6th of Ashan, 716
Kala was not a morning person. True, she had grown accustomed to rising early to prepare the Apothecary office, but her familiarity with the ungodly hours of the morning did little to endear her to them. The Apothecary clinic was located on one of the lower levels of the Infirmary, and shared the floor with the herbalists offices and the other less invasive clinics. It was a quiet day, and so Kala was alone in the clinic, making her way through various orders. She was currently setting up a series of simple straining devices. Five large glass jars, roughly the size of her head, with fine, delicately woven bags fitted very carefully over the mouth of the jars. Kala tightened the strings to ensure that the bags would not slip and fall into the bottom of the jar, before reaching the the range of fresh and dried herbs she had set out ready to use. There was a large pot boiling over the clinics fireplace, and Kala kept an eye on it as she carefully scooped finely cut slivers of fresh ginger and cinnamon bark into the first bag. To the second she added three large handfuls of tea leaves, and a few soggy apples that had been preserved in vinegar. To the third and fourth jars she added an array of herbs and plants, the mix smelling strongly of citrus and mint.
Kala turned from the jars as the large bot began to boil, and she made her way over to the fire place, kicking ash and dirt on the flames to douse them. Pulling on a thick, protective leather glove that reached to the elbow of her slender arm, Kala seized a metal jug from it hook next to the fireplace. Very carefully, she maneuvered her hand into the large pot, collecting the still bubbling water into the jug. Once it was full, Kala returned to the jars, and with one hand holding the bags in place, she poured the hot water inside. The water filtered through the herbs, straining through and pulling the natural oils and aromas from the plants. Once the jar was full and her jug empty, Kala allowed her concoction to steep, returning to the fireplace to replicate the procedure on the remaining three jars.
As she waited for them to steep, Kala returned to her work desk and set about slicing a bag of lemons, her knife sliding through them quickly and easily. Gathering them into her hands, she tossed them into the now empty pot over the fire, following them with a few spoonfuls of turmeric infused honey. Making her way back to her jars, Kala lugged them over to the fireplace, tipping the now golden liquids into the pot, tossing the tied bags with their contents in after them.
Crouching, Kala used the iron prode to turn the still smoldering embers under the pot, blowing at them gently in the hopes that they would light themselves once again. She worked with her head down and her back to the door, entirely focused on the task at hand, cursing at the fires refusal to light.
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