Ye Olde Faire in Camelot #4: Apothecary

The faire is coming to town! Come one, come all but don't ignore the call!

Note: Please read over this swap carefully, it's not complicated I just like to explain everything with as much detail as I can, but make sure you read all the criteria before signing up.

This is the fourth in what will be a series of swaps based on the old traveling faires. Whether gypsies, a troupe of entertainers or players, whatever names they were called by, they would set up tents just on the outskirts of town and sell their wares, read fortunes, play instruments, and entertain! They would also sell things for the children, potions to cure aliments, weapons, jewelry and so much more. Just a simple faire but something new and exciting nonetheless!

Your experience continues here...

Stuffing your stomach with all that faire food maybe wasn't such a grand idea after all! You don't want to go home yet, the faire is just getting underway! Maybe a simple tonic or some herbal tea...anything to calm your stomach, maybe soothe the slight headache you've acquired tonight or something to re-invigorate you and give you back a bit of pep. Faires are fun, but when you're not used to all the sights, sounds and plentiful amounts of food a body can get a bit out of sorts!

Maybe, just maybe the faire folk know this too and hopefully someone was insightful enough to set up an apothecary's tent to benefit from poor folk like us who've overdone the faire...oh thank heavens! Just down the row a bit you spy a man and a lady selling herbal cures and items, best see what they have to offer...

This will be a simple swap! You will be sending your partner a cure for what ails them! Be it herbal tea for their tummy, a calming sachet or essential oil to soothe a headache or a small pouch of stones/crystals to energize them so they can enjoy the rest of the faire without undue fatigue.

For any or all options listed please try to remember that you are "purchasing" these wares from an apothecary/healer, so make it something you would find/buy from his tent. Also, please include what ingredients are used in your cure and a set of instructions for use/preparing as would any good apothecary.

Choose one to send to your partner (or choose them all if you wish), but don't just send a packet of tea in an envelope, get creative! Try sending a few different loose teas for them to mix or your own blend for them to try (and maybe some recipes for teas too) and try sending some muslin or cotton teabags to steep them in. (If you want to get more extravagant you can send along a tea mug/cup as well but that is optional). Note: If you are from a country that cannot accept imported teas please leave a message below so your partner will know not to send/select that option.

For the sachet, try to make it look authentic, again use muslin or cotton - or any natural fabrics that would have been available during medieval times. You can use any assortment of herbs to soothe a headache, mint, chamomile, lavender, feverfew, etc. For the essential oil, peppermint works well, but there are also other oils that calm headaches too. You may use an old medicine bottle or vile for the oil. (Maybe the apothecary said to place a few drops on a handkerchief and tuck into your chest pocket or perhaps even a drop or two on your palms and to cup them around your face and inhale deeply to relieve a headache).

Just make sure if you are sending liquid in a glass container to pack it well before shipping and take precautions so it doesn't break and arrives intact.

As for the crystals or stones, there are several kinds that give energy or absorb negative energy (you can do a quick search online if you aren't already familiar) that will boost one's vigor for the night! They can be loose stones, collected in a small pouch to put in your pocket, or the stones/crystals can be in the form of simple jewelry, attached to a piece of leather or cloth cord to wear around the neck or wrist.

(For obvious reasons please try to follow the examples above. Old medicinal tinctures and headache powders are authentic, but please don't send them to your partner as everyone has different reactions to certain ingredients found in such mixtures. That is the reason why I am sticking to just herbal teas for tummy aches, aromatherapy for headaches and stones/crystals for energy/balancing. These are safe and are not "drugs" so there is no chance of violating any shipping restrictions as well.)

This is a group swap so everyone should be trustworthy and should have the minimum rating of 4.9, which is the group requirement. I will say this now - if you flake on a group swap you will be dropped from the group. Also, if you are going to be late even by a day please pm your partner to let them know it's just common courtesy...I understand life happens!

I will allow plenty of time to research/complete as I know life can be a bit hectic.

Any questions or comments, please leave them below or pm me.

Have fun with this and feel better soon, there is still plenty more of the faire to enjoy!