Azarinth Healer: Book One - A LitRPG Adventure, page 8
Activating her Reconstruction spell, her hand glowed a pale blue. She touched his leg and watched as the wound closed. The blood stopped pouring out, and slowly the cut disappeared. She was too shell-shocked to marvel at the magic she had just performed. Before she could finish though, a rough, calloused hand stopped her.
“That’s enough for me. Save your mana for others.”
The man once again nodded to her and then lay back and closed his eyes. Continuing in a kind of fog, Ilea healed three more people in immediate danger. None of the guards seemed to have died.
She was removing an arrow from a particularly hairy guard’s arm and applying her healing when she received a notification.
‘ding’ Reconstruction has reached lvl 3
“That’s everyone, I think. Thanks.”
Holding his hand out to her, the guard who had talked to her first over by the bushes offered his name, along with a weary smile.
“I’m Dale. You saved us some expensive potions by being here, lady healer. And that blue magic is very interesting. Haven’t ever seen anything like it.”
She shook his hand and offered her own name.
“Ilea Spears, no worries. Glad I could help. I can finish up healing the badly injured people if you want me to.”
He shook his head.
“They’ll heal in time. Let them suffer a bit. Even though they’re all experienced, it’s sometimes good to be reminded that you’re not immortal.”
She nodded at that and looked around, unsure what to do next.
Dale must have seen her expression because he continued. “You can come back to Riverwatch with us. Maybe we can get you some proper clothes,” he said with a wink and a genuine smile. “We’ll clean up here and then move back. Don’t stray too far if you want to come. Payment for your services is in the city.”
Nodding at him, she started to walk down the road, quickly finding what she was looking for.
The corpse still lay there, blood coloring the road. Guts protruded from the open wound. The shoulder was split, nearly to the stomach. Trying to keep herself from retching, Ilea made herself look at the corpse.
This was all it had taken to end her elation. Make her freeze like she had when she first saw the drake. She never wanted to feel that way again. She had thought she had moved past that. Apparently, there was still work to be done.
She stood there for a long time. The guards around her stripped the adventurers of any gear and loaded both the corpses and the gear onto some of the wagons that were still working. The broken ones were burned. Someone nudged her shoulder. Turning to the source of the touch, Ilea saw the overly tall female guard. The guard motioned to the corpse.
“You wanna keep that?”
Shaking her head, Ilea simply turned around and nodded to herself.
This’ll need some time to get used to. Fighting against people as a sport is one thing, killing though…
The road was cleared fast, the guards obviously experienced. Ilea guessed they were all veterans. They clear the corpses like it’s a job.
“Let’s get moving, people!” Dale shouted, making Ilea look up.
And so they did.
Walking next to some of the guards, Ilea stayed silent. She was still processing the recent events. They joked around but still seemed poised, ready to react at a moment’s notice.
Ilea didn’t exactly know what she should say to these people. Asking about their location would raise a lot of flags she didn’t exactly want to present. Asking what world this was would create even more…
“So what makes a healer travel these roads alone?” Dale said, suddenly appearing next to her, not giving her the time to think of something.
“I’ve been traveling alone for quite a while now. I’m a pretty fast runner,” she finished with a smile.
Laughing, Dale continued, “I suppose you are. Heard you darted in and out of the fight at the start. Impressive. I won’t ask why you did that. Just don’t recklessly risk your life.”
She nodded as he continued.
“And, just saying, if you were one of my own healers, you’d get cleaning duties for a month for a stunt like that.”
Feeling a bit ashamed, Ilea only nodded again.
I did freeze in the fight, and I suppose with him not knowing about my abilities, it did look like a helpless healer joined in close-quarters fighting, which is incredibly stupid. Clerics are usually very vulnerable in RPGs. Assume that’s true in this world too. I get the feeling I’m a lot sturdier than most healers, but better not say anything else about that.
However, Dale didn’t pry further and simply walked on.
“Can I ask you to show me a place where I can get some cheap clothes and a backpack?” she asked, eager for a change of subject.
Hearing her question, Dale nodded. “You’ll get a couple silver for your service today. And I suppose nobody will miss a couple things looted from the adventurers. There are several shops if you don’t want to search through the leftover stuff.”
“Thank you. I’m a bit short on money at the moment. Would be glad to take that opportunity.” Thinking on it, she smiled.
I don’t really know how I’m doing on money exactly. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. This guy is a good man though, thankfully. Wouldn’t want to stand against this squad.
Walking for two hours, the sound of running water grew in her ears. It slowly became louder until a roaring river could be seen in the distance. Some trees dotted the green landscape. It was already early evening, the sky darkening into a deep orange.
After another half an hour, Ilea spotted Riverwatch: a walled city half built into the mountain she’d been trying to reach for the past week. I was right after all… rivers and plains mean people. The river flowed up to the city and then turned a sharp right, running alongside the high outer city wall.
Ilea didn’t talk much with the other guards for the rest of the journey. She was still processing the fight – especially the rogue dying in front of her.
On arriving at the city, the group was greeted at the gate. Simple stone walls, reaching at least five meters in height, protected the settlement. The gateway was open, but guards were stationed there to check arriving travelers. Some stood atop the walls, checking the vicinity with their bows at the ready. The guards were similarly dressed to Ilea’s new companions and waved them in without a second glance.
The noise instantly changed when they went past the walls, muffled sounds becoming clearer as they walked from the dirt road onto cobbled stones. The houses were all made of wood and stone, murky glass windows preventing a view of the inside. Brick roofs covered most of the buildings, but there were outliers with more flat designs that were purely made of stone. Ilea raised a brow when she saw a building with perfectly even walls, not something she expected in the otherwise quite medieval town.
They came to a large square and walked through a market district with hundreds of people milling around and merchants shouting to advertise their wares. There were fruits, meats, furs, and weapons and armor, including knives, swords, shields, and leather cuirasses. To the side of the square, Ilea spotted a smithy, a burly mustached man hammering away on a glowing piece of metal held against an anvil. Enormous greatswords, hammers, and plate armor were somewhat visible behind him until he cooled the piece, steam rising and obscuring his store. Other people peddled potions of various colors, trinkets lined with colorful stones, and strange contraptions she couldn’t quite place made of wood and steel.
Ilea wanted to check everything out but was swept along with the determined guards as she moved her eyes from here to there. The smells of grilled meats were enticing, dozens of people cooking away at their stands with the occasional customer coming along to buy a piece or three. The quality of their clothing differed greatly. Some were walking around with dull robes that were barely made to fit a human, while others were wearing vests and well-fitting pants made of leather, woolen cloth, or various furs. The colors were varied too, not something she had expected, though they were more prominent among the well-dressed crowd.
She turned her head when she spotted a group of five people armed to the teeth. One massive man wore full plate armor with an enormous bloodied sword strapped to his back, and another was clad in elaborate leather armor, six small crossbows and a variety of knives strapped to a collection of belts and straps. The third among them was a woman with a mask. Blonde, near-white hair flowed out from behind it, a dark blue robe with inlaid metal bits all that protected her body. Ilea was unable to catch a proper glimpse of the last two members though as the guards walked on.
They soon entered a separate walled-off section of the city. Dale was walking next to her again.
“I assume you’ve never been to Riverwatch?” After not getting a response, he continued. “This is the southern guard station. You can have one of the barrack rooms for the night. It’s not amazing, but it’s better than outside. With the festival so soon, most inns are probably full too.”
Ilea just nodded. “Thanks, appreciate it. About the clothes…?”
He looked at her ragged pajamas. “I assumed you wanted to sleep first. You can search through the stuff now… leave some for the others though!” He laughed and walked off. “I’ll be in the common room for another couple hours. Find me there as soon as you’ve got your stuff. Just follow the wagon!”
Watching his back, she turned around and followed the wagon with the gear. A quick glance around made her realize that the corpse wagon wasn’t there anymore. Church? Or maybe burned? I wonder if there are zombies or something here. Would be amazing for necromancers to have that wagon. I assume they exist here. Hell, maybe they sold them to one.
Reaching their destination, the two guards leading the wagon got off and started to move the things into an empty room.
She grabbed a sack of boots and lugged it inside, wanting to be helpful.
“Thanks,” said one of the guards, a slightly younger man. “We’ll leave the stuff in here till tomorrow at least. I’ll wait outside for a while. Just show me the stuff you get afterward. We might have to deduct some of your pay if it’s too valuable. I hope you understand.”
Ilea simply nodded. If I find anything good, it’s even better. Won’t have to search through all the shops to get what I need.
There was a lot of stuff. At least twelve adventurers had been killed in the attack. Now let’s hope there were some people my size. It took the better part of an hour to search through the things. She found a rather nice intact set of leather armor and some brown traveling clothes for underneath. There were some black leather pants that fit a little loosely, a simple brown shirt, leather bracers, and a chest piece. The last one she’d have to figure out, as there were quite a few strings attached to it. She got a belt too, of course. In addition, she took a small backpack with a clean canteen, some blankets, rope, and a sturdy-looking knife.
She kept the boots she had on already, liking them more than any of the ones available here. Stepping out of the room, she showed the things to the guard who had talked to her before.
“Hmm, I’ll have to report the leather armor. That’s pretty good quality. The rest you can keep, wouldn’t want you to keep walking around in those rags.” He winked at her.
“Anywhere I could wash all this?” she asked.
He simply pointed her in a vague direction.
“There’s only the well. There should be some cleaning tools at the hut nearby. Use that stuff freely. If anyone asks you what you’re doing there, just mention Dale.”
Ilea said her thanks and went to the well. Cleaning the clothing took an excruciatingly long hour. There was plenty of blood on it.
I hate not having a washing machine. But man, I’m cleaning blood off of leather armor. She paused, sitting on the ground as she looked around. She heard horses, the clang of metal on metal, likely swords, and a drunkard singing out of tune. It took a while to process it all, but in the end, Ilea smiled.
This is fucking awesome. Like some kind of fantasy town with adventurers and magic. And I just made friends with the local guard. Hope that wasn’t a mistake. The food smelled nice, at least. I think I even saw some sewage drains, but that could’ve been anything.
Finishing up, she took her things and went to the common room. There weren’t many people in there. Might be nicer to go to an establishment outside of the guard center.
Dale was drinking a beer and talking to two other guards. Both were short and stocky with copious scars. He nodded at her as soon as he saw her. “A drink first or your room?”
Nodding back, she closed in on the table and sat down. “A drink would be nice right now, actually.”
“Oi, Robin! A drink for the healer!” An affirmative shout was heard from somewhere behind the bar, and soon she was drinking mead from a huge jug. It was sweet more than anything else. She barely noticed the alcohol.
Wow, this is actually pretty good stuff.
She finished half of it in one swig. One of the scar-covered guards stared at her and then started laughing.
“Been a long day, eh?” the woman asked.
Ilea nodded. “Never seen a man get killed…”
They all went quiet for a moment after that.
“To surviving,” the man next to her said, lifting his clay jug.
“Aye,” Dale agreed, and they all took another swig.
She listened to them talk about the day and some gossip. Apparently, they were still trying to find a guy selling potions in the city. Most of the talk was about the coming festival that was three months away. For the guards, it meant a lot more work. The city was already fit to bursting with trading caravans and merchants selling their wares in preparation for the event.
Stepping away from the table, Ilea laid out her clothes to dry next to the fireplace in the common room as she had noticed a few other guards doing. Dale had noted that she’d got some nice things but wouldn’t deduct anything from her pay.
I don’t know why he’s so nice, but I’ll take it nonetheless.
They stayed there for a couple of hours. After that, Dale showed her the room she could stay in for the night.
“Thanks, I appreciate the help, Dale.” He only nodded.
“No worries, Ilea. You were a great help today.”
Closing the door, she looked around the room. There was a simple wooden bed frame, straw poking out of the mattress in a few places, a mirror, and an empty chest.
The bed is still better than that old thing in the temple.
Putting her things into the chest, including her cloak, she glanced at the mirror and was immediately startled. Spatters of blood covered her, dirt clung to her cheek, and dark bags showed under her eyes. Her hair was an absolute mess, and she refused to look at her pajamas.
“What the fuck?” Looking away, she nearly cried. “I’m a fucking mess!”
SIX
Library
Ilea stood in shock at her miserable appearance, quickly moving to change.
Dressed in her traveling clothes, she immediately went outside again. The guards on night duty looked on with amused expressions as Ilea took a bucket of water and marched over to the shed next to the well. Ilea undressed and thoroughly cleaned herself. It was quite the task, and not one that was completed quickly.
After half an hour of cold water and hard brushing, she got into her slightly dripping new clothes and went back to her room. Looking into the mirror, she found a more recognizable face staring back at her. A clean one this time. Ilea was relieved but also found herself exhausted, now that the shock and exhilaration of the day’s events had passed.
Shuffling over to the straw bed, she removed most of her traveling clothes again and lay down. It was far softer than she had expected.
This is the most comfortable I’ve felt in months…
Sleep came easily, even though her day had held some very jarring experiences. No dreams came to her that night, and she slept deeply. So she was quite annoyed when a knock on the door woke her up rather early. It was barely light outside, for God’s sake.
“Ilea? Sorry to wake you this early but I’m leaving in an hour and would like to finish my business with you before I go.” Dale was standing outside the door.
Dressing in under a minute, she put on the traveling clothes and her cloak. All her other things went into the backpack, which she slung over her shoulder. Looking into the mirror, she smiled at her new traveler’s outfit. Looking like a real badass there, mate. Her cloak was down, and her black hair flowed freely. There hadn’t been any shampoo, but the washing had still done wonders.
Finally, Ilea opened the door. Dale stood there for two seconds with wide eyes before he caught himself.
“Oh, morning. Sorry, you look… different. Very good, actually.” He scratched his beard. “Guess we won’t have to check your magic for witchcraft or necromancy after all… a few of the lads were a bit suspicious, what with that ‘wild’ look you had yesterday.” Chuckling, he motioned her to follow him downstairs. “I do hope you burned those old rags.”
She chuckled at his joke. “They actually hold some sentimental value, otherwise I would. Anyway, I won’t keep you long. I intend to look around a bit. How can I stay out of trouble in the city?”
Better not be too open about how little I know about everything. Hopefully I can get a feel for things first. Saying I’m not from this world is just as likely to get me put into some kind of medieval sanitorium as anything else…
They left the accommodation and exited into the courtyard. Most everything in the guard center was made of stone. Stone buildings, stone walls and archways, even stone pathways through the dirt underfoot.
“How to stay out of trouble, eh? Doesn’t take much, really. No crime, obviously, or you’ll have me hunting you down. The east side is a little rougher, but you can run very fast, right?” He winked at her, flashing a smile.
