(Sarah-feen for pronunciation) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have the Gin Root you asked for Miss Seraphine." A young servant of the castle reported as she entered Seraphines small study with a basket on her arm.
Actually it was an old storage room that Seraphine herself had cleaned out and reorganized after getting the key to it. She was banned from using magic but alchemy, the blending of herbs and animals for uses such as healing and poisons, was not considered magic.
Her room wasn't very large. There was a bookshelf on either wall. The left shelf held her books of study as well as her own journals while the right shelf was used to organize ingredients. She had two cabinets with drawers for the same use. A table was tucked in an open corner containing all her tools and the slim space left near the center of the room was a chair where she would spend hours at a time planning and recording information. You could circle the chair in the pathway between it and the walls to get around the room, that was all the open space left. It was small but Seraphine felt it was enough. It was hers, her only private area in the entire palace.
"The Accia leaves as well?" Seraphine collected the basket from the servant. She knew every employee in the castle as well as common visitors her refrained from making personal connections to any of them.
"Yes ma'am, everything on your list. Though I couldn't find Red Spot Mushrooms." She offered the list back to Seraphine as proof.
"They don't grow this time of year. I was hoping an indoor gardener nymph or something of the sort may have them. Very well." Seraphine sighed. "In many cases the Red Spot Mushroom uses can be mimicked by the combination of other items." She glanced through her basket before setting it down on the table. She noticed the servant still lingering.
"Is there something you are waiting for?" Seraphine asked. Rarely did errand girls wait for a dismissal once Seraphine took the basket.
"No ma'am." The servant replied. She bowed her head to Seraphine before she left the room.
Seraphine watched the servant leave before locking her door from the inside. That would keep anyone out. She had snuck out to the market herself to buy a strong lock from their leading blacksmith. Mass production was useful but the highest quality items were personalized ones if done properly. Very few would be able to pick that lock. She should know, she's gotten quite skilled at that.
Seraphine opened her journal to reread her last few entries. She had really wanted that Red Spot Mushroom. She believed that may be able to balance her latest issue. A disease spread by biting bugs. It caused fevers, rashes, and death in severe cases. The fevers were often delusional ones making the victim a threat if they were magic wielders or had access to tools. Common treatment was to cool the fever and give doses of a sleeping medicine to promote healing and rest. Unfortunately those two mixed could, and often did, have negative side effects. Insomnia was one such effect. Nausea was another. Most importantly both of those medications were moderatly expensive and this disease effected the less protected portion of the population. Slaves and lower class impoverished were the ones suffering most often and had the least access to treatment.
