13.7 Healing yourself

Healing in Imperian may be accomplished in a number of ways, dependent upon
your resources and what it is you wish to heal.

Sleeping and Meditating
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Healing of health may be accomplished by sleeping, while mana may be healed via meditation. SLEEP will put you to sleep, WAKE will wake you up, MEDITATE will cause you to meditate and any command will cause you to cease meditating. These are the most basic methods of healing, but they are not really sufficient for an experienced adventurer, as they are slow and require that you do not do anything else while performing them.

The other ways of healing are legion. They include abilities in various skills, salves, elixirs, plants, and smoking. Nothing need be said here about the abilities, as suitable help may be found on those within the skills.  However, the other methods need some explanation.

Elixirs and Salves
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Elixirs are liquids that may heal health, mana, cure afflictions, or set up various defences. Salves are also fluids, though note they are thicker and are able to be spread on your body.

Both elixirs and salves come in the various types of vials found throughout the land, and when full, can be used many times before running out.

You may refer to elixirs and salves by the vial they are in. For example, if you were holding a mahogany vial, you would type DRINK MAHOGONY VIAL or DRINK <vial#>, etc. Often, you may wish to drink a certain type of fluid contained in one of your vials. You may DRINK <fluid type> and have Imperian search for the first vial in your inventory containing that type of fluid (also works with APPLY described below).  You may also want to learn Perception until you have  the "elixlist" ability, which will allow you to list the contents of all the vials you are holding.

One drinks an elixir, but one applies a salve. One may apply a salve to either head, back, arms, legs, or body. For instance, a salve of mending would cure a broken arm if applied to your arm, and a broken leg if applied to your legs.  The syntax would be APPLY <vial#> TO ARMS or APPLY MAHOGONY VIAL TO ARMS. You may also simply do: APPLY MAHOGANY VIAL, for instance, and the game will heal the first thing it finds that whatever is in your mahogany vial can heal and that you are afflicted with.

You may purchase elixirs and salves from the marketplaces around Imperian, or you may ask someone trained in the skill of Concoctions.

Plants
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Plants, in this context, are things that you eat. (Some may be smoked. See the next section.) Eating plants generally cure afflictions, or set up defences for you. You may find both of these for sale in marketplaces around Imperian, or you may ask someone trained in the skill of Concoctions.

Smoking
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Some defences, such as an anti-weapon field (created by smoking the linseed plant), and some cures are effected by smoking plants. To do this, you simply find yourself a nice pipe, PUT <whatever> IN PIPE, LIGHT PIPE (you must have a source of fire, such as a tinderbox in your inventory), and then SMOKE PIPE. A lit pipe will eventually go out if you don't smoke it now and then, but you can simply relight it.

When dealing with multiple pipes, you may also LIGHT PIPES, PUT <herb> IN PIPE, and SMOKE PIPE WITH <herb>.

You will find a list of some of the elixirs, salves, and useful plants, and the afflictions they cure, using AFFLICTION CURES.