Source: Mediation (+20 Prana, +40 exp points)
The prompt was from last night after they got back from Crafters Cove. Mark had taken the time to practice the new [Meditation] technique with Sam and Jonathan before crashing for the night. The rewards were too large to pass up, for just a couple of hours of work. Though Mark could feel he was overdoing it as if he had just worked the same set of muscles two days in a row.
Last night had ended well, certain realizations notwithstanding. Jonathan and George had learned a lot from the crafters, while Sam had gotten many introductions to factions they previously had no connections to. Ning Mei was instrumental in this and they were starting to build a better picture of the political landscape.
Mark even got a lead on how to begin crafting Inscriptions, the key lay in the study of system items. The little runes were not on every item but Mark had seen the odd Inscription on certain pieces. The best part was that he had the staff, which was absolutely packed with the things. He’d be bumbling around in the dark, but by now he was not a stranger to that. The Inscription alliance was dead set on keeping their knowledge to themselves, so Mark would see what he could figure out on his own, perhaps rope Sam in, and then put that online for others to use.
When he and Daphne arrived at the morning meeting they found Jonathan had headed to the Institute for his first class. He wouldn’t be back until late afternoon. They were speaking about the increase of neutral parties arriving at their borders since yesterday's patrol. Nothing too huge but their Logistic department was working round the clock to conduct interviews and sort people into their requested jobs.
Mark was thinking things over and after what he had learned yesterday about the religious district, an idea was beginning to form.
He’d been thinking of something similar for a while but now he had a better understanding of the landscape he was navigating.
Right now the need for healers was great but people's options were limited when it came to getting help.
The first place people would look to for healing was the Healing House, and while the hospital was free it was severely overworked and understaffed. Supply could never meet demand.
From there, the next option was the guild, one could pay exorbitant prices for the guild to put one in contact with private healers. The service was actually pretty good and worked in a pinch, but only strong fighters could really fork out the amount of Sp they demanded.
Finally, the Churches themselves.
Mark had seen quite a few members from the church of Brilliance and a couple of other faiths in the Healers House giving healing for free. However, a majority of churches would not heal people, unless they were willing to offer up their devotion and time in return.
This meant that each avenue had its drawbacks.
Mark had been watching his team of healers grow and they were coming along nicely. Quite frankly, they had more available healers than they needed to get by, in a day-to-day situation. Like fighters, healers also needed a place to develop their skills. Which is why, when he had the idea for a low-cost clinic, he knew it had the potential to solve both problems.
The idea would be that they offered their skills to the public at an affordable price. Of course, it wouldn’t be as big as the Healer House, but they could help a lot of people and still make a decent profit off the idea. It would act as a draw to their territory, and a way for them to train their healers.
Deciding he needed other opinions in case he was missing something, Mark brought it up for everyone to weigh in.
In the silence that followed, Ethel was the first to speak.
“Looking at the idea at face value I would normally recommend against this. Everything is still so unstable in the city, but perhaps because of that reason, we should act. In our current condition, it may actually be preferable to take the chance. Things are changing too fast, if we wait for the perfect conditions, they may never come, and we won’t have the time to regret it later. Seeing as we are already making waves, we may as well go all out”
Karter was next and made them aware of the safety risks of this type of venture but he thought it would be manageable with their fighting force. Seeing as it was their territory, a team would need to be put together to control the flow of patients and act as a deterrent. They didn’t want an overcrowding situation similar to the Healer House to happen here.
When everyone had pitched their thoughts Ethel spoke to Mark directly.
“Right then, I’ll clear your schedule for today, select a location, and start vetting it, take some people to begin setting up the basics. I want this project up and running as soon as we are able.”
Mark was happy the idea was received so well and honestly a little surprised he could get underway so soon, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
After the meeting, Mark gathered a team consisting of his lead healers and a unit of guards. Pulling Tommis, Abby, and Carl from his healers. Along with Donny, Brian, Franklin, and a small team of fighters. Today was just about finding a spot to set down, so a large team was unnecessary. Mark did find out that Metayo had been an architect before the fall so as a last-minute call he added him to the roster. He thought his input on the place they picked out could be valuable.
Never one to dawdle, Mark had them set out as soon as everyone was ready. Ideally, he wanted to pick a place that was in between their base of operations and the outskirts of their territory. Too close and it could be a concern for their non-combatants. Too far and if they ever had a situation at the clinic that called for more of their fighting force, a long travel time could be detrimental.
They took their time in scanning the area for the best locations and narrowed it down to two spots. A local pharmacy and a Community Center. Both had their ups and downs. The pharmacy was completely waterlogged; the surrounding pipes had given way—probably during the fall. Though they had been shut off, rancid ankle-deep water still collected in the lower levels. It was however situated in Mark’s Goldilocks zone, just right distance from home.
The Community Center had its own problems, in that the structural integrity was completely compromised, and it was a little further away than Mark would have liked. The upside of that one was that the building provided various rooms for medical examinations and with Mark and Metayo’s aid, the problem of damage to the structure could be fixed pretty easily.
It was actually Donny who brought up a pretty important point that helped Mark choose. And that was how defensible the two locations were. Mark didn’t want anything like an attack on the clinic to happen but it would be stupid to not prepare for the worst. In that case, the Community Center was a much stronger holdout point and even with the extra distance from home, it was the better choice.
As soon as it was decided they got underway. Mark moved through the groaning structure with Metayo on his heels, as he propped up the framework. The afternoon was coming to a close by the time it was safe enough for the rest of his team to begin cleaning out the place and prepping the area. They would have to call in a maintenance team to come out and fix necessities, but for now, there was plenty to do. The area was not quite on the outskirts but Brian and Franklin were left on lookout duty just in case. The patrols would keep out the unsavory individuals but it was better to be safe than sorry. On two separate occasions, Mark saw their patrols guiding in small groups of neutral parties that wanted to sign up. The only thing of interest was the odd sound of motorcycles running around the area, but by now they had all gotten so used to their neighbors it didn’t warrant any thought.
Mark used the time to alternate between [Mediation] and [Earth control], taking Metayo’s feedback into account as he reinforced the walls and structural supports.
With his new regeneration threshold, Mark could sustain a much higher rate of work as he was pulling in almost as much Mana as he was using. Creating a mesh of rebar was a little harder, and Metayo insisted it not be built with pure iron on account of corrosion. Instead, he recommended steel, which was a combination of Iron and Carbon. The problem was, finding the right balance between the two while building up his concept of Earth magic. Hours later, his trial and error had gotten him closer, but the material still came out as more of a clump of dirty iron than a well-integrated alloy. He could feel he was close but missing something.
Finally, the evening rolled around and they had made some decent progress. The empty shell of the clinic was starting to take shape.
As they were packing up for the day Mark pulled Abby, Tommis, and Donny aside.
“Listen guys, for now, I intend for you three to be my leads on this project. Abby, and Tommis, you two will alternate between here and home base. You can decide amongst yourselves who is where I don’t mind.
Donny, if you are looking for more responsibility, then this is it. I’d need you to help ensure the clinic’s safety, at first Karter will probably assign a team here, but the responsibility would then fall to you to train up a group of your own. Karter would probably send someone to help teach you but if you want the job, I’m offering it to you”
Mark was not playing favorites, Donny was strong and reliable, and if he wanted the job he could definitely be a strong protector for this place.
Tommis was by far his strongest healer, but Abby’s dedication to healing others meant that her techniques were developing at an incredible rate. Both of them were driven and they accepted the job without hesitation. Donny contemplated the offer a little more, but one look at Abby and he agreed too, a look of purpose solidifying in his eyes.
Mark was satisfied and made a mental note to speak to Karter about this. They closed up the building just in case anyone slipped past the patrols.
Mark had a bounce in his step as they set out for home. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice the problem until too late.
They were barely five minutes from the community center when Mark noticed the sounds of engines had dulled to almost nothing. Freezing Mark looked around and tried to place himself. More importantly, place the direction of the Firestarters, because Mark and his team were traveling inwards, the sounds should be coming from behind them on the outskirts of their territory, but right now, carried on the wind, was the distant sounds of engines up ahead.
Realizing something was wrong Mark began to call it out, but he didn’t even get a word out before he felt something approaching.
Whipping his head around, Mark turned to see the flash of multiple motorcycle headlights and on one of the vehicles, a woman charging straight at him. There had been no telltale sign of the approaching machines. One second the street was empty and the next they were just there, turning the corner at incredible speeds. Not even the sound of the tires gripping the road had warned him.
Mark had taken to always having a low-intensity construct around himself, and at that moment he tried to reinforce it as fast as he was able because the riders were not stopping, and the woman was aiming straight for Mark. Their group had been close together and both Abby and Franklin were right in the path of the death machines. Franklin might survive it but Abby was in a lot of danger. If this were a normal situation, Mark would be able to react, but the speed with which the bikes approached was ludicrous and getting faster. Poping both his mental and physical limits, Mark had just enough time to push the two of them out of the path of the charge and wrap the remainder of his shield around himself.
Even at accelerated mental speeds, he could not keep up, and the bike crashed into Mark, center mass. The hastily charged construct warped under the weight and gave out like cracking ceramic.
Mark's ribcage concaved, his left arm twisted in an unnatural direction as bone tore through the skin. Pain bloomed and the world turned white and loud. The motorcycle kept its momentum carrying Mark with it and crashing into the red brick wall behind them. The rider abandoned her vehicle in midair as both Mark, and it went through the wall. The last thing Mark saw was Mel’s laughing face as he disappeared into the building beyond.