The apothecary shop was run by a young, bookish woman named Pom, her long red hair wrapped in a perfect braid running down her thin back. She pushed her glasses up her nose as she looked up at Anthony, not pausing in her work as she continued cutting and weighing stacks of herbs, carefully portioning out one serving at a time.

“Welcome, I’ll be with you in just a m— Oh… Anthony.”

Pom set down her scissors, her eyes flicking to the stack of journals tucked under his left arm. Anthony crossed his arms over his chest, concealing the items from view as he stepped forward.

“Hey, Pom. I need these things.”

Anthony pulled a napkin from his pocket. A list of crude scribblings ran down the front of the cloth, which he quickly passed to Pom. She glanced at it with narrowed eyes, then spread it out on the counter to read it aloud.

“Two grams Saint Agnes bloom, one gram ginkgo leaf… Q-Quill spider venom sac?!”

Pom looked up at Anthony, her large brown eyes locking onto his as she continued.

“What is this potion you’re making? I know you turned sixteen today and plan to join Edgar’s troop, but this doesn’t look like any cultivation potion I’ve seen before. Are you sure you copied it down correctly? Quill spider venom can cause permanent paralysis if not properly neutralized—did you know that? This is a difficult potion, not something for a novice to attempt. Who’s going to make it for you?”

Anthony scratched the back of his head as the flurry of questions from Pom rained down on him, shrugging his shoulders as he responded.

“Uh… I was planning to do it myself.”

Pom’s eyes widened for a moment before she crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips and shaking her head firmly.

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? You can’t say no!”

Pom turned back to her work, picking up the scissors and resuming her portioning of herbs.

“I can, and I just did. If you go and paralyze yourself, everyone will think my family’s shop sold you the wrong ingredients. Every time they see you, it will reflect poorly on us. So, the answer is no.”

She extended her slender arm across the counter, pushing the napkin back toward Anthony as she shook her head. Anthony reached out, grabbing her hand before she could let go. He pushed in the opposite direction, sliding both her hand and the napkin back toward her side of the counter.

Pom’s eyelids shot open as she stared at the large hand grasping her own, a pink hue rising to her cheeks.

Anthony didn’t seem to notice the reaction he had evoked in the young woman. He released Pom’s hand and clasped his own together in front of his chest in a pleading posture.

“I need to do this, Pom. If you think it’s not safe for me to make it myself, then help me! If I have to find an actual expert potion maker, I won’t finish in time before Edgar’s mission is over, and I barely have enough silver to cover the ingredients.”

Stolen story; please report.

Pom pulled her hand back from the table, covering her cheeks with both hands as she looked at Anthony. Her big brown eyes blinked rapidly a few times before she cleared her throat and regained her composure, brushing off the front of her apron as she straightened her clothes.

She stared at Anthony for a long moment before pursing her lips and holding out her open palm toward him. Anthony glanced at her hand with uncertainty, only for Pom to shove her hand forward further as she pointed at it with one finger.

“Silver…”

Anthony’s eyes widened in realization. He quickly fumbled in his pocket for a silver coin, rushing to place it in Pom’s hand. She inspected the coin closely, tapping it on the counter a few times before touching it to a magnet beside the money drawer.

With a nod of approval, Pom opened the drawer and dropped the silver coin inside before heading toward the back of the store. Anthony scratched his chin as he stared at the money drawer, then glanced up at Pom’s retreating figure.

“What about my change?”

Pom froze mid-step, glancing back at him with a scowl.

“Do you want your potion or your change? Pick one.”

Anthony raised his hands in a gesture of acceptance, nodding firmly.

“The potion. Definitely the potion, please.”

Pom pursed her lips and stuck out her chin before turning back toward the back room. Anthony waited patiently as she gathered the materials, placing everything on the counter before him.

He watched in fascination as Pom expertly prepared the ingredients. Using a mortar and pestle, she crushed a small piece of chalk-like material, setting it to the side. Then, she pulled out a glass container holding a large red spider with needle-like yellow quills running down both sides of its bulging abdomen.

Pom donned a pair of thick leather gloves, pinning the spider down with one hand as she jabbed a long needle into its skull. The creature’s legs twitched a few times before curling up toward its belly.

Laying the insect’s corpse on a piece of white parchment, Pom carefully split the body open with a razor blade. Using a tiny spoon, she gently lifted a purple sac from inside the body, meticulously cutting the surrounding tissue to release it without puncturing the sac. Finally, she placed the spoon holding the sac on the white parchment and let out a heavy breath of air.

Pom looked up at Anthony with a prideful grin on her pretty face.

“Count your blessings—the hardest part is over. You better not forget who helped you when you needed it.”

Anthony nodded hurriedly as he continued to observe Pom’s actions. The rest of the process involved sprinkling the powdered material over the venom sac and heating it until it was completely dried out. Pom then crushed the remnants in the mortar and pestle.

She added all the ingredients to a tiny cloth sack, tied it up tightly, and placed it in a bowl. Pouring boiling water over the sack, she stirred and lifted it up and down in the water as a bitter smell filled the room. The liquid turned an inky dark purple as she continued her work.

After a few minutes, Pom squeezed the sack over the bowl, laying the scrunched-up cloth aside. She cautiously poured the remaining liquid into a glass vial, sealed it with a cork, and placed it on the counter in front of Anthony.

“There it is. I don’t know what kind of method you are using to start your training, but be careful. Those are some serious ingredients in that potion of yours.”

He lifted the vial slowly, his eyes fixed on the swirling purple contents. A grin spread across his face as he clenched his fist in joy while Pom cleaned up the counter.

“Thank you, Pom! I won’t forget this! You’re a friend to me forever!”

Pom looked up in startled surprise as Anthony stepped behind the counter, rushing toward her with his arms outstretched. She took two small steps back, raising her hands in protest.

“No, no! That’s—”

Before she could finish, Anthony wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into the air, squeezing her tightly in a big hug. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek, then set her down just as quickly. Without waiting for a response, he rushed out of the store, waving goodbye with one hand while clutching his belongings with the other.

Pom stood behind the counter in a daze, her glasses hanging askew on her face as she watched him disappear down the street. Slowly raising one hand, she stared ahead, unblinking.

“Uhhh. R-Right. Goodb—Goodbye.”