Reggie continued to perform crowd control as Jordan and Bryn left the battlefield.  Vince was also talking to the citizens, addressing each of them by name.  His care for this town was apparent, even if his attitude left a lot to be desired.  No one had been harmed in the attack, and some of the villagers had volunteered to assist Reggie in the disposal of the barbarian’s body.  Jordan looked back at the scene behind him, admiring the teamwork of the community.


    “I saw an alchemy shop while we were fighting, we’re stopping there first” he said.


    While the town itself was small, the Main Street was bustling with activity.Various vendors were selling fruit and jewelry, though as the two passed by, none of the wares they sold looked familiar at all.Jordan looked at the selection, noticing that all the citrus fruits seemed to have limbs.A demon-dwarf man waved his produce in the air, shouting to anyone walking by his stall about his buy one get one sale.His primary seller appeared to be an orange with skinny arms but exceptionally thick glutes and thighs, and the 2 adventurers both stared for a moment before moving on.


    The disturbing, twisted smile on the gnome salesman’s face spooked Bryn to his very core, and he pushed Bryn until they were moving down the street once again.After walking for a few more minutes, Bryn nudged Jordan and indicated they had arrived at their destination, pointing to a beaten down shack in between a barber and a convenience store.


    The wood that made up the store’s foundation appeared to be old and crumbling, the frame standing almost diagonally with how wobbly the structure was.As the pair approached, an abhorrent smell entered Jordan’s nose, causing him to immediately cover his nose and begin coughing.


    Bryn strode to the front entrance, excitedly opening the door with a loud creak as Jordan followed behind.A bell jingled, and the pair were greeted by a narrow walkway that was surrounded by potion ingredients.The various shelves around the store were thrown together as haphazardly the building itself, though the actual product looked to be well cared for.


    As they approached the front desk, a demon-orc sat before them, his face buried in a book.His white lab coat and thick round glasses contrasted with his massive size.Standing at least 8 feet tall andweighing at least 300 lbs of muscle, Jordan felt wary as he cleared his throat to get the man’s attention.


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    “Oh so sorry gentlemen, I suppose I should make an attempt at running my business” he said, closing his book and folding his hands in front of him.“My name is Maeve, and welcome to Dreg Draughts.How can I help you?” He asked politely.His voice had a boyish sweetness to it, and Jordan relaxed slightly as Bryn began speaking.


    Do you have any recommendations on dealing with them?” Bryn asked, his pen at the ready.


    “Oh the trip toads, everyone’s favorite.Last week a couple of them hopped into town and wrecked a bunch of stalls.Poor George had to run all over town to get all the thick oranges that ran away in the chaos.” he said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to a shelf behind him.Jordan shuddered at the thought of the thick oranges running rampant, and by the time he got over it, Maive had returned with 2 vials, one of them pink and one blue.


    I assume you live in Zyphtal right?” He asked.


    He said, putting his finger on the blue potion. “The same recipe is also used for arrow and bullet additives.” Maive said, the image of the barbarian elf’s frozen scimitar passing through Jordan’s mind.“This is a version of that same potion, but I’ve added in a piece of core from a humming fruit.This fruit gives a temporary boost in speed when eaten by a person, but broken down into a potion and mixed correctly it can increase both the speed of the potions effect and the overall potency.” He said, as Bryn furiously copied down the information.


    This means the most effective way to deal with them is from the inside, so if you can make them consume this potion, they’ll freeze over in a matter of seconds.”He said, moving his finger from the blue potion to the pink one.


    invented it yesterday.” Maive said, smiling slightly at Bryn’s look of excitement.“It’s made with a special blend that I won’t divulge completely, but the basis of it is the toad slime itself.” He said, the chunks floating in the concoction making that abundantly clear.


    You do need to drink a full 32 oz for it to have effect though.” He said, the thought of drinking that much of the chunky liquid more intimidating to Bryn than fighting the toads themselves.


    This shelf was almost bare, a standout amongst the others that were nearly overflowing.Only one item occupied the space of the shelf:a small, blood red cactus.


    Did he associate the color with something from his past? Why were the thorns so spiky? What would it feel like if one of them poked him?All of these thoughts ran through Jordan’s head simultaneously on repeat, and his surroundings began to melt away before him as all that he could see in that moment was the plant’s crimson flesh and the piercing black spikes that protruded from it.He stuck a finger out and lightly touched one of the spines, pulling his finger back in immediate pain.


    Why did the thorns hurt him? He couldn’t explain it but the pain wasn’t just from a plant’s natural defense system, it felt… personal.Like the spine was mocking him.


    The sound from his mouth was a guttural, ancient language he had no prior knowledge of.The words he spoke had been forgotten to time, and his voice became unnaturally deep.He reached his hand back out to the cactus and began to touch his fingers to the spines again, the blood again starting to flow.


    He felt his other arm being pulled away, as the reality of the shop came back into his vision. He saw Bryn standing in front of him, a look of panic and confusion on his face.Maive emerged from the back room, holding a towel and some sort of red potion.Jordan tried to recognize it, but no names came to mind.The only word in his mind was a name: Thornfather.