AN: Thanks so much Marcatissimo, Terron145 and ACloudyForecast for reviewing the previous chapter!
Sorry for the lack of update last week, the reason being that I was suffering from terrible migraines for some reason. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy reading nonetheless!
Chapter 11:
It was nearing midnight when Isiah finally allowed Miach to leave the clinic. After the traumatic event he had experienced, Isiah wasn't willing to leave him alone. Little surprise, really. Losing four guild-mates in such a tragic way and in such a short amount of time…
Shaking his head, willing himself not to entertain such dark thoughts, Varuna glanced out the window. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was Isiah, Roxbury and Mahalah, the three of them to see Miach off. The younger medic had been cleaned up and they managed to get some food into him. However, he looked so lost and bewildered it was almost heartbreaking.
"You need to take it easy for the next few days," Isiah was heard saying, lifting his hand to ruffle Miach's purple hair.
Miach nodded his head once, his arms hanging limply by his sides. "Ok," he murmured.
"What are you going to do now?" Roxbury asked, his concern for the obviously younger explorer was palpable.
"I'm not sure," Miach replied, looking up at Roxbury after Isiah removed his hand from his hair. "Head back to the inn, I suppose."
Then, after a murmur of a goodbye, Miach turned and started to slowly walk away, heading off into the darkness. However…
"Um…the inn is in the other direction," Mahalah stated, sounding slightly embarrassed for him.
"Huh?!" Miach squawked as he spun around, giving the three an expression of utter surprise. "Really?"
Isiah sighed as Roxbury and Mahalah shared a look of concern. They seemed to share a silent conversation; the topic was on Miach himself, no doubt. Roxbury then turned to Isiah, as if wanting to get some sort of confirmation from.
"I told you he was an airhead," Isiah said before shrugging. "It's your guild."
Varuna soon realised what they were contemplating and was unable to stop a small smile from spreading across his lips. They really couldn't let this, ah, spacy medic become an explorer on his own. Someone needed to watch over him.
Roxbury sighed before a half-smile appeared on his lips and he turned his attention back to Miach, whom of which was still glancing around in a spacy manner. "Miach, would you like to join our guild?" he asked.
"R-really?"
… … … … …
Varuna was busy rearranging the thick reference books of the library. It had been three days since the tragic incident in the Small Orchard. It had been cordoned off from other explorers, just until the retrieval of those who had perished. But thanks to the report that Nitish and Isiah worked on, other explorers now knew the dangers of the Small Orchard and had been warned that the furyhorns used the Small Orchard as a nursery.
And to attack the furyfawns at their own peril.
The Small Orchard had been re-opened to the public, as it were. But the second floor of the Lush Woodlands was still off-limits. That Blood Bear was still causing trouble, it seemed. The Count was especially worried.
"We're back!"
Varuna glanced up from his work in time to see the Phaedron's black-haired sniper rush inside in his usual excited manner. And not far behind him was the rest of his guild, entering the clinic at a more leisurely pace.
"Welcome back," Varuna greeted and set aside his books.
"We've got some items," Fletcher said and indicated to the bag slung across his back.
"Ah, that's good," Varuna said as he smiled. "Nitish will be pleased."
Fletcher smiled before moving further into the clinic. "Hey, Nitish!" he called out, looking for the blond-haired Runemaster.
Varuna had to chuckle to himself as Nitish descended the stairs, only to be swamped by the younger members of Guild Phaedrons, who were eager to show him the items they had gathered. They were both really fond of him and interested in what kind of items could be found and what their uses were.
"Busy working I see," Mahalah commented as he folded his arms across his torso, smiling as he turned his attention to Isiah, who had just stepped out of his office, looking haggard and somewhat annoyed.
Isiah massaged his right shoulder with his left hand. "Baboons seem to be feistier than usual," he muttered.
"From Old Forest Mine?" Roxbury questioned, sounding a little surprised.
"Yeah," Isiah replied before waving a hand dismissively and then indicated toward the couch. "Well, at least I'm able to give Miach some hands on experience."
Sprawled out on his back on the couch, Miach looked drained and utterly bewildered. "I'm so tired…" he murmured, indeed sounding very exhausted.
Varuna couldn't help but smile, Miach was settling in well, which was no surprise since Isiah had taken him under his wing, to teach him more about what it took to be a medic and what skills were the most useful. However, airy Miach wasn't exactly used to Isiah's intensity.
After shrugging of his shield and weapon, Bryce plonked himself down onto the other couch. Leaning into his seat, he slung an arm over the back and glanced in the direction of the kitchen, where Nitish was sorting through the gathered items.
"So what did we get?" he asked.
Nitish picked up a piece of fruit, green in colour and about the size of one hand. He tilted his head to the side as he studied it before a look of realisation appeared on his face. "Ah, Shea Fruit."
"Huh? Isn't that a beauty product?" Bryce unexpected asked, his brow furrowed.
"There's more to it than that," Varuna scoffed, placing one hand on his hip as he turned his attention to Bryce. "It can help with rashes, burns and can rejuvenate skin cells. Don't brush it off because of its beauty reputation."
Bryce, however, didn't look all that impressed. He even went as far as mockingly caressing the side of his face. "Will it give me soft, glowing skin?"
"Weren't you listening to what I just said?" Varuna said, bristling visibly. He calmed down a moment later and folded his arms over his chest as he gave Bryce a pointed look. "Besides, you're talking about the butter which the fruit can make."
Taking a hold of one of the green fruit, Blayden looked at it before asking, "Can I eat it?"
"Of course you can," Varuna answered as Nitish removed the fruit from Blayden's hold and place it on a chopping board. "It's perfectly healthy. It's packed full of vitamins."
Cutting the fruit in half, Nitish handed one piece to Blayden. "Here."
Without any hesitation, Blayden took a large bite of the fruit. "Hmm…" he hummed as he gave a couple of quick chews.
"Well?" Fletcher asked, looking at him with a sense of anticipation.
"Not bad. Tastes like a fig," Blayden said before abruptly shoving the rest of the fruit into Fletcher's mouth, startling the sniper. "You try it."
"Don't eat all of it," Mahalah chuckled as he entered the kitchen as well. "I'm sure Nitish would like to make something with them. What else did we manage to find from the Small Orchard? "
Picking a piece of bark covered in red resin, Nitish held it carefully in his hands as he presented it. "This. It is known as Dragon's Blood."
Blayden immediately perked up. "Dragon's Blood?"
"Don't get too excited," Varuna said as his loosened his arms from being folded over his chest. "It's not really from a dragon. It's resin from a plant."
"Oh, is that all?" Blayden practically whined.
"And?"
Varuna blinked before turning his attention back to Bryce, who was still sitting comfortably on the couch. "And what?" he asked.
Bryce arched an eyebrow at him. "You're not going to go into a spiel about its many wonderful benefits?"
Varuna opened his mouth to reply, but quickly snapped it shut. He couldn't really make a reply to that…
Bryce continued to look at him with his eyebrow raised. However, a smug look of amusement soon appeared on his face. "…You don't know what its benefits are, do you?" he smirked.
Again, Varuna found himself bristling. "Stop smirking! I don't know everything, ok?"
"This is great," Bryce said, his smirk taking on an even more amused state. "The first time you don't know anything. I'm gonna savour this."
Varuna blushed darkly. "Oh, shut up," he murmured as he turned his back to him, intent on ignoring him.
"Can I eat this?" Blayden asked once again.
"No, I wouldn't recommend it," Varuna was quick to discourage. Eating unprocessed plant resin could be very harmful.
"It's good for lowering fevers and easing stomach upsets," Nitish explained as he continued to sort through the bag of gathered items.
Blayden looked up at him. "So I can eat this?"
"Only after some modifications," Nitish said as he quickly removed the resin from Blayden's grip.
Still, his eyes sparkled with amusement. It was good to see.
"Sorry for crashing at your place like this," Roxbury said, although seemingly amused by his guild's antics, he was also somewhat apologetic.
"Forget it," Isiah replied, once again waving a hand dismissively. He wasn't even remotely bothered by the amount of people milling about inside the clinic. "So long as you don't trample the backyard. That would upset Nitish."
Upset Nitish and piss off both Varuna and Isiah, no doubt.
Roxbury smiled in gratitude. "I'm sure everyone will be cautious," he promised.
Isiah suddenly folded his arms over his chest and peered at Roxbury through one visible eye. "Besides, it will be easier to discuss upcoming missions here in private."
Roxbury was momentarily stunned by Isiah, before his face creased into an expression of guilt and reluctance. "…You've figured it out, then?"
"I'm very observant," Isiah said. "Besides, I'm a researcher for the count. I know how worried he is about that Blood Bear."
Isiah then made a motion with his hand, indicating to Roxbury that the floor was his, so to speak. That he really was free to use the clinic to hold important meetings. Roxbury gave him a half smile before clapping his hands a couple of times in order to gain everyone's attention.
"Everyone, listen up," he said and the room instantly became quiet. Seeing that everyone was focused on him, he continued. "It seems that they're still having trouble with that Blood Bear at the Lush Woodlands."
Moving to stand by Roxbury's side as second in command, Mahalah added more information. "And the count has asked us to be the ones to investigate and annihilate this monster if necessary."
A thick silence fell over the room, everyone quickly realising the implication of those words.
"Do you think we can?" Bryce asked.
Roxbury sighed before answering. "In all honesty, I'm not sure," he said, choosing to be truthful, which was really the best thing for him to do. "There's no doubt that this red-furred bear will be much stronger than the ones we know of."
Blayden instantly looked uneasy, his cheerful expressing fading. "It's not going to be easy," he murmured.
"It's the reputation we might get afterwards that is also worrisome," Mahalah sighed.
Knowing that since he was just a researcher, and not officially a part of the Phaedron's guild, Varuna excused himself and made his way into the kitchen to be with his brother. He was feeling worried, though. And he was certain that Nitish could feel everyone's apprehension. Dealing with cutters and furyhorns were dangerous enough, and they were monsters that were relatively known. This Blood Bear, on the other hand…
"Tomorrow morning, we'll fight."
…So, a restless night, huh?
… … … … …
There was a very obvious tension hanging in the air. Five members of Guild Phaedron had set off that very morning, wielding their strongest weapons and sturdiest armour. They had promised to be back by evening, but…
Varuna couldn't help but feel as if he should be there to offer some assistance. But he was quick to argue with himself that there was little he or his brothers could do. They were just researchers, not explorers or fighters. Ok, so Varuna had participated in two battles, but that was it. That was all the experience he had. Besides, the Count relied on them for their observations and reports. They really couldn't afford to get involved in dangerous battles.
Still, he felt apprehensive. Who wouldn't? Running headlong into a battle with an unknown enemy was reckless. A bit of observation would be best. Find out the bear's patterns and learn how it reacted to certain situations.
Turning his attention to the black-haired sniper that was sprawled out on the couch in an unnervingly and uncharacteristic sullen manner was Fletcher, the youngest member of the guild and the one Roxbury felt needed to stay behind. And Miach couldn't really participate, after what he had experience. Besides, he was also a rookie. As a silent agreement amongst explorers, at least one person needed to stay in town…just in case the others didn't return.
What a lonely state of mind to be in.
"How are you doing?" Varuna asked as he took a seat on the couch next to him, making no attempt to block his view of the front door.
"Not too good," Fletcher murmured, his honesty silently heartbreaking.
"Going without a medic is a little reckless," Isiah was heard murmuring, sounding and looking obviously agitated. The wait and unknowing was even getting to him.
"I don't really like fighting, though," Miach said as he dutifully followed Isiah around, carrying a box of folders and files in his arms.
"I gave them plenty of Medicas," Nitish reassured as he walked over to where Varuna and Fletcher were sitting. "They should be fine."
Again, Fletcher sighed sullenly. "I don't like being left behind…"
An expression of pain fleetingly appeared on Nitish's face, no doubt reacting from the sniper's fear and uncertainty. He shook his head as if to clear it before moving to stand before Fletcher, folding his hands in front of him and leaning forward. "…Would you like to help me with the crafting of potions?" he asked.
Fletcher finally lifted his head to look at Nitish. "Sure," he murmured as he allowed Nitish to tug him off the couch and toward the kitchen. It was fairly obvious what Nitish was trying to do. He was trying to entertain Fletcher, preoccupy him so that his mind won't wander to dark and fearful thoughts. And Fletcher looked somewhat grateful for the distraction.
So Varuna and Isiah followed suit, doing their best to keep themselves busy.
It was several hours later when the sound of the front door opening cut through the dense and thick tension hanging in the air. Fletcher immediately perked up and spun around to face the front door. And he wasn't the only one.
Even Varuna found himself waiting with baited breath and sighing with relief when five familiar figures step inside. The appeared weary and covered with grazes, their armours dinted and torn in multiple places, but there was five of them, all walking under their own strength. They were alive.
"You guys are back!" Fletcher said as he practically jumped over furniture in order to get to his brother, rushing him and hugging him around the waist.
Falkner winced at the touch, but he gave a lopsided smile nonetheless and returned the hug. "Yeah," he muttered tiredly, patting his brother on the head.
"What happened?" Isiah questioned as he immediately began to inspect their injuries. His brow was furrowed and he did not look at all pleased. He soon began barking orders, telling the five warriors to sit down and not to put any more pressure on their battered and weary bodies.
Varuna and Nitish stopped what they were doing to offer some assistance as well. Varuna made his way to Bryce, who was clutching at his side. He took his arm, slung it over his shoulders and helped him to limp over to the couch. Although Bryce didn't say much and seemed to try to refrain from revealing his pain, the way he was leaning against Varuna showed how tired he really was.
It was rather worrying…
"We've defeated the Blood Bear," Roxbury said as he dropped down onto the couch, giving his thanks to Nitish who had helped him while unsuccessfully hiding a wince. "But that thing was the least of our problems."
"There's something else on the third floor," Mahalah continued, limping over to sit next to Roxbury. "Something far more dangerous."
…So, that meant they weren't finished with their mission, huh?
AN: Please comment. The support is greatly appreciated!
