sections, probably fifteen. The powdered stuff costs a fraction of that at just five gold per cup." He watched as Thora pulled out her coin purse. Using her tail to hold the bag, she dumped the coins into her palms, quickly counting the amount.
She then thrust her hand forward. "One an' a part rolls, please," she told him.
His eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" he gaped.
She nodded. "Aye. If ya think cinnamon is hard t' get on the mainland, then ya wouldn't believe how hard it is t' get when ya live out in the middle o' the ocean. I want this stuff t' last me a long time." It was a lie -she had no intention of using it herself. But the words left her mouth as smoothly as the truth.
Aphrodisios nodded in understanding. "Well, when you put it that way, I can see why you'd want to stock up on the good stuff," he chuckled. Reaching into the drawer again, he pulled out the large roll of bark along with a second, slightly smaller one. "Let me go saw off your part and I'll meet you up front again, alright?"
"Alright. Don't cut yourself, lest I demand a refund," she teased.
"Very funny," he said before blowing a raspberry at her.
