Chapter 15 - Koska Village I

Koska Village, Nespia, Therian Continent

"Oh. You're finally waking up, aren't you?" A woman's voice said.

"Hmmm." All Ulfric could manage was an unintelligible sound.

As his eyes adjusted he looked around the small room. It was rustic and wooden. The bed he was apparently laying in, though he did not know how he got there, was in the corner furthest from the door. To his left was a bedside table with a lantern on it, and to his right was a window with the blinds shut. Though the blinds were shut, he could tell it was night time. As his brain functions returned, he reasoned that it had probably been about twelve hours or maybe a bit more since he'd collapsed, seeing how he'd departed towards the village around noon.

A woman sat in a chair at the foot of his bed. She wore a scientist's coat that seemed to be covered in chemicals. Underneath was a simple shirt, tied at the top, like something you'd see on a peasant. Her face was wrinkled and her hair was white, though it was not so white that it appeared as snow. This woman looked not old, but aged by way of stress and hard work. She was making a very unimpressed face as she locked eyes with Ulfric, and it was enough to immediately make him nervous.

The boy began patting his hands on the bed, searching for his bags or his weapons; something, anything to fight back with. When that failed, he tried to stand up, and found that his legs were not only covered in casts, but tied down to the bed, totally restricting movement outside of his top half. At this point, he began panicking and flailing his arms about. He didn't say a word, just flailed like a rabid beast.

"Calm down already. If I wanted you to be dead, you'd already be dead, kid."

"Who the hell are you?"

The woman sighed. "I'm the one they dragged you to when you fell unconscious at the gates. Don't tell me you hit your head on the way down?"

"I know that," Ulfric growled. "Who are you specifically?"

"A doctor," she murmured, uninterested. "Or rather a healer. Just call me Doc." She reached a hand out to Ulfric, who couldn't reach it, restrained on the bed. He became angered and started growling unintelligibly once more. Doc laughed.

"Is there a reason my legs are restrained?"

Doc thought about it for a moment. "Well, yeah. I'm told you're stubborn and push yourself beyond your limits for no good reason." She seemed to recall something. "And, of course, both of your legs have minor fractures. It seems to have been patched up with some weak healing magic, but even then I'm shocked you were able to walk here from there."

"Ulfric said nothing to me about his legs," a tired voice said. There in the doorway was the unmistakable figure of Julie, though she seemed to have lost a lot of her vigor, with massive drooping bags under her eyes. Her hair was uncharacteristically blackened and covered in dirt, but she was moving, and that was good. "Leaped from a moving train and pretended he was fine. Perhaps I was the foolish one for not realizing he wasn't," she continued.

"No no. After all, these warrior types are all the same. They want to be tough," Doc shook her head in disapproval at Ulfric.

I am tough. That's what he wanted to shout out. After all, he did keep moving for half a day after leaping from a train. Would Julie have done the same? Instead, all he managed was a grunt of disapproval. It seemed that in his march through the forest, he'd managed to exhaust himself so thoroughly that even speaking was a chore. He shook his head rapidly in disapproval, and then his back gave out and he fell back into the bed.

"How long is this gonna set us back, Doc? We've got places to be in two week's time," Julie said.

Doc stood up and made for the door, standing by Julie's side. "Between this idiot and the other one? Maybe a few days, just to make sure the bones set right. After all, my healing magic is pretty slow." She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and looked at Julie with dog-like eyes until the girl lit it with flame magic. "Thanks, you're a doll." She set the cigarette in her mouth and sidestepped awkwardly out of the room. A very unprofessional doctor, Ulfric thought.

"So, you really managed to carry us all the way here, and without magic," Julie spoke once Doc was gone. "As boneheaded as that was, I can't say I'm not impressed. Look where it ended you up though, could've just napped in the woods for a few hours."

Ulfric cleared his throat. "Not like it mattered. My legs are still screwed."

"The many trifles of the magic-less, eh? Why didn't you use the ring of protection?"

Ulfric let out an awkward laugh. "Well… It's not quite muscle memory yet, else I'm sure I would've."

"Right, I suppose that's true." She exhaled heavily as if having difficulty doing so. "Shall I leave you to your own?"

"It's alright. Go be with Ingram."

"Well Ingram told me to be with you."

"Well Ingram is an idiot. He's also far more injured than I am."

"Maybe you're right." She hesitated, even if only for a moment. "Alright, I'll be back later." Disappearing from sight, Ulfric was left on his own, awake this time.

His first observation in the empty room was that everything on his body hurt, everything, even his head was pounding. He was glowing with a faint green magic, likely that of Doc. He'd been stripped of all of his clothes, and was only in underpants beneath the blanket. The bed was not particularly comfy, nor was it uncomfy, but it was hard and quite rigid. The pillow was deflated in a way that would tell you many people had slept on it before. 

He leaned back and closed his eyes in an almost desperate manner. If he were able to fall asleep, the pain would be gone for that duration of time. Unlikely, though, seeing how the pain was doing everything it could to pulse in a massive uncomfortable wave that woke him up every time he dared to drift. It was like his brain was working against him, giving him a violent and painful alarm clock every time was going to sleep. With this and lack of human interaction, Ulfric Englund was sure he'd go insane in no time.

He counted the imperfections on the roof. He counted the splinters of wood on the bedside table. He drank a glass of water that was left for him, and when he finished it, he balanced it on his forehead and tried to keep it there. He couldn't call for more, since his voice was far too weak, so he just sat there with a cup balanced on his forehead. Boredom was a killer, he thought. The need to do something, anything, was soon to overcome him, and he thought it had only been an hour. How was he to remain a few days in such a state?

"Eugh." He groaned, finally leaning back and giving in. He became something equivalent to comatose, staring blankly at the ceiling. His goal was simply to cease as many brain functions as possible. Destroy the feeling of boredom, stare at the ceiling and feel nothing. Feel nothing, simply sit still and pass the time. This seemed to be much more effective than the methods he'd tried before, except how he had to readjust his focus every few seconds when a wave of pain came.

Every once in a while someone wandered in to check on him. Sometimes it was Doc and sometimes it was a nurse. Julie poked her head in only once more after that. For most of it, he was alone. From what he gathered, it wasn't just some sort of ordinary house he was inside of, but an actual somewhat sophisticated clinic led by Doc. Outside of the door was often fairly noisy, too. He wanted with all of his heart to take a stroll outside, but of course could not. Those damn doctors, he thought.

The relief he so desperately waited for did come bit by bit though. It was so gradual he hardly noticed it in fact. Suddenly the cramps stopped and the pain ceased. By then his brain was tired from thinking too much. He could've called out to the doctor to set him free, but instead, he rolled over and fell asleep. Drifting away into a dream, he somehow had a smile on his face after the hours of torture.

* * *

"Now you listen to me, kid," Doc said. "No jumping around like a Yitran monkey for at least a week or those legs are just gonna break again, you understand?"

"Yeah, Doc." Ulfric of course wouldn't heed the advice if it were an emergency, but other than that it was a pretty easy directive to follow. "No jumping. No sprinting long distances. No behaving like a monkey. Gotcha," he affirmed.

"Alright then. Now get out of my sight Ulfric Englund."

"You are a kind doctor, even if you like to act tough." Ulfric stepped out of Doc's office and leaned against the wall just outside. After being in bed all day the day before, he felt amazing and happy over something as simple as using his legs. Walking and being able to do so was something he'd truly taken for granted. Next time, he wouldn't forget to use that protect spell in his ring.

Doc's clinic, which literally had a sign saying Doc's Clinic out front, was located in the center of Koska, right beside the city hall. It was quite a popular place, since as it turned out, a lot of injured people came and went from the village. The reason was Koska's distance to the Killers, being only two or so kilometers away from the base of the mountain, and by far the closest clinic. This led to them having to treat all sorts of people, whether it be adventurers injured by the many dangerous creatures, fighting for the sake of money, or simply idiots who wanted to summit the mountain for fun. Needless to say, the ones they could treat are only the ones that made it back alive, and so there was a quite large and ever growing graveyard in Koska.

It was a grim state of affairs, Ulfric thought. He too had a chance to become one of the many casualties the next day, when they'd have to scale the side of the mountain range to reach the border of Alterion at ideal pace. He made himself swear not to get injured, not even because he wanted to avoid pain, but more so because he couldn't stand the ego hit of having to return to Doc and get a scolding.

The second floor of the clinic was nothing more than a balcony to give access to a few rooms. Immediately at the left was Doc's office where Ulfric stood. Against the nearest wall was the door to the room where he'd been staying; it was already occupied by another adventurer they'd rushed in moments after Ulfric stood up. At the end of the hall, finally, was Ingram's room. Ulfric didn't know why, but Doc's magic had left some residual energy that left him feeling quite energized, so he moved towards his brother's room. It would be the first time he'd seen him since the train incident, so there was much to talk about.

"Ingram. Julie." He nodded to each of them.

"Ahaha." Ingram coughed after he laughed. "The man himself. Broke your damn legs saving my sorry ass."

"It was nothing. Don't sweat it."

Ingram had bandages around his head and more or less all of his torso. He was also tied to the bed, his body bruised and his face unimpressed though he spoke cheery words. Julie sat to the immediate left of the bed in the room more or less identical to the one Ulfric was in; she was feeding Ingram an apple she'd sliced. It seems that two punches to the chest had been enough to break or fracture half of his ribs, while the punch to the head, had it been harder, would've killed him instantly. Ingram, who was usually unlucky, managed to get off with only a skull fracture. Truly, elves were on an entirely different level.

"Don't sweat it? We're talking about my life here. I'm sweating it a little."

"I think what you did was even more incredible. After all, blocking an attack like that is no small feat."

Ingram chuckled and coughed again. "Blocking an attack doesn't matter much if you get the shit kicked out of you on the next one."

"Well, you did what was needed. Lance killed that monster… Then threatened me."

"Eh?"

"Lance said he'd kill me the next time we met."

"Like… Jokingly?"

"No, no. Not a hint of satire in that voice I'm afraid. Seems like he wants to get our father back for what happened to Karl."

"I see…"

Julie and Ingram each had sorrowful looks. Surely they knew that, if Ulfric were to fight Lance, he'd die a sad and pitiful death. There was nothing they could do to save him, and interfering just meant they'd die too. He'd been marked for death by the grim reaper himself. The best course of action would be to avoid Lance at all costs, but it seemed that he was also heading to Alterion, so the chances of encountering him again very soon were not zero.

"I have no choice but to get stronger," Ulfric said. "I'll defeat him."

"Ulfric," Julie spoke first. "It's a fool's errand."

"For even you to say that, Julie…"

Her hands flew as if to clarify she meant no offense. "You're pretty amazing, Ulfric… It's just that… I fought alongside him. That old man is an anomaly. Not even your father could match him."

"Hey," Ingram said. "Let's not go saying unreasonable things now, babe."

Ulfric put his hand up to stop the dialogue before it continued. "Now now. I know I'm outmatched. Even so, I refuse to go down like a diseased dog. I'll die fighting, even if I can't win."

"Ulfric, you can't just go anticipating your own death like that." Ingram shook his head violently and then winced in pain. "After all, the entire time you attend Lancaster, you're under their protection. I'm not even sure Lance could beat the principal!"

Ulfric tilted his head. "The principal is that amazing?"

"You bet he is!"

Julie sighed. "The principal is nothing but an egotistical man-child pretending to be businesslike."

For real? Ulfric thought back to the letter. Businesslike was maybe a good way to describe it, minus the surprisingly violent and almost angry undertones. Just what kind of person was this principal? Ulfric suddenly grew excited to meet him himself. For Ingram to believe he had power to beat Lance, he must be pretty incredible.

"The principal seemed to be quite serious in the letter he wrote to me." Ulfric recounted the contents, down to the threat at the end. Ingram started laughing and coughing again, and Julie patted his back until he was done.

"Mhm," Ingram managed. "That is so like him. Apparently his letters are inspected by some government officials on the way out, so he has to be quite serious in writing them."

"The government inspects his letters?" Julie asked. "Just what kind of relationship do you two have?"

"Well, he was best friends with our father, after all. I'm trying to maintain the same relationship."

"So you're just saying you're sucking up, but wording it differently," she said.

"Yup," Ingram agreed instantly.

Ulfric stepped forward and pulled in another chair from the corner of the room. "I think we're skipping a point here. Why does the government inspect his letters, anyhow?"

"Well…" Ingram scratched his increasingly scruffy chin. "I understand that many final grade mages can't send private correspondence. It depends on the country of course, but many places take it very seriously when they have someone capable of destroying a continent living there."

"I guess that's understandable. But really, what are they going to do if he denies? Stop him?" Ulfric asked.

"Ha. Good point."

"I will believe in the principal's supposed power when I see it first hand," Julie said with a hmph.

"Ah, it could be that the academy isn't even functioning right now, if it was damaged in the attack. Say, why didn't this all powerful principal interfere then?" Ulfric asked.

"Beats me. Father won anyway. Maybe the boss man was smart enough to know the outcome," Ingram shrugged.

"He's just lazy…" Julie muttered under her breath.

Conversation in this manner continued through the morning. Generally speaking, it was all talking about the train incident, Lance, or something about the academy. Ingram kept giving his thanks over and over again, practically begging for Ulfric to acknowledge it as if saving his brother was something that needed thanks. When Ulfric eventually left, Ingram was still yelling out his continued thanks from behind. It seemed that his brother and Julie still weren't done talking yet, nor was Ingram fully recovered.

At that point it was around noon by Ulfric's best judgment. He hung around in the hallway for a while and then left the balcony area. Doc was nowhere to be seen, but plenty of her assistants were around. They looked at Ulfric as if he were some sort of rabid animal, or mental patient. With that sort of atmosphere on the first floor, Ulfric was quick to leave, escaping the cramped wooden building into the midday Nespian sun.

The town center in Koska was packed, and very unbecoming of a town of such a small size. Koska consisted of a singular road, down which there was a grand total of about twenty buildings, fifteen of which were homes. Yet, despite that, there were maybe one hundred people gathering around the fountain in the square. Adventurers preparing for their next score on the mountaintop. Some of them had Dragon Guard insignias too, while others were from massive mercenary companies such as Larue and Rion respectively. Seeing mercenaries there wasn't a surprise to Ulfric though, after all, even if you just managed to loot the dead bodies on the mountain side, you'd be making a fortune.

What they were looking for probably wasn't that though. It was the treasure of the summit. Frankly, it was a legend, and likely not even real at all, as the title of legend suggests. Like many other cases though, this didn't stop fools from searching for it, treating it as the ultimate solution to all of their earthly problems. Similar treasure hunts had occurred soon after Dalton Farrowsmith's death, as well as after the execution of a famous pirate captain called Descartes.

Ulfric stepped past all of the foolish adventurers to have a look for himself at the bounty board across the square. It was tilted to one side, with one of the stilts wilted from weather; the other it seemed had been replaced recently. In only a moment, he understood why they bothered to explore the mountainside. Something like fifty bounties were before him, paying for body recovery, location of rare materials, or even just monster extermination on commonly used paths.

"Well now…" He whispered to himself, pulling a paper off. Many foolish nobles died on those mountains, and their families would put up quite a price for their bodies it seemed. Locating them would be quite easy, seeing how the temperatures would preserve the skin and make them recognizable. The paper he looked at had a price of fifteen thousand union crowns. That was a price worth risking your life for, no doubt.

Another paper caught his eye, that being extermination on the eastern path. That was where they'd be leaving in the next few days. The only trouble would be returning to the village to claim the reward, only to double back. Regardless, he took it and stuffed it in his bag; that and another bounty he'd decided to tackle on his own. With this, the rest of his day was decided.

Ulfric set off past the parties of adventurers, his weapons in hand and disappearing into the outskirts of the village.