Chapter 21
"Oh my..." The Witch seemed to be surprised at just how efficient we were with 'cleanup'.
After an injury check, a bandage or two, a bit of medicine for Usa and what was going to be a MASSIVE headache (despite the ear protection), and setting up a watch, we got to cleaning up the monsters.
It was no surprise that the 'Nue Shield' gave good defence but also electricity resistance. But aside from the Shield, we got all kinds of useful stuff. Aside from its head (Tetsu said it was tasty) we got lots of meat, its entire pelt (with only a few holes and a couple of cuts in it), its claws and bones.
"We've gotten used to this." Raphtalia said with a smile, carefully wiping a couple droplets of blood from her chin, "I'm wondering what this will taste like."
"Tastes like sparkles." Tetsu said, having a meal of what we (the ones who didn't have iron stomachs) weren't going to cook later.
"Well, you're very well organized." The Witch nodded, "What we need however is over here."
"Give us a minute or two more." I said, "And we'll get the pick axes."
Crystal Ore Shield: Conditions met
Crystal Ore Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: fine crafting 1
"Again sir?" Usa asked, his good hand covering part of his face.
"It's fine." I waved it away, leaning forward a little to look into his eyes, "We'll do better with your helmet. It clearly wasn't enough for what I did."
"It's..." He paused as the slave crest started to glow. "Thank you sir."
"In the mean time." I gave his shoulder a pat, then pulled a water skin from the Shield's inventory. I used a hint of Senjitsu, and froze its contents, "Here. Ice."
"Most people think the Way of the Dragon Vein isn't as powerful as incantation magic." The Witch said, accepting a shard of crystal from Raphtalia and putting it in a pouch, "But it seems very useful!"
"If I weren't restricted by the Shield, I could be a different kind of wizard." I replied with a smile, "It seems determined to keep me from direct damage." I looked into the 'middle distance' for a moment, doing a little calculation on how much of the crystal I'd gathered. "I think we have enough. Is that shard good enough Ma'am?"
The Witch gave her pouch a pat, "Certainly! Better than the one I had for certain."
"Let's go then." I said, "Poor Kunshu must be bored."
Bored? No... Kunshu hadn't been idle at all while she waited. When we had entered, the outside of the ruin had been moss covered, mostly overgrown, and one step away from being totally reclaimed by nature.
But Kunshu had changed that. We might have been gone... two hours? But our Empress Bee had cut and cleaned up all the creeping vines. Scraped and peeled all the moss off the stone. Tidied up the grounds. Killed lots of little monsters that had bothered her and piled up the loot (that she didn't eat) in nice organized piles (fur, skin, quills, uneaten meat, uneaten cooked meat, teeth, claws). And yes, started a little campfire.
We found her, curled up in that adorable 'fuzzy ball' near the fire, hugging the shaft of her spear like a pillow.
I missed Jiru. I was sure that my favourite patch of moss would get along really well with Kunshu. So would his(?) two offspring. I shook my head to focus again. "Kunshu?"
Her antenna perked up, and she lifted her head from the 'fuzzy ball' she'd become. Seconds, no, fractions of a second later, she was in front of us, at attention.
So, I leaned forward and touched foreheads with her, "Good job, thank you for waiting."
"click." She replied, her antenna brushing my ears.
The others greeted her the same, encouraging her industrious behaviour. Even Usa, who added in a more direct headpat. "Hardly looks like a ruin now." The Witch commented, giving the Bee a little candy ball after she'd touched foreheads with her.
We took a moment to gather the loot Kunshu had gotten, mostly from just Balloon and Usapil (with one, maybe two porcupines), had a nice campfire lunch, then headed back to Melromarc.
She (the Witch) had said she needed to cut the crystal down, and it would take a day to send it to a gem cutter. But I just pulled out my chisel and hammer from the Shield's inventory, and asked how she wanted it cut.
A short time later, (getting a little candy from her again for being so handy), Tetsu was sitting at the machine, the newly cut crystal glowing in its recess.
"This is booooooooooooooooooooring!" Tetsu sighed, turning a little crank on the Witch's machine.
"I know dear." The Witch said, giving Tetsu a pat on the shoulder, "But you need to be the one to make the thread, or it won't work."
"Clothes are stupid." She pouted.
"Well, once you have enough, I'll have dinner ready." I said, giving the Witch a look, "If I could use your kitchen?"
"Certainly." She nodded, "I'm don't usually eat monster meat, but your friends have me curious now."
"Sir Kodori is very good at cooking." Usa said, "Even for someone like me who can't eat most meats."
"Gr." Clive agreed, "click?"
"buzz..." Kunshu replied before following me into the kitchen.
It didn't take long for Tetsu to make all the thread we'd ever need to make her magic clothing. And by that time, I'd made all kinds of food for our party. The Nue meat was... well, it would be 'exotic' by almost every standard. But, after using a little of my own kitchen magic, a bit of this world's equivalent of garlic, and a few candy drops (boiled until they'd dissolved into sugars again), I made it taste less like bear, and more like venison.
For Usa, I was given permission from the Witch to use her best sour fruits to make 'lemon fish and pepper'. It was more 'sour orange', but close enough.
But after dinner, we got to 'what next'.
"That was delicious." The Witch said after we'd set aside our plates. "But I'm sure you're eager to get to the tailor.
"We are." I nodded, "It this all she'll need?" I motioned to the nearby table, and the spools of faintly glowing thread that Tetsu had made with her magic.
"It is." The Witch said. "If you need to make more, let me know, and I'd be happy to trade the service for another meal like that." She smiled, patting her belly, "Well... Not so soon after that much food, but I would certainly trade a meal like that for my services."
Aside from helping her get her machine working again, we didn't have to pay her a single copper for the service, and wouldn't have to again, if we needed to come back. "Well, if we need anything magical, we'll come here first for sure." I nodded.
Even at this late hour, the Tailor lady was happy to see us. She gave me a puzzled look, noting my face and smiling, then squinted at me as she looked the rest of me over.
But before she could comment, I stepped aside and motioned to the dragon head that stopped just inside her door.
"Ma'am, we bring you a special project. Clive?" I looked to Clive.
"Gr."
With the usual puff of inexplicable smoke, Tetsu the Dragon became Tetsu the dragon-newt (thinking about it, Giselle would love her...), and Clive wrapped her up in a (much nicer than canvas) sheet (borrowed from Erhard).
The attempt to hide her naked form was spoiled somewhat by Tetsu putting her hands on her hips and declaring, "I am Tetsu!" (And I hadn't even told them about Ganesha yet...)
The Tailor lady looked at her, then to me, and I started setting down the magic thread she would need. "I'll leave it to you for design." I said, "We have lots of leather and fur if you need it, and a reasonable budget."
The somewhat tired looking lady perked up, put on what could only be called 'an evil grin', and said, "I'll have it done by morning."
I was about to say 'go with her' to Tetsu, but the Lady put her hands on the dragon-newt's shoulders, and just led her into a back room. Moments later, we heard things like, "Ah! What's that for? My tail is ticklish! That's cold! Why are you measuring my nose? Yes my horns are attached!"
The rest of us waited in the main room as Tetsu giggled, and the nice(?) Tailor lady 'fu-fu'ed. And moments later, a subdued looking Tetsu stepped out in front of the Lady. Unlike before, she was holding her makeshift robe closed as tight as possible, and hid behind me the instant the Tailor took her hand off her shoulder.
"I'll have it ready by tomorrow." She smiled, "Oh... What about her?" She motioned to Kunshu, who had step/hovered over to Kunshu to apply a headpat. (Tetsu accepted this silently as well.)
The giant Bee turned her head towards her, her antenna wiggling a little, then looked to me. "I've got an idea for her, but she can't really wear clothes like the rest of us, with her wings."
The Lady looked a little sad, but nodded, "If you could turn my sign around on the way out then?"
On our way back to Erhard's workshop, Raphtalia gave me a puzzled look, then a look to Tetsu, who was all but clinging to my arm, still in her Newt form. "Why are you clinging to him like that?"
"Cause I can!" Tetsu replied, sticking her tongue out at Raphtalia. "But I'm kinda cold too..."
At the admittance that 'something was wrong' Kunshu moved my arm away from Tetsu's shoulders (gently), offered Raphtalia her spear (with a very quiet buzz of her wings, as if to say 'hold this'), then climbed on Tetsu's back.
With her six 'legs' and weird almost mechanical motion she had, it was almost like a dance, and before Tetsu could complain, the dragon-newt had a Bee backpack that was hugging her all over. Oh, and shivering ever so slightly.
"Oh... Um..." Tetsu seemed at a loss. On the one hand, she was probably much warmer. On the other, she wasn't hugging my arm. But, she remembered her manners, "Thank you?" Mostly.
"click." Kunshu replied, settling in and using one of her hands to apply a headpat.
We humanoids had a little laugh at the show, "Sir? You mentioned you had an idea for Kunshu?"
"I'll know if I can do it once I get some of that crystal on a table." I nodded, "But seeing it turn 'magic' into 'substance'... It gave me ideas. BIG ideas." I smiled.
"Gr..."
"Yes, he's doing it again." Raphtalia sighed.
We showed up at Erhard's, and bribed him with leftover food (still warm thanks to the Shield's storage and the 'anti-rot' skill I'd mastered) so we could camp out in his spare room for the night. While he ate like a bachelor getting a meal from the next (dimension) door housewife, I gave him my ideas on using the crystals, and showed him the Nue pelt.
In the usual 'study time' after that, Erhard and I got to properly treating the pelt, and adding little bits to everyone's armour (though, Usa got an actual 'Nue cape') for a little electricity resistance (my crafting soul aside, yes, seeing numbers had a certain appeal to it).
I might have stayed up a tiny bit too late (Raphtalia had sicced Kunshu on me to remind me about bed time) cutting some of the crystal ore into more practical bits for later. But once the true Big (bee) sister of our party started poking me, I set it aside, thanked her, and went to sleep.
"It's done!" The Tailor declared proudly when we arrived the next morning after breakfast. She had huge dark circles under her eyes, and had a cloud of dark sparkles around her (reminding me of a certain Freya Familia healer), but in her hands, held by the shoulders, was...
Really adorable.
And made me miss Aisha. Even the 'little Aisha', Amani. The nice Tailor lady who could clearly give me lessons on how to overwork oneself, had kept Tetsu's aversion to clothes in mind and made her a 'child friendly' Arabian Dancer outfit. Pants that were a little baggy to allow freedom of movement. A top that covered her front and back, but was loose and had the thickness of a good cotton. And a headband that would keep her hair out of her face, but also keep itself in place by using the bone crest around her temples. And all of it in various shades of dark red, to match her dusky skin and highlight the various silvers and golds of her scales and hair.
She would need to wear more in colder weather, but this was perfect for the 'dragon-newt on the go'. One thing I was happy about, was even though there was no mistaking Tetsu for a boy, the tailor made sure to keep the cloth at a proper thickness. This world had enough trouble with nobility buying young slaves...
But that wasn't it's only feature.
Tetsu stood in the middle of the shop, in the middle of all of us looking in at her. She was doing the same 'is there dirt on me' twist and turn we all did when examining our equipment back home. "Are you sure?" She asked.
The Tailor lady nodded, "I made sure to clear lots of space for you."
We all backed up as far as we could. "Okay..." Tetsu said, before the usual puff of concealing smoke.
And there was Tetsu the Dragon in all her black/silver/gold glory, with just enough space for her tail that she didn't knock over a display shelf. She had something new though, and that same headband of red was now around her throat, tied in front like one of those fancy 'butterfly bows' you might see in a lady's hair. Just like her new Newt outfit, it hung there just snug enough to stay in place.
"What do you think?" The Tailor asked, motioning to a mirror.
Tetsu did a few (careful) head motions to look at it from different angles, "It's... okay." She touched it with a claw, "Doesn't itch."
"You look good in it." Raphtalia encouraged, the other two nodding.
Tetsu looked to me, and I nodded, reaching up (yes, up, Tetsu was that big now) and giving her eye ridge a rub with my thumb, "It's just right for you. And now you can join us inside, or walk around without causing more trouble than you need to."
"Ah sir!" Usa said with a little panic. Looking past Tetsu, I saw Usa clinging to her tail to stop it from happily wagging a shelf over.
"Oh, sorry." I said, "Thank you for this." I said to the Tailor, pulling payment out of the Shield's inventory.
She just smiled sleepily, accepting the coins, "Be sure to come back if you need more." She also reached up and gave Tetsu's snoot a boop. "You are adorable, even like that... but I'm sleepy... turn the sign around please."
We were technically a day behind where I wanted to be. But, we'd gone to a new dungeon, cleared it out, and found some new and interesting materials. Not to mention the small gain in power and level.
Once we had that wagon from Riyute, we wouldn't just have a faster mode of travel. That in itself was amazing, since feeding Tetsu was easy so long as we did our job as adventurers. But with some lumber (lots of trees around), time (it would still take time to get places), work (all five of my companions were willing to do that) and a few ideas from home and Earth, we could make it into a literal mobile home.
"Sir..." Usa sighed.
"It's just how he is." Raphtalia gave the Rabbit man a pat on the back.
We arrived in Riyute a little while later, pausing only to clear a few monsters off the road if we saw them, gather the occasional medicinal plant, apply headpats for being a good dragon/giant bee, and clearing an entire tree of wild fruit to snack on.
Someone must have spotted us from a recently rebuilt watch tower, because as soon as we had gotten past the chest high stone wall of the main town, we were greeted by the Old Hunter, the Rancher, and the Tanner. And beside them was one of the heavy duty wood hauling wagons, and the poor abandoned Knight's Dragon (though, now that it had been detached from the wagon, it was all but running away from Tetsu).
"Sir Kodori and his party. Welcome back." The Old Hunter didn't bow, but he did put his hand over his heart, "I see you've hunted some new terror down while you were away."
He motioned to the new bits of bright yellow and black Nue fur we were wearing, "A Nue." I replied, "A quest from the Witch had some difficulties, but we managed." I smiled, "But, the Tailor made Tetsu a nice new outfit, so she doesn't scare people when she tries to follow us indoors."
The Rancher was giving Tetsu a look, keeping his hands off but still looking at her like any other animal. "Certain' big and strong." He said, "He feedn' you rite?"
Tetsu chose that moment to bite the brim of his hat, then change into her Dragon-newt form, the edge of the hat still in her mouth. "Bet I can outrun you, even like this!"
The rest of us laughed as she took off, and he gave chase. "Well, when she gets back then..." The Tanner said, rubbing his bald head, "We got a nice harness made for the front, good and strong, but since she's got hands, she can get in and out on her own... I think. Never had such a smart dragon to work with."
I was a little surprised, but the Old Hunter only smiled, "Least we could do with all the help you gave us."
I bowed, "Thank you, for your hospitality and care." I said, straightening and taking something out of the Shield's storage, "I was going to barter with this, since I knew we'd need something from you. So here." I took out a little clay jar, and everyone but me, Kunshu and the Tanner held their nose. "You might not be able to tell, but it smells bad. However, it's hair regrowing cream. Something I figured out how to make locally, though the original is from my own world."
Her voice sounding a little weird with her nose pinched shut, Raphtalia added, "I wrote the instructions on the side, make sure to read them!"
The Tanner accepted the jar, the years that his job added to his appearance vanishing for a moment at the thought of getting his hair back. "Thank you kindly." He smiled.
"So, with a wagon, goods, a capable crew and what I hope is a tireless dragon. What direction should we go?" I asked the Old Hunter. "You showed us two good places, but have you heard anything from either direction?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, Mirso." He pointed East, "Hasn't sent word about anything. Now, most times, no news is good news. But we usually get a caravan from them 'round now. But nothing." He pointed West, Lerno off that ways, recently bought up almost all our spare food, little before you came along. Monsters hit them hard during the first wave, and we'd have suffered the same fate if you hadn't stayed behind in the village during the second."
The party looked to me, and I rubbed my chin, "Well, I've seen most of you folk here are capable. Since they bought food from you, they'll probably be okay for a little while. But going silent with all the monsters around..." I looked East.
The rest of the party nodded, "How far is it Sir?" Raphtalia asked, trying (and almost succeeding) in keeping her smile, even in the face of a long wagon ride.
"Well, if you can find your Dragon, you might make it there by morning. The road is well travelled, so you'll have no trouble with that." The Old Hunter assured. "But keep your eyes open for brigands... We've gotten word of them from other Hunters stopping by."
On cue, Tetsu strode back to us, the Rancher following behind her. She was wearing his hat, while he looked like he'd rolled around in every leaf and hay pile in Riyute. "Fine..." He sighed as we got closer, "Ya can keep the hat."
Tetsu stopped in front of me, grinning almost ear to ear. "Well, since he said it was okay. We have a direction, ready to go?" Since her head was covered by the hat, I gave her shoulders a pat instead.
"Sure!" She said, "Ohhhh this looks comfy..." She added at the sight of the wagon harness.
Travel was...
Boring.
Well, not exactly. I used to live a life where 'idle time' was precious, and I would go out of my way to sit still and do as little moving as possible. Then I ended up in a place where 'activity' was rewarded. Where the greatest 'sin' was Sloth, and reputation was worth almost as much as money, or more than money if it was good enough.
The Elder had said the path to the Mountain Town of Mirso would take about a week if we made no stops. Of course, we were adventurers, and 'stops' were frequent.
With the alchemy book, the magic book, learning to read, killing monsters, gathering all kinds of plants, morning practice, a good afternoon meal, and taking stopping in the early evening to work on the wagon, I was guessing the trip would take closer to two weeks.
The first day was spent travelling around the swamp near Riyute. Raphtalia even picked up one of the nice river stones from our first camp site, and tried to make another stone knife from it. Tetsu of course wondered why we would bother, since we had swords and bows and other metal tools. But Raphtalia only answered with a shrug and a quiet, "It was the first thing I made when I had my freedom."
Around evening that day, the marshy ground was starting to transition to something more gritty. Not quite the hard packed dirt of a well travelled road, but certainly no danger to the wagon if there was a bit of rain.
Reasonably good food from monsters killed near the swamp. More reading and magic practice. I figured out how to make a few things from the Alchemy book using local plants. Usa managed to send a very weak, but noticeable spark down the length of his whip. And we got most of a tree cut up for lumber.
It was here that Raphtalia demonstrated why a stone knife was so useful, clearing branches off the main trunk of the felled tree with its stone edge, instead of dulling her nice metal blade.
Day four, and we woke up to a little rain. Just enough to make us thankful the people of Riyute gave us such a nice wagon. It was simple work to set up a nice double layer of canvas (formerly spare Tetsu clothing, as well as bits left from our original escape from the Ringmaster) to keep the worst of the rain off, and I was sure we could use the cooking pot and a heap of Balloon Skin to make it waterproof. Later, I would.
Still, we did the usual morning warm up (teaching Tetsu and Kunshu the value of skill over power), and continued on our way.
One thing I did make while Tetsu trundled onward (occasionally saying she was bored, and getting a story or something to cheer her up), was an all purpose Herbicide, the 'magic water', and 'soul healing water'. The Magic water was a bit weird. It worked as intended, restoring my MP on my status screen. But it felt like I'd just had a shot of liquor. A warm tingle that started in my stomach and radiated outwards. Honestly, I was a little sad. I would miss the minty rush my usual mana potions had. Also of note, the herbs used were a little harder to find. Thankfully, Kunshu was amazing at seeking out anything you showed her. You just had to reward her with a bit of praise, and maybe let her nap on your back.
The Herbicide worked. Not much to say past that, though, I could condense or dilute it as needed with water. And if I wanted to, I could make it into 'smoke' with the same tricks I used for the 'paralysis powder'. There was also insecticide. But I only made that inside the Shield, not by hand. Kunshu was reliable, and I didn't want to risk accidental harm if she came near me while I used the little alchemy set. I made it just just to check if the Shield would give me something for making it.
And yes, it did...
Anti-poison Shield: conditions met
Gurihosato Shield: conditions met
Medicine Shield: conditions met
Plant Fire Shield: conditions met
Killer Insect Shield Alpha: conditions met
Anti-poison Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: defence power 5
Gurihosato Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: attack from plant enemies reduced by 5%
Medicine Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: medicine effective range expansion (small)
Plant Fire Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: fire resistance (small)
Killer Insect Shield Alpha: ability locked: equip bonus: attack from insect enemies reduced by 5%
Soul water... This was a bit of a weird one. It restored my SP. Something I used when I cast my Senjitsu or some of the other Shield Abilities. But apparently, the others just thought it tasted like 'tasty water'. I asked further, and they said they didn't have an SP marker on their status screen. Curious... Something only Heroes had? An effect of the Shield, or other Legendary weapons? My crafting pride insured I made some personally, for the very best quality. But otherwise I just let the Shield auto-craft it.
A little before dinner however, we came upon a rather panicked traveller.
"Sir!" Usa, as usual, was ever alert.
I looked up from my work (my level was making my foxfire useful for things again... yay...) and peeked out of the wagon. I looked in the direction he was looking and turned off my foxfire. "Tetsu? Stop please."
"Sure thing Boss." Tetsu yawned, "Trouble? Can I eat it?" She slowed then stopped her steady trot, the wagon wheels crunching to a halt on the packed dirt and bedrock road. We were encountering more and more rocky hills. Great for 'road' but sadly had little in the way of plants for my endless mixing. "Aww. It's just a human."
We all piled out of the wagon, with Clive giving Raphtalia a pat on the back. Her motion sickness was really bad, and only staring off into the distance let her ride without vomiting. Coming in the direction of where we were going, was a ragged looking man. He had the physique of someone used to manual work, and clothes to match.
But at the pace he was moving, I would bet that someone's life was on the line.
"What's the rush?" I asked, holding up my bare hands, and signalling 'no weapons' to the others.
Seeing my concern, and lack of drawn steel, he skidded to a halt, "Ah, sir. My mother has been sick, and it's only gotten worse. We live near a small settlement, and I was running there for some medicine."
"A settlement?" I looked to the others.
"We did pass a few turns in the road Sir." Usa said.
Clive nodded, though Raphtalia just looked a little sickly. I suppose I was eager to get to Mirso.
"Well, we have various medicines in the wagon." I said, reaching into my pouch to pull out the Merchant's License. "We can even give you a ride back." I said, "Maybe visit that settlement after for a rest and set up shop for a day?"
The others looked hopeful, Raphtalia especially.
"Buzz?"
"AHH! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!"
"Oh, that's Kunshu." I hadn't noticed her leave the wagon (she liked to cling to the middle support when she wasn't snoozing on someone's back or out sniffing flowers). "She's one of our party. Kunshu, come back please?"
It was the first time she'd ever not just obeyed me instantly. Instead, she leaned in a little more, just long enough for the man to back up a step. Then she hover/stepped back to our party, paused, her antenna waving about, and went back into the wagon.
"Anyhow. We have a wide variety of cures. Tetsu? Just a little faster back that way." I motioned to the man, then the 'driver's seat' (Tetsu was perfectly capable of driving on her own, but it was still a place to sit). "Just give her directions, she'll understand."
The home was built on a nice shelf of rock. Sheltered on three sides by old stone cliffs, it would have taken an earthquake or tornado to harm the house. Around it were gardens and other such things for simple 'self sustaining'.
Ah, the simple life. If I ever retired, I would have liked a place like this.
"This way, please." He said, "Ah... What will it cost?" He stopped suddenly worried.
"We plan on going back to that settlement we missed. So how about a good word for us?" I suggested, figuring a good reputation would make up for the loss of potential profits from one person's missed sale.
My reply surprised him greatly, but he bowed to us, "Thank you sir! This way, please!"
I followed him into the house, and behind me I heard Kunshu buzz her way out of the wagon. "Sir!" Raphtalia called to me, and I paused in the doorway, "Ah... It's very messy, but Kunshu wrote something for you? I think?"
"Sir?" The man looked desperate.
"Just a moment. She may look like a monster, but she's very smart." I accepted the 'note' from Raphtalia. Carved on a scrap of bark left over from making lumber for the wagon's expansion, was a single word. Well... most of a single word... Okay, a really good attempt, at most of a single word. "pison?" I mumbled.
I looked to Kunshu, and in her hooked fingers she held one of the 'herbicide' ingredients.
I went into the Shield's inventory and gave her a bit of candy from the Witch, "Good job." I said, reaching into the wagon for a bottle of personally made antidote. "Let's see if she's right."
The inside of the cabin was... cozy. The walls and rafters had all kinds of things hung to dry, the floors were clean with a couple of fur carpets. The fireplace was big enough for all your winter needs, the well was inside the house itself, not outside. Kitchen was spacious and had its own stove...
This was a home that had probably seen a half dozen generations of the same family. I could appreciate that.
He led me to a room in the back, and I could smell the sickness in the air before we even got to the bedroom door. It wasn't 'filth'. No. The woman (not elderly, but certainly in the 'fading prime' of a human life span) was 'clean'. But she had been sweating a lot, and what ever her body was trying to get rid of was not just 'fever'.
"Can you... Will the medicine work?" He asked.
"I won't say 'yes' right away." I replied, doing a little check up of my own. Yup, fever, cold skin, a bit dehydrated, bloodshot eyes, still breathing okay, icy finger tips... Carefully, I sat the lady up, and aside from a little hitch in breathing from the chest changing shape with the motion, she was unresponsive. "Okay... Get some water, boil it, and come back. This should work, but she'll be weak and need a little after care."
"Yes sir!" And he left the room.
I carefully dribbled my antidote into her mouth, almost by the drop until I was sure she could swallow on reflex.
Medicine efficacy up!
...sigh... That kind of hurt my pride. I made this, and I did not make sub par medicine. But, this nice lady could use all the help she could get.
Then I smelled why she was sick. In the other room, I could hear the man poking about the kitchen, boiling water... I laid the woman back down, checking her pulse, feeling her forehead, listening to her heart... Everything about her looked a little better. That was the kind of reaction I wanted from my medicine.
I stood and went into the other room, "I've got good news, and bad news." I said.
He looked at me in horror, but I waved my hands to ward off his first reaction, "Oh... She's okay?"
"She will recover, I'm almost certain." I nodded. But I pointed to the well, "But your well has gone bad."
He looked like I'd saved his mother, but killed his pets. "No..."
"I can smell it in the air." I motioned with my chin at the pot of steaming water he had on the kitchen stove. "Something in your well water is bad. You're younger, stronger. But you'd have gotten sick sooner or later as well."
"But... The closest source of water is the settlement! That's a couple of hours walk one way!" He slumped, "Is there anything you can do?"
"Not really. For now though, any water you use, even to bathe, must be boiled. No exceptions." I said firmly. "I have no idea where your well water is from, but if it's a recent thing, it might be because of the waves. If that's the case, well, it could be until after the Waves before you can relax."
He looked like a kicked puppy, then perked up, "The settlement probably uses the same water we do here..."
I sighed, "All the more reason to visit then." I sighed, "Anyhow. Find us there tomorrow. Give your mom a good bath in boiled water, and make sure she's warm over night." I set down the half empty bottle of antidote, "This is the leftover medicine. Give her a little if she isn't awake and alert by morning."
I didn't really care if the man came with us. Sure, I could have put his endorsement for my medicine to good use, but I'd have bet the only reason he didn't doubt me instantly was because I kept the Shield on my back, mostly hidden under my black dog fur cape.
Kunshu was making concerned noises as we got closer to the turn that the man had told us would lead to the settlement he frequented. And as we took the turn and Tetsu started on an easy downward slope, each of us was picking up on the smell.
"This isn't good." I said, giving Kunshu careful pats over her fuzzy carapace to try and stop her from flying alarmed circles around the wagon. "I think we should all drink a little antidote before we go further."
"Aw but its bitter!" Tetsu pouted (dragon head or not, it was easy to tell she was pouting.)
"It's better than ending up like that man's mother." I said, "Only a little. So long as we don't drink the water, we should be fine." I cautioned.
We all passed around a bottle of antidote, taking only a small sip each. "Sir? I hear people ahead. Certainly a place where people live. Mining town by the sound."
Considering the rocky area? No surprise.
We turned a final gentle bend in the rocky ledge/road we'd been following, and spotted our destination. The entrance to the settlement was really just the mouth of a canyon. Overall, it was a very secure looking place. But in the air we could all smell something that seemed to cling to the back of our throats.
Our entrance to the carved out canyon was greeted with... apathetic suspicion. I doubted there were more than a hundred people in this little place, but none of them looked to be in good condition. The few vendors that were out looked at us with a dim sparkle of hope, but didn't call out. The blacksmith's shop, by far the biggest single structure in sight, had a half dozen listless workers, each of them looking as if they weren't used to the heat of their forge with how much sweat was coming off them.
Then I heard something I could not ignore. Something that had me off the wagon and walking towards it before I'd even realized I'd moved.
"Sir?" Usa called out to my back, "What... Ah, Tetsu? Please stop?"
Raphtalia was by my side a moment later, "Sir... people are staring..." Her tail swished at mine, and I slowed just enough so she didn't have to half jog to keep pace with me. "What's wrong?"
It was the cough of a child. A noise that could only have come from a tiny pair of lungs that was becoming too weak to clear its own airways, and was losing the fight against something that would be fatal all too soon. I all but barged into the little wood cabin, spotting the source of the cough and a young woman, likely the mother, leaning over her.
She turned to face me, her face a mix of anger and hopelessness, "Who are you?"
"My name is Kodori." I said, "And if you want to save your child, and everyone in this town, I'm gonna need you to listen to me very carefully."
My party, though Kunshu and Tetsu needed a little explanation, understood why I had suddenly jumped in to help. Raphtalia especially though. It was the same kind of cough she had, and the same one that her dead friend had.
While I tended to the sick girl, I had them go back to the middle of town, and gather everyone up. The poor child would need some extra steps to cure, if I could at all. But the rest of the town, almost all full grown adults (yes, this was a mining settlement, and the mine shaft was just a little past where we had stopped, just out of sight of the wagon), were resistant to whatever was in the water.
For the child, I had to get a pot of boiling water (boiled outside of the little cabin). Then I had to pour in some of the antidote so she could breath it in. Drinking it wouldn't have been enough. Once I'd given the mother instructions on how to care for the child, and herself (since she was no exception to the onset of the sickness edging into the town), I went to see how well my party had done with gathering the rest.
I hopped up onto the wagon, gave the people (some sick, others angry for the interruption to their work) a once over, and pulled out the bronze 'merchant's license'. "I am a medicine dealer, and physician. And I'm here to help."
Notes
Heroes are made from the actions they leave behind. See you in five days.
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
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