Rise of Legends - DISCONTINUED

Windom's Potions and Medicines

Alistair POV:

Arthur and I decided to stay home another day before heading back to school. As a change of pace, we both were determined to spend time with my family, namely my mother and sister. Father left at dawn for work after checking up on me so it would just be Arthur, the girls and me. Tabitha decided to tag along and after a rather brief discussion; they wanted to go shopping. It was fairly apparent to me that they wouldn't take no for an answer.

I lost count of the many places we visited after the umpteenth store but I didn't dare show my displeasure in front of the girls. While browsing through the stores, I realized how ignorant I was. 

Most of my childhood was spent in the Kingdom of Elenoir, more specifically, inside the castle. Even the previous time I went shopping with the ladies, we went directly to the fashion district so nothing appealed to me. There were some items with protective capabilities from either their material or from runes etched into the inside, but nothing powerful enough to catch my interest.

Arthur and I decided to explore on our own after getting bored shopping with the girls. Arthur decided to leave Sylvie alone after saluting her, causing me to laugh.

After exploring a bit, we decided to get directions to an elixir store even though we were given high quality ones already. After turning a corner, we found ourselves in a narrow alleyway thugs probably used to mug unsuspecting passersby. 

At the end of the narrow alleyway was a dingy shack that even rats would find too revolting to live in. The wooden planks that made up the store looked like they had been painted with moss and fungus as a musty, stale air emanated out, drifting towards me. At least it complemented the sickly green weeds creeping out from the bottom of the store as if even they didn't want to be stuck there.

WINDSOM'S POTIONS AND MEDICINES

I had to tilt my head to read the etched title on the angled sign, which had been barely dangling on a single nail.

Did they really sell potions and medicines there? I would be less surprised if they sold bottled diseases and poisons.

"Spare some change, young lad?" A haggard voice startled me out of my stupefied state.

Beside me sat a pale old man with a hand reached out towards me, palms up.

I immediately took a step back in surprise, instinctively layering my body with mana.

'How did I not sense this old man that was almost right next to me?', I thought, 'Not only that, he seems powerful.'

"You look like you've seen a ghost, young lad. I'm but a mere aged man asking for some change." The old man's face wrinkled as he revealed a pearly white smile that didn't match his ragged state.

"Ah yeah, sure." Arthur reached in my pocket for a copper coin, while I used the opportunity to take a closer look at him.

With a thick, uncombed bed of pepper-tinted hair that fell down to his slightly hunched shoulders, he looked up at me with milky eyes. The old man's wizened face, though, didn't come off to me as weak and weary, but intelligent and bright, for some reason. I could tell that this man was probably very handsome in his youth, which all the more made me feel a bit disheartened seeing him end up like this.

"Many thanks, young lad." His gnarled hands nimbly grabbed the coin out of my hand with a speed that surprised me.

Between his middle and index fingers was a coin that was silver instead of copper.

'Shit! Arthur gave him a silver coin by mistake! That was a hundred copper coins!'

"Wait... I meant to give you this..." Arthur reached into his pocket again and took out a copper coin. I looked back up to see that the old man was gone.