Milk Apothecary (Dommet & CharlieLace)

[Dommet]

~ caclop... caclop... ~​

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The hooves hit the dirt road peacefully, heading towards the orange horizon that announced the sun's retirement for the day. A few birds followed the duo from above as Carsten held the reins and Pope pulled the cart. Behind the man, the numerous vials and containers clacked against each other due to the unevenness of the ground. It was a sharp sound although not too loud, definitely enough to bother your average citizen, however, after years together on the road, Carsten and Pope didn't even remember to notice the noise. One thing that quickly dilated their nostrils in anticipation, though, was the sight that revealed before their eyes as they reached the top of the grassy hill. They had arrived at the village of Damasco.​

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A few more minutes went by and the two friends were finally hearing the sound of chatter again. It had been a good amount of days since their last opportunity to share the companionship of someone else that not each other. And notably, the inhabitants of the small village were also happy to see him, as three or four or five kids already came running in their direction.​

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"Hi, mister! What's that?!"​

"Are you going to Hoof Inn?!"​

"Can you show us something cool? Are you a magician?"​

"Shut up, you stupid! Magician wear pointy hats!"​

[...]​

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The kids kept following Carsten and his cart for a few minutes pushing all sorts of questions the man's way, trying to touch Pope, and guess what was in the cart. The adults around them would wave at Carsten as he passed by and the man would return the gesture with a kind smile on his face. Some of them were already running inside their homes to start making a list of the things they needed, after all, it wasn't often that an apothecary visited Damasco. Eventually, the man reached the inn one of the kids talked about. It was the only lodging in the whole village, but it was a good one. Both Carsten and Pope were very well received and the horse was promptly presented with freshwater and food.​

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"Good afternoon!" The man had a friendly face decorated with a swift smile. Before heading inside the establishment, he had stepped into his cart to get changed, putting on his brown bear's hide coat that was just a tone lighter than his own skin. It was good to keep up appearances, and it was definitely great to be perceived as holding a higher status when conducting business. After being greeted back by the inn's keeper, a hunchback man, Carsten continued: "Yes, I'll be staying a few days. Do you keep a tab for me to pay at departure or do you only work with payment in advance?"​

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"Payment on departure is fine, sir."​

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"Excellent! If you'd like to order something, I'm sure we'll be able to work on a discount for your kindness," the smiled widened on the apothecary's face. "Speaking of which, do you mind if I get a second room to use as my office? I'll need somewhere to do my work."​

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The innkeeper wasn't looking particularly thrilled with Carsten's visit even though he was probably the first guest the inn have had in weeks. The keeper's response came out grumpy and draggy as if just talking was too much trouble. "Yeah, that fine. Just don't complain about paying double."​

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"Of course! Excellent! One last thing, do you mind if I put up my tent outside?"​

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"No. But don't you explode anything..." the keeper slid two keys over the balcony towards Carsten. "Or something. The room is upstairs, to the right. It's facing the street so you can keep an eye on this... tent."​

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"You're most kind, mister!" Carsten thanked with a slight bow and gesture forward of one arm. "You know, I have this special mixture, a personal creature, and it is wonderful for muscle pain. It works particularly great on one's back. The way it works is that..."​

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"Do I look like I have back pain?" The older man interrupted Carsten abruptly, the annoyance growing in his voice just as high as the lump reached over his neck. "Will you need dinner?"​

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"Ehrm... no, of course not," an awkward smile. "And no, thank you. Well... then I'll be heading upstairs."​

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The next day's afternoon came and Carsten already had his tent up and running. Word spread quickly across Damasco that an apothecary was staying at the inn for a few days as many people had already come to place their orders. Lotions, shampoos, painkilling pills, cold syrups, as well as other much more complex concoctions. The apothecary's specials were two of his personal creations. A potion that would make a woman's breast grow fuller and perkier in just twenty days, and a cream that when applied to the nether regions would make a man's erection last three times as long. Another great attraction of the tent was Carsten's own radiant personality, easily striking long and lively conversations with anyone that came his way, not shy of flirting with all women, single and committed alike.​

 

[CharlieLace]

Time tended to pass quite slowly in Damasco, small towns such as they are, any commotion was the cause of interest. For them a new face, a new merchant meant a world of possibilities. But for Abigail, even basic days in Damasco were fascinating. Regular transactions in the marketplace, watching a blacksmith mend a sword for the watch, even just watching a stray cat go about its business were all exciting new adventures. It’s not uncommon for girls like her, who are well trapped and isolated with a small coven of sisters to yearn for more.

After being adopted by the Temple of Hathor she hardly saw the light of day. Not that she wasn’t grateful, she certainly is pleased that they gave her refuge but as a young woman coming into her own its hard to stay satisfied with the very limited world she’s been given. Her weeks are monotonous and have been for years, the excitement of the town hardly ever reaches them. They a couple of miles out from the town itself but they have plenty of space there. The buildings that have occupied her youth are comprised of a main gorgeously built temple where they hold mass and a secondary smaller building divided into rooms for passing travelers to seek treatment or pregnant women to give birth. Their rooms are in this same building but the priests who are not fit to treat those in need are instructed to give them a wide birth.

Abigail is one such young woman who was ‘blessed’ with becoming a Supplier. The temple believes that certain women among them have a more direct line to Hathor herself, those women are chosen when they begin to produce breast milk. The difference is her peers are former mothers themselves, their breasts continually providing milk with use of equipment and herbal remedies. On the contrary, Abigail began producing when she came of age and hasn’t yet stopped. Because of this she is more favored in the temple than the others and therefore more trapped than the others.

Once the Suppliers have been milked other sisters are sent to deliver the packages of milk to the nearby and surrounding towns. They live in a rather peaceful area so they have never had fear of harm befalling them from thieves or beasts. On the contrary, the temple has a certain amount of respect surrounding it and therefore ill will hardly befalls them at all. The few times that Abigail has left the temple in her time was while on such assignments.

Today is one of those days.

One of the sisters closest to her had been assigned the errand to deliver milk to their closest neighboring town Damasco. She’d been on several errands lately and in sharp contrast to Abigail herself, was eager to be off her feet for a moment. They’d made the deal in secret that Abigail would be delivering today instead, she felt it was more than fitting since it was her own milk that was headed there. It was easy enough to get out unseen, the heavy robes that each of them wore while travelling obscured much of her face and body. The bottles of milk are at her side, wrapped in fabric to keep from clanging against one another as they bounce at her hip. The strap of leather that keeps it tight moves up her body between her breasts and digs into her shoulder but she can’t bring herself to care that it’s uncomfortable.

She’s outside, in the fresh air, with birds singing and the river rumbling and the clouds greeting her from overhead. Well—that isn’t exactly true. But its close enough and her imagination is more than enough to keep her company regardless. It always has been.

It’s a short trek into town and she’s grateful for that, her shoes aren’t made for long distances and she’s eager to see what commotion might be happening today. She has every intention of dropping off the bottles where they need to go but not before getting a chance to poke around first. Her personal favorite place to visit is the general shop keep’s because he will occasionally have an interesting potion or two that he’ll tell her about. She’s always been fascinated with that sort of thing, the way man can create something new from what the earth has given. Oh and then perhaps the baker next to get a fresh loaf of bread to enjoy on her way back. Or maybe there will be a bard lingering the streets who might sing a tale…

She’s can’t keep from smiling, eager to see where the day will take her.