91 Return (1/2)

Launcelot creeped up to the door, his posture slightly crouched and his shield raised up to chest-level so he could immediately spring backwards and raise his defenses. His movements, despite the heavy full-plate he wore, were surprisingly silent.

He could move in a way that minimized any ambient noise, and it was not like he was slowly inching forwards like a slug. His movements were relatively fast, as fast as could be to sneak around wearing armor like that, and he reached the door within a few seconds.

It was obvious the shielder had trained to move silently.

The knocking continued. Then a pause. Then a few strong knocks – strong enough to rattle the door nearly off its hinges – pounded on the wood.

Launcelot grabbed the door handle and swung it open towards himself, shield raising with the motion. In the very next instant, when he saw who it was, he dropped the shield to his side and smiled almost in the same instant he raised it. He erased his tension and converted it into a relaxed ease with expert fluidity.

”You three? What a pleasant surprise,” said Launcelot as he opened the door wider, waving them in.

Jeanne stood in the doorframe, her hand raised where she had been knocking. On her face were furrowed brows and a bit lip, and the same worried expression found itself on Sylvie's.

”Launcelot.” Jeanne spared the time to give the shielder a recognizing nod before she stepped into cottage, her mud-caked greaves tracking dirt on the wooden floor.

Li had half a mind to complain about that, but he knew there were far more pressing issues at hand. They had come back from their hunt for ingredients far too early, not to mention their concerned expressions and the fact that Jeanne, as considerate as she was, would never dirty the cottage under normal circumstances.

”We need your help, Li.”

Li stood up. ”Seems like it.” He scanned the doorframe again, looking behind Sylvie to see Azhar was missing. When Li's gaze passed over Sylvie, she looked down and away, trying to hide her face. ”Where is he?”

”That's where we need help, I'm afraid,” said Jeanne. ”A darkbeast got to him, and its venom has laid him low. Do you have an elixir that can help him? We will pay any price for it.”

”A darkbeast?” Launcelot perked his head up, his eyes narrowing. ”A terrible and rare plight, indeed. Good sir, I will also be willing to pay any amount of coin to see a fellow adventurer in arms healed.”

Did they think Li was some kind of heartless money-pincher? Well, maybe he did give off some of those vibes considering how much he had bargained with them before about elixirs and coin and contracts and whatnot, but he did not mind that so much. What he had to do was focus on the treatment before him.

First off, he legitimately had little idea what a darkbeast was. There were no records about it in any of the texts he had read. He knew that Aine's library was not the be all end all for knowledge of this world, but it did have almost everything he wanted for. Historical texts, a compendium on plants and herbs, and a thorough bestiary.

”Coin isn't something you have to worry about,” said Li. ”What you should be worrying about is whether I even have a proper elixir to treat him. Get him here so I can check his condition.”

Azhar laid on a bed of skins and bundled up straw at Jeanne's insistence. He actually did not look all that bad. Almost fine, to be honest.

”I'm not exactly a doctor,” said Li as he circled around Azhar, his eyes scanning the man's potential injuries. ”But he doesn't seem like he's going to die anytime soon. There's no visible wound, his skin's a healthy shade, his temperature's fine, he's not sweating, he walks a little wobbly but enough to get around, and his eyes are in focus.”

”Hells, if only those were the issues I was facin' right now.” Azhar used his left hand to grab his right arm and held it up. It was like he was handling a chunk of meat with the way it looked so heavy and unresponsive. He let go of his right arm, and it dropped flat to his side, hitting his side with slapping impact.

Li sat back down on his stool with a sigh. He reached into his pocket and took out an [Anti-Venom] and [Cleanse]. The bottles, one filled with blue liquid and the other red, had their thin necks nestled between Li's fingers as he handed them to Azhar.

”Drink both and tell me if they work. Meanwhile-” Li turned his attention to Sylvie and Azhar. They sat side by side a little distance aways while Launcelot stood in the corner, paying attention to the situation but saying out of it. ”Why don't you two tell me what happened?”

Sylvie bit her lip as she tried to speak, the words forming in her throat, but catching, unable to escape.

Jeanne spoke instead. ”We made it to the Chattering Forests with little issue. Within, we were tracking mothmen when a darkbeast ambushed us. We had our usual formation – me in the front and Az and Sylvie circling around me – and the beast struck out at Sylv, but thank the light that Az was there to protect her.

The two of them killed the monstrosity, but, as you can see, Az did not emerge unscathed.”

Li looked back at Azhar's limp arm. The hinterlander had downed both elixirs, wiping his mouth with the back of his functional hand. ”He has no physical wounds.”

”I healed him,” said Jeanne. ”The bite was well within the bounds of my faith to remedy. But darkbeast venom? That, I cannot do anything about.”

”Venom? Tell me about darkbeasts. I've never heard of them, and maybe I can find out a remedy with some more information.”

Li expected Sylvie, with all her stored knowledge and pride of it, to start talking, but she remained silent, embroiled in guilt.

Jeanne continued. ”It is understandable that you do not know. They are recent phenomenon, after all. I do not know too much about them – nobody truly does – but what I do know is that they are a vast unknown. They hold powers that our training has not prepared us against.”

”They are mutants.” Launcelot spoke from his corner. He was staring straight ahead, recalling. ”I've done my research on mutants and what makes a hero a hero, and I can tell you that these darkbeasts possess the same nature of powers as you heroes.