Shards of Old

For came back with another woman behind her. Both were breathing heavily, they definitely ran the whole way up.

Funnily enough, the other woman did not look like a medic to me. She was dressed just like all those other “monks” I saw on the premises, long red, hooded robes with the chainmail underneath. She also had some small pouches tied to her belt. As soon as they entered, the room got filled with a mix of herbal scents, spices and… smoke?

She instantly froze the second she saw me. I just bowed slightly and moved out of the way.

-Don’t mind him, Jacob is on the bed.

-Right away, miss - she muttered quietly and approached the unmoving body.

For followed her, carefully observing the woman.

She definitely looked at least somewhat competent. Checking pulse, looking for any wounds and so on. After a minute she started digging through one of her pouches and produced a small vial with water and something that I can only describe as a bunch of very small pinecones. She opened it and attempted to pour a few drops into his mouth, but it had no visible effect.

-While she’s doing her thing… - I turned my attention to For - you might want to interrogate the servants as well.

-Who? - she looked at me, puzzled.

I pointed to the full plate standing near the door.

-Whoever is bringing those.

-So you think he was poisoned? - she said, pulling the dagger out.

Where did she even get that from?

-Calm down, it’s… what the fuck are you…?

Before I even managed to react, she grabbed the “nurse”, who meanwhile managed to pull out an impressive array of vials with different herbal contents and was mixing something in a small bottle.

She grabbed her by the hair and I am pretty sure she was ready to slit her throat.

-You better start talking.

Both me and the woman looked at her, confused.

-I… I don’t understand master, I am doing what you asked me of… - she started stuttering, visibly shaken.

-Yeah, me neither. Care to explain?

-You said the servant bringing him the meals did it. That's her. She is the one responsible for our meals. Both making them, and bringing them to this tower.

-You have a doctor… or rather herbalist that doubles, or rather triples as a cook and a servant? - I asked, genuinely surprised. - Never mind that, let her out, I never said she did anything.

-You said…

-I only wanted to speak with the person, doesn’t mean she’s done anything.

For was not convinced, but she stopped pulling her hair, moving the hand to the neck instead.

How the hell does Jacob even work with her?

-Listen, I am pretty sure that if he was poisoned we both would be as well. Why wouldn’t she poison all the meals at once? And why would she come here willingly anyway? Besides, that one is not even touched and Jacob is… well, down, so how the fuck would that work.

-So why do you want to…

-She is the closest thing to the witness we got, and she was here not so long ago, so had to talk with him? Come one think before you pull out a dagger on someone.

-Rrgh…

She let her go. The herbalist, frozen in fear until now, took a step back and almost fell over, tripping over some furniture, but got caught by For again, this time without the weapon and hair pulling.

-I am… sorry. I acted hastily…

-You better raise her pay instead, maybe she won’t have to do three jobs at once.

I, of course, got ignored.

-No, I understand. You have to be shaken, finding master Jacob in this state… I honestly am as well. I can’t help but feel responsible too…

-You better explain yourself faster or she’s gonna try stabbing you again.

This time I was not gonna stop her, that definitely sounded suspicious.

-No, no, that's not what I meant - she instantly started backing up. - I just feel bad because I didn’t bother checking up on him earlier…

-You did not bring this to him today? - I approached the food and touched the plate. - It’s still warm. Who was that then?

-Yes, it was me, but I just left it by the door, as I was ordered to.

-By who?

-Master Jacob himself. Master said he will be indisposed in the next few days so I don’t need to bother him. But I didn’t expect this…

-Neither did he… - muttered For, still uncomfortably close to the woman.

-Have you seen anyone else around here then? Some visitors?

-No sir. Besides you that is.

-And when was the last time you spoke to him, or saw him… awake?

-About a week ago, or so? He said he was gonna visit you and take a rest.

-Ah. Well yeah, he dropped off the rest of my belongings… Well fuck. He did look kind of weak, but not that much different than when you last saw him - I said to For.

-If it was not you…

-I told you I have not done anything.

-Then I have no idea.

-Well she is the doctor, right? Have you found anything?

-I am an herbalist, sir. But yes, I think I know. It just looks like mana starvation.

-That checks out - For nodded. - That’s why he went to rest in the first place.

-But I have never seen it be that severe. If he’s been like this for a week… I don’t know…

-How do you know how long he’s been like this?

-I have been delivering meals every day. Master has not touched his food for a week. At first I thought he was just out somewhere, but…

-That doesn’t make any sense… - For started muttering to herself. - Why would that put him in a coma…

-By the way, what were you mixing in there - I gestured towards the army of vials - before you were… interrupted?

-Oh! Right! - she perked up and went back to browsing through her supplies. - I was making some incense. I specialize in different kinds of stimulants and potions, and from my experience incense has the strongest effect, especially on unconscious people. It’s almost ready…

She continued adding something, what I assume was crushed dried herbs, to one of her vials, and after about a minute she poured the contents onto a small container, putting it on the floor right next to the bed into a small pile.

-Geksu.

A small ember flew from her hand, igniting the herbs.

-This is the strongest thing I am able to make. If this won't work, I don’t know what will.

I leaned over, taking a sniff and almost immediately pulled backwards. The smell was somewhat sweet, but definitely powerful. I am no herbalist, but I doubted that something like that would wake anyone. To be honest, it felt more calming than energizing, but what the hell do I know?

Soon the whole room was filled with smoke, and I couldn’t help but to open the door to take a breath. For apparently felt the same, because she followed me.

-So, this is your best healer? - I asked while already on the staircase.

-Not exactly - her voice was a bit raspy and eyes a bit red, thanks to the smoke.

-Another secret?

-Eh, not exactly… A friend… Sort of… A last resort, really. Don’t want to use my father’s contacts if I don’t have to… But I guess that’s what I get for being so worthless.

That caught me off-guard.

-Woah, what’s up with sudden self-deprecation?

She… smiled?

-I dunno… I feel sort of… calm all of the sudden… You know… thanks for stopping me before… I don’t know what would’ve happened if I stabbed her…

She leaned towards me, almost falling down the stairs, before I caught her.

-Okay, something is definitely not right. Wait a second…

I looked inside the room and at the herbalist. And yeah, she was in the exact same state as For, maybe even worse, barely holding onto the chair next to the bed.

-For fuck sake, you stupid hippie…

I swiftly walked to the bed and kicked the smoldering remains of the “incense”, extinguishing it completely. She didn’t even look at me, staring at the ceiling.

-And now instead of one, I have three mentally away people. Amazing.

-Oh, come on, I am not that…

Before she finished the sentence she tripped on her own dress, almost slamming her head into the door frame.

-Damn it.

-Yeah, damn it alright. Eh come on, I’ll help you get to your room, you need to rest.

-Riight, I have to send the message to...

-You better wake up completely before you message anyone…

I led her back upstairs or rather dragged. Although with a bit of difficulty, she opened the door, saying:

-Just give me a minute, I’ll get back to you after I call her…

And disappeared inside.

One less to worry about. Now I had to deal with the dealer.

The herbalist was still on the chair in the exact same position. Although the smoke and the smell dispersed quite a bit already, she was still unresponsive. As was Jacob, the “therapy” didn’t work after all, to no one's surprise.

At first I wanted to carry her but having one arm makes that a bit difficult. I wanted to place her somewhere that is not this room and the closest bed was sadly mine…

Groaning, I dragged her out of the chair and started leading her back downstairs. Halfway to my room I already was regretting that decision and considered using magic to help myself a bit, but I persevered.

It took me a good chunk of time. I left her in my room, but first I took all my belongings with me, just to be safe, and locked the door behind me. She probably can unlock them on her own anyway, that is if she is in her right mind. At least I thought so.

I went back to Jacob’s room, to check up how exactly this treatment worked on him, but as before, he did not betray any signs of change, still lying there like a dead body. Well, maybe he was breathing a bit more deeply but that was all.

I shoved the rest of the ashes under the bed and started walking upstairs, to check up on For, while quietly complaining to myself about this new role of babysitter that I suddenly just got promoted to.

Upstairs, the door was still open, but I knocked anyway, just to be safe. There was no answer, so I let myself in.

For a second I thought I entered the wrong room, because it definitely did not look like a living quarters. The whole chamber consisted of bookcases and only bookcases. I can only assume it had a similar shape to the ones below, but I could not know for sure, because the books were even piled on top of the furniture and on the floor, completely blocking the view further than a meter and creating a maze. I bet you could even get lost there. As I started wondering how in the hell did For in her current state manage to get through this, I spotted the distinct trail of books on the floor, that either fell down from the shelves or were from some knocked down stacks on the floor.

Following those breadcrumbs I started making my way to what looked like the center of the room, and apparently another set of stairs. I arrived just as For was trying to open the hatch to the even higher floor.

-You alright? - I asked as she finally managed to unlock it.

-Mostly. Give me about a minute and we will be able to sort out this mess… Make yourself at home…

With that she disappeared somewhere above.

I tried taking a peek, maybe seeing what’s upstairs but I only could see a part of yet another bookcase, behind which she disappeared.

-What the hell am I getting myself into again… - I sighed and sat on the stairs, waiting patiently.

It definitely took more than a minute. I managed to read through all the book titles that were in my immediate vicinity and even started to contemplate if I should go and start reading one, but none seemed like it was interesting, so as soon as I heard some noise and cursing from upstairs, I perked up.

For emerged from the hatch, holding something that looked like a very dirty piece of paper.

-Done… She will be here in, like an hour or so…

-You had another mage that you could just call in to teleport me out and you made me sit here?

-No. I didn’t know she could get here that fast, I thought it's gonna take her at least a week to find someone who can teleport her. Also this was a one time thing, for emergency use only.

-One time thing?

-An old gift. I am not using something like this on you, even if we are currently bound to each other.

-What?

-What? Listen, take this - she handed me the paper she had with her. - I am currently a little bit… ah, tired, so you will have to do the honors and welcome the guest. Bring her to Jacob.

-And this? - I looked at the paper

-This is the letter I just wrote that explains most of what happened, along with my seal, so the guards won’t bother you and all that. It will come in handy. Heh.

-I kinda doubt that… - I ignored the obvious joke.

-Why?

I raised the paper slowly, holding it by the edge and letting it unfurl right in front of her face.

-Oh.

-Yeah. Oh.

The “letter” was mostly unreadable - besides a few words, the only thing visible were large ink stains. No wonder it looked like a dirty piece of trash at first glance.

-I mean I was in a hurry… I had to spill the ink bottle, damn it… Well, no matter, here

she pulled out her necklace that was suspiciously covered in ink as well.

-This is my seal so it's basically the same. If anyone bothers you just show them this and you’ll be fiiine.

I gingerly took the necklace, trying to not get the ink on myself as well. Now I noticed that not only her necklace and the paper were completely covered with ink. Both of her hands and a large part of the dress were absolutely covered with stains. How big was that ink bottle?

-Okay, but why are you giving this to me? What do I have to do with all this?

-Whaat? You are greeting our guest of course! I am a little bit… sleepy, yeah that's it, so I’m gonna go take a nap.

-Yeah, I figured that much, but don’t you have some servants for this?

-Pfff, servants. Why bother, I have you right here and you are the perfect man for the job!

-Aha.

-Come on, don’t sell yourself short, the great leader of Red Mages asks for your assistance, it’s an honor, or something like that…

-Mhm.

-Don’t you “mhm” me! Okay, I might be joking a little bit, but you are the only person that I trust right now!

-And since when?

-Since you dragged my fucked up ass up the stairs and didn’t try anything stupid during all your stay… that I know of… Okay, I admit I might have been a bit rude before… but that’s in the past… Come on, don’t be like that…

I had a distinct feeling that talking to her in this state was pointless so I just nodded.

-Sure, not like I have much of a choice… So this is your seal… this is your emblem or something?

-Sort of… It’s my father’s… but that’s a longer story, and I am done with today. Goodnight.

Before I managed to react, she patted my shoulder, leaving a large inkstain right where my crystal stump was and wobbingly started climbing the stairs up.

I sighed and waited for a second until she disappeared behind the bookshelf upstairs, before I grabbed the most useless-looking piece of paper in the vicinity that was not the ink-stained letter and wiped the necklace along with my own arm, with a varied degree of success and left the room.

I couldn’t help but wonder, what in the hell did that woman make that “incense” from?

I took a peek into both rooms with, ehm, absent, people. To no one’s surprise, nothing changed. Jacob was still lying like he was dead and the herbalist was sleeping like she was dead.

I closed the doors and focused on a more interesting subject - the necklace.

I can’t even begin to comprehend how and why she would think giving me that was a good idea, but, hey, I got what I wanted. Well, mostly. I wanted to ask her about it more, but inspecting it up close was still useful.

I pulled out both of them, and my earlier observations appeared indeed correct - they both were identical. The “seal” as she called it, was just what I just thought was just a small engraving on the back side of the gem. I didn’t even notice it before, since it was out of plain sight and definitely would not come to my mind that it is to be used as one. It was just a small image of a cracked boulder, without any letters or other markings. Not the greatest artistic work. To be honest, it didn’t even look hard to counterfeit.

Now, that brought a different question. Why in the hell did Melle have it as well? Didn’t she say it was her husband’s or something? Was it a fake?

Those questions had to wait, because lost in my thoughts I already managed to reach the library, so I had to get ready for an unavoidable confrontation with the guards, or whoever was stationed there.

Luckily, it went smoothly. Pulling the necklace out from my pocket was enough to completely change the demeanor of the whole staff inside - the instantly started saluting and loudly exclaimed:

-We are under your command, sir!

I didn’t bother explaining to them the whole situation, not like it was a good idea anyway. I just briefly said that I am to receive the guest who is gonna teleport here soon and am gonna escort them to the tower where For and Jacob are. They insisted on escorting them as well, but I managed to convince them that it’s not needed. After all, I don’t think seeing their leader in her current state was gonna work well on their morale.

After a good few minutes of talking he finally left me alone, saying that he will notify me if anyone arrives, and so I sat back at my usual spot, waiting.

Bored, I started playing around with the necklace, while, just to be safe, hiding my own. For the first time I was tempted to actually try and fulfill the request of that hag, or at least try and find her again. Not like I had much of a direction to follow in this world, besides trying to learn as much as possible. Last time I did not really have an opportunity to ask about much, and now I at least had some basic knowledge so I at least knew what to ask.

Just to pass the time, I started roaming the library a bit, this time without being stalked by a bunch of armored guards, which was nice for a change. Seeing the opportunity I approached the section that the guards used to chase me off from. Instead of shooing me once more, they said:

-You don’t have to check that for yourself, you will be notified whenever any news arrives.

I was about to back off, but then he looked behind his shoulder and stated:

-Ah. My mistake. Please stand back then.

I was going to ask what the hell was he on about, but then noticed that one of the books in the section in question started glowing.

He picked up the book and started to leaf through it, and as he finally found what he was looking for, opening it widely and placing it right in front of us on the floor, quickly stepping back.

Right in front of the tome, the floor started to distort, wobble and the opening started to form.

Few seconds later, the full fledged portal opened, a bit smaller than the one I got there through, but a bit more… round, almost reminding me of a sewer hatch. Finally, a hand emerged from the ground and someone started to climb out.

-Someone help me, would you?

The voice was, as expected, female, while a bit distorted because of the magic, it did not sound very young.

I looked at the guards.

-Come on, I kinda am not in the best shape to help - I pointed to my missing arm and they instantly jumped towards the opening, giving the woman a hand.

From the portal emerged an older woman, dressed in something that reminded me of some old night gown. The dress was completely white and plain, but didn’t look cheap.

After she finally emerged completely and sighed, thanking the armored people that helped her climb out, she looked at me with absolute surprise.

-Yeah, that makes sense - I just said to myself, looking now at the slack jawed Melle standing in front of me. - We meet again.