CH 124: Remedy
Lily passed out the moment the remedy was synthesized. Ana caught the glowing woman, monitoring her health closely as the faint divine light began to fade. The potion still held a soft radiance, glowing with a faint red hue.
Ana stared at the scarlet liquid. It had that distinct decaying scent, something oddly nostalgic. Lily had used dried Tyr root in her remedy. The odor slowly shifted, becoming sweeter, filling Ana with memories of that night at her family’s tavern. Lily told her it would be ready once the smell changed.
Ana finally let herself relax. The mana drain was catching up to her as she beckoned for the village doctor.
“I-its ready… sh-she made enough for a month,” Ana whispered as her vision blurred. “After thirty days… the withdrawals will be less, and it should only be flu-like symptoms.”
The doctor nodded gratefully and retrieved a potion from her pouch, holding it to Ana’s lips. Relief washed over the twin as her eyes fluttered shut. She slumped forward, resting on top of Lily.
“Thank you,” the young doctor said, nearly in tears. She was still a novice and was too overwhelmed by the situation. “Again, thank you. First for saving us from the bandits, and now for saving my sister from this pain…”
She gently adjusted the two women into a better sleeping position before turning to the pot. She had eight doses to prepare. She observed one vial closely, analyzing its contents with her analytical eye skill. The doctor was confused when Lily started glowing previously, but she nearly dropped the vial.
It was infused with Ichor. The divine blood of a God.
She froze. A god’s blood was in this?
“Taylor!”
She rushed off, legs shaky beneath her. At Daren’s side, she helped the boy drink the remedy. Within moments, the tremors slowed, and his breathing became steady.
“Thank you… Thank you, Claire.” Mara whispered through tears. “And thank you, Lily and Ana. For saving my boy…”
“I’m going to get this to the other kids. Take care.” Taylor said after a moment before rushing off.
Mara nearly collapsed once the stress wore off. “We’re truly in your debt now, Claire. And to her Goddess… Thank you. Thank you for saving my son.”
She brushed aside her son’s hair and began to hum a melody for him. The last trembles in Daren’s body faded and a peaceful smile grew on his face. He snuggled up to his mother as he peacefully slept.
Mara didn’t look up when Ursa entered the carriage with Claire in her arms.
Ursa entered quietly, pausing at the sight of the sleeping boy. She let out a deep breath before gently setting Claire down beside Lily and Ana. She helped adjust the young woman’s body, tucking a blanket around her shoulders.
Then she knelt beside Mara.
Mara met her eyes, hesitant at first. After seeing Ursa fight, seeing what she was capable of, it was hard not to feel intimidated. But Ursa’s gentle touch spoke differently.
“Thank Rava… and our Goddess,” Ursa whispered, red eyes soft. “Your son is quite funny… I enjoyed playing with him.”
“He enjoyed it as well,” Mara said with a chuckle. “To be honest, I was scared of you at first. You were… quite brutal.”
“Yeah. I figured,” Ursa nodded with a sad smile. “I don’t blame you… It’d be worse if you knew more about my class. But the kids... they were so scared yesterday… I just wanted to make them laugh.”
Mara chuckled. “I apologize, my fear was misguided. Thank you for cheering them up, I know Daren enjoyed riding on your back too.”
Ursa’s eyes lit up, and she fought back a smile. “He’s got a lot of energy, especially for a boy. Adam was far more timid, but Daren practically dragged him along.”
Mara smiled. Ursa’s excitement was very evident. “That’s Daren, alright. I just worry he pushes Adam too hard…”
Ursa shook her head. “Nonsense. Adam’s last words before passing out were asking where Daren was. He looks up to Daren quite a bit.”
“That… that makes me proud,” Mara said. She glanced back at her son, who fell back on old habits. Daren was sucking on his thumb as he slumbered. “Hear that, Daren? Adam looks up to you.”
Ursa laughed. Then she stood up and stretched. “I should go check on Jasmine and Elsie. You’re welcome to stay in here with him as long as you need.”
Mara nodded, “Thank you. I’ll give Daren a couple of minutes to truly calm down. I know your party will need their rest.”
Ursa nodded and stepped out. The air outside felt lighter as seven of the other children were resting now, symptoms easing. She spotted Jasmine and Elsie speaking with a few villagers.
She approached and tapped on Jasmine’s shoulder. Jasmine stifled her yelp as Ursa lifted her into her arms.
“Hey, don’t interrupt them. We’re talking about their plans.” Jasmine protested.
“Oh, sorry,” Ursa said almost sarcastically. “My party member is injured. I thought maybe I could ease her pain.”
The villagers laughed softly. Even Jasmine couldn’t hold back a smile, despite the blush creeping across her cheeks. The stoic assassin was actually blushing. And Elsie was there to tease her.
“You must have a thing for strong women…” Elsie whispered teasingly.
“I do not,” Jasmine hissed back. Though her voice lacked conviction, “I think…”
Elsie gave the assassin an infuriatingly smug smile, clearly savoring the moment. But instead of pressing further, she returned her attention to the discussion.
“After I took over, I managed to find Reyna’s communications. Seems we’ll be visited by smugglers in a month.” One of the women spoke, holding out a crumpled letter. It passed from hand to hand, the tension rising. “We need to figure out what to do… Fyre may not take us and the other villages can barely feed themselves.”
The village elder rubbed her chin, clearly in deep thought.
While Jasmine was too focused on getting comfortable, Ursa began to speak. “I’ve reached out to my tribe. They might get here in time to defend you.”
“Might?” The elder asked, shifting nervously. “We need something more than might if smugglers show up.”
Elsie pursed her lips. “What about… fooling them?”
All eyes turned to the older twin. Uneasy stares met her thoughtful expression as she continued, mulling it over aloud.
“We could dilute the drug, make it less potent and dangerous…” Elsie said, deep in thought. “It would definitely fool the smugglers, but their clients will be furious.”
“That’s a whole other issue.” The elder grumbled. “Wouldn’t mean a damn thing if our Lady finds out. She’ll burn this place to the ground.”
A heavy silence hung among the people. Their Lady’s wrath scared them to their cores.
“Publicize it.”
The voice was faint and nervous. It was a younger woman, barely eighteen, speaking up. She flinched under the attention as older women quickly tried to hush her. “Force Lady Lloyd to acknowledge the bandit problem through public exposure.”
Elsie’s eyes gleamed with interest. It could work. Force her hand.
“Leave out the noble connections, replace us with her knights… make a stink about retaliation,” Elsie mumbled to herself. “That could actually work, at least for now.”
“By then, my people will understand,” Ursa added. “My tribe is still blind to this country’s corruption. But we value justice. We’ll stand by you if the nobles retaliate.”
“I hesitate to provoke these people further…” The elder ruminated. “We’ll have to see if Fyre can accommodate us… Otherwise, we may have to.”
“I doubt they will.” Another woman interjected. “Fyre is too focused on their advancements to notice their dying neighbors…”
A low murmur of agreement echoed around the group. Ursa was starting to understand why Claire got so irritated when nobles were mentioned. It made sense if these were their rulers.
“I suppose we'll go with Hailey’s idea.” The elder said with a heavy sigh. “Hailey. Stick to the bandits, no nobles being involved, and do not mention the Scarlet Serpahs. We do not want to paint targets on their backs.”
“Yes ma’am!” the young woman chirped with unexpected excitement. She already had a notepad out, scribbling furiously
"Ignore her.” The elder said with a heavy sigh. “She was supposed to be going to Fyre University before all this happened. She’s been obsessed with journalism for a long while.”
“Ah… that’s the news people, right?” Elsie asked, tilting her head. She vaguely recalled that term from their tour. She was far too distracted then to really remember.
“Exactly, we’ll have to go through the whole enrollment process again,” said an older woman nearby. She was clearly Hailey’s mother. She sighed, “Hopefully, they’ll be understanding given what happened here.”
“Let me look at this drug.” Jasmine chimed in finally. “I want to make a report about it. Also, get me any research documents you or Lily found.”
Her tone was crisp and commanding, yet the villagers found it hard to take her too seriously while she was still blushing, prince carried in Ursa’s arms like a dainty bride.