The next two days were busy as Exill ramped up preparations for the Clinic’s launch. Various supplementary medicines had to be crafted and packaged for easy dispensing.

At the current moment, the Clinic was technically open. A few hours had passed since its opening and the Witchdoctor was busy in the adjoining forge, heating a cauldron of anti-inflammatory root over coal. Despite the risk of cross contamination, he didn’t want to haul the cauldron up into the kitchen because it was heavy, besides, it was easier to control the heat of the fire down here.

The doorbell chimed, indicating a visitor had arrived.

“Ah, what brings you here Iris?” Exill peeked through the forge doorway and peeled off his heavy leather gloves to greet the Guild clerk.

“It was on my way to work; I wanted to congratulate your opening and give you this gift!” Her kind eyes sparkled as she held aloft a potted plant that looked like a miniaturized Eld Tree from his Clinic’s logo.

“I thought you lived in the Southern District, wasn’t it out of your way, and what is this?”

“It’s not much of a detour, and this is a third generation sapling from a cutting taken from the Eld Tree itself. We have one in the Guild too don’t you remember?”

Exill had never seen the Eld Tree before and assumed the ubiquitous plant found in most businesses was a trend.

“Thank you so much. I’ll display this on the counter and take good care of it. Would you like to stay for tea?” He took the potted plant and placed it on the counter, healing the scrapes on her hand while she was distracted. She stepped back in surprise at the tingling sensation and her eyes turned rueful.

“You are as bad as me at handhol-” She was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell, signifying the arrival of a new visitor, who looked around the narrow entryway in obvious distaste. She pushed past Iris and grabbed his sleeve, gazing up with a pout on her lips. Exill inwardly swore as he moved half a step away.

‘May the spirit of the World have mercy on me…’

“Exill! If you had asked daddy nicely, he would have got you a nice place in the Inner City.” Lady Anna placed a hand on her ample hips as she felt him shift away. Her perfectly manicured hands and glossy auburn hair spoke of wealth. She was the second daughter of a rich herbalist distributor, and often got her way in things.

“Ah… I didn’t expect you to come here. Didn’t you say your father forbids you from leaving the Inner City?”

Lady Anna threw a dirty look at Iris, measuring her wealth in a glance. She tightened her grip on the hapless Witchdoctor and dragged him to the treatment room.

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“Father doesn’t know. Now come, my checkup is overdue.” She closed the door and unlaced the shawl covering her bare shoulders. The woman’s breathing had grown heavy as she cornered Exill, both hands lightly resting on his chest.

“I want you to inspect every inch of my body. I haven’t slept well since I heard that bitch Macy tricked you into fondling her bosom! How can you be so easily fooled?”

Exill managed to turn around and lift the diminutive woman by the hips, causing her to squeak as she was seated on the patient’s bed. It had the intended effect of creating some space between them and bringing her to eye level.

“Please Lady Anna, I’m happy to give you a checkup but no more hurting yourself deliberately. Furthermore, please stop wearing tight clothes and begging me to tear it open! I will send you away if you do.”

Anna inspected Exill’s face, trying to gauge how sincere he was. Her breathing eventually slowed and the flush on her cheek crept away, “Will you say the same to Macy if she comes in for an exam?”

“Macy is no longer welcome in my Clinic. She will not be permitted entry.”

Anna pursed her lips and climbed down from the bed. As if only now realising where she was, her eyes absorbed the treatment room and the bare partition wall that had been hastily erected.

“That is fine then. I just wanted to be your first customer, who is that girl at the entryway?”

“Ah… an employee of the Guild, a friend of Envy’s”

A dark look crossed her face at the mention of the unfamiliar name, “I heard… you purchased a slave vampire. Is she here, does she sleep with you?”

“It was an act of charity, nothing more. She assists me in the Labyrinth, and we sleep in our separate rooms.”

She examined his face for signs of falsehood, before a bright smile steadily emerged from her lips. She embraced him tightly, her head resting on his chest, “The rumours said you bought a sex slave, but I didn’t believe it for a second, not my kind, untainted Witchdoctor. What the gossipers don’t know is that you need virgin blood to feed vampires, am I not correct?”

She took a silver hundred Denar coin from a pouch and placed it in his palm, closing it with both hands, “I don’t mind you having mistresses, but you must ask my permission first. Now, this is the fee for the checkup, and I must run before father figures out I left Inner City. I’ll try and drop by often!”

She reluctantly let go of his hand and rushed out, nearly knocking over Iris who was suspiciously close to the door. Lady Anna left the Clinic and was escorted quickly away by two nervous guards who were sweating profusely.

Exill let out a sigh of relief then turned to Iris who studiously avoided his eyes, “How much did you hear?”

“Um… the door needs better sound insulation.”

He turned to examine the threadbare door with furrowed brows. It would need some padding on the inner side to better muffle the transmission of sound. He idly played with the silver Denar at the thought of the dozens of other expenditures required.

“I’m sorry we were interrupted earlier. Lady Anna is a… personality that is difficult to ignore. Thank you again for the World Tree sapling, I’ll take good care of it.”

“No problem… will I see you later today at the Guild?”

Exill shook his head, there was far too much work to go delving today, “I won’t, but maybe Envy will.”

He waved goodbye to Iris and closed the door behind her. The incident with Lady Anna had been resolved peacefully and he was glad for it. Nevertheless, he felt incredibly fatigued due to that single encounter, and he suspected that other members of his ‘fan club’ would shortly find their way here too.