Nephral’s flight back to the city was largely uneventful, besides a few rather successful hunts of particularly tasty avians. He drifted towards the western gate, his wings fluttering once before he landed on the outer wall. The cold marble beneath him felt soft in a strange sort of way. He knew that the stone was an extension of Teyva’s dungeon and by that vein, an extension of herself. He wondered if she could feel his presence as he returned. His musings were broken up by a sound from below. He peered down and spotted a trio of wagons waiting at the gate. It sounded like there was some sort of argument.

He turned his attention away from the bickering down below and focused southward, flapping his wings and carrying himself in the direction of the south-side of the city. He sniffed at the air, searching for the tell-tale scent of baked goods and was surprised that the odor was coming from multiple directions. He sighed inwardly, mother did like encouraging competition. He banked further south and focused on the different smells, trying to differentiate quality. He groaned after a few circles, he just couldn’t tell the difference between the various smells as far as quality was concerned. He was not exactly a connoisseur.

Instead, he used his only other option, sniffing around and smelling for the sterile scent of medicine and cleaning compounds. That was easy to spot and he drifted down to alight atop the large square building set across the street from a series of town homes. A few people were coming and going from the squat building, talking among themselves as a man in a strange off-white robe watched over them from the doors. The robe was fitted and included a hood that clung tightly to the top of the head, restraining the man’s hair. It had a high collar with a clasp that held it shut around his neck and up to his chin.

The door opened behind him and another individual stepped out wearing the same sort of robe. It was hard not to pick out Sari with her hood down, her green-olive skin, cold eyes, and thick rows of braids that bound tightly against her scalp. She paused and tilted her head up, making eye contact with Nephral. She raised her eyebrows and jerked her head towards the inside of the building before turning around and stepping inside. Nephral launched himself off the roof and banked hard, gliding down and into the doorway past the first man and into the space that Sari had stepped into.

It was a waiting room, a dozen chairs set out uniformly along one wall with signs posted across from them with explanations of proper cleanliness procedures, locations of bath-houses, and explanations of simple home treatments for various minor illnesses. Across from the entrance was a desk where a woman in a similar robe to Sari and the first man’s outfit sat, taking some notes down and listening to Sari talk in a low voice. When he landed on the ground the woman looked up and Sari glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Nephral.”

“Sari.”

“If Jihuri is expecting, you’re in the wrong place, I have a clinic for animal-kin on the other side of town,” She said offhandedly, turning to lean against the desk and cross her arms.

Nephral blinked, spluttered, and shook his head, “W-what? I-never-what?”

She quirked her lip in amusement and tapped her foot, “I’m joking, it’s not her season anyway.”

Nephral scowled, he really didn’t like her way of playing with people. He sighed and shook his head before trotting over to the desk and leaping onto the surface, nodding to the woman sitting behind it before turning his attention to Sari. The chief doctor in the service of the queen looked him in the eyes without blinking. There was a coldness there that was hard to pick up on behind the gleam of life and youth. “I’m not here for a medical visit, just trying to get directions, doctor.”

“Directions?” Sari coughed, glancing at the woman to her right and shrugging, “Where to?”

Nephral’s wings slumped a little and he sighed, “Lily’s Bakery?”

The woman at the desk snorted out a laugh and got to her feet, inclining her head to Sari, “I’ll check the cultures ma’am, and turn over the invigorator.”

Sari didn’t take her eyes off Nephral, “You do that, I’ll take Nephral here to buy some snacks, apparently.”

Nephral looked between the two of them, confused, “Just directions are fine, Sari.”

Sari shrugged, “We were planning on getting our afternoon confections from Lily’s. You just happened to show up before I left. Let’s go,” She paused, “I assume you have money?”

Nephral blanched, of course he didn’t have money! How could he forget something so crucial! His ears flattened and he let out a mournful sound, sitting down and flapping his wings with agitation. Sari shook her head and waved for him to follow her, shoving her hands into her pockets and making her way for the door.

“I figure it’s probably for Teyva so I’ll cover it,” Sari said without a hint of joy or irritation in her voice.

Nephral grumbled inwardly but decided not to look down on a gift. Rallying, he leaped off the desk and hurried his way towards Sari’s heels. Before long they were walking down the street, the two of them largely silent save for a few gestures from Sari encouraging him to change direction as they hit a turn. Nephral hated the silence and couldn’t help but fill the void after a few minutes of walking.

“The invigorator?” Nephral asked.

“Hm?” Sari glanced at him as the words processed. She then broke into what had to be one of her first genuine smiles of the day, “Ah! Yes the Invigorator. My latest development. Based of course on the knowledge that you’ve provided for me,” She said cheerily, brandishing her too-white teeth and tusks, “The problem that has persisted in medicine here in orum is there is a conceptual gap between true medicine and alchemy. Potions work quickly, but you have to consume the entire potion in a large dose, wasteful,” She pointed out.

“Medicine works slowly but it has a more configurable and long-lasting effect. It is also more expensive to produce. However, there’s no such thing as a potion for a stomach ache, just a general illness tincture,” She continued, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “The Invigorator bridges the gap, it uses an inert potion base and draws in mana from the air to charge it. Then proper chemical medicine is introduced to the potion base. This invigorates the medicine and spreads it throughout the potion. Effectively creating a medical potion. During this process the invigorator spins the mixture like a centrifuge, removing impurities and further magnifying the effects of the potion.”

Nephral huffed thoughtfully, “Your results?”

Sari reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a vial filled with spherical pills, “There are forty pills in here, easy to swallow. Each of them is as powerful as a standard healing potion at a fraction of the cost. More importantly the medicine that was introduced to these pills was designed to help accelerate the healing of surface wounds over time. One vial like this costs a citizen of Osan the same it would cost a Katali citizen a single potion of healing, with a quarter of the effectiveness.”

She slipped the vial back into her pocket, “If something like this existed when I was little…” She trailed off, before coming to a stop and sighing. “We’re here.”

Nephral blinked and looked up, only to be dumbstruck by the crowd. There had to be twenty people standing outside the doors of the small bakery, clamoring to get inside. Through the large glass window he could see another ten people all standing at the counter while a group of harried looking employees ran left and right trying to make sure everyone got their order. From a rear doorway a woman slipped out carrying a platter of freshly baked loaves of bread in various shapes and colors. Nephral gawked, “How long is the wait usually?”

“I’m usually here for about an hour,” Sari said dismissively, “It’s a good chance to decompress a little and ponder if I have to. I’m already working on a new project.”

Nephral frowned, “You sound so in control, how are your cravings?”

Sari chuckled and shoved her hands back in her pockets, pulling another vial out of one of them, “Ever since I ascended they changed, they were directed indiscriminately before but now I know what I need to do with them. Even so,” She twirled the vial between her fingers and admired the black-shelled pills. “The wondrous thing about medicine is that it does not merely treat the body. There are medicines that treat the mind as well, though I assume you already know this.”

Nephral drew on the knowledge of the other world, trying to understand what she was implying. The information poured into his brain in a steady stream and eventually he turned his head to examine the vial in her hand. “Is that an anti-psychotic?”

Sari slipped the vial back into her pocket, “Osan is over a century ahead of Katal as far as physical medicine is concerned, my next hurdle is mental health,” She said with a breath, “We live in a harsh world, it’s only rational to think that the people are effected in ways other than just their bodies. Myranda can offer spiritual treatment but sometimes that just isn’t enough.”

Nephral chuckled, “You make it sound like the people of Osan aren’t your test subjects.”

The line moved forward and Sari made a face, “Funny how things change,” She said quietly.