"What did you say? Brent fell sick after going back to his quarters yesterday? Is everything alright?" Because everyone was either busy or too tired after returning, nobody noticed what happened until today's morning.
Brent would likely suffer longer if he's not sharing the quarters with three other recruits. Luckily, one of the recruits noticed his symptom early and brought him to the Medical Division for treatment.
From what Ashen and Stolas were told, the reason for Brent getting sick was caused by the poison used by the goblins. It was believed that Brent was poisoned during the fight yesterday. But because the toxin was too diluted, it took much longer than the usual to react.
Although weakened, the poison is still capable of causing fever, stomachache, numbness across his wounds, and muscle pain all over Brent's body. And because it acted slower than usual, the symptoms made Brent mix it up with other sicknesses.
While the poison isn't strong enough to take his life, it can still force Brent to recuperate on the medical bed for two to three days.
With one member less for the days to come, Hespar decided to call off their plan to enter the wilderness again. With four days to go and only eight more Mountain Lizards to capture before completing the mission, the mission can be completed anytime.
Of course, Hespar would prefer to have at least six people before going out to ensure complete protection over one another.
His only option was to see if Shane, Lewis, Fulham, or Shelly was available to help by substituting Brent's position. While one person agreeing would do the job, Hespar hoped everyone was interested in helping because that would make the assignment proceed faster.
He requested a meeting with everyone in the afternoon before following the others to the Medicinal Division. Still, Hespar didn't specify that their attendance was compulsory.
"How are you right now?" Hespar asked when he got into the tent Brent was in. He was surprised to see how frail Brent looked after suffering from the goblin's poison. Also in the tent were three other recruits, all suffering from a degree of goblin's poison.
This allowed Hespar to understand how important it was to carry at least one vial of antidote with them when exploring the wilderness.
Still, the poison from goblins is relatively easy to cure. The poison concoction recipe is always the same, with just one to two differences due to the poisonous plants growing around their habitat.
The difficulty will only grow if the pack has a Goblin Witch Doctor in their ranks. But for the goblins to have such a unique evolution, the habitat must be overwhelmed by medical and poisonous plants. Without a suitable living habitat, the possibility of it happening is rarer than hitting a lottery.
"I'm... Urgh... Getting better. Sorry for creating more trouble for everyone." said Brent. He wanted to say much more, but the nauseating symptom made him unable to.
"Don't worry. Just focus on getting well for now." Hespar replied. As the group was not at the comfortable stage yet, nobody made any jokes or comments about breaking the ice between them. The atmosphere between them is still as professional as it should be.
Until...
"You're here?" a familiar voice came into the room. Only now did Hespar notice that this medical tent belonged to none other than Selene and her groups of supporting recruits. It seems that this was the way how Medical Division operates.
"H - Hello, Selene." Hespar awkwardly greeted Selene, who had some medical tools in her hand. She looked a little more professional than yesterday, with a cloth covering her nose to the jaw and a bandana to stop her hair from moving around.
Even with two head accessories covering her beautiful face, her eyes and part of the cheeks alone were enough to let Hespar recognizes her. And while Hespar is still looking awkward, the others take note of this sight.
This might be the first and most memorable one for them because Hespar seems vulnerable in front of this nurse.
"I can't believe all of you didn't notice that he's poisoned. Did the lesson regarding goblin and their behavior all go down into the cesspit after graduating from the academy? Shouldn't you, out of all the others on your team, be more concerning in this matter?" Selene said.
She started to lecture Hespar while changing the medicinal paste on Brent. And from her tone, it seems something else is motivating her to do so.
"This is indeed my part to blame. Sorry, Brent." Hespar adjusted his eyesight to Brent and apologized.
(Pshhh... Pshhh...)
Ashen sneakily elbowed Stolas and exchanged a winking signal with him. The two seem to be hinting about something with one another.
"Unrelated people should go out. This is a recuperation tent, not a party place. If you guys wanna hold a party, go get your approval from your respective division. You're the leader, correct?" Selene continued.
Her fierce gaze made Ashen, Stolas, Foster, and Quinn quickly escape from the tent before further warning, leaving only Hespar to deal with the aftermath.
"Medical fee and the Antidote cost. Two silver coin pieces. He should be healthy enough to be discharged tomorrow." Selene said and showed her inner palm at Hespar.
"Oh..." Hespar quickly rummages in his pocket for the two silver coin pieces and places them in Selene's hand. With two silver poorer, Hespar is only left with three silver coin pieces for the remaining days until the first of next month.
"Alright. Come with me." Selene continued. It seems her mood is yet to recover from yesterday.
Calling him over to her table, Selene tossed him a can of greyish powder. The word "Anti-Inflammation Powder" was printed on the container.
The content inside this can was made from the box of guts Hespar gave to Selene yesterday. Knowing that Hespar would require them, she used some time before sleeping to manufacture a part of it.
Of course, she had no idea Hespar would come to her today due to Brent's matter.
"WOW!" Hespar was shocked. He had no idea that this powder could be made in one night. But how could he know that Selene failed four of her five attempts just to make the Anti-Inflammation Powder?
"Alright. You have what I call you to stay for. Now go back. I need to handle my other patients too." Selene said. Because her face was covered with a piece of cloth from nose down, it was difficult for Hespar to guess her mood.
Feel that he's been a bother to Selene and her fellow colleagues, Hespar excused himself after getting the can of Anti-Inflammation Powder. He had no idea Selene was at the edge of losing her breath from all her nervousness.
(Huh! I could've fainted if he stayed for another 15-20 seconds. How can it be coincident that his party member is one of our patients?)
Selene's chest was palpitating nonstop from the flustering and awkward exchange between her and Hespar. Of course, they were caused by herself, as her head started thinking nonsense when she saw Hespar.
Meanwhile, Hespar was still oblivious to whatever happening in Selene's mind. Using the same route on his trip back brings Hespar straight to where his quarter is situated.
The others were messing around inside the room when he walked in. It seems that only Fulham was available to respond to his call. From what he was told by Ashen, Shane and Lewis are out of the eleventh camp right now, while Shelly is busy with her own assignment.
"Recruit Fulham, responding for the meeting call." Fulham immediately greets Hespar politely. The others soon followed as the atmosphere in this room got serious.
"Thank you for responding to my summon. Did the others share with you roughly about my reason for calling you over?" Hespar asked. Putting his trust over the others to explain the details, Hespar is hoping he can skip some of the steps and go straight to the important topic.
"Yes. I was told that Brent was injured due to the goblin's poison. I was also told we're eight Mountain Lizards away from finishing the supply procuring assignment." Fulham replied. Unlike the first time when he had an air of superiority, Fulham sounded very respectfully right now.
The haughty tone in his words was gone today while speaking with Hespar.
"In that case, I'll go straight to the main topic. Do you think you can replace Brent temporarily? He's likely returning to the team earliest by tomorrow. Still, I don't mind having another member in the party as we try to complete this assignment." said Hespar.
"I don't mind. My assignment was done, so I can be ready at any time. Are we going out today?" Fulham asked. It seemed he was ready for this by the time he came over.
"What do all of you think? Do you need some time to prepare?" Hespar asked. He knew that everyone was somewhat disorganized after hearing what happened to Brent.
"We're ready to go whenever you give the order, Sir!" they quickly responded to Hespar's question. It seems they had been preparing while Hespar was entertaining Selene. The whole team is ready to go out with one word from Hespar.
"In that case, let us go out now. Let's aim for around two to four lizards for today." Hespar nodded and gave the order to go out.
Using the same route, the newly formed group of six arrived at the mountainous zone without hindrance. They began to search for the Mountain Lizards nearby but had no luck until they encountered a single wild wolf.
"Why would a Forest Wolf wander so far to the mountain zone? Did something happen?" Hespar felt something was off.
Still, nothing could stop them from going forward and capturing the poor Forest Wolf before it could escape.