I slowly shuffled my way back to the bed, my body immediately sinking and giving in to the comfort of the blankets.

I know what I saw, I thought to myself. It is still all so fresh in my memory. Those weren't just some tricks my mind played on me. The scream, the smell, the look of agony on mother, those were very real.

The day passed by without any untoward incident. By noon, Ruslan came back to the room to bring me a meal of boiled potatoes and some sweet tasting milk. I really liked the beverage so I asked the alchemist what was in it, and he told me that he only blended some honey into it. After bringing me my lunch, and making sure that I ate all of it, he picked up my plate and left again to tend to his shop.

Evening fell and Ruslan came back to the room after closing his shop for the night. Our supper was some sort of potato stew with some bits of meat onto it with some gross leafy vegetables on the side. The redeeming part of the meal was that the honey milk was served to me again. Ruslan's drink was a clear liquid that is unfamiliar to me, but one look at the alchemist's rosy red cheeks told me it is some sort of liquor. I thought he was going to drink the night away until he was drunk, but he showed restraint and drank only in moderation.

There were so many questions that I wanted to ask him, and he seem sober enough to answer intelligently, but I need to ask carefully as I don't want him to know that I eavesdropped on his conversation earlier with Captain Mirza.

"You were listening to our conversation earlier, right?" Ruslan suddenly asked me.

I froze. I was totally caught off guard. I just kept silent and looked away. I just cannot meet his discerning gaze.

"I store my stockpile of herbs and other ingredients for concoctions here, not to mention this is also where I live, so I have my belongings here. I have magicka that alerts me when someone is trying to mess with my door, window, or walls."

So that explains it.

"The captain will look into it." Ruslan continued. "It is not up to us to decide what really happened, but if there is someone in need of help, the captain will not hesistate." he said while stroking his beard.

"I know what I saw." I mumbled. The alchemist pulled a chair near my bed and sat on it. The candle light darkening his face in a silhouette as he put a hand on my head.

"Who is Arlan?" I asked him. This time, it was him who froze. Only then did I realize that my question was probably too personal and I might have crossed a line, but he only smiled and got up to take a portrait out of a drawer from his alchemy table. He showed it to me and I saw a younger version of Ruslan with a boy younger than me. They were in a forest and they were both smiling.

"Arlan," he explained as he pointed to the young boy, "is my son. When he became of age, he joined the Svolsk guards, around the same time as Captain Glenn. One night, they responded to a night beast attack in a farmstead just in the outskirts of Svolsk. While they did managed to slay some and drive the rest away, they suffered some casualties." He paused. He took some time to continue, gulping dry gulps and a single tear welling up on one eye. I can guess what happened next. "He was among those who didn't make it."

I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there in the bed, awkward silence in the air.

He was the one who spoke first. "Well, that is enough story for one night." He then picked up my plate and his and carried it to his tiny kitchen in one corner of the room and cleaned it.

After that was done, he then swept the floor then laid out a spare mat on one side, and put a spare pillow and blanket on it. He then turned to me and sat back again on the chair. I gave him back his portrait of his son. "Have a good night's rest. Tomorrow, if your body responds well to the medicines I gave you, you should be able to move around, but nothing too strenuous. Also, you would still need to see a proper doctor, as I have said this morning." He stood up and stored the portrait again in the drawer and walked to the candle holder.

"Do you sleep in the dark? Or would you have this lit on? Either one of two. I would use magicka, but unfortunately I am not well-versed in Lumina rune arts."

"It's okay," I smiled, "me, my siblings, and mother do sleep in the dark." It still stung saying that. Ruslan just nodded and blew the flame off the candle and pinched the ember on the wick as not to burn it. I laid down in the bed and closed my eyes, trying hard not to think what just happened a whole day prior.

***

I woke up early and tried getting off my bed and walking, Ruslan assisting me. At first it was slow, but a few minutes of my body warming up, I was able to do so unassisted, provided I only walk on a slow pace.

Ruslan spent the early morning hours on his alchemy table grinding away at some herbs and ingredients unknown to me. He also used magicka from time to time. It was fascinating to watch him work and turn materials into differently colored fluids. Against my better judgement, I sniffed at one and terribly regreted that decision instantly.

"This is not good." I heard him say from behind me. He was checking some stack of plant materials placed in one corner of the room. "I am all out of an ingredient." He stood up, grabbed a thick piece of fabric and wrapped it around his body. "I need to go to the market, Erdem. I need to buy an ingredient. Will you be okay staying behind and waiting for Captain Glenn to return?"

"Can you take me with you?" I requested the old man. I just can't say to him that I'm getting bored of his room.

"Are you sure? You do not need to force yourself."

"I'm sure Mr. Arkady. I will not." I replied as I wrapped around my body another thick fabric that Ruslan passed to me. He said that the fabric was to protect us from the frigid early morning winds blowing through Svolsk. I appreciated the gesture as the loose clothing that Ruslan provided for me, presummably his old clothes, was not exactly warming.

We exited the backroom and for the first time, I saw the town of Svolsk. We came out from an alley which ended in a quite a large street. Beside the alley was a stone building with a large window up front, closed with wooden boards, with a large wooden door. A sign above the window read 'Arkady Apothecary'. We continued down the street and went through some turns. I used the opportunity to learn more about the town by asking Ruslan.

The town of Svolsk is situated in a valley between twin mountain ranges called the Frost Mountains. The climate is snowy sub-arctic, as does the rest of the Northeast Province. The symbol of the province was a roaring head of a white bear, similar to what I saw in Captain Mirza's armor. A trip to the city of Korosovo, the provincial capital, would take a five days on foot, three on horseback. I took a mental note of that if I am to see a doctor in a city, also for mom when she is found by Captain Mirza.

We reached the market soon enough. Ruslan held my hand as we weaved through the crowd also gathered there for fresh produce, to reach the stalls of herbs and medicinal plants vendors. What he bought was a rather ugly looking plant. A short shrub with large roots resembling a baby. He called it a 'mandrake'. Ruslan said that only the roots were the useful bit of it and he will scrap the leaves later on, as he cannot plant it anyway because mandrakes need a specific place with a specific ambient Mana to grow. He just bought one mandrake. "The roots are only to be used in small amounts, usually just shavings of it. This one will last me for months." he explained.

We exited the market the way we came in. The trip back to Ruslan's shop was uneventful. The only difference this time was that there were more people out on the streets. Some were ladies hanging out clothes to dry outside their homes. Some were men digging out snow from their yards. Some were wearing light armor and carrying bows, spears, bucklers, and axes. Those were either hunters, mercenaries, or members of the Svolsk guard. The last one made me think about Captain Mirza. I still haven't heard from him yet.

All those thoughts were washed away when we arrived back at Ruslan's shop.

Captain Mirza was there waiting for us, and the expression on his face is not pleasant.

---