Chapter 7: Finding a cure.

The mana buzzed merrily between them, and all was well, until Bern began throwing up mucus. At least Hadrian thought that shit was hitting the fan. Edwin was smiling.

"This is a stinging cough," Edwin said triumphantly. "The mucus was gathering, like a tumor. It has stopped producing more for quite some time. Now the only thing we need to do is get it all out. Lady Leila, where is the water?"

"Cooling, healer," Leila said happily. "Bern is going to make a recovery?"

"If I am not wrong, then a full one. Of course, it could also be lupine cough. Then there are bubbles of mucus in the lungs," Edwin said, less sure of himself now.

"What is lupine cough, Eddy?" Hadrian asked. He stared at Bern. The old man didn't look like a werewolf.

"A lung disease. It is similar to the stinging cough, but unlike it, the mucus regenerates with time. Furthermore, the subject has a high fever," Edwin placed his free hand on Bern's forehead and measured his temperature using the faintest sliver of mana he could muster. Bern didn't seem to be suffering from a fever.

"No fever. The fever in lupine cough starts from the beginning of the sickness. This is a good sign. I don't have the tools to treat lupine cough here," Edwin said. Bern inhaled sharply.

"What do you mean you don't have the tools? You are a healer!"

"Hedge healer," Edwin corrected with a wince. Bern began to swat at him with his arms. It didn't hurt at all, but it was taking away from Edwin's concentration.

"A charlatan, in my home! Doing gods know what to me with mana! I won't have it, I won't!" Then Bern began to vomit more mucus.

"Oh, stop it, you old mule!" Leila said from next to the hot water. "Do you want to die instead? We can't pay the fancy healers, and they don't want to heal this sickness either. Remember what the soldiers said when they put that gray flag by the chimney? We are on our own."

Edwin's blood boiled in his veins. How could they just ignore these people when they were in need? Licensed healers didn't need to resort to something like having the mucus being thrown up. They would have just given Bern a pill and the mucus would have cleared in a matter of days.

Healers like this, ones who listened to the orders from above instead of healing those who required it, were celebrated, and they were textbook examples for good practitioners. But Edwin couldn't stand them.

 Even professor Nari, for all that he was the Head Lector, was a renowned rebel and had helped heal the slime fever plague when he was just a fresh graduate. Although no one had proof, and so he couldn't be prosecuted for helping when he was ordered not to.

By the time the half hour was over, Bern's bucket, which Edwin had kicked between his legs when he began to throw up, had a lot of mucus inside it. There were red specs in the bucked too and Edwin looked to Leila who took the pan with the boiled water and handed it to him.

"Easy now, small sips," Edwin said as he helped Bern drink the entire amount.

"The only thing you can do now is sleep. We will remain here for a week to make sure this is not lupine cough," Edwin said. Bern nodded and he stumbled towards the bed.

"Wait, you need fresh sheets. These need to be washed and ironed in case the disease has sipped inside them. Leila, if you would be so kind," Edwin said. Leila rushed and changed the sheets and the pillowcase, and gave Bern a fresh blanket.

"For a charlatan, you know your stuff," Bern said as he drifted off. Edwin snorted. Well, he supposed that he was going to be getting this a lot from now on.

"Leila, show me your food supply and water supply, please," Edwin said. Diseases like this were not airborne. There were rivers coming from the Surian Theocracy. Maybe it wasn't a curse at all.

"Do you think that the river water has something to do with it? I drink from our well, it has a water filter barrier, you see. But Bern is a stubborn mule, and he drinks from the lake water. Says it is sweeter and makes real men. Bah!"

Edwin looked at Leila more carefully. She didn't look sick, but perhaps she was in the beginning stage?

"Hadrian, how much mana do you have left?" Edwin asked as he went and placed his hand on the old woman's back. Her breathing came easy and even. But just to be sure…

"That treatment didn't even wind me. Ok, granny. Healer Eddy and healer Harry are going to give you a checkup! And not one about your pretty face, either," Hadrian said.

Leila's wrinkled face shone as she smiled and swatted the air above Hadrian's head.

"A charmer, you are. Healer, your assistant better respect my honor. I am a married woman," Leila said with a teasing smile.

"We are professionals," Edwin said. Technically, it was even half true. He was a professional, and Hadrian was a useful mana battery.

"Hadrian, place your hand on her stomach and start pushing mana in," Edwin said as he began to use his mana gently to cause vibrations on Leila's back.

"This is just like a massage," Leila said, giggling.

"We do treat our patients like spoiled nobles, my lady," Hadrian said with a slight bow of the head.

Half an hour later and the only thing the two had done was to work out the kinks in Leila's back, or so she claimed.

"You are not sick, that is good," Edwin said. "Now, I would like to see the lake."

Leila led them to something which she generously called a lake, but it was not bigger than a pond. The water was crystal clear, and it smelled just fine.

"There is only one way to test this," Edwin said, bending down before anyone could stop him, drinking deeply and without a second thought.