[Silthara Palace — Chamber of Physician Naram — Night]
Night had settled deeply over Silthara Palace.
Beyond the carved lattice windows of the physician's chamber, the moon hung like a pale coin over the desert sky. The palace had grown quieter now, its long corridors dimly lit by bronze oil lamps whose flames trembled softly in the night wind.
Inside the chamber of Physician Naram, however, work had not yet ended.
Scrolls lay open across a cedar table. Mortars of polished stone held crushed herbs, dried roots, and powdered minerals gathered from the far corners of the empire.
At the center of the table stood a small glass jar filled with smooth white tablets. Naram carefully placed the last tablet inside before sealing the lid.
He wiped his hands slowly upon a cloth and looked at the jar with quiet satisfaction.
"Powder of Shamash Bloom," he murmured thoughtfully.
