Herbal Shop Of Horror

Halo starts work immediately in the little sage-green shack. All she has to show from their scavenging run is a bundle of useless grass and something that only adds flavor to yucca root. 
          If our trip hadn’t been cut short, maybe I would’ve found something useful. 
          But word spreads quickly that there’s a new herbalist in town. Before she can even settle in, requests begin piling at her door. 
          Benji is the first to arrive, tipping his hat as he saunters in. “Hey, thought I’d check on our little Skelloid killer. Might need a remedy for my ego, since I dropped my spear and all.” He leans an elbow on the counter, chuckling. 
          Halo doesn’t realize he’s just being social. “Oh, I know just the thing for that. Be right back!” she blurts, hurrying to the back room.
          “What?” Benji calls after her, bewildered. 
          She panics, flipping frantically through the water-stained journal. No mention of ego remedies, of course. She grabs a bitter, inedible root, grinds it furiously in the mortar, and stirs the powder into a splash of olive oil. 
          “Here you go!” she says, forcing a smile as she hands him a small cup. 
          Benji eyes it cautiously. “What’s this supposed to be for?” 
          “F-for your ego. You said you needed a remedy.” 
          “Riiiight.” He raises the cup. “Guess I’ll need a lot of this after today.” 
          He swigs it down in one go. His face contorts instantly, sour and pinched, as if he’s chewing nails. He refuses to swallow. 
          “Are you okay?” Halo asks, alarmed. 
          “Mm-hmm.” He gives her a shaky thumbs-up, then bolts out the door. The moment he clears the threshold, he spits the concoction into the dirt. 
          “What in the boot-polish soup was that?” he mutters, wiping his mouth as he heads back toward the barracks. 
          On the path he nearly collides with Dosei, a thin young man with black hair and round glasses. 
          “You going to see the new herbalist?” Benji asks. 
          “Yep!” Dosei answers brightly. 
          Benji shakes his head with a chuckle. “Good luck.” 
          Halo brightens as the young man steps inside. “Hi! What can I help you with?” she asks earnestly. 
          “Ah, just allergies,” he says, pushing up his round glasses. “You got anything for that?” 
          “Of course!” Halo answers with confidence she doesn’t feel. She hurries into the back, pressing both hands to her cheeks. 
          Here we go again. 
          She flips frantically through the ruined journal until she lands on a page that looks vaguely like it could be about allergies. Most of the words are smeared, but the drawings seem clear enough. Convinced she’s found the right thing, she snatches some herbs off the shelves that resemble the sketches and brews them into a steaming tea. 
          “Here, this should help,” she says brightly, handing him the cup. 
          “Thanks a bunch!” He sips carefully, blowing across the rim. 
          Trying to distract herself from her nerves, Halo asks, “While you’re here, is there anything about Ossamaris I should know?” 
          “Totally!” he beams. “So, ‘Ossa’ means ‘bone,’ and ‘maris’ means ‘sea.’ Cool, right?” 
          “Yeah…” She trails off, frowning. “Hey, you’re looking a little pale. Are you alright?” 
          “Well, now that you mention it—” he blinks rapidly, eyes crossing “—I’m kinda seeing double.” He squints at her, watching two Halos swirl around the room. 
          “I think you should lie down,” Halo says quickly. She snatches the tea away and guides him to the corner, helping him slump onto the floor. 
          “I… I’ve solved the meaning of the universe,” he mumbles, slurring as his head lolls back. 
          The door creaks open. A woman steps inside. “Hey, I’ve got a—” 
          “Here you go!” Halo blurts, thrusting a leaf at her, blocking her view of Dosei wobbling in the corner. 
          The woman blinks. “I didn’t even tell you what I needed yet.” 
          “It’s universal!” Halo insists, waving the leaf. “Just chew on it for two hours. It’s great.” 
          The woman narrows her eyes, snatches the leaf, and leaves with a scowl. 
          Halo exhales in relief, then turns back, only to see Dosei on his knees, peeling strips of wallpaper from the wall with childlike fascination. 
          “Right. I gotta get you fixed up.” She darts to the back again, tossing a bouquet of flowers into boiling water and staring at it in dismay. 
          I don’t know what I’m doing. 
          Halo grabs a handful of herbs, roots, and something that might just be a stick, tossing them into the boiling pot. Steam rises in a thick, pungent cloud. She’s just reaching for another jar when the door chime jingles. Her stomach drops. 
          By the time she rushes out front, it’s too late. Thorn stands in the middle of the room, arms folded, watching Dosei roll lazily across the floor. 
          “What did you do to him?!” Thorn demands, his voice sharp with disbelief. 
          Halo clasps her hands in front of her, eyes fixed on the floor. “Well… I don’t really know.” 
          A sharp scent cuts through the air. Thorn wrinkles his nose. “Wait, what is that smell?”  
          He storms into the back room. The pot bubbles over, spitting froth across the room. Random sticks and shredded leaves float on the surface, turning the liquid an ominous green. 
          Thorn stares at it, then at her. “Are you brewing medicine… or chemical warfare?” 
          “Medicine…” Halo mutters, her voice shrinking. 
          He snatches a dried bundle off the shelf. “What is this?” 
          “Uh, that one’s called… Greenleaf.” She blurts out the made up name, heat rising to her cheeks. 
          He grabs another jar. “And this?” 
          “Spiky Ouchroot.” 
          Thorn drops the items onto the table, rubbing a hand over his face. “Maybe you’re not meant for herbalism.” He sighs. “How do you feel about being a fighter on the front line?” 
          “Well, I—”   
          “Great. You’ll start training tomorrow.” 
          He strides back into the front room, eyes sweeping over Dosei, who is now staring in rapture at a chair leg. Thorn slams the door behind him. 
          A second later, the door creaks open again. Thorn leans in, his expression grim. “Oh, and don’t treat any more people. I think it’s closing time.” He flips the open sign to closed and slams the door once more. 
          Halo exhales, her shoulders sagging. She glances at Dosei, who is hugging a chair, his brows arched high and his eyes wide with wonder. 
          “I think I did pretty good for my first day… right, Dosei?” she asks weakly. 
          “Wow.” He gently strokes the chair leg as if it were a cat.