Poppy shook her head wildly. “No! My mother is a physician. She may only trade for supplies a few times a year. That is why she requires a large measure of each of these items. There is no Bludseth on our island, I swear it.”
“And where is this island, young lady?”
“Van... Vangesu, south of Citternia. Do you know it, Sir?”
“Indeed, I do,” he replied gravely. “One of the worst outbreaks of the Bludseth occurred there, just a few months ago. Over half the population succumbed, I am told.”
Poppy licked her suddenly dry lips.
* * * *
By early afternoon, when Poppy still had not returned, Gunnar sent Jakob to the Apothecary Street to find her.
He gave his son a worried smile, “She has probably just gone shopping and forgotten the time. You know how women are.” Then he turned back to his
