Chapter 13

 

"You're lucky I found you three when I did." An old lady led a wagon along the forest road with a mule pulling it along. Zayd and Milly rested upon it while Ivory walked next to them. "There's not many who venture this far anymore. There's no telling how long you would have been stuck back there for."

 

"You're from Bullhill Town?" Ivory wondered.

 

"Indeed I am," the old lady remarked. "You can call me Byra, by the way. And I've lived there for the past sixty-two years."

 

"Wow so you've seen quite a bit in your days?" Ivory asked. 

 

"My great grandfather was one of the original settlers of the town," Byra detailed. "Him and my great grandmother came out this way in search of a place to settle down and raise a family."

 

"Do the gnolls not attack you out here?" Ivory asked. "I mean no offense but I'm amazed to see someone walking around all by themselves."

 

"I haven't had any issues out here. Let alone any encounters," Byra disclosed. "To be honest, I'm not really afraid either. I've lived a long life, dear. I won't let it end by being locked away in my home, afraid to even look at the light of day. The folks of Bullhill Town may fear death but I will embrace my life to the fullest."

 

"Can you tell me what you know of the gnolls?" Ivory inquired. "Did your family ever pass down any stories?"

 

"Of course, I've got a few of them," Byra revealed. "My great uncle once befriended a gnoll. They used to hunt together every full moon. It was a timeless tradition for them."

 

"Why the full moon?" Ivory probed.

 

"That's when the werewolves reveal themselves," Byra explained. "They would chase the beasts from the lands, preventing their kind from expanding within this forest."

 

"Werewolves? You mean the packs of Qeshor? They used to come this far?" Ivory was riddled with questions.

 

"I'm afraid that's all I know of the stories. All I know is that they were victorious against the werebeasts," Byra described.

 

"Your great uncle must have been a skilled combatant to have fought off werewolves," Ivory commented. 

 

"Things used to not be this way," Byra illustrated. "Used to, we lived in harmony with the forest but within the past year, everything has turned sour."

 

"What do you mean?" Ivory wondered.

 

"The wildlife has begun to flee from many parts of the forest. The ones that remain seem to be infected with some sort of disease. Only the areas closer to the village seem to hold much wildlife anymore. The once peaceful gnolls now seek to bring us ruin because of it," Byra told them. "They hold us responsible for their misfortunes and who could blame them? From an outward perspective it may appear that we are the cause. Everything seemed to change when that mayor arrived."

 

"The mayor?" Ivory repeated back to her. "How does he tie into all this?"

 

"The creatures of the forest didn't start becoming sick until he showed up. Since his arrival, he has been ushering services into the town. We started receiving things we had never had before. Food and wine was being imported from all over Isigya," Byra clarified. "Soon after, the townsfolk made him mayor and other parts of the forest began to worsen. Hardly anyone took notice since none of this affected us until recently."

 

"Have any of the other townsfolk made this connection yet?" Ivory asked.

 

"I'm afraid not," Byra answered. "These people just want to live peaceful and passive lives. It's much easier for them to brush their concerns off to someone else to handle. Unfortunately for them, the one handling it is also the instigator."

 

"I wonder how the town would react to such news," Ivory pondered.

 

"I know these people well. The mayor has them fully convinced that he is their savior. You won't be able to turn them against him," Byra detailed. "In their eyes he's done so much for them already that he could probably walk into town square and admit his guilt but they'd just find a way to justify his actions."

 

"What exactly has he done?" Ivory inquired. "Aside from the shipments?"

 

"That’s really it," Byra said. "For the last few months he has continuously brought in a steady supply of goods and resources. The quality of everyone’s lives here has slowly been increasing. The only sad part is that it seems to come at a price."

 

“What price would that be?” Zayd chimed in.

 

“Well the forest I suppose,” Byra answered. “While our life gets better, the forest worsens.”

 

"The forest is being worsened by the effects of that toxin we’ve come across. I still don't understand how it ties into all this though," Ivory remarked. "What reason would the mayor have to poison the wildlife?"

 

"You think he's poisoning them?" Byra asked.

 

"The gnolls seem to think so," Ivory disclosed. "Though I wonder if their words can be trusted."

 

"Ah, it seems we've made it." Byra looked up to see the village within plain sight. They were just a short pace from safety. "Our doctor is not quite as skilled as most but they should be able to patch you up."

 

They made their way through the town and all the way to a small office structure with a giant heart shaped sign displayed on the outside. 

 

"The gentleman's name is Lochart. Tell him Byra sent ya and he should get ya patched up just fine."

 

"Thanks again, Byra!" Ivory waved as her and Milly carried Zayd through the door. "It was great to meet you."

 

"Likewise, dear!" Byra returned the gesture. "Good luck on your journey!"

 

Zayd coughed and gagged as blood began to spew from his mouth. His moans alerted the doctor.

 

"What in tarnation is going on out there?" A voice rang out. "Who's hurt now?"

 

They turned to see a middle-aged man with short grayish-brown hair and a pair of large framed glasses.

 

The gentleman approached and looked at the adventurers. "Oh dear. What happened to you three?"

 

"Byra sent us. Our friend here, he's hurt really badly!" Milly began to plead. "Please help him!"

 

"Hurry bring him back here!" Lochart pushed aside a curtain and revealed a larger room with a few beds and tables with multiple tools. "Lay him over here."

 

Milly and Ivory lifted Zayd up and set him on the bed. Milly limped over to a nearby chair to rest her wounded leg. 

 

"What happened to you three?" Lochart inquired. "Tell me everything so that I can administer the proper treatment."

 

"We were attacked by gnolls in the forest. One in particular and he was massive" Ivory described. "Zayd, here, took the full brunt of most of the attacks."

 

"What sort of attacks? Magical? Physical? Status effects?" The doctor probed more. "I need to know!"

 

"It was physical!" Ivory remarked.

 

"Were there any weapons used?" Lochart began removing pieces of Zayd's upper armor. 

 

"None…"

 

"Ah so blunt trauma, I take it?" Lochart examined Zayd's chest and found multiple large bruises around his torso. "This doesn't look good. There's a good chance he's got broken ribs."

 

"Are you going to be able to help him?!" Milly snapped.

 

"Yes! I can but I need to gather my things." He began shuffling through multiple jars and boxes. Lochart pulled out a few different plants and utensils. He began mashing up several ingredients into a bowl until they were grinded down into a fine dust. He whispered some words and blew the dust over Zayd's wounds. They began to glow green and slowly the bruising subsided.

 

"Y-you did it?" Milly pried. "Is he back to normal?"

 

"No, not yet. I've only managed to get the swelling and bruising down for now. His injuries are still very much present," Lochart explained. "Though his internal injuries will be much more difficult to remedy."

 

Lochart reached over and grabbed a book. The doctor began flipping through its pages until he found one of particular interest. 

 

"Can I do anything to help?" Ivory asked.

 

"For now, there is nothing," he answered. "Just remain patient and let me do my work." 

 

Zayd began to writhe in pain as he bellowed. He twisted and turned on the bed. 

 

"Don't worry, fella. We're gonna fix you up." Lochart began assembling multiple ingredients found within his work area. Once he accumulated what was needed, he took them and ground them into another fine dust. The doctor began chanting new words until his concoction flowed with a fiery blue flame. He picked it up with his hand and smeared the flames onto Zayd's wounds. 

 

Zayd howled in agony as the flames buried deep inside him.

 

"Help me hold him down!" Lochart demanded.

 

Ivory and him reached out and grabbed Zayd's arms to pin to the bed. Zayd twisted and turned in an attempt to free himself. His eyes shot open and the flame subsided. He fell back onto the bed and rested his eyes.

 

"There, he should be better now," Lochart said. "But he will need some rest. I think you two could use some yourselves."

 

"We will but for now we must report back to the guild office," Ivory suggested. 

 

"You mean report back to Dexole?" Lochart asked. "I know that poor sap! I'll bring him over here for you three."

 

"Are you sure?" Ivory asked.

 

"Of course! I've been meaning to speak with him about something," Lochart responded. "But before I go, let me take a look at that leg of yours."

 

The doctor kneeled down and began examining Milly's leg. Before long, he took the remaining dust from the batches and began blowing it onto her leg and chanting the words. A blue flame ignited and, after a brief moment of intense pain, her leg was made whole again. 

 

"It feels…almost new," Milly muttered as she began wiggling her toes.

 

"And you Ivory?" Lochart asked.

 

"I'll be fine," she answered. "My injuries aren’t anything that a nap can’t mend."

 

"Very well, then!" The doctor shouted. "I shall return."

 

Milly stood up and walked over to Zayd's side. "I hope he's ok."

 

Ivory placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think he'll be fine. This healer seems to know what they're doing."

 

"You're right." Milly looked down at her leg as she began moving it around. "He did fix my leg."

 

Ivory peered over at his book of medicine. "This isn't magic…this is alchemy…"

 

"Alchemy?" Milly asked. "Is that bad?"

 

"No, not exactly. Alchemy is old. It was used by ancestral humans long before the Primordials granted the elements to them," Ivory illustrated. "Though it’s still practiced today, I haven't seen alchemy used since before I left home."

 

"What does that mean for us?" Milly questioned.

 

"That all depends on how skillful he is at this," Ivory remarked. "A beginner Alchemist could cause our bodies to deform and mutate if done incorrectly. However, a master of their craft could completely regenerate a severed limb, if needed."

 

"What?!" Milly responded with shock. "A severed limb? But how?"

 

"I am not certain but I've seen it happen with my very eyes," Ivory described. "Let us hope that Lochart knows what he's doing."

 

The adventurers turned their notice to the doorway as they heard the door creak open. Footsteps followed and soon Lochart and Dexole revealed themselves.

 

"My dear…look at you three!" Dexole blared. "What happened out there?"

 

"We were attacked by a gnoll brute," Ivory responded. "It nearly killed us but for some strange reason, it decided to spare us."

 

"A gnoll brute, you say?" Dexole asked. "That's a rather challenging foe to face. I assume things went sour with the caravan…"

 

"Yeah…I'm afraid it's completely destroyed," Ivory replied. "And they killed the caravan crew."

 

"The entire crew?!” Dexole sighed and sat down in a chair. “I am glad you three are ok. I'm going to send a request to the guild for additional parties to be dispatched to the area. I think you three have been through enough here and your help has been extraordinary. It’s time someone else takes over from here."

 

"What about the villagers?" Milly questioned.

 

"They'll be fine until help arrives. At this point, this situation has escalated beyond your capabilities," Dexole explained. "I'm afraid I cannot, in good faith, ask any more requests from you three in regards to this situation."

 

At first, Ivory and Milly nodded in agreement but they were soon interrupted by Zayd's coughing. "N-no…"

 

"Zayd!" Milly shouted at him. "Are you ok?"

 

"D-don't you d-dare take us off this thing!" Zayd cried out. 

 

"You want to keep at this?" Dexole asked.

 

Zayd returned a nod. 

 

"But why?” Dexole wondered. “You can barely move in your condition."

 

"It will be at least a few days before he's back to normal," Lochart noted. "It's best for him to be here resting rather than questing."

 

"You're not sending me away," Zayd insisted. "We're going to finish this."

 

"My dear boy, you nearly killed out there," Lochart pointed out. "If it wasn't for the healing I did for you then you would have eventually died from your injuries."

 

"But I didn't die, did I?" Zayd snapped back. "I'm still here and there's still more to be done. I won't be giving up and neither you nor Dexole will stop me!"

 

"Well you sure have a spark lit within you. Don't ya?" Lochart replied. "Very well, then. If you insist on bringing me more work then go right ahead and be my guest. I haven’t much else to do in this small town but patch people up.

 

"He sure is a fiery spirit, isn't he?" Dexole added. "Fine, I won’t take you three off the case. But at least rest for the remainder of the day, Zayd. Can you do that much for me?"

 

"Yeah I suppose I can," Zayd answered. 

 

"We'll see to it that he remains here," Ivory flared up a few Gloom Bolts. "We have ways of convincing him." 

 

"Ivory no!" Milly eyes widened. 

 

"Oh relax," Ivory said. "I'm only joking."

 

"I'll touch base with you three in the morning and see how you're feeling. If you're still up for a quest then I'll have one waiting for you," Dexole said. "If not, then don't feel shameful for returning back to Bea Lardi. Your safety and wellbeing is important to us. Do not squander your life for a small reward."

 

"You three can stay here for the night. Feel free to use the empty beds." Lochart escorted Dexole out of the building.

 

"Well I'm going to head over to the inn and see what the talk of the town is," Ivory announced.

 

"I'll stay here with Zayd," Milly replied. "Someone should keep him company."

 

"Are you sure, Milly?" Zayd asked. "I'll be alright."

 

"Of course!" Milly insisted. "I don't mind."

 

"Well I'll see you two later," Ivory said with a wave. "Hopefully I can return with some reliable information."

 

With her departure, Zayd began to shut his eyes so that he may continue to rest from his injuries. Their encounter with Krok the brute had taught them a valuable lesson today. Not every foe they come across can be beaten so easily. Though a fire remained in his heart, Zayd would have to find more than just courage to take down this new rival.