RE:volt! Chapter 15: Day Before The Pyre
"Poor child." a frail elderly woman wearing a white robe with a collar around her neck said as she examined Ark in the dimly lit holding cell. "He has a fever, but besides that nothing is wrong with him. I can lock him in the hospital for a few days to make sure his sickness doesn't spread to others."
Ark inwardly frowned. Although his inner wounds seemed to have healed thanks to his newly awakened status, his body was exhibiting signs, signs no slave wanted to display.
Sickness.
"Are you sure all he has is a fever?" Ninety-Nine asked, he and the apothecary both unaware that Ark's elevated body temperature was due the sudden influx of energy that had occurred within the space moments prior. "What about all this blood?"
The man gestured to Ark's rags stained with crimson with the floor in front of him decorated with drops of red ichor that was beginning to brown.
"I'm just a humble salve maker. His injuries aren't too severe, only his fever." The apothecary said with Ark staring at her, something about the elderly woman sending a chill down his spine. "I will write a profile, who is his overseer?"
"Knight Bruno." Ninety-Nine replied, a worried look on his face.
"For the last time, I'm fine." Ark interjected as Cid the blacksmith walked over with a newly minted collar in his hands. He leaned down, undoing Ark's broken collar and slapping the new one in place as the apothecary quickly left.
"It's done, now get out of my shop." Cid replied with his hoarse voice.
Ninety-Nine scowled. "Can't you see the kid's injured?"
"Can't you see I don't care?" Cid replied, standing at the door and tossing Ninety-Nine a key. "The apothecary says he can walk, he says he's fine, now get out of my damn workshop before he gets me sick. I got orders to fulfill before we all get lashings."
"Tsk." Ninety-Nine replied, knowing the grumpy smith was right as he undid Ark's chains.
"You're one tough bastard kid." Ninety-Nine said, helping Ark to his feet who seemed to be struggling. "Can you stand?"
"I'm fine. Just…" Ark replied, the boy feeling woozy. "Get me to where I need to go."
"Right on then." Ninety-Nine replied, helping Ark out of the holding cell, however, as the two left, Cid didn't leave the holding cell. Instead he stood at the entrance staring, gazing at the stone wall in the back where the iron chains were bolted in.
The blacksmith frowned, walking across the room where he stood where Ark once sat. He crouched down, picking up the chains and rubbing his coarse hands over the hairline cracks in the metal and the space that seemed to ooze with mana that was rapidly fading.
While not a mana user himself, Cid possessed an extensive knowledge of mana and had a nose for sniffing out the odorless energy. A trait brought on by years of dealing with mana users in his previous occupation before his gambling debts caught up to him.
Did the kid activate his mana core?
Did the kid have a breakthrough?
These were the kinds of questions racing through Cid's mind as the old man stood up and rubbed the stone brick that had been slightly pulled forward from out of the wall.
Impossible. Cid said to himself. If he had activated his core I would have sensed it.
But there was definitely mana. Now the question was… should he report this?
"Eh. Fuck it, not my problem." Cid said, standing up and closing the door, looking down at the broken collar in his hand.
****
Walking through the estate towards the Hospital Ark drew gazes from the field slaves as he moved into the rickety wooden hovel used to treat slaves. Although it was called a hospital, in reality it was an isolation ward, a place set up to isolate infectious or ill slaves from the rest of their brethren. A place where most slaves went to die and were then cremated or shipped off to have their bodies harvested.
Entering into the building, Ark was immediately hit with the stench of ash and blood. The walls of the decrepit building emitting an aura of pain and misery.
With Ninety-Nine"s help, Ark made it past the reception area where he entered into a long dark hallway. Glancing left and right, Ark could make out various incapacitated slaves. From broken bones, fevers, to some laying in pools of blood. Ark could see them clearly through the iron bars that separated them and freedom.
Every one of them would soon die.
The price of medicine and treatment was far more costly than the price of a slave. And although the slaves that worked in the Hospital were called apothecaries, they were little more than white-clad undertakers and butchers.
Ark was then deposited in his own cell, laid down on a bed of elevated hay as the Apothecary brought in a pail of water and several cloths.
"You'll be ok." Ninety-Nine said, taking one last look at Ark before leaving.
"Hi dearie. I'm Healer Marible." The apothecary said, the elderly woman smiling at Ark with a worn and leathery face. Perhaps the first time he'd seen anyone smile at him with genuine concern outside of Nine. She placed a wet cloth on his head, the cool rag like an arctic breeze on Ark's burning forehead. As she dropped the cloth and Ark unconsciously relaxed, the woman began tending and wiping his bloody wounds, cleaning his injuries. "You poor child."
"It's… fine." Ark said as the touch of his wounds being cleaned made him wince.
"Who did this to you?" The collared woman asked with worry and concern in her voice.
"Knight Bruno." Ark replied. "But I'm fine, honest."
Ark tried to sit up, but was immediately pushed down by the elderly woman.
"Ah, he can be a bit zealous in his work. You poor poor child, you mustn't blame him you know. He does this for your own benefit. Discipline is good for the soul." Marible said, humming to herself as she cleaned Ark's wounds. "Not to worry, Auntie Marible is here now. I'll get you all cleaned up."
"Yeah… thanks." Ark replied, a feeling of unease settling on him as he eyed the elderly woman and her seemingly soulless gaze.
Something was off about her.
But Ark couldn't figure out what it was. Soon a loud rumbling sound could be heard emanating from Ark's stomach, causing the elderly woman to chuckle.
"Are you hungry?" Marible asked.
"Yes." Ark replied, not realizing that activating his core had taken so much out of him.
"Stay right here dearie, your auntie will be right back." Marible smiled, taking off to go fetch Ark food. As the iron gate closed with a click, Ark sat up, removing the cloth off his head as he narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.