37 Fish in the River

The summer slowly approached us, with it the date of Senty's wedding. Throughout my stay in the village, my thoughts never drifted away from the revenge. These people earned the things coming their way, and my first target was Senty. I wasn't sure what to do to her yet. Killing someone was the easy way out, rather they needed to suffer, just like me.

When mentioning this subject, Nick proposed a few solutions. Since killing her wasn't desired, he proposed a poison, a long lasting poison at that. "Of course you've no idea which poison I'm talking about. That's because you only received one book of recipes from me. You could say that the recipes contained in that book cover low to mid range concoctions. This is a good time to introduce to you the second book of recipes", Nick said while passing me a book.

"This book has the strongest recipes I was able to figure out. You'll have to memorize it as usual, but the poison we talked about is called, The Everlasting Dew. This poison isn't deadly, but vicious nonetheless. Let's just say, Rand's lineage will end on Senty", he explained. I quickly opened the book and searched for the recipe. "This is going to be tough. The herbs required aren't exactly common. Moreover, they are found in all sorts of environments. There's no way I'll be able to collect them on time", I said.

"Well, I suppose you are my student. I never gave you a gift, and I'm sure your birthday already passed or will arrive shortly. Hence, I'll gather the herbs for you, and make this poison. You just have to make sure it reaches the correct people on the day", Nick replied. "Really? That makes it so much easier. I just need to figure out how to disappear from the village for two days", I said.

"Most notable people will go for the wedding. Rand and his hunters, Grond and even me. We will leave about two days before the wedding day. By horses, we will get there in a day. You shouldn't have any issues leaving the village, and even your absence doesn't matter. How will they know you poisoned anyone? You can just say, you took a break from smithy, since it was wedding and whatnot", Nick explained.

Nick had a point, I was no longer bound by the rules of the one year agreement. No work meant no payment. I was sure Rand would be annoyed by a few days off, but it wouldn't be a major problem. After all, they got a steady supply of ingots so far. "That works well for me, though you'll have to gather the herbs for the poison. Will that take long?", I asked. "Perhaps a few days. You'll have to train by yourself. Instead of medicine making, focus on other exercises. Besides, you know what to do, there's no need for me to explain", Nick replied.

The few days went by, and Nick left the village for a while. This meant there was no doctor inside the village, and the only person familiar with medicines and treatment was me. Rand visited the smithy in the morning, once Nick left to look for herbs. "Nick left to search for some plants, but we still need a doctor. You are familiar with some stuff, right?", he asked. "I am, but as you can see, I'm working on ingots", I replied.

"We need a doctor, not ingots in case something happens. Fill in for Nick for those few days, you'll get a few days of rest from the smithy too. You will get paid of course", he said. "Sure, I can fill in for Nick... By the way, you guys will be heading out for the wedding, right?", I asked. "You want to go with us?", he replied surprised. "No, I'm fine staying here. I'm just thinking of taking a few days off during that time. I don't think that's a bad deal", I said. "... I don't mind. You can go to Nick's place now, the doors are open", he stated.

'I'm sure Nick hinted to Rand that I could fill in during his absence. Not that I'm bothered, it actually helps me', I figured on my way there. It's been a while since I treated people, but my knowledge wasn't as shallow as before. 'No wonder he was in a rush to get me here, this idiot broke his arm', I thought at the sight in front of Nick's house.

Besides a few people with a cough, or something else less apparent, there was one guy with a broken arm. Moreover, it was the old hunter I've seen many times. "How did you manage that?", I asked the man with the broken arm. "Why do you care? Just help me, will you?". His face and words conveyed the mixed emotions of anger and pain. "Right, sit there, and let me see the arm", I instructed.

Though his arm was broken, it wasn't that bad. I grabbed some Vital Liquid, bandages and sticks from Nick's room. "This will hurt...", *Snap*, "Arghhh!", "... A bit", I said while straightening the arm. "You... bastard...", "Now, now. There's no need for that. I wasn't the one who broke your arm", I replied calmly while applying the medicine, and wrapping the arm in bandages.

"Make sure you don't do any more harm to this arm. I suggest resting a week without doing anything. After about three weeks, this should heal up fine. Alright, you may go now... Who's next?", I said. The patients lined up, and received their treatment. Because the lot was taken care of, I had some time to read the second book of recipes.

There were loads of interesting recipes inside. A lot of poison for sure, but also medicine that could make one stronger. The herbs required for such recipes were really rare, though the effect were as rare as the herbs themselves. While relaxing in Nick's chair, I noticed something on the table. "Hmm? He left me a note?", I asked myself surprised. The note stated to get myself familiar with pressure points, and to close the doors once my work's over. 'The Medical Journal explained pressure points and their locations, but there was no way for me to practice. Moreover, isn't that dangerous? What he's up to now?', I asked myself.

My knowledge on pressure points was rather shallow. I knew some locations, but that was pretty much it. I decided to check the Medical Journal once again later, and familiarise myself with those points. 'Perhaps he wants me to make sure I remember them?... I have a bad feeling about it', I figured. A few more people came by to get treated, but it was a rather easy day.

After work and dinner, I decided to head towards the river for a change. "How have you been... Dina?", I asked quietly in front of her grave. Of course she wouldn't reply, but that didn't stop me from visiting her grave, and talking about various things. Though the frequency of my visits dropped, it was still something I'd do once a month.

I sat there talking about the day or my work, while staring at the river and the fish swimming below it's surface. My mind felt at peace over there, and it was a good distraction from problems, or the everyday life and training. While the few smaller fish swam around, I noticed a larger fish approaching the shoal. To my surprise, a few of these smaller fish managed to somehow change the colour. As if adapting themselves to the environment. The larger fish went after those without such abilities, and left the hiding ones alone.

'Isn't that the Art of Stealth?', I asked myself stunned. Of course it couldn't be, these were just fish, but that gave me an idea. 'I can't change or adapt the colour of my skin to the surrounding, but what about my actions?', I questioned myself and then suddenly sprung to my legs. "That's what the breathing is!", I exclaimed. That was the answer, it wasn't just breathing regularly or whatever, it was becoming one with the environment.

"Balance, instincts, judgment and... Control. Nick used the word breathing on purpose, but in reality, this is about control. I know how to walk and move my body due to balance. My instincts were trained to tell me about something. My judgment deals with how the environment moves, and breathing controls everything that moves", I said to myself. The more I thought about it, the clearer Nick ability to simply disappear inside shadows was.

The problem was actually accomplishing that. 'Just because I figured out what stealth is supposed to be, that doesn't mean I'm able to do it like Nick. He probably practiced for years, so there's still a long road ahead of me. Hehe, I wonder what sort of face he'll make once he hears this', I thought. Nonetheless, this was improvement and a step forward. With a clear goal in my mind, I simply had to work towards that goal.