Sleepy Juice

The next morning, I was shaken awake by a teary-eyed Mackinzie, who was borderline inconsolable, her tear-streaked face and trembling lips surprising me, before the previous day's events came rushing back. She sputtered out, "Why did you get hurt? I heard from the others that you overused your magic or something and did this to yourself!?"

Stretching, somewhat fascinated by the lingering soreness, I observed the dimly lit cave around me, the busy goblins, my slimes that tended to hang around the cooking area eating scraps and the excitable fairy fluttering around observing the goblins at work, before a coughing fit caused me to curl up in a desperate search for relief. Eventually, the coughing subsided, and I managed to reply, "Don't worry; I am fine. They didn't even scratch me," followed by a very unconvincing smile, still stained by the previous day's blood.

"I am just glad you are safe. Are you all healed up?" I said somewhat breathlessly as I lowered myself back to the ground, getting ready to rest.

"They used some kind of poison that makes things fall asleep, but Zarra said that she healed it, and I should be fine now," Mackinzie replied, obviously having calmed down a little bit seeing me alive and talking. Mackinzie's voice still trembling slightly as she continued, 'I was so afraid you wouldn't make it. You're important to me.' She reached out, grasping my hand and giving it a slight squeeze.

"That's good. I think I will get some more rest," I said lazily as my eyes fluttered closed, exhaustion demanding my cooperation.

Similar interactions continued for about a week, until I was mostly recovered. Walking out of the cave for the first time since the fight, I was somewhat surprised to see the bodies left where they had been dropped. Zarra walked up next to me and, seeing my confused expression, said, "We didn't know what you did to them, and whenever we disturbed the corpses, some of them would start burning again."

"Phosphorus... the stuff I used is super dangerous. It will spontaneously ignite whenever exposed to air, so when you moved the bodies, whatever powder was left probably shifted," I replied calmly as I squatted next to the remains of the raiders and inspected what was left.

Not wanting to risk getting exposed to whatever phosphorus remained, I tried channeling mana into a spell, but my mana didn't come. Stepping aside and sitting on the ground, I began trying to move my mana, but as opposed to it rushing out as it had before, now it was like trying to suck water through a hose, every centimeter a conscious effort, and a slight lapse in concentration causing the mana to retreat.

Eventually, with some effort, I managed to pile up the corpses, and like Zarra had said, several spots on the bodies started smoking before small spouts of flame started. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I took several armfuls of sticks collected by the goblins and built up a decent bonfire, big enough to encompass the twelve goblin corpses.

The other goblins continued working, not really noticing or caring about what happened to the remains. Eventually, the fire burned down, and all that was left was charred pieces of bones and ash. Wanting to try and understand what was happening to my mana, I proceeded to utilize spells to clean up what was left.

Opening a hole, I conjured a gust of air to push everything down the hole before sealing it again. Huffing from the effort, I sat down and, while contemplating what happened to me, Isable floated up and asked in a somewhat reserved voice, "How are you doing?"

"I am fine, although my mana feels kinda sluggish. I was wondering if you could fly home and ask permission to clear some of the forest to set up defenses and open lines of sight?" I asked, catching my breath.

"Sure!" she replied eagerly before immediately shooting off to the east.

With even greater reason to finally make a proper weapon, I used the carved sword to make a mold and adding the phosphorus copper, a pinch of inorganic arsenic, and tin to the clay crucible, I started the furnace.

---

The thoughts of what she saw still weighing heavily on her mind, Isabel flew straight back home. After a while, she neared the towering elder trent, and diving down, settled on one of Greyroot's larger branches. "Hey gramps, the human that is living with Zarra and the others asked for permission to clear some of the forest."

Greyroot's branches shook slightly as the giant tree's eyes opened and eventually focused on Isabel. "Why does the human want to cut down trees?" the treant asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"They were attacked, and the Human got hurt. He said that he wanted to cut down some trees to make defenses and open up sightlines, whatever that is supposed to mean."

The treant thought for a while and eventually said, "Very well, at least he asked. Tell him to keep only what is necessary." Greyroot then released a sigh, his branches sagging slightly, as he closed his eyes and returned to rest.

Isabel, used to interacting with the old tree, took the hint and moved on. Deciding to talk to her mom before heading back, she started fluttering around the camp looking for her. Before she managed to find her mother, Isabel came across Agnes, and remembering what happened with Adam, couldn't help but talk to her.

After getting the ornery fairy's attention, she began recounting what happened. How Adam had seen Mackinzie getting hurt and how his mana surged out and started solidifying into scary black tentacles. Towards the end of the conversation, Agnes let out a hum before asking, "Is he still alive? Usually when someone unknowingly generates a curse, they destroy themselves."

"He was in bed for a few days, but he started working again today. He was even using magic, but he did complain that his mana felt sluggish," Isabel said innocently, unaware of the trouble she was about to bring down on Adam and the others.

"What!?! How is that possible…" Agnes mumbled, trailing off before shooting off in the direction of the camp.