Dual Wielding

Twilight fell over the city like the last light in a dying man’s eyes, and Wyn’s sense of unease grew with each step towards whatever destination Kei was leading him towards. Well-maintained permanent walkways gave way to more worn rope-bridges missing planks and swaying dangerously in the breeze.

Neither of them said a word as they descended the cliffside, nothing needed to be said. Wyn had to see it through to the end one way or another. After taking a large lift down from a higher shelf, they reached the area Kei had described. Contained within a large hollow in the face of the cliff was a small section of the city. The entrance was surrounded by a dense cluttering of cliff platforms on all sides, and the interior of the hollow had been separated into two rows of buildings which stretched towards the back wall. The walls of the hollow contained a spatter of cliff dwellings that had been dug into the sides. While the hollow itself was smaller than Straetum, it was more densely packed, and Wyn thought there might be a similar, if not larger, number of residents.

“You think he lives somewhere around here?” Wyn asked.

As they stepped off the wooden platform and back onto solid ground, Wyn took a further look around. They wouldn’t want to stay long, as if the thief saw them first, it would take away their element of surprise and allow him to potentially flee. But Wyn wanted to explore just a little, both out of his own desire, and a feeling in his gut telling him he needed to see what was happening here.

Among the two main streets, he was able to pick out small markets, shops, housing, and even a bakery. The buildings weren’t as tall as most he’d seen on the surface, and didn’t have the flags, banners and rope bridges across the top he’d come to associate with the town. They were also constructed from shoddier materials which grew even cheaper the further back he looked. But there was clearly a community built within the cavern, completely separate from the rest of the city. Plenty of people milled about, though they seemed to step with less energy than the rest of the city, and many had sullen expressions on their faces. What stood out the most though were the men and women in long black robes and white cloth masks that draped down to their chests. The sharp contrast made them stand out against the rest of the crowd, and he noticed no less than six walking around the area, moving with more urgency than the rest of the residents.

“It’s our best lead,” Kei said. “But I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

“That makes one of us,” he replied grimly.

All around, Wyn could hear coughing coming from the dwellings, and even from some people on the streets, and as they walked further in, the sounds only got worse.

After his and Corrin’s journey into the spirit glades, Wyn couldn’t remember ever getting sick. He now knew that was the result of his blessing, with even the embers of spirit fire that he’d possessed being strong enough to ward off common illnesses. If he could only use it on other people, he could stave off entire plagues by himself.

He hadn’t tried stabbing someone yet, attempting to spread it in the same way he had defeated the monsters, but it could be worth trying. He was fairly confident it wouldn’t harm them–besides the stabbing part–but for the same reason, he also didn’t think it would be so easy. His flame-wrapped sword hadn’t pierced the flesh of any creatures that had attacked them on their journey. Monsters were different for reasons he didn’t understand, though he suspected it was related to the fact that spirit beasts didn’t have cores.

Iillia had promised that he would receive answers at the spirit tree. But seeing and hearing the malady around him, it seemed as far away as it had ever been.

As he passed a young boy, around his brother’s age, Wyn noticed his face was flushed and slick with sweat. The boy coughed once, then twice, before it deteriorated into a coughing fit. A few moments later, the boy collapsed right there in the street.

Kei yelped as his limp body hit the ground, and Wyn found himself in motion, rushing forward and crouching beside the boy. His eyes were shut tight and his breath was ragged and weak.

“Shit…”

He and Corrin had been trained with some basic first-aid, but that was for injuries, not diseases. While he’d had to take care of his mother from time to time when she was sick, this was an entirely different severity.

Before he could do anything else, a black-robed figure knelt next to him. It was a woman, maybe in her early-thirties with tied back hair that seemed to bleed from brown to a faint shade of pink towards the ends. Her voice was muffled from the mask covering her mouth, but she spoke quickly and clearly.

“Boy. Boy, can you understand me?” She was talking to the kid, who only seemed to be vaguely aware of what was going on, responding with pained moaning.

“Do you know this child?” She suddenly asked Wyn as she placed two fingers against the youth’s throat.

Wyn shook his head. “I was just walking past when he collapsed.”

“Fetch some water, quickly!”

Without hesitation, Wyn obeyed, running off even before realizing he didn’t know where he could find water. Thankfully, since he was still near the edge, he soon found a cistern with a basin nearby that collected rainwater for the people of the hollow. Wyn pushed a passerby out of the way, apologizing as he snatched a ladle from his hand, filled it with water, and rushed it back. The woman–a doctor no doubt–had dragged the boy out of the street and laid him down on his back.

She was holding his hand, trying to keep him calm even as he could hardly respond. Though he was mumbling incoherently, he was conscious, so Wyn was able to pour the water that hadn’t spilled past his cracked lips. Some of it dribbled out the corner of his mouth, but he greedily swallowed the rest.

“Dehydration, fever, uneven breathing…” The woman in black mumbled to herself. “Breathbane, no doubt about it. Young man, can you carry him?”

Wyn nodded. “No problem.” He scooped the boy up into his arms as the woman stood and strode further into the hollow. Wyn followed, unsure of where they were going.

Soon though, they reached a large tent pitched on a large rock shelf in the back of the cavern. Men and women in the black robes streamed in and out of it, all hurried, save a few who seemed to be resting outside with their masks off.

“Bring him inside.” The doctor said, “And girl, put a mask on the both of you, quickly.”

“Wait, me?” Kei stammered, having followed in silence so far. A table in front of the tent had a pile of white cloth which she took and quickly tied around his face. After she did, Wyn walked inside, and she followed a moment later with a cloth around her own face.

The inside of the tent was a rough sight. Towards the rear it seemed beds had been constructed of simple straw and wooden frames, lined up in neat rows. However, the number of sick outnumbered the beds by far, and had spilled out of the zone, first being laid on pallets covered in more straw before it was clear the doctors ran out of options, laying people on cloths atop the ground. Many were in the same state as the boy, hardly conscious as they moaned in pain and fear. Many more were lucid though, and their eyes drifted around, hollow and forlorn as they met the gazes of the doctors who moved around with grim determination.

The air was thick with the acrid tang of herbs and medicine mixed with sweat and fear, and Wyn found himself thankful for the mask which dulled the scent. In the corner were a stack of boxes covered with pestles and herbs, and a pot filled with boiling water which the doctors seemed to return to often.

The female doctor had stridden ahead and was talking to one of the others who pointed her to an empty cloth space on the ground. She walked back and told Wyn to set the boy down there, and he did, stepping back as a different doctor walked over to check on the boy. At that point, there was nothing more he could do, so Wyn grabbed Kei’s arm and led her out towards the entrance so they would be out of the way.

As they left the tent, Kei looked visibly ill.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

She looked out towards the sky. “I’ll be fine, it was just a bit overwhelming.”

Wyn nodded. He knew Straetum had set up a similar tent after both floods, but he’d not seen either of them at their worst. Locked in his room for the first, and asleep for the second. He gestured to a nearby bench and they sat down, he watched as she calmed a bit, her breathing coming more easily.

To his surprise, a few minutes later the doctor from earlier came and sat down with them, holding a bowl of stew in her hands.

She took off her mask as she began to eat. “Thank you for the help earlier.” Her voice was tired, and set apart from the stress of earlier, Wyn could see the bags under her eyes.

“Is he going to be all right?” Kei asked, her concern evident.

The doctor's face tightened. “It’s hard to say. Children have a lower survival rate, but his symptoms aren’t as bad as some.” Her voice trembled a bit. “If we’d just found out sooner…”

“I heard you mention breathbane earlier,” Kei said. “But isn’t breathbane treatable?”

Wyn had never heard of the disease, but the doctor nodded solemnly. “Quite easily, if you catch it early enough, but the symptoms are mild at first, and similar to a simple fever or cold. There aren’t any doctors in the hollow, so by the time we became aware of the problem, it had already reached later stages in most people. Now we’re trying to run damage control as best we can.”

“Even still, I’ve known people to get treated in the later stages, sure it’s more expensive but it can be done.”

The woman frowned. “More expensive? We’re talking almost four times the price, and does this seem like a wealthy part of the city to you?”

Wyn looked around at the ramshackle buildings, the ragged dress of the people on the streets. “Are you kidding me?” His voice was angrier than he expected. “What does money have to do with this? They’re sick aren’t they? Just treat them!”

Kei grimaced as the woman chuckled darkly. “Yeah wouldn’t that be nice. Medicine isn’t cheap you know? All of us here are volunteers, and there's only about two dozen of us. We’re doing the best we can but we’re overwhelmed. Somewhere around seven hundred people live in this hollow, and we estimate almost forty percent of them are infected.”

“What about the guilds? Why aren’t they helping?”

“Well, we’ve received some assistance from the merchant’s guild, but it was far from enough.”

Bastard… Wyn thought. And while this was happening he was offering me even more gold.

He took a breath, settling himself. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Kei glanced over at him, her eyes widening, but he ignored her, waiting for the woman’s response.

“Do you have any training in medicine?”

“Not much for disease,” he said.

“You won’t be treating anyone then, but yes, we need extra hands. You can help with hauling water, cleaning, or—if you're comfortable—removing the deceased and returning them to their families. We don’t have space in the tents for them.”

Wyn looked over towards the tent, he could hear the painful coughing of the people inside. Each person in the tent, they’d have someone they left behind, a wife, a mother, a son. It wouldn’t be much, but if his help could save even one more of them…

“Kei, you can go to the docks without me, right?”

“What? Why wouldn’t you–”

“It just makes sense,” he said. “You don’t need me to get the information, which means the most useful thing I can do is help here. Besides, if our target is in the area, I may even be able to find him directly. I’d recognize his voice if I heard it.”

“Yeah and he’d recognize you! If he sees you poking around here, he’ll know we’re onto him. It’s too risky, and it’s a waste of time anyways.”

“Kei, I’m not budging on this. I’ll wear a mask and my eyes will be a different color. Between that and the smoke, he won’t recognize me. If you don’t want to go alone, ask Corrin. Really ask him. He'll help if you explain the situation.”

Kei stood up off the bench, her hands clenched as she started to yell. “Wyn you’re a–” she stopped herself, gritting her teeth. Finally, she let out a sigh, and her face softened. “You’re a very frustrating person… But if you’re set on this, I guess can’t stop you, and I shouldn't. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon and tell you what I find out.”

Wyn met her eyes from his seated position. “Thank you Kei. I can walk you back to the inn.”

“It’s fine. Just help here.” Without another word, she turned and left, walking back towards the lift at the edge of the hollow.

Wyn opened his mouth, but decided against it, letting her leave. He wasn’t quite sure why she was upset, but he thought she’d be fine. Instead, he turned to the doctor, who was staring at her stew like it was very interesting.

"Do you really have time to be eating that?" Wyn asked.

She looked over at the tent. "I need to eat. If I were to collapse from exhaustion, it would only worsen the situation. To effectively care for others, you must first care for yourself. Pushing your limits is fine, but if you ignore them entirely, you'll just end up doing more harm than good."

Wyn stood up. "I understand. So, what do you need from me?"

“To start, refill the washing basin with fresh water from the cistern by the ledge. After that, there should be boxes behind the tent labeled 'honeysage'. Grab one and take it to the boiling pot, there should be an near empty-one over there already, just place it on top. Just ask around after that–there's plenty to do."

“Consider it done.”

"Oh and one more thing," she added. "We're low on coffee beans. If we run out, this whole operation is going to collapse. Please get some more."