CHAPTER 16: EMBERLEAF

Wade turned toward the street, his coin pouch now lighter than when he’d arrived.

He had secured his breastplate order with Tom, and though seventy coins was no small price, it was worth it. Protection came before anything else.

As he stepped out of the blacksmith’s shop, a ripple of light sparked before his eyes.

He froze, glancing around, but no one else seemed to notice. People passed by on the street as if nothing unusual had happened.

The Dimensional Ledger appeared before him, and a golden script hovered in the air, seen only by him.

Ding!

[Trade recorded.]

[Breastplate, custom order: 70 gold coins.]

[Cosmic Value: +0.2]

[Balance: 0.2]

Wade stared at the glowing panel, a grin tugging at his lips.

It was almost nothing, a tiny bump in a counter that felt impossibly vast, but it was proof.

The Ledger didn’t care if it was a dungeon trade, the guild shop, or a deal at a blacksmith. A trade was a trade, and profit was profit.

He clenched his fist. "Good," he whispered. "Then I just have to make more."

The panel dissolved into sparks, leaving him alone again in the noise of Hiving.

He decided his next step. Armor was taken care of, but wounds were not.

He couldn’t rely on Ingrid to save him with salves each time. If he was going to fight in dungeons, he needed healing of his own.

An apothecary would do.

With a grin on his face, he set off.

The streets slowly grew narrower as he followed the signs, and soon, he found himself in front of a shop marked by a hanging sign shaped like a leaf.

The smell reached him before he entered. An interesting blend of herbs, roots, and faintly sweet smoke.

He pushed the door open.

Bells jingled above his head as he stepped into the apothecary.

Shelves lined the walls, packed with jars of powders, bundles of dried herbs, and glass vials filled with colored liquid.

Standing behind the counter was an older woman with gray streaks in her hair, her back straight despite her age.

Her eyes flicked to Wade as he entered. "Adventurer," she said with a smile that showed faint wrinkles around her eyes. "What do you need?"

"Healing salves," Wade said. "Something reliable."

The woman turned, pulling jars from a shelf behind her. She set three down on the counter with care.

"Minor salve," she said, tapping the smallest jar. "Ten coins. Good for cuts and scratches."

She tapped the second. "Mid grade salve. Thirty coins. Helps with burns and deeper wounds."

Her hand stayed on the largest jar. "High grade salve. Fifty coins. Stronger, lasts longer, works faster."

Wade studied them. His pouch was already lighter from the breastplate order. Spending fifty coins here would leave him nearly broke again. He weighed his options, then pointed at the middle jar.

"I’ll take the mid grade," he said. "Thirty coins, right?"

"Thirty," the woman confirmed with a nod.

He passed the coins across the counter, and she slid the jar into his hands. The medicinal smell in the air tickled his nose. It was a tangy bitterness, with something earthy beneath it. It reminded him of Ingrid’s salve.

The woman noticed his wrinkled nose and chuckled. "You’re smelling the emberleaf."

Wade raised an eyebrow. "Emberleaf?"

"Yes," she said, her smile widening as though pleased to teach.

She reached behind her and brought out a small bundle of leaves wrapped in twine. Each leaf was small and oval shaped, with faint red veins.

When she lifted one to the light, the veins glowed faintly, as if embers ran through them.

"Beautiful," Wade said before he could stop himself.

"They’re more than pretty," the woman replied. "Ground into paste, emberleaf soothes fever. Crushed, it treats wounds. And steeped in hot water, it makes a fine tea. Best with honey."

"Tea?" Wade asked.

She chuckled again. "I just made a fresh batch. Would you like to try?"

Wade hesitated. His coin pouch was light, and he wasn’t sure if this was another way to get him to spend more. But her offer seemed genuine.

He nodded. "I’ll try."

The woman poured steaming liquid from a clay pot into a small cup and handed it to him.

"Drink fast," she said. "When honey is added to emberleaf tea, it goes bad quickly. You must drink it before it spoils."

Wade accepted the cup, the steam rising to meet him. The smell was sweet and earthy. He sipped.

The taste was smooth, with a faint sweetness from the honey and a bitter edge from the leaf.

His eyes widened. Recognition hit him.

The flavor pulled a memory from years ago.

His mother, tired from her shift, had once tried her hand at making wines as a hobby.

For weeks, their small home had smelled of fermenting fruit and honey. She’d tried making mead, or as it was called, honey wine.

Wade lowered the cup slowly, staring at the faint red veins in the liquid.

Emberleaf didn’t make the tea spoil when honey was added. It was simply trying to speed up fermentation.

His heart thudded.

If emberleaf could force honey to ferment faster...

Then he could make fast mead.

Not weeks of waiting. Not months. Mead ready in days.

And adventurers loved their drink. Taverns thrived because ale never lost demand. Mead sold at a higher price as it was sweeter and stronger.

If he could make it quickly, he could undercut everyone else. He could flood the market with fast mead, sell it for less, and still walk away with massive profit.

The Dimensional Ledger’s panel flickered in his mind’s eye, the cosmic counter ticking upward. Profit.

He drained the cup in two gulps, his grin hidden behind it.

"How much emberleaf do you have?" he asked suddenly.

The woman blinked. "Enough. Why?"

"I want to buy it all," Wade said.

She tilted her head. "All of it?"

"Yes," Wade said firmly. "Every leaf you can spare. Name your price."

Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to read him. Then she smiled faintly. "You plan to resell?"

Wade shook his head. "Not exactly."

The woman chuckled. "Very well. For you, since you’re buying in bulk... forty coins for the lot."

Wade hesitated. His pouch was already thin. After the breastplate and the salve, spending another forty would leave him with only sixty coins.

But he could feel it in his bones. This was different. This was the kind of opportunity the Dimensional Ledger had been made for.

He placed the coins on the counter. "Done."

The woman bundled the emberleaf into a cloth sack and pushed it across to him. "Then it’s yours. Use it wisely."

Wade gripped the sack tightly, tucking it into his Inventory. The golden letters flickered again before his eyes.

Ding!

[Trade recorded.]

[Emberleaf bundle: 40 gold coins.]

[Cosmic Value: +0.8]

[Balance: 1.0]

Wade nearly laughed aloud. A full point in the counter. The Ledger itself recognized the opportunity.

As he stepped out of the apothecary, his thoughts raced.

He’d secured a breastplate to guard his chest, healing salve for his wounds, and now, emberleaf, and with it, his first true chance to turn profit into power.

And in that very moment, he felt very much like a Dimensional Merchant.