"Don't worry, it's not a contagious curse or anything like that," Symon assured the mayor's son. At least, he tried to. "As long as the only time I'm close to someone is when I'm healing them, it's perfectly safe."

"I see..." the man said, the sceptical look on his face making it clear that no, he did not see.

"I had a nice long chat with the guard captain and he's perfectly fine, so you aren't going to have any problems. You know the Dumosans, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of them. Good people. Why?"

"I've been travelling with them for a week now and they haven't been harmed," Symon said. He even spoke a few words of Dumosi to prove his point, although he hadn't picked anything up beyond the absolute barest of basics. And some swears, but they were essential.

"Very well, I'll take you to see my father. He... could use some help. Close the door behind you, please," the other man said, opening the door wide and striding deeper into the home.

Symon did as asked and stepped into the room. He was in a mixed kitchen and dining area, although it seemed empty and disused. A slight layer of dust coated the dining table. It was thankfully much better lit than the tailors, so he had no problem following through into the next room.

It was clearly a study. A large bookshelf sat against one wall, though it was only a quarter full of books. The wall across from him had a desk pushed up against it, as well as a large window providing plenty of light. It actually had glass in the window, making it the first time he'd seen it since coming to this village. It was cloudy to the point he couldn't make out any details outside, but the light still came in just fine. Against the final wall was a large cot, where the old mayor was currently lying.

"Father, we have a guest. A healer for you," the son said.

Immediately, Symon could tell the old man wasn't doing too well. He'd last seen him only an hour ago, where he'd needed support to stand but had otherwise been doing decently considering his advanced age, but he must have been putting on a strong showing.

"Ah... welcome to... my Brackstead..." the old man wheezed out. He chuckled to himself, but it quickly devolved into a coughing fit. Spittle flew onto a cloth that his son quickly held to his mouth. Symon could see it was already tinged red.

"Thanks for having me, I'm Symon. I'll do my best for you, okay?" It might have been better for Symon to negotiate for payment before doing the healing, but he wasn't the type of person to need payment to save a life, and this old man didn't have long.

The mayor nodded, then pointed to himself. "Temuri Lavyaz." He pointed to his son, his bony finger trembling slightly. "Lado... my only child."

Symon gave a quick nod to Lado but refocused on the mayor. "Well, Temuri, how long has this been going on for?" He already had some ideas as to what it was, but he wanted to narrow it down. He didn't really need to understand the problem for his magical healing to fix it, but he still wanted confirmation. He didn't want to heal the man for it to just come back in a month.

"Few years... bad recently," he coughed.

"How recently? You seemed much stronger at the Baron's speech."

"Yes, about that," Lado said. "The... Baron—" he practically spat the word "—gave father an alchemic for his health. He overstated how long it would be effective for, as you can see. Just long enough to prop him up in front of our people, and not a moment more."

"Hmm, I'll want to ask you some questions about that guy after I'm done here, if you don't mind."

"Heal him, and I'll answer whatever you wish."

Symon nodded. "Any pain, particularly in your chest?" he asked Mayor Temuri.

"Aye... in chest," he said.

Symon wasn't a doctor, and he knew next to nothing about the different diseases of this world, but it sounded a lot like the mayor had lung cancer. It wasn't exactly the type of thing paramedics typically dealt with, but Symon was more confident than most would have been. "Alright, I think I know what it is. Here's what's going to happen; I'm going to step up, do my magic, and step away. You may or may not feel anything happen, but it shouldn't be painful."

Temuri laboriously nodded, while the previously cool Lado gave a quick, nervous nod. He knew Symon wouldn't make things worse, but he'd been given hope and was now worried it be in vain. Symon didn't want it to be, so when he stepped up to the prone man, he decided to try and get everything done in one go.

He placed his hands gently on the man's chest, feeling his bones through the papery, wrinkled skin. Quickly, he pulled a large chunk of vitality from his vessel, shoving it down his arms until, after the tiniest moment of resistance, he pushed it all into his patient's chest. As soon as he was done, he stepped back and tried to watch the magic work.

Visually, nothing much changed, but Symon wasn't expecting it to. The problem was internal, after all.

The mayor frowned in confusion and surprise. "I can... feel something..." he gasped out before devolving into another coughing fit. This went on for a minute straight, alternating between coughing his lungs out and gasping for air in between fits.

"Is this meant to happen?" Lado asked while wringing his hands.

"Of course, everything is just fine," Symon said with confidence he didn't entirely feel. His healing had never failed him, but it hadn't worked on his friends' scars. He still wasn't sure why that was, so who was to tell if this would mysteriously fail too? Regardless, there was no point in worrying the others — it would either work or it wouldn't, but he knew it wouldn't harm the elderly mayor.

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Lado continued holding a cloth to his father's face as he spat out chunks of bloody phlegm.

Shit, I think that's literally pieces of his lung. Just what was his magic doing in there? As always, he had no perception of it when it left his body, but he could make some educated guesses. Healing minor injuries was pretty fast, while the bigger ones, such as replacing missing parts, took noticeably more time, in the order of minutes instead of seconds. The fact that whatever was happening was still going on meant it must have been something serious. But if pieces of lung were coming out instead of being healed...

"Pass me that cloth," Symon said.

"Uh, this?" Lado asked, holding up the bloodstained handkerchief.

"Yes, yes, quickly now." As soon as the piece of fabric was handed over, Symon sniffed it. He had a pretty strong stomach, but even then he almost gagged. The chunks of lung smelled rotten.

Hmm, well the good news is it's not cancer, Symon thought. Whatever it was, parts of Mayor Temuri's lungs had died completely, which was why they were now coming out to make room for the freshly regrown lungs. He already knew his magic didn't bring back the dead — he'd tested it on a recently dead snake once on their travels through the grass just to make sure — so it was the explanation that made the most sense.

"Everything is fine," Symon assured them both, and this time his confidence was honest. "His body is just removing the bad material to make room for the healthy part to regrow. It shouldn't take too much longer now." He put the cloth back on the cot and backed away, allowing Lado to go back to helping his father.

As Symon had predicted, it didn't take long for the process to finish. Temuri let out a throaty sigh that was noticeably stronger than his usual breaths. "That was... certainly an experience," he said. "I feel amazing, though!"

His son laughed and hugged him tight, and the old man's thin arms wrapped around his back and pulled him closer. They remained like that for some time, while Symon waited patiently in the corner. Eventually, they released their embrace, after Lado kissed his father on the top of his bald head.

"My deepest gratitude for what you have done for my father, Healer Symon. Now, there is the matter of your payment. We have some gold saved up, but not enough to pay you what you truly deserve."

Temuri spoke up, his voice still a little thin but no longer containing any raspiness. Plus, he wasn't breaking out in coughing fits every few words. "You said you just want food, a bed, and enough for passage on a ship?"

"Yes, that's right, although I'm not really sure how many coins that would cost," Symon replied.

"Well, how about you stay in our guest room? It's not like we ever have visitors, so you may as well stay there and save your money. That way, the few coins we can give you can all be put towards saving for that ship."

Lado opened his mouth to say something but paused. Symon could see the gears turning in his head. "Hmm, it's not such a bad idea. It would be best if you used the side entrance though, to avoid any proximity issues. Ah, and speaking of, no funny business with my daughter."

"Oh, of course," Symon said awkwardly. "I wouldn't spit on your generosity like that. And it is a very kind offer."

"It is mutually beneficial; you save some extra coins and are nearby in case father's illness returns, yes?" Lado explained.

Symon shrugged. "I don't think it should, but it won't hurt to be extra cautious. In that case, I accept your offer. Do you mind if I ask you two a few questions about the Baron and the village's history?"

The father and son shared a look, although Symon wasn't sure what it was communicating. A touchy subject, it seems.

"What is it you wish to know?"

"I've heard rumours about an incident involving a noblewoman?" Symon asked.

"Ah, yes, that..." Lado said.

"A sad tale, one that most here are too young to remember," Temuri continued. "Lady Renske was kind, especially for a noble. She treated the commonfolk with respect, and was loved in turn by her subjects."

"You knew her?"

"Aye, I was the steward of her House, back in the Empire. We were uprooted from the old lands after issues at court, the details of which she did not deign to share with me. In effect, she was exiled and no longer held a position of nobility, although we still considered her our Lady."

"Sorry, you're an imperial?" Symon asked. Everyone kept confusing Symon for one due to his light skin, but Temuri was as dark as everyone else in the village.

"Ah, I see you are not familiar with the ways of the Empire. They are expansionistic, as you might have guessed by the Baron's actions, and our original country became part of the Empire long before I was even born. As such, I am considered a citizen of the Empire. It is the only home I had ever known. Lado was born there, too, though he was too young to remember our flight."

I get it, it's just like what happened to Keelgrave's homeland. "So everyone followed Lady Renske?"

"Most everyone in her household, as well as a few families of the surrounding peasantry that thought they would have a better life. The rest remained behind."

Although he must have already heard this story, Lado still sat and listened in rapt attention.

"It was hard the first few years," Temuri continued, "but our Lady led us through them with a steady hand. Once the mine was up and running, and the trade route established, things became much easier. I, hmm, are you well versed in global geography?"

Symon shook his head. Keelgrave had given him the broad strokes, but he'd spent almost all his living days in and around the Eastern continent, which contained the Empire, Dumosa, Keelgrave's homeland of Usas, and dozens of other smaller countries.

"In that case, when viewed from above the lands and seas would form a large bowl. The Eastern continent is predictably on the East, the Wastes, where we are now, stretch along the South, while the Smallfolk lands are to the West. The Great Sea fills the stretch in-between, so most of the ocean crossing ships skirt along our coast, preferring the relative safety of shallower waters."

"Right, right, and how does that tie in?" Symon asked. It was good to know, he supposed, but wasn't sure how it was relevant.

"These lands are called the Wastes for a reason. What little soil exists is barely arable, while barely any mana permeates the air."

Symon frowned. He couldn't sense mana himself, but Keelgrave could, and he'd told Symon that there was actually more mana than average, not less. More mana in the environment meant more mana for the people, and more magical resources occurring in nature.

"Father, are you sure it is wise to—" Lado began before being interrupted by his father.

"Yes, yes, can't you tell by the look on his face that he already has some idea already?" the old man asked rhetorically before continuing on. "While the Wastes as a whole are mana-barren, Brackstead and its surrounding region is quite the opposite. The monster population can be a problem, but the rare ores we bring out from the earth far exceed the costs incurred. And yet, the deeper we dig, the mana density only gets stronger and stronger. I'm sure you know that only one thing could be causing this," he said, staring at Symon expectantly.

He had no idea, actually, not having grown up on the stories of this world nor having been given a magic-focused education, but Keelgrave had come to the right conclusion.