Getting Ingredients: Chicago Potions Master

[notharry]

It wasn't often that Haley had to buy ingredients for potions. It was even less often that she had the spare money to manage it. But since the two situations managed to converge today-- that she needed ingredients that were specific enough that she didn't have them, and expensive enough that she couldn't get them at Walmart, plus she'd just gotten a stipend from the Wardens-- here she was, dropping in on the local apothacary that she happened to know was on the level when it came to practitioners.

They probably didn't get a lot of Wardens, or White Council Wizards in general, but that didn't stop Haley. The fact that the single other customer recognized her and hurriedly scuttled out of the shop made her sigh, but she was used to that by now.

"Hello?" she called in, listening for a proprietor while she scanned the shelves. Not all of what she needed was likely to be out in the open, but a couple bits might have been. They were common enough, for a place like this.

Comments

[potionsprodigy]

The store was pretty evenly split between high-quality herbal products and New Age trinkets of questionable validity. There was a wall behind the counter covered in tiny drawers and bottles of more potent herbs, but the more exotic wares weren't on display anywhere Haley could see. The more reasonable branch of the Leech family had taken great pains to ensure that their apothecary business hadn't been too closely connected with their name. They'd been moderately successful, if only by mostly passing the Rare Spice Apothecary down to Leeches who didn't have enough talent to get themselves into trouble.

Mona was an exception.

She stepped from the back room, average height, too thin, and wearing dark, old-fashioned clothing that fit in well with the general atmosphere. For someone not long out of apprenticeship, she wasn't much younger than Haley. She recognized her visitor immediately and stopped short, expression calculating as she pushed her messy hair behind one ear. No, she didn't see Wardens often. And with her family history, their visits were almost always unpleasant. "Warden Dresden. This is a surprise."