“Greetings, Malefica.” That was an unusual name. Appo figured that the shaman must have made it up. At that point, Appo became acutely aware of the cut under Malefica’s eyes; it was still bleeding and dripping down the pillory. He figured the wound was fresh. He looked to both sides towards the guards.
“If you wish to cross the line, Appo, the guards will not bother,” Malefica said. “You can do whatever you want to me… Provided you don’t free me.”
“Okay.” Appo pulled out his surgery kit. He wasn’t a fan of shamans, but it wasn’t natural for him to sit still in front of someone with an open wound. He prepared a rag, washed it in spirit, and prepared a tiny needle wrapped around a long thread of yak hair. He crossed the line in the sand, taking note that the guards didn’t respond. He stepped on the platform and brought the rag up to Malefica’s face. “Careful, this is going to sting.”
Malefica nodded. She winced as Appo touched her face with the rag, but she didn’t make a sound. She was a tough woman.
Appo continued his inquiry as he wiped the blood off her face. “So, tell me, Malefica, why is it your duty to spread this plague? Why did Vijar choose you?”
Malefica shook her head. “I wish it were not so. You know how we shamans are; we hope to cure men and repair them from injury. Much like how you are now. But Vijar has imparted me with a task, which he has told to me over the last few moons. I wouldn’t have wished it upon anyone, but who are we to question the desires of the gods?”
After wiping off the blood, Appo pushed Malefica’s gray hair and parted it to the side. Appo took his needle and began to thread it through the skin. Malefica didn’t react, as though she had lost all feeling on that side of her cheek. He sutured the wound with care as he continued his questioning. “Do you honestly believe that? That Vijar decided to release this plague and only tell you that after the fact? Did you even know that you were spreading the plague?”
Malefica frowned. “I didn’t know at the time, but why would Vijar tell me? I am but his conduit! Not his advisor! It’s hard to understand for someone who worships Okkan, but I speak to my god. I don’t waste away and hope he brings fertility back to the soil.”
“You’re mistaken. I follow Lowya.”
“Who is that?”
Suddenly Appo felt judgmental for what he had thought about her god moments before. He forgot how out of place he was this far north. “She is a god not from here.” He hoped the matter would drop, while he carefully sutured the upper half of the abrasion, tightening the yak hair on the lower half in the process.
“Hmm. I suppose you do understand me, healer.”
Appo continued his work in relative silence. He had sutured enough injuries to easily work through distractions. Still, he enjoyed being able to sit down and focus on his job. He could get lost in his work easily, tuning out the rest of the world until his task was complete. It was incredibly satisfying.
Malefica broke the silence. “Why do you go to all this work? Restoration would save us both some time.”
Appo laughed. “Have you attempted restoration magic? I can assure you it doesn’t work nearly as well as you think it does. The body is made an untold number of moving parts, and unless you have a complete comprehension of anatomy, the restoration won’t properly heal even the most basic injuries. Many magi have tried and failed. The body is far more knowledgeable than I could ever be. It’s best to let it do the hard work, even though I happily assist it in doing so.”
Appo tied his suture as he finished his spiel, noting with satisfaction that the bleeding had stopped. Malefica huffed, “I’m not sure why you waste your time. Tomorrow this body is returning to the loam, and my soul will meet with Vijar.
“Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to do a little good. Despite everything.” Appo dropped from the platform, somewhat disappointed. He was happy to do a little healing, but he hadn’t learned anything from the shaman. In fact, if he didn’t get anything tonight, he would lose his one contact to the source of the disease. Something in his gut was telling him that although this woman didn’t intentionally release the plague, she was a part of it in some way or form.
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Appo decided to go for one more line of questioning. “Malefica, what exactly did you do? When you help people. From one medicine man to another.”
Malefica huffed again. “Too much for one soul. I treated all afflictions to the best of my ability. Many are wounded not of the body, but of the mind. To this, I gave them whatever I could. I gave them the precious weed flower. I had them smoke the fumes of the will-o-wisp. Sometimes, they just needed to talk. I’ve noticed talking does the best good.”
Malefica continued. “Many came to me with fevers and other ailments of the blood. There is much of that here in the desert. Blood becomes too much, so I would purge it from the body. I did these many times.”
Something clicked in Appo’s mind. “When you say you ‘purged’ the blood, you describe bloodletting, correct? The removal of blood from the body?”
“Of course. The leeches were suitable, but they dry up too fast. Vijar doesn’t permit wet things in the desert. I became much better at using my knife.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have used the same knife every time, would you?”
Malefica raised her hands as far as she could in the pillory. “I have no choice. Vijar would only bless me with one knife. Used it for many years. It wasn’t the best, but for some, no other choice was available. When blood rises to the head it causes great pain. Purging is the only option.”
Appo knew much about bloodletting from watching other healers. They rarely used anything other than one specific cutting knife. Some would clean it with a rag, but most wouldn’t even do that. It was incredibly unsanitary, which was one of the reasons Appo never practiced it. The other reason was that it made people sick: an unclean knife easily transported disease from one body to the next.
Appo came to a realization. If the shaman had encountered only one infected person, it would’ve been possible to infect everyone who came to her afterward for bloodletting. It could have been used on anyone who was even remotely ill. And it would explain why everyone she saw became infected.
He had to be absolutely sure. If Malefica had truly been behind the disease, then she would recall the man who attacked Twol. “Malefica, I have just one more question for you. Who was the very first person you cursed?”
Malefica pondered for a moment. “I never cursed anyone. I never wanted to. I was merely an instrument for Vijar. That being said… the first one was the big fellow. He was a prison guard, I believe. Got involved with the spirits at a tavern and the spirits fought back. Came to me with a fever. Couldn’t sleep. His name was Twol.”
The name hit hard. Appo felt his stomach sink into his feet. “Of course,” he thought, “it all makes sense. Malefica never started the plague. She cared for Twol, who was already infected. She spread the disease, but she had no idea!”
“You’re innocent,” Appo said.
Malefica squinted through her bruised eyes. “What?”
“You didn’t cause the plague! You simply came in contact with it, don’t you see? Twol was already infected before he came to you, not the other way around! There was another man who he caught the disease from! You’ve committed no crime!”
Malefica didn’t respond.
Appo continued. “Please, let me help you. I know Mendalla. I know Boah. They know the priests… We can all figure something out.”
She sighed, not unhappily but not elated, either. “Appo, understand… Vijar works in mysterious ways. He is the arbiter of my life, and he has judged me to be his conduit. Even if I did not start this plague, I have acted through his desires.”
Appo was furious. Furious and frustrated. He nearly roared as he spoke. “You’re wrong! Your god is not capable of this! No god is capable of this! Vijar can’t even get you out of these pillories and you want to die for him!? Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t make a plague like this! I was educated by the smartest men in Ostior and nothing has ever taught me that any god, even an evil god, would want to make men and women and children die like this! And you assist in sitting idly while you proclaim credit for your god? Doesn’t your life matter?!”
The courtyard was silent for a moment after Appo’s outburst. Malefica flashed a sly smile. “I’ve made peace with this, Appo. Even if you have not. You may not realize it, but this disease is a disease. It is also a curse. I’ve seen visions of it. I’ve seen what this town will become after I die. Cruelness and greed will pave the way for savagery and suffering. My suffering is nothing compared to what’s to come. I only hope that Lowya will save you the same way that Vijar has saved me.”
Malefica began laughing. Her laughs bounced off the walls and echoed through the streets. Her laugh became an evil cackle. Although her eyes were swollen, Appo swore that he could see them now better than ever. The sun had fallen behind the buildings, casting Malefica’s silhouette in a crooked formation. He became frightened. So frightened that he turned away. The laughter kept getting louder and louder. He couldn’t escape.
Appo decided to run.