Health Drafts

Sven walked out into the fresh morning air, OirCows were being herded out by the farmers to graze on the Botany Fields, more farmers in the fields were tending to their crops, leaks and carrots, turnips and onions, radishes and potatoes of varying allotments littered the back yards of the local peasantry. The place was as rural as rural gets, no sign of a guild hall, no apothecaries, no smiths, no market, nothing but rows of houses, an inn, and a vendors general store.

Well, these slimes and toad bodies weren't of much use right now, Sven thought as he opened the shops door. A short, weaselly looking man pushed his glasses up to inspect his new customer. Sven browsed over his wares first, toad oil extract, a minor poison to dull the muscles around the area it is inflicted into, banes root; a tough root of the bane bush, consuming it or mixing it into a favorable concoction can increase health regeneration temporarily. Guam weed, a herb found along side rivers, like the bane root it's regenerative abilities are favorable. Sven was no noob to the way potions worked, he'd spent many hours on the Wikipedia pages learning all the recipes and was something of a self professed alchemist, in fact many of his PVP victories were partly down to his affinity with potions and the buffs they offered.

Opening his inventory, Sven emptied the corpses of the monsters he'd slain onto the mans counter in a neat line. The man guffawed at the spontanious use of grand magic being used right before his very eyes, he tried to reel back his shock but only managed half an attempt.

"A hero are you? We've had enough of your sort through here as it is. What do you want? Be quick now, I don't want to be seen serving your kind." The man looked about shiftily through the dirty windows, seeing if he'd been spotted serving a hero by one of the locals. Sven was perplexed by the mans sudden reservations and minor hostility, in Axiom a hero, or in this case a player, was often welcomed into stores and thanked for whatever recent feat they'd achieved nearby. But here, the shop keeper was **** to serve him?

"I just want a case of potion phials, and as many pairs of banes root and guam weed these corpses can buy." Sven motioned to the collection on the counter. With these many corpses, Sven was expecting around 10 pairs, including the phials. The man hastily went round the counter to collect the items, placing the cask of phials in front of Sven, but only 5 pairs of ingredients. Sven frowned, unlike last night he can afford to barter.

"I count 5 pairs here, shouldn't the correct amount be 10?" Sven shot the shop keep a dirty glare, a dirty glare that the man returned with ferocity.

"10?! What kind of pre war era economy are you using lad?! These are good healing drafts right here, precious for the war effort and you want twice as much?! I get so many idiot adventurers like you who know nothing about supply and demand!" The man huffed. "It's always 'back in the good old days when you could pay a silver piece for half dozen HP drafts' with your type, never thinking nor caring about what hard working honest folk like us have to do to get those ingredients." The man shifted impatiently, Sven frowned again in confusion. War? There had been no lasting war in Axiom, most 'wars' were just monthly events where regional powers would create sides for players to fight against each other in. Could this world function as if it were an actual, living breathing world full of its own geopolitical issues?

"Sorry, forgive my ignorance. Five pairs should suffice." The man huffed but seemed to cool down after the apology, ringing up the order Sven was about to leave with his inventory of newly acquired goods when the shop keeper stopped him.

"Maybe you heroes aren't all so bad after all, look, if you're planning to go into the deep forest any time soon, just be aware that those Filven cravens are camping out there. Bandits, they don't take prisoners neither, a real nasty lot. The Divine Seed protects our small hamlet, but they don't venture out into the deep forest, so the cowards wait there for fool hearty adventures like yourself to just wander into one of their traps." The man began dissecting one of the toads he'd just traded.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Bandits too? Well, they were usually a little north of here, not much more north than the deep woods, Sven guessed it's not completely outside of the realms of what was possible in game. But still, another somewhat insignificant change from Axiom.