The dried herbs were not difficult, though most of them were so old as to be useless. The ointments were a little more difficult, though only two or three presented a real challenge to her. The glass bottles were the most difficult and had to be approached with the greatest caution. Elena knew that many such things did great good in small quantities, but could cause equally great harm when misused. Those things she could not identify were relegated to the growing pile of refuse. She would carefully pour out the contents, then clean the precious glass vials for other uses.As she put those few useful items back in one of the cupboards, organizing them carefully, as she would if this were her own stillroom, she noticed a small cloth bundle. She pulled it forth and noticed immediately that the cloth seemed newer than the other sacks they had found so far, its colors brighter. Very little dust had settled on it. Perhaps this was more of Ranald’s secret recipe, since clearly he was the one using this space.Carefully she unwrapped the leather cord and spread the cloth out so she could see the contents.“What is that, Elena-mine?”
