"Huh? Captain Celo... You'r-" The green lizardmen of Grim Guard tribe surrounding the chieftain's tent with a makeshift wall of bronze shields combined with scaled flesh widened their eyes at the sight of a familiar face.
Celo sighed. Crossed his arms and spoke in a commanding tone. "Just step aside Brobha. Tell your men and the little force you've scrunched up to open up. This smooth skin child is a healer. He can heal our shaman's wounds."
"Then that is great! Excellent news indeed! I shall inform this to the Chie-" Brobha froze. His head tilting dumbly to the side.
Is it me or did that lizardman just stop thinking? He's clearly spacing out.
Celo winced. Smiled at me bitterly and followed me as I walked to the tent.
The wall of green-scaled flesh parted. Granting entry to the tent.
Hurriedly running inside, I saw Celo stop at the entrance and Lean at a post.
"I'll make sure no one get's in smooth skin. I keep my word." To that, I nodded.
I was still a little peeved off about this whole lizardman war fiasco. This conflict is stupid. The two tribes should just unite and usher into a golden era. If the two tribes united. This whole area would become a small bustling city in a few decades. Boasting great military might.
The flaps covering each room in the chieftain's quarters were closed. Even the one leading to the bone throne was closed. Except for a certain room.
Inside were lithe lizardman. The green scales adorning their bodies looked soft as a newly grown leaf. They wore robes and frantically mixed herbs together.
They all stared at me in shock. Frowning before dozens of thin lizardmen drew out daggers. Got into a defensive pose and glared at me.
Ah... It's the lizard women. Only they do not look as rugged as their men.
"I had been fetched by Celo to heal the shaman." Spouting my agenda, I approached the figure laying on a bed of grass as the other lizardkin withdrew the knives.
"The scales are tipping to our favor!" The lizard women cheered.
Good thing they listened. They would've all stabbed me if they didn't.
I looked at the shaman. Dressed in black robes with thick bundles of feathers decorating the chest portion. Their breathing was erratic. Sometimes their chest rose and sometimes it didn't.
Pulling back the robes. I saw a lot of damage.
Two broken arms. The right forearm was twisted at an impossible angle. Even the bone jot out at the elbow. The left arm was a mess. It was dislocated. Dislocated and nearly torn off. Given how swollen it was.
And to make matters worse. The left lung... The left part of the Grim Guard tribe's shaman's chest had a strange dagger stabbed into it. With the afflicted region turning incredibly pale.
The scales around it lost their green color. Becoming bleached.
I hissed. Poison. This is poison.
I have no cure spells. Only healing spells.
I glared at the lizardwomen catering to the wounded shaman.
"He's in bad shape! And you all didn't even go as far as to reset his bones or splinted them?"
"Human child. It's not as easy as you think. Our shaman is gravely injured and doing something as trying to reverse the damage makes the poison spread faster. Helpless... We could only prolong his life with medical herbs and potions."
"We are useless..." They all lowered their hate. Bitterly staring at the cold floor while holding their shoulders.
Their expression further enraged me.
Oh, don't worry. I am not mad at these lizardwomen. They did their best.
I'm pissed because whoever did this is still out there laughing in the dark.
Why? I'm not even related to the lizardmen anyway so why am I this angered?
I am not related to them. But my safety is.
I will not let my shelter fall over me. Not while I am still weak and unfit to travel.
Channeling healing magic. My hands glowed. I felt the drain on my mana but I ignored it.
First. Reset the bones.
I carefully gripped the twisted forearm. Traced the damage and removed the excess small bone splinters. It was a painful process from the shaman.
I had to tear off some strings of red muscle in the progress and remove scales.
Crack! Crack!
"GUAH!" The shaman roared. He awakened and frantically sat up. Coughing up mouthfuls of blood as if he was a young master that got socked in the stomach by a main character.
I'm no doctor. But I have common sense and healing magic.
You shouldn't move yet.
"PIN HIM DOWN!" I commanded. The lizardwomen rushed to the shaman and did their utmost excellence in suppressing the shaman from moving. Wiping off blood and letting him drink some warm water.
They even tied gagged him. Preventing the shaman from chanting out a sneaky hex.
After resetting the bones and pulling out bone fragments. My healing magic did the trick. Visibly making the red muscles twitch and reconnect themselves.
My eyes shone under the magical spectacle I was doing.
Damage that would take months and even an operation to heal was healing in seconds. The bones... The cracks are magically vanishing.
After finishing with the arms. The shaman quieted down. His muffled groans growing still. And his movements stopping.
Looks like the shaman understands what's happening.
Good.
I turned my attention to the pesky dagger stuck in. It was poisoned. No doubt that even if I remove it and reseal the wound. Remnant poison would still travel along the poor shaman's veins.
"Human this concoction can suppress the poison. If we let the shaman drink it now he would stabilize." The leader of the lizard women advised me. And offered up a small little wooden bowl filled with a mysterious green liquid.
Unlike other lizard women. The leader wore a small trinket on her head. A flower if you will.
I looked at the concoction.
"That's not gonna work so easily. Prepare two bowls. One full of warm water, fill it with salt and the other empty."
"Why go to such lengths? This concoction woul-"
"Lady... I am not going to risk anything. The shaman needs to be able to function well enough after I heal him. And do not underestimate the poison."
Everything's been planned out and everything's falling into place. The shaman would die. The two chieftains would undoubtedly kill the other but be extremely frail afterward.
Massive losses for the two sides. Leading up to two weakened lizardman tribe.
Good thing I was around. If not... Then things would've proceeded according to the dev's plotline.
I've changed something major. At least for this small backwater area.
They followed and prepared the items I prescribed.
"This will hurt. A lot. And it would feel weird as well. Bear it." I mentioned to the shaman who stared silently at me. Those wizened eyes were creepy.
Resembling those of a hawk. Able to see through one's prey.
I rinsed my mouth with a little warm salt water.
Pulled out the knife and drew my face close to the wound spurting disgusting ichor and yellow puss.
I started sucking. And gnawing away on the wound.
Riiip! Tearing away infected chunks of flesh.
The shaman growled but bore it. The lady lizards looked away. Unable to watch.
I looked like a ravenous beast feasting on the lizardman.
Some people say you should suck the poison out. And some say you shouldn't as it would get infected.
I've put that thing into mind. I'm no doctor.
I'm just a quack that could really heal people.
And a quack has stupid methods.
By sucking out the puss and tearing off chunks of infected flesh. I'm reducing the amount of work the shaman's body has to do.
I spat a mouthful of ichor and puss onto the empty bowl. Rinsed my mouth with warm salinated water and spat on the ground.
I repeated this crude method of sucking out the contaminants. And when I noticed that not much puss was flowing out. And was replaced by red blood. I cast a single heal spell on the stab wound. Staunching the bleeding.
I grabbed the supposed antidote. I rinsed my mouth first and spat on the ground.
I drank half of the contents to keep myself from being poisoned. And I made the shaman drink the rest.
A few seconds after the shaman downed the bowl of elixir. I cast a lot of heals on the stab wound. Closing it fully.
The lizard ladies removed the gag on the shaman. The shaman jumped down. Felt his healed chest and even flexed his biceps a little.
"Such a crude healing method. Nonetheless, it worked. And the poison is still there. But you've bought me enough time to be able to conjure up my own cure. You really are an interesting child Dominic." The shaman smirked at me. Eyeing me with a strange glint in his green eyes.
"You know me?"
This shaman knows my name? Ah right... They sent spies to look at me.
A little detail that I hated a little.
Privacy! It exists! And you're violating mine!
"My name is Ruda'ar. And to answer your inquisition, ah yes. Certainly, I do. I can sense that you're somewhat..." The shaman tapped his chin. The lower part at the end of his long snout.
"Different."
Ruda'ar smiled at me. A toothy grin showcasing rows of pearly razor-sharp teeth.
I frowned a little. Why do I feel like this shaman is more dangerous than the chief...