The fires raged on into the morning, when they were out by the towns fire squad. The fire squad was made at the start of this ordeal, filled with volunteers to fight the fires started by the mysterious beast. They hauled buckets of water through town, quenching any flame that still stoked into midmorning.
A tuft of black hair hung over Antioch's eyes. He swatted it out of the way, leaning forward laying his head in his hands, his head pounded and he felt a dire thirst. He needed to get down and get something for this headache, perhaps some haraja leaves.
Out on the roof, Antioch twisted over, staring out at the site of the burned village, a site too familiar these days. He placed his hands down, pushing himself up and off the roof, and climbing back through the window to his room.
He took one look around, it looked as if a ghallant ran through his home. His cot lay strewn on the floor, his sheets mottled into the floor, claw marks pushing them into the floor. His trunk of clothes was pushed on its side, against the side wall. Even his door was ripped of its hinges, dangling in the doorway.
Antioch pushed it out of the way, looking down the hallway. There were claw marks raked down both sides of the wall. It looked like the beast catapulted itself forward when it tried to catch him. The other rooms weren't touched, which was a big relief.
Down the stairs, every picture that hung on the wall was laying on the ground. They depicted better times, one where he was happier. He picked one up, holding it in his hands.
Shards of Darian glass fell down, revealing a picture of him and wife. He had shorter hair, a collared vest, and a light in his eyes. His wife smiled with her whole face, wearing a beautiful dress of green and gold. They learned against each other, almost falling over. It was 3 years ago.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. He placed the picture down, setting it on the railing, continuing his walk downstairs.
At the bottom, he looked around his first floor. His kitchen lay in disarray; he would need to spend all day getting it straightened up. His table lay toppled, missing two legs. His chairs were gone, taken away by the beast.
Everything would need to be replaced. He looked at his door, he would need to take off the wooden slats if he wanted to go anywhere today, and he had no choice.
He grabbed an axe laying by the door, something he needed last night, and started to pry the wood down. He wedged it between the door and wood, pulling till it released.
He repeated that for the remaining three slats, each stacked by the door in a pile. He opened the door, a ray of sunshine piercing his eye.
He strained his eyes, looking forward out into the road. It was a bustle of action. The fire squad still traveled between houses, the last of the fires being quenched. Others traveled down the road, caravans passing in between.
Antioch pushed his way out into the road, he needed to start repairing and work, but first he needed to eat. He was starving, his stomach felt like a bottomless pit.
Down the road to the east lay the market, so he started his way over. He was still in his night outfit, a pair of old trousers, but he had thrown on a shirt and shoes to round out his attire. The market was only two blocks down, nearing the edge of the village. Further down the road, Antioch could see more of the extent of the damage caused the past few nights.
Houses lay in disarray, burn and scratch marks lining the businesses and homes, some desecrated beyond belief. He saw neighbors scrounging for any valuables left after the damage, but he saw many others scrambling to leave the god-forsaken town. Many had already done so since the beast arrived in town.
Antioch dodged between others as he turned left into the market, making his way through till his favorite stand appeared. It was a small area, covered with a blue and green spotted canopy, shading a selection of goods ranging from colored fruits and vegetables to hot baked goods. He walked and greeted the shop owner.
"How is my top customer, making it through all of the craziness?" questioned the shop owner. "I'm trying, though it almost got me last night," Antioch replied, perusing the selections for today. His eyes were drawn towards a gana fruit, bursting with sweet fruit juice, and a pastry filled with a sweet chocolate filling.
"You mean you saw this thing, this creature, and you are walking around here today, no problem?"
"Yeah, it chased me onto my roof, and I had to stay up there all night; I didn't even change before I came here, too dedicated to my work for my own good, right?"
"My friend, you deserve something for getting out of that, take that fruit on the house, just got it in this morning!"
"Thank you, you'll see me again tomorrow," He placed some marks down on the table, a little extra for his favorite stand owner, "I will see that you get all the medicinals you need, Sadanha."
Antioch grabbed his items and headed off, sinking his teeth into the delicate pastry, the chocolate flavor making its way to the forefront. It truly was one of his favorite foods.
"Thank you, my friend, I will always be in business because of you!" Shouted Sadanha, turning to help the next customer.
Antioch navigated through the market, heading north, he had to make his way to work, through the large crowds gathering at the very door he needed to pass through.
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Antioch made his way through the doors, entering the larger building lined with glass jars, vases, and other containers, filled with many ingredients. The room had counters, lined from front to back, behind them stood a few workers, stationed and ready to begin the crazy day.
Antioch breezed past everyone, unlatching and passing through to the back, setting down his gana fruit, reaching up to a hook on the wall, grabbing a long white coat. Stitched into the front was his name and his title: Antioch Rhodes, Alchemist.
"Hello, everyone, gather around. We must talk about what will happen today, especially with the current commotion," said Antioch, waving his hands towards the others in the front of the store. Everyone walked to the back, gathering in a circle, Antioch located in the center.
"We have lots of burn patients coming in, we are going to be going through kurdta berries like crazy. I'm going to be making creams all day, Ghale is going to be in charge of everything else." Antioch stated as he walked around to their store of fruits, "And anything she says goes. Let's get to it."
"Yes and I am gonna keep everyone on task," Ghale let out a hearty laugh, "Because there is no way I will stay late with that god-forsaken creature roaming around at night."
Everyone dove into a flurry of action. Antioch grabbed the kurdta berries, some ghallant fat, as well as some water. He took the berries and placed them on a stone slab, pulled out a knife, placed his palm on the flat edge, and squashed them down. This action released the juice, which due to a slight gradient in the plane, flowed into a small trough at the bottom. He continued this until a sufficient amount of juice was collected.
He collected the juice and cleaned off the berry remains, taking out the ghallant fat. The yellow sheen showed that it had been acquired recently, so he knew that the cream would be of a high quality. He scooped out a small amount of the fat onto the plate, adding in a larger amount of water because he wanted it to flow better, a higher fat content would just make it sticky and leave a film on the area. He took a small spatula, combining the two over and over again until it was a smoother paste.
He took the kurdta juice and added it to the cream base, mixing until a solid royal purple color was achieved. He scooped the cream into a small glass jar, filling it to the brim. He continued to do so until he had no cream to fill any jars. In total, he had made just about 100 jars. It would not be enough, they had gone through 150 yesterday alone.
At that moment, they finally opened, the doors flying open, a crowd of people ushered into the shop. All the workers turned to the front, ready to greet the impending group. Most of the group came in with different burned areas, and many shouts came from them.
"We need help, the doctors have turned us away, they are too busy with everyone else," came a shout from the crowd.
"I haven't been able to get into Halbard's doctor for the past three days, my arm is killing me, the skin feels like it will fall off." said another
Antioch went out and guided those in the crowd to different staff members of the store, starting lines and hoping they could make it through the rush. In the chaos, he took off his coat, throwing it to Ghale behind the counter, yelling out, "If we are going to make it through today, I need to grab more berries. Please watch over until I come back, it shouldn't be too long. I will head to the market just south of here!"
Ghale looked over and caught the coat, nodded, and went back to work talking to one of the patients about how to use the cream for the burns. Antioch rushed out the entrance, on his way back to the market.
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Antioch rushed back to the market, making his way to Sadanha's stand. Walking up, he realized it was looking a little bare, not much left to choose from. Sadanha looked over, happy to see his friend again.
"Was my pastry good enough for another?" quipped Sadanha, making his way to the front of his stand and pointing over to that section.
"I wish that was what I came back for, but I was looking to see if you had any kurdta berries, work is really needing them right now," replied Antioch,"as many as you are willing to part with, I will take them."
Sadanha frowned, looking around at his wares. "I do not have any, someone came about an hour ago, got every last one I had, they even paid a premium to have me deliver to them with my service."
"Do you remember what they looked like?" Antioch pried,"Did they have black hair with a strike of white down the right side?"
"Now that I remember, they did and they went off to the west side of town."
"I can't believe he would do something like this, Rohan took the rest of them back to his side of the village. I have heard over the last week that he has gone to every shop and store that he could to pick up all of the berries, anything that can be used to help burns. He has been selling them at a hefty premium, so many have resorted to coming here."
"Do you have enough to make it through today, friend?"
"I don't know, I already used them all today, and many people have come seeking cream for the burns, so it will be close," Antioch frowned and paced before the stand, "Nobody else on this side of Jafana is able to make it, I already had a flock waiting before we opened. I will try my best to make it through today, but tomorrow, I better have some saved for me."
Sadanha looked over, smiling, "Of course, my friend. You have been giving to my stand for many years, so it is time I give back to you. Three crates come in tomorrow, I will save two for you. How many creams do you think you can make with that?"
Antioch stopped, looking back at Sadanha, "That would be amazing, I think I could make it through the week, but how much would that cost me?"
"Nothing, you have kept this side of town healthy for years now, even me a couple times, this is to help everyone else, my friend," Sadanha grinned.
"Thank you, Sadanha, what can I do to repay you for this?"
"Keep the town healthy, they are my biggest customers!" Sadanha laughed, doubling over, clutching his stomach.
Antioch laughed with him, "That is no problem for me! I need to make it back to work, they need me there, but I will come back tomorrow."
"Farewell, friend." Sadanha waved as Antioch turned to walk up north, heading back to the store.
Antioch started his journey back to the store, humming a short tune, one he had been thinking of the past year. It was light and airy, what one might think of as a children's song, one that he wished he heard till this day.