Hex 03

The healer clapped once. "Right then," she said. She first slung her bag over her shoulder again, then picked up the greatcoat and held it by the shoulders.

"Careful with the sleeve. If you can't feel the hand, you're more likely to hurt it by accident."

"Thanks." If it came out as a monotone, Helmine didn't care. She cared even less than usual. She put the rifle on the ground, letting it lean against her leg. Getting the coat on was obviously slightly troublesome but she didn't complain or make a fuss of it. She wanted to but couldn't find the energy to do so.

The half-elf couldn't even tell when they started walking.

Monais turned out not to be much different, on the surface, from its neighbouring settlement. Villages had been relatively spaced-out in this area, nesting in between large tracts of first- and second-growth forest and plantations.

A terrier with one floppy ear bustled up to the women as they approached. Siri would not be dissuaded from stroking him.

Like Versham, this looked to be a human-feraisai settlement with a roughly even mixture. Siri flagged down the first person she saw.

"Happy days. Do you have a healer hereabouts?" she said.

"Long days," the human man replied. "Oh yes, we've healers. Two of them. Good luck with that."

Siri seemed nonplussed. "Why do you say that?"

"Look, far be it from me to get involved. They both live near the middle of vill. You'll see the signs. Are you after getting treated?"

"Not me." She smiled. "I'm healer number three. Looks like I'll be redundant while I'm here. But I picked up a patient along the way, and she needs attention. Oh, and somewhere to stay."

The man scratched behind an ear. "Try Suze Lafecond. I think her eldest just went away to sign up."

"I will. Thank you!" Siri smiled brightly before glancing at Helmine.

Helmine looked back, apparently pale, unhappy and annoyed. She hadn't really been listening to the conversation, having instead been paying attention to the settlement. There was the little question of lodgings -- of course, if that was impossible, she would just have to suck it up and do what she usually did. Hunting wasn't going to be fun, though, if it came to that.

Helmine sighed and spoke up somewhat subduedly. "Can a person find lodgings here?" she asked, hoping they identified her as a foreigner. The dense little strumpet had planted a seed of doubt in her head concerning the local populace's ability to figure that out.

"Ye-es." He gave Siri a quick glance. She returned it evenly. Yes, she's not local. Deal with it.

"Go to find Suze Lafecond, further up and on your right," he said, more slowly. "The door with the bells." Turning to Siri, he added: "Are you taking patients, then?"

"Not before speaking to whosever turf this is. Why do--?"

"Oh, nothing. Go and speak to them. Yes. Best if you see for yourself."

Siri squeezed her shoulder strap, feeling a little lost.

Oh. The same name. She felt a little stupid -- but not for long. No reason to. "Thanks," Helmine said, giving a stiff bow of sorts before limping off. She didn't stop to see if Siri was following.

There was only one door with bells, or only one the human could possibly have meant. There was rather a large assortment of the things around this particular door, and even one or two wind chimes to boot, the latter perhaps being there on a foreign exchange.

Speaking of boots, one could scrape them on a cast-iron fox cub with a sickly expression, which was set into the ground next to the single step.

The door had no knocker, but at least that wouldn't be a problem.

A little further along, Siri looked up at a sign emblazoned with the international symbol of the magical healer. She wasn't normally one to feel apprehensive, but...

Helmine (who had missed the cast-iron fox cub's form despite using the damnable thing) managed to present her case -- how, she didn't know. All she knew was that she presented the money beforehand and, somewhere along the way to the spare room, finally realised something positively horrifying.

The entire house was full of jingling things, metallic, crystal or whatever. That was the prologue to the madness. The entire house was full of items portraying foxes. Small, large, glass, metal, wood, painting -- anything and everything Helmine had never wanted to see foxes on or made of.

She made it all the way to the spare room. It was clean enough with some items left by the previous owner. Only a single wooden, carved fox made by a clumsy child at best. Nothing really interested her in the room's contents except the bed. Right then. Helmine politely pulled off her boots, struggled out of the coat (and breastplate, somehow), set the rifle under the bed -- and collapsed on the bed. A moment passed before she rolled on her stomach (ow) and pulled the pillow over her head. At least this way she could have a good sob without half the world knowing about it.

It took the healer a moment before she convinced herself that standing around uncertainly was silly. She knocked on the door, because this one didn't have bells.

It took a moment. A loud voice, obviously "talking" to someone else approached the door.

Finally a cranky old woman opened the door. "What is it now?" Some noise in the background prompted her to turn around and shout over to that someone inside, then turn back. "Shut up for a moment, there's someone at the door! That bumbling idiot. Yes, what is it?"

Siri caught a whiff of smoke of some kind from somewhere.

She offered a hand, all friendliness. Meeting local experts really was one of the highlights.

"Happy days. I'm Siri Buckleyhurst, a student," she said. Anyone in the calling wouldn't need to ask what of. "Are you the healer? Or one of them?"

The hand received a look, then a hand. "Oh, good day and that. Yeah yeah, I'm one of them. We're not..." Again, another voice from the background. "Shut up and start making tea, you useless quack!" Pause. The woman seemed to consider something for a moment before putting on an amiable smile. "Please come on in."

"Make it yourself, always complaining of my steeping!" returned a ferais with a bottlebrush of light brown hair. Still drying his hands on a ripped towel, the other healer kicked the kitchen door to behind him. "Hello my dear. Don't listen to this tall charlatan; she couldn't cure a kipper. Now let me guess. A young blade like you is after silphium, ah?"

Siri laughed politely.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course any female guests we might have are after silphium, you insensitive clod. She's a student, so behave." Just on top of that, she tut-tutted and closed the door properly after Siri. "And your tea still tastes like the rags."

"I'm not surprised you have no palate what with all that -- muck!" huffed the ferais. "Now. A student, are you? The magnificent Guep Lefrui, which is me, doesn't see nearly enough of you young learners. Are you after training?"

"Yes please. Oh, and there's another thing. I have a patient with a paralysed hand. Magic damage, I think. I'd be grateful if you could look."

"Magic, eh?" said Lefrui.

"How did the patient manage that?" the other inhabitant, clearly interested now. She only shook her fist at Lefrui this time.

Siri looked between the human and the ferais. "She didn't do it herself, and what's worse, the one who did wasn't available for questioning. I've never seen anything like it before. When I had a look, it was as if something was keeping me out. I'd really appreciate some help."

"Of course I'll help," Lefrui magnanimously pronounced.

There was interest elsewhere, too. "You mean we'll help, you mushroom peddler. That sounds veeeeery interesting," said the other, who then paused and rolled her eyes. "A pox on you, Lefrui. I forgot to introduce myself thanks to your mewling. Delmira Hickey."

"Hi Delmira. Thank you both," Siri said. "I'm sure she'll be relieved."

"You wouldn't know a pox if you saw one, woman! Stick to your trepanning," Lefrui thistled.

Beginning to wonder if this wasn't a very clever comedy double act, Siri attempted to head their argument off with "And as I said, I'm looking for experience. If there are some of your regular rounds I can sit in on, or light work I can take off your hands?"

"I'll see what I can do. To tell you the truth, it's soft quiet around here. My preventatives are better than cures," said the ferais.

"Yes, the patients are terrified enough of them to not get sick... or at least admit it," Delmira said dryly. "Let's be honest, Lef, and let the girl have what she wants. Chop chop."