Bortan's Blends

Tucked into the salt-choked alleys of Ostenvik, Bortan’s Blends is a fixture of the port town—equal parts herbalist’s haven and arcane curiosity shop. The weather-beaten structure has stood for nearly four decades, its sagging roof patched with old ship canvas and its eaves forever strung with drying herbs that twitch in the sea wind like warding charms.
Locals rely on the shop for everything from wound salves and seasickness tinctures to protective wards and less-discussed "quieting agents." Sailors drop in before long voyages to pick up lucky charms or have their hands read over a cup of brambleleaf tea. The shop smells like dried lavender, damp stone, and something just faintly burned.
The cluttered front window, always in a state of careful chaos, showcases hand-labeled bottles, bone-carved tools, and glowing jars that flicker unnaturally in the dusk. No two visits are ever quite the same, and the back room is strictly off-limits—rumored to be where Madame Bortan keeps her more potent stock.

Architecture

The building is crooked and stubborn, its roof patched with driftwood and old sailcloth. Bundles of herbs—lavender, kelp, bloodroot, nettle—hang from the eaves like protective charms. The door creaks loudly when opened, as if it resents the interruption.
The window display is a chaotic shrine of mismatched glass jars and clay pots—some labeled in elegant calligraphy, others in smudged charcoal. Strange roots coil inside one, another holds something faintly glowing green. A few bottles catch the sunset and cast eerie reflections onto the cobbled street.

History

The shop was founded by Tholen Bortan, a soft-spoken alchemist and herbalist who came to Ostenvik seeking clean air, good roots, and an honest living. He was known for his meticulous blends and a gentler touch in a hard-edged town. Locals still remember him as the man who could coax blooms from salt-hardened soil and calm fevers with a few whispered words.
Tholen’s wife, Lillain Bortan, was a sorceress of some renown in her younger years—a firebrand with sea-stained boots and eyes that once glowed with stormlight. She spent more time away than home, vanishing for weeks at a time on "errands" most didn’t dare question. But when Tholen passed—quietly, without fanfare—Lillain returned for good. She buried him beneath the twisted yarrow bush behind the shop, and she hasn’t left since.
Now, Bortan’s Blends bears more of her signature than his: rougher, stranger, a touch dangerous. The potions are more potent. The labels harder to read. But the townsfolk still come. Because whatever she’s brewing in that shop, it works.
And sometimes, when the wind howls just right, you can hear her talking to him.

Type

Apothecary

Parent Location

Ostenvik

Owner

Madame Lillain Bortan

Characters in Location

• Madame Lillain Bortan