"Maru!! Are you alright?" Haru yelled as he came around the corner. Maru gave a shake of her head.
"I'm fine. Let's go back into the blacksmith. I want to buy that bow." she answered as she moved quickly. "We're running out of daylight, Haru." she said as he gave her a nod and followed her. They made their way back to the blacksmith and bought the bow with some arrows. Then they made their way out of town. Foraging went very well. They had enough for Maru to make quite a few potions. The two sat down to take a break.
"It seems we're doing better than expected and still have plenty of daylight." said Haru as he pulled out a canteen of water. He handed it to Maru so she could take a drink first, and then he drank.
"Yes. The mountains by Telan always have a fast regeneration rate." Maru answered. Haru stared at her with a questioning look.
"You mean they grow fast? I thought some of these took months to become what they are now??" he asked. She froze for a minute. Fast regeneration rate?? Of course, he's confused! He was right it took months for these to get where they needed to be. Obviously, she could not tell him that if you left the mountains in the game for a couple of minutes, then came back that they'd be back. Her response was taking too long, and she knew it.
"Someone must use a regeneration spell." she answered quickly. "Or used enchanted soil." Honestly, she had no clue if the soil could be enchanted. But she did not see a reason why it could not be. Maru hoped her reasoning was enough to cover her slip of the tongue. Thankfully, Haru was a general and not a farmer. He nodded.
"Why does anyone have to starve then if we can do this?" he asked. Maru shook her head.
"Not just anyone can do this. They'd have to be extremely powerful. It also takes up a lot of..." Maru paused, trying to think up what they would call the mana and health bar.
"Life force, miss? Even for enchanting the soil? I can understand the regeneration spell it's why not many use it. But an enchantment on soil would seem less draining?" he asked.
"Yes, you're quite right. I've only heard rumors about the soil and haven't seen it in practice, so I can't say for sure." she answered as she tried to start a fire. "Go gather some wood, please? That way, we can have one on potions as the other hunts." she said as she finally got a little fire to start and then added some natural kindling to it. Haru headed out to get some wood. She let out a sigh as he left. The guard she had up during all this time was starting to crumble near Haru, which meant she was becoming too comfortable with being around him. Now, she needed to think twice about everything she said. She already had to do that before, but it is much more difficult with someone you're with twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. They began taking turns between making the potions and hunting. Deciding it would be better to field dress everything in the same spot a good distance from where they had made their camp for doing potions. They had a nice spot by the river that ran down from the mountain. After field dressing their kill, they would place it in the cold river to help it keep fresh.
The sun was now starting to set. They were able to make a total of 20 potions that would heal any minor wound or sickness. They were able to get two deer and eight grouse. So they decided they would choose four families in need that would each receive 5 potions, half of a deer, and two grouse each. It was not much, but it would be something. Maru used a teleportation spell to send Haru back to town so he could bring the men of the families. That way, the two of them would not have to struggle to bring it all back to town. It also meant fewer people to recognize what they were doing. Maru spent the time splitting and packaging everything up. Her ears were starting to get cold, so she pulled her hood over her head. She was just finishing up when she could see movement coming towards her. Instead of hollering his name, she made a bird call. To which he answered back in the same call. They decided this was the best way to let each other know it was the other. From the fire, she could make out Haru's face, followed by a group of men. She gave them a smile.
"Welcome!" she said, stretching her arms out towards all the packed goods. The men all smiled and cheered. Some cried and told them how they had been struggling. There was one that Maru did not expect to see. It was a young human boy. According to Haru, his dad was lost on the battlefield. It would soon only be the boy and his sisters. Their mother laid dying on a cot when Haru arrived. Tears gathered in Maru's eyes. She pulled out some candy she had bought the day before and placed it in the boys hand. "Now, be sure to share with your sisters!" she said as she grabbed Haru. "Is it something the potions can heal?" she whispered. He shook his head in response. "What is your name, boy?"
"It's Makoto, miss." he answered quietly as he was fidgeting with the bag of candy.
"Makoto, what a fine name. Would you mind if I came and paid your mother a visit? My friend tells me she's ill and I want to see if I can help or not." said Maru. The boys eyes lit up with pure joy. "Now, Makoto, you need to understand that I may not be able to help at all. I'm not making any promises, but I would like to at least try if you would allow me?" The joy somewhat left his eyes but came back after a pause.
"A try is better than nothing, miss!" answered Makoto with tears welling up in his eyes. Maru gave him a sad smile and ruffled his hair. She looked towards Haru, who gave her a curt nod. With that, they packed up and went back to town with the group of men and Makoto. They waved goodbye to the other men and followed the little boy to a very small hut on the outside of town. This was already a bad sign. Those who were in huts on the outside of town were usually ones who had someone in the family sick with an incurable disease that could spread. She gave Haru a look of concern. Pulling out a couple of pieces of material, she gave one to Haru.
"Cover your face, Haru. You entered this hut earlier??" she asked, concerned. He held up another piece of material, letting her know that he had taken precautions. A sigh passed her lips. Elves were immune to most communicable diseases. However, there was one that she could not remember the name of for the life of her, that could be spread from human to elf that they had no cure for. It had happened to her character quite a few times. Since she never turned down someone in need. The game developers even put in a cool down timer before you could respawn.
They followed Makoto into the hut. The girls were long asleep now, but Makoto placed a piece of candy beside both of them.
"Makoto? Can you show me to your mother? Then Haru will help you take care of the meat." said Maru. The boy led her to the backroom, where a woman lay covered in hives, with heavy breathing and swelling in the face. An allergic reaction?? "Makoto, what has your mother ate in the last part of the day?"
"She hasn't, miss. Only sips of water and her medicine, the apothecary owner told her to increase it today since her symptoms were getting worse. He said she didn't have long.." he answered. Maru sat down beside the woman on the floor.
"Bring me the medicine now!" She yelled as she dug through her bag for a higher grade potion she had been saving for herself or Haru in case of emergency. Makoto brought her the medicine. Most of it was nothing uncommon in a generic medication until she realized it had a nutty smell to it. A nut allergy! Now that Maru was sure of it, she opened the potion. "Help me sit her up, Haru!" she said quickly. Haru moved to the other side of the woman and helped her lift the woman who began to choke more. Haru noticed the potion that she held. He began to object, but Maru cut him off. "She needs it more than us right now, and we can make more. Hopefully, it will work." she said as she poured it into the woman's mouth towards the side, hoping she wouldn't just cough it up.
Maru had no idea whether it would work for a food allergy. She had never encountered an allergic reaction in the game. There was nothing in the game that was relative to an epipen. They all held their breath as the woman became silent. For a minute, Maru was worried she was too late and the woman had passed away. Until the woman took a deep breath in. The hives and swelling were instantly gone. The woman had returned to her original appearance. Makoto, who had been holding back tears, now bawled beside his mother. Maru removed the material she had put around her face. Since it was now clear that it was safe. The woman opened her eyes. Makoto hugged her.
"Mom! Mom, you're alright! You're saved! She saved you!" Makoto yelled through tears.
"Makoto, she needs rest. So please be gentle." said Maru. The woman's eyes moved to Maru and Haru, who were now standing.
"Who...who are they?" the mother asked her son. Makoto looked towards them.
"They're the ones who saved you, Mom!" answered Makoto. The woman went to say thank you, but Maru waved her off. However, Makoto had jumped up and hugged onto her. The quick latch on made Maru step back, and her hood fell down. "Thank you so much!"
"Ky...kyy..." the woman stammered. Maru's eyes quickly shot to the woman whose own eyes were now huge, and she was pointing at Maru. Then, the woman quickly moved to her knees and bowed. "Lady Kyomi!!"