Kyle moved the heavy canvas flap as he stepped through, powering through a moment of disorientation as Sensory Barbs gave him a picture of his surroundings. Stones and small shrubs dotted the area where his shelter had been set up. To his left, he felt a small, skittering creature; likely a lizard or rodent, dart away toward some scruffy foliage nearby. Buzzing insects flew around him, and he saw birds hopping and pecking at the ground. Tension left his shoulders at the unspoken implication. He was safe.
Kyle’s relief didn’t seem to extend to the group of goblins walking toward him from the village’s gate, however. Kyle recognized Vel’Norn, who had 2 other goblins with him, all frozen in place at the sight of him exiting the tent.
“Vel’Norn, it’s good to see you again,” Kyle called in greeting.
“You, um, look a lot better,” Vel’Norn replied, still not taking a step closer.
“It sounds like I owe you and your village a debt of thanks,” Kyle said. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come inside and see how I can help.”
The goblins whispered furiously for a moment, and Kyle waited patiently for them to finish their conversation. One of Vel’Norn’s companions, a goblin with a deeper green complexion and holding a club, spoke. “We are a poor village, we don’t have anything you would want. We also didn’t contribute much to your treatment other than setting up the shelter and providing clean clothes.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “I think we’re talking past each other a bit. How is any of that relevant to what I asked?”
Vel’Norn let out a sigh of frustration. “Because they all – we all – know that if you wanted to, you could come in and kill us all. We saw the body of one of those monsters when we came to find you. You killed the other one, too, didn’t you? Back at Railen’s Folly?”
Kyle nodded.
“See,” Vel’Norn said, turning back to his companions. “If he wanted us dead, he’d just kill us. Besides, we can’t keep going as we have.” The goblin’s voice was pitched to carry for Kyle’s benefit, and he held back a smile as another fury of whispers erupted from the group of goblins. The pieces were starting to fall into place, and Kyle understood that they were more worried for their safety than anything else.
In their shoes, he may have felt the same. Vel’Norn was far and away the most powerful of the trio, and wouldn’t have been able to beat Garth in a straight fight when Kyle first met the man. If he was indicative of the overall power of the village, the only way they would survive if Kyle was antagonistic would be for the Survivalist to simply wander away.
He wanted to help treat the plague, but Pall’Eth had provided a painful reminder that even individually weak people can make disastrous decisions. He wouldn’t push the issue if they didn’t want him in the village, though he’d at least try to pass along whatever notes he had. So, he waited for them to come to a consensus. And waited. And waited.
[DR. MAYHEW, SHOULD WE DO SOMETHING?]
“We’ll give them just a bit longer, C.H.A.D.D.”
[IT HAS BEEN NEARLY 3 MINUTES, DR. MAYHEW.]
“Just be patient. We’ll have an answer soon.”
The drone was quiet for a moment, and then Kyle heard a soft snap from behind him as C.H.A.D.D. activated its sonic mapping ability.
[THERE ARE 48 GOBLINS WITHIN THE VILLAGE THAT HAVE BEEN UNMOVING SINCE OUR ARRIVAL, DR. MAYHEW. THAT IS NEARLY HALF OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION HERE. IT SEEMS REASONABLE THAT WE ASK FOR ENTRY TO EXAMINE THEM.]
“That has to be up to them, C.H.A.D.D. If they don’t want us involved, we’ll be on our way.”
Finally, the goblins stepped forward, with Vel’Norn taking the lead. “You mentioned when we first met that you might be able to help with the disease ravaging the village. Is that true?”
Kyle nodded. “I retrieved some notes from Railen’s Folly that may prove helpful in diagnosing and treating it. I can’t make any guarantees, but we’ve got some ideas we can try.”
Vel’Norn gave each of the others a pointed look, then waved for Kyle to approach. “Then come in. We’ll take whatever help you can offer.”
Walking through the wooden gates, the first thing that stuck out to Kyle was the large tent propped up against one of the wooden walls. As he watched, a masked troll walked in carrying 2 large jugs of water, just as a masked goblin left with a bucket of rags. He concentrated on his Auric Perception, though he didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.
Vel’Norn turned to look in the tent’s direction as well. “That’s where we’re treating the sick. I’d like to introduce you to Serenel first, and then we’ll get you inside. I told her about our encounter, and I’m sure she would like to meet you, now that we’ve decided to invite you in.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Kyle got some odd looks from the trolls and goblins he walked past, paying them no mind as the group approached the center of the settlement. Most of the buildings consisted of thatch-roofed huts, with reddish clay forming the structures themselves. In the center, however, stood a longhouse, made with a combination of wood and clay. A tile roof sloped down on each side, making the building look like an imposing triangle from the front.
Kyle stepped through a door that was close enough to human-sized, to see the interior of the longhouse gently lit with mana-infused stones. They gave a soft glow, like that of candles, illuminating a long table in the middle, with several rooms off to the side. Kyle could smell the universal scent of fresh-baked bread wafting out of one of those rooms, and his stomach growled involuntarily.
Other than a couple of goblins tidying up around the area, the longhouse appeared to be empty. Vel’Norn cleared his throat, then called out in a surprisingly loud voice, “Serenel! The alien I told you about woke up, and we brought him here!”
There was a clattering sound from one of the side rooms, and a deep female voice called back. “Give me a moment, I’m almost done. Go ahead and grab a seat, I’ll join you shortly.”
The goblins didn’t hesitate as they moved to the table, and Kyle followed suit, interested in the customs here. Compared to both Er’Mithren and the Resistance Headquarters, the village appeared to have a much looser structure. Kyle’s theory was confirmed a minute later when a portly troll woman with gray hair came out of the side room, carrying a loaf of bread in one hand, and a pitcher of water in the other.
She took one look at the table, and Kyle felt a gentle rush of mana as 5 mugs floated out of the room behind her. One landed in front of each of them, with the final mug floating toward the end of the table. Serenel let go of the loaf of bread as well as the pitcher as more mana flowed, pouring the drinks as a knife sliced and served the bread.
“A fresh-baked loaf, your timing is impeccable. You know, my husband would always wake up when I was baking, you and he have that in common. Now, let’s get a look at you.”
Without giving Kyle a chance to respond, the troll woman squinted at him, and Kyle felt her mana concentrate in her eyes, using a familiar identification skill. She was clearly in E Grade, and Kyle suspected that she wouldn’t learn much with one of the basic versions of the skill that he learned about from Jarberry.
“You’re truly a Healer?” Serenel asked, a hint of doubt playing over her wizened face.
Kyle nodded. “That was my class in E Grade, yes. My path has taken a different direction through the years, but I can help with triage, at the least.”
Given the relative level of power the awakened in the village demonstrated, Kyle suspected Healing Impetus, Identify, and applications of Parasitic Resonance would provide more than any Healers they had. Specialized abilities notwithstanding, of course.
Serenel nodded. “Then I would ask for your help. The disease has been spreading among our people, and I fear that we’re on borrowed time. We thought to contain the spread through quarantine procedures, though people with no contact still contracted it. We checked the water, used purification skills, and it still had no effect. Our Healers were able to treat the symptoms for a while, but once they started falling ill, there wasn’t much more that they could do. We’ve been in decline ever since.”
“How many have died?” Kyle asked.
“7,” Serenel replied. “Mostly the elderly goblins. Us trolls have been holding on better than most, though it’s only a matter of time I suspect.”
“And the ogres?” Kyle asked.
“We don’t have any in the village, I wouldn’t know. Now, eat up. You can go to the tent afterward.”
Kyle didn’t need to be told twice, as he took a bite of the bread. The crust was thick, but the inside was soft as a cloud. His hunger awakened – the more mundane kind – and he ate with gusto, soon only crumbs left behind.
He caught Serenel smiling as he wolfed down the food, clearly pleased that he’d enjoyed it so much. After downing the mug of water, Kyle stood and thanked the troll woman, then left the longhouse. Nobody followed him, though he expected word had been sent somehow as villagers looked at him with a mix of hope and anticipation. Without delay, Kyle walked right into the quarantine tent.
Rows upon rows of cots were arranged, an occupant on virtually all of them. 2 volunteers, the troll and goblin from earlier, bustled about, wiping foreheads and helping their patients drink some water and broth. Only about half of the bedridden goblins were conscious enough to sip the liquids under their own strength, while the others had cups pressed to their lips.
“C.H.A.D.D., give me a scan of their vitals,” Kyle said, surveying the room.
Without a word, an orange projection lit up, highlighting vital functions for each of the goblins. Each was running a fever of varying degree, and sings of inflammation were rampant across their bodies.
[FOR THE AWAKENED, THERE ARE ALSO INCONSISTENCIES WITH THEIR MANA FLOW, DR. MAYHEW.]
C.H.A.D.D. projected orange light around about half of the population, then lifted the images into the air and highlighted their mana networks. Kyle frowned at the projections, the variance between each person clear to see. For some, mana seemed to be cycling in irregular patterns. Others had mana flow that was either too fast or too slow, with yet others showing localized issues with their mana flow.
One thing was clear, however. The awakened among the goblin population were taking relatively more damage than the unawakened. Their higher attribute points helped some of them overcome some of the negative effects, but the data pointed to effects very similar to the mana poisoning that Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. encountered on Earth.
Kyle activated Identify, turning his attention to one of the most injured goblins. He immediately felt a headache coming on, and gritted his teeth as he stabilized the skill. His own mana pathways would still need time to recover, and he didn’t want to risk taking further damage by pushing his skills too far. Still, he kept Identify active long enough to search for any signs of the mana plague that he and C.H.A.D.D. studied.
For this particular goblin, the irregularity with their mana network involved irregular flow around their shoulders and the base of their skull. Sure enough, Kyle could see traces of foreign energy building up around those areas, slowly condensing and straining the mana pathways.
“C.H.A.D.D., focus your scans here, here, and here,” Kyle said, gently reaching out his hand as he touched the areas with the most severe blockage.
As soon as the drone did, Kyle deactivated Identify, feeling the pressure behind his eyes fade. C.H.A.D.D.’s scans didn’t give the same type of insight into the energy that Identify did, though the close-up view of the flowing mana was plenty for him to study. Now, let’s see if we can actually do anything about it.
