Chương 137: AF Chapter 136 – On to Ithaenc!… Or Not?

The Manafield Sang. The Mick staggered back and fell to one knee, and this time the hand that he clasped to his chest wasn't in mockery. Tears were streaming down his face, but his eyes were black and shining with a grim and terrible resolve motivated by sparks within that had barely managed to manifest as duty and revenge, and now were revealed as something more.

It was a wish for more and a drive to go find it, so small and nameless he'd never even seen it in the rush and chaos of all the other emotions that rode upon his soul.

"Och," he managed to gasp out, descriptive as it was.

"Och, damn. That were, that were much harder-hitting than the first time…" he shuddered.

"Well, you aren't undead, and I was saying it for them back then," I said gently, keeping his eyes.

"On the flip side, you must be horrified. Only Good men can truly appreciate a Word of Creation, Lord Mick."

"Ach, I'll be havin' t' scrub me brain after all this, ye be sayin'?" he rallied back, getting back to his feet with only a little sway, ignoring the tears coming down his cheeks.

"Ye're a right horrible influence on people, lass. Stealin' hearts an' souls is far, far worse than anything I stole in me life…"

"Rubbish. Those kids you are training all have stars in their eyes when they talk about you, all the girls have crushes on you, and all the men want to be able to fight like you and have such great stories to tell to impress the girls. You stole their hearts and minds and futures, and you did it magnificently well, Lord Mick!"

"Aye, I did do it well, did I not? Well, something I did right that wasn't for meself, after all these years…" he sighed deeply, looking at things in the sky from a long time ago.

"Aye, I believe ye, girl. Ye trot out those Words, ye give them back their dreams, a bit of a spine again, an' ye'll grab some o' them. The rest…" he shrugged fatalistically.

"They just won't care enough to. They gave up on life a long time ago."

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," I said fatalistically.

"If they've truly lost all nerve and hope, well, they are just walking dead men, Lord Mick."

"Aye, well." His dark eyes had a special burn to them.

"I think if we add a bit o' revenge to the matter, yer soft and stupid Hope might have a bit of an accompaniment."

"Is that so? Why, it would seem the negative emotions do appeal to some kind of people, amazing as that may be…"

"We'll just have t' be ready to give them a show, I be thinkin'…"

Ithaenc Island was not really a place where the Royal Scouts should have been training. It was very dangerous for their Levels, with threats that could one or two-shot them, and, well, they weren't optimized. They didn't have access to the magical Temples that the Mick had. They couldn't align their Stats to be the most optimal, designing themselves to be a perfect melee, or mage, or archer, like they were making up their own character sheet, like all the old-timers had done.

They only had average to above-average Stats, as a result of the constant training under Lord Mick and the military here. None of them were 'geniuses', or ideal candidates, with the equivalent of natural 18's, or 100's under the Isparian system. However, the Isparian system was pretty forgiving in how it allowed Stats to accumulate, so the Scouts were actually building towards 'optimal human', it was just through growth, and not focus.

It also meant they were well behind what the optimal builds were, and they'd literally never catch up. They could only make it up with skills, especially specializing certain areas, and Gear and techniques. Happily, most of the Summon threats were Enclosed, and could be dealt with one by one in somewhat controlled conditions. The roaches could plot how to attack, whether to use missile fire or dare a straight fight, and then execute.

Having the Mick, Princess Kristie, and me there to back them up and provide Healing if they were injured was also important. I could also layer the Life Magic Protections on them against common magical attacks from certain of the enemies, which reduced the risk a lot, and I was on standby if the War Magic went off, although I had my limits, too.

"Alchemical Healing kits?" I asked doubtfully, lifting up the tightly-wrapped roll of bandages for my inspection. I sniffed at it warily, caught the hint of sage and thyme and other herbs associated with healing. The magic on the thing was very faint, certainly not anything I'd trust with my life.

"What… is this supposed to do? Fast substitute for a true Healer's pack?" I asked archly. I hadn't seen any of them use the things in a fight, because I was there, and Healing Magic was better and faster, and perfectly reliable. The Scouts didn't look particularly confident after my remark, as I handed the thing over to Kris, who also picked it up, smelled it, and looked vaguely suspicious of it. The Mick sighed forlornly.

"That… is a good description o' things," he finally nodded after thinking a moment.

"They were once very powerful, and there were a Skill devoted just t' using them properly. There were power in them, an' ye could pull it off t' heal yourself, though it were a bit tiresome t' do so." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I looked down at the rolled bandages after Kris handed the kit back with a shake of her head.

"Tiresome? It drew on Stamina to heal you?"

"Well, aye. I think I remember that it healed at five t' one," he remarked, as I lifted it up and scrutinized the faint power inside it.

"Was it perfectly reliable?" I had to ask.

"Just peel off a bandage, slap it on an injury, and call on your power to heal yourself, or something?" He frowned.

"No. The more injured ye were, the less likely it were to work, and the less it healed. Ye could heal light injuries without fail, an' sometimes ye could get it t' heal more damage than even the most powerful Healing spells…" I just arched an eyebrow.

"So, when you needed the Healing most, it didn't work, and when you didn't really need it, it did?" He glanced at the Royal Scouts, watching all this with trepidation.

"Aye…" I looked at them all.

"And you all know how to use these things?" I asked them. A chorus of confirmations came back at me.

"Can you MAKE them?" I asked them archly. Silence. I looked at the Mick, who slowly shook his head. I looked at Kris, who just threw up her hands.

"Lord Mick, this… does not seem to have the power to do what you said it can do."

"Aye, 'tis true," he agreed immediately.

"The bandages have only a one-time effect on any wound now, an' heal much less damage when they work."

"That sounds like battle chiurgy," Kris murmured.

"A use of the mundane Heal skill in a fight? Just by slapping on a bandage…"

"It transforms Stamina into Health, by your words." The Mick inclined his head.

"Exchange magic is no longer working like that, Lord Mick. This… is not much more than a purified alchemical bandage with vestigial healing properties attached to it. What about Potions? They have been the mainstay of portable Healing since forever…" I asked carefully.

"Aye, well, it seems it be no longer so easy t' make such Potions as it were, an' the amounts are limited, an' go t' those who can pay. Plus, well, they be heavy, an' loud, an' take up room in a pack now that we ignored afore. I used t' be able to carry a hundred o' them, if I liked. Now, I carry but five… three t' heal, one fer stamina, an' one for mana, in an emergency."

"But you can take this kit, and pull out enough energies from it to basically equal what a first aid treatment with non-magical equipment would give you?"

"Aye. It won't repair a broken bone or a lost finger or whatnot, but it'll ease through burns, seal up gashes, an' stop bleeding an' bruising." The Mick was frowning now, too.

"The lack o' healing is one o' the huge things hurtin' us compared to afore. Not everyone has time t' learn the ins an' outs o' Life Magic, or even the inclination." I held up my hand, and he fell silent.

"This was a crude vehicle to turn Stamina into Healing power, that is all. The magic was in the Stamina, the bandages were just conductors of the energies involved.

"You just said the process still works, it is just much less powerful, and slower?"

"Aye. Try to do it in a fight, like as not get your head lopped off," the Mick stated.

"An' ye cannae use them multiple times on the same injury now."

"You do know basic first aid, how to bind broken bones, the signs of internal bleeding, and the like?" I asked him slowly.

"Aye," the Mick said, as his students nodded also.

"Actually, learning t' use the kits proper, ye gain a very good understanding o' the body an' how it works, how to use the energy more effectively." My face lit up slightly.

"Oh, that's good, then. You know how to use the Healing energy properly, you're just getting very little of it now?"

"Aye. Have ye a way t' help with the Healing problem?"

"Hmmm. Would I be correct in surmising that none of you use your mana for anything but the occasional weapon or armor Buff with Item magic?" I asked them all. They all nodded, including Lord Mick. Kris looked at me, I looked at her.

"Start on Artificing?" I asked her calmly.

"That would be best," she agreed.

"They need to start on the Vigor, Resolve, and Focus line of Masteries, too, and probably the Healing Masteries."

"Healing skill plus Infusions on a Healing Kit." I held up the bandages to her.

"Emulation of Healing spells…" The Mick straightened up, as did the others.

"Ye kin teach us t' use Healing magic without Life Magic?" he asked quickly.

"Artificing ignores all Traditional typing of magic. It's all just magic to Artificing." I eyed the roll of bandages considerately.

"It also means you should be able to make both Healing Wands and Potions without too much trouble. The key to making the Potions is to have something to hold the Healing magic in place, and these kits are already treated to do that. I can probably turn each bandage here into a basic Healing Potion equivalent without much trouble. If they can use Healing Wands with Wand Chambers, in-combat Healing should not be difficult."

"The Healing enhancement on Armor is eminently reusable, too," Kris pointed out.

"They'd need to be Eights, but yes," I agreed.

"There's also Vampiric, Greater Vampiric, and the Healing Edge Enhancements to melee Weapons," she pointed out.

"The last is by far the best of them over time, but the first two are great for fast in-combat Healing if you're willing to get in there. If we meld the Healing Skill of the Isparian System with the mundane Healing skill of the Matrix system, that opens up those Feats to nice abuse," Kris mused.

"We just have to redefine it as the channeling of energy to improve Healing effects, source variable."

"The line of Healing Masteries is pretty robust, but they definitely need the Combat Focus line first," I told her." Combat Vigor is effectively a passive that is always useful, especially if boosted by Blood and Soul."

"With Wands as burst alternatives and Potions as backups, and a Healing skill for out of combat?" Kris reasoned, considering all of those things.

"That seems the best way to go, doesn't it?" We both turned to look at the Scouts, Lord Mick, and that temple behind them, all of which had no idea of what we were talking about.

"I don't think we're going to be moving the camp today, Lord Mick," I told him. I pointed to the North.

"Go and find the closest spawn enclosures, work them until everyone has satisfied Naming Karma or better, then return. Kris and I are going to work on getting a few things set up for everyone to work with when they get back."