ALL NOVEL ARC 7-Cursed Fates-150
“You!”
We don’t take three steps into what Miss Alyssa calls the field hospital, which is the biggest tent in the camp by far, before someone accosts us. A harried looking man who looks like he doesn’t eat or sleep enough, given his twig-thin limbs and deep bags under his eyes, wearing a dirty green robe.
He ignores us, going straight for Alyssa and getting uncomfortably close judging from her grimace. “Why are your hands empty? I’ve told you, we need supplies! How do you expect me to care for so many patients? Have them drink salt water to purge themselves and rub muck in their wounds like the savages of the clans? And the beds! How is anyone supposed to rest and recuperate when they sleep on cots harder than stone? No, impossible. I cannot work in these conditions!”
“Ladies, this damn dramatic is Healer Pavo Rusk, of the Rusk family. A family of healers that have been with the Hall since its founding, which makes Rusk here an entitled little princess that is working on my last nerve!”
To his credit, the man isn’t fazed by her bluster, standing his ground and looking ready to launch in another rant at any moment. “He’s a pain in the ass like you wouldn’t believe but I let him get away with it because he’s a damn fine healer and he has saved more lives than I’ve killed beasts. So, despite his rudeness, I’m going to swallow my urge to smack him, reassure him that I’m fucking working on it, and introduce you. Rusk, this is Lourianne Tome, Alana James, and Yulianna James.”
“You can call me Yulia,” the snow bunny says with a charming smile.
The healer looks at her blindingly bright smile…and scoffs. Amazing. Didn’t expect I’d meet a warm-blooded being immune to the woman’s charms, not without time to acclimatize. “The ones responsible for all the work I have to do.”
“Something you want to say?” I ask, taking a step forward.
“Hmph. I don’t get involved in the whys and hows of fighting. I simply heal the aftermath.”
“Even if it means they just fight again?”
“They may and if they do, I will heal them again. Until they get tired of fighting. Now, what are you doing here? It better not be for some inane noble whim, like a tour. I’m far too busy to deal with that nonsense.”
Yulia clears her throat. “We wanted to check on the sick. We heard that someone died.”
The healer’s gaze snaps to her. “Where did you hear that?”
“Around,” I interject, stepping in front of her and forcing his attention to me. “Look, just answer a few questions.”
He scowls. “Fine, on the condition that you keep quiet about it. The last thing this camp needs is panic.”
“I don’t have any reason to talk and don’t see that changing anytime soon. So long as that doesn’t change, I’ll keep quiet.”
“No. I need a guarantee.”
“Blessed asses, Rusk.” Alyssa sighs. “You do realize that if she wants to beat the information out of you, no one here can do anything to stop her?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You do realize that she sleeps with Talia, right? The mental caster that has the training to rip it out of your head if you prove uncooperative?”
He falters. “That’s illegal.”
“Oh yeah? And destroying a city isn’t?” Alyssa runs a frustrated hand through her hair. “Fucking ancestors. Rusk, this is not the time for your shit. Just answer their damn questions.”
“…fine.”
I step to the side, once more letting Yulia face the healer, nodding to her. Why can’t more people be as reasonable as Miss Alyssa? Is she happy with me? No. Does she even like me? I very much doubt it. But she’s not letting that cloud her reason or prevent her from doing the smart thing, which is getting me what I want.
Thank the saints she left Victory. It would have been an unsightly waste if someone of her caliber were to die a pointless death in a titan’s gut.
The snow bunny starts with the obvious question. “How many have died?”
“From the first illness? None.”
Did he just say the first? As in, more than one?
“It is virulent and its symptoms quite severe, but it’s ultimately harmless. A few days of rest and proper hydration is all that is needed. The problem is the second illness. My best guess is that the first illness infected someone with some variant of fever and mutated. Thank the saints this second illness is not as contagious as the first but its symptoms are just as sudden, just as powerful, and worst of all, fatal. Patients can die in as little as thirty-six hours. None have made it to seventy-two. The second illness has claimed four lives.”
Four. More than one but still. It’s just four. More children die of a harsh winter in even remote villages every year. More people die in the capital from uncontrolled carriages. I’d be willing to bet more people die choking on bones during a meal.
Despite that, Yulia looks positively distressed. I suppose she has decent cause. It may just be four but it’s four times the number of casualties than we expected. “Are any more showing signs of sickness?”
“There are three more that show signs of the second illness. They have been separated from the other patients. Unfortunately, it will require mana we can’t afford to waste to attempt curing it, so we are caring for them with medicine. Their only hope is to fight if off themselves.”
“And…what measures have you taken to stop on the plague?”
“You—" The healer has to stop himself from screaming, I can tell. “You cannot carelessly throw around words like plague. That word can ruin lives, ruin cities,” he hisses. “And of course we’ve done what we can to contain it. The bodies and their possessions have been burned, the people they had contact with isolated, and the area cleansed. We know what we’re doing so if you’re here to give us advice, please spare us both the indignity.”
“I’m not…” Yulia pauses. I swear I can hear her mind turning over and over. Trying to find the right path to winning him over. “We came to make sure that unimaginable damage isn’t done to this kingdom. Not to question the work and dedication of the Hall’s healers or yourself.”
She really does have a gift. The irritable Mr. Rusk softens around the edges, a hand absently scratching at his thick and unkempt beard. “Well, I can understand that. If you want to be of help, as I keep telling our illustrious Watch captain here—"
Alyssa grumbles.
“—we need supplies. I do understand why there would be delays, a whole city needs to be healed after all. But it’s not just about medicine and bandages. Healing requires a proper diet. We need more clean water. A few bottles of decent drink for my apprentices after a long day on their feet to keep them going. More hands. I’ll take anything and everything that can be spared.” The healer tiredly wiped at his eyes. “The Hall decided to help these people. They asked me to help these people. I’d see it done right.”
“I know, you sorry bastard,” Alyssa grumbles. “Well? That all your questions?”
“A moment please.” Yulia lays a hand on my shoulder and silently guides me to step away, far enough that the others cannot hear our lowered voices. “Lou, I think we—I can accomplish a lot here. I would ask for your help accruing some supplies and allowing me to distribute them to the camp. Personally.”
This troublesome bunny. “You are asking for a lot of crowns and a lot of time.” It’s going to take a lot of gold to put the camp right. And then it’s going to take a lot of time and mana to keep her safe inside of a camp full of people with good and bad reasons to hate her.
“I know. But we can make a difference here. And if we can make a difference here, I’m one step closer to making a difference back home.” She steps closer, looking up at me with big, pleading eyes. “Please, Lou. I know the guilds…sinned against you. I won’t argue they deserved to pay. I won’t say that the people suffering here are innocent either. But how long will you punish them? If we do nothing, these people will have to endure this for weeks, maybe months. They may never recover. It is one thing to be strong and feared. It is another to be a force of destruction. Do you want to be the end of this kingdom, Lou? I can’t believe you do.”
I can’t believe she’s standing here trying to manipulate me. I can’t take this any other way. Where does she get off, telling me what lines I can’t cross and when I need to make amends?
“…you can have whatever we scavenge from the city and I’ll have Bell watch you when you want to come to the camp. And you come to the camp only when she’s available to watch you.”
“Thank—"
“And you need Miss Alyssa’s cooperation. She is in charge of running this camp. If she thinks your presence will bring more harm than good, then you will accept that judgment.”
She smiles. “Of course. Thank you, Lou. You won’t regret this.”
Of course I won’t. What do I care if she wants to play saint? I’m humoring her because of Alana. She asked me to let her sister prance around and cater to the masses. Well, there is an eager audience outside this tent awaiting her performance. If it’ll keep her out of my hair and foster some goodwill between the sisters, and I suppose also between the north and south, all the better.