“Argh!” Eyla was set down on the ground gently, but that didn’t stop her acid-burnt legs from feeling as if someone had rubbed them with a sheet of nails.
“Easy, easy dammit.” Gerda chided Bertrand.
“I’m going easy, dang it!” Bertrand sneered back over heavy breaths.
“Okay, let’s me get a look at those wounds… ah, damn.” The hiss that Gerda gave off didn’t exactly inspire any confidence in Eyla that the injuries were light.
“How bad is it?” She managed, head still spinning from shock, and legs now sending pulses of pain rocking up her spine.
“Oh, it’s bad. Skin looks like-” Gerda started, before being interrupted by Bertrand.
“Well. They’re still there, and look mostly intact. Can you wiggle your toes?”
“Ungh..” With great effort, Eyla attempted to move her toes, and get a look at her legs, but Gerda holding her down gently but firmly prevented that.
“Yeah. We have movement. I think you’ll recover. Uh, probably. Definitely, if we had Uther here…”
Eyla allowed her head to fall back down onto the ground. “ah, fuck…”
This was the second time in a short while that she’d gotten injured. She was just happy that this time, it wasn’t as bad as last.
The tent flap was moved aside, as the elven diplomat entered.
“How is she?”
“Not good, but she’ll live.” Gerda responded.
“You don’t… have to speak for me.” Eyla gasped.
“Still lucid? That’s a good sign. The ooze was probably not poisonous. May I have a look? I have some experience with chemical burns.” Giousué said.
“I bet you do.” Bertrand said, with just a hint of mistrust.
“Ease off, Bert.” Gerda responds. “Don’t think it can hurt. Now, please make room for the gentleman. Get some bandages from the wagon. Use my spare clothes if you need to. I’ll set some water to boil. Eyla, if you need anything, we’re right outside.”
“Yeah.” Eyla said, looking at the elf as he exchanges places with the Humans.
Finally, she manages to get up into a seated position, but she immediately regrets it. Not only does it hurt like hell when her skin accidentally rubs against the ground, but she’s also presented with a view of her legs.
The skin is dark red and looks inflamed, and large patches look to have melted.
Her heart sinks.
She’s going to be lucky if she can walk, but even doing that won’t happen any time soon.
“Ah.” The mage sits down, facing her. “What a bother. Hm. Yes, this is not good at all. But don’t you worry, you should be able to mostly recover.”
He gently hovers his hand centimetres from her damaged skin.
“First of all, I can make a salve that’ll take the worst of the pain away. While I make it, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Go ahead.” Eyla sinks back down. She had no more desire to see her legs, She was just happy that the damage was done below the knee. It’d be easier to hide that way.
“Hmh.” The mage starts taking his equipment out of a pouch. As Eyla watches, he pulls out a mortar and pestle, as well as some fresh, slightly damp leaves, a mushroom, and some berries.
“So. First of all. Do you have any powerful enemies?”
“I’m sorry?” Eyla felt confused. They’d just been attacked by an ooze, why was he asking about enemies?
“That ooze was far away from its’ normal hunting grounds. They mostly live in caves and swamps, not in the middle of the forest. And it targeted you, specifically. My retainer, Astore engaged it in melee. Normal behaviour for an ooze would be to engage whatever prey is closer, not chase after something that’s already getting away. Besides, it’s an ambush predator in the first place. Hunting just about anything is unusual.”
He gently mixes the ingredients into a white-blue paste.
“It didn’t act out of hunger or self preservation. That means it had a purpose to hunt you down. Say, do you have any powerful sorcerers that want to kill you? Or have you recently defiled a temple or disrespected any of the gods?”
“N-not that I am aware of, no.”
The idea was somewhat frightening.
“Well. If you think of something, you may want to take care of it soon, unless you want to get into more terrible situations like this. Now, I’m afraid that I’ll have to touch your injuries to apply the salve. Do I have your permission?”
“…yes. Do it.”
The mage dips his index and middle fingers into the salve, scooping up a wad of the viscous stuff.
“This is going to sting a bit.”
That was a lie. It hurt like hell.
Still, the mage hadn’t lied about one thing, the pain was quickly replaced by a cold numbness.
“There. That should be better, yes?”
Through gritted teeth, Eyla hissed a “yes.”
“Well. The ingredients are simple enough to gather in most places. I’ll have them gathered as we move.”
“You intend to do that to me again?” Eyla asked, wearily.
“Well, yes. If it’s not applied regularly, the nerves will wake back up, and everything will start hurting again. Next time the salve is applied, it won’t hurt nearly as much, as this dose should still be in effect.” The diplomat sounded very much like Eyla’s tutor, back before she was sold.
“So. I assume you have an interest in botany?” Eyla asked, eager to be distracted from the current events.
“Well, no. Not what so ever. I hate the woods, and if it was entirely up to me, well. I prefer paved streets.” The man said with a chuckle. “This particular salve served me very well when I was still just an apprentice. One of my tasks was to assist with alchemical preparations. After many a visit to the medicus, I was simply taught the salve and to recognize the ingredients.”
He rolled back his sleeve, and showed a pale patch on his thin forearm. “One of many similar burns.”
“So that’s what I have to look forwards to? Pale areas of skin on my legs?”
The mage laughs. “Well! I doubt you’d have much to worry about, should that be the case. It’d blend in with your complexion excellently. Now, I have a few more questions for you, if you don’t mind? Completely unrelated to oozes, I promise.”
Eyla sighs. Now that the pain had subsided, she felt… tired. And tendrils of pleasant cool were spreading up from her shins.
“Fine, I’ll answer your questions, as a thank you for your assistance.”
The emissary smiles. “I’d like to know more about the human, Uther. The man blessed by the gods.”
Eyla laughs. “Of course you do. Your friend, the scout, seemed quite interested in him. Alright, go ahead.”
“My retainer, Massima, told me that you had witnessed his miracles of healing?”
“Yes. I’ve been healed by him, myself. Not long ago, we were attacked by assassins, and-”
Eyla realized that she should probably not have mentioned the attack. Despite acting all friendly, she couldn’t truly trust these messengers. They were, after all, the lackeys of a noble, and she knew exactly how trustworthy nobles were.
“Well, anyway, I was… seriously hurt. The injury got infected. I was dying, and he returned from killing the dragon just in time to save my life.”
“What was it like?”
“What, nearly dying?” Eyla asks sharply, raising an eyebrow at the mage.
“No, not that. Being healed. The magic.” He dismissed her assumption with a wave of his hand.
“It’s… well, miraculous. One moment, I was in pain, then there’s this tingle that runs through my body… and this light. Then the pain is gone, and my injuries disappeared, and the infection was cured. It was as if I had never been hurt in the first place. No scar or anything.”
“Interesting… Does he do this often?”
“Well, whenever someone needs it, and he’s around, he’ll do it.”
“How many times can he do it in a day?”
“Well, the most I’ve seen is when that princeling Erland laid siege to the city, he healed all the injured warriors at once. That must have been hundreds of people all at once.”
The emissary was silent for a minute.
“Hundreds?”
“Yeah, and he’d been healing people all day, for the battle.”
“I see… no wonder the Imperial Heir lost, facing magic such as that.”
“Yeah, and then there was the whole pincer attack that Anders did, raising the fallen legionaries all in one swoop. The legion just surrendered at that point.”
“Anders, as in the necromancer?”
“Yeah, he’s a nice guy.”
Giousué nods, slowly.
“Well, I can tell that you need rest. I’ll tell the two hu- er, your companions, that you are ready for bandaging. Other than that, I recommend plenty of sleep. And you will of course spend the rest of this trip in a wagon.”
Gio stands up, and brushes his robes off.
“I look forwards to talking to you more in the future, miss.”
“Please, just call me Eyla.”
Giousué exited the tent with a plain expression, but in his mind, he was roiling at the implications he had just obtained.
“Gio?” Astore had stood by as he aided, and talked to the rebel elf.
“Astore. Come.” He motioned firmly for the knight to join him as he walked.
As he passed the campfire, he greeted the human woman with a wave of his arm.
“I’ve salved her wounds to the best of my ability. You may now apply the bandages.”
The male sitting with her seemed to want to give a sharp response, but held it back.
“I bid you both good night.” He finished, and continued moving before they even responded.
“What’s so urgent, Gio?” Astore asked as they stepped out of earshot from the rebels.
“I’ve obtained further intelligence on the central figures of the rebellion. I think I can estimate how much of a danger they pose.”
“And?”
“It is overwhelming. Both their spiritual leader, the blessed human, and their Necromancer are threats beyond what I could have expected. When we reach Naves, I need you to immediately let Matron Leanna know that her plan B is not feasible, nor desirable. We must secure this alliance, no matter the cost. No backstabbing. No deceit. If we are found in violation of the treaty as written, we have forfeited Lady Venere’s claim for the imperial throne.”
He could tell that Astore relaxed as he spoke.
“Good.” The Templar said. “I agree with your assessment, from a moral standpoint. I’ve come to respect these people, and I disagreed with the alternative when it was suggested. I’ll do as you say.”