Now We're Meddling with the Nobility?
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So, a little while later, I raised my hand and pointed them to just over Duchess Ellen's cheekbones. "Come forth, Light! Soothing comfort, [Cure Heal!]"
A soft glow issued forth from under my fingers and into her eyes.
After a while, I pulled back.
"Anything?"
She blinked, and the shook her head. Sue clenched her fists and her whole body shook in anxious energy.
Then I pressed my fingers to the nape of her neck and said again "Come forth, Light! Soothing comfort, [Cure Heal!]"
"Oh!" the Duchess gasped.
Sue hurriedly moved in front of her mother's face. "Mother? Mother! Can you see me now?"
"… I'm sorry. But… there was this tightness in my head that I didn't even realize that's now gone. And…" she began blinking repeatedly. "I can't see you, my dear child…" she reached over and touched Sue's cheeks, "but I can see light. I can see your shadow, at least."
"Mother!" Sue hugged her.
"Ellen!" The Duke rushed forward as well.
/"It could still be nerve degradation,"/ Monika had to say. /"Healing this doesn't require power, it requires precision. I'm sorry, this is about as much as we can do for now…"/
"Still, thank you!" the Duke whispered. "You have given us at least hope that things can get better."
Sue stood up straight and bowed at me. "I'll do it! Please teach me that spell!"
"Actually… Monika, what do you think? If Sue were to actually try to cure her mother every day, gradually, would that work better than just me hideously overpowering the spell?"
/"[Cure Heal] won't do that, but at least it can prevent further damage. And I think, relaxing the pressure on her brain might actually allow her body to start repairing its own damage. But… at the same time…"/ she shrugged, /"It's actually brain surgery, you know? I really don't think it's wise to let untrained practitioners loose."/
Turning to Sue, she said /"Can you really forgive yourself if by trying to help you made things worse?"/
Sue gasped and recoiled. "Oh! That's… that's right… like Grampy Reim…"
"Sue? What are you talking about?" Ellen asked.
"Um. Nothing. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so ignorant."
"Monika, don't discourage Sue. If she has the heart and the will to become a doctor, then why not? To save lives… it's a nobler cause."
/"Well, I do have your volumes on medical literature here. But we shouldn't presume that all we know is correct and superior, there might be other advances here that we're not aware of. Sue… you'll have to wait for a bit. You'll have to study."/
"Un! I can do that!"
/"So determined. So cute!"/ Monika gushed.
Ellen laughed and pulled her daughter closer. Mother and daughter began to rub their faces together. Like cats. Nnggh. So cute.
The Duke just looked so damn satisfied.
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"I am greatly indebted to you, really, you have no idea what this means to me," said the Duke. "Not only have you saved my daughter, but now you've given us the first glimmer of hope in so many years!"
Sue was still in Duchess Ellen's room, and we had returned to the parlor where we sat in luxurious chairs facing the Duke.
"Don't mention it. Sue is safe, and while your wife is not cured, it might not exactly us who would finally restore her vision. We only pointed you to a likely path."
"But Sue still really wants to learn from you, you know? What do you think? Would you care to come to my employ and take Sue as your apprentice?"
I shook my head sadly. That would not be possible, because we were not actually trained doctors.
Also that would make us far too visible and embroiled quickly in their politics. Instead I offered to share my knowledge instead in the form of books and other materials, and to assist other doctors and the court magician.
"In turn I would like to request from you books about medicine and magic as known here in Belfast. We cannot carry them now, but if they could be sent to the Silver Moon Inn in Reflet?"
"That would not be a problem, I'd be overjoyed to help you with that!"
"Great. We'll come back to check on Sue once Monika and I have transcribed some of our medical books."
The Duke looked at us oddly. "That's… that's all you really care about, is it? You and your companions, were you really just going to leave just like that?"
"Um… yes? Why wouldn't we? Sue is fine now. We certainly couldn't impose to stay here, and we far prefer the freedom of an inn anyway. We still have the job we originally set out to do here in the capital, then we have to return to Reflet to complete our mission."
"How much even would… no, no, it's the principle of the thing," the Duke muttered. "No. I cannot possible just leave it as that. I really must show you the appropriate level of gratitude to all that you have done for this family. Reim, bring it over."
"Of course, sir." Reim brought over a silver tray with several bags on it.
"First, take this. This is my reward for saving my daughter and escorting her home safely." The Duke gestured for Reim to hand over a soft leather bag. "You should find forty platinum coins inside."
"Eeeeh?!" Linze and Elze shrieked while Yae made a confused "Huh?"
I reached into the bag and took out a silvery coin. Hm. "Monika, is this really platinum?"
/"Hmm. I don't have a general [Identify] spell yet, Player. But… [Evaluate] -
/"This is platinum-iridum, an alloy of the two noble precious metals. Given how nonreactive the platinum group of elements, you're looking at a coin that is practically invulnerable to scratching and will never tarnish. I can't be sure about the specific alloying proportions, but yes."/
I put the coin back inside. "Platinum is ridiculously rarer compared to gold and silver, I'm actually surprised you use it as currency. Well I suppose [Earth] magic has loads of utility in mining," I told the Duke.
Then I poked Elze sitting beside me. "What's the exchange rate between gold and platinum?"
"Eek! It's the next level of currency! A single platinum equals ten… ten gold coins! And there's forty of that in there?!"
"Hmm..."
"Why are you so caaaaalmn?!"
"I still find it ridiculous. I'd have expected a White Gold alloy of platinum and gold, actually."
/"Platinum-Gold adds durability to gold, but really few beats platinum-iridium for sheer lasting value. Pure platinum has a hardness of 56 Vickers hardness while up to 50% platinum-iridium has a hardness of up to 500. This is a precious coin that would serve for centuries if needs be."/
And then we heard laughter. The Duke was laughing. He slapped at his thighs and grinned. "Really, how novel. This is the first time I've ever seen someone care more for the properties of the metal than its value! A warrior-scholar indeed! I will tell you this though, Lady Monika is right – platinum is valuable because it is so lasting.
Some of the most prized platinum coins date all the way back to the Ancient Civilization of five thousand years ago. We use platinum as currency because they used platinum as a currency. If you want to know more, you will just have to return as ask Miss Charlotte about these – she is also the foremost expert in the Ancient lore."
Wait, if 1 Gold was equal to $10,000, and ten of that was equal to 1 Platinum or $100,000, and I was holding forty in my hand – holy shite, I was holding four million dollars!
I laid the bag back down to the table. "I am a very greedy person. But even I can say, this is far too much."
"Ahaha, don't say that! Please, just accept it. If you plan on making a living as adventurers, then I'm sure you'll reach a point where you'll need money like this. Just think of it as stashing away funds for when that day comes."
"All right. Then on behalf of all of us, I'll accept it, and please have our thanks."
/"Player, why do you look so intimidated? It's just about $40,000. Maybe double or triple depending on purchasing power, since it was rare in our times could you find $20 for a day with meals included,"/ Monika whispered privately. /"A little over $100,000."/
Oh.
Right. I am bad at the maths. Well that's a scary number anyway.
The Duke raised his palm up. "But that's not all I want to give you. In addition, I'd like you to have these."
He laid out four large silver medals on the table. Each one was about five inches across, and featured a shield in the center with a pair of lions facing each other from the side. I raised my left eyebrow in fascination, even if no one could see it they could infer it from the tilt of my head.
"I see that you understand. They are medals that feature my family crest. With these you will be able to pass through any checkpoint with relative ease, and be allowed to use facilities that are normally exclusive to nobles. Should anything happen to you, they act as a guarantee that my family will provide support to you. Do not worry, they do not imply any sort of fealty… but will serve as a form of identification, I suppose."
He explained that the platinum-silver alloy medals were normally given out to exclusive merchants and other notable figures related to the family's concerns. Each medal had our names carved into them, along with a single word that ensured no duplicates could be made.
My medal carried the word ["Generosity"].
Elze had ["Fervor"].
Linze had ["Sincerity"].
Yae had ["Tranquility"].
"Interesting."
"I really must beg your pardon, Lady Monika, for not having a medal made for you as well…"
/"It is fine. No haaaands. No point."/
"Huh. Well these could be useful. You had these made quite quickly. I presume you have some medals ready just waiting to stamp out names and words, but you're really spot on with how well these words suit us." I nodded appreciatively. "You really listened to their stories, didn't you? You even listened to the guards."
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Oh my god, why are you such a decent noble in this country that I can just feel is ready to boil over into civil war? Could it be possibly any more obvious which side we should take?
Well, the side with Sue in it, so ehh. Already pretty obvious in the first place.
"So how long do you plan on staying in Alephis? I can send word to the palace and ask for the court magician to meet you here in my estate as soon as possible."
"Well the request-giver is a friend of ours and he's not in any particular hurry, so… two days maybe?"
He nodded happily. "Then that would be just fine. I'm sure Sue would be happy to see you again soon."
We decided it was about time to be leaving, and Sue went to see us off. She waved passionately goodbye after our wagon and shouted "Come back soon, you hear?!"
Linze waved back just as fervently, Sue's energy and enthusiasm was just infectious. Elze had a regretful little smile as we left, while Yae had a carefully placid expression on her face. Hm. The Tranquility Medal really suited her, huh? Very Zen.
And so with that done, we decided to head out to find and inn and deliver Zanac's letter first thing in the morning.
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"Eh?!" Yae yelped. "That letter you were asked to deliver was for a Viscount Sordrick, it was?!"
We all stared curiously at Yae and her odd excitement. "Do you know him?"
"Do I know him? He is the very man I mentioned before, that he is. The one who helped my father in the past and the one I traveled so far to meet, that is he!"
"Well isn't that such a coincidence!" Elze gasped.
Linze touched the medal given to her. "It's also a coincidence we just so happened to come across Miss Sushie and saved her, isn't it? Wow, it's… it's become less and less coincidence and more like… I don't know…"
Elze grimaced and looked away. "I don't want to know."
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end So Now We're Meddling with the Nobility? end