“Hey Arthur, do you know what is going on with Vel? He’s been really distant for a while now, like something is bothering him.” I looked over to my right and saw it was Calavia asking.
“Sorry, but I don’t know what he is going through. When I first met him he was pretty different, since then he has changed a lot.” I quickly lied through my teeth, I wanted to tell her the truth but I knew the risks.
She nodded with a soft frown on her face and turned back to what she was doing before in the other room, I slumped back into my chair and rubbed my face to try and keep myself awake. Since the interview with the guild which was more of an interrogation Vel had gotten a lot worse, he was like a little boy jumping at the smallest shadows and it was starting to affect me as well. I could see in his eyes whenever I spoke with him that he wanted to tell everyone about the demons, the strength to keep that dangerous secret away from everyone else was fading.
I looked out the nearby window at the night sky and the stars that glittered like gemstones. I came to learn in my week of working in the clinic that the night shifts were the worst, most people didn’t do much during the night which left us mostly just sitting around all night. If we had the motivation we would practice magic, but we would need to keep a decent amount of our mana reserves in the event that someone needed medical attention.
Eventually Vel walked into the room looking like a dead man and took a seat opposite of me. For some time he just sat there looking at the floor without moving an inch, only after several minutes passed did he say anything. He started with just some soft mumbling that eventually turned into actual words. “Do you think what we are doing matters Arthur?”
I looked up a little surprised by the sudden question. “What do you mean?” I asked back.
“Do you think us being here learning restoration magic to better heal others' matters?” He clarified in a slow flat tone that was slightly uncomfortable to listen to.
“I don’t know Vel. I do know that it matters to other people, like that old man you were helping just last week with his back pain. He seemed a lot happier when his pain was gone, and that advice you gave him for lifting heavy things definitely helped him.”
After that Vel went quiet for several hours until Calavia came into the room. “Hey Arthur, it's your turn to keep watch in the waiting area.”
“Sure thing, I will just be a moment.” I quickly answered as I stood from my chair. I took a big stretch before stepping away from the chair and allowing Calavia to take my place.
I quickly made my way towards the waiting area and found it was empty aside from the regular furniture and a chair in the middle of the room. I quickly walked over to and sat down on the chair as I waited for anyone that might require medical attention at such a late time. A couple hours passed and I eventually dozed off lightly, then around the second hour I was there I heard the door open and close. Quickly my eyes shot open and I looked to see a middle aged man covered with small cuts across his body and arms. His shirt was also covered with holes and cuts and small amounts of dried blood.
I quickly jumped up with several healing spells at the tips of my fingers the moment my mind could process what I was seeing. “Good evening sir mage.” The man said in a clear half awake tone. “I… got into a fight and there was a knife involved. Do you think you could patch me up quickly and take note of everything you heal?”
“Of course I can do that. How exactly did all this happen?” I quickly rushed the man over to the chair and forced him to take a seat. I immediately started casting the tier one Identify Injury spell to assess the full extent of his injuries.
“Someone owed me a small amount of money he borrowed, when I asked for that money back he got angry and when I told him I needed the money back he started swinging a knife around. He has been avoiding me for quite some time since borrowing the money, so when I found him well after the required time he needed to pay me back I demanded the money.”
I had him take his shirt off the moment the spell gave all the information it could collect about his injuries. Most were just light cuts that would heal on their own without any problem, there were a few however that slightly risked infection if not treated.
I started with the Light Healing spell to heal all of the lesser injuries, then I began casting the Heal Wound on each of the more serious injuries. One by one the man was left with just a handful of small and barely noticeable scars primarily on his arms.
When I was done I started writing down each of the injuries in as much detail both to properly charge the man for the healing I provided and because he specifically asked for a copy. When I was done I handed it to him and he counted up the money and paid me in full.
“So why exactly did you want a copy of your recorded injuries if you don’t mind me asking?” I Asked as I had all the coins in my hand. I was curious and I had a feeling the man would be willing to answer after I just healed him.
“This is for the city guard so they can properly charge the man for his crimes. In recent years the courts have changed the way crimes like this are dealt with, in the past this would just be a case of assault. A full list of the injuries he has inflicted will help find the specific crimes he will be punished with, it helps the courts to fit the crime to the punishment.”
The man quickly left with the paper in hand and I took the seat again and waited for the next patient, if there even would be another, to arrive. Another half hour passed and I heard the door to the rest of the clinic open up, I looked over and saw Calavia slowly closing the door. She looked up and gave a soft smile before picking up a chair and placing it next to mine, she sat down next to me and let out a sigh.
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“I don’t think Vel is doing very good.” The defeat in her voice was as clear as the night sky. “I tried speaking to him about what was bothering him, but he wouldn't tell me about it. It must have been really bad if he won’t even acknowledge that something even happened.”
I didn’t say anything as she continued speaking. “I’m worried about him, Arthur. He was doing so well when I first joined, now he is a nervous wreck and nobody knows or is willing to say why.” She sniffled a few times and I could see in her eyes she was at a loss as to what to do. Without really thinking I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. She was a little surprised by the sudden movement but understood what I was trying to do. For a while the two of us just sat there, she rested her head against my shoulder while we kept an eye for anyone coming in.
“I know how to brew drowsiness potions, maybe those would help Vel get some proper sleep.” I suggested after several seconds of silence.
“You think that might help him?” Calavia asked, the doubt evident in her voice.
“I don’t know, but I am betting he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep since whatever happened to him. I think he would be a lot better if he could just get a good night's sleep.”
“How soon can you make these potions for him?”
“I should be able to brew up a batch with just a few hours at home, I have all the ingredients that are needed and the bottles to keep the potion in. We would just need to get him to drink the potion every night before he sleeps.”
“I will talk to him about the potion as soon as you make some. You can meet me at my own home, here I will write it down for you so you can actually find it.” Calavia sat up and then stood from her chair and walked over to the nearby table where an ink pot and a few spare pieces of paper were laying, she picked up a piece and quickly wrote something down using hydromancy on the ink. When she was done she walked back over and handed me the paper.
Like I recalled it was the same address she had when we were friends the first time around, though I had never actually been there I recognized the address as she did something similar then when we became close.
“Do you work tomorrow?” I asked, figuring it would be a good time to deliver those potions.
“No I don’t. I assume that is when you want to drop off those potions.”
“Yes, do you know where Vel lives or when he works? Because I don’t, he has been mostly quiet about everything regarding his personal life.”
“No I don’t, but I can ask Laelia if she knows where he lives. Odds are she would know if nobody else does.”
*******
Within a few days of supplying the drowsiness potions Vel’s mental condition improved. The look of perpetual exhaustion that was always present slowly faded away as he was able to get a good night's sleep. Price wasn’t an issue as the potions were very cheap to both make and sell so I was able to get at least a bottle for him for each day. Calavia’s mental state also improved upon seeing the positive changes in Vel, she would smile more filling my heart with joy.
During my time working in the clinic I also learned a lot more about restoration magic from whoever was the supervisor for the shift, sometimes it was Laelia but most of the time it was one of her more trained apprentices.
/- - - - - -\
+ Restoration Level 11
\- - - - - -/
I was able to cast most of the tier one spells I was taught without much difficulty assuming I wasn’t tired or under a lot of stress, exhaustion wasn’t much of an issue but stress wasn’t quite the same. On occasion we would have a patient come in with some very serious injuries, the most recent example of this was a hunter with an arrow sticking out of his stomach. He wasn’t in any pain and acted quite normal, however for a healer even shifting the arrow slightly could lead to internal bleeding which would be disastrous.
I had to call upon the supervisor to help the man, however I was still required to help with the healing to the best of my ability. I did this when the arrow was removed and we needed to close the wound as well as any smaller and hidden internal injuries. My supervisor dealt with the internal injuries while I dealt with what was outside. It was a long and stressful procedure, but we managed to heal the hunter without making things any worse.
**********
Only when the month of Malachite did either I or Vel learn of how the investigation regarding the parasitic demons was going, based on the questions I was asked in my own personal interrogation I guess that it wasn’t going very well.
Sitting in the same simple stone brick room with just a stone table and chair I watched as the interior entered through the thick iron door and it closed behind him. The sound of it being locked from the outside would have echoed through the room if there was enough room.
“Good afternoon Mr… Arthur.” The interrogator said as he looked at my file. “As I understand you witnessed what the restoration division of the mages guild is referring to as a new species of demon, this one being parasitic in nature. I just have a few questions regarding what you witnessed and you will be free to go.” The interrogator said without even looking up as he sat on the chair opposite of mine.
“Of course, anything to help with the investigation.” I said with a fake smile on my face.
‘Why do I have the sinking feeling that the guild hasn’t made any significant progress on the demon? I already told them everything that I could have known about the last time this happened. There is nothing else they could learn from me.’
“Very good. First could you for the record explain to me what happened when the demonic parasite was discovered and how everyone who witnessed it reacted?”
‘The same question as last time.’ I resisted the urge to sigh as I thought back to what happened. I took a deep breath to both calm myself and to speak without stopping.
“A young boy came to the clinic on my first day of working, my coworker Vel immediately casted a diagnostic spell on him. When he received the information regarding his condition he ran to Laelia to tell her what he found. When she took a look she agreed with his decision and removed the parasite by forcing the boy to puke it up. That was when we saw it and I identified it as a demon based on its distinct red eyes and black skin.”
“How many people saw the demon when the boy puked it up? Were there witnesses other than you five?” The interrogator quickly interjected.
“No there wasn’t, just the five of us. After we all looked at it in shock for a few seconds Laelia quickly placed it in a glass jar and brought it into the back room to keep it safe while she called for help. While we waited both Vel and I kept an eye on the boy and his sister to make sure they didn’t try and run, eventually that wizard arrived and we spoke with that woman over his communication orb.”