The Unexpected Subject Matter Expert

Writers: Halyonix, Yvonne
Date Posted: 20th August 2025

Characters: Jisalle, Laithan
Description: Laithan asks Jisalle to take a look at a plant
Location: Healer Hall
Date: month 8, day 1 of Turn 12

Notes:
~*~

Laithan scowled at the seedling in his hand. There was a yellowing on the leaves that seemed unhealthy. It shouldn't be that color this early. Why was it turning that color?

His dark eyes meticulously inspected the seedlings around it. No yellowing there. Was it a problem just affecting one or was this seedling the first? Patient zero. He did not know. He knew bodies. He knew what to do with plants on bodies. But he did not know just plants.

He let out a sharp whistle as he strode from the new greenhouse. Aspiration appeared almost instantly. "Go warn Jisalle that I'm coming," the Hallmaster said, envisioning the herbalist that usually preferred to stay at the main Hold. Probably avoiding him. Something about him being a pessimist probably.

Aspiration took off and disappeared, presumably to find her. Laithan grabbed his cloak and began his walk over.

The herbalist in question jumped when Aspiration came from /between/ above where she knelt in the Hold's herb garden, her cold hands full of weeds and a large woven hat on her head. The sudden appearance of little bronze could only mean one thing: the Master Healer was on his way. She scrambled to her feet and hurried toward the Hold's main entrance to meet him, her heart pounding as she tried to imagine what he'd want with her. **Herbs, probably,** she reminded herself.

Still, she was nervous, and had to quell the urge to wave like a dimglow at Laithan as he approached the Hold. "Good afternoon Master Laithan," she said once he was within earshot.

"Good afternoon," he answered gruffly. "I need your expertise with plants," he explained, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "Come with me to the Hall and I'll show you." His tone said that this was not a request for an appointment at her convenience.

**Good afternoon to you too,** Jisalle thought with a sigh. **How nice to see you. How are your children doing? What lovely weather we are having.** Instead of saying any of that, she nodded and followed him as he turned back toward the Hall. "I'm happy to help if I can, although plants can be finicky sometimes. What sort of herbs are causing you troubles Master Laithan?"

"Borage," he answered. He was mostly certain that it was borage anyway. He didn't have any comfrey growing yet. Those looked similar enough for him to mistake sometimes. But that reminded him that he needed to get those comfrey seeds. They were invaluable in poultices. "It's just one plant but I don't want it to become a _problem_, understand?"

"Naturally." Jisalle wrinkled her nose as she thought. Borage, or starflower, was a relatively easy plant to grow in the Amber Hills region. "How is the rest of the Hall's garden coming along?"

"Fine. Just fine," Laithan answered. Aspiration flew around in lazy spirals, occasionally looping back to chitter amiably at Jisalle before veering off again. Laithan scowled at his firelizard's whimsies. Dratted thing. "We're supposed to be getting in some seeds from other places. As soon as a dragonrider takes me there."

Her attention perked up at that. The new Healer Hall's greenhouses opened up all sorts of exotic possibilities. "That's exciting! I look forward to hearing what you are able to bring back. I hear that there's a plant that grows in some of the hotter, swampier areas called spadewort. It's an aquatic herb but I have heard that it's excellent for skincare. If you happen to run across someone with seeds, I would consider it a great favour if you could pick some up for me." As soon as she made the request, she flushed. Her, asking the Healer Hallmaster for seeds! "I- I mean, if it pleases you. It's not really something necessary. Just a curiosity."

Laithan nearly whirled on her. "'If it pleases me?' Cut that whershit out. I'm not an overbearing Lord Holder. I don't do groveling. And neither should you. Spadewort, you said? Is it any good on rashes or ezcema? Contact dermatitis?"

"Ah--" Jisalle scrambled to put her thoughts in order. She wasn't a Healer, she was just a herbalist. She tended the herb garden and made lotions for wrinkles, and endless vats of tooth powder, baby cream and deodorants for the Hold. "I don't know. I heard that it might be good for good for dry skin, which means that it might also be good for wound healing or scarring? I want to grow some to see for myself what it can do."

His dark eyes pierced her for a moment. "I'll get you some of it and you can test it," he said after a pregnant pause. "And you'll report back to me the results. In detail." It fit with their mission. And if they could find something new, and therefore teachable, to the next generation, even better. He waved away a student as they entered the Hall proper, steering them towards the greenhouse. "Here," he said as he approached one of the beds. He drew her attention to the yellowed seedling. "What's wrong with it?"

It was just the one seedling, a curl of green nearly as tall as her finger. Jisalle knelt to poke the damp soil. The seedling looked like it had enough space between itself and the next plant to spread its roots and soak up the sun. She turned over the tender young leaves but her touch disturbed no powdery residues or scuttling bugs. "I'm not sure. Borage is usually pretty hardy... my advice would be to pull it and plant another seedling in its place. And have your apprentices avoid overwatering or wetting the leaves. Sometimes borage can catch a leaf mold if its too wet." She tilted her hat so she could look up at the Hallmaster. "I have a healthy row of established starflower in my garden. I could dig one up for you and bring it by tomorrow if you like?"

Laithan scowled at the plant as though it had personally offended him by _not_ doing something unexpected. "Sure. Fine. That'll work." He waved his hand at the other beds. "Have a look around and tell me if you think I'm missing anything else important here. We start classes next month."

"I'd love to! I mean, I can offer my thoughts but I don't really know what sort of herbs you'll want for your classes beyond the basics that the Hold keeps." Jisalle stood and brushed her hands together to knock off the dirt. "I _am_ looking forward to talking to your head gardener but I don't know when they'll be arriving."

"Neither do I," Laithan muttered unhappily. Another thing he was going to have to look into. The man should have been here already but kept running into one delay after another. At this rate, Laithan was going to have to conscript a dragonrider to ferry him there. "I'll get you a list of the most used salves. We can start there. And then, when the gardener arrives, I'll have you talk to him about what else we need. Besides spadewort." He looked at the nearest bed. "You may as well have a look around at what's planted so far anyway and tell me if we're overwatering or whatever."

"Ah, all right." Jisalle wondered again why the Master Healer was asking _her_ of all people. Still, it was an opportunity to poke around the greenhouses and her curiosity wouldn't let her pass it up. There was bound to be all sorts of strange and wonderful plants tucked into odd corners, and if she was sneaky maybe she could steal a few clippings to propagate for her own garden patch. "I'll take a little wander around today then, and be back tomorrow with that starflower for you after lunch. Will that work for you?"

"Works for me. I've got workers to oversee anyway. They've already messed up the mortar on one of the walls today. Who knows what else they'll much up before sunset." He made a flicking motion at his firelizard, who went to perch in the rafters. "You need anything, you let Aspiration know. He'll come get me," Laithan said, pointing at the firelizard.

She looked up at the firelizard and wondered how it would know. They were such curious things. "Thank you."

All she got back was a grunt as he left.

Last updated on the August 29th 2025

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The Unexpected Subject Matter Expert