"Going hunting without herbs is like going hunting without a deed; either way, you're flirting with Lady Death." - Anonymous

Hunting and healing are a way of life in Elanthia, and usually fall in that order. No matter how protective your armor, how strong your defensive spells, or how good your hunting strategy, fate will step in at one time or another and deal you a blow, usually when you're far from the nearest healing area! Things like unpredictable weather, fallen spells, or wrong fighting stance can put you at a disadvantage, not to mention having a really mean and nasty critter standing before you, using all the powers at his disposal to put you in an early grave.

It is a fact that you can save yourself time and money by keeping a first aid pouch at your fingertips at all times. Compared to the expense of tipping the empath and cleric who bring you back to life, your lost experience and the cost of a deed, not to mention the time it takes to regain your fighting spirit, buying a few herbs is relatively inexpensive. Often you can find a resting empath to make you a few herbs if you ask nicely.

In this column, I'll discuss wounds and scars of the head, neck, arms, legs, hands, and address blood loss. You'll read how to recognize the severity of the wound or scar, what herbs or potions to take in order to heal it, and a few hints on where you can forage for some of the herbs commonly used for these wounds.

Head and Neck

I personally believe the most dangerous places for anyone to get a wound are the head or the neck. Head wounds can kill instantly or leave you unable to cast a spell that might save your life. Neck wounds have a tendency to bleed profusely, draining your strength and your vitality.

The first thing you should do upon taking a life-threatening blow is to put yourself in a defensive stance. If you diagnose yourself and calculate that one more hit from the critter will probably kill you, leave the room. Hide if you can, otherwise find a quiet spot and take stock of your damage. An invisibility amulet can really come in handy in these situations, too! If you feel you can safely stay in the room where critters are swinging at you and not take on more damage when you disarm to pull out your herbs, have someone stand with you and guard you. Please do NOT call on the Amunet or the Voln net for an empath to fog to you for healing. Empaths spend over 71 mana just to locate you, fog to you and then fog back to the gate, and on top of that they need mana to heal you. That mana can be better spent rescuing those adventurers that have died.

The most important thing to do is stop your bleeding. The order of healing is that you heal a major wound "down" to a minor wound, which means you usually take the most potent herb or potion first. Here's the trick: one bite (or one sip) of a herb (or potion) will heal a medium wound or scar; two bites (or sips) will heal a major wound or scar. Determining the severity of your wound can be a little confusing, however. How can you tell if you need two bites or sips to heal? Very easily; if you're bleeding on the head, for example, and you take a bite of aloeas stem, and you're still bleeding from the head afterwards, you have a major head wound and need to take another bite. If it only takes one bite to stop the bleeding, you have a medium head wound.

The following herbs and potions heal wounds of the head and neck. Remember that when you have a wound on BOTH your head and neck, your neck will always be healed first.

Aloeas stem, a fibrous stem from the Aloeas shrub, stops bleeding of the head or neck. Aloeas stem can be foraged in cold, wet areas such as the Coastal Cliffs and Lyserian Hills.

Rose-marrow potion, extracted from the bark of rose trees, heals a bruised head or neck. You will find it in the herb shop or perhaps on a critter, they often carry a flask with them <g>.

Now, you've stopped the bleeding and healed down your wounds, but you happen to glance down at your reflection in a calm pool and see you have some disfiguring scars; worse, you discover that you can't cast a spell or search your kill. Now what?

The following herbs and potions heal scars of the head and neck. Again, the neck will always be healed first, so diagnose yourself carefully and heal the worst scarring first.

Brostheras Potion, extracted from the deep violet Brostheras berry, heals both major and medium scars on the head and neck. Again, you can find this potion in the herb shop. However, it takes such time and effort to extract the juice from the berry that Surtey charges an astronomical price for it.

Haphip Root, derived from the roots of the Haphip tree, is a plant that heals minor scarring of the head and neck. Note: these scars will not hamper your ability to search, skin or cast a spell. Haphip root can be foraged in hot humid areas, such as the Citadel garden in River Rest.

Arms, Legs and Hands

Although wounded limbs don't bleed as much as head or neck wounds, they pose a threat to the adventurer. Blood loss can weaken your strength, and a combination of two bleeding hands or a missing limb can prevent spell casting, as well as lower your defenses and prevent you from defending yourself with shield or sword.

The following herbs and potions heal limb wounds. As you heal, arms will be healed first, then legs, then hands.

Ephlox moss is a rare delicate fungus, dull gray in appearance, which stops bleeding of fractured or severed limbs. One bite is usually sufficient for a fractured limb; two bites are required for a severed limb. Ephlox moss can be foraged on the Coastal Cliffs near standing pools of water or near streams.

Ambrominas leaf comes from the Ambrominas bush, and has lovely dark green oval leaves that heal cut and bruised limbs. Ambrominas leaf can be foraged in the grasslands and lower foothills of the Trollfang.

To your dismay, you find that when you've healed down a severed limb, your limb is now missing. Waving your arm in frustration, you notice you're only waving a stump! There's a handy little herb for this problem.

Sovyn clove isn't really a clove at all, but a tiny pale pink flower from the Sovyn bush. When dried and eaten, they can restore a missing limb. Note: The limb must be free of wounds before this herb will restore your limb, but as a bonus, you will have no scar remaining after eating the clove. Sovyn clove can be foraged in the Elven Village.

Other herbs for limb scars:

Calamia fruit, a large, dark pink fruit from the Calamia tree, heals a mangled limb which can affect your swing, search and casting (two mangled hands may prevent casting). Calamia fruit can be foraged in warm moist areas, such as the forests of the Trollfang and down near Silver Lake.

Cactacae spine comes from the long brown thorns of the Cactacae cactus, and heals old battle scars from the limbs. Cactacae spine can be foraged in desert-like areas, such as the area around the Abandoned Inn and south of the Spider Temple.

Blood Loss

If you decide to be utterly reckless and carry none of the wound-healing herbs with you, at least carry the most important one of all! Two or three bites of this herb to restore a bit of blood can mean the difference between dying on the trail to town and walking into the North Gate on your own feet (and empaths can't heal those terrible scrapes you get on your backside when you are dragged!).

Acantha leaf comes from the Acantha bush, and has elegant, narrow light green leaves that heal minor blood loss, up to 10 units of blood a bite. Acantha leaf can be foraged in many places in Wehnimer's Landing, including east of the North Gate, along the path around the town, and north of the Voln monastery by the beach.

Other herbs that heal blood loss:

Yabathillium fruit, a small green fruit, is rather tart but heals minor blood loss, up to 10 units of blood a bite. Yabathillium fruit can be foraged in the same areas as Acantha leaf.

Cuctucae berries are bright yellow berries from the Cuctucae bush that heal major blood loss, up to 50 units of blood. Cuctucae berries can be foraged in cool, high elevations, such as the hills around Hobland and near the Gash.

Cothinar flower, a tiny white flower found on the Cothinar plant, is very potent and can heal up to 50 units of blood a bite. These flowers are rare and are usually found in cool damp areas such as the Trollfang foothills.

If you plan to make a trip to Teras Isle, or know someone who will be making a trip, you might invest in the healing ales on the Isle. Bloody Krolvin Ale heals up to 75 units of blood a sip, and can be bought by the barrel (10 sips). It makes a nice change from chewing acantha leaf <g>. Most herbs can be bundled, but due to recent changes, you can only gather your herbs into 50 bite bundles. Potions can be combined, and each potion bottle holds about 7 sips. Just make sure you are mixing the same potions, or you'll end up with a chemical explosion that might blacken your fingers!

In the next issue of the Elanthian Times, I'll talk about healing the chest, abdomen, back, and eyes, as well as diseases and poisons (including those wonderful box traps!)

Advice for Adventurers: "Take the time to learn of this lands rich history, seek to understand others, and understand how we can all compliment each other's strengths to make for a rich existance."

Advice for Empaths: "Always put people above and beyond anything else. Take the time to get to know them, befriend them, and enjoy them as they enjoy you. There are important things with regard to training an such, but I have always believed that people are what this land is all about and is its richest resource. Above all else, laugh and have fun, everything else will come in due time."