Envy massaged the stump that was her left arm as she condensed what had happened while Exill was unconscious.
“I... sent a message to Sir Eumol. I told him you saved me. He postponed the duel until you regained consciousness, saying it would stain his honour to claim victory by default.”
Exill paused upon hearing this bit of news. It was welcome, but he felt there was more to this story, and he set aside his bowl to reach for the Contract signed at the Arena.
> 1) Each party is responsible for treatment of their own injuries,
>
> 2) Victory is considered if the opponent yields or is otherwise incapacitated by the other party in the Arena,
>
> 3) Witchdoctor Exill will sell his slave, Envy to Sir Eumol for the initial purchase price of 15,000 Denars upon his defeat,
>
> 4) Witchdoctor Exill will be compensated a token sum of 1,000 Denars upon his victory and Sir Eumol will put the dispute permanently to rest,
>
> 5) Death of either party nullifies the entire contact – including Article 1.”
‘Claim victory by default my ass, of course he would reschedule! Article 2 of the contract claims he needs to defeat me in the Arena to claim Envy. There is nothing for him to gain if I’m simply shunned and disgraced.’ This explained why the Knight had been so eager to provide an extension. Exill nodded as he ate, motioning her to continue.
“I went to Diallo’s several days ago... paid using what I saved up and a bit of your money.”
He stopped eating as he absorbed what she said. It couldn’t have been easy for Envy to face her captor, let alone paying them your hard earned cash.
“I’m… sorry you had to go through that, and thank you, I’ll pay you back.”
After some time, Luna quipped up, pouting that only the slave's sacrifices had been acknowledged. “What about thanking me? Do you know how many patients I turned down just to treat you?”
Realizing his mistake, Exill reached out to hold her hand, his fondness apparent. “This lifetime is too short to repay the debt I incurred on you. I can work on clinic duties starting tomorrow and you can take a break.”
The Healer blushed at his words, but a note of concern remained in her eyes. “You don’t have to rush into it… I was just saying-”
“It’s no problem, my vitality is full, and I might drive myself mad stuck in here with nothing to do.”
***
Exill spent the next two days on clinic duty, providing Luna with much needed rest. She still dedicated some of her time to regrowing Exill’s legs. The [Scientist] skill informed him each stump was growing back two centimetres per day, meaning it would take approximately three weeks to fully regrow.
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He was currently in Savta’s treatment room, supporting himself with one hand on the armrest while examining a patient. He finished channelling mana into the joints of the old man sitting before him, then reached out to hand a balm containing anti-inflammatories and a hint of horse sedative.
“May the Will assist you in a quick recovery.” He said the formulaic words to the elder suffering from arthritis. The hunched man merely shook his head as he exited the treatment room.
Shortly thereafter, a handsome man with a chiselled jaw entered the room. Unbuttoning his embroidered navy jacket the noble alighted on the stool, coming face-to-face with Exill.
“Sir Eumol?” He didn’t recognise the Knight in his casual attire for a moment, he had only seen him once, bedecked in the priciest of equipment.
“My wife was shopping in the neighbourhood, and I thought I would drop by. Heard the famed Witchdoctor was conscious and practicing again.” Sir Eumol examined the stumps that were Exill’s legs and grimaced, before continuing, “Nasty business that. I heard you saved our beautiful Flame. My thanks to your sacrifice… but let’s not dawdle, how long do you need to recover?”
“Four weeks.” Exill lied. The more time he had to prepare the better.
Sir Eumol merely nodded, eyes distracted and looking around the room as if in search of something. “Good, we can finally settle this like men… Is Envy around by any chance?”
“Ah… you just missed her.”
“Unfortunate, well, time waits for no man. Tell her to leave a message, I would be happy to replace her lost equipment in exchange for some... training.”
The brief pause wasn’t lost on Exill, but he carefully controlled his emotions as he thanked the Noble for his consideration.
He slammed the armrest in anger once Eumol left, his rich green eyes flickering in turmoil. How weak and poor did the man think he was, casually offering to replace equipment for 'training'?
He suppressed his anger as the next patient entered the room. The opportunity to strike back would soon arrive.
Later in the evening, Exill was lying in bed when Envy entered the room with a knock. She had recovered 50% of her vitality and some colour had returned to her pallid skin. He channelled the last of his mana into the stump of her left arm as she fed, healing her simultaneously.
Her ability to heal was extraordinary, recording four centimetres on some days. It made him wonder if she could make an eventual recovery even without magic. He let go of her stunted arm as she stopped feeding. However she lingered for several more minutes.
Exill was still fuming about the incident earlier that day, when the Vampire finally gave voice to the dilemma that had plagued her these past two weeks.
“What was the Behemoth doing at the entrance? I informed the Guild you descended deeper and fought an Iron Golem. Couldn’t explain our injuries otherwise.”
Exill hesitated, biting his lip, not knowing how much of the truth to reveal. She had earned his trust the moment she offered to nullify their contract, but even a simple explanation required the disclosure of many dangerous secrets. Their contract had a non-disclosure clause but his recent visit to the Jurisconsult had revealed how fallible - no - temperamental [Notarized Contracts] could be. Feeling her tense up as the silence grew, he decided to skirt as close to the truth as possible.
“I didn’t know we would encounter a Behemoth. You and I both know it is madness to face a beast from the lower Labyrinth.” he simply stated.
“But you knew something would be there, I could sense your anticipation the moment I joined your cohort.” She wasn’t willing to let it go.
“Yes… I knew something was there, something that could give me the edge to defeat Eumol. If you told me a Behemoth would pop up as soon as we entered, I wouldn’t have gone.” He was dangerously close to revealing his secrets.
There was a long pause as Envy read between the lines of what he was saying and what had been left out. She was no stranger to secrets and valued it highly.
“Then… did you find what you needed?” She struggled to contain the hope within her eyes.
“Most assuredly, my Scarlet Princess.” He drawled in the style of Eumol the Knight, earning a fist in the ribs. Exill didn’t regret it, but he repeated the words to express his sincerity, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
“I can take him down now.”