[Open] the one who survives by making the lives of others worthwhile

[meds4sale]

WHO: The Medicine Seller and Open!
WHAT: The Medicine Seller wants to get his bearings. Or sell medicine. Since he’s a medicine seller.
WHEN: Feb 2017/Guardian, 9:43 Dragon
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Open starters below - message me on this journal or at GreenRivers if you want a private starter.

A. Got A Remedy For That
The thing the Medicine Seller noticed about people was that they generally saw what they wanted to see so long as it fit their personal narrative of the world. Despite his numerous tells, he'd passed easily as human in his own world. He was the right general shape, and what words couldn’t explain away, a pretty face could certainly distract from.

Here, it was even easier to go unnoticed. Most had but a passing familiarity with the Dalish and their lore, so when they saw his pointy ears and facial markings, and assumed he was just some elf who'd nicked an Orlesian noble's bathrobe and was going for A Look, it made things quite convenient. And he wasn't one to deny people their assumptions when they benefited him.

Dalish may have had a stigma, but between that or being considered the very thing he existed to fight, the former misconception was infinitely less trying.

He didn’t have a stall set up, so much as a few planks of wood balanced together to make a crude, make-shift table. Which he had then covered with a cloth. There were bottles, flasks, vials, powder packets, small, colourful silk pouches and ornate lacquered boxes, bright and vibrant against the gray winter backdrop of the fortress. He’d set a few other planks down to sit on, sparing his knees the cold, winter mud.

He was out of the way of the main hubbub of the merchant stalls and there were no signs or boards with a list of prices, but the vibrancy of his attire and stock made him and his wares impossible to miss. If one was in need of a remedy, they could do far worse.


B. The Price of Knowledge
Being a stranger in a strange land was new to the Medicine Seller, but once the novelty of it wore off, it really wasn’t so different from home. People were people wherever you went - however different their appearances, customs, and cultures, they were still driven by the same emotions.

Still, customs were important, and moreover, he hated not knowing things. Especially things that could make him seem ignorant. It didn’t do to be ignorant if you could help it.

The library had proven beneficial. At the very least he had become acquainted with the Chantry’s version of Thedosian history. He doubted it was in any way accurate or removed from bias (which the historian Genitivi had at least admitted to in his writings), but it was still useful. The more he read, the more he understood the attitudes and inclinations of this society.

The books on medicine were also quite informative - elfroot seemed to go in just about every cure for any ailment which certainly made his job easy. Deep mushrooms also seemed to be a fairly common component.

He was not particularly neat with his research - books were scattered about his work space, some half open, others in haphazard stacks. His notes on Thedas’s medicinal herbs were just as erratically spaced, though his calligraphy and brushwork copying the illustrations was meticulous and quite skillful, if completely illegible to almost anyone in Skyhold.

Still, history and medical books could become a bit tiresome after a while, even for someone with the Medicine Seller’s boundless patience. He deemed a break necessary and went in search of some fiction, leaving his mess for now.

Hard in Hightown 3: The Re-Punchening sounded like some particularly delightful literary schlock. He returned to his spot, lit the tobacco in the bowl of his kiseru, and sat back, prepared to be thoroughly entertained.


C. Curiosity Killed The Cat
Skyhold was a curiosity in and of itself, and the Medicine Seller could hardly refrain from exploring the grounds. It wasn’t often one got the opportunity to poke around a fortress, and while there was work ahead of him here, he was rather nosy.

The ramparts offered quite a view of the chilly Frostbacks. The great hall was aptly named, altogether rather grand with its high ceilings and the imposing throne. The stables held a wide variety of peculiar animals. The gardens had all manner of botanical goodies. The place was absolutely huge and, if rumour was to be believed, quite a windfall for the Inquisition in its budding stages.

Such things were very interesting to the Medicine Seller. He’d move on once he was able to play by this world’s rules and pass through society without too much in ways of questions, but this was certainly ideal for the time being.

D. Wildcard!
Is the Medicine Man eavesdropping on your business? Did you spot him petting a good cat or talking to his weird sword? Did he sell you some faulty medicine? Anything goes!

Comments

[kartereo]

[Waver gave a thin smile.]

Certainly unique, I can't say I've seen something like that used at home.

[It was actually one of the reasons Waver didn't want to risk it. There was nothing like breaking someone else's thing as a first impression.]

Let me know when you run out of tobacco though. I'd be happy to point you towards where I've been buying my own supply from.

[meds4sale]

They seem to be falling out of fashion.

[Or had fallen out of fashion a good decade years ago. Not that he bothered to keep tabs. Cigarettes seemed en vogue these days.]

I am surprised that any would grow in another world. But I appreciate it.

Is it difficult to come by?

[kartereo]

I can't say I've seen them in fashion back in London, period. I'd consider it a shame, actually.

[But Waver can see why. It was always easier to pull out a cigar or cigarette just light it up.]

Initially I had a bit of an issue, given that it isn't the most popular thing to smoke, but at this point it isn't a problem.

[meds4sale]

...London...

[He knew where that was. At least in that vague sense that he'd seen it on a map before. But the Medicine Seller was becoming vastly aware of just how big the universe was. In the grand scheme of things, this made him and this stranger practically neighbors.]

Then you are also not of this world.

[kartereo]

[Someone from Earth then. Waver relaxed, visibly, like he had sloughed a heavy coat off of his shoulders.]

Not at all. May I ask your home country?

[meds4sale]

[He sat there for a moment in silence, a clearly Asian man dressed like someone who'd just hopped off the stage of a particularly lavish kabuki play.]

[The Medicine Seller could generally resist the compulsion to fuck with people, at least when it mattered. But today? Today was not one of those days.]

...Canada.

[kartereo]

[Waver's response was to squint for a moment. He didn't like being fucked around with, but there was also a certain level of rudeness in contradicting someone.]

Uh-huh.

[Which was the nicest way to say bullshit that he knew.]

Which province?

[meds4sale]

Hmm...

[There was one of the Medicine Seller's long, quiet pauses. A tortoise would probably be quicker to answer.]

...Which I wonder...?

[kartereo]

[Waver smiled, tilting his head.]

Certainly not Quebec. Although I imagine you might know a good deal about the province regardless.

[Really, Waver was testing for accents.]

[meds4sale]

[If the Medicine Seller's expression registered anything, it was a sort of smug amusement at the little game he'd concocted. Sorry he's like this Waver.]

No.

Not a thing.

[kartereo]

So you're not Canadian at all.

[He was probably jumping a few logical steps, but Waver felt the assumption a fairly safe one, all things considered. Truth be told, he wasn't annoyed. He just appreciated a discussion over nothing that actually mattered from time to time. It beat the usual introduction nonsense.]

[meds4sale]

[His cunning ruse was crushed completely by Waver's impeccable deductive skills. The Medicine Seller smiles.]

[That is to say, the corners of his mouth turn slightly upwards while the rest of his face remains utterly neutral.]

Ah. My goodness.

You found me out.

[kartereo]

It is a far more memorable introduction than most people make.

[Waver's smile was a little bit larger, and he extended a hand.]

Nice to meet you.

[meds4sale]

[He wasn't a particularly tactile person, but he took Waver's hand nonetheless. It always did to be polite.]

Likewise, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[He offered a small bow of his head when his hand was free.]

[kartereo]

[Waver paused then, his eyes moving from the Medicine Seller himself to the books in hand.]

How is catching up on an entire world's culture going?

[meds4sale]

As one might expect, there is much to learn.

[His eyes wandered to his mess of notes and books and then back to Waver.]

There are... peculiar similarities though.

Did you find it easy to adapt?

[kartereo]

[Waver had to give the pile an appreciative nod. He was still doing much the same.]

I'm still doing it. [There was a little pause, before adding:] I only arrived here a few months ago anyway, and situations differ slightly depending on certain things, like use of magic back home.

[meds4sale]

Ohh?

[There was the slightest tilt of his head.]

How so?

[kartereo]

Hm. Well, in the case of magi, they are not well regarded in most parts here, and subject to a lot of scrutiny. My understanding of it is that it stems from a number of fronts, including recent events and the nature of how one taps into the energy for magic here, but you'd be best off asking someone who's grown up in Thedas, rather than someone who's learning as he goes.

[meds4sale]

I would not discount an outside opinion. If you are a sorcerer of sorts, would their prejudice not effect you as well?

[kartereo]

It would, yes. [Waver's voice remained pointedly neutral on the topic, although it was his primary concern being dropped into Thedas.] But a deeper understanding of why something is rooted in a culture is far more useful from someone on the inside when one is starting out, I think.

[meds4sale]

Of course.

[He hadn't raided several bookshelves and listened to a variety of explanations for his health, after all.]

But the truth of things comes from many points of view.

[kartereo]

And discerning the bias in all of them. Honestly, I think picking those out has been the easiest part of learning to exist in this world.

[meds4sale]

[There was a small puff from the Medicine Seller, the slightest hint of a laugh.]

Of that much, we are in agreement.

[kartereo]

If only the rest was simple.

[Waver's eyes went from the Medicine Seller to the rest of the library at that, casting a glance at the shelves around them.]

What parts haven't you gotten to yet? Perhaps I can scribble down a few recommendations to make your reading load lighter.