Jason groaned as he shoved his legs off the table, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He looked around what he assumed was the inside of Jory’s clinic, which was surprisingly similar to a medical exam room from his own world. Tiles and cabinets; clean, white surfaces. There was a plain chair next to the exam table, with his clothes folded neatly on it, along with a towel.

“Is that for me?” he asked.

“I put the ointment on you,” Jory said. “You can wipe it off yourself. You know, goading those two into kicking the snot out of you was the single dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. But what really impressed me was that you immediately topped it by standing up and doing it again. They weren’t mucking about that second time, either. The one you dumped paint on kicked you square in the head.”

“I don’t remember that,” Jason said.

“It was kind of a passing shot as they left,” Jory said. “I think you were already out.”

“Harsh,” Jason said. “I’ve been knocked out a lot this last week.”

“I believe you,” Jory told him. “You owe me for the healing potion I tipped down your throat, by the way. And two tins of healing ointment I used for the bruising.”

“No worries,” Jason said. “That’s actually why it wasn’t a stupid thing to do.”

Jory placed the last potion vial on a drying rack.

“This I want to hear,” he said, turning around to face Jason.

“Well, if someone beats you up, there’s healing potions,” Jason said.

“If you have the money,” Jory said.

“Valid point,” Jason acknowledged, “but in my case I do. Which means I can take a beating and the repercussions don’t last so long.”

“I don’t know about the rest of it,” Jory said, “but I will admit you can take a beating.”

“If you stay quiet when you wished you’d said something,” Jason said, “that regret builds up. Starts eating you from the inside, and there’s no potion for that.”

“Sure there is,” Jory said. “It’s called liquor. Another alchemist friend of mine has a distillery not too far from here.”

“That’s not a cure,” Jason said. “That’s setting yourself on fire to ward off the cold.”

“I’m not sure you're the guy I’m going to for advice about consequences,” Jory said.

“Probably for the best,” Jason said with a laugh. “Are you going to catch any blowback because I took those blokes on?”