For the next several months we went about our normal business, healing anyone that came to the clinic, making potions in my workshops, and training people in self defense. The military hadn’t begun conscription yet, but Father had received an official letter from Celine, one of the Northern countries that the Demons were invading, via the king’s court, asking if he could send troops to aid in the war. Without an official treaty, however, his forces wouldn’t receive much benefit from doing so, other than looting rights and maybe pay, so he wasn’t sure what to do.
My own mercenary group had trained over a thousand people since it was founded, not including many of father’s soldiers, but it was unlikely I could get even a fraction of those to join us in battle. We had over one hundred members, mostly people from the slums who signed up to work for us in exchange for training and steady pay, but they were only enough to keep the bandits and monsters in check, not to fight a war. Still, if I received a request from a nation wishing to hire my forces, I might accept.
With the ceasefire between Ferin, the FPL, and Ridalia, commerce had now picked up and the FPL was no longer experiencing a serious food shortage. Many of the people had turned to mining, with the area I had been to being dominated either by the manacite mines of Manasource, or the iron mines of Ironsource, though when spring arrived they had planted massive fields which would no doubt insure that they no longer had to import food once harvest season got here. The trade caravan had started moving small amounts of luxury goods into the country, though the refined minerals out of the two cities generally were the best export due to the war.
My own factory in manasource was still producing large amounts of nutrient potion, though, rather than being used to relieve malnutrition it was mostly being shipped north where it was used to relieve the symptoms of blood loss and provide the nutrients needed for healing. The luxury potions I was producing, while lucrative, took too much of the time of alchemists and apothecaries, and therefore I wouldn’t be expanding my production into Manasource. Instead I had started producing mostly the same potions I produced in Starshine, stamina, health, and mana recovery potions and painkillers. Due to the prevalence of magical plants in Manasource, however, I was also able to make several resistance potions of various types, selling them to merchants going to the invaded countries at a large profit.
I expanded both of my production facilities, bringing the Starshine one to thirty employees and the Manasource one to twenty employees. Due to a shortage of skilled people in Manasource, I sent twenty copies each of the basic apothecary and alchemist manuals to my factory, and had them use the manuals to train new employees, giving each one a manual so that they could get their certification and paying for that certification if they worked for us for a month afterwords.
In my free time, I had taken to studying magic circles. I still didn’t like them, but I had done enough electrical engineering and a bit of programming in my last life, so I was good at them. It was through those that Samantha had taught me monster summoning. Once she was certain I could summon one properly, having me practice by summoning wild animals in the barn, then selling them to the butcher, I drew the circle for temporarily summoning a monster. This was more than twice as difficult than permanently summoning one, as it left a teleport spell on them that would send them back if you ended the summoning spell, but the extra complexity was needed for safety.
Once I finished drawing the circle, this time on the wooden part of the floor instead of the dirt so that it was more stable and efficient, I doublechecked that my tamer’s kit was full. These kits contained treats and tools for convincing an animal or monster to join you. Once I was finished verifying it, I knelt down and started feeding the circle mana.
I channeled mana from my necklace as the spell searched for a creature fitting my whitelist, in this case, a mount. I was good enough at combat, so for my first one I would get a creature I could ride, which would come in handy should I have to travel.
After a minute, though, I felt the spell find something. It was powerful, but resisted the summoning. I could tell that this creature was strong willed, and therefore probably picky with who it would serve. Still, it was only a level five creature at most, or else I couldn’t connect to it with a level five spell. Through the circle I could start to detect some of its thoughts. It didn’t like mortals. Mortals had turned their back on nature, and were unworthy. Impure. After five minutes of constant struggle, I started to grow mentally exhausted from both channeling and the battle of wills with this creature. So I used my trump card. I used the Command Animals ability of the Lord of the Forest and injected half of my divine energy into it. There was a flash, and something appeared in the middle of the summoning circle.
The creature looked like a pale white horse, as tall as a warhorse, but with a spiral shaped horn between its eyes. “A Unicorn?” whispered Samantha in shock. Such creatures weren’t unheard of, but most of the ones you saw were either captured as babies or half-bloods which were part horse, making them easier to tame. The only ones that came from the wild as adults were usually beaten into submission by a strong opponent, and therefore a shell of their former proud self. This one, however, was a true wild unicorn.
Through the link formed by both the summoning circle and the command spell, I could sense that it had gained respect for me. I didn’t know why. The Command had only forced it here, not forced it into my service. The summoning spell included a section which allowed you to communicate with the creature telepathically, as you couldn’t summon sapient beings without a contract which specifically allowed them to be summoned, due to a feature of summoning that allowed sapients to instantly break the spell. The books on the subject didn’t say why, but I suspected that it was an automatic use of divine energy which defended them.
I got the sense that the Unicorn had sensed the source of the power that called it. It even had a soul, though a level zero soul, thus meaning it would never become truly sapient on its own. It knew that I had some tie with the Lord of the Forest, though it didn’t know how I was tied to him. After staring into my eyes for over a minute, it laid down. I carefully walked over and touched its nose, and it moved it around a bit so that I would pet it. I scratched the top of its head, and it closed its eyes and lowered its head, at which point I continued to pet it.
“The contract.” said Samantha. She was right. Even if I bonded with this monster, I would be unlikely to summon it again without a contract which allowed me to find it at any time. I held out my hand and cast the simple Contract spell, and I felt it accept the deal, essentially recognizing me as the leader of its herd. I released the summoning spell and it disappeared, and instantly I felt the drain on my mana stop. “Good job. Your mana regeneration will improve in time, so that you can constantly provide it with the mana it needs and keep it permanently summoned. For now, though, I would let it live in the wild while I let my mana regenerate.
I summoned it again with the proper monster summoning spell an hour later but, even though Samantha said it was tradition, I didn’t give it a name. Somehow it felt wrong to give this wild creature a name, and it appreciated the gesture. Still, I summoned it every night to pet it or brush it, and it seemed to like that.
During that time there were two interesting customers. One night at the clinic, after finishing with my unicorn for the day, a man came into the Rich area and asked me to come see his master at the estate he had rented. Normally I didn’t do housecalls, but the man with an extremely tall collar that covered his entire neck except the throat offered me a gold coin if I did so. I couldn’t turn down so much money, so I followed him to the place. His master was a rich merchant with investments in many other merchant companies, so he could easily afford such a fee.
The first thing I noticed was that all of the windows were covered in thick curtains capable of blocking out all of the sun’s rays. It was nearing sunset now, so it was understandable that his master didn’t want to be blinded by the sun shining in his window. Once the man dug out a key and unlocked the door to let me enter, he locked it behind me and escorted me to his master’s study. This house appeared to have a massive study attached to a library, and there were books there in many languages, including Precursor and Demonic, languages you rarely saw outside museums or major libraries. Father’s library, for example, had only a single book in Demonic, which none of us could read without the use of the Translation spell. I was disappointed when I learned that it was just the journal of a Noble demon that plotted a coup against his father.
As the client, named Lord Damian, turned to face me I noticed a few things. His lips had tiny traces of blood on them, and his skin was extremely pale, yet he didn’t seem to be short of energy like an anemic person would get. The man actually wanted my help with with a pain in his side. I supposed it could be appendicitis, but when I sent a detection thread into him I couldn’t find one. Strange, had it been removed? Appendectomies weren’t unheard of in this world, they were just extremely rare as appendicitis could be cured with magic. I searched around a bit, and found that, while several of his organs were strangely shaped or slightly larger or smaller than I expected, they were all there. Only his liver and kidneys were starting to shut down.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I informed him of this and asked about his diet. It was possible it was the result of some kind of longterm illness like cancer, but I hadn’t detected any tumors and most of his other organs were working properly. He summoned his chef, who told me about what he normally ate. It was incredibly rich food, but he didn’t seem to be overweight. I did notice that his chef was a human slave, but that wasn’t that unusual for a rich merchant. Many of them preferred slaves to employees, as slaves were bound by their contracts to not harm or betray their masters, and often to not disobey. In fact, I noticed that everyone in the house except me and him were slaves. They all wore high-collar button up shirts or dresses. It was a strange choice for a uniform, and most of the slaves had the tops of their shirts or dresses unbuttoned, revealing a slave tattoo, a form of slave contract which was rarely used in Ferin outside of beastfolk due to its permanent nature.
There was one more test I had to check. I ran a detection thread into his stomach. There was blood there, but strangely not his own. There was also the remains of a steak dinner, and it contained trace amounts of a pungent herb native to this region which most rich people had stopped using for seasoning due to the toxins it contained. “Well, I think I figured it out.” I said. “Chef, have you been using a pungent herb with eight teardrop shaped leafs in a clover-like shape?”
“Yes, one of the men at the market sold it to me shortly after we moved here and the master loves it. The merchant called it Fireleaf.”
I nodded. “The problem with Fireleaf is that you shouldn’t use much of it at a time. I’ve only tasted it twice in my life, both times at noble banquets, and most rich people don’t use it in their cooking. That’s because it contains a toxin which damages the liver and kidneys, which is what’s happening to your master.” He looked stocked, then knelt and started apologizing while saying “it didn’t know” several times.
The master raised his hand to strike him, saying that he had threatened his master’s life, but I interjected. “Normally, this would take several healing spells to fix, and could take over a month to purge the toxin from your body, but I think there is another way to fix it.”
“And what would that be?” asked Lord Damian.
“From what I have read, Vampires heal rapidly given enough blood.”
Damian looked at me in shock. “So you figured out what I am. Are you going to report me?” There was a bit of a threat behind the question, but I ignored it.
“I keep the medical information of my clients secret, especially when they pay me well. As long as I don’t have a reason to think that you were sent here by the Empire to spy on or sow discord in this country, I am not obligated to tell anyone.”
“But you are a noble. Surely you must report a member of a foreign nation operating inside your border.”
“Only if I suspect that you are our enemy. Outside of that, you are free to conduct your business as long as you follow the law. Though I’m sure my father’s intelligence operatives already know who you are, and haven’t moved to stop you.”
He nodded. “So, what gave me away?”
“Pale skin, the curtains which blocked the sun, the fact that all of your slaves wear collars to hide the holes in their neck, there were many hints. Still, like I said, nothing says that you can’t conduct your business here.”
He nodded again. “So, I just need to drink more blood?”
“I don’t know if you can survive entirely on blood, but yes.”
“We can. In fact, eating food is entirely optional. I mostly do it because I like the taste.”
“Good, though I don’t know if your slaves can provide enough blood for that. Humans can only really produce half a liter per day reliably. You might want to order animal blood to supplement your diet, if you can digest that.”
“Yes, of course. According to the history books, at one point my people almost entirely fed on animals, before we met another sapient race. It will need to be fresh, but I will send my chef out to get some at once.” He stood and bowed, and I returned the gesture. I was given two gold coins and guided out of the manor, with the promise that they would come to me in the future if they had need of my services.
A week later the second notable thing happened. A human man entered the rich section helping a cat woman walk. At first I thought he had simply used the wrong door. Many people brought their slaves to the clinic, as this was one of the few places in the city where slaves could get decent treatment. Something about the way he helped her, though, told me that he cared for her. Once inside he helped her sit down and I walked over. Both of them were wearing travel clothes made of monster wool. It was quite durable, and even offered some protection against attacks. And it was expensive. Father and mother both had winter coats made out of such a material.
“I’m told you’re the best healer in the city, and that you don’t discriminate based on race.” the man said.
I nodded. “I’m not sure if I’m the best, but I don’t discriminate. Everyone will be treated well here, though if there are financial issues, I’ll have to use the Standard or Slave treatments. They work, but they aren’t exactly comfortable.”
“I won’t have any trouble paying, I can assure you.” he said, then motioned towards the cat woman. “My name is Bart, and this is Peony. She has a bad case of cancer which no one else has been able to cure. And she is my wife.”
I nodded. “Then I take it you aren’t from around here. Ridalia?” He nodded. “Thought so. This country would never recognize a marriage between a human and a cat-folk. Do you know why they haven’t been able to treat it?” Cancer was fairly common, usually resulting from an overuse of healing potions. While it required specialized spells or potions to treat, it could be cured by most Intermediate healers or alchemists.
“They used the standard treatments. Some use Death magic to kill any cell in her body with uncontrolled division. Some empower the tissue around it to reject it, so that it is starved for nutrients. We’ve also tried various potions that do one of these. It seems to go away, but within a few days it’s back.”
“Strange. I haven’t heard of cancer coming back after the treatment succeeds. Unless she’s been using healing potions?”
He shook his head. “I have a few level twos and threes in case one of us is injured, but from what I’ve heard those have almost no chance of causing cancer.”
I nodded. Usually you didn’t risk developing cancer by using anything below a level six. “Well, I can try again. Maybe I’ll see something.”
We helped her into an examination room and I sent several detection threads into her. The cancer seemed to only be attacking her reproductive organs. As I was better at Life magic, I empowered the healthy cells to reject the cancerous tissue. Soon, I sensed that the tumors were dying. Strangely, though, they were releasing some sort of energy into the surrounding tissue as they did so. The energy seemed similar to mana, but stronger and more pure. Then I realized what it was. I hadn’t used it in over a month, since I summoned the unicorn, and this was slightly different, but it was definitely Divine energy.
I continued to watch after the cancer was completely gone, and a minute after it was gone new tumors started to grow from the surrounding tissue. “Tell me,” I said. “Have you angered a priest?”
“Why would you ask that?” Bart asked.
“Because the tumor is already growing back. No natural cancer would come back like that, and no magical cause would act without you having a spell cast on you. I can only assume that you were cursed, either by a priest, prophet, or deity.”
Peony looked at her husband and nodded, a tear in her eye. “It all started when we were going out to eat at a restaurant in Brisalt, the capital of Ridalia. A man came in wearing a fine suit. He was seated at the table beside us. I didn’t think much of it, until he came over and sat at our table uninvited. He told me that I was a beautiful woman and that he had to have me. I informed him that, not only was that inappropriate, but that I was there with my husband, who was sitting beside him. He said that my husband can join if he wanted. I told him in no uncertain terms that we were not interested and that he should leave us alone. He told me I would regret turning him down. That night I woke up in pain. At first I thought I was just having cramps, but my time of the month was just two weeks prior. So we went to the doctor the next day and he told me I had ovarian and vaginal cancer.”
I nodded. “Do you happen to know this man’s name?”
“Zolia.” said the husband. “At least, that’s what he told the waitress that he left the restaurant with, even though her shift wasn’t over.”
I nodded and closed my eyes in prayer. ‘Is he a priest?’ I asked. ‘A Prophet?’
‘Worse.’ Answered the Lord of the Forest. ‘He’s a minor deity under Aranya. He’s supposed to be a fertility god, but I think he just uses that as an excuse to sexually harass people.’
‘Then what should we do?’ I couldn’t fight a god.
‘The cancer keeps coming back because he used divine magic to give it to her, which mana can’t break. If you use divine energy to cure it, though, it might go away permanently. It depends on how much he put into it, but you can at least weaken it.’
‘Unfortunately, I can’t reveal myself as your prophet.’
‘You don’t have to. Persy can also cure her.’
I nodded and thanked him. “Persy, can you come in here?” I called out.
“You’re having your beastfolk slave treat her? I thought you didn’t discriminate.”
“I don’t. I believe this is a divine curse, and Persy happens to be a priestess of the Lord of the Forest.” They looked at Persy in shock as she entered. “Only a miracle can cure a curse of that nature, so I’m going to ask her to treat you.”
Peony nodded and started to cry. “To think, we would receive a miracle from god.”
I took Persy to the side and explained the situation to her, including the fact that this was a curse put on her by a perverted minor deity, so she shouldn’t hold back. Persy nodded, and walked over, taking the woman’s hand. She began a prayer for healing, and as she finished a golden light flowed across Peony’s body, restoring her health. I knew that that light was just Persy’s divine energy, and that she was putting all she had into this. When Persy was out of energy, she started to collapse, and I caught her and picked her up, laying her down on another bed nearby.
“I’ll have to examine you again tomorrow to make sure, but I believe you are cured now.”
They both started crying and hugging each other. A few minutes later, Bart asked me what he owned me. I had only cast one spell, and usually only charged one silver per spell in this section, but he told me that wasn’t enough. I tried to turn him down several times, but he wasn’t having it, so I suggested an alternative. “Actually, Persy and the Lord of the Forest are the ones that healed you, so they should be the ones that you thank. And Persy happens to be raising money to build a shrine to him in the slums.”
The next day Persy found that someone had anonymously donated ten gold coins to her shrine fund.