With the glassware painstakingly cleaned, and healing potion freshly decanted into half a dozen stoppered vials I pocketed one and went to see if Sarala was still at the reception desk. Her professional tone provided the answer even before I got there, attempting to placate and de-escalate.

"Your weapon had suffered considerable damage; I can see such from the remains of the haft here - "

"I wanted a repair not a replacement! And a shoot of all things."

"Our craftsman used his best judgement in accordance with the information you provided, and you have the remains of your previous haft. Now I must ask you to lower your voice." Her tone stern.

As much as I didn't want to walk into an argument, if I messed up, I was the one who deserved to get shouted at, not Sarala. The irate young man was quick to notice me.

"You!"

"Lower that glaive this instant!"

Sarala's grip on her staff was white knuckled and Xia lying on the countertop nearby gave a low hiss as the boy sheepishly lowered the glaive he'd gestured with in my direction. Attempting to diffuse the situation I raised my hands,

"Hey, hey, let's take it easy, I take it that wasn't an intentional threat?" From the look Sarala was giving him I didn't reckon he would get far if it was.

"What?! No, sorry, I didn't mean... It was just in my hand... and I pointed..."

I almost felt bad for the guy. A quick look at his clothes which seemed more patches than original fabric at this point and I got an inkling what the problem might be.

"OK then, that's good. Now I didn't intend to eavesdrop, but I take it you have some issues with the replacement haft? Would you mind walking me through what they are?"

He seemed to puff up ready to get indignant again before deflating, "Everyone said if there's one place you can't afford to cut corners it's your weapon. My parents got me the blade, the bones of some bird monster burned in the flame that forged the steel to make it more compatible with qi. I saved up to get the haft. With them going all out I wanted to get a good hardwood, not a miracle shoot like some drafted levy."

"Ok, I didn't know you had an aversion to miracle shoots when I replaced it, but as durable as that hardwood was, it had reached the end of its effective lifespan. I could have glued it, but that would have messed with the qi flow and it would be easy for it to break again. We can work on another solution if you like, but first of all, would you mind testing it? Preferably not in my direction of course!" I added hastily.

"What?"

I could practically hear Sarala's eye roll, "Point it over there and try passing your qi through it."

As he settled into a stance facing an empty section of the room, I could see a faint golden corona shooting up from his hands to the top of the glaive, apparently coming as even more of a surprise to him than me as he almost dropped it.

"WHOA! What! How?"

Sarala chipped in, "Miracle shoots may be plentiful, but qi flows exceptionally easily within them. Levies may favour miracle shoot spears for their ubiquity and ease of construction, but many qi and prana-based archers favour miracle shoot bows purely for their superior properties. Vaul isn’t one to change parts of your weapon without good reason, and he certainly wouldn’t leave you with something of poor quality."

The young man pulled his ring of imperials from a pocket and with almost indecent haste began removing some of the few embossed leather strips of currency from it to place on the counter offering me a deep bow as he did so.

"I'm sorry for doubting your work."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"It's fine, no harm done. Really it's Sarala you should be apologising to for shouting." After he hastily gave a similar bow and apology her direction which she accepted with grace, I continued, "The qi handling of your staff may be improved but you'll have to get used to a slightly longer length and less rigid haft. The durability of the haft won't be as high as the hardwood was originally, but as we've established miracle shoots are replaceable, though the tang on the head of the glaive is somewhat unusual."

"If he's paid up, he can come work out the finer points on the training grounds with me." Kete gruffly cut in as he entered the room, moving to give Xia a pet. The guy's instant enthusiasm at the offer vanished as he added, "I hear we need to refresh when it's appropriate to point a weapon at someone anyway."

"Thank you, Kete. We'll leave him in your capable hands." Sarala answered for both of us, and I could only give the guy a sympathetic shrug as he trailed forlornly behind Kete. She whispered, "Better to get that ironed out by a chat with Kete now, than with the guildmaster later." Then at a more normal volume, "Now Vaul, did you just come in because you heard the raised voices, or did you have something you wanted to discuss?"

"Ahh, yes," fumbling in my pocket I pulled out one of the potions, this particular vial corked but not sealed with wax. "I wanted to get your opinion on how this batch of health potions turned out. I could use my skill but I was told it's best to find out all you can first..."

"So you came to me, very wise." Holding the glass vial up to the light she gave it a quick swirl. "It looks a good colour, still translucent and quite a faint pink. The closer to clear it looks while still having a blush of pink when properly mixed the better. Of course, that means nothing if the right ingredients weren't used..."

A quick run-down of my ingredients and method later and Sarala looked pleased.

"The only way to find out more, barring an appraisal skill or the like, would be to test a drop on an injury. But I believe you mentioned having a skill of some sort, didn't you?" Her affable demeanour didn't hide the sharp intelligence in her eyes as she spoke softly. "Why don't you see what it can tell you of your creation?"

Taking a deep breath, I relaxed letting the visions that had been quietly rapping on the door of my mind since I picked up the vial flow into me. I saw an androgynous figure get raked across the chest by the talons of a huge bird only to down the potion and the flesh to knit and seal before my eyes. The figure looked a little pale but after a few moments there was barely even any scar to speak of. Next, I saw a man bleeding from is shoulder, one arm gone. The potion managed to seal the injury and even regrow a small stump, but the man was unconscious in the moments it took to complete its work. All manner of injuries flashed past from hands pieced with nails, to burns, to crushed digits. The moon made three full cycles, and the images repeated but the potion's pinkish lustre had faded. Where before the potion was shown mending even major injuries, now it could only manage minor ones, took minutes, and left scars. The moon cycled another few times and the effects were barely noticeable.

Coming back to my senses I felt Sarala's steadying hand on my sweat drenched back.

"Let's get you a seat in here Vaul," Sarala guided me into my workshop and out of potential public view. "Sorry I never expected your skill would take such a toll; I had wondered why you hadn't revealed it, but now it makes sense."

"I'm fine, really. I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense is all. I don't normally get so much detail. Just give me a moment to process it all."

"Take your time, shall I get you a cup of water?"

Feeling suddenly parched, "Please."

The few moments respite and the tepid but surprisingly refreshing drink had me quickly feeling better and I related as best I could everything I saw. Sarala was a good listener, not interrupting. I could see her eyes scanning back and forth as if scribing notes in her mind.

"Three months before their efficacy drops to minor cuts and bruises, and even some capacity to regrow lost digits? My, you haven't lost your touch Vaul. If anything, we could sell these for more given they've been properly appraised."

"With some of the crushing injuries amputation was necessary before taking the potion and the older the potion or injury the more it'll scar."

"Don't worry dear, that's standard for healing potions, though there are some specialised varieties specifically to deal with crush injuries. It has to do with dealing with the impurities built up from a lack of circulation and muscle dying, but some injuries will always be more problematic than others. A healing potion might buy you some time to deal with a toxin, but it won't address the root cause, and burns are better handled by more tailored remedies. You're expecting too much; a standard healing potion was never meant as a panacea but it's a solid, broad option for adventurers of all but the highest levels to carry at an affordable price. And anyone getting into adventuring needs to be prepared for more than a few scars." Her cane seemed to rap particularly hard against the ground at that point.

"Thanks, so will you just sell them at the counter?"

"Yes, I cleared some shelf space for them after lunch, though we may need to look into getting a separate shopfront as we expand. But first you need to add tags to the bottles. Note standard healing potion and the date brewed, then starting as major and fading to minor over three months, then a two-month fade on that. So, we mark it like this..."