by Pirateaba
Erin grabbed Brunkr’s good arm with her own. She squeezed it hard, looking the Gnoll in the eye.
“Have faith in me. I want to help. And I know what I’m doing.”
He stared at her, and she saw the hope in his eyes that she was telling the truth. But then he looked away.
“Everyone says that.”
“I know.”
Erin sat with Brunkr as he let go of her and stared dully at his arm. She began tidying up in silence. After a minute, she spoke.
“You know, back home we don’t have magic.”
Brunkr looked up.
“You don’t?”
Erin shook her head as she sat the jar of honey in one corner of the room, balancing one of Krshia’s ladles on the lid.
“Nope. Not at all. Not a single [Mage]—heck, no one knows a single spell. Wild, isn’t it?”
“How could your people survive? Even we have [Shamans]. How do you…do anything?”
“With technology. With things other than magic. You see, we study a lot of things. We’re not tough like Drakes or strong as Gnolls…we don’t have good noses or the ability to cast magic or anything else. But we think a lot. And we write everything down. And one of the things we write down is how to cure people.”
“Everyone does that. My people have cures—if I were back at home and it were summer, my aunt says she could have found the good dirt—”
“No, see that’s where you’re wrong. We’re not the same. Where I come from, we don’t have cures. It’s not a mystery whether people will get well or not. We know what causes what, and if we don’t know, we find out. We don’t say you might get better. We invent cures that work all the time, or nearly all the time. That’s why I know the honey will help, and the cleaning.”
“Really?”
Erin nodded. She sat with Brunkr on the couch. He stared at her like Mrsha did to Lyonette when the girl talked with her. He wasn’t an adult, but a child, needing to believe all would be well. So Erin opened a door in her heart and remembered.
“I’ve heard of people who were blind being cured. I’ve seen people who lost a hand—and then had it sewn right back on! Where I come from…we don’t use healing potions. We don’t rely on alchemy or magic. We use medicine. And this—this is medicine.”
She pointed to the honey.
“It will work. It has antibodies—and it’s useful for fighting infections. When you need healing, you keep the wound clean and don’t let anything get on it. That’s the basics. I’m going to talk with an [Alchemist] after this and see about getting better medicine made, but this will do in the meantime.”
“And you’re sure it will work? How can you be?”
Erin met Brunkr’s eyes.
“I’m sure I’m doing the right thing. I’m not sure it will work. But I am sure that this is the only chance you have.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Brunkr looked away. Erin grabbed his paw. She waited until he looked back at her again.
“Believe me, please. If this doesn’t work, I’ll come back with a saw. Because you’re going to lose your hand otherwise. If you won’t do exactly what I ask…you’d better hurry up and chop your arm off before the rest of you gets infected. But until that day comes, I’ll tell you to do this. Because I know what I’m doing is right.”
The Gnoll stared at Erin for a long time. She could feel his pulse beating through his fur and skin.
“I wish I could believe you. I almost do.”
“Try?”
Brunkr hesitated. He looked away and sighed.
“I will try. I have nothing left to lose.”
“No. You have your hand to lose. But it’s not going to happen. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. Understand?”
She hugged him. The Gnoll froze, but Erin wrapped her arms around him and squeezed hard. Brunkr made a small sound, but she just kept repeating the words.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be alright. It’s going to be okay. Your hand is going to get better. I’m going to come back and you’re going to keep changing your bandages, and it’s going to get better. I promise. It’s going to be okay. Okay?”
He said not a word, but put a paw on her shoulder. Erin felt him squeeze, and hugged tighter. She couldn’t see his face, but she felt him, as tightly as they were holding each other.
He was trembling.
—-
When Erin left the apartment an hour later, she saw Krshia waiting for her outside. Snow had piled up in the Gnoll’s fur, but she hadn’t come inside. She nodded at Erin.
“I heard what you told my nephew. You give him hope. But it is not certain, no?”
“I didn’t lie.”
Krshia nodded.
“I know. And I will trust. And hope.”
“There’s more that can be done. I’m going to try and find something else that’ll help more than the honey. I’ll let you know. Just—help him, okay?”
“I will. He has hope, thanks to you.”
Krshia hesitated. She bent closer to Erin and whispered, so softly that only the girl could hear it, not Brunkr, sleeping inside.
“I tell you, I did not believe when I gave him all those remedies before. I did not believe, because I thought his hand was lost. But you believe. I can smell it, and so can he. Thank you for that.”
“That’s just who I am. A silly believer.”
Erin smiled. She squeezed Krshia’s arm and the Gnoll hugged her briefly. Erin stepped away and walked out of the city.
She was tired. So tired. Erin yawned, and stared at the sun.
“Huh?”
It was just past midday. Erin blinked and rubbed her eyes. She felt so tired. So—incredibly tired. How was it only that early? But then she heard a shout.
“Erin!”
Someone—a group of someones were waving at her. Erin automatically waved back and saw Pawn, Klbkch, Belgrade, Bird…walking together with Klbkch and the wonderfully strange blue Antinium. Further away, she saw Zel and the adventurers making their way to her inn.
Something like a sigh escaped Erin, although she kept a smile on her face. More people, all of whom wanted to see her, or at least wanted to eat something hot cooked by her. She felt so tired, so endlessly tired.
But the day wasn’t over. And Erin had a job to do. She began to walk more quickly back towards her inn, and then stopped. She stared at the sky.
The sun was shining bright. It was shining in a sky full of clouds. Erin could see more on the horizon. Soon they would turn the world dark and grey, and pour snow down again. It would grow colder. The world would be washed away by ice once more.
But for a moment the sun shone. Then a cloud passed before it. Erin felt her spirits drop as the light faded. But it would come back. She had to believe that. She wanted to sleep a thousand years, but she looked at her friends and took a smile out of her heart and wore it bright on her face. Because if she didn’t smile, who would?
The sun would come out again. Erin knew it. She whispered as she walked back to her inn, feeling exhaustion in every line of her body. It was a simple thing. It was all you had to do, even when everything else was uncertain.
“Have faith.”
3.39
She didn’t want to walk up the hill to her inn. No—it wasn’t that. Erin didn’t want to walk up the hill to her inn and go inside. Or…no, it was more like she didn’t want to walk up the hill to her inn, go inside, and then have to feed and deal with another crowd of people right this instant.
Maybe in five minutes Erin would feel good about that, but right now she could only sigh as she stomped through the cold snow, up the steep and unreasonably treacherous hill, towards her inn.
It wasn’t that she was tired. Well, she was tired, but it wasn’t a physical thing. Erin was used to being on her feet all day long and working hard. She could fight off Goblins and cook pasta while picking blue fruit in the snow. But she’d been working hard of late. Very hard. And Erin felt just a bit…
/> Here was the problem. Erin wasn’t just tired. That was a simple thing to fix. Tired was immediate, and solvable with sleep. It was a drain on the mind, a heavy little rock tied to the eyelids that made them close far too often.
Tired was simple. But Erin was exhausted. She just felt like—like—
“Like I need a holiday.”
Erin sighed as she trudged up the hill towards her inn. Everyone else had already disappeared inside; part of her was already thinking about what she could make for lunch. She hadn’t had time for that because she’d had to go to Brunkr. Erin didn’t regret that, but she knew the others would be hungry.
She was ready to apologize and get to work, but found to her great joy that Lyonette had already made something to eat!
“It’s well, it’s a fry-up with mushrooms and other greens. You can have it with fresh bread and I’ve got fried beef if anyone wants meat. It’s got a Gnoll sauce on it, so it’s a bit spicy…”
Erin sidled over as she saw the travel-hungry people lining up to fill their plates. Lyonette had put out a big dish of the fried veggies and meat for people to serve themselves buffet-style.
“You did all this?”
Lyonette nodded, smiling as she passed out plates. Erin resisted the urge to kiss Lyonette and instead hugged with one arm.
“You’re so cool. Best [Barmaid] ever!”
There was a plate, a fork provided by Mrsha, although it was covered with a few hairs, and hot food. For a few seconds Erin just chewed on crispy, crunchy green tubes and relaxed. The warmth went down into her stomach and made her feel alive again.
Then she looked around and took stock of her inn. It was a full room today. Not only had some of the [Wagon Drivers] stopped here to eat, but Pawn, Belgrade, and Bird and a small group of Soldiers and Workers were in line as well. Klbkch was conspicuous in his absence, as was the strange group of Antinium who’d followed him.
Erin went over to Pawn, thanking Lyonette in her heart—the girl must have figured out the Antinium might show up, hence the non-gluten meal she’d made. She smiled at Pawn and took time to welcome both Belgrade and Bird—she hadn’t seen them in what felt like forever!
The two other workers were almost shy as they bowed to Erin. Pawn was more relaxed, and showed the other Workers how to hold the plates properly—they had to do it for their Soldier counterparts, since the giant warrior Antinium couldn’t properly grasp the plates.
“I apologize, but I fear they will have to use their hands to eat, Erin. We will clean up any mess we cause.”
“Totally fine. Totally—don’t worry about messes. I’ve got a Skill! But if your uh, Soldiers have problems eating we can give them bowls.”
“That would help greatly. Thank you.”
A trip into the kitchen and the Soldiers had bowls to hold instead of plates. Erin smiled as she stood with the Antinium in line, watching the queue pass the buffet line. Everyone was hungry, but they’d stood aside to let the adventurers go first. And Zel. All the Drakes practically ushered him to the front, despite his reluctance.
“Klbkch sends his regards. He wished to meet you at the inn, but he has pressing business in the Hive. I believe he will attempt to visit you tonight, if his duties allow.”
“Of course he will.”
Erin sighed, but smiled at Belgrade. She watched as ahead of her, the Horns of Hammerad reached the table and began filling their plates.
“Silver and steel you two, eat something that isn’t meat or bread!”
Yvlon snapped exasperatedly at Ceria and Pisces. Both had gone for the sliced beef, completely skipping the vegetables. Ksmvr and Yvlon had a more balanced plate, but the two mages looked completely unapologetic.
“I’m a half-Elf. I used to eat leaves for breakfast. I’ve had enough of them for one lifetime, thank you.”
Pisces nodded.
“And I—”
He hesitated, eyed the slices of beef and added two more to his full plate. Then he turned and walked away. Yvlon rolled her eyes and made a disgusted face, but she followed her friends to the table.
“My body is dead, so uh, I can eat unhealthy.”
Jelaqua grinned as she emulated Ceria’s style. Erin saw Lyonette hurry into the kitchen—probably to cook what meat they had left. Erin resolved to order a lot more from Krshia when she went to the city again. Her feet were already aching.
“If you’re dead, why would it matter what you eat? Surely you can’t taste anything.”
That came from Typhenous. Jelaqua turned, pretending to be offended.
“I’ll have you know that I keep my body’s tongue in perfect condition see? Now, some other organs are a bit the worse for wear, but taste is something everyone likes.”
“True. Now move, you’re holding up the line.”
Seborn edged past Jelaqua. He and Moore had balanced plates, Moore with more vegetable and bread than meat.
Griffon Hunt came next. Ulrien, Halrac and Typhenous got their food without objection, but when Revi reached the head of the table she took one look at the spread and made a face.
“I don’t like mushrooms.”
Halrac growled at her.
“Then get the beef.”
“I don’t want to eat just meat for lunch.”
Erin hurried out of line, already slapping her I’m-sorry-you-suck smile onto her face.
“What’s the problem, Revi?”
“Nothing here really appeals to me.”
The Stitch-girl turned her nose up at the food. Erin kept smiling.
“Okay, why don’t I make you a sandwich? Toasted bread, cheese, some sliced ham and greens?”
“I suppose that will do.”
Revi sighed and nodded. Erin hurried into the kitchen, but not before she’d passed Zel and heard him mutter.
“Mages.”
It was the work of a minute to put together a lovely sandwich. No problem at all, really. But Erin had had to do it, which was what sucked. Lyonette was apologetic.
“I should have made something for Revi.”
“No, you shouldn’t. She’s just picky.”
Erin made a face as she used a pair of tongs to toast the sandwich to perfection by the kitchen fire. She pulled the sandwich away as her Skill told her it was done—it was like an egg timer going off in Erin’s head—and tossed it onto a plate.
“You know, I’ve heard that when [Chefs] and [Waiters] don’t like the people they’re serving, they spit in the food.”
“Ew! Do you think—do they really do that?”
Erin didn’t see why Lyonette was so upset, but the girl was staring off into the horrific abyss of recollection.
“They didn’t do that to my food—I’m sure of—but if I—”
She turned green. Erin waved a hand in front of her face and Lyonette came out of her trance.
“Well? I’m not saying you should, but…”
Both girls stared at the innocent sandwich. They shook their heads at roughly the same time.
“It’s not worth it. Besides, that’s disgusting.”
“Yeah. It’s not the sandwich’s fault.”
Lyonette nodded. She frowned, and then went over to the cutting board where some of the ingredients were left over. She took an unused mushroom and diced it up into very fine pieces, hiding them in the melted cheese. Erin smiled as Lyonette closed the sandwich.
“Hey Revi, you aren’t allergic to mushrooms or anything, right? If it touches your skin, you won’t break out in hives or swell up, because if you are—”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
Revi took the plate from Erin without a glance and began eating it with a knife and fork. Erin winked as Lyonette came out of the kitchen with more food for the buffet table. That was a small victory in her books.
“Oh, you don’t need to eat the food here! I’m sorry, I forgot!”
She stopped Pawn as he was about to fill his plate. Lyonette hurried into the kitchen and came out with—
“Bees?”
“I fried these in oil and then melted some cheese over them. Ksmvr says it’s good.”
Lyonette explained as she sat the Antinium at another table. With Erin’s help all of them had a few bees to eat, and Ksmvr came over as well to get his bugs. Erin sat next to Pawn and Bird, trying not to watch them eat as she slurped down her food.
Pawn was already pulling the legs off of his bee and crunching them down, but Belgrade and Bird stared at their food as if entranced.
“Well? Are you hungry? Or do you not like bees?”
“It is not that, Miss Erin. I have been waiting a long time for this moment. I wish to savor it.”
Belgrade stared at the bee dripping oil onto his plate. Bird stared at his bee and then picked it up. He spoke dreamily.
“They look like tiny birds. Bee birds.”
Erin glanced over, and saw Pawn and Belgrade shrug. She shrugged too, and began to eat. This was lunch. And since she hadn’t made it, Erin was a very happy [Innkeeper] indeed.
Work interrupted her before she’d finished eating, though. The door opened and a familiar blue-scaled Drake walked in.
“Erin?”
His face fell when he saw all of her visitors.
“If you’re busy, I can go. I’d hate to interrupt—”
“Olesm! No, I’m just finishing my lunch and Lyonette can serve everyone food and drinks. Uh, you can do that, right Lyonette? If you need a hand—”
“I’ve got two!”
Lyonette waved at Erin and smiled as she went past. Mrsha, trotting beside Lyonette, sat on her bum and waggled all four paws. Erin grinned and turned to Olesm.
“Want to sit? How about next to Pawn? You can eat mushroom stir-fry and tell me what’s happened, and then I’ll teach you all how to play Go!”
Olesm perked up and sat happily with Erin. He took one look at what the Antinium were eating and declined to have lunch.
“So, tell me everything that’s happened to you!”
“Only if you’ll tell me what happened! I heard a bit from Klbkch, but where did you go, Erin? That skeleton, Toren, did something, didn’t he?”
“You don’t know?”
