As I'm making my way into the small village I see a bunch of shoddily dressed men with spears approach me with obvious caution in their step, can't blame em though, a giant bald human steps out of a forest with "S" rank monsters littering it? Caution should be advised…..
So I slow my approach some to make sure I don't elevate this situation to much, not that i fear any of them, honestly turning this whole village into a crater would take me little more effort than it would to swing an axe….
We are finally with 10 meters of each other and as if we have some sort of mutual understanding we stop at that distance, for me it's more to give them the illusion of safety than anything else but it will keep the conversation as civil as it could be in this "tense" situation
The shoddy beastkin men whisper to each other about what I could possibly want and other general gossip but almost immediately after one steps forward with what looks like bear ears on top of his head and a small presence of authority, clearly the leader to start our conversation…
Bearman " greetings traveller, I apologise for coming out in a force with what could be taken as less than friendly, but times are tough and we have been spurned before, so might I ask your name and reason for coming out of those cursed woods?"
I've decided to go by the name "knox" from now on, it was an old avatar I used to have from a game I played as kid back on earth, and I think it suits me well enough.
Knox " well hello there friend, I'm not offended at all at your show of force, in fact it's quiet wise, these are tough times we live in, my name is Knox and I'm just passing through on my way to the dwarvan kingdom for some business and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to point me to an inn for the night as to rest my weary bones...and for the reason I came from this direction was the small merchant caravan I was travelling with was attacked by some giant boars and I managed to flee…..I've been stuck in those woods for days and I'm just after some rest before I set off back on my way...I have gold if it's an issue about coin, but I'm not here to start trouble I assure you….."
That seemed to calm down the rabble a bit from the clucking hens that are his "men" but he still seems a little sceptical, and I don't blame him…. Money talks
And I have literal hills of gold from my years of "service" , I may have wanted to help out the races but I was no fool, i ransacked every corrupt noble, every bandit hideout and everything in between over the years, and I didn't use much gold so it has accumulated in my space, along side various hard to acquire materials….
So I pull out a small pouch filled with about 10 gold coins from my "inventory" to the gasps of the small crowd, magic isn't really a beastkin thing…..some beastkin can use it but but it's more like certain breeds can….I probably should have use illusion magic to make myself look like a beastkin but I didn't really think of that…..never really been much of a schemer..
The bearman gained his bearings quicker than the rest as he seemed to ponder for a moment before resuming our conversation.
Bearman " was that space magic? Would it be alright to assume you know other forms of magic as well human? And I know it may be rude to ask but might I inquire if you know any healing magics?"
And yes it's considered rude to ask someone about their magic normally as it gives information about the person…..and information is key to keeping your weaknesses out of peoples hands in this world…. But I don't think this guy is asking for malicious purposes, not getting that vibe from him, it's more....desperation?
Knox " I dabble in a lot of magics... but I would say healing and space magics are my strong suite, why do you ask? Did you have someone in need of healing?"
I say dabble, but I can say with certainty that there is no one as good as me in healing magic on this continent, the only person who came close was the "holy maiden" and that was more to do with her forged equipment than actual skill... I'm the only one I know who could actually restore limbs without the use of some ancient "holy relic"
Not to worry about Victor though, he won't be getting this limb back any time soon, my axes are made with true ancient dragon bone and cursed adamantite, which one of its effects is to curse a wound to never heal….. I couldn't even imagine what the church would have to use up in rare materials to even have a hope of giving his leg back... but I can say with confidence that they won't pay that price….
The Bearman seemed to let a little hope show on his face as I let them know I "dabble" in healing magics.
Bearman " apologies friend my name is Winston, and we have had a few random attacks from "cursed beasts" lately so we had to be cautious, please follow us into the town"
"Cursed beast" normal monster who were infected with demonic magic, nasty stuff really, easy to spot though it's like magic rabies and the monster has a lingering shadow like smoke emit from its body and reddish eyes….. any beasts can fall from wyverns to rabbits….
So I follow Winston back into the town I overheard was called newel, as we chat about local beasts and what sort of infected with the curse….turns out only normal wolves which is easy enough to handle…
As we start making it in closer to the centre of town Winston let's me know he's the village chief and that his son and daughter were both "cursed" by being clawed by wolves in a random attack and they were fighting for their lives...easy enough to heal but I need to see what i get out of it...I'm not some hero who rescues everyone out of the goodness of his heart...been there and done that, it's not for me…. And it's not that I need anything but I don't want to set a principal that I do shit for free.
Knox " not to sound like a con man here Winston, and I'm positive I can solve your kids troubles with the cursed wounds, but what's in it for me exactly? I don't work for free…"
He didn't seem to surprised that I would ask for payment, it's only natural…. Beastkin have had to rely more on the humans church of atherix lately to help with the cursed beasts… I won't go as far to say they are a plague but they are tricky to clean out completely for normal people…
But I'm off topic, the atherix church charges non humans triple the amount of their already ludicrous prices for healing and light magics those greedy fucks, so me saying I want payment would normally scare anyone looking for some healing…
Winston seemed a little lost on what to offer me…
Winston " I'm sorry I'm not sure what I could offer you…..we don't have any gold or much food to spare with the war lasting so long and the majority of our men conscripted to the cause….. but name your price and I swear on my honour that I'll pay it…..one way or another"
I don't even know what to charge to be honest….I know this village has nothing to offer, it's been bled dry by the powers that rule for the war against the demons....that was not thing I never liked about the "rulers" they never seem to be hungry or desperate for money, only the people…. But I guess it's none of my business….
Knox " listen Winston, I'm not here to charge an arm and a leg for this….. how about this.... I'll stay in town for 3 days to recover from my woodland adventure, you just need to provide a roof and a bed…..and maybe a woman or 2….willing of course…..I don't want them forced into it, and in exchange I'll heal any cursed wound in the village for the next 3 days…"
Not just Winston but a few of the men around behind us light up too…..thought so, couldn't have been only the chiefs family who were wounded with demon rabies….I get somewhere to lay low with a roof over my head for a few days...I'm still not 100% so the rest would do me well….
And I know white knights who would be like "oh no your taking advantage of women!! Pig!!" But in this world and especially with that wars it's different..... mostly men died in those 30 years of war...women now outnumber men 9-1 so polygamy is a thing for most men now….women don't have it rough per se….it's just a lot more competition for a man Nowa days…
So I'm brought to an almost dilapidated wooden building closer to the centre of town….. and the cries of agony are getting louder and louder as we approach…..I'm guessing this is where they keep their wounded.
There's a few guards outside who just let us pass with no fuss as we make our way in to the building it's just one big open space with probably 30 people on the ground on furs and what not keeping them off the floors, and it smell like rot and death in here…..pretty standard stuff I would say..
Winston seems to cringe as he walks in and heads straight to the middle of the room of dying people to what looks like a kid around 16 years old who I assume is his son…. And next to him is a woman around, 18-20 both with blood soaked bandages covering their torso and looking in pain….
Well I suppose I better hold up my end of the deal so they won't complain…..I won't use light magic as the church will send out an inquisition squad if they catch even a rumour of anyone outside the church using light magic….. they seem to think it's their divine right to use it and anyone else using it is evil…..
I won't use nature magic…..it would give away clues to who I might be…..the church usually tolerates shamanistic and nature magic users.....by tolerate I mean secretly send out assassins after anyone else who can use any form of magic that would cut into their business….
So rune magic it is... I'll even set up a cleansing ward for them at no extra charge…..alright…..I won't use good materials…. Just normal rocks should be fine, should last at least a year with only the cleansing rune I plan to inscribe on them…
I turn to one of the guys who came out to confront me outside the village and let him know what I need…
Knox " hey buddy, can you get me 4 rocks…..let's say yay big and someone who's decently healthy and strong in the village….I'll need some of his or her blood to form some runes…."
He seemed confused at the first part and horrified at the second but nodded anyways and took off with a few of his buddies to grab rocks around the size of a party balloon…. I don't actually need the blood it's more for show than anything….. it will help the runes glow an eerie red, which would normally be bad…..but this isn't magic I'm known to use so if anyone asks about it…..it won't lead to me…
I guess I'll take a peek and see what I'm working with until those kids get back with the rocks and blood...