Glaen's Breath

A longer than it was supposed to be short story |Part 1|

Some time ago, in a faraway land, there was a small town called Riftwood. And in that town, there was an apothecary. This is where our story starts. In this apothecary, there is a young boy, apprenticed to our apothecary. His name is Wren.

It was probably around ten in the morning, when Wren jumped down the stairs to the shop. He'd completed all his chores upstairs, and was now going to see what he could do to help his mentor, Jaber Vótano. Wren, like many apothecaries, was small. Jaber, was not. You wouldn't think he was an apothecary by looking at him. It was amazing he could even handle the small delicate plants he worked with! But he did, and he did it well. Jaber was one of the best apothecaries this side of the mountains. Granted, there weren't many apothecaries, so it wasn't too hard a title to win. But still, Wren took immense pride in his mentor.
"Kaliméra, farmakopoiós Jaber!" he called, skipping the last two steps, and landing on the shop floor.
"Kaliméra, Wren. And please, just Jaber is fine." Jaber responded, not looking up from where he was sorting plants.
"Do you have anything you need me to do?" Wren asked, hazel eyes twinkling with anticipation.
It was rare for Jaber to not have something for him to do. There were always medicines to be brewed, or ingredients to be round, or at least restocking to be done. Things expired fast, and they could always use a fresh supply.
So, it came as no surprise when Jaber asked him to go out and gather plants.
"We're running low on Willow Bark and Ginger Root, as well as Glaen's Breath." He explained.
"Glaen's Breath? I don't think I've ever heard of that before."
"Yes, Glaen's Breath" Jaber said, pulling out a book and pointing to one of the pages. "I usually find it in the deep woods, usually near some source of water."
"Ah, ok" Wren said, studying the picture and nodding, before grabbing his satchel and pulling on his boots. "See you later, Jaber!"

~~~

Wren was lost. Very much lost.
He had walked down the path through town, heading towards the forest, and all had gone well. He hadn't gotten sidetracked, nobody had come to him complaining of illness, nothing. When he arrived at the woods, the first thing he'd done was find the Willow Bark and Ginger Root. Afterall, he actually knew where to find those. After that, he had been picking up the odd herbs and roots, while searching for this 'Glaen's Breath'. That was when he got lost. All the trees looked the same! More importantly, his waterskin was running out, and he had no idea when he was going to find a stream to refill it in. Although, while it was far from ideal, Wren couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. 'I can see it now,' he thought. 'Apothecary's apprentice dies from lack of water, while surrounded by like a bazillion plants that could probably help him if he was farther along in his apprenticeship.' Wonderful. Jaber had probably planned on teaching him something today, and now he was stuck in the woods somewhere, with no idea how to get back.