Botháin Cneasaí (Bo-hane Kn-ya-sae)
(Irish) Healer Huts
Tears ran down the oft-cherry cheeks of Rødhåret Pottemør as he staggered along an overgrown dirt path. The scent of barley-bean stew clung to his now sweat-drenched clothes as if he were still sitting over the evening meal for the sawmill labourers. "500 paces.. 400 paces.. 300 paces.." he thought as he trudged step-after-step, hands blistered and bleeding from the rope attached to the sledge he dragged behind him. The soundless undulations of chapped lips of blurred face peeking through the sawmill's kitchen doors filled his mind's eye. He didn't need to hear what was being shouted again.. he knew what they said. "Rød come quick, it's your daughter!" Why were the lips so detailed? How could he recall the smattering of sawdust on the upper lip broken only by sweat lines yet not remember who they belonged to. "Rød! I said it's your DAUGHTER. Drop the planer and get to the riverbank. NOW!" The silhouette of a young Halfling woman mid-axe swing stood motionless on the sledge. Her still face preserved the determined look she had given Rød her entire youth but the spark she inherited from her mother's eyes was nowhere to be seen. Rød's eyes returned to the pathway before him. The sick feeling in his stomach returned again from looking at her skin, perpetually tanned from days working in the sun, now gleaming with a waxen sheen. Spittle and sweat steadily stained the dirt in his wake with traces of "200 paces.. 100 paces.." fading into the air around him between the heaves of his chest. "If anyone can save you my love, it's her" he whispers softly, more to himself than his daughter, as he approached the crest of the hill - the roofs of three thatched huts poking into view.
Overview
Botháin Cneasaí is a group of three thatched huts built around a stone well that serve as the home and clinic of Airmid Cneasaí, the preeminent healer for Litenåsby. Herbs and flowers amenable to domestication fill baskets hanging from the perimeter of each hut. Well groomed gardens fill the entirety of the small complex anywhere other than the stone paths interconnecting the huts and the well.
Hut 1 - Airmid's Residence
The first thatched hut is the smallest and most insignificant, nigh overgrown from disuse. Only a small pile of straw imprinted with the residual imprint of a small form ordains the space.
Hut 2 - Dry Storage
The second thatched hut is filled with wicker containers emitting the earthy and spicy aromas of dried herbs, balanced by the sweet scent of dried flowers - garlands of which ornament the area beneath the hut's roof.
Hut 3 - Workshop
A large wooden covered sits to one side of the hut covered with various implements for scraping, cutting, grinding, and pounding organic materials into elixirs and poultices. A coarse fiber cloth lies upon a thin layer of freshly cut straw in the middle of the room. A small crate containing bleached fabric strips sits next to a washbasin, and a small table holding neatly arranged medical instruments.
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