The three find the old man who greeted them at the entrance and asked about the cure. The man responded "You must mean the apothecary Batousai's shop. He's at the south end of the square. But, be careful. He only helps strangers when he's in a good mood."
The three thanked the old man and made their way towards the south end of the massive market. At the very end of the street they found a shop with a sign that had markings on it that AXEM and CHRIS couldn't read. TRITHAL said, "Oh, here it is!" AXEM and CHRIS shrugged at each other, then walked in.
Once inside, they found a mysterious looking gentleman, who notices the markings on TRITHAL's face then starts speaking to him in the same weird language that he and THRAX used earlier in the labyrinth. CHRIS lets out a "PFFFFFT" and rolls his eyes and shakes his head.. In the language, the man says "Greetings, travelers, I am Batousai the Apothecary. What can I do for you today?"
TRITHAL responds in the same language, "A pleasure to meet you. I am Trithal the Divine Wind. My friend here understands that you can cure some diseases. He comes seeking a cure for his mysterious illness."
Batousai takes a good look at AXEM, then asks TRITHAL in the weird language "So, tell me what happened to this young man," TRITHAL then proceeded to explain what happened to AXEM in the weird language. Then Batousai said in English, "So he had a double-encounter with the female spirits of the waterfall?" He then chuckles, and says, "Figures. I could tell from looking at him he'd be susceptible to such a curse."
CHRIS (suprised): "Wait a second. I thought you didn't speak English! What's with all that foreign jibberish?"
TRITHAL (to CHRIS): "You think too much, Chris! Shut up!"
The apothecary turned to AXEM and said, "Not to worry, I got a cure for it!" He turns to go into his storeroom, and says, "It'll cost you 1000 GP"
Realizing that if he paid that much he wouldn't have hardly any money left, AXEM proceeded to haggle with the apothecary. After going back-and-forth, they agreed on 500 GP. The apothecary mixed a concoction and poured it into a drinking glass and instructed AXEM to drink it up as fast as he can. After doing so, AXEM's face turned green as he starts gagging.
AXEM: "What the hell is that stuff?"
Batousai: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you! Besides, you really don't want to know. Trust me!" (to TRITHAL) "You know, a fellow with similar markings as yours was here earlier today, only his eyes were red where yours are blue."
The three think he may be referring to their absent party member THRAX.
Batousai: "He came in here and bought quite a bit of pixie dust. He must've been heading to a big party. The funny part is I sold that shit to him for twice the amount it's worth!"
The three are now convinced that he is referring to THRAX.
TRITHAL: "Yes, He's one of our companions. But he's disappeared since we got here. We last saw him heading for the brothels."
Batousai: "Ah, I see. He should be warned that over-use of that pixie dust could lead to trouble. The last person who used too much of it ended up with his brain in a jar."
AXEM: "Well, if that does happen it would serve him right. He's all the time doing shit he regrets later on. He never learns any lessons from his fuck-ups."
After that, the three exchanged their thanks with the apothecary the departed to the Inn for supper...
-------------------------
...All the while THRAX, with some pixie dust in hand, goes after the brothels. After sighting one that looked cheap, he approached the rough-looking man at the door.
Doorman: "Lookin fer a good time, stranger?"
THRAX: "Yeah, mostly just wandering around, though. Wanting to get laid tonight. I'm always looking for some way I can be quickly and effortlessly more leveled up and experienced than my fellow party memebers so I think it would be cool if I could figure out some way to do that."
Doorman: "Well, I don't know about all that fancy stuff, but I can sure set you up with one of our girls."
THRAX: "That's definitely a place to start."
THRAX goes inside, uses some of that pixie dust and ends up spending more than it was worth on a bedroom romp. THRAX feeling bored of the whole romp because the hot girl he was with inexplicably succumbed to the same death the third hottie received from THRAX in episode two, went on exploring the district. After a couple hours of almost mindless wandering, he enters a music shop. He proceededs to pick up the most outlandish guitar you could think of best suited for a person who is all looks and no talent. He starts playing a little bit and the shopkeep takes notice.
Shopkeep: "Boy, you certainly are a worlds better compared to the last jackass that came in here."
THRAX not really thinking about what the shopkeep said in analytical detail says, "Oh, yeah?"
Shopkeep: "Yeah. He played this silly little ditty that was so simplistic that anyone with any musical talent would figure it out in 5 seconds."
The shopkeep continues as THRAX lifts his head up.
Shopkeep: "He also played the most half-ass version of 'Fuel' by Metallica that I have ever heard so I threw his ass out."
THRAX was certain that his party members hadn't gone far because only one member of the quartet's antics matches that of the scenario the shopkeep gave him so he put the guitar down and preceeded to wander around mindlessly a little more. THRAX came across a seedy tavern with even more seedy clientele.
There, he meets a man named Burnadahn, who claims to hold the key to being able to 'easily and effortlessly' get a stat boost, and a long list of spells.
Burnadahn knowing a sucker when he sees one says, "You have come in search of power, am I right, bearded one?"
THRAX: "That's possible."
Burnadahn: "I have an offer so sweet that you would have to be a total retard not to take it."
Burnadahn goes into insane detail about how 'great' this deal is. Burnadahn paints such a pretty picture for THRAX, that THRAX seriously considers the deal.
THRAX thinks to himself, "I'll show them. I'll meet up with the trio and I'll be so powerful, they are gonna be begging for forgiveness for saying my schemes always turn to shit. I'm gonna totally stomp ass on the battle field. It's gonna freak them out."
THRAX: "Ok, let's do it."
Burnadahn: "This is an experimental stimulant which will knock you down on your ass for a half a day. During that time, your legs will be like jello and you can puncture them like a pencil through parchment paper."
Anybody else but THRAX would've zoomed right out the door, but not our HELLFIRE summoner, the guy who believes nothing is too good to be true. Burnadhan proceeds to administer the 'stimulant'.
The hour was growing late. The other three finished their dinner at the restaurant next door to the Inn then turned in for the night, all the while seeing no sign whatsoever of THRAX.
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