Yo! I'm back and let me say, thank christ I have this on backlog as I have not written shit this week. Plus I believe I have a concussion, so I may not write up to my fullest potential for a few days. Anyways, by chapter... 8? I think I'll be switching this to past tense, as I wrote this before my lesson in writing from my brother. Have a good day people and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3 - The Doctor's Beginning

My life steadies out once I have a new house and neighbors. My job took me all over the west and mid-west, delivering packages, mail, weapons and some odd things like bandit clothing to the rich and the strangest thing I had to deliver was this one time I delivered gimp wear. That was a different experience to have when I try to get them to sign the paperwork. Surprisingly, I could tolerate their presence so much more easily than I can with Nipton. From the little I talked to them, they seemed like really nice people.

Ruby keeps me busy and I slowly learn how to be a handy man as well as the town's doctor for a side gig when no one needs packages delivered. All around, I'm never too hard up for caps since I don't really buy anything, but food.

Thanks to my medical knowledge, I help the sick and/or injured soldiers and citizens when they need it. Sometimes a stimpack is just not good enough to fix up someone. For a while now after seeing how grateful the soldiers are for the fixes, it has been my dream to become one of these Followers of the Apocalypse like in the books, but no one will tell me anything on them, so a town doctor is all I can be at the moment until I find them.

On my third year of the waste, I find myself sipping on a beer in the middle of the casino with Ruby chatting my ear off. "You really need to do something with that hair dear! It is still at your derriere!" It is strange that my hair doesn't really grow anymore after I wanted it to stop, but I put it down to magic.

I laugh at her nagging cheerfully. Ruby has been going on about my hair for most of the time I've been here. "But then I wouldn't have this majestic mane anymore!" I accompany my argument with hugging my hair close to my body. It truly is a mane as the length really didn't defeat the Potter's curse. The whole thing is more of a controlled mess at this point like it always has been, which is why I wrap it most of the time. Well for that reason and to keep it out of my way.

Ruby gives a chuckle as John joins us. "Hey Foxy. I got a package for Mr. House! You free?" I nod a confirmation. John hands me a contract with a poker chip. I am surprised to see the contract coupled with a poker chip as only high-value packages make me sign contracts. It is mostly to make sure I don't steal the wares and if I do, I have to reimburse them or die.

"For a poker chip?" I ask sceptically with an eyebrow raised at the man. John shakes his head with a shrug. I take the contract and sign my alias's name. "Alright. I'll take a bit though. I'm starting to get slower in my hunting, so I'll go by foot. Be back whenever." I sometimes take jobs by foot because if I don't, my leg strength goes down and running after a fleeing gecko is really hard if you are too slow. Not that I am too slow to do it, just that sometimes an all out sprint for ten minutes wears on a person if they haven't done it in a while.

I head back to my house to pick up some gear for the sixteen mile journey, making sure to bring my courier pass to get me into the strip. Last time I forgot the blasted thing, I had to come back to my house and then go all the way back to deliver the package to Vegas which pissed me off to no end.

I lock up my house using a heavily overpowered locking spell on every opening I can. My vision tunnels on the last one, but theoretically, it is good to go for half a year by the power behind the spell. I really do not want people getting to my bike in case I get side tracked for a while. I had that happen once where I had to go to Texas for a bit and it took three months to get back even on a bike. Lucky no one took anything from my house.

I leave the town with a farewell to the soldier that is on guard at the moment. They all like me as I fix up their wounded when I can as well as make herbal remedies for diseases and infections they get when they go have fun in Nipton.

As I walk, I chart my path to Vegas. I guess I'll make a stop at Goodsprings to say hello to Sunny, grab a bite of warm food, then follow the back roads to Vegas. Those roads cuts the journey down by a good fifty miles even if it is a little more dangerous. It really shouldn't be a probably if my Service rifle stays in good condition.

My plan set, I walk off into the desert. By midday the next day, I can see Goodspring in the distance, having not been delayed at all by the wild life. The things don't really bother me that much anymore. Man, I'm making some good time! Haven't made this time since I ran full-tilt after a fleeing gecko for half a day!

A burst of pain explodes across my body as something slams into my armor-covered rear deltoids and I'm thrown to the dirt, my lungs empty from the heavy impact. I vaguely hear the crack of a rifle as I hit the ground from the impact. 'That's a bullet!' Coughing in pain, I roll onto my back in time to see a boot slamming into my face.

"Boss, this doesn't feel right," a man says next to me. I find that I am on my knees being held up by someone, my hands bound by rope with a bag on my head. By the feel of their hands, they are a male, probably hired muscle. "Can't you just take the chip?"

The bag that rested over my head is tore off. Along with it goes my bandana, my hat being lost somewhere I guess. My ears pop up for all to see as I glare at the people in front of me. "What do you want?" I growl at them. In front of me is a gaping man in a checkered suit. "Yeah, I am part Fox, get over it! There are giant ass scorpions running around in mass eating two-headed cattle! Now, why did you fucking shoot me?!"

My voice seems to snap them out of their little dazed state. "You had something that I wanted, so I took it from you baby." He holds up the poker chip. The metal chip seems to shine in the morning light as the man examines it in front of me.

I blink owlishly at him. "You shot me... for a poker chip. That is by far the DUMBEST thing I've ever heard someone get shot over and I saw an entire gang kill themselves in a gunfight after I shot one of them! I've killed people for more and one of them was because he stole a cooked bunny ear from me!" I was in a bad mood that day and the drug addict just walked into my camp and took part of my dinner from my hands.

I silently cast a cutting charm on the rope as I rant, having them fall around me. "Now." I take a deep breath to calm my voice, "Let me go and no one has to die." This sets the gang off laughing. I notice they are part of the Great Khans. Pieces of scum. When they see the look on my face, their laughter peters out into nothing. "Are you surrendering or do I really have to kill you all?"

The checkered suit man gives another laughs and in a smooth motion, draws his side arm. I lash out right as it comes to my head, but the gun goes off right as I smack the barrel while moving my head away from where the thing was pointing. I take a grazing blow across my face and in a daze, I find myself falling into some hole they put me in front of.

They leave as I lie still on the ground. I just got shot in the head, so I'm not tempting fate to take another to the back. "Benny, you didn't have to shoot him man!" One of the Khans said to "Benny." I've been shot before, but that was in battle and on my arms and legs. This is my head and I am still alive. My luck is going to run out one day, but apparently not today.

Once I am sure they all are gone, I reach into my satchel as they for some reason left me with everything, but my weapons and pull out one of my stimpacks. I only have a few on me, leaving the majority I've saved up back with Ruby.

I check my medical mirror to see if the bullet is in my head, but it was only a glancing blow, not even cutting my hair. It bisected my faded lightning scar, the trail being from my left eyebrow to just before the hairline above my right eye. I prick myself in the wound with the stimpack and push the plunger down to release the chemical into my blood.

The healing agent makes me a bit woozy with how close the drug was injected to my brain, but I manage to crawl out of the would-be grave with only a little problem. The men had dug the hole in dirt which helped along the climb because I would probably bury myself if it was sand. I find my weapons discarded on the side of the hole, so I strap them on my back along with my bandana and stumble my way to Goodsprings. That stimpack may help, but I need a doctor to stitch me up and some bed rest. I hop Trudy has an open room.

I find my way to the town by late morning and knock on the doctor's door. The old man opens it and his eyes widen when he sees me standing there with blood coating my face and shirt. "Hey doc, I need a little assistance patching myself up." The man ushers me in with haste and I go to sit on the medical bed.

He looks the cut over, carefully probing it with his clean hands, well as clean as they can be in this world. "This... looks like a bullet wound," the man observes as he moves my head every which way to get the different views of the wound.

"Yeah. Some checkered suit wearing asshole mugged me for my package and tried to execute me. Luckily I made him miss and he didn't check to see if I was dead." The man tsks as he begins to stitch the wound shut. I barely wince as the needle made its way through my skin.

Once he is done, I lie down a dozen bottle caps on the table for his services. "Thanks doc. I'll grab a room at the bar for tonight, then I have to go hunt down this Benny guy."

"Benny? Checkered suit... You're going after one of the chairmen of New Vegas!" Doc cries out to me. Lucky day, lucky day. I have a name and location. I continue my way out with the doctor trying to talk me out of the hit, but I only half-listen to his words and head over to the bar, pricking my skull with one more stimpack to finish the healing. The stitching will make it heal straight and tight. By the time I'm into the bar, the wound is nothing but a fresh scar that I'll need to keep safe unless it opens. The skin is fine, but the layers under are still damaged.

I take a seat next to Sunny at the bar and order a beer. Trudy turns, serving the beer and gives a startled cry when she sees me sitting on the stool. "Jesus child! Are you alright?!" This causes Sunny to look and she too let out a cry. Oh right, my shirt and face.

"I'm fine guys. I just got on the wrong side of a gun. It's just a glancing hit and you know how head wounds are," I reassure them as I sip on my beverage. Stimpacks are surprisingly not effected by adding alcohol into the mix. Though their reactions are justified. I didn't clean the blood from my face and Doc didn't need to for stitching me up. "I'll be needing a room by the way." I set down the required money and Trudy hesitantly takes it. The bar has a few backrooms that Trudy had turned into rooms for travelers to bring in some more money.

Sunny taps me on the arm. I turn to look at the cowgirl to see a worried look on her face. I met her when I first came down this way and needed a good drink. I ended up having a drinking contest with her where I drank her under the table after I had out drunk the old explosives expert down the road. Alcohol just doesn't affect me unless I guzzle the stuff. After that, I come by every now and again to share a drink with her and chat. Sunny may be one of the few people is this hell that I consider a good friend. "So, do you know who shot you?"

I nod into my drink. "Benny. The chairman of New Vegas. He must be doing something against Mr. House as the package was meant for him. How's things around these parts?"

"Wow you don't do anything halfway do you?" I shake my head no as I finish my drink. I'm Harry Potter. If something world-changing is NOT my enemy, something is wrong. "It's been alright here except for those Powder gang thugs. We took in a guy, Ringo, from a caravan they hit and now they are threatening the town if we don't hand him over. We apparently have until sunset to hand him over. Look, there's one now. What the hell is he here for now?"

I look over and surely, there is one of the powder gang members. They seem rather proud that they were in prison with the whole, wearing their old uniforms as a gang trait. When he goes to talk, by the look on his face, threaten Trudy, I step in front of him. "Leave," I tell him calmly.

The man sneers into my face. "Fuck off, I have no business with you!" I do not move. I see Trudy backing away and reach under her counter. The woman keeps a double-barrel at the ready in case of bar fights.

I tell him once more, "Leave. You are disturbing this good woman's business." I make no threats, I just command him to leave. The man snarls at me like a dog and draws his pistol, pressing it against my head, right under of the bullet wound. I do not even flinch as he does this. The man won't do anything if he's smart. "You do understand the consequences if you follow through with this right? I've already been shot in the head once today, what makes you think I will die from your bullet?" Trudy taps her shotgun's butt against the counter when I say this.

"Yeah, you'd be a dead motherfucker!" He says smugly, even when he glances over to see the shotgun pointed at us. The man didn't even acknowledge Trudy as a threat. Sighing, I bring my arm up and knock the pistol up with a punch to the wrist. A round discharges into the roof as I use my other arm to draw my blade. Before the man can bring his gun back down, I have my knife buried in his neck all the way to the hilt. I can only do something like this due to my year of courier work as well as being a part-time mercenary on the side for some clients. Couriers are prime targets in the wasteland that was called America.

The man drops his gun, right into my waiting hand. I flip it around and as the man begins to fall, I tear the knife out of his throat before putting a bullet between his eyes with his own pistol. The ringing of the gunshot following the sharp ping of the empty casing hitting the ground is the only thing heard in the saloon. "Moron," I mutter as I unload the 10mm and toss it down next to the dead body. The bullets are mine by right and I can use them for munition crafting, but that handgun is a piece of shit.

Sunny comes up next to me and stares down at the dead guy. "That was awesome, but I think we will have to fight them now. Not that I didn't want to before."

I grab the man under his arms and begin dragging it out back. "Sunset is in two hours. Grab your guns and grab anyone willing to fight. I'll help you guys in this conflict."

Sunny leaves to do as I say as I bring the dead out back to be eaten by the critters of the waste. I head back in and lay down twenty caps on the bar. "For the mess," I tell her. The woman nods and pockets the money before grabbing a mop. A dead man in a bar is not an uncommon thing, especially in this town due to how nice everything is. Joy seems to bring in the worst lots.

I go over to Chet's to buy up some explosives for the fun. I know from my previous exchanges that the man is a greedy bastard, but a fair bastard when you get down to it. No matter what, he will turn a profit, but he will not cheat you out of caps if you're not a dumbass.

He has four mines in stock for twenty caps each at the time I enter the store. All four being of the basic fragmentation variety. "I'm protecting this town from moronic thugs hell bent on someone you guys are not giving up. Mind a discount on these things so I can lighten the assault?" I ask as I place the mines on the counter.

Chet looks me over and nods. "Fifteen a mine. Make sure they don't hit my shop and I might give you a discount next time you stop by." I return his nod and hand over the money which is a great price for even these things. I leave and set the explosives up close enough to set each other off. Two on the sides and one further up to hit more people with the two sides. The sides will detonate with the one of the road due to how utterly unstable these things are. Post-war explosives can't be trusted even when they are supposedly unarmed. I then take my position next to the sign and cloak myself with magic.

I see Sunny run out with a man, I assume he is Ringo. They both are armed with mediocre weapons. Sunny with her vermin rifle and Ringo with a 9mm pistol. I have my own pistol out and ready. The pair runs around the town a bit, but no one risks themselves in the fight and the two take their positions for the fight to come. The two chose to hide behind some crates for cover and then we wait.

In an hour of waiting, the men show up from over the hill, a swagger in their step. Their very being screams of arrogance, so much that I want to destroy them with every fiber of my being. Oh how they remind me of purebloods back home. There seems to be twenty of them, more than I thought, but not too much of a problem as they look untrained and under-armed. My gun holds fifteen rounds and with my bombs, this should be a quick fight.

They don't even look at the ground they walk on and stepped right on my mines. For a bunch of people who regularly mine roads to kill innocent people, I am surprised they didn't find my amateurishly hidden ones. I planned to shoot them if they saw one, but it looks like I can save a bullet. The mines go off in one big burst of shrapnel and the resulting explosion kills five of the men as well as maiming three others. The rest start to panic which got worse when Sunny and Ringo opens fire on them. They kill the three maimed before the gang started to fight back.

I slowly emerge from my hiding spot, my magical cloak slipping off as it is no longer needed. I raise my pistol just as I hear a crack from the mass of murderers and a cry. A feminine cry. I see Sunny fall behind the crates and Ringo ducking to check on her. The one that shot her let out a cruel laugh as he pulled the bolt on his rifle back. The gang just shot Sunny. They shot one of my few friends and they laughed. 'KILL THEM! Make them HURT!' I hear a voice scream in my head. Oh I want to.

The world seems to slow around me as I discharge one of my 9mm rounds into the back of one of the thugs' head. I begin to walk slowly to them as I aim with both my hands and fire, each shot killing a man. My world still going at a snail's pace as I adjust and fire. My body is slower than normal, but so much faster than these maggots' speed.

Ever bullet makes my blood boil even hotter. I'm letting them off too easy! They need to suffer for what they did! I tear my knife out of the holster and throw it at one of the two remaining men. The other is the one that shot Sunny. The knife took him at the throat, making him suffocate or drowned, which ever happens first, as I reload.

I slam a fresh clip in just as the man turns slowly. Oh how he is turning so slowly. I raise my weapon and squeeze the trigger. The gun barks as the man fell onto his knee, one of his knees gone in a burst of gore and bone fragments. My world speeds up as the man lets out a cry of pain as he fell. The next bark took out his left shoulder. Boom. Right shoulder. Boom. His remaining knee. Only now does he start crying for mercy through his wails of pain.

There will be no mercy for the bastard. The gun jumps in my hand and the man falls on his back, his stomach bleeding like a fountain. All he does is scream his head off in agony, begging me to end it. I put a bullet into each of his hands. It won't do if he finishes the job himself. He hurt my pack and my payment will be his slow death.

This made the man who harmed Sunny only scream louder. Good. I holster my pistol and walk away from the man as he cried and begs for me to end the pain. To put a bullet into his head. I never broke my stride or even thought of turning around.

I make it to the crates and I see Sunny against them, holding her shoulder with a grimace while biting her lower lip. I crouch next to her and pry her hand off the wound. Through and through with only a little muscle damage. The woman will be able to shoot again, but will have to take it easy for a few weeks. I apply two stimpacks to it to speed along the healing. The medicine is a pain to find and I can't even make it, but giving it to a wounded friend to ease their pain is something I will always do in a heartbeat. The woman sighs with relief as the drug takes its effect. It has a slight numbing agent in it so people don't feel the skin shifting around or bones coming back together.

I help the woman stand up and she finally takes notice to the screaming. She looks over at the slowly dying man and back to me. It looks like she wants to say something, but doesn't. We head inside where the pair go grab a drink and I go to the room I rented to sleep off the day.

The next morning, I get up and leave the town without saying a farewell. I need to be on my way after all and waiting for people to get up will only set me back further than I already am. As I make my way down the road towards Vegas, I ignore the rotting bodies in the street. Well until a thought came to mind. How did I slow time down for myself? Thinking back to the feeling, I try to replicate it until my world slows after I push magic into the equation. Boy it became a lot of magic too!

I made this work by channeling magic into my brain and eyes in general, which turned into channeling magic through my nervous system to increase my reaction time to match my new perception. I do have to cut it due to being too magically intensive to keep up. I had an unholy amount of rage to increase the potency of my magic when I first did it, but now that it is just me, it takes only five seconds of real-time to have to quit. It was twenty-second to me though. The time difference seems to be a factor of four which is all I really need if things go down.

In that time, my magic reserves which are already high, was diminished to a third of what it was. I guess I can train up my new sight and reserves now as I walk. It only takes five days to travel from Goodsprings to Vegas. Another day to circle around it on foot to get to an entrance , as the rest were blocked by giant overturned buses and rubble because god forbid people open the major trading hub up more for travelers.

The only thing I run into on the way to the city of lights are a few swarms of Cazadors. This would have horrified me, but with my new focus, I would pop in and out of it, sending rifle rounds into their wings, crippling them. It is only a matter of finishing them off after that. They are harmless if they can't even turn themselves over and their wings are easier to cut than skin. "If you ever find yourself needing to fight a Cazador with no way to escape. You must shoot their wings off if you can or have an automatic weapon as the creature's erratic movement and vicious nature makes it almost as dangerous as a Deathclaw if there is more than three. If the option is there, run. If not, eat a bullet."

I check my Zoology book on the creatures to make sure I do this right and harvest their two poison glands. Finding that three of them were pregnant, so I take at least five small eggs with me. The creatures may be one of the deadliest things in the desert, but their eggs can make a mean omelet, so there is money in most of the parts. Not that I sell anything as everything has its uses. The eggs are so going to be my breakfast for a few days.

I harvest anything of use along the way, be it from prickly pears or the occasional Xander roots. They can be used in some remedies, especially the root as it is good for the more severe infections the men get with their fun. People are lucky that HIV died with the old world because a little root or fruit is not fixing that shit.

It isn't long until I reach Freeside. I push open the gates and pass the fort to my left in a hurry. That place must be a drug house for how many junkies I see going in and out of it. I make sure to keep my distance from the building.

Due to my appearance as a mercenary, I make it through the town unmolested up to the gates to the strip. The thugs know better than to attack mercenaries in these parts. The greeter, an old man. Tan fellow in a white pin-stripe suit standing in front of the corridor of robots. He makes sure no one sneaks into the strip without being seen and to make sure the bots don't gun anyone down that doesn't deserve it. "Hello courier." I nod back at him as I pass.

I am always nervous when I walk into the corridor of robots that line the gate. I always think one will malfunction and gun me down for no reason. The gate guard rolls up to me on its one tire. It seems to look me over as I hand over my courier pass. "We are sorry sir. You're courier card has expired; ten days, two hours and thirty-three minutes ago. Please present two thousand bottle caps to gain a pass or present a different pass."

I curse loudly to myself as I leave the corridor. I can't believe my card was so out of date! Why didn't I renew it when I was still at the casino. I thought about it too, but I told myself I had a good week on the thing left. Why didn't I check?! I had days, DAYS to check it out!

As I pass Old Ben, he calls out to me, "Are you alright Courier?" An idea strikes me when I hear Ben. This guy has been everything from an escort to a hired hitman, he must know something I can do!

I twist on my toes and walk back to the man. "Nah, card expired and I really do not want to head all the way back to Primm. The roads are far too dangerous to get there under ten days and I've already been shot in the head once for this trip." It was only luck that it took seven to get here, though I do not have a time limit, I do need my revenge. "Any safe...ish jobs around here for a budding doctor and mercenary?"

"Try the Followers in that Old Mormon Fort by the north gate. They are always on the look out for potential help that aren't in it just for drugs. You look clean... in both manners. How do you bath so much? I've always meant to ask when you come deliver packages, but you looked hurried."

The question makes me chuckle. "I have a strange resistance to rads. I just don't get sick from them, so I can easily bath in the cleaner waters of the waste or just use bottled water I heat up. Thanks for the help Ben. See you later." It is true that I am resistant to rads, so it was more of a half-truth, half-lie. It must be due to my radiation induced mutation.

"Bye courier. I wish you luck." I tip my imaginary hat to the kind man and give him a smile before leaving, tossing the man a clean bottle of water as a tip for the help on an after thought. My long wrap of hair swinging behind me in the breeze as I quickly walk to the north gate. There is a little skip in my step as I finally found out where the followers are! I thought they were far south like around Barstow or something! I always wanted to join them after studying Hannes' research as well as Keyes' notes. Who knew that the drug house was really a hospital? Well... Probably a lot of people to be honest.

I enter the couple of century old fort to see medical tents lining the walls with a line outside each, people waiting for treatment or something to help their withdrawal if the incessant twitching is anything to go by. I notice an older man messing around with crates, moving them to tents with doctors in them.

Seeing as he is free for conversation, I head over to him. When he sees me walking over, he puts the box down with an annoyed expression on his face. "You have to wait in line like everyone else sir," the man calls over to me.

I wave my hand dismissively at the man, "I'm not here for drugs or whatever these people come for. I wish to apply for a job here to earn some caps while helping people."

The man looks at me sceptically. His guard doesn't relax a bit. This man is a fighter, or someone who has been attacked way too many times. "Do you even know anything about medicine?" I pull out three of my medical books I carry around with me always, keeping the books safe as well as my own. I started my own journal or handbook by adding all the details I would need to know on the fly as well as all the recipes from the books combined in the back, so I don't have to root around for them.

I hand the trio over to the doctor to look at. "I memorized all of those books and more. I had three years to study them and I am also the resident doctor in Primm. Them boys get up to all kinds of mischief in Nipton at night that they need fixing." I tell the man as he looks over the book cover before almost dropping it.

"Are these research books written by THE Hannes?!" The man almost shouts in my face. "Hannes, the greatest doctor we ever had, wrote these?! Where did you find them?!" The glee in his eyes could probably be seen across the camp.

I chuckle as I scratch my arm, "I woke up in a building three years ago. It was apparently his research lab and I found a guy dead with those in his satchel." I pat my satchel. "Guy name was Keyes and he sounded CRAZY going off his journal. The man stole the research and set off some traps, getting crushed and destroying the lab."

The man is practically salivating when he hears this. "Keyes was always a crazy bastard, but he was a damn good doctor as well! You're saying you memorized everything on Hannes' research that you have?!" I nod. "You're in! I'll teach you myself if I have to if you give me a copy of the books you got from the man! My name is Arcade Gannon, I am one of the head doctors here in the fort!" The man hands me back my books before shaking my hand vigorously. "When can you start?"

I can only blink at the excited man. "Today...?" The man looks like he wants to squeal as he grabs my hand and drags me over to the line of people in one of the tents. Arcade stands on his tiptoes as he looks the people over until he spots one out of the sea of bodies.

The man he grabs looks to have a twelve-inch gash over his arm and is holding his head with his good hand. He is one of the Kings if his outfit is anything to go by along with the distinctive hair style. The man then drags us both into the tent and all but pushed the poor guy onto one of the available beds. "Fix him up to show me what my new apprentice can do."

I chuckle at the brute way the man works and how excited the man is at the moment. I look down at the confused man on the bed. "Hello sir. Sorry about my… master's behavior. It would seem I am your doctor for today. What seems to be the problem, beside the gash on your arm?"

The man tells me in a pained grunt, "Got mugged by those thugs in the west side! They hit me in the head with a pipe I think and stabbed me!" Hearing the part about the head, I bring out a small flashlight I scavenged at some point in my time here, it runs off kinetic energy, so I give it a few shakes before clicking it on. I shine the light in both eyes, but he doesn't seem to have a concussion.

Seeing as there is no head wound to worry about, I check out the knife wound. The man had the thought to tie the wound in a bandage before coming here. I slowly peel up the sticky cloth that covers half the wounded area and see the injury. It's not too big, but it is very dirty and has some flakes of rust in it. There will be infection if I don't clean it out thoroughly.

I take out one of my many bottles of clean water and a clean cloth. I wipe the wound clean as gently as possible to clean out all the grim and foreign materials. The man does well not to flinch and only expresses his pain in a low groan. Once the wound is clean, I grab some needle and thread from the table next to me.

I thread the needle using my focus, quickly tiring me, but I get it on the first try so I drop the intensive technique in only seconds within my slow world. "Bare with me sir, this will hurt a bit, but afterwards, you're set to go." I stitch his wound close, keeping the sutures tight and even, a surprisingly hard task, but the soldiers get hurt a lot in their weekly training, so I have a little experience in closing wounds. When the gash is sewn up, I cover it in a clean cloth and wrap it in the gauze on the tray. "There you are sir," I tell him with my doctor smile I've perfected over the months I was the doctor for Primm. It is entirely false, but the people have trouble seeing that. It is more of a neutral gentle smile than anything.

The man thanks me with a pat on the shoulder using his good arm as he leaves. My vision blacks out as something white covers my head that smells of disinfectant. I tear it off to see it is a clean lab coat just like the followers have.

I turn to see Arcade almost in tears, "You…" The man sniffs with tears in the corner of his eyes. "You did great my apprentice! You even have the smile down! I- I will teach you everything I know using these fools as dummies for the pursuit of knowledge!" The fire in his eyes make me second guess my choice for a second. "The pay will be five a day for a month and fifteen afterwards if you stick around. You better stick around," the man tells me seriously as he grabs me by my shoulders, making me look the intense man in the eyes. "The last apprentice I had was a fool and a braggart! I can't go through that again!" I manage grin at the intense man and slide on the coat once he releases me. It is a light material that I will be customizing for quicker access to my medical tools than the two big pockets.

Arcade drags me off to give me hands on lessons before I can even begin to think. Even if I'm being dragged around by the man, I can see this is going to be quite fun.