Chương 104: 2-2 Landscaping

Recovering in their basement clinic was no more fun than doing so in a regular hospital, Josef soon learned. His roommate and cot companion wasn't exactly good company, unconscious as Zippa continued to be. His scales remained disturbingly pale, and his face was gaunt from weakness. Whatever his friend had given for his last stand, he was still paying dearly for it. On top of that, the companion he had hoped to call on, in light of the time that had passed, wasn't ready.

Despite the three day countdown given when Pretzel literally exploded, summoning her remained an impossibility. After focusing much of his time and concentration on it, all he achieved was a nosebleed and a little window giving him an outrageous verdict.

'Pretzel the sea-serpent' - Time until recovery: 61: 49: 05 Even as he stared at the timer, counting as the seconds passed him by, the numbers refused to decrease before his eyes. That wasn't how time worked! But since familiars were created from his own mana, it was painfully clear why the progress of her recovery was so slow. Considering he could barely call on the slimmest trickle of mana, there was probably not enough to go around for his serpent.

And after the warning Lapis had given him about using his magic, he refrained from any further experimentation. As such, lacking any modern amenities, Josef spent the next days playing checkers with Nibbles. He wanted to invite Onyx as well, but the big lizard just huffed, declining to waste his time on games. Apparently, those were for children, not grown warriors like him. That didn't stop him from secretly staring whenever they played.

Of course, Nibbles was often busy with the many patients coming in for treatment. Compared to when he left for the dungeon, the frequency of those visits had increased considerably. While that was partly thanks to word about the clinic finally circulating among the less fortunate part of the city's population, Sanctum also contributed to this outcome. Just this morning, they had finally released an official response to what had happened. Announced by an official crier in the market, the word had quickly spread.

Naturally, there was a lot of denouncing the evil that had laid hands not only on one of their honored healers, but on their esteemed bishop. His loss was deemed 'a loss irreconcilable with all that is good and holy in this world'. The deluge of punishments they had promised to unleash on the perpetrators was apparently so long that new ones still popped up in conversations across the city. They have also declared a period of mourning, and Sanctum would close the gates of its temple for an indeterminate period.

Which sounded great on the surface, but left Josef with two major headaches. For one, nobody could tell just what kind of retaliation they'd be cooking up in there. Additionally, whatever meager amount of patients they might have had, that number had now dropped to zero. And the affected parties, mostly nobles and rich merchants, were rather furious and vocal about that.

It also didn't help with the fact that the city gates had officially been closed for the winter, because the first stray beasts had made their way to the walls. While those numbers didn't hold even an inkling of a threat, it still served as the unmistakable signal for what had begun. The beasttide had officially started. And this time around, it looked like Highsend would have to handle it without the help of Sanctum's precious healing powers, or the support of their knightly order.

Thanks to that, both the upper and middle crust of the city were less than happy about the group of terrorists that had caused chaos to descend on their home. All of which had now culminated in tension rising higher than ever before, and violent scuffles had become a daily norm in the streets, with not only Sanctum fanatics but also concerned citizens lashing out against anyone they deemed involved in these issues.

Thus, the number of injuries among Scalefolk and Beastkin, those groups that were barely tolerated in Highsend, had risen by no small amount. Fortunately, the adventurers' guild, or rather its members that had joined the expedition, remained tight-lipped about what and who they had witnessed inside the dungeon. Otherwise, someone might have already put things together and come after him and his friends in a concentrated effort. Josef sighed tiredly in his cot, wondering what his next steps should look like.

If there was any chance to turn around public opinion, he would have to step out of obscurity eventually, despite the danger that brought. If his healing could help Highsend defend its walls without having to rely on Sanctum at all, then he might just be able to spin the blame back to them. After all, if a lone healer without backing could do it, then what were they even paying those people for?

For that route, his best bet would be working with the adventurer's guild, which had taken in all those affected by the Stillness, except for the ones his group had absconded with. That one wasn't even a commonly known fact among the citizens, as the information had probably been held back to prevent a panic. If everyone knew that on top of everything else, the guild had lost a massive number of members, and many of the survivors had contracted an incurable disease?

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Josef wagered some would just pack up their shit and try to make it to the next town over before the beasttide became overwhelming. However, aside from already knowing about the existence of those people, there was even less of a doubt where they were accommodated, since Charly had been discretely invited by the guild to examine an unusual sickness.

An invitation that was probably extended to many medically capable people in Highsend. Naturally, the old lady declined, as the shop could hardly stay open without her. If she wanted to look deeper into the illness that held her grandson, she just had to head into her own basement. Though from what Josef learned from her, she had already done so and found little hope to cure the sickness herself. If Lapis were awake, she would probably have huffed at that. Something about mortals trying where dragons have failed.

Then again, she would never use 'failure' and 'dragon' in the same context, and probably create some euphemism to dodge around the admittance. Ultimately, it all boiled down to him making a quick recovery and figuring out how to efficiently deal with that nasty disease. His impromptu approach of mixing it with chaos until it reacted violently, followed by healing magic, had worked well enough for smaller infections, but could hardly be called a proper remedy.

Which brought Josef to his current endeavor of trying to use his newest skill. If his domain reflected the state of his heartstone, then maybe he could improve his condition through it. There was no guarantee, of course, but it still beat lying around and doing nothing while waiting for things to get better. Using the skill was not as intuitive as he had hoped, though, or he would have used it on the very same day he had first woken up.

He tried focusing on the ability while making himself comfortable, as if he were trying to drift into a different sort of dream, but to little avail. Sitting down cross-legged in some sort of meditative pose was also out of the question. While his body was on the mend, it hadn't regained nearly enough mobility for that. Just walking around was a challenge in itself. Josef grimaced as he remembered the first time he wanted to go take a leak.

The sheets that were hung loosely across the length of the room to give him and Zippa some privacy were the only thing that protected his dignity during that incident. Even Onyx wisely never spoke up as it happened, making himself scarce. No, he really didn't want to dredge up that memory. Instead, he focused on where he wanted to be, picturing that desert and Lapis's statue. But that alone wasn't enough, so for once, he dared to squeeze his heart for a tiny trickle of mana.

It was only the faintest whiff of magic, but he concentrated on its origin, on the center of his heart and the sensation this miniscule movement caused. Then, his perception sank into it. His eyes didn't open to the sight of his domain. Rather, Josef felt like he had been standing there all the time, but only now could he see it properly. The shift in perception should have been more daunting than it ultimately was.

"Well, here I am. That's step one, I guess." Hopefully, Nibbles would find the time to join him again. Otherwise, things would get lonely very quickly.

"I can see that." Unless, of course, the resident lizard decided to chime in.

"Congratulations on achieving the bare minimum." Josef turned around, finding himself right in front of her statue. He had pictured it coming here, so he really hadn't anyone else to blame.

"Weren't you going to rest?" he asked, dreading another conversation with the dragoness, no matter how necessary it was.

"And I shall return to my nap once I make sure you will not shovel sand with your bare hands," Lapis's voice carried a heavy sigh. Was she able to read his mind?

"This is your domain, a world shaped by the weight of your willpower. Your means are only as limited as you allow them to be." Was she talking about the literal attribute? He was great with that one! So if he believed really hard that he had a proper shovel, he could have one? He would have accidentally created things before if it were so easy, though. Considering that, he went into more detail, imagining the weight of the tool and how the grain of the wood would feel in his hands.

Just as the thought took shape, an old iron shovel with a wooden handle appeared in his grip out of nowhere.

"Huh, neat," he reacted aptly to the art of creating things from his own mind. A heavy groan carried through the desert like a fierce wind, sounding like Lapis was either very upset or suffering from indigestion.

"Can't you, for once, use your brain? Why can't you understand that-" the end of her complaint was as abrupt as her tone had been sharp. Josef's lips were pressed into a thin smile. Maybe he was doing things the wrong way, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with a nagging backseat dragon. That counted as a win in his book. Climbing out of the crevasse that had swallowed the dragoness's statue, he made his way onto the nearest dune, using his new shovel to support himself on the uneven terrain.

Sand, dunes and holes as far as the eye could see. A broken sea of white. Not for the first time since reading that skill description did Josef wonder why his domain was such a dreary, lifeless place. Sprout would probably howl dramatically if she saw this. Not that he expected her to come here soon, considering her continued role as Cana's protector, as well as their lacking connection.

She'd probably gain access once he could actually unsummon her, if that process would work for a creature he had met instead of created. According to Nibbles, that was what entering felt like, and it explained where his familiars went when stashed away like that.

"Empty and barren," Josef mused. The thought came unbidden, but it fit, didn't it? The reflection of someone who arrived in Aurum as but a shell of himself. But that also was too limited in understanding, wasn't it? After all, he had gained plenty of connections and memories since that day. Those had to account for something, right? They should have left a mark on him, he told himself. And as his realization became firm, a small shift in the nearby sand caught his attention.

Defying all constraints of regular horticulture, a single green sprout grew from the sand. It quickly expanded, leaves fanning out as the stem darkened. Before long, an almost hip-high palm tree had entered his domain. Josef looked at the tiny tree with no small amount of concern.

"I can barely keep a cactus alive. How am I supposed to take care of you?" Still, it was an interesting turn, and he could see why Lapis had been upset about his shovel. This place could do so much more if he went about it correctly. That only left him wondering whether his little bout of botany had actually had some positive effect on his heartstone, or if this was a waste of time. His gut told him that everything did feel a little better while he was standing next to the palm, but that wasn't an exact science.

Just as he contemplated creating a couple more of them, Josef suddenly swayed and fell over. Maybe that feeling was just lightheadedness, as whatever power he had used had drained him. As the surrounding desert faded away, he followed Lapis's example and took a nap.