Some People Just Seem to be Accident Prone

"I only took a small sniff," Astra protested. Her mind seemed to be clear, she noted, and she felt perfectly well.

"Even that was apparently too much. You've caused me a lot of worry. When you blacked out, naturally you dropped the bottle and the contents went all over the floor. When I came home, I found you lying there in the middle of a puddle of the stuff, with shards of broken glass all over the place."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you. How is it that you weren't affected by the fumes yourself?"

"I don't know. Maybe the active ingredient breaks down quickly when exposed to the air. Or maybe the fumes are lighter than air, and finished up near the ceiling. Or they might be heavier than air, and so remained near the floor. Anyway I left all the doors and windows open for a while to get a breeze through the house to disperse whatever might be left. Then I checked that you were breathing steadily. I cleared up the mess, buried in the garden the mop I had used and the pieces of glass, and then dragged you to your bed - which took quite a bit of doing I can tell you. I didn't want to get help, though. I thought that it would be best that no-one else, except perhaps for Granny, should know about this.

"Now, Astra, tell me where you obtained the bottle." Shirini suddenly spoke very sternly.

"I found it when I was scything, hidden in a clump of arrowleaf vines. It was under a stone with a strange rune on it. I assumed that it must have been hidden by the alchemists. I brought it back to show you. I thought that as a healer, and thus with some experience of medicines and potions, you might know what it was."

"I see. Well, I might be able to guess what it could be. But I need more information first. What colour was it? For it may have changed colour after being spilt. And what did it smell of when you opened the bottle?"

"It was pale yellow. I don't think it smelt of anything much, but I must have passed out so quickly that I can't be sure. Tell me, do you think that it will have done me any harm?"

1. "I shouldn't think so. It was probably merely a sleeping draught. You've been out for at least six hours. I imagine that the stuff in the bottle was meant to be greatly diluted prior to sale to the eventual customer. Undiluted, it was too quick-acting."
2. "I don't know, to be honest. Your pupils seem normal, though, which may be a good sign."
3. "Well, either the vapour or the pool of liquid that you were lying in, certainly had a very visible effect on you. Let me bring you a hand-mirror. I'm afraid that my original idea of trying to keep this quiet now won't be possible.

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