Bridge South Borough, Harvest Church.
Emlyn White stood in the kitchen in a priest's robe, directing the sisters Freya and Daisy as they tossed different herbs into a large iron pot, while he focused on mixing the medicine in another large cauldron.
When Aitris had exhausted all her strength carrying the sisters' mother, Mrs. Liv, out of the Great Smog in the East Borough, the latter had already been on her last breath. Had she not escaped those black iron-colored fumes in time, she would have died long ago.
Even so, Mrs. Liv's health had suffered tremendous damage. Acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocarditis, liver damage, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, and a series of other hidden ailments caused by prolonged overexertion and living in a filthy environment had all erupted at once...
Fortunately, when Aitris found her, she had decisively fed her a potion that stimulated vitality. Only then had they managed to reach Harvest Church before Mrs. Liv died, where Emlyn, a professional Apothecary, saved her life.
By then, the plague caused by the Great Smog had already spread. Many believers developed by Bishop Utravsky, as well as desperate nonbelievers, had flooded into Harvest Church seeking medicine, leaving Emlyn and Hazel overwhelmed.
Seeing this, Daisy and Freya volunteered to stay and help Emlyn prepare the potions out of gratitude.
As for Aitris, he had gone home to check on his parents.
"Priest White, ten minutes are up." Daisy glanced at the wall clock and reminded him.
Emlyn nodded, scooped up the pitch-black liquid with an iron ladle, and suddenly frowned.
The potion's quality was astonishingly good, at least thirty to forty percent more effective than the ones he usually brewed himself.
Could it be because this church has the Earth Mother Goddess's blessing?
*But the Mother Goddess governs harvest and life.