The city was oddly….purple. It makes me wonder what Zet would say about it, she had a serious hard on for purple stuff. Probably would have gone on and on about how pretty the city is, or made a dumb joke about a purple character… We passed through the city in silence, it's not like Eire and I had any love lost between us. She didn't want us to end the game. And I felt that she had abandoned my love, so fuck her. But for now we could work together, ish…

 

Naturally when we made our way to the market we found an abundance of stairs leading into the recessed area the vendors had set up in. And approximately zero ramps. Which made me useless….again. I could float my way down but that would draw attention and that couldn't be a good thing.

 

"Stay here," Eire whispered in my ear. "And stay hidden. With possible spies around we don't need you shining a light on yourself to draw attention." 

 

I gave her a tired stare and rolled my eyes at her pedantic explanation. Don't attract attention, if only I had thought of that! She shook her head and wandered into the market muttering something I'm sure was rather rude. 

 

So I sat, watching the hustle and bustle of a market. People running in wearing all types of gear. From cloth to leather to plate. Some wore bloodied bandages but most seemed pristine. As I watched around me I noticed many more of those who were bandaged being taken around the corner rather than entering the market. Occasionally a cart of moaning people would go past, dripping blood before also disappearing around the corner.

 

Finally curious enough, I wheeled myself in that direction to investigate. I found a canopy strung between some pillars with a large crowd huddled inside. Half a dozen individuals in cloth were changing bandages, applying ointments and in at least one instance I saw, pulling someone's shoulder back into place. Magic was used but only to stem bleeding before the person was ushered back out with some bandaging. The healing having only been enough to reduce the intensity of the wound. 

 

"You," I jumped as a voice behind me interrupted my thoughts. "You look like you might know some healing spells…"

 

The body belonging to the voice came around to my front, he was clad in full plate armor of pure white with gold trim. A matching cape of white and gold billowed behind him. I nodded, "Some. Who are you?"

 

I glanced behind me to see if he had companions but found only the procession of injured slowly coming in. "Melias. I'm overseeing the evacuation and treatment of combatants to this location. I need all available healers to be hands on deck with this. Willing to lend a hand?"

 

I really shouldn't. Like reeeaallly shouldn't, but they were suffering. A light touch of healing shouldn't hurt. Right? "How can I help?"

 

"Spot heal the wounded, wounds that can be stabilized without excessive mana use, the wounded will then be tended through more conventional means." He seemed to regard me a moment, "thanks for volunteering. "

 

He walked away and turned the corner towards the market. Stuff to oversee I guess? I wheeled myself into the tent and looked around, a medic came over and confirmed I was a healer willing to help before pushing me into an open space. She quickly got a group formed into a line and instructed me to turn away any too injured to easily help. Missing limbs, large wounds, infections that kind of stuff.

 

The first person to approach was a cow person, they were helped over by a troll holding them beneath the arm. The cow had a hole through their stomach and with further inspection it continued out their back. I glanced at the medic who had instructed me and she gave me a soft head shake, I was to turn the cow away. But I have the power for this! Why should they die?

 

I used my weakest healing spell and sent it into the cow, they were enveloped in light and when it faded, the wounds were gone with just a soft looking patch of skin remaining. I checked on my mana and almost none had been used. They offered a lot of thanks and hurried out of the way so I could heal the next person. The medic looked angry, probably assumed I burned most of my mana on the first patient. Won't they be surprised.

 

The next patient was a human girl, she was carried over on a stretcher. Her intestines were piled around her, her skin was sickeningly pale and I couldn't see if she was breathing. I closed my eyes and drew a shaky breath to calm my stomach so I wouldn't vomit. I pushed her insides back in...well...side and cast my spell again, the wound closed a little but this was far more damage. I switched to a stronger spell and tried again, this time when the light around her faded, the wound was closed and her breathing was visible. Her skin was a more normal hue but still on the pale side, she was taken to a medic for further evaluation to conserve mana. Or really, so I didn't draw too much attention. She would live and that was enough. 

 

I don't know how long this went on for, but soon the tent was nearly empty and my mana was still pretty full. I was exhausted though, battlefield triage was something I never thought I'd be doing and my spoons were dangerously low. I wanted to help them all. Everyone was redirected to me after my first few patients. It was obvious I outclassed everyone else and with my heals, no one was sent away to die. 

 

I felt pretty good about myself, until I noticed that first medic chatting to a large group of people in various types of gear. I got a bad vibe, the one she seemed to be directing her attention to was in mail armor, built for ease of movement with middling protection and at his side hung a serpentine sword of black metal. Deciding I had overstayed my welcome, I wheeled myself out of the tent and turned towards the market but found another dozen people blocking the road. My heart began pounding in my chest, I could easily wipe them out but that would mean using my magic. My magic which only makes them sleep and then they'd be reporting my return for sure after confirming it. Unless they already had…

 

No, my best bet was to try to run and maybe even use a sword if I had to. Let myself seem weaker. Of course as I wheeled myself along they took up my tail at a very obvious distance from me, like 10 feet. An assortment of humans, orcs, cows and further back a fox. I can't move fast, I need somewhere to go! Then, like a truck stop at 4 am after not seeing a bathroom for 200 miles and having chugged a couple energy drinks during a roadtrip, I found a ramp! I didn't bother seeing what the building was, I just flew up that ramp fast as I could and went inside. 

 

Sadly, like finding out the truck stop is closed after all, I was crushed. It was a big empty warehouse.  No cover and no other exits. Well, worst case I could zap them all and stab them, if they mean to harm me. 

 

I spun my chair around when I had reached the far wall, a large, opaque window on either side of me. The group filed in and I found myself facing nearly 20 people in various gear sets. Some I pegged as healers, some magic casters and a lot of melee… The guy in the mail armor stepped forward and grinned. 

 

"That was quite some healing you did back there…" I nodded, "where'd you pick up those skills, I wonder."

 

I shrugged, "Practice…."

 

He cocked an eyebrow back at me, "Practice huh? See, I wonder if you maybe read about it, in a scroll somewhere. Cause uh...I'd love to take a look …"

 

I drew my short blade from my inventory, "If I had a scroll, you really think you could take me?"

 

"Starr," he grinned ear to ear, "take her out."

 

An elf woman stepped past him with a sinister smirk, "happily." 

 

She drew twin knives of a dark red and black swirl and came running at me. My heart was ready to burst out of me like a scene in Alien.  She flipped forward and was bringing both blades down at me as if in slow motion.  My blade was moving as I reacted more in fear than in any form of skill and through some good fortune connected with her stomach before her blades could connect. She hit the floor next to me with blood pouring out of her,but I already knew she was dead before she ever hit the ground. 

 

I barely kept myself in the chair, fighting in this clothing would be near impossible! "You bitch! She was my fifth favourite soldier, who the fuck do you think you a-"

 

"No! No you can't just...yeah, I know but…" the whispering outside the window drew everyone's attention, it sounded british? "Look, I'll go in, you're in no spot to fight. Alright? Thank you! Stay here and let me handle this one for once!"

 

The leader of my assailants slowly turned to his people as though in disbelief at the stupidity we were overhearing. "Barnes, Trace. Go deal with the rats outsi-"

 

There was a knocking on the door that once again interrupted him. "Are you fucking joking with me right now… Go find out who that is and deal with em."

 

Barnes and Trace, I assume, a cow person and a Tiefling walked over to the door and answered it. A rather average man with dark skin stood in the door, he was fidgeting and had some bandages on his head and over a lot of his face making it hard to define many features. "What is it rat?"

 

"Um..pardon me gents. Might I borrow that lady there, I have a...friend. She's terribly injured and I hear this lady you are speaking to is quite a skilled healer."

 

The leader seemed to sigh in exasperation, "Just kill the moron already!"

 

He then turned his attention on me and with a hand signal his men fanned out around him. The clang of metal and a body dropping sounded in the background but my focus was taken by the immediate threat to me. 

 

They formed a semi-circle around me and I raised my blade in preparation. I had a spell ready for when I needed it. A warrior on my left moved in and as I desperately slashed, his blade struck my arm. Pain blossomed from the wound and I looked down to find his blade had gone a few centimeters in. I chuckled as I realized I overpowered them enough that I really wasn't in danger after all!

 

Another blade struck me from behind and another from the front and I realized I was wrong. I was in danger after all due to my limited mobility. I lashed my blade out and sliced one of them in half, but another ran in and smashed me across my face. I heard the shattering of glass and looked up to see a fox standing amongst shattered glass, light reflected from the shards in a dazzling display. They had fur so black it was almost purple in the light, their chest...er...her chest was covered in red fur, almost a maroon in its appearance. She lacked any clothing but her fur did hide any features beyond the feminine shape of her chest. Her eyes burned a bright red and the side of her face we could see was bared in a snarl. Bandages wrapped around her face, but seemed to be focused on her right side.

 

"Who the fuck are you?!" The enemy leader never got an answer, as her retort was a sword nearly twice her body that she brought down on his head in a flash. He was split in two and he slipped to the floor in a gory puddle. Everyone stared at the leaders remains a moment. For that moment it was like the world held its breath at the student display of savagery this little fox held. 

 

And then it burst, the other soldiers charged her. She slid past the first and touched his hand lightly, it began to blacken immediately and pus filled boils covered his face. He began to cough and stumbled into one of his comrades before vomiting blood onto them. The vomit soaked soldier shoved the sick man away, he fell onto his back motionless, his eyes glassy and unseeing. The other soldier was already developing boils and beginning to cough as well. While that had been happening the fox had cut someone down to her size by giving their legs a trim at the knees before slicing another in half from shoulder to hip. 

 

Shaking myself from my shock, I realized her main enemies would be the mages. I sent my holy bolts into the first two I saw and they dropped unconscious. I saw the man who had knocked on the door cut another down with a large axe before flinging an icicle through the chest of another. The fox had already cleared another half dozen warriors out, the floor quickly becoming slick with blood and viscera. The foxes companion cast a wave of frost at the floor and it froze over, causing several enemy warriors to slip while the fox maintained perfect grip and cut them down. 

 

I put another mage down and witnessed the healers fall to the infected while trying to heal them. Suddenly, the room was still. The fox executed the unconscious mages and walked back to me along with her friend. 

 

He was the one to speak, though I stared at the fox a moment longer. It's hard to tell with foxes but I had a suspicion…. "Are you the healer from the tent? The one who can heal any wound?"

 

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah I am. Thanks for the save, both of you."

 

He smiled. "Not that you needed it…" he gestured at the shallow wounds I had received. "But I'm sure you had your reasons for holding back. Look, she's really wounded, are you able to help her?"

 

I gasped as the fox took off her bandages and turned her head to show me the right side of her face. The bone around her eye was collapsed and the right half of her jaw was mostly gone from the nose to the teeth. I noted her right ear was just a raw, bloody, shredded mess, wounded in a line with her other injuries. Her chest had a deep gash as well, overall I couldn't comprehend how she was standing, let alone had managed the fight as she had. I didn't wait a second longer and poured my strongest heal into her. Rather than being surrounded by light though, she was infused with shadows. When they faded, her teeth were still exposed and her nose was partly missing but her eye was whole again and the wounds were healed, if scarred. 

 

Seeing her healed,  I realized the red on her chest wasn't fur but her own blood from the wounds. And I knew her. Her tongue lolled out in a foxy grin, "Aye, now that's pure dead brilliant!"