“Elder Cadmum, thank you for hosting us.” Ruth stepped forward, her voice tight with emotion. “I’m pleased to see you are doing well.”
“Ruth, how wonderful to see you back,” Elder Cadmum said, moving towards Ruth. The light from the entrance finally fell on her face.
She was old, but her skin was stretched tight along her high cheekbones. She had Ruth’s same long, dark gray hair and gray eyes, but surprisingly had no white strands. If it weren’t for her shrunken stature and slight looseness of skin at her neck, Aida wouldn’t have considered her old.
“Every time you come back from school, you look that much more mature. But this time, you look like a full grown woman,” Elder Cadmum said wistfully.
“No, it’s just because you’ve survived another tragedy,” Ruth responded, her voice shaking. “What can you tell us about the attack? Who’s hurt, what do we need to do?”
The Elder’s eyes brightened. “Adventurer Shan has helped us with the bulk of the villager recovery, but we do still have some less critical injuries that need to be tended to. Perhaps we can start there, before discussing everything else?”
Aida stepped forward as Ruth looked to her eagerly. “Hello, my name is Aida Loreh. I specialize in healing, and I will do my best to help.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Elder Stile led Aida and Shan to a second cavern, set above the ceremonial cavern. They literally had to climb to get there, grabbing onto well-worn handholds in the side of the mountain. Elder Stile moved with ease, his graceful and confident movements belying his years.
“It’s scary, isn’t it?” Shan murmured to Aida. She brushed her wispy light blue bangs out of her eyes. “I’ve been here for two days and I still hold my breath every time I have to climb up or down.”
“Maybe now that we have Pritchard and Tera here, the three Earths can make the ledges a bit safer?” Aida suggested weakly. The climb itself had been terrifying in its own right, as they essentially scaled a nearly vertical wall, but now that she was on solid ground again she felt panic rise up her throat at the thought of being responsible for healing injured warriors.
These weren’t healthy students who were bumped and scraped after failing a flashy move; these were actual warriors, who had fought off monsters while they themselves had no mana to speak of. Would they be receptive to healing from someone who had no experience? Someone who hadn’t even faced a tenth of their hardship and struggle? Would they see her as some pretentious brat with no life experience, coming in thinking she could help “solve” their problems? What do they think of Maglica students?
“We can suggest it to the Peak-dwellers, but if they prefer to preserve their way of life there’s not much we can do,” Shan replied, smiling at Aida’s question. Aida smiled robotically, unable to fully pull herself away from her train of thought. That’s right, don’t come in expecting them to make changes just to benefit you.
“You two move like children,” Stile informed them. Despite his gruff tone, he had a twinkle in his silver eyes. “Silliness aside, I am glad that strangers are willing to come help us in our time of need.”
“Of course,” Shan said politely. “As mana practitioners, it is only right that we put our gifts in service of those who do not have them.”
Aida stepped further into the cave, towards the warmth of the numerous small fires that were scattered around the cavern floor. Several bodies covered in ragged furs were huddled around each fire, with more in the back.
“These are thirty of the least injured warriors,” Shan said quietly to Aida. “They weren’t in critical condition, so we had them all gather here so they could take care of each other, while I and the Peak surgeons took care of the grievously wounded. Perhaps you could tend to them?”
Aida nodded, bringing her Heal (Lv11) overlay up. The overlay helped to assuage her anxiety: when under medical examination, all of these rugged and scarred warriors looked just like any other person she had healed before. Straightforward healing. Nothing new.
It was fortunate she wasn’t expected to do any critical healing; if she didn’t Mana Cycle, she could feel her mana slowly drain from her body. Could she even Heal one critical patient? “Maybe I can start with Regen on the ones with the most minor injuries? Then they can recover faster, while I use Heal and Regen on the more injured ones.”
Shan nodded in approval. “That sounds like a good strategy. I’ll stay with you for now to see how you handle your mana in this environment.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
The next hour was spent popping mana blockages, which helped ground Aida and subdue the panic she had felt when tasked with healing veterans. Focusing on things within her control, following the prescribed steps, and seeing the relief it brought - no matter how minor - to her patients encouraged her. Just need to focus and do it.
“Nice job, Aida,” Shan said encouragingly, handing her a wooden mug with tea in it. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good,” Aida responded, taking the mug gratefully. She hadn’t noticed that Shan and Stile had set up a cooking pot over one of the fires while she was working, and they had brewed the tea from the supply crates Adventurer Corey Decker had carried for everyone in the cavern. “That used up a lot more mana than I expected, so I’ll need to Mana Cycle for a bit before I can start healing the others.”
Shan nodded in understanding. “That’s good. Don’t let yourself run too low - I’d say take a break to Cycle when you have one-third of your mana pool remaining. It’s harder to recover mana when you’re low, and the foods here aren’t exactly conducive to supporting your natural resistance to the elements. How are you feeling otherwise?”
At Shan’s reminder, Aida checked her elemental pool levels. To her dismay - though she really shouldn’t have been so surprised - her Fire pool was already half its normal level, and her Earth pool was starting to shrink as a result of decreased input. “Ah…my fire is a bit low…”
“Quickly, drink your tea,” Shan urged hastily. “I’ll ask the Elder if they have any spare furs they can lend you…”
Shan hurried towards Stile, who was speaking with ten warriors Aida had already cleared blockages for. They had been polite but reserved when she first approached them, nursing aches and sprains and generally hesitant to allow her to touch their bodies. Aida had assured them she didn’t have to touch them directly, and would use her wand to ease their pains and facilitate their recovery.
Using her wand wasn’t as efficient as using her hands, which was why she had lost some mana during her work; but she couldn’t complain, since she had still improved her Regen ability to level 9, making her mana use marginally more efficient for that skill.
“Hey, girlie.”
Aida looked up from her mug at the massive warrior standing in front of her. He had streaks of silver running through his bushy beard and long hair that was tied in a bun on his head, and based on the crinkles around his eyes and bulk the furs wrapped around she assumed he was of middle age. Her overlay showed him to be at a healthy green.
Breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn’t here to bully her into healing him, Aida smiled at him. “Hello. How may I help you?”
“Name’s Dave, and I’ve been meaning to thank you for helping us recover. But you looked so busy I didn’t want to disturb you.” Even though his tone was friendly, Aida was still embarrassed that she had inadvertently overlooked someone who wanted to speak to her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” Aida mumbled, putting her mug down so that she could stand with him. He waved a paw, somehow managing to convey his desire for a casual conversation while only using his wrist.
“Naw, please stay seated. No need to move when we’re all already comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Aida replied, at a loss for what she should do. Is this a test?
“Anyway, you’ve met me: I’m the head of our hunting squad, so I’m obligated to you for helping to take care of my people.”
“I’m happy to help,” Aida assured him hastily, feeling uncomfortable at his thanks. “After all, you are the ones who had to fend off an attack. I’m just here when it’s safe.”
“Naw, it’s not only that. I know it must be strange, coming to such a different place with a different culture, but I - and I mean we - really appreciate you giving your all for us. It must be tough.”
“It’s nothing,” Aida mumbled, Mana Cycling more furiously. The more he insisted on glorifying her abilities, the harder she felt like she had to try. “I have to do my best to help others with my abilities,” she said, repeating what Shan had said earlier to Elder Stile.
“Well, if you ever have any questions, don’t be shy,” Dave said, inclining his head before turning in place and walking away.
Watching how precisely he placed every step, Aida finally understood the odd movements she had noted earlier. The greeting in the cave with the elders, the way Dave kept his movements confined within his own body - it was all because they constantly traveled on impossibly narrow ledges. They all kept within their own extremely small personal bubbles, so that they didn’t accidentally knock someone off - or even throw themselves off.
The aversion to being touched was probably rooted in the same concern as well: being touched meant someone was close enough to create an accident.
“Here you go, Aida.” Shan came back with a small pile of furs. She draped a jacket over Aida’s shoulders and handed her a large pelt. “Tie this around your waist.”
After being wrapped entirely in the mismatched furs, Aida finally felt herself relax. She hadn’t realized how stiffly she held herself due to the cold until now. Shan smiled in satisfaction, tucking Aida’s wool hat tighter around her ears. “Ready to continue working on the next batch of Peak dwellers?”
Aida nodded, returning Shan’s smile with more confidence. I can last a week.
Skill List
Heal (Lv11) - 12% to next level.
Mana Cycling (Lv15) - 89% to next level.
Regen (Lv9) - 0% to next level.
Total RP: 127