The azure glowbell, a powerful little flower that sprouts sparingly in places where mana is most concentrated. They are rare to find in the Arcadian Empire, but flourish in the magical forests of the neighboring elvish nation.

They bloom most beautifully at night when bathed in the light of the moon, making them harder to spot in the day as they resemble a blue tulip in the morning sun. These rare flowers are sought after by all kinds of people for their medicinal value. They can boost any medicine or potion's effects tenfold.

If it would normally take a week to overcome a flu, then taking medicine made with a single petal of an azure glowbell makes the illness end in seconds.

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And it was this damn flower that caused all this mess.

Juniper put their satchel down as they dropped to their knees, looking over the stranger's body, whose collapse could only mean one thing: a bite. Their eyes scanned him for where the howler got him, finally finding a gash on his arm. Inside his the sleeve of his blue coat was a bloodsoaked mess of open flesh quickly turning desiccated. Juniper put a hand to the stranger's cool forehead, eyes tracing the visible blood veins that traveled up towards his chin from his turtleneck.

Realization struck.

"This is my fault."

With their trusty alchemist tools always packed, Juniper pulled out their emergency collection. They used a rock to level out the soil, creating an even surface for their alembic. Their gaze drifted from the crooked tree to the waxing moon, a brilliant orb of light in the night sky, thanking Liriantha for illuminating their work in this otherwise dark forest.

The stranger stirred and reached towards Juniper with a loopy smile, his pain evident from his twitching brow. "I must be in heaven. What a beautiful angel..."

"I see the delirium has set in," Juniper said, rifling through their pack and producing several small containers of herbs and granules. The man tried to sit up and gasped in pain. "Stay down, if you struggle too much, the venom will spread faster."

"Oh, sorry... I thought you were a beautiful girl," the man blabbered with a foolish, flushed grin. Juniper took a breath of defeat. I can't be too upset about being mistaken for a woman, I guess. "So, you wouldn't happen to be a doctor, would you? I'm asking for a friend."

"You should've had another couple of hours, but it seems like your body isn't metabolizing the venom at all. This doesn't make sense," Juniper said, ignoring the man and quickly getting to work crushing and mixing the seemingly random assortment of materials from their pack. "There is a salve I can make for this. It will work... in theory."

"You don't sound very sure about that," the man said, his body shivering from the venom coursing through his body. His skin broke out in a cold sweat. "Is it really cold out here or is that just me?"

"That is not a good sign," Juniper remarked. Bloodfiend venom causes a mana flux, so all I need to do is make something that stabilizes it. This salve will probably act as a quick fix, nothing permanent. Unless... They held up the glowing blue flower with a hesitant expression. If I used this... then it would definitely work. Maybe?

A low groan escaped the stranger as he shifted slightly in a vain attempt to keep warm. He attempted a weak smile as he whispered, “I'm not dead, just resting my eyes.” Juniper's worry grew as they saw their rescuer an inch from death.

Stormy clouds cluttered Juniper's mind as they started a small fire, regretting not reacting faster or saving the tanglevine bomb until after the pack showed up. If only they had done things differently, none of this would have happened.

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With a deep breath, Juniper plucked a petal from the blue flower and, before they could put it in the alembic, the man's hand gently grabbed Juniper's wrist. The alchemist looked at their dying savior.

"That's... a glowbell," the man said, turning his head toward Juniper with a small smile on his lips. "A blossom like that is worth... a whole dragon. You don't know me, so it's not like I'd have any hard feelings..."

"You are out of your mind if you think I'll just let you die," Juniper shook his hand off their wrist. "I'm worried this won't be enough. It should boost this salve's ability to stabilize you, but I don't know for sure..."

"It will." The man gave Juniper his full confidence.

Juniper nervously placed the azure glowbell into the alembic and took the man's wounded arm. "How do you know?" They asked as they ripped up the man's sleeve. "You've not seen my work..."

"I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy," he said, managing a sorrowful smile from the ground. Juniper felt their heart ache—they'd made a mistake that might be the death of this man if the medication didn't work.

The alembic produced a pure blue liquid. With care, Juniper placed the long-necked flask into the bowl of other ingredients and filled it to the top, watching as the solution became creamy and illuminated with a faint glow. Upon closer examination, they could make out pink and white flakes within the bluish cream.

"When you're in my shoes, quitting is like giving those bad guys exactly what they want," the man said as he winced slightly when Juniper spread the salve over his wound. "Besides, if I kick the bucket now, who's going to foot the bill for my tailoring? I can't leave this world in shabby attire."

The two of them sat in silence for mere minutes before the man couldn't bear it anymore, filling the void with his voice. "And what is the name of my savior? Mine is Leif."

Ahh, he's one of those chatty kinds... lovely. "Juniper, though I wouldn't call myself a savior," they said with a sigh. Juniper looked at Leif with a curious head tilt. "Your name is... Leif?" They questioned his mother's judgment.

Leif chuckled as he noticed the look on Juniper's face. "Leif, like L-E-I-F. And, for the record, saving someone's life makes you that person's savior. Though, maybe in this case it's canceled since I saved your life too."

Juniper's gaze softened as they listened to the stranger, and a sense of melancholy settled upon them. He reminded them of their old friend Iris, who had left Hearthwood over a year ago for her new husband to start a life in Timberline—leaving Juniper feeling a profound sense of loss. He was a painful reminder of the dwindling connections they once cherished, and the memories they had buried deep within their heart resurfaced, stirring up a mix of emotions they would rather forget. A bittersweet knot formed in Juniper's chest, a silent ache for the bond that had been severed.

Leif introduced himself as an adventurer from Eden on a solo mission down to Hearthwood. His voice was thick with excitement as he spoke, and his movements were lively, but there was something about him that made Juniper suspicious.

He looked so familiar. Juniper wondered if he traveled through Hearthwood before. "Is it your first time in the area?"

"Nah, I've been here before, so don't worry about lil' old me getting lost." He smiled, taking Juniper's suspicion for friendliness. This just made them more suspicious. He looked familiar, but Juniper just couldn't put a finger on where they'd seen his face.

Evidently, Leif caught on and began to ramble, "It's a long story, but I travel a lot, you see, and, in my opinion, the best way to grow as a person is to experience a lot of different things, see lots of new people, and generally just go where the vibes lead you."

"Uh huh." Juniper nodded half-heartedly as they stared at Leif's face. "Vibes... Following the vibes. What does that mean?"

As Leif rattled off even more trying to explain 'vibes' to Juniper, the alchemist examined him more closely with their discerning eye.

Leif, resembling a seasoned traveler in his ragged, oversized blue coat that concealed his figure. He strummed his guitar, which served as a maul only moments prior. The reinforced steel on the back and neck, along with the enchanted wood, ensured its durability. Leif's heart-shaped face looked completely symmetrical and androgynous too. If it weren't for his voice and demeanor, Juniper would have had a hard time discerning his gender. Is it because he's an elf? A seed of jealousy embedded in Juniper's heart.

A gentle breeze rustled between them, playfully tousling Leif's snowy hair as he looked up into Juniper's golden eyes with his own baby blues. His intense gaze held Juniper's attention as they realized too late that he had caught them staring.