Their trip out of the holy district was much the same as they came in, people locked in debate. Mark had asked the Templars to guide them to the exit nearest to the Healer's house. And, when they finally left the streets filled with quiet prayers, they were deposited out into a loud bustling road filled with people. The two Templars did their normal salute and disappeared back through the well-guarded gate they had traveled through.
Even this close to the holy district there were wounded. Some of them looked at Mark and Sam with hope, until the Templars had left their side. Mark had noted that people from a religious order were usually accompanied by Templars if they left the district.
The hospital was within sight of the wall, bearly a five-minute walk, yet the thick crowds of people in the area made the trip twice that.
Closer to the building, the lines started to form, sick and wounded waited, while the really bad cases were rushed inside straight away. Staff dressed in scrubs moved through the lines offering aid where they could, or directing people to where they needed to be. All around them, countless people waited to be seen too. The few dozen nurses out here were barely able to answer all the questions directed their way. Yet the people seemed calm as if this was the norm. It was probably one of the only places they could receive free help and no one was willing to jeopardize that. As overwhelmed as they may be, the hospital was still doing its best to see to as many as they could.
A frustrated energy clawed inside Mark's chest at the sight of so many injured. He couldn’t stand seeing so many people in pain, he wanted to go in there ask one of the nurses for a room, and start treating people, consequences be damned.
But before he could get any closer Sam gripped his wrist and whispered.
“I know that look, you can help them if you want, but let's be smart about this, follow me”
Mark had long since explained the situation to everyone, they knew he wanted to keep his abilities under wraps, so Mark let her lead him to the alleyway next to the hospital. Which was empty at a glance. She stopped them between two large trash cans and took something out of her inventory.
It was a simple white mask that covered the whole face.
“Was planning on using these in our national address but we made some last-minute changes, I kept them because I thought they might come in handy, looks like I was right. What are the limits of your range?”
Mark didn’t know the exact answer to that one, but pretty far, as far as he could stretch his barrier really. Telling her as much, she nodded and took out a second mask.
Placing it over her face she nodded for him to do the same.
“Follow me closely, we’ll work out of there”
The evening light was just starting to fade, so in the shadow of the hospital Mark saw her point above them, to a corner room on the second story of the hospital. It looked out over the lines, probably used as long-term patient rooms.
Mark slipped the mask over his face as Sam's sound-canceling spell spread through the alleyway.
They swooped into the air and shot towards the spot she had pointed out. Just before they hit the wall, it opened and swallowed them, depositing them both on the other side. Mark looked around the room, it was exactly as they thought, patient rooms.
The room was small and probably only intended for one person, but three sleeping patients had been cramped into the room.
Mark held off on healing them, he’d mend them just before they left, so as not to alert anyone, but that didn’t stop him from checking that their conditions were stable. Trusting Sam to watch the door, he took out the staff and plopped down on the floor with it in his lap.
He then expanded his construction to cover the room, making sure that it was completely transparent, channeling his full power through the conduit, he sent it into his spell.
Then like a fog rolling in, he directed [Sculpt Mana] down into the crowds below.
As he ate up ground, he began pulling a stream of information through his Resistance, getting an idea of what was going on down there, Sam moved to look out the window.
Because of the nature of his construct, those that were Mana-sensitive would be able to detect his spell moving over them, and he did indeed feel a couple of people looking around in confusion. Normally this could spark panic, as unknown Mana could mean just about anything. This time though, the Mana came partnered with generous amounts of Prana. A telltale sign of a healer at work.
The construct was still expanding gently, as he began his first healing attempts.
Now, Mark had done minimal healing since arriving in the city. This being the case, it was also the first time he’d gotten to put the ‘Tender’s’ set bonus to the test.
Meaning that right now he was healing at 150% increased healing effectiveness, minor wounds took almost nothing while more serious injuries bearly cost him a single point of Prana.
His mind jumped through the space, diagnosing and healing where he saw it was necessary. He closed wounds, mended bone, repaired muscle, and cured fevers, all in rapid succession. The healed people looked around questioningly, wounds gone, and searching for a reason. Confusion and Murmurs had begun to rise from the crowds, along with shouts of joy and relief. Mark moved from patient to patient, being as efficient with his energy as possible, his biggest obstacle being the odd high-level Aura user, but they were manageable. He triggered [Meditation] in an attempt to gain back some energy. All the while he kept working, and the commotion outside kept growing, as the people saw other's afflictions miraculously healed. There were so many people out here that Mark felt like he was pouring water onto the sand. The crowd soaked up the Prana ceaselessly.
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Mark turned his eye to the inside of the hospital, where he found a lot worse off patients. The difference was that here, Mark could see doctors, healers, and even people from the churches hard at work. Mark helped here where he could but honestly with the number of healers in there, they were in good hands. So Mark decided the best use of his energy was to continue helping people outside. He would be able to handle a large number of injuries this way, which would in turn lessen the burden on the hospital as a whole. Mark wasn’t fooling himself, he wasn’t going to be able to cure everyone here, but he would be able to stem the tide somewhat. At least for tonight, he could give the staff in the hospital some breathing room.
So he continued to deal with the lines, slowing down slightly to conserve as much energy as possible.
He was just reaching his limits, when he noticed something changing down there, the originally confused staff were adjusting rapidly as they were organized by someone. They examined anyone who spoke up about their improved condition and then pulled them out of the line if they passed the inspection. The lines were shortening much quicker because of this. Mark had not expected such an efficient response, it was almost like they had already worked with something similar. Then Mark saw a man he recognized and realized why they were reacting so fast.
There, in the middle of the crowded street, with staff moving around him, was Doctor Friedrich. Mark was both surprised and impressed. The grumpy Doc had survived the trip and having worked closely with Mark he probably had an idea of what was going on here.
The fact that the Doc was searching the street like he was looking for the source was proof enough.
Mark wanted to reveal himself to the Doc and see how he was doing, but that was difficult right now. Then it hit him.
Using the construct as a way to lock onto the Doc, Mark cast [Telepathic link] and waited to see if he’d let the link connect. When it did, he heard the voice come through.
‘What is this? Who is this? Mark? Is that you?’
The Doc somehow managed to make a mental voice sound annoyed, and Mark just sent confirmation and amusement back before responding.
‘Yo, Doc. Good to see you are still standing.’
The Doctor looked up toward the second story, searching for him. The connection gave him a general direction but not much else.
‘So it is you, Glad you’re alive, but why all the cloak and dagger, come down to the ER, we could use your help here.’
Mark shook his head to himself.
‘Sorry, Doc. It’s better if I do this on the down low tonight. I’ll come to meet you in person soon.’
A feeling of frustration came through the link.
‘Fine, I’ll assume you have your reasons, but I’ll hold you to that promise Mark.’
The Doc was an intelligent man, he just had no interest in outside problems as long as he was left to do his job.
Mark would happily find a time to meet, he missed talking with the guy.
‘Alright, I’ll deal with it from here, but let me know before you try something like this again, we are understaffed as it is. And I don’t need more religious nutjobs rocking up here.’
Mark grinned, sent confirmation, and cut the connection. Opening his physical eyes once more.
Sam had been keeping watch over the situation below and when he got up she turned her head to glance at him.
“Good, we gotta go, people are starting to figure it out.”
Mark could see the crowds of people had gravitated more towards their side of the building. Probably in a subconscious effort to get closer to the source. He was lucky a high enough Mana user did not pinpoint their location. That would be the first thing Mark would have done. In retrospect, this had been a gamble, but then, that was what the masks were for.
Mark pulled the construct in and fitted it snuggly around himself, but not before healing the three patients in here.
Sam and Mark walked through the wall as the people in the beds woke up. Outside the evening air could not have smelled sweeter to Mark. He’d lost count of the number of people he’d healed but it was definitely in the hundreds and worth the satisfied feeling he had right now.
Sam took the lead. As they turned away, the sound of a trashcan being knocked over in the alleyway below caught Mark's attention.
Sam heard it too, but just shook her head and made a signal for them to make themselves scarce.
Picking up altitude, Mark watched their retreat to see if anyone was following them. Only relaxing when the city was far below them once more.
Taking out her phone Sam messaged Jonathan to find out the meet-up spot. It turned out they were finishing up in a Mineral and Metal Trading Exchange. Places like this kept precious materials on hand, but most of their stores of worked metal had long since been stolen or used up. All that was left was large stockpiles of unprocessed rock and ore. Luckily that is exactly what Jonathan had come here to get. He wanted samples to see how different materials affected the final product, they had moved into the last stages of their workshop testing, and Jonathan was rearing to get going.
When they landed outside the large building Jonathan, George, Chloe, Daphne, Cara, and of all people, Donny were already waiting outside. Surprised, but happy to see the guy, Mark found that Daphne had invited him to come along.
Sam spoke up as they joined the group.
“Right, so what was this all about again? You mentioned it was at the Crafters Cove, but not much else”
Jonathan gave her a dry look.
“As I said, the crafters Guilds are having a large showing of their latest items and techniques, as a way to entice people to buy. It’s early days, so there probably won’t be anything strong, but it will be an eye-opener for us.”
Both George and Jonathan looked excited about this, Mark knew they had been searching for new methods, so this kind of thing could help them greatly.
Sam clapped her hands together to get their attention.
“Well then, what are we waiting for, let's get going”