Tristan followed his lead, jumping right into the supplies to pull out what she knew would help with injuries.
Symbulin, happened to be the blue liquid in her hand. The label has been dirty from the debris, but given a few good runs, she could read it well enough.
Fee flew in front of her, opening a screen to showcase the medicine in her hand. The small vial had two doses—which would prove an antidote for most minor poisons. It had been a simulacrum of poison taken from the oil secreted the creature: Terra Newt.
She had no knowledge of this, as it was not something she was taught in the Forgotten Realms. Her sister and brother had been excellent tutors, but that other world’s knowledge probably didn’t amount to much.
She placed the vial down gently, before shuffling to the next section. Tristan pulled out a few green herbs. She could read on a few scribbled tags that survived on some of the roots.
Vivovital had been one of the sprightly greens. She read that it would be good for physical injuries. It helped the healing process naturally, also acting as a numbing agent for pain.
“I imagine there must be all kinds of patients. Injuries varying in degrees. I found some
Vivovital herbs in good condition. That might help some of your patients.” Tristan plucked the pots setting them down.
Oh the other side, Eochaidh had moved a crate of Tuned
Burdock to the side. It was a common, mundane herb by itself- one native to even non-magical realms such as Earth- not that he knew that last tidbit. In the Archipelago, however, after being tuned with natural energies, it gained the supernatural properties in treating traumatic and infected wounds, and embarrassingly enough for certain people- Syphilis.
Less embarrassing was the crate of Tuned
Dittany he was currently moving, which could be used to expel fragments embedded in flesh, as well as being an exceptionally powerful antiseptic.
"Ah, good! Do place them to the side, we'll need to get all of these out of this mess first. After that is done I can arrange for them to be carried back.
Despite losing joviality for a while, it quickly slipped back into his mannerisms as he worked his way through the rubble.
“Worldshift… it must have been a strange thing…” this was more of a self reflection, but saying it aloud made the situation more real. She walked to the building, moving past the broken sign that had [APOTH] to search for more things under the beams and broken wall pieces.
Since Eochaidh was busy with shifting debris to the side, he didn't quite notice Tristan's self-reflection, though it didn't matter since he had asked a question that would have been the perfect follow-up regardless.
It was in that moment she was asked about being a new adventurer. She perked up, giving a small smile despite the terrible situation everyone was in.
“Ah… yeah. I would be considered an… outlander? I was out on my first adventurer with my older siblings when… when…” Her hands froze, thinking back to the goblins, the wolves that attacked, the piercing biting that didn’t stop on her collarbone—the lack of air and suffocation as water continued to—
She hadn’t realized her hands were tracing the scars of the bites on her skin. She yanked her hands away. “I guess I couldn’t just sit still after seeing the people and the buildings. Everyone looked panicked, so I just offered to help.” She opted to find something for her hands to hold, her shaking digits found and lifted the broken store sign. Then back to the rest of the mess. “I was… I am an inventor. Or more like crafter and artisan. I mended lots of stuff back at my own guild home. I took on lots of local jobs, just helping where I could.”
Eochaidh hadn't noticed the brief panic attack Tristan was in, since his back was turned just a moment to slowly inch another crate out from under a broken beam, but his sharp senses did note that something was off, and even then the melancholy was obvious. It only made sense for someone displaced from their home, and so recently to feel such emotions. There weren't many words he could offer as a stranger, so instead, he offered his ears.
Tristan thought of her experience so far in the fairly large city, she had never been in such a large scale place before so everything was fascinating to her. “Sky Harbor has been very accommodating—I can work and earn money. The Adventurer’s Guild loaned me gold to get started… I made an acquaintance with a man named Frixio. He had been helping repairing the minor damages such as the roofs, windows, doors… easy carpenter stuff.”
Eochaidh nodded. "Good for you...hmm, Frixio?" He paused for a bit, trying to recall the name. "Ah, I remember! Yes, yes. The man is great at his job- filled a few commissions from me at least! When you mess with volatile ingredients getting a stock of backup tools and furniture from various sources becomes key, you see." He chuckled a bit, as his hands took hold of a crate of Tuned
Borage- a potential cure for all kinds of fevers as well as a bolster of courage.
"His brother happens to be an adventurer too- mentored him for a brief time. Good student, and warmed up to the idea of exploring the great unknown quite quickly! Wonder how he's doing these days."
Shaking that thought off, unaware of what had become of Frixio's brother, Eochaidh got back on track. "Sorry, I digress. Easy to get sentimental at this age. Good to see that you are doing well so far. If you ever need guidance, feel free to contact me- I will be glad to lend a hand, or at least refer you to someone who can."
She wondered about Eochaidh and his history. Was he a native here? Or had he been sucked into the so-acclaimed black hole?
“Sir, you seem well versed in adventuring! when Fee—uh, my butterfly, started to talk with your voice—I had to wonder what else about this world I didn’t know. Everything is just so… new! This situation would scare anyone, but it seems as if you’re taking things in stride. I’m anxious trying to do the best I can to help!” She awkwardly moved the signboard. “I wonder if it’s enough?”
Eochaidh laughed heartily as he checked yet another crate. Tuned
Blackberry Plants amplified healing and quickly stems bleeding.
"Well, I do know the tricks of the trade well enough, I suppose! Truth be told, this situation is an utter mess!"
The gravity of the statement contrasted greatly with the grin on his face for some reason.
"We've got casualties, property damage, devasted transport networks- in a trade heavy nation, of all places, and to top it off, we know absolutely nothing about this strange new land we are currently in. Hell, on a more personal level I know friends from outside the Archipelago that I won't be able to visit in a long time."
He let out a breath as he lowered the crate of blackberry plants onto the ground.
"But well, it's hardly the end of the world. Well, it is, in a sense, but that's not what I mean. Perhaps it's only an old man's misplaced optimism, but a new world out there, waiting to be explored...a whole map considered Terra Incognito, as opposed to the last few pockets of mysteries untouched by civillisation we had to make do with..."
Eochaidh looked Tristan in the eye.
"It's an adventurer's dreams personified, you know?"
After an awkward moment of silence, another chuckle erupted from his throat.
"Sorry, I got carried away yet again. On a more practical note, the idea is simple- there has to be some reason why we are here. And since there's a way here, there must be a way back! I'm not the most well versed in traversing realms beyond the material plane, but I'm sure the theory is sound. As long as there's hope in the heart, a solution will make itself clear soon enough."
The shameless idealism practically rolled off his tongue in waves, yet it was clear from the glint in his eyes and upwards tilt in the corners of his mouth that at the very least, Eochaidh really did believe the words he spouted with such inane energy, despite having no evidence on hand to back his ideas aside from anecdotal experience.
OC | Eochaidh O'Byrnei
Setting | Harbor Road, The Sky Harbor.
Word Count | 801
