Doc Pruitt has a tonic for the nerves of Virgil, a rancher out past the south-west end of Last Chance. He's short one thing: "something from the water that makes a man feel light. Not drowned. Light." One you caught yourself. He gave you the family recipe, a bottle, the cactus and the fish oil. Brew it at an alchemy table and take a bottle out to Virgil's ranch.
Quest item: 
Pruitt's Tonic
Steps
- Brew the doc's tonic at an alchemy table and take a bottle out to Virgil's ranch · Virgil's ranch
- Take the tonic to Virgil at his ranch, south-west of Last Chance · his ranch
Reward
150 gold and XP
Dialogue
Starting it
- “There's a rancher out past the edge of town. Virgil. His nerves are shot. He jumps at his own shadow. Then he apologises to it.”
- “I've got a tonic for that. Old family recipe. My family was very nervous.”
- “I've got the cactus, the fish oil, and a bottle to put it in. What I'm out of is the one thing that makes it work.”
- “Something from the water that makes a man feel light. Not drowned. Light. That's how my father wrote it down. He wasn't a doctor. He was a poet. That's worse.”
- “And it's got to be one you caught yourself. Store-bought's no good. A fish that ends up in a store has already given up.”
- “The better the catch, the stronger the tonic. A cheap lure catches cheap medicine. I'll write that down. That's my one poem.”
- “Brew it at an alchemy table. Then take a bottle out to Virgil. South-west end of town, through the gate, follow the road. He'll be on his porch. He's always on his porch.”
Talking to them again
- “Something from the water that makes a man feel light. One you caught yourself. Brew it at an alchemy table. Then out to Virgil.”
- “If it doesn't brew, it's the wrong fish. Or the right fish that's lost its spirit. Burnt, store-bought. Same thing, really.”
Handing it in
- “The doc's tonic. Well. Let's have a sip.”
- “Huh. Tastes like fish. Nerves are about the same. Now I'm nervous, and I smell like fish.”
- “Here. The doc said to pay you. Don't spend it all at once. Out here there's nothing to spend it on anyhow.”
At the hand-in without the item
- “Doc said you'd bring me something. You didn't bring me anything. That's all right. Nobody does.”
When your bag is full
- “Your bag's full. Out here a man travels light. Or he doesn't travel.”
boone bribe
- “Spent your hundred and fifty on a new hat. Not for me. For the hat. It's been through a lot.”
boone keep
- “That evidence. I tested it. Jumped clean over the jail. Nobody believes me. I'd need more evidence.”
boone talk
- “The banker. Back again. Don't foreclose on anything while I'm watching.”
bribe
- “A hundred and fifty. That's the fine. Well. It's not a fine. There's no paperwork. But it's fine.”
- “Go on, then. I never saw you. I never see anybody. It's a gift.”
keep
- “I'll just hold on to this one. For evidence.”
- “I'll have to test it. Thoroughly. Tonight, probably. Alone. Go on. Git.”
redeem strong
- “That the doc's tonic? Let's have a sip.”
- “Oh. Oh, that's something. I feel light. Like a man who just sold his cattle. I haven't sold any cattle. That's how light I feel.”
- “You know, my nerves started thirty years ago. My wife's mother came to visit. For the weekend. Twelve years, that weekend.”
- “She'd sit right there on that porch and look at me. Never said a word. Didn't have to. She had a face that did all the talking. Mostly about me.”
- “Then one morning she got up, said, well, and walked off into the desert. Never came back. Some say the heat got her. I say the heat had it coming.”
- “Anyhow. I haven't felt this calm since. The doc said to pay you. I'm paying you double. A calm man's generous. A nervous man just counts.”
stop
- “Hold it right there. Afternoon.”
- “That's an unlabeled bottle. Coming out of the doc's. Heading out of town. You know what that looks like to a lawman?”
- “Looks like moonshine. Everything looks like moonshine to me. Lemonade. Milk. I arrested a glass of water once. Long night.”
- “Now. We can settle this a few ways.”
talk
- “Huh. You look respectable. Nobody out here looks respectable. You must be from the bank.”
- “That's worse than moonshine, but it's legal. Go on through.”