Floresta's Chronicle of Tales

3. Antasmenji & The Marble Ibex

Kegeddur is one of the dwarven cities that is easily accessible for travellers from the Elves, Maeridrath, and the Human World, Triagran.
It is also one of the cities that can lead you through the mountain range to the other hidden dwarven cities.
In Kegeddur lives a woman who has a special profession compared to the other dwarves.
A dwarf normally chooses a profession to chisel out gems and resources in the mines or, on the contrary, a profession where you can make the most beautiful jewellery to resell on the big market.
This woman, Antasmenji Intaforme, works as a veterinarian in the big dwarf city of Kegeddur because she feels a greater bond with the animals than with most bipeds.
She helps animals get better during a good passage, no matter whether it is through the mountain range, or just over the peaks.
At the moment, she is even busy making a healing potion for a fire salamander and a young buck.
Antasmenji hangs over her notebook as she gently lists the names of the ingredients.
Carefully, she places it on the table as she takes the ingredients out of her drawers, still listing the ingredients.
She is so busy getting the ingredients together that she does not hear the next customer come in.
She begins to grind the large ingredients in her marble mortar before she only notices the man.
The dwarf helps an ibex off a cart and rolls his fingers on the wooden counter before tapping the bell twice.
Antasmenji runs from behind the shop and walks up to the counter to help him.
"What can I help you with?" she asks the dwarf man as she looks at him inquiringly.
The man puts his arm over the counter and leans his hip against the counter as he thumbs at the large ibex.
"I found this one outside, a few metres away from the city walls," he explains as he looks at her briefly.
"It looks like she has sprained two of her ankles."
She looks at the buck before coming out from behind the counter to study the animal.
Carefully, she looks at the animal's legs before her eyes widen even more.
The ibex seems to be made entirely of a marble stone instead of having soft fur.
It is that the animal is breathing and its eyes are moving that she does not think the man has brought her a statue of an ibex.
Antasmenji looks over her shoulder at the man as she tries to make sense of the situation.
"Any idea what happened?" she asks him as she looks at him. "Did you perhaps see how it landed?"
The man shakes his head.
"Unfortunately, I didn't see it happen," he says as he looks at her and the ibex.
"I found her in the bushes a few hundred metres from the city walls. When I found her, I tried to help her, only I didn't know what to do..."
Antasmenji sits down next to the ibex as she begins to examine the animal more closely.
She watches every ankle of the animal as it breathes slowly.
Carefully, she opens the animal's mouth to see if it has anything in it that is causing her to breathe heavily.
From her mouth, the dwarf woman takes out a twig with some leaves attached to it.
She places the twig next to her as she further examines the mouth for any remnants of the leaves and the twig.
After four minutes of closely examining the animal's mouth, she looks back at the man.
"I will take him in and take care of him," she says as she further examines the animal. "Can you write down your name and address for the next while? Then I can send you updates on the animal."
The dwarf man nods as he takes out a piece of paper from his inside pocket to write down his address.
"Don't worry, I'll be staying here in town for the next three months to sell my wares during the festival," he says as he writes down his address with charcoal.
He puts the address on the counter before turning to her.
"It's been pretty tough lately with the economy. If I've got some money coming in, I'll give it to you when the buck is up."
Antasmenji looks up at him over her shoulder as she shakes her head no.
"You don't have to pay me," she says. "After all, this ibex is a wild animal based on what you told me."
She studies her hind leg as he tells her goodbye.
"I'll come by again in a few days to see how it's doing," he says as he helps put the buck on her work table.
He tilts the cart slightly so it is not in the way and lets it lean against the wall before opening the double doors and waving to the Antasmenji in farewell.
She starts laying the animal's ankles the right way before giving it a potion.
The ibex is breathing calmly as Antasmenji wraps an ankle bandage around it so that it can heal better and quickly.
As she walks back to her potions sector to make a new potion than she had planned earlier.
She grabs some different and new ingredients as she prepares it.
So focused on making the potion, she doesn't notice that the ibex is starting to wake up.
The animal starts to bleat and tries to move her legs, only she feels that her ankles hurt a lot.
She moves her head to make some sound while her horns scrape across the table as she moves like this.
Antasmenji quickly prepares the potion before walking over to the ibex to caress her affectionately over her head.
The ibex continues to struggle for a while before giving in to the caress.
She puts her head in Antasmenji's arms as the dwarf woman carefully drips the potion into the animal's mouth.
She soon becomes drowsy and soon falls into a deep sleep as she starts snoring heavily and loudly.
Antasmenji watches the ibex for a while before she moves on again to make new potions.
Slowly, the daylight begins to let long shadows through the windows as Antasmenji helps the other creatures with their injuries and bruises.
She wears fireproof gloves as she tries to help the fire salamander create fire again.
The fire salamander coughs out a few plumes of smoke as small sparks jump out of his mouth.
He coughs and coughs before trying to catch his breath as she strokes him over his head.
"It's not really working out yet, hey buddy," she says as she puts the fire salamander back in his basket.
She gives a small bowl of very spicy potato curls for him to feast on, only he seems to have no appetite for it.
He looks listlessly at her as he lets out a deep sigh.
"It's all going to be fine, you know. I believe in you," she says as she gently strokes his head with her index finger.
The ibex sleeping in her back room slowly wakes up as the potion begins to wear off.
Antasmenji hears the ibex wake up before she turns to the door and opens it.
She grabs a tray of ice before passing one of the ice cubes over one of the ankles, watching to see what the goat's reaction is.
The ibex gives no reaction at first until she feels the coldness of the ice ease the pain of that ankle.
She puts her head back on the table when she does still groan from the pain in her other ankle.
Antasmenji watches as the ibex already calms down a bit before she treats the other ankle with the ice.
Slowly, the moaning begins to stop before the ibex starts shivering from the cold.
The dwarf woman releases the ice and lets it melt over the animal's ankle before grabbing a salve to rub the ankles with it.
She is still looking at the ibex as if it could kick her at any moment as she manages to rub the marble ankles.
She does not forget a single spot as she anoints them.
Once she is done, she takes several steps back before turning around to a tub of clean water.
Using a ladle, she wets her hands before using soap to wash the ointment off her hands.
The ibex breathes in and out as she looks at the dwarf woman, confused as to what she is doing and even more so when it comes to what she might do with her as a marble ibex.
With her eyes, she follows the woman as she walks out of the room before the ibex makes another attempt to stand up.
Antasmenji grabs a piece of paper to write an update to the dwarf man who brought the ibex.
She is barely writing the second sentence when she hears a huge uproar from the back room.
Quickly she puts the feather down as she turns and opens the door to see the ibex on the floor, pulling itself forward with its front legs to get out of her veterinary clinic.
The ibex is panting, groaning and moaning out in pain from her ankles as she tries to get out.
Antasmenji rushes over to the ibex to help her and gently soothes her to calm her down.
She grabs one of the vials from the cupboard before sniffing it to the ibex to calm her down if the soothing doesn't work.
She starts humming a song softly as she begins to nurse the ibex back to its new injuries and fixes the sprained ankles again before making three new healing potions.
One of the three she already gives to the ibex as it lies on the ground.
Antasmenji grabs the cart again to put it next to the marble ibex before she manages to put the ibex on it bit by bit.
Taking the cart, she walks to the stall where the other younger ibex is before taking the marble ibex off the cart and putting it in one of the stalls.
"It's going to be all right, girl," she says as she manages to take the ibex off the cart without causing or aggravating any injuries.
She puts a woollen blanket over the marble ibex when the young ibex comes jumping over to see what she is doing now.
"No, no, not now, little fellow. She needs rest," she says as the young ibex holds on to give the marble ibex a rest."
Let me feed you again and give you the medication."
Antasmenji grooms the younger ibex before she prepares the medication and food for him.
The ibex jumps after her and blows her ears off as she gets to work.
"Ah, kid, what do you have to tell me all about? Hmm? Have you seen some salamanders again? That can breathe out fire sparks?"
She is busy feeding the ibex his food as she gives him some attention.
With experience, she knows how to bring her focus over her work and the animal.
With ease, she mixed the food together with the medication so that he can get better soon enough.
The ibex almost makes her fall over as he jumps to the food.
She manages to find her balance just in time before she lets him eat in the stall and goes back to the clinic.
Looking at the potions to see what she needs to make up, she notices that she soon needs new ingredients.
Of the ingredients she needs, she makes a list and walks to the entrance of the shop to lock it.
Once she has written the list, she locks the door before walking back to the counter.
There, she finds the piece of paper again where she has written the update on it and is not quite ready to send it.
She writes off the update before rolling it up and tucking it in the outgoing mail tray.
She then checks to see if all the creatures sleeping at her clinic before locking everything behind.
When she is ready, she walks up the stairs to her flat and falls asleep almost immediately as she lies on her bed.
She quickly takes off her corset before lying down under the woollen blankets and falling into a deep sleep.
It doesn't take long before she is already dreaming about the marble ibex she was brought in to nurse earlier that day.

The animal is less timid in her dream and can already walk a little again.
Antasmenji still remedies the little bits of pain the ibex is still in before a loud noise from behind the veterinary clinic wakes her up.

Her dream slowly fades as she wakes up and gets out of her bed to see what has been happening outside.
In the small square where her veterinary clinic is attached and where she rests the two ibexes, she sees that the marble ibex is running around very piqued and knocking things over in her running.
Antasmenji watches with wide eyes before coming out of her trance.
She grabs her work clothes and shoots straight into them before running down the stairs and opening the back door.
The marble ibex is still running around while the other younger ibex is on top of his stable roof, anxiously watching the older ibex rant.
Antasmenji rushes to the marble ibex and calms her down as far as she can.
She gives the animal several gentle pats before calming her down.
The animal gently sinks through its knees as it feels how weak its ankles still are from its fall.
The dwarf woman gently pats the buck's fur as she gently soothes her to rest.
Slowly, the ibex calms down, her breathing becoming calm as she looks at Antasmenji with wide eyes of fear.
Antasmenji gives the marble ibex some food and helps her with her ankles to strengthen her muscles.
"Look, it's getting better already, right," she asks the animal as she continues to move the ankles. "There's nothing to worry about."
The ibex barks in pain for a moment as her ankles are in motion.
It takes Antasmenji a while to finish with the ankles before she helps the ibex stand.
She guides the ibex around so the animal can feel her ankles.
Slowly but surely, the marble ibex learns to believe and trust the dwarf woman that she has nothing evil in mind.
She looks up at the short woman before bowing to her.
At least, she tries to when her hind legs give way, causing her belly to plummet to the ground.
Antasmenji holds her and yet lays her down a little better for her ankles before she starts stroking the marble fur.
"See? You are already getting a little better," she says as she hands a cup of water to the animal.
The water sloshes out of the cup as the ibex drinks from it.
Her mouth is all wet from how thirsty she is.
Once finished, she looks up at Antasmenji expectantly, hoping for more water to drink.
Antasmenji puts the cup down before taking a cloth from her tool belt and thus drying the animal's mouth.
Carefully, she puts the animal's head on the ground for a moment before grabbing a pillow from the ibex's abode.
Very carefully, she lifts the head back up before sliding the pillow under it and lets the ibex rest for a moment so she can continue working.
She grabs a large bowl from the kitchen and fills it with melted ice and more large pieces of ice so that the ibex can drink some more.
With the bowl of ice, she walks back and puts it close to the ibex's head before checking on the other ibex.

Over time, new customers have had their creatures checked out at Antasmenji's veterinary clinic.
The hustle and bustle of the seasonal festival causes a growing turnout at her shop as she busies herself getting the creatures to good health.
The Marble Ibex is already slowly starting to walk around on her own and is starting to learn when she needs rest.
It is already starting to be late afternoon when the door opens once more, the bell ringing merrily as The Marble Ibex's dwarven man steps in.
Antasmenji is still busy making a potion for another customer when he approaches the counter.
With the healing potion, she walks up to the customer and gives him his order before seeing man at the counter.
"Just give the red wolf two drops per head and it will be back to its old self in four days if all goes well," she explains to the customer before handing him another potion. "And for the grimace, rub this ointment on the wounds and it will heal. It may have a caustic effect though which the bear may not like, so give him uncle this sleeping powder."
She gives him another small bundle of powder before the customer hands her a bundle with the right amount of coins.
"Thank you and good luck and have fun at the festival," she says before walking to the counter.
"Looks like you have been very busy," the man says as he smiles at her.
"It is also partly because of the seasonal festival. That's why they use their biggest creatures to move goods and before they go on transit again," she says as she counts the coins before putting them back.
"How is the ibex I brought in doing," the man asks as she finishes counting her income.
"She is doing better and better," she says as she finally looks at him. "She needed some time to get used to me and adjust to her surroundings, but she can go back into the mountains soon if she still wants to."
"Did she give you a big fight then?"
"Well, 'fight' I wouldn't really call it. She only tried to get away while I still had to treat her. One morning even, she made a lot of noise and also made a big mess."
The man chuckles softly as he shakes his head for a moment.
He can already see how that took place.
"How did sales go at your shop? Due to the rush, I haven't had time to stop by."
She freezes for a moment as she realises something.
"I haven't even had time to keep up with my stocks and buy ingredients..." she whispers to herself.
"Maybe I can help you with that," the man says as he looks at her again.
"After all, I have hardly had any rest for the past two days and all my produce has been sold."
Antasmenji looks at him with wide eyes.
"Then you are very good at your profession! Most dwarves from this part of the empire usually buy pieces of gold or copper works of art to hang in their homes," she says as she looks at him.
She hangs the bundle on her shoulder and hides it a little inside her dress.
"That's right," he says with a small smile. "My parents taught me because I have the right size fingers for the job. This has allowed me to incorporate more detail in most of my work. Apparently, most dwarves here have a good eye for detail and love the way I worked the wood. If you make a list of the ingredients you need, I can get them from the last few tents left."
Antasmenji thinks about it for a moment as she takes the paper and her charcoal as she turns around.
"Are Tensaki brothers and Deagru still there," she asks over her shoulder as she looks in her cupboard for the ingredients she does have.
She quickly writes down the names of the ingredients she no longer has when he answers.
"Those are still there indeed," he says as he looks at her back. "When I looked there the other day, they didn't have much left..."
She takes a step back and closes her cupboard as she hands over her list of ingredients.
"If you give them my list and tell them that Antasmenji sent you, they will know what ingredients I need," she says as she looks at him wearily. "I'll have another look at the ibex and check with the last creatures to see if they need anything."
The dwarf man nods as he takes the list, nodding his head that he understands.
"I will be back in a few hours," he says as he turns and steps off towards the entrance.
Antasmenji turns and walks towards the square where the ibex is resting.
She examines the ankles for a while before starting to prepare food for the ibex.
The ibex slowly wakes up to the sound made by the dwarf woman and cautiously gets up.
With cautious steps, she walks towards her, her hooves tapping on the stones of the square.
Antasmenji is busy putting the food in proper amounts in the bowl that she does not hear the hoof steps.
She turns around and is startled when the ibex looks up at her.
The ibex bows to her in honour that she has made her better.
The dwarf woman puts a hand on the ibex's head and leans slightly towards it.
"It's all right," she whispers as she puts down the bowl of food for the ibex to eat from. "In a few days you can go back into the game."
The ibex stands back up normally and looks up at her, giving a brief nod before diving headfirst into the food bowl and starting to eat.
Antasmenji clears the other resting place, the one where the other ibex rested.
The owners had picked him up again after he had made progress in his health.
After the past six weeks, they had gotten the fire salamander better and he could return to the smith to keep the hearths there warm.
When it was already slowly turning into evening outside, Antasmenji had just finished tidying and cleaning the square and was about to continue cleaning her operation room when the dwarf man just came in with the ingredients from her list.
"The two brothers had already left some behind so you could help them with the creatures employed by them," he says as he sets the bags down at the counter.
"Two of their foxes got an infection and another has an injury," he adds.
"I'll come to them when I have restocked my necessity," she says as she goes through the bags and grabs the ingredients for the necessity.
"How much did it cost? How much should I pay you back, "she asks him as she looks up at him.
"150 travel coins for the ingredients and treatments for their foxes," he replies as he holds the emergency bag open for her.
She nods before standing up and taking the emergency bag from him before heading towards the two brothers' tent.
The dwarf man follows her as he does not feel comfortable standing alone in her veterinary clinic.
When they get there, he holds the tent open and tries to help her by making the ingredients small for her and giving the right ones to her.
Antasmenji works quickly when she sees what is going on with the foxes, before she tells the two brothers about the time the creatures need to get better.
"It could take about four days, "she says quickly. "At most, seven."
"In seven days, the seasonal festival will end," Tensaki says shrugging. "It's not like we are just going to be somewhere else with our tent. They can rest here."
"They can indeed stay here," she says as she nods. "I do come by every day to see how they're doing."
She stands up and looks at the two brothers briefly.
"Then I can give the money, "she says as she looks at Tensaki briefly before walking back to her animal clinic.
The Marble Ibex is waiting for them by the window and barks happily at them as Antasmenji and the dwarf man step in.
Quickly, Antasmenji helps the ibex to her resting place before putting the ingredients in the right place.
"Thanks for getting the ingredients," she says as she closes the cupboard again before turning to the dwarf man. "I think the ibex wants to leave as soon as possible."
"We can take her to the mountains tomorrow to put her back in the wild," the dwarf man suggests.
She thinks about it for a moment before nodding.
"I think she is indeed ready to go back home," she says as she turns the sign with the word open to closed."I'll get some things ready for tomorrow, though."
She holds the door open for him as he wraps his cloak a little tighter around him."Tomorrow I will be there around eight o'clock," he says as he steps out of the clinic and walks to his inn.
Antasmenji writes on a sheet of paper why the clinic is not open before she hangs it on one of the windows.
When she has done so, she takes a last look at the ibex who sits quietly in her resting place, already deep asleep.
The dwarf woman prepares a bowl of breakfast for the ibex before preparing herself for the night.

The next morning, Antasmenji soon finished changing her clothes and helped the ibex with the food bowl before helping the creature to the clinic entrance.
Outside the clinic, the dwarf man is already waiting for them before Antasmenji steps outside with the ibex.
Together, they walk through the city before reaching the city walls.
Antasmenji walks up the steps of the city walls with The Marble Ibex before she helps the creature climb into the mountains.
She waves as she hears the creature bleat, leaping from the city wall to the next plane with ease before the ibex leaps away from her sight.
"Hopefully she is more careful now than when she was found," she whispers to the dwarf man as she walks back.
"I hope so too," he says without hesitation as he points to where the ibex jumped away. "Otherwise, you will have taken care of her for nothing."
"Are you staying in Kegeddur for a long time," she asks him after a long time of silence.
"Unfortunately, I have to start my return journey tomorrow," he replies as he looks at her for a moment. "I would have liked to see more of the city."
"Fortunately, I can show you some places in the city today before you leave. The foxes of the two brothers are my only patients at the moment and I only need to check the wounds."
"I can't say no to this invitation," he says as they return to town together.

Author's note:
This story shows in a different way how creatures can help each other, especially with how it shows itself between dwarf and ibex.
Care, empathy, hope and friendship are very much present in this story.
The dwarf man and Antasmenji met more often and they both have a small wooden replica of an ibex, one that reminds them of their Marble Ibex.
When I was still in my younger years, I thought I saw the Marble Ibex in the mountains of Aidugeon.
Its fur was a beautiful marble grey and had small flecks of black and white that could be seen in the light.
Unfortunately, there were no others who could behold it and to confirm my story.
According to Will Mellijn, I made a misstep when I was looking for the stories of this book.
Because of that misstep, I would have my head and make it up.
Anyway, Antasmenji and the dwarf man, Jimasni, besides, had a lot of contact still with each other during seasonal festivals and markets.
Antasmenji made sure she had an extra room free for him during these festivities.