Chapter 7: Coming to terms
Nathaniel:
I hear a knock on the door. Seeing as I feel better after taking the pills for the past two days, I put a mask on my mouth and nose, and go to see who it is at this hour. Much to my surprise, I see Givontair.
"How are you holding up?" The dragon shifter asks me. He has a bag hanging from a strap on his shoulder. I go to the side, to let him in. He seems to measure the room with his eyes. After a moment, he makes a beeline for the window, and draws open the curtains.
"You should get more fresh air and sunlight," he opens the windows next. The cool morning air enters the room, and I inhale deeply.
"I thought that I will infect someone, if I kept the window open," I say. Givontair just shakes his head.
"You will have to be close to a person, to infect them. Or, they must come in contact with something of yours. Have you been taking your pills?" Givontair asks. I look at the half-empty bottle he left behind.
"I gave half of them to the innkeeper," I bow my head then, waiting to be chewed out. Instead, Givontair turns away from the window, and takes out a bottle with pills from his pocket.
"I figured you'd do something like that. I brought you more antibiotics," just where does he get something like that? I thought that Pope Basil doesn't allow for pills of this caliber to be distributed among the common people. "Don't look at me like that, I have my ways."
He moves to the bedside table, and places the bottle next to the old one. If I wasn't paying enough attention to him, I would have missed it, when he mutters:
"One millionth of my horde gone, and I can't even fly away from here."
"Don't be bitter about saving lives," I say to him. He turns to stare at me.
"I am not bitter. It is just that... dragons value their hordes," I have heard this as well.
"The boy who was with you, where is he?" I ask. I didn't see the raven-haired boy together with Givontair, when he entered.
"In a clean room. I had the innkeeper clean it from top to bottom. He is safe," I nod at that.
"I want to ask something of you," Givontair says, as he sits on the bed. "A favor, to return the favor I made you."
"Sounds fair enough," I don't go to him. Yes, I have a mask on my face, but that doesn't mean I will risk his health.
"A group of slavers attacked a caravan recently. They took all the members, bar Erik, with them to sell them to Corum. If you agree to help with the tracking of these people, I will heal you using mana. I will also need for you to give me your word, that you won't attack me, once you feel better," I blink at that. Tuberculosis can be healed with mana? I thought that mana treatments were reserved for cuts, and stab wounds.
"Just how much mana do you have?" I ask the dragon shifter. There is a buzzing around him, and his blue eyes are practically shining. Yet, I need for him to confirm that he indeed has enough mana to heal.
"My real form is about as big as a mountain. Just my head is as big as a house. Now, just calculate these two facts using the Law of Mana Regulation, and you will get your answer," Givontair waits for me, as I do as ordered. By the time I am done, my eyes are wide.
"You have 100,000,000 mana points?" He nods, and I go to stand before him. "Will you heal the people of Portius with mana as well?"
"No, sorry. Can't do that," I almost take a hold of his collar, but then I remember myself. He is in hiding. Already he did more for the people of Portius than their own mayor. He made sure that they have medicine. One that will see them back on their feet in a manner of weeks.
"I understand," I lie to him, and sit by his side. "If you'd like, we can enter an official contract. One sealed with blood?"
It is not often that I suggest such a thing. Yet, if he can really fix my lungs and kill off the bacteria which is causing me to be sick, then I won't complain. Maybe, he can even fix some of my old wounds.
"Are you sure you want to enter into one? What will your dragon slayer friends say? How will you react, once you are forced to fight against them, in my name?" Those are three good questions.
No, I am not sure. They will throw me to the wolves, as soon as they find out what I did. As for how I will feel about fighting them, well, I don't know. I have never fought a dragon slayer before.
"I have made my mind," I say, and he places a hand over my chest.
"This will feel awkward, but it won't hurt," as he said, I do feel as if I have eaten too much. His mana washes over me, and my breathing becomes easier by the second. I exhale, when he removes his hand. "We have to leave now. If we take longer while on the road, we will miss the slavers. Once they are in Corum, they will be under the Pope's protection. Something we can't allow.
"Wait, what if the slavers got infected from coming to this town?" I ask. The last thing I want, is for me to get sick again.
"They weren't let in. The chances that they are sick is slim to none. What I don't understand is, how did tuberculosis spread in Portius. Normally, if someone shows signs of a sickness, they are not let inside the town," Givontair asks more himself, than me. "I suppose it could have been latent tuberculosis, at the start. Maybe a sick person drank from the wells, and... Nathaniel, does Portius have a sewer?"
"Yes. More than once I was sent to exterminate rats down there. You know, between dragon slaying jobs," I berate myself for the last part. Givontair probably doesn't want to be reminded of what I do for a living.
"We need to purify them, but I can't be at two places at once. So, take your mask, and let us go," Givontair stands up. He doesn't look at me, as he goes outside. Still, I do stand up to follow. I have never liked the sewers, but if this is where the sickness is spreading, then we have to act now.
