The next few hours passed by in relative peace*. Mom and I got to sit around and chat about what she had planned for the upcoming expedition with the new recruits. Hearing from her own lips that she was confident in the safety of her sons put many of my worries at ease once and for all. We changed topics many times, though it eventually circled back to the mishap with the gunpowder once the smoke had cleared from the room. Thanks again wind runes for allowing me to jet the smoky air out of the house by hand.
I showed her what I had learned about guns, and even demonstrated a design from Earth known as the bolt action rifle. She didn’t seem too interested in ranged combat or the tools of the trade, but the thing that did pique her interest was my weapon designs I had planned for my brothers. I got her opinion on what materials to use and what style she foresaw my brothers excelling at. She was the one to teach us self defense and is a veteran guard, so her opinion on the matter was as good as gold. What surprised me was that she said that out of the four of us I had the highest proficiency with swords, and when I suggested hammers and maces she agreed that they would match me as well.
With new notes to take into consideration and a few tips on where armoring a kobold was the most difficult, I could finally begin designing the final draft of the gear I had planned for my brothers. My eyes flicked from the table to my mother, and I decided that spending more time with her was more important than keeping myself busy. We kept on talking for a long while, and at one point went over to the mirror to discuss my appearance. I had always wondered why I rarely saw any blue kobolds, and it turns out that they’re more common in other cities.
Then I made a mistake. I asked her what the ideal kobold beauty looked like, and she started flexing. She explained that the most attractive quality to a “real” kobold man was raw strength, and that naysayers were just jealous of her. Mom, this has got to be the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done, and we aren’t even in public. The sound of the boys making their way in through the front door saved me from the dizzying level of shame I felt as Juaki began doing a number of herculean poses. For the first time in my life I’m having buyer’s remorse and it’s all her fault.
I went into the main den and was stunned by the sight of the shined and polished scales in the room. They all looked so much better now that the dull weathering from their training had been scrubbed away, and the refreshed look that each of them wore was touched with a look of post-scrubbing bliss. My eyes lingered on Tokols, who was completely white for the first time since he had discovered his chameleon scales. They were all happy, which meant that I could be happy. Dad began to seal the front door while the boys went for the kitchen, but before our uncle could decide where he wanted to fit into the dining space I got his attention so he would move towards the other room.
Once in the hobby romm I presented him with all of the notes I had made regarding his weapon. Yabtin took the loss of one paper shell quite well. He was a little disappointed that I went ahead and disassembled it and lit it off in the house, but since there wasn’t any harm done to any person or property he was willing to forgive me. When I questioned him about why the gun used such terrible powder he laughed it off saying that he rarely used the gun and hadn’t fired it in a few years. As he explained it, these were old shells he planned on replacing due to their age, and fresh shells were more potent and burned faster. He also explained that he only ever used it against monsters that were unable to be dissuaded by other means, but even his gun was only just another deterrent against larger beasts.
I wasn’t going to ask if he had ever shot anyone, but Tokols didn’t seem to think about how rude that was. Yabtin laughed it off and said he hadn’t, but the way his eyes darkened made me doubt his words. Our now extremely awkward situation was diffused by the opening of a new barrel of beer, as well as the call from Humey for me to help chill the drink.
The rest of the evening was much less awkward and more celebratory than I had thought it would be. Yabtin and Bahruk went on to tell a few stories of their migration across the continent, such as the time they were accosted by a gang of thieves and had to escape a forest of deadly traps with nothing but their wits while caring for a few wounded allies. The obvious embellishment of their tale disenchanted Mibata, who opted to sit closer to mom and I so he could join our private conversation regarding a certain story about hobbits spending seven months to deliver a piece of jewelry and the parallels it had to the current narrative on display.
Eventually everyone became tuckered out, and since we had the seating area in the hobby room available we could put Yabtin up in a private space. He seemed to like the notion since he had to sleep on his own while living on the surface around other races. I guess the kobold sleeping pile is a cultural thing that most soft-skinned races will probably avoid for fear of becoming perforated by sharp scales. As long as he can sleep comfortably in our home, I’m content to let him keep the place to himself for a while.
Mibata and I passed some notes as we did every night, though tonight it felt more as though he were the one allowing me to ramble on about things that were bothering me. I made an effort to phrase things so that he wouldn’t think of them as ongoing issues, and for the most part he seemed to respond as though the issue were over with. Whenever I mentioned Vynrashu he would always throw in some remark about my boss being untrustworthy or suspicious. I pressed further to figure out why, but when the topic shifted to his potential connection to the gray elder we dropped it for the night and went to sleep. Don’t worry Bata, there’s an equal chance of him being our grand-uncle to being that monster’s spawn, and a one in eight was multiple times less harrowing than a coin toss scenario.
…
I couldn’t sleep very well tonight, and ever since I woke up I’ve been worrying about Tuelni. Did I have some kind of dream about her that I didn’t remember? There’s no way to come to a conclusive answer about her health and safety from this side of the city, so my only way of checking on her was to go to her clinic and find her. I had asked permission from Juaki before making any concrete plans, but she wouldn’t stop me nor would she go along. I promised that this was just going to be a visit to check on our grandmother, and if she was well and good I would come back home without her.
Tokols and Humey volunteered to escort me there while Mibata had a work-related conversation with our uncle. Oh right, they’re both technically intelligence agents of the city now, which means that their jobs are now closely entwined. Maybe old Yabtin can give him some pointers or contacts and teach him how to carry a gun of his own, just like a noir detective. Am I still obsessed with the genre even after dying? Surprisingly yes, and I could tell it had only gotten worse with all of the mystery seeping into my daily life.
Our little trio went over to Tuleni’s clinic, which still held a spicy herbal aroma the permeated through the air from the immense vegetation present within. An underground desert oasis run by a crazy granny crocodile. You gotta love this place sometimes. We found her in the back tending to a recent amputee with her amazing magic of healing that could mend the tears of this kobold’s flesh like putty. We watched in morbid fascination from a distance until the sight of the jagged wound sealing around the protruding bone made Humey almost puke.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
She scowled as she turned around, unaware of who had snuck up behind her and dared to gag at her work, but as soon as she saw it was her own family she shifted to her usually ecstatic grin.
“Ah, grandchildren visit Tuleni! Wonderful occasion, fearing never happen again. Come, sit, speak with Tuleni.”
I never admitted it to anyone in the family, but I absolutely adored the way she spoke. Her thick accent and refusal to act like anything other than a crazy old woman was inspirational. We took seats on some of her root-like furniture while she fetched a small purple pellet and a cup of water for Humey.
“Here, take medicine then drink water: cures nausea.”
He complied willingly as she conjured a seat of her own with a wave of her hand. My senses told me that she didn’t use magic, but more likely that the enormous root structure of her clinic reacted to her motions and used magic of its own to obey her. My eyes darted around the roots in an attempt to discern if this giant plant had a source of its own, but Tuleni’s laugh halted my investigation.
“Tuleni garden clever. Once called monster, Tuleni think differently. Cared, nurtured, raised garden. Liking name Wilter, despite irony. Worry nothing, Wilter kind thing, never harm kobolds. Hehaha, also never harming creatures like this.”
She pointed to something at my feet, which from the worried chittering must have been Tim. I reached down and scooped the fearful bug up, only to have him curl into his defensive shape and refuse to open up. The mad cackle from the green healer made the air around us feel a little livelier, as though the clinic was laughing along with her.
“Adorable creature. Tuleni seen many, know their ways. Lifetime loyal companion, treated kindly. Mana stone within control metals, allow shell growing hard resist attacks. Iron shell, eeh. Not weakest, not strongest. Room to grow, stronger also bigger.”
I glanced from her to the bug in my arms. How much bigger was she talking here? I could handle him being up to double the size he was at now, but after a certain point he would need a door of his own to come in and out of the house. Just stay smaller than me, all right buddy? Still, a loyal companion with a durable shell was a great boon no matter how small, especially when they were as adorable as this bug.
Tuleni cocked an eyebrow at my shifty eyes.
“Tuleni suspect Kayrux perhaps having visit reason? Could Juaki inviting Tuleni into den? Neverminding, Tuleni merely jesting. Daughter definitely lingering anger. Well, what here for?”
Tokols wiggled to the edge of his seat to lean in closer to Tuleni, and in a slightly hushed voice he explained our reason for being here.
“We came to check on you. It’s been a while since Hu and Kay were able to see you, and from how they were acting on the way here it seems they missed you quite a bit. Gloomy didn’t come along today because Yabtin’s back and wanted to talk with him about spy stuff. Also, I don’t want to be rude gran, but shouldn’t we you be talking a little quieter? That guy you just patched is trying to sleep.”
Tuleni scoffed at his words.
“Tuleni speaking fine. Sleepy kobold given medicine, not waking until tomorrow. Checking Tuleni unnecessary, Tuleni fine. Visit welcome, share drinks, share stories. Come, into back room.”
Tuleni led us to a room unlike the main chamber of her clinic in every way. There were not botanical growth consuming every inch of the walls and floor, instead it was a room with an approximate size and function as the hobby room back home. There were crates and barrels of various medicinal components all along the far wall, and to our left was a sitting area that had chairs around a circular table. The entire space to our right was an alchemical kitchen, in which Tuleni began to brew something that smelled a lot like tea. We all took a seat at the table while we waited for her to finish making the aromatic beverage.
She announced the completion of her work with a clinking of glassware and a gleeful laugh. Her drinkware was like something from a science fiction film: the cups were spheres with downward facing diagonal lines instead of handles, and the teapot was the same orb-like shape with an arched neck that the liquid would be poured from. It was mesmerizing to watch the light brown drink pour seamlessly into a swirling pool into each cup, especially when there was mana running along with the drink in intricate patters. What were these shapes in the water, and how were they keeping their shape?
One of those dagger-like claws reached out and tapped my arm to bring my attention to its owner. She pointed to Tokols and showed a toothy grin.
“Knowledge testing, Tuleni apprentice. Explain Kayrux potion magics, include details. Begin.”
Tokols rolled his eyes and set his cup down. He seemed to be enjoying his drink even as the steam rolled off from it into his nostrils.
“Fine. Kayrux, let me tell you something about potions that Tuleni literally burned into my brain with the fumes from the brewing process: potions are magic. As she has explained it and as I’ve seen it, making a potion is about combining ingredients that have certain parts of a complete “circle”. There’s the top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right pieces, and you can only have one of each in your potion. Say for example you wanted a bone-mending potion with a high purity. There are two plants that can achieve that: bane tulips and sand root. The other ingredients can determine certain things like potency and what method of application it will have, but the actual healing property that targets your bones is one of those two.”
He took another sip before continuing.
“The problem is that you can’t mix the two, because they’re both from the upper left part of the circle. If you try and use both of them, you’ll have a potion that does the job, but will only work at half efficiency or only heal half as much. Same goes for the bottom right base ingredient. If you wanted an ointment you’d use fellard bark pulp, and for an ingested potion you’d use desert bee honey. Mix the two, and you’ll have something that will work with one or the other, and you won’t be able to tell which.”
The contents of his cup were drained, but Tuleni was polite enough to refill his cup as he finished the lesson.
“Tuleni has explained it to me a whole bunch of times, but the gist is that the circle formula keeps the mana for the spell aspect in your potion contained until it gets into your system. Better ingredients and refinement processes make stronger potions with better circles, better circles mean greater yields and a longer storage life. I gather that half of the work is done by the magic, and the other half is the medicine in your body. It’s really amazing and taught me a lot about patience, but I wish there was a better way of learning than having my head filled with poisonous fumes.”
Tuleni cackled at this in delight before patting him on the shoulder.
“Tokols learning fastest, greatest apprentice Tuleni train. Someday become grand healer. Rich, powerful, famous healer. Tokols passing Tuelni test, Kayrux educated. Continue drinking, Tuleni knowing great story. Humey, medicine working?”
He nodded enthusiastically as he swallowed the last of his first cup of tea.
“Yep, thanks granny.”
These two were really into this stuff, but I personally hadn’t even tried it yet. I was never a huge fan of it back on Earth, but then again I also wasn’t into eating bugs or casting spells. I raised the cup to my nose and took in the warm aroma it gave off. This smelled and tasted quite minty, like a candy cane had been boiled down and mixed with a bitter leafy brew made from the dregs of other teas. I wasn’t a big fan of it, but the tingle it left on my tongue was reason enough for me to drink it. I could sense within my body the mana circles breaking down and scattering their energies into my mana lines, and from there spreading out across my entire body before vanishing as their energy depleted. It was subtle, but I could feel my muscles relaxing and my mind becoming less troubled.
We stayed with Tuleni for an hour as she told a story about her early life. That fiery rage and thrill for violence that Juaki had must have come from her father, as most of our grandma’s stories are of her working as a medic that would work tirelessly to follow the footsteps of her mentor so she could save as many lives as she could. Her passion for life and preserving it was endearing, and it felt bittersweet to leave after hearing her tell of the names and faces of all those that she saved. On our walk home I spied in the corner of my eye a wistful look on my energetic brother’s face. It must be amazing to hear about how valiant your hero was by their own account and know that it held no embellishment like the stories spun by Yabtin. Maybe it was just the soothing effect of the tea taking hold, but I too walked home with a serene feeling fluttering in my chest.