4 Out of his depth

Julian was out of his depths.

This Inquisitor was heavy-bodied, built like an athlete with all compact muscle. He did not look big but he was weighed about as much as a fat pony and all in dead weight. The man was damned tall too! Taller than Julian's above average height.

"Take off his boots, and be careful with that leg wound, if you touch it maybe you'll get infected with some terrible disease," the Doctor barked at the kids who were working too slowly for his tastes.

Freddie made a face of disgust and only used the tips of his grubby little fingers to peel off the boots.

"Mommy told me it's improper for a lady to declothe a man," the little girl said as she helped Julian remove the gauntlets off his arms and shoulders so they can peel off the heavy leather jacket and chest armor.

Julian had a feeling she meant unclothe but didn't bother to correct her, "What, did you guys really just come here to steal a dead man's stuff? I see that your parents failed to raise either of you right!"

The little boy sulked at the words as he carefully moved the boot around the wound with silly exaggerated movements.

"Don't be a silly billy. Why would we get Doctor if we just wanted to take his stuff? If he's still alive then it's no good for our conscien-nessie…ness." Lina said as a matter-of-factly.

Julian only rolled his eyes but when it came to the matter of morality he had enough self-awareness to understand that he had no rights to comment.

Even though there was once a time he had fun running around proclaiming to be a philosopher… Ahem. But alas.

"Less talking and more working."

After the jacket and the pieces of armor was a heavy linen tunic as well. He groaned in annoyance and shifted awkward in a squatted position to make sure his weight was on his good leg to maneuver this unconscious man around. It was a chore. Both kids had to come and help get the heavy wet tunic off over long arms. Their little voices made funny huffing sounds as they heaved.

When the tunic was dropped to the ground it made a heavy thudding sound. Both kids collapsed on their bums and groaned.

"Get up!" Julian roared at them. "Don't think this is over yet." His eyes trailed over to the still unconscious man, now free of the confines of all his heavy garments and items.

That still left one hunk of a man meat to carry with only one cripple and two fucking brats.

"Let's get a move on," Julian grumbled, "we don't have all day."

Said brats whined as they pulled to their feet. The walk back to Julian's shack was normally not far for them but that was a whole different story with Mr. Inquisitor to drag along.

Julian did most of the work, with some of the credit going to Lina as well who helped support his lame right side. Freddie was supposed to carry the man's legs but instead the kid spent the entire way complaining about the smelly feet and just let the Inquisitor drag the majority of the way back.

The damned shack was even located on a little incline atop a hill that overlooked the city. The last stretch was the worst. The three fools were all left panting, drenched in sweat and red faced when they finally made it over the final bend of the hilltop.

All of Julian's muscles screeched at him and there was an insatiable itch that made his right leg twitch uncontrollably.

It was only after he got up the hill did he realize that his home was still an absolute mess and he had to venture inside to bring out all his materials. Julian wanted to scream.

Most of his work for the village was done in-house where he would travel down the road to see people in their homes. There were rare times someone was brought to him but it didn't happen often.

"Why don't you two brats run along home?" He hissed at them between panting breaths.

"Boo, I'm hungry. Don't you have any food old man?" Freddie jutted his lower lip out in attempts to look cute. Julian only thought the kid looked punt-able.

���I'm also hungry. Mr. Doctor is right, we should go home." Lina nodded wisely, trying her best to seem older than her young years.

"I have some water." Julian had a well all to himself up the hilltop. The two kids perked up at his words. "But only for Lina."

Lina wore a bright grin full of childish pride, "Thank you Doctor. You are the village's best Doctor." He was also the village's only doctor.

"Boo!" Freddie whined in protest and began stomping to foot in protest. "That's bullying!"

Julian just rolled an eye at them and went to fetch a pail. In the end both children drank their fill before they were about to make their way back to the village.

Before Freddie could leave, Julian grabbed the brat by the shoulder and yanked him back.

"What!?" The kid screeched and looked up, seeing Julian's outstretched hand.

"Give it."

Freddie glared. And Julian glared back. Lina huffed at her friend in impatience,"Hurry up!"

Eventually the boy relented, his angry little face melted into a dejected on, "Okay fine…" From his pocket he plucked out the Inquisitor's emblem and placed it in the Doctor's hand.

Julian hummed pleasantly and fixed his glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of his nose, "Good. Now off you go, little brat."

They snaked down the path from the hill, leading down to the quaint little village of Motsven where dots of white fleece covered the fields. Julian finally uncrossed his arms and let out a long sigh of relief. He could finally bring his full attention to the mysterious inquisitor.

The man was still lying outside on Julian's lawn, next to his little garden of vegetables of herbs. He had set up a little tent to protect him from the elements and even brought out a radiator from inside to keep the man warm.

Julian scoffed. If an inquisitor woke up and saw a Blue Stone-powered machine in front of him, there was no doubt he was going to smite the thing into ash. Julian doubted his home was safe either and there was a good chance he himself could be stabbed right through the heart just for helping.

But what was life without a little excitement here and there?

Julian had forgotten what excitement was like.

It felt like years, if not decades since the last time he felt like he was alive. After being confined to a life so tranquil, he'd forgotten about the years of his youth that had been filled with thunderous excitement. A joie-de-vivre so vivid it left him dizzy and lusting for the entire world.

Everything mellowed out into melancholic boredom.

Perhaps it was age.

Or perhaps it was just his fate.

Shaking his head, Julian forced himself out of any self-pitying drawl and began to work.

He went inside and wove around the mess to find and retrieve his medical equipment. From ointments to hemp, an antiseptic and Blueiron medical tools that he designed himself.

It was going to be a long day, but at least it was a little different from the mundane.

Julian had to remove all of the Inquisitor's clothes to get a better look at his wounds. He unfolded a cot to work on the stranger outside.

Before he knew it, Julian was working off lantern light. The day had turned dark with only twilight, the moon, and stars lighting the skies.

He wiped sweat off his brows with his upper arm, finally tucking the last bit of hemp around Big Guy's muscled abdomen. Finally, his wounds were all treated and bandaged.

The injury on the torso definitely was the worst and longest to treat. Although Inquisitors were mage-hunters by profession and often proclaimed to hate anything to do with magic, in reality the techniques they used were not so different from a mage's spellwork. They as well, used their circuits to syphon and circulate power.

When magecircuits are fried or damaged, they are extremely difficult to repair, especially when the wound was no longer fresh. The abdominal wound seemed to have seeped deep into the Inquisitor's circuits allowing corruption to begin taking place.

Julian wasn't always a Doctor in life and he was relatively new to healing. However, when it came to magibiology and magic in general, he liked to believe he was something of an expert. A genius if he were to say so himself.

A proud smirk of satisfaction stretched his lips and he looked down on the bandages. He could say with confidence that at least 99% of this man's circuits had been repaired! He was amazing and deserved praise.

He also deserved a bath because he smelled like shit. The man also needed a good wipe down.

Speaking of cleaning, his shack was still a damned mess and he couldn't just leave an injured person outside exposed to the elements.

Julian cursed, and his stomach responded with a loud growl.

He was going to cry.

It was already night time!

If only he had woken earlier and tended to things in the morning…

Alas, such was his fate. It was one that was infinitely cursed, even now when he lived a mundane life out in the middle of nowhere.