Bloodletter Gavin’s excitement is short lived. It is not long before the two suffering villagers are back, stating that their conditions have returned and are in fact worse than before.
Gavin turns to research. He spends hours examining books from his archive. “There has to be something that I am missing!’ Gavin says in frustration.
Finally he stumbles upon a unique combination of herbs in one of his journals. He searches his stocks and finds everything that he will need for his concoction.
He grinds the herbs with his mortar and pestle.
He adds the freshly ground ingredients to his cauldron, praying that the mixture comes out right.
He carefully watches for any odd changes in consistency and is pleased when the mixtures come out perfect. He repeats the steps and creates a second bottle of tonic.
Gavin is too nervous to proceed. His hands are shaking and sweat gathers at his brow. Only a drink will steady his nerves. He pulls out a pitcher of wine, taken from the castle the evening prior and drinks a full goblet.
His mind becomes oddly calm. He approaches the first villager with his new tonic.
“You must drink this down in one gulp,” he instructs.
The villager obeys, drinking the tonic quickly.
The villager obeys, drinking the tonic quickly.
And at first, all is well. Her body seems to be responding just as Gavin hoped…
…but as he is walking off to give the second bottle of tonic to the second suffering villager…
…the first villager passes out cold, landing with a thump onto the waiting room floor.
“My word!” He has never seen anyone react to a tonic in this way. He is frightened and close to panic. “What am I to do?”
Gavin heads upstairs to quiet his protesting stomach with a bowl of seed soup. Maybe the first villager’s reaction to the tonic is uncommon. I will try it on the second villager, he says in his thoughts.
With a full belly, he returns to the waiting room. He is not confident as he approaches the second villager. He reluctantly hands over the second bottle of tonic.
“Uh…you…you must swallow this…in one gulp.”
The second villager obeys.
The second villager obeys.
At first it seems as if all is well.
“I feel much better sir,” the villager says.
“I feel much better sir,” the villager says.
But before the words have fully escaped from his lips, he begins to appear woozy and unstable on his feet.
Just like the first villager, he falls like a sack of potatoes. “Watcher have mercy!” Gavin pleads with his eyes looking up at the ceiling.
Now with two villagers unconscious on his waiting room floor, Gavin makes a desperate decision.
“Nurse Jolene! Please watch over these fallen patients. I must seek out this foreign visitor once more!”
He continues, “Perhaps I was too hasty in judgment. Her mysterious tonics may very well be all that she says they are.”
“Aye Bloodletter Gavin. I will give them my close attention.”
“Aye Bloodletter Gavin. I will give them my close attention.”
Gavin beacons for Nurse Jolene to come closer. “And please see to it that word of these villagers’ condition does not reach the queen. She must not know of my failure to heal them.”
Gavin and nurse Jolene both know that if word reaches Queen Chalyela, the future of the clinic would be doomed.
