Apothecaria - Spring Week 4

Client:  Dora the Baker

Affliction:  Baker's Blisters - burn ★, pain ★

                    Poor Dora was in a hurry and forgot to put on her pot holders before pulling out a pan of                             cinnamon rolls - her hands are a mess and it's obvious the pain is quite intense

Needed Reagents:

Moon Lotus ★★ - found at the top of Moonbreaker Mountain - this is a plant item with a forage value of 7 - I need to bring an umbrella so I can shield the plant from the sun so it will open and release some pollen for me - this item will heal Dora's burns

Hiker's Helper ★ - found at the top of Moonbreaker Mountain - this is a plant item with a forage value of 4 - this item will reduce Dora's pain

Whew...the climb up this mountain was quite strenous!  But I am rewarded with meeting a beautiful glittering star dragon who rewards my persistence with a moonstone!  This item will purify a potion by removing any poison tags it may have.  It is good for four uses unless I am able to find a way to purify the stone itself.  I will have to keep an open eye for that information!  I am able to quickly find the reagents I need and the trip back down the mountain is much faster than I expected.  I'm able to make it back to the cottage and then quickly get the Hiker's Helper leaves on to boil.  Once they have boiled for 2 minutes I can stir in the Moon Lotus pollen to create a soothing salve for Dora.  The pain relief is instant but the healing will take a few days.  I give Dora instructions to apply the salve twice a day for the next two days.  She pays me 20 silver and awards me with a reputation point.

During my village visit this week I ran into another healer from a nearby town.  Her name is Elyn and we had a wonderful visit over lunch.  Serena got along really well with her owl named Cyril and they spent their time chasing fireflies.  We swapped recipes and stories of our craziest healings.  She invited me to come visit her when I have the time.  The only unfortunate part of our visit is that there is a new bard in town that I do not believe did a very good job in choosing his career.  We joked about our ears bleeding and that I will need to brew up some magic ear drops for everyone in town!  Elyn gifted me some Jumpkin seed for my garden bed - I will definitely be planting those when I get home!

After bidding Elyn and Cyril goodbye I stopped in at Glimmerwood Grove again to see if I would have better foraging luck today.  Thankfully Serena alerted me to the giant sleeping in the meadow before I made noise and woke him up.  Giants are historically quite grumpy when woken.  Together Serena and I quietly gathered some Foot Fungus, Princess Toad Mucus, and Wild Rose Hip Seeds.

On our walk back home a gypsy mistook me for the old healer and before I could explain that I was not her I found myself holding a lovely bread pudding.  The gypsy explained that it was her favorite dessert and she wanted me to have it.  It appears the old healer was well loved.  I sure hope I get to meet her one day!

Apothecaria - Spring Week 3

Client:  Elanil the Seamstress

Affliction:  Frogified - wart ★, poison ★

                    When will these girls realize that kissing frogs does not result in finding princes?!?

I need to make sure and not take longer than six clicks or Elanil will go to the village doctor which will lose me a reputation point.

Needed Reagents:

Smooth-Croak ★ - found in Meltwater Loch - this is an animal item with a forage value of two - I need to make sure and pack some gloves in order to gather mucus without hurting the frog - this will remove the warts that Elanil has sprouted all over her face

Skullcap ★ - found in Hero's Hollow - this is a plant item with a forage value of two - I need to gather the cap - this will remove the poison

I need to visit two areas to gather these reagents so I start with Meltwater Loch.  I come across a large bird's nest - I hear that they can sometimes contain animal foraging items.  Sadly, it appears this nest was already looted.  However, right below the nest I found the frog I was looking for.  I don my gloves and carefully gather some mucus into a vial.  The frog almost purrs - it sure makes me happy when I don't have to harm something in my work!  

Now I'm off to Hero's Hollow.  I need to step lightly so I don't end up sliding down that stone chute again!!  I'm successful in taking the easy staircase down into the dungeon this time and the sign greets me by name and welcomes me in through the door.  That's nice - I love a dungeon with a memory!!  In my search I come across a ruined library but not all the books have been destroyed.  One particularly ornate book grabs my attention and I discover that if I roll a D20 and get a 10 or higher, the dungeon will gift me with double ingredients!  That is some very useful information!!  I pull out my D20 and sadly I rolled a three.  Better luck next time I guess.  But...I realize all is not lost as I see the Skullcap I am looking for right at the base of one of the crumbling library walls.  

I return to my cottage with time to spare and prepare some cream by boiling the Smooth-Croak mucus and adding in the crushed Skullcap.  I show Elanil how to apply the cream to her warts and explain that she will need to do this three times a day for the next three days.  She's quite pleased that she can already see the warts shrinking in size after the first application.  She pays me 20 silver and awards me a reputation point.

Later in the week I take another trip into the village so I can become better acquainted with my neighbors and I also take the opportunity to see what reagents I can forage while I'm out.  I'd like to build up my inventory of reagents.  While in the village I hear a rumor that Elanil has now visited the local witchdoctor for a love potion.  That poor girl sure is desperate!  I hope she doesn't end up with something worse than getting frogified!!

As I'm walking along one of the postal harpies drops a package into my arms.  Those creatures really do unnerve me but they sure are efficient at their work.  Awe...it's a sweet little bracelet from Henry the Jeweler with a note letting me know that he is feeling wonderful and appreciates all I did for him.  My decision to move here and take over running the healing cottage is turning out to be a huge blessing!!

On to my foraging...I stop in at Glimmerwood Grove but don't have any luck gathering anything there.  While searching the dungeon in Hero's Hollow I hear some strange noises coming from outside the ancient door.  I open the door and find a very sad (and loud) satyr.  I introduce myself and learn that his name is Anias and he fell down that darned chute and couldn't figure out how to get back up again.  Unfortunately he was unable to pick the lock so he couldn't access the stairs.  I gladly welcome him into the dungeon and show him the stairs.  He is so appreciative that he insists that I accept 10 silver for my trouble.  I notice as I look up the stairs after him that night is quickly approaching so I call for Serena and we make our way home.  Today's foray has not resulted in any ingredients but I am 10 silver richer!

Apothecaria - Spring Week 2

Client:  Addilyne the Singer

Affliction:  Yeti Chest - hair ★, lungs ★

                    Addilyne is not sure how she contracted this but noticed that she had started to grow chest                             hair and that her voice kept going lower.  She has a concert this coming weekend so while                         she can deal with the hair, the voice is going to prove problematic.  I assured her I've seen                         this before and can cure her of the hair as well as return her voice to normal.

Needed Reagents:

Wigfish ★★★ - found in Meltwater Loch - this is an animal reagent with a forage value of 3 in the loch but I am limited to one per season at this cost (additional ones will cost a forage value of 10).  This item will remove the hair from Addilyne's chest and she is so pretty I think it is worth the cost!

Gas Weed ★ - found in Meltwater Loch - this is a plant reagent with a forage value of 3 during the spring season.  This item will return her voice to normal.

On my way to Meltwater Loch I met Yorgrik at the dock and he gifted me some Hair of Boar (animal reagent with a forage value of 5 or 8 depending on where you find it - what a generous gift!)  If I am unable to find the Gas Weed I'm looking for, this will come in very handy today!  After saying goodbye to Yorgrik I continue in my search.  What a surprise when I stumbled across a base camp that was created by the healer who left me the cottage.  I didn't see anything at the camp that I needed but I have marked the location on my map so I can return if needed.  Unfortunately, the camp was very basic so I didn't learn anything new about her - she is such a mystery!!  

As I continue walking along the shoreline I notice a bottle with a message inside that tells me that if I speak my "truth" into the bottle, reseal it (but not with glitter glue), and throw it back into the loch, I will find a key under the next rock I come upon.  What a weird message but I've got nothing to lose.  I'm not sure what the bottle means by my "truth" so I decided that the most truthful thing about me is that I have dreams of one day marrying and having children.  I speak this into the bottle and watch as the message on the parchment fades away.  I push the cork back into the bottle and throw it as far as I can into the loch.  I hadn't gone but maybe two feet when I encountered a strangely shimmering rock and underneath I found a small little gold key exactly where the bottle said it would be.  Not sure what it fits but it's very pretty so I added it to the charms I keep on a chain around my neck.  

As I continue walking Serena starts making a ruckus and I realize that she has snatched the wig right off of a bald tuna she caught at the lochs edge - what a good girl she is!  Now all I need to find is the Gas Weed.  I spot a tiny edge of something that looks like seaweed floating in a small sinkhole.  Could it be?  Yep...there it is and I don't even have to dive down to get it.  Now that I have all the ingredients I have come searching for it's time to return to the cottage.  I crush the Gas Weed and then add the Wigfish in it's raw form.  The combination of the two items creates a cloudy green milk-like substance.  I know from experience that this particular concoction has a horrible smell but no taste at all so I advise Addilyne to pinch her nose until she has swallowed it all down.  I also give her some chamomile tea to wash it down with.  Her voice returns to normal before she is done with her tea.  I let her know that unfortunately she is going to have to wait about 48 hours for the chest hair to fall out.  She is very pleased with her cure and pays me 20 silver and awards me with one reputation point.

Later that week I take a walk into the village.  I meet a wonderful woman, Dora, who owns the bakery in the village.  It turns out that Addilyne is her sister and she is so appreciative for everything I did for her that she presents me with a loaf of freshly baked sourdough (my favorite!!) and a Songberry.  What a wonderful visit I had with her!

Apothecaria - Spring, Week 1

Client:  Henry the Jeweler

Affliction:  Cludgie Mouth - curse ★, infection ★

                    curse from a bog goblin - Henry's mouth reeks like a tavern privy!!

I need to make sure and not take longer than six ticks or Henry will go to the village doctor which will lose me a reputation point.

Needed Reagents:

Ghost Goo ★★★  - found in the dungeon in Hero's Holler - this is a magic item with a forage value of 6 (Serena changes this to 3) - will remove curses

Silverleaf ★ - found in the dungeon in Hero's Holler - this is a plant with a forage value of 4 - this will heal the infection caused by the curse

I traveled to Hero's Holler but on my journey I fell down a smooth stone chute and slid into an ancient looking door.  There was a sign above the door that said I had to earn my entry into the dungeon by picking the lock.  I sure am glad that my trouble maker brother taught me to pick locks when we were kids!  I didn't have a full pick set with me but the lock was such a simple one that a couple of my hair pins did the trick.  Upon entering the dungeon several torches on the wall lit themselves - almost like they were glad to see me.  I found the Ghost Goo slimed on a rock just inside the door.  Upon reflection I should not have been able to gather this item without a wand but it slid very easily into the vial regardless of this fact - curious but I should probably refrain from gathering magic items without a wand in the future - magic has a way of balancing the scales at some point.  The Silverleaf was easily found in the shade just outside the courtyard door.  Henry told me that he was expecting a very important client that afternoon so rather than search for other items for later use I returned back to my cottage immediately.  

I boiled the Ghost Goo in my cauldron and added the crushed Silverleaf to the resulting slimier than it started liquid.  I apologized to Henry because I had no idea how this was going to taste.  He said surprisingly it tasted a little like the porridge his dearly departed mother used to make for him.  Hmmm...wonder if that is a side effect of magical reagents?  The effect was almost instant and Henry was very pleased.  He paid me 20 silver and I earned one reputation point.

Apothecaria - Background Information

Just in case anyone stumbles across this blog (or I have a senior moment and can't remember why I set this up)...this is where I am doing my journaling for the solo RPG Apothecaria (and any futures ones if I find I like this style of gaming).  I started in a hand-written journal but this darn arthritis is making it difficult to write everything I want in that journal so here we are!  This entry will be the place where I keep track of all my background information.

Familiar:  Serena the cat is my familiar and she is black with green eyes.  Her skill is Magic Eye which is awesome because it reduces the foraging value of all magic reagents by 3 (minimum of 1).  I just realized while writing this that I misread that in the beginning and reduced all reagents by 3 - oops!!  Luckily I've only gone through Spring Week 4 doing that.  That means I really need to buy a wand so I can forage for magic ingredients!

Specials:  I found an old book in the ruined library in Hero's Holler while foraging in week 3 of Spring and discovered that if I roll a D20 and get a 10 or higher I will gather double ingredients while visiting Hero's Holler!  Nice!!

Current Locales:  Forest, Loch, Mountain, Dungeon

Upgrades:  I have one garden plot at my cottage where I can forage plant reagents with a value of 8 or less - will only grow one plant per season.  Spring - planted Jumpkin seed I got as a gift from Elyn - they are a three star plant and the flesh can be boiled for stomach issues and the seeds can be crushed for cold issues.  I can also carve the rest of it into a nice decoration to scare my neighbors.

Tools:  Mortar & Pestle (crush), Cauldron (boil), and Alembic (distilling)

Inventory:

Reagent                         Stars Quantity Effects                 Additionals     Page

Songberries                 1         1         mood                 sweet +1             23

Moonstone                         1                                 purifies poison      7

Foot Fungus                 2         1         burn, boils, rash poison +2     22

Princess Toad Mucus 2         1         wart, rash                             22

Wild Rose Hip Seeds 2         1         bones, skin                             22

Hair of Boar                    1              1              cough, lungs                                       23

Ledger:

Season Week Description                                         Income Expense Balance    Reputation

Spring 1         Henry the Jeweler - Cludgie Mouth 20                 20                    6

Spring 2         Addilyne the Singer - Yeti Chest         20                 40                    7

Spring 3         Elanil the Seamstress - Frogify         20                 60                    8

Village         Anias the Satyr - Directions                 10                 70

Spring 4         Dora the Baker - Baker’s Blisters         20                 90                    9