CHLOE

After a trying few days, Chloe was attempting to keep herself busy by straightening up the infirmary. The infirmary was a small, two-room affair nestled in the right wing of the temple, but it was more than sufficient to keep up with the demands of the Order. All told, their numbers averaged just over fifty at any given time. Some of the fellows acted as missionaries and would frequently travel to other shrines in the region.

The larger main room of the infirmary was simple and unadorned, containing ten single-width wooden frame beds lined up in two parallel rows against the weathered stone brick walls. Each bed had its own wooden bedside table and chair. Though dull and aged, much of the furniture here was carefully handcrafted from the black mahogany trees native to the surrounding forest. Black curtains hung from the ceiling next to each bed, offering a small modicum of privacy for the patient. The room was presently empty, and pristine.

The second, much smaller room of the infirmary served as both an office and a medical supply room. The entire west wall was covered in many drawers and cabinets, the contents of each meticulously labeled with a small square of black parchment and milk ink. Over three-quarters of the available storage was dedicated to magical remedies, while the remainder housed more mundane first aid supplies. The mark of a competent healer was knowing which to use, and when.

Chloe found herself reorganizing the lesser magical remedy cabinet in this room for the fifth time that week. Previous iterations included organizing by color, size, type, and alphabet. This time she had settled on organizing each item by its most common usage. Sanctified mahogany bark pills from nearby Ebonknight on the third shelf from the top, just left of center for headaches, and so on.

She was beginning to sort through the array of potions when she heard a nearby voice call out to her. No time to discard the bottles, Chloe opened the door to the main ward and stuck her head out to investigate.

“Chloe.” It was Emi. “It's so good to see you back in your element. Doing a bit of tidying up?”

Chloe looked down at her collection of supplies and felt the corners of her mouth tighten involuntarily.

What else am I to do? Clearly, I'm incapable outside the ward.

“Hmm, just a bit of reorganizing, I suppose,” she deflected. “How may I – oh.”

She looked past the High Priestess to the nearest bed and found that it was now occupied by a familiar horned face. It was the dark young man from... before. Chloe bit her tongue thinking back to her previous misfortune. She would not put a name to that struggle. She would not.

What was his name again?

The man was bruised and bloodied and much worse for wear than when they had met before. Could it be considered a proper meeting when one party was unconscious?

“I'm afraid our first swordsmanship lesson ended a bit poorly...” She looked back to Emi, whose ears drooped with what she perceived to be guilt. “Would you be so kind?”

Chloe let out an exasperated breath and set her collection of potions aside on the bedside table. At least one of them would probably see some use today.

She flexed her fingers and got straight to work. Most of his facial injuries appeared to be superficial and would heal with little intervention on her part. She was sure Emi wouldn't settle for a simple cleaning, however, so she'd use the healing balm as well. The gash high on his cheekbone was deeper, likely inflicted by a sharp stone, but nothing outside her skillset.

Such a merciless instructor.

She lifted one of his eyelids and, sure enough, the man was going to be out for a while. His life force was steady and strong, and after being transported across the grounds she had little concern regarding any possible neck or back injuries. The bump itself was alarming, and she would need to monitor him overnight.

“He'll live. You knew that, of course.” Chloe stretched. It was a small dig, but she had started it. “A little holy water to clean the cuts, then some healing balm. The worst couple may take a few days to heal completely, but I expect no scarring.”

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There's something about his status, though...

“The bump I'm less certain of... he should have regained consciousness by now, but he is stable. I intend to keep him overnight for further observation. Return tomorrow morning. We may know more at that time.”

“I understand.”

Chloe returned to the supply room, making a mental list of items she needed to begin treatment. Wash basin, fresh towels, holy water, balm... She ticked the items off on her fingers as she worked and, when she returned, Emi had gone.

She spied a smallish green sphere left on the bedside table. An Earth Apple. Chloe smiled. While Emi could be something of a monster when conducting her lessons, she was clearly putting forth an honest effort with him.

“Shall we?”

Chloe had a habit of speaking to her patients even when they were unconscious, just in case there was any possibility that their spirit was still able to hear her. It was her duty as a priestess to comfort her patients, after all.

Chloe rearranged the potions on the bedside table and began setting up her workstation. She uncorked the large cut glass bottle of holy water and poured its contents into the wash basin on the edge of the bed. She then dampened one of the fresh towels and wrung out the excess water.

Unfortunately, after a certain unnamable incident, she was unable to refill the Order's dwindling stock of holy water from the spring and would need to conserve what was presently available. She pressed the damp towel to the man's forehead and began cleaning.

“Hello, again. Well, again for me. You tend to be unconscious every time we meet, so I suppose you wouldn't know. I'm Chloe.”

She paused, refreshing the towel in the basin. His body seemed to be receptive to this basic treatment; the dirt and grit washed away surprisingly easily from his wounds.

“I don't suppose this was the High Priestess' fault? You mustn't think poorly of her. She's a harsh instructor, but fair. I'm sure she didn't mean to get so carried away.”

Chloe started to regain some of her typical good cheer as she worked and found that she was able to finish cleaning his cuts quickly and efficiently. She took her time and upheld her one-sided conversation all the while.

She popped open the oval canister of healing balm. The air was filled with the sharp, astringent odor of harpysthorn sap.

“If you're going to wake up, it's going to be now,” she warned, applying a small amount of the sticky balm to her first two fingers. “This healing balm tends to sting when applied to open wounds.”

She expertly spread the balm across the cut on his cheekbone. The man did not stir. Chloe's eyebrows virtually disappeared into her fringe, and she stared down at him in wonder.

“You astound me, stranger. Who are you, truly?”

She finished the application process shortly after and wiped away the excess on the last dry towel. Finally, she moved to the head of the bed to address that problematic bump. She fanned out her hands on either side of the injury and began channeling her mana.

“Will you wake now? Heal.”

The spell went dead at her fingertips.

“Strange. Did it fizzle?”

She pondered both the wound and the man for some time.

“Emi told us that you were the Dark Hero. Maybe you're too strong?” She shook her head, brow furrowing in consternation. “In any case, something's different about you.”

Chloe set her jaw in grim determination. She had to try again; she wouldn't fail. Not in her own domain. She closed her eyes, imagining a flood of dark, liquid energy flowing into the man's wound and restoring him to full health. She meditated on this image and laid her hands upon his head once more.

“Heal!”

Dark healing tendrils erupted from Chloe's fingertips and furled around the bump on his head. Her mana drained from her body at an alarming rate, and she gasped for breath. She watched in disbelief as the dark healing energy seeped into the top of his head, almost as if it had become liquid mana. The swelling vanished and the man's health was fully restored.

Chloe heard two sharp pings.

Heal has evolved into Ebon Heal.

Her eyes popped open wide. Incredible!

NOTICE: CLASS UPGRADE

Junior Priestess has been upgraded to Priestess.

Attributes have been increased. Please check your Status for more information.

Chloe screamed a high-pitched shriek that echoed off the stone walls.

“No. Way. No way, no way, no way!”

She jumped up and down around the bed, pumping jubilant fists in the air. A class upgrade! This was a once, maybe twice-in-a-lifetime event, and it had finally happened! Edall be praised! And it was all thanks to –

Wait.

She sobered instantly, remembering her place. She whirled on her heel and looked back to the stranger in the bed. Much to her surprise, he was still unconscious.

“Appraisal.”

Chloe frequently used this skill as a sort of diagnostic tool for particularly tricky cases. It allowed her some measure of access to an individual's personal status:

Zed Thorn, Dark Traveler

Status: Asleep

Appraisal has increased to LVL 3.

She giggled, more than a little hysterically. A level-up at a time like this was highly unusual. Tears of joy streaked down her cheeks as she struggled to process these recent events.

The heavy banded doors to the infirmary burst open, practically splintering on their hinges. Chloe jumped, startled, as a deep voice boomed from the entryway.

“Chloe! And Zeddy, too!”

She squealed with delight. “Edgar!”

The great mountain lumbered into the ward, balancing a behemoth serving platter atop his bald head.

“I heard Zed had taken a beating, and you were late for dinner,” he explained. “Where's th' fire?”