Some urgent medicine

“Not this one – no, no…”

Bottles clink in Lux’s shaking hands as she digs through the backpack she seized. Having put some distance between herself and the pursuing mites, now hunkered down in the shelter of a small shrub-lined hollow by the riverbank, only one thing is on her mind.

There are general curatives here; poisons; potions marked “experimental”. Lux shovels them aside. She knows that disgusting little man carried something for dealing with—

Yes. She grasps the slim, green-tinged flask tightly, wishing she had the magic to determine exactly what it will do. The gnome probably didn’t worry much about side effects. But there’s no way she’s going to take the slightest risk of ending up pregnant by the mites. She takes a breath, pops the cork, and downs the whole cloyingly-sweet dose.

A couple of healing potions as chasers, and finally she feels almost like she might not die at any moment. The pounding in her head and the burning in her muscles finally begin to fade. Relief.

Minn is somewhere overhead, on lookout. No sign of pursuit from the mites, or from the creepy gnome. Of course, there’s no knowing what else is out there. Dangerous to let her guard down.

She sits back to watch the river flowing past for a while, to where its wandering course vanishes amid the trees and the mist. The haze of **** and despair slowly begins to lift from her…along with the adrenaline that fuelled her escape. If only she could lie down and rest— no! Not out in the open. There’s no knowing what stupid ugly thing will find her next.

She shakes herself, trying to clear the cobwebs. She needs clothes, and she needs to wash off the – the everything. The river’s water suddenly feels quite enticing. Besides, she needs to drink something sooner or later, and the entire cask of wine that’d be her first choice is probably some way off.

It’s risky. Everything she does here is risky, she realises – except maybe if she crawls back to the dryads’ grove and begs for shelter. Her list of smart moves seems non-existent. But some are still smarter than others.

Still – the water looks really good…