Description - Exterior

M&M Apothecary squats in a low brick building on Halsted with faded green trim and a striped awning that’s older than most of their customers. The windows are cluttered with glass jars, hand-painted signs ("NO CURES FOR HEARTACHE" reads one), and drying herbs that fill the air with an earthy tang. The front door always creaks. The bell above it never rings the same way twice.  

Description - Interior

Inside, it’s a narrow warren of wooden shelves, apothecary cabinets, and chalk-marked jars filled with powders, dried roots, bones, and oils—some labeled, most not. The air hums with the scent of mint, sulfur, and hot pepper. A small radio crackles jazz from behind the counter. The register sits atop a volume of Veil-Indexed Humors of the Body, and the backroom door is always locked—unless they like you. Which they usually don’t. Not at first.  

History

Founded in the early 1920s by Minnie’s grandfather, the shop passed through two generations before Mitch married into the madness. Together since the 30s, Minnie and Mitch have weathered Prohibition, Veil regulation crackdowns, gang wars, and at least three alleged hauntings. Fully licensed to perform and dispense regulated Veil treatments, they’re also known to do more... flexible work for trusted customers. The CPD won’t raid them. The Veil Commission won’t admit they exist.  

Owned By

Owned and operated by Minnie and Mitch Rawlins, a married couple who’ve run the shop since 1934. She handles ingredients and clients. He handles accounts, charmwork, and arguing with Minnie.  

Run By

Same as above—though ask Mitch and he’ll tell you he’s the boss. Ask Minnie and she’ll laugh you out of the building.  

Employees

• Minnie Rawlins – Blunt, brilliant, and still slinging poultices with a sharp tongue and sharper memory.
• Mitch Rawlins – Cantankerous charmwright, prone to muttering, better with rituals than people.
• Benny the Counterboy – Teen runner who knows when to talk and when to vanish.
• Ms. Lockett – Elderly clerk who only shows up on Tuesdays. Never speaks, but gets things done.
• Dom – Crooked Horn runner who drops off herbs at night, never uses the front door.
• “Chuckles” – A disembodied laugh that sometimes answers questions correctly.

 

Regulars

• Southside Sinners looking for counter-Veil charms and hangover cures.
• Crooked Horn couriers bartering for salt, steel, or clean bandages.
• Pregnant women told by their grandmothers to “go see Minnie, she’ll know.”
• Off-duty nurses who don’t trust hospitals with what’s really wrong.
• An old Polish man who trades ghost teeth for licorice.
• One local alderman’s wife, who pays in whispers and pearls.

 

Notes

• Minnie and Mitch argue constantly—but speak in eerie unison when casting Veil rituals.
• The backroom is warded six ways from Sunday. Those who try to sneak in come out changed... if they come out.
• They purchase raw stock from the Crooked Horn, but refuse to speak about the arrangement unless the moon is right—and you're bleeding.
• They have a “favor jar”—if your name’s in it, you owe them. If it breaks, they collect.
• There’s a photo on the wall of Minnie, Mitch, and a third person who no one remembers. It's always blurry, no matter how you print it.
• The crew may be sent here to broker Crooked Horn deals, acquire rare Veil meds, or ask about an unregistered ritual gone wrong. But don't lie. They’ll know. They always know.