Swiftcurrent Creek Heal the wounds of my soul

Jace had graduated from “worth-ignoring” in his books, first with unexpected humour and second with the state in which he’d gotten himself. While Razo really didn’t care to hear the story, he expected to hear bits of it when he returned, and for the time being he was only focused on finding the closest materials he could. Jace was fortunate enough that the tawny scoundrel took his trade seriously enough to have been so vigilant as to scour the entire territory twice and three times over in order to cover as much ground and memorize as many prime locations as he could, and yet he was unfortunate enough to have to rely on a medic who hadn’t been in the Creek for even a fortnight. He still hadn’t found everything he wanted at his disposal.

It took him at least thirty minutes to leave, gather what he could carry and return. Wedged between a couple of pliable pieces of birch bark scraped from a trunk were several shards and chunks of willow bark complete with watery sap and enough Common St. John’s Wort for one poultice, meant in particular for that nasty neck gash the dark male had acquired.

He trotted over to Jace, sat at his left shoulder and laid the delicate parcel he carried on the cool earth. Now, listen, he said sternly, expecting his patient to be fully attentive despite the pain that plagued him and the rest he clearly needed, I don’t have a lot to work with from this location. This— he said, nosing the top layer of birch out of the way to reveal what he’d brought with him, —is Willow bark. I want you to chew the entire portion I brought you and ingest as much of the sap as you can get from it. It’s slow acting, but it will relieve the pain and reduce swelling. And this— he said, indicating the Common St. John’s Wort,—I’ll be applying to your wound for its antibacterial properties. If that mess becomes infected there isn’t much I can do for you, sunshine. He began to chew the latter as soon as he finished, closing his mouth long enough to allow Jace to speak or quip or do whatever he wanted, so long as he didn’t interfere.