45 The Final Resolve

The village gates were closed, and two guards made sure those stayed that way. I had to climb over the wall, but it wasn't much of an issue to me. Without anyone noticing, my silhouette quickly disappeared between the trees of the forest. My journey back was mostly uneventful. Other than a small pack of wolves, no other issues arose.

I made it back to the Horseplain Village early afternoon. Mostly because there was no rush, while Rand and company would most probably stay there one more day. Upon my entry to the village, one of the villagers stopped me, and seemed angry or annoyed for some reason. "We were looking for you, where have you been?", he asked.

"I don't think that's your problem. What do you want from me anyway? This is my off time from work", I paid no heed to his anger. "Some people got sick. Go take care of them now", "I think you misunderstand something here. I don't have to do shit for you", I replied annoyed. The guy got angrier, and tried to swing his fist at me. *Pak*, "Ugh", I punched him in the stomach after dodging. "Let this be a lesson as well. Try that again, and forget about using that arm for a while", I responded coldly.

"You bastard! Rand will hear about this!", "Good, tell him everything. I'm not your little servant anymore", I replied and left him there. About half an hour later, someone knocked on my doors. It was the old woman who served Rand. "You need anything?", I asked without a shred of politeness. "I'm here to ask you for help. I'm not ordering you, but some kids got really ill. Since you worked with the doctor, please help them. I'm sure Rand will reward you for that", she said.

Her tone changed compared to our first meeting. "What sort of illness? How bad is it exactly?", I asked. "I don't know, some kids developed a sort of rash or something. I'll apologise for that man's behaviour, just help us if you can, please", she pleaded. She wasn't asking for help because of other people. Her words and actions told me one thing, 'Someone close to her got that illness. That's why she's so desperate', I thought and told her to take me there.

One look at a child made me realise what that illness was. 'This is Green Pox, not a rash', I thought and asked, "When did this start?". "Yesterday. Some kids got sick, but we didn't think much of it. The rash got bigger with time, and in the afternoon, we tried to find you. Since we couldn't we decided to send someone to the Grasshill Village today. I'm not sure when he'll arrive there", the old woman explained.

"I know what this is, and it's not lethal as long as it's treated. Make sure the kids don't scratch themselves. The scratching can worsen their conditions, as the pus inside will affect other areas of the body. Moreover, gather all the kids with such symptoms and place them in one house. Don't allow other kids to interact with them. Understood?", I explained.

"Yes, I'll gather all the kids here. What about you?", "I'll have to grab some stuff for treatment. I'll meet you here once I'm ready", I replied and left the house. Though my hatred for Rand and a few other people was irrefutable, the kids were innocent. I could just play it off as lacking the knowledge to help them, but it simply didn't sit well with me.

I had to get some herbs for the Green Pox, which weren't rare, but required some searching. To create the medicine, I needed Green Lavender, Hungry Stems, Feneral Flowers or Lingered Flower petals. Only two herbs were required, namely Green Lavender and Hungry Stems. The other herbs would make the medicine better. I knew where to find the Green Lavender and Feneral Flowers, but the Hungry Stems were a bit more of a challenge.

The search took me a few good hours, but the Hungry Stems were finally in my hands. I gave up on the Lingered Flower, since it wasn't necessary and it was quite hard to find. With all the herbs, I headed back to the village. "I have all the stuff needed, now I'll just need to prepare the medicine. In the meantime, prepare some clothes and bandages if you can. I'll have to wrap some parts of the body, while cover the others. Someone will have to stay with the kids as well, and make sure they don't scratch or remove anything from their bodies", I explained to the old woman.

There were four kids affected by Green Pox, two of them had more severe symptoms due to scratching their skin. I had to make quite a bit of the medicine, and it would take a while. The process wasn't complicated, and thankfully, there was some experience behind my belt. After about an hour, the medicine was ready.

"Here, I place the medicine inside the jars from the kitchen. Each jar for each kid. Help me apply this to the affected areas, then we'll cover and bandage them where possible", I said to the old woman. She nodded, and took one of the jars. The kids would moan about the itchiness around their bodies. Although the medicine would soothe their itchiness a bit, it was mainly there to take care of the pus.

"Thank you, I'm not sure what we'd do without your help. Even though we sent someone to Grasshill Village, they'll probably arrive tomorrow. If we didn't know about the scratching, the kids would suffer even more", the old woman thanked me sincerely after the kids got their treatment. Perhaps that was a first time someone from that village thanked me so genuinely. Moreover, one of the kids was her grandson. Which of course made her worry a lot. "They should be back to normal in a few days. Besides, Nick should be back tomorrow, he can take over from there", I said before leaving.

The group that went for the wedding arrived the following day. Rand came over personally to the smithy, and expressed his thanks. I was a bit surprised, but he seemed genuine. "I'll leave you to it. If there's anything, let me know", he said before leaving. 'Now you acting friendly? That's not going to save you, no. Not for the shit I've been through. You will regret this, no matter how nice and friendly your attitude becomes now', I thought while hammering the steel in front of me.

Nick visited me that night. He had something to say about the whole wedding, but before that, he told me we'll get back to training the following day. "I saw you at the party and ceremony. You did well to hide yourself from others. Don't get discouraged though, I knew you'd be there, and I'm the one teaching you. Besides me, no one else saw you, and you didn't really do anything suspicious. By the way, good job curing that Green Pox. You did well, and acted fast", he said.

"I was surprised to see this, but it wasn't that bad. Only four kids, and they were at the beginning stages. Otherwise, it could've been worse", I replied. "True, kids can die from Green Pox if neglected. You did well. Anyway, now that Senty's taken care of, what is your next plan?", he asked. "Rand, that young hunter, and I wouldn't mind beating the shit out of Senty's lackeys either", I said.

"Hehehe, I wouldn't mind some carnage... You'll have that opportunity quite soon. After all, once I'm gone, nothing will stop you from leaving", he spoke in a bit of a nostalgic way. "Nah, you'll live for quite a while longer. There's nothing wrong with you, why talk about passing?", I replied. "Because I am dying, Nex. Might not look like it, but there's no denying it. Maybe another half a year?... Don't look at me like that, I'm a doctor after all. I can tell my life is slipping away", he said.

"I'd like to see you grow more, but the time we spent... I enjoyed it. Okay, no need to get emotional. I'll teach you as much as I can, throughout my remaining time. Get ready to practice a lot, and slowly, I'll tell you a few things you'll need to know before journeying out there", he added. There was nothing for me to say, what could I say in that situation. Nick was convinced his time was coming to an end, and there was no reason for me to doubt him. He was a much better at diagnosing himself than me.

I felt angry. I wasn't sure at what, but the anger seemed to be pulsating from my very bones. "...You asked what my plan is? I'll destroy Rand, so that no one else can suffer. I've seen enough of rot inside these villages. I've endured enough. Since they went out of their way to bring me down, I'll be sure to bring them down even lower. Even if that means killing".

Nick looked at me surprised, but my expression didn't weaver. "... Yes, that is the mindset you need. For favours and help, repay it twofold. For betrayal and pain, return it tenfold. After all, the path you want to follow will lead towards blood being spilled. Because such is life, and the curse of Arts", he replied with a grin while grabbing my shoulder. "Rest well, Nex.... Oh, and never forget that feeling. Resolve will help you in the future... Much more than you think", he added before leaving.