Lossa led Lone through the hallways and occasionally he could see through an open door and he was surprised by how well everyone here was treated. Everyone living here had anything they could wish for, it seemed. Food, entertainment, rest, whatever they wanted.
It warmed Lone's heart seeing that the Crimson Foxkin Clan cared for it's poorly and loved them regardless of their impending death. Lossa noticed this appreciative attitude of Lone's with a glance.
"beastkin rarely die of natural causes, but we reproduce far less often than other races do, so we treat each other with respect regardless of status within the clan. The least we can do is offer the highest treatment to ensure their dying days are their most comfortable," Lossa weakly smiled.
This place scared her slightly. 'If not for the potential of Lone healing me, it wouldn't have been many more centuries before I was one of this place's residents... '
"That's nice. Considering how this world works, I'd expect you to just throw them in a hole and leave them to die or something. This is rich coming from me, but it's nice to see a little compassion for once," Lone shrugged with a pleasant grin on his face.
"Please, Lone-ro, we're not Humans," Lossa said before looking at Sophie. "No offence intended."
Sophie simply smiled in response. She hardly considered herself Human, so it meant little to her if a person insulted the race she was technically a part of.
Lossa reached a set of ornate doors at the end of the corridor and stopped in her tracks. Turning around, she spoke to the group. "We're here. Now, I must ask for everyone to be very respectful to the soul oracle inside. His name is Brahman Elksworth, but please address him as Lord Elksworth. He's a proud old man and he deserves respect for his long career as a soul oracle, even from me."
Lone cared little about how to address people, so if this person liked to be called 'Lord' then Lone didn't mind complying. Afterall, he didn't want to cause any trouble. Seeing everyone's consent, Lossa opened the doors to reveal a large and luxurious room.
Everything looked very decorative and had hints of Chinese culture to it. From the walls to the floor to the furniture, everything screamed 'eastern' to Lone.
"It looks like there's no progress again. All I can do is maintain the status quo. As I've said, again and again, you need to stop moving so much, Mr Redtail," an old and clearly tired voice said, tearing Lone's attention away from the room's visuals.
"I know, Lord Elksworth, it's just so hard staying still doing nothing all day," a young and masculine voice responded.
"Dear, we have visitors," a similarly young but feminine voice said.
At that point, Lossa pulled back a cloth that was acting as a doorway of sorts in the room revealing the three people inside. Two Foxkin both with two tails except their skin was a deathly white that was littered with black patches and the third person was actually a purity Dragonkin much like Gilbert was.
This Purity Dragonkin looked far older than Gilbert and from the colour of his horn and tail which were white, grey and black, it was obvious to Lone that he'd awakened a shocking five times!
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"Mother, father..." Tiera looked like she was going to cry. She and her brother rarely visited their parents since they themselves had requested them not to. Their parents were ashamed of their appearances. They looked like monsters, or at least that's what they felt. The last thing they wanted was for their children to see them in such a sorry state.
Tiera instantly rushed up to her mother and jumped into her embrace. "Tiera... Trella... what are you both doing here with the Clan Elder and whoever those people might be?"
"Indeed! What nerve to interrupt me in the middle of my treatment! There had better be a good reason for this, Elder," Lord Elksworth said in a loud and domineering tone, clearly showing no respect for Lone's group and the two High Elves.
"Lord Elksworth, I'm sorry for our intrusion, it's just that Lone-ro here claims to have the means to cure both Tama and Lars here with ease, so I simply had to bring him here as soon as possible," Lossa said while she clasped her hands and bowed to the Dragonkin before her.
"Inexcusable! Not to mention impossible! Even I, a famed soul oracle, am unable to heal these two of their curse, do you really believe that a young welp like him can, even if he is a nine-tailed Golden Foxkin?!" Lord Elksworth was clearly very upset and he felt like his reputation had been dishonoured by Lossa for even suggesting that someone as young as Lone could do what was impossible for him for to accomplish in the past ten years.
"Who are you to say that I can't heal them?" Lone asked with a clearly challenging tone towards the Purity Dragonkin.
"Lone-ro! What did I say before we came in here?!" Lossa was panicking. She had felt like Lone had changed over the past two years, but now he was very quickly triggering the short-fused soul oracle who was keeping her kin alive.
It had to be known that soul oracles were exceedingly rare and it wasn't a profession one could be taught. It was a rare kind of ability that someone was born with. This ability allowed a person to view and heal people's souls. This ability was so rare, that it was estimated that only one in a million people had it.
Unfortunately, even with such a rare power, Brahman Elksworth was unable to cure the curse on Tama and Lars' souls, and that meant he couldn't stop their skin disease since it was a result of that curse. All he was able to do was force the decaying of their souls to slow. He visited once a month and was paid a hefty sum to do this, so he felt justified in his rage towards Lone, an apparent charlatan, appearing and claiming to do what was impossible for him.
"Impudence! Clan Elder, am I to take this disrespect as a sign of our agreement coming to a close? I am more than willing to let your people's souls be devoured if this is the treatment I'm to receive," Lord Elksworth asked with little seriousness in his tone. Clearly, he was upset and simply wanted an apology from Lone. He had been treating Tama and Lars for ten years, so naturally, he wouldn't just abandon them like that.
"Are you sure you're a Purity Dragonkin and not a Foxkin? You're too prideful to be a Dragonkin, that is, unless Gilbert was a special case," Lone mumbled.
"'Gilbert'?" Brahman's attention was immediately diverted by Lone's mention of the Guildmaster. Presumably, the two knew each other.
"Anyway, just sit down and watch me cure them, 'Lord Elksworth', okay? If I can't, I'll get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness from you, but if I do, I want you to apologise, deal?" Lone said with a mischievous smile strewn across his lips.
Lossa's jaw almost hit the floor for the second time today. Brahman Elksworth was an SS-Ranker just like herself, and not only that, he had awakened five times and was a soul oracle! His importance to the Purity Dragonkin clan couldn't be measured in words. To ask such a figure to apologise simply for speaking a bit arrogantly... Lossa's ancient mind was spinning.
"Fine! Impudent child! You should know when to butt in on other people's matters and when to calmly sit by the side! If you can do what I couldn't in ten whole years, not only will I sincerely apologise, I'll even eat my socks!" Getting caught up in the heat of the moment, Lord Elksworth raised the stakes on his end.
"Better take your shoes off then, 'cause those socks are going right down your throat just like your words will be," Lone replied with fire.
Eolande rolled her eyes and giggled lightly. 'Judging by Lone's confidence, I guess he's finally going to show off one of those fancy elements of his, huh?' Eolande assumed while she recalled a specific day in Clicker's Dungeon.