Chapter 75 - Sickness

"Can't believe the dryad is gone"

"Why orangey? It's not like anyone wanted her here"

(Ariza) "You don't mean that Zeki, stop being mean just for the sake of it"

"Err, fine"

"..."

We're now back on course towards the desert continent, this time with all the other phoenixes up on my back and a woman short. The dryad Ria decided to part ways with us just before setting off saying she had some things to do and travelling with us any further away from the elven continent would be a little risky. I guess even she has some priorities, she is supposed to be a protector of the forest after all, a desert is a lot different to a forest, obviously.

Zeki's been in a foul mood ever since, he's such a tsundare missing his tree woman, I may have teased him once or twice about that and he really didn't take it well. It's funny how even someone with a personality as bad as him can still find love, even if he'll deny it forever. At least they suit each other, that dryad can be just as insulting as him at times so it's probably for the best we're only dealing with one obnoxious person for now.

Mr and Mrs obnoxious, I dread to think how their wedding would be, probably would be held in a graveyard with corpses hanging up from trees, tis a match made in heaven but I must stop it now though.

"What's the eta?"

Estimated time of arrival...

"There should be a desert village in a day or two, point it out when we get there"

Petra's on map duty this time around, obviously can't forget her eyesight ability only has limited range so I doubt she can even see the floor of this desert right about now. I do wonder how she's even able to fly in phoenix form if her sight can't keep up, but I guess if you fly high and slow enough, bumping into obstacles like trees would never happen.

That's kinda cute thinking about it, seeing the bird version of Petra flying into the tree bumping her head. Obviously I wouldn't want her to ever get hurt, it would just mean I could look after her if she ever got bedridden, make her bowls of soup and give her a bed massage if she needed it. Damn, I'm weird...

"Ahem... we're skipping rest tonight; I'm getting there asap"

As soon as possible, I'm not using these terms anymore. I've honestly made myself a little flustered now, stupid bird.

__________

(Ikarus) "Wow... I don't think I've seen a camel since I was child visiting a zoo"

(Ariza) "Aww, I love animals"

(Zeki) "Yup, camels do taste great brother"

(Petra) "Heh"

(Ariza) "That's not what I meant Zeki!"

Me and Ariza are currently petting a tamed camel we've come across, it's really just Ariza doing it since I already had my share of petting, camels aren't really petting animals thinking about it. I'm actually a little surprised this is the first one we've come across but they don't seem all that common out here in the desert, at least in the middle country with the pyramid, think that country's name was Mitte. The one we're currently in is called Lenk, the western country out of the three desert lands.

"You don't find that many humans like camels"

"All animals are fun and cute in their own ways, even Mr camel here"

The beastman on the back of the camel talks to Ariza in a sweet, friendly voice, he clearly is a little surprised for Ariza's love of animals. So am I if I'm being honest, she's been petting that guy for long enough, the camel even seems a little bored now.

It turns out, my worries about this entire continent being racist was a complete waste of time, this country Lenk in particular seems to be perfectly fine with all humans but I could be easily jinxing so it's best to just leave that thought hidden away.

All of us are obviously in human form right now with me in particular in the no feathered version, no chance am I wearing feathers and wings in a freaking desert unless I have to. I can handle the heat better then those two but still, feathers be making you hotter.

"We're going to set off then, see ya"

The man riding the camel sets off and gives us a quick wave while leaving, Ariza's been petting this big guy for a few minutes now so it's probably best to stop even if she now looks disappointed, it's not like there won't be other camels to pet in the village, unless that's the last camel in existence. Nah, I like Ariza so teasing her is just being nasty, she does seem quite the sensitive soul after all.

The camel riding beastman in particular was just leaving this small desert village we've come across and we're now walking into the village proper, obviously I landed a distance away to change form to make sure no witnesses were about but that's a given.

"Fuck me, it's hot"

Wow, it's taken this long for Zeki to complain about the heat, it's been about five days since we set off from that other settlement so I'm shocked he's lasted this long, is he mentally developing? No chance.

(Ariza) "It's not that bad Zeki, it was definitely worse last time"

"Only because someone was willing to share their potions, now they're not"

I already know what Zeki is hinting at, I'm not discussing this again with him, moan moan moan. I have roughly a stock of twenty stamina potions that should be used when needed, not for keeping Mr obnoxious nice and cool since he'd get through them in a several days if he could.

Also, they are love potions after all, he'd definitely have a reaction now. Even though that would be funny to watch him getting flustered over the dryad, he'd probably go on a rampage denying it and destroy a country or two. He cannot be allowed these potions anymore...

(Petra) "You can stop complaining now Zeki, there's an inn right over there"

All four of us have now walked into the desert village proper and the obnoxious Zeki runs off ahead of us realizing there's shade from the heat inside the inn.

"Good, I'm off then"

Now it's just us three left, something isn't right about this village though.

(Ikarus) "This place seems a little... off"

(Petra) "Agreed"

"Uh huh"

I can't quite describe but there is something odd about this place, most of the beastfolk living here look a little sickly and malnourished, no one seems to be working and there's a lot of stuff just left lying about, undelivered crates, boxes, chests, that sort of thing. It's almost as if this village is in the middle of a plague or something...

"Shit, there ain't a plague here or something, is there?"

...

I don't get an answer from the others making me now worry even more, that fucking idiot Zeki has just ran into an inn that could be covered head to toe in plague victims, couldn't he have just looked first before running off?

Have no idea what our resistances to things like diseases and plagues are, you'd think it would be pretty high or we'd be immune but none of us, even Aesa isn't completely sure on that. It would be pretty bullshit if a creature as strong as us were to die from something like a common cold though, catching a plague would be bullshit as well. It's a good thing we've got a healer around who might as well have the powers of a God.

"In all honesty Ikarus, this seems a little different, somethings not quite right here but no one has come up in boils or seems to be coughing up blood"

"Uh huh"

I'm guessing Petra has come across actual plague victims before, that's not a pleasant thought. I guess she does have a point, the people walking around this place do still seem able to move about well enough, it could also be early stages of the sickness but there's a lot of people around here who look ill. My point being no one looks at deaths door, at least right now.

Thinking about it, that guy on the camel looked a little sickly as well. We'll focus on that another time, let's just try and provide help if we can, Petra already has a question lined up for Ariza before I have the chance to ask.

"Ariza, you happy to give a helping hand?"

"Of course"

No point in me saying anything, we've got this sorted, kinda. Ariza was definitely going to offer help anyways; you could tell by the way she looked. It's not exactly like we're going to leave these people to their own fates as well, I am getting a little bored of doing good deeds but this isn't for my sake, we are a party of four after all and this isn't a dictatorship this time around. I guess helping people is still good despite my reluctance.

It a bloody good thing we've come with a person who is a literally a top tier healer for this situation though, no idea how we're going to go about this but Ariza seems more than happy to help out as many people as possible, it does fit her personality after all.

'I guess we could just go up to random people asking if they want help, I wonder if that will work...'

__________

"Praise the Gods, it's already starting to take effect"

"You really must be an angel in human form"

"Thank you, thank you!"

"I already feel so much better"

It's been several hours since we entered the village and are currently using a makeshift, large fur tent as a healing station. After Ariza offered to help the first people around her, they suggested we do this as well so they would get the rest of the village to come to us here and wouldn't you know it, we've been stuck healing the ill ever since. It's not really we though, just Ariza.

It's probably not plague as well now, Ariza seemed pretty adamant the effect felt different than that type of disease but even she is not completely sure on what's causing it. I'm guessing like Petra, she also has probably helped out with a plague once before, pretty interesting considering her and Zeki seem to hate the outside world.

Maybe something happened to those two that made them like this? Might ask about it one day but it'll probably be quite tragic if Petra's past is anything to go off so should maybe ignore it.

Those four that just spoke to her are some beastfolk that obviously just got healed. After Ariza does her blue looking phoenix magic on them, they sit down for a few minutes to recover and then are good as gold, it's honestly astonishing how effective her healing is but it's not all that surprising, it's her specialty after all.

The rest of us three seem to be more focused around destruction rather than healing after, it's strange why that's a thing but I guess the different types of systems be doing that. I wonder what Zeki is off doing right now, no point keeping him around since it would only be frustrating. If he had a phone, he'd be probably sending death threats to Mrs obnoxious and she'd be calling him girly in response. It's a good thing those two are apart for now.

As for what me and Petra have been doing with the healing, we're basically just managing the lines and making sure everyone gets treatment, in some ways we're the nurses to doctor Ariza but obviously without the uniform. I already know Petra regrets not buying a nurse uniform now, for God's sake.

An idea did come to mind to maybe charge coin for healthcare but that's one thing I definitely have morals on. Sure, it's a little ironic seeing that I'm more than happy to kill but to charge someone for being healed!? What type of monster do you think I am!? Well... obviously a phoenix since we're considered monsters apparently, charging for healthcare is still pretty cruel though...

"Petra, I don't really know how much more I can take"

Ariza's healing abilities use a mixture of magic and somehow count as an ability as well, I guess it could be considered a hybrid but the way she describes it makes it sound a little different. I've already given her a magic pot for a refill as well, she must be getting exhausted doing all this then, I guess she must've healed dozens of people by now, can see why you'd be getting tired.

"That's fine, there's only a few left"

"Uh, good, I'm sleeping for a long time after"

It obviously must affect her stamina as well; she has basically healed every beastfolk in this village. She even sounds a little drowsy as well now.

"Let's get these last few done, then me and Petra will investigate while you take a nap"

"Sure..."

We'll rush these last few along, then she can get some rest. Poor Ariza...

__________

"That settles it then, you have any idea what's causing this Petra?"

After the last few have now been cured, Ariza is now napping in this tent on a comfy looking rug, no point in keeping her up to help, she's completed her role. It probably would've been a better idea to try and find the source of the illness beforehand but it's not exactly like we've got much to go off here. It'll be safe to leave her here for now, it's not exactly like anyone in this village is going to hurt her or anything like that, I'm sure I heard someone call her a blue haired Goddess as well at some point.

"Had an idea but now I'm sceptical, we'll need to start searching for answers properly now"

"Agreed"

Didn't have the time to ask while healing everyone since most people didn't really seem all that open to begin with or just simply didn't know, hopefully we'll get some answers now...

__________

So we end up spending the next couple of hours speaking to people around the village looking for any clues or reasons why people have fallen sick, some of those answers included things like,

"Sorry, I just woke up one morning like this"

And,

"My husband fell ill first but I'm not sure if I caught it from him or someone else"

As well as,

"No idea, everyone else just ended up ill and so did we"

The last person we spoke to had a very different opinion to the whole thing though which has now gotten me thinking about something, her answer went like this,

"This is nothing, it's simply just the wrath of the Gods that we disrespected and now we've been paying the price"

I've been thinking on that for a while now, is that a thing or not?

'Did the Gods seriously cause this? No, I bet this is one of those things where no one can figure out what's going on, then blame the Gods since they don't actually know. Unless they did do it, they did cause a volcano to erupt after all but that wasn't out of punishment'

Petra will probably have a better idea, age and experience obviously being a factor, my parents would be best for something like this but we're too far away from them and father would hate the idea of helping humans.

We're currently sitting on a bench at this empty market and are here both looking a little frustrated right now, no one in this goddamn village has any clue what's going on. All illness has a cause, it's just a bit of a struggle to figure out what's causing it.

"Petra, you think the Gods could cause something like this?"

I expected a quick answer saying no but she seriously thinks on my question, it seems even she thinks it might be a possibility.

"Honestly... kinda doubt it, there obviously are Gods associated with disease and illness but most of the time, it comes down to a physical reason like someone passing on the disease. The main cause can be from something like tainted meat or just bacteria that has always existed and developed throughout the years"

All the food and water in this village are apparently fine, they mostly hunt wild animals that roam the desert for food but no one has had any food poisoning like symptoms. As for water, they get that from a well and they say that tastes fine...

"Wait... what about the water? Have they checked the bottom of the well?"

Petra facepalms and sighs from my question this time. However, she's not disappointed at me in the slightest.

"*Sigh*... my age is really starting to catch up me, how did I forget something like that? Anything could fall down that well, it doesn't exactly look well maintained"

She actually looks really sad at herself for forgetting something like that, it's really not that big a deal though, she can't always be perfect even if in my eyes she is, any faults she potentially has just makes her even better. Everyone makes mistakes, her memory just be doing that at times.

As for the water thing, I'm not completely sure of all the symptoms of tainted drinking water but it could be that, doesn't hurt to have a check anyways.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, I'd be more worried if your memory was perfect after that long living"

Anyway, to cheer up her spirits, hand holding always fixes all so I steal her hand away from her and lead her to the village well. Thankfully, my abruptness always works to cheer her up, who cares if her memory can be a little bad at times? Petra is still Petra after all.

Now at the well, I'm a little confused on what to do.

"You have any idea how we can check down there?"

"Heh, could hold you up by your ankles and lower you in"

"Very funny"

It's a good thing she's cheered up now, sad Petra should be always be helped. I do wonder how we can test the water without having to actually go down there. Thankfully, my question gets an immediate answer from an unlikely normally quiet robotic wife.

[<If -user- were to sample water, then Aesa would be able detect>]

'Couldn't that poison me?'

[<Use target -Ariza- for healing afterwards>]

My system really couldn't give two shits if I purposely hurt myself so why am I surprised here? Aesa is just as curious as I so let's just do it then, what's the worse thing that can happen? I mean, cholera is really bad but who cares?

'Fuck it then, let's get sick'

Using the rope, I lower the bucket down into the water in the well, then raise it back up filled with water. It looks safe enough to drink but that means shit if something has died down there.

"You seriously going to drink that?"

Even Petra has questioned me grabbing a handful of water from the bucket, can't say I blame her.

"Aesa says she can detect if it's bad or not if I drink a bit of it"

"Does she? You shouldn't have to swallow it for the system to be able to detect it though, I'd offer to drink it myself but mine wouldn't work. If you feel sick after, I'll wake Ariza up straight away"

Would Petra's system voice not be able to tell what's in the water? There definitely is a story about her voice that I'm yet to learn but no time for that right now, something else has pissed me off.

'Aesa, is that true? I don't need to swallow it?'

[<... >]

No answer, I already know what that means. I'd be pissed even more but Aesa did try and get me to drink those potions long ago so I already know she doesn't hold my welfare in perfect regards. It's a good thing I haven't insured myself otherwise I'd be worried that my robotic wife would try and kill me in my sleep or something.

[<-User- is just being paranoid, Aesa cannot live if -user- deceased>]

'Knowing you though, you wouldn't think twice about killing me if it freed you from my head'

[<No idea what -user- is on about>]

Anyways... ignoring Aesa lying about digging me and her a grave to sleep in, I take a swig of the water, then very quickly spit it onto the ground. It tastes alright but that means shit.

[<-User's- theory was correct, liquid contains large traces of dead vulture, constant drinking said would cause potential weakness, nausua and death>]

At least that settles that mystery then, we'll tell the villagers this and they'll have to dump out or clean all this water, no idea how they'll do it once they find out but that's not our problem if they don't have a spare water supply, it's not like we can stick around and provide a village with endless amounts of water, none of us know water magic anyways and my storage won't exactly last long supplying an entire village.

"How is it Ikarus?"

"It's definitely tainted. Let's get this sorted, stay the night and then leave in the morning..."