Book 2: Chapter 15: Dwarven Law and Unusual Keenness
Breena was scared. However, as terrified as she was, she has no choice but to suppress her fears as she tried her hardest to match her pace with Master Lone's.
He was running incredibly quickly through the Farwinds and she had to wonder if he was even trying to make his movements matchable.
The last thing Breena wanted right now was to be left alone here where she could be attacked by monsters or, Primals forbid, get approached by a group of travelling dwarves.
She knew Master Lone was in distress right now and he was incredibly worried about Mistress Sophie but she wondered if it was too much of a hope for him to consider her feelings and condition as well.
Breena was a few ranks weaker than him and her stats were really being pushed to their limits as they tried to keep her body moving as she wished it to.
The entire trip felt like a dream which left her exhausted by the end of it. She didn't know how long they'd been running, she only knew that she couldn't feel her legs anymore and her breathing was beyond ragged but somehow she hadn't collapsed yet.
Breena knew that as much as he scared her right now, Master Lone needed her support. He'd helped her a lot so the least she could do was help him too, even if only by being at his side while he found a way to help Mistress Sophie.
She wondered if they'd stopped in the massive intersection of the Farwinds to ask for help there but she couldn't remember. When she's started being aware of her surrounding again, she and Master Lone were running through the farmlands at the edge of Krieg Moor.
'I feel sick,' she thought. 'Still, at least we're back to safety... I hope Master has calmed down by now...'
Breena didn't dare to focus on him for too long in case he glared at her again. She didn't want to feel so weak and helpless like when he'd told her to stop talking with only his eyes when she tried to defend Four-twelve. Instead, she just continued running behind him to the best of her ability.
The next time her attention refocused, they were back in the Krieg proper and Lone was furiously pounding on a metal door with one hand as the other cradled the cocooned Sophie a bit precariously considering that she was no toddler and he no giant.
"Hello?!" Master Lone yelled at the door. "I know it's late but is anyone in?! My companion needs immediate medical attention!"
Breena watched mutely as Lone banged on the door a few more times. 'This is a... clinic? A healer's home? H-How can anyone help Mistress when she's wrapped up in roots like that?'
Of course, she didn't say that out loud. She just stood behind Master Lone and watched him with caution and care.
Something about the pained look on his face as he begged for help triggered memories in the young teenaged girl's mind.
Images of fire and blood consumed her as a tormented face yelled at her to run. She shook her head. It had been a while since she'd had a flashback and as much as she wanted to cry for remembering that time, she needed to be strong right now.
If not for herself, then for the man in front of her who was in a very emotionally unstable state.
The metal door to the building swung open in a fury as an angry dwarf screamed into Master Lone's face, "It's past yer curfew, ya fookin' noisy fox! Feck off!"
"I know and I'm so sorry for bothering you so late, but Sophie is being eaten away by Darkness corruption. I used a skill on her but I need to know if it's working! Please, money is no issue!" Lone pleaded.
"No! Feck off! Come back in the mornin' an' ah'll consider it." With that, the dwarf slammed the door shut before yelled through it, "If ya dinnae go an' get, ah'll summon the Nightwatch!"
Lone raised his hand to smack the door once again but slowly lowered it to hold Sophie instead. "Come on, Breena. We'll find another healer or doctor."
"Huh? Oh, uh, y-yeah," Breena hastily replied as she trailed after the speed-walking man.
At the second medical practice Master Lone located, the interaction with its occupant went just as poorly as the last.
"Please help, I need to know she's okay!" Master Lone requested in a heart-wrenching tone.
Breena frowned. 'I've never seen him so upset before... He always comes across as strong and confident... Even when he told me how he was treated in the dungeons of Ranton castle, he never looked so... pained...'
A window at the side of the door slid open vertically and a tired-looking female dwarf said, "Piss off, would ya? Ah'm tryin' tae sleep 'ere."
"It's urgent," Master Lone said in a low and apologetic voice. "I know we're being a bother and I can compensate you for the inconvenience."
"Aye, ah bet ya could but ah couldnae gae ah fook less. I cannae work when ah'm sleep-deprived. Come back later," the dwarf stated before closing the window, leaving Master Lone and Breena at her doorstep.
Breena noticed Master Lone seeming more and more anxious over Mistress Sophie's well-being in the cocoon of roots as they approached the third local healing practice of Krieg Moor they had found.
Master Lone took a breath to seemingly ready himself before he then knocked on the door as usual. This time, it opened without him needing to say a word.
Breena somewhat hoped they would get apprehended by the Nightwatch at this point. She felt Master Lone's actions weren't healthy and that it would be best to wait until their curfew was over before seeking help.
Regardless of her thoughts, Master Lone explained everything as quickly and as fluently as he could to the glasses-wearing grey-haired dwarven man leaning against his own doorframe.
"Ah see. Well, ah can see ye'r in distress, laddie. Ah can help ye..." the Stone Dwarf said a bit reluctantly, but clearly he held some pity for them after seeing the state they were in.
Master Lone beamed a smile. "Oh, thank you. I've been looking for a healer or doctor without any luck for so lon-"
"What species is the patient?" the dwarf interrupted.
Master Lone's smile faded a bit as he wore a confused look in his eyes. "... What?"
"What species is the patient? Ah dinnae treat 'umans. It's actually city law tae deny all 'umans oor services when it comes tae medical aid an' or healin'," the old man explained.
Master Lone's expression completely crumbled. "W-Why?"
"Too many times we're lost an 'uman on the table only tae be accused ah murd'r. It's ah risk we dinnae take anymere in border kriegs like Krieg Moor. Simple as 'at. Ah assume the patient's an 'uman then judgin' fae yer reaction?"
Master Lone nodded slowly as he tightened his grip around Mistress Sophie's cocoon in concern. Breena felt a sinking feeling in her gut upon watching this.
The healer sighed and shook his head sadly. "Shame. Sorry, Ninetails. Cannae 'elp ya. Best ah luck, eh? Ah 'ope she gets bett'r."
Master Lone stood still in shock and Breena saw him clench his fists tightly in anger before he marched off, forcing her to follow him for two more hours around the city and every single person said the same thing.
Either they wouldn't give them the time of day or they refused to give Mistress Sophie a look over when they learned she was a human.
Breena feared Master Lone would have continued endlessly and maybe even start knocking door-to-door if they didn't get detained by the Nightwatch for breaking their non-dwarf curfew, much to her relief.
Honestly, Breena was happy they'd been arrested and were now being questioned. It gave her a chance to rest her blistering feet and she hoped it would give Master Lone the opportunity to calm down a bit.
The two members of the Nightwatch who had just finished interviewing them glanced at one another before sighing.
"You're both free to go. You'll be escorted back to your current place of residence and we'll have to write this up on your files," one of them said with his practised neutral accent.
The other one nodded and added, "We understand your circumstances and we'll send a preliminary copy of what you told us to The Adventurer's Guild. I hope the girl gets better. Enough strangeness is going on in this city as is. Last thing we need is a visiting human dying due to the actions of a crazy dwarf."
Master Lone slowly got up out of his chair and wore a saddened expression as he said, "Don't call him crazy. He betrayed us but it wasn't his choice to do so."
Breena's face livened up in surprise as she stared at him in awe. 'He's being reasonable! I knew getting arrested would help him see that Four-twelve wasn't a truly evil man.'
Master Lone slowly lowered his head and said in a soft voice, "Thank you for being so understanding and kind to us. I know I wasn't exactly... uh, cooperative for most of your questions."
The dwarves grinned. "We're used to it."
"Good on you for owning up to being a cockhead, most don't. I'll walk you two back to the Rusty Sprocket," one of the Nightwatch guards said in a friendly tone.
Master Lone smiled as he carefully lifted Mistress Sophie's cocoon up. "I would appreciate that, thank you."
"W-What now?" Breena stuttered as she and Master Lone entered his and Mistress Sophie's bedroom at the Rusty Sprocket.
Lone carefully laid down Mistress Sophie's cocoon on their bed before he sat next to it and kept a hand on it. "Now we wait until morning, I suppose. I want to keep looking for someone to see if they can tell that she's doing okay."
"But the laws..." Breena understood Lone's concerns but if he ended up making a dwarf check on Mistress Sophie with force then they would be at risk of being thrown out of the city. 'We're better off in here where we can talk to people and ask for advice than out in the wild in that weird fort Master can summon...'
Some of Master Lone's personal fort had modern designs for wallpapers, flooring and even furniture from a place she didn't recognise as being from Milindo which scared Breena a bit, in all honesty.
Master Lone smiled wryly. "I know it's stupid but I... I need to know she's healing."
He used his free hand to pull down his shirt at the shoulder to show Breena the purple bulging bubbles under his skin before saying, "Even with my insane recovery speed and my new skill, Darkness Corruption Resistance, levelling up like mad, I'm still not cured. If it's this bad for me, I think it's reasonable to think that one healing skill can't fully restore Sophie. Right?"
"... R-Right," Breena answered hesitantly. She still wasn't wholly convinced though that the risks were warranted.
There were surely better ways to help Sophie than what he intended.
As much as she wasn't a fan of social interaction - especially with those of the opposite sex - the people here at least didn't look at her like she had a price tag above her head. She didn't want to lose that just yet.
Master Lone sighed upon seeing the look of reluctance on her face. He reached over and patted her head. "Go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay, Mas-... Lone." She got up to leave since this wasn't her room but she got stopped by Master Lone.
"Here," he said as he summoned Kyuubi. "Take her with you. She must be lonely after spending a couple of days in The Summoning Room all on her own."
Breena nodded wordlessly then left the room with the soft ball of fluff in her arms.
Once she was back in her room she leapt onto her bed and cuddled Kyuubi to her face. "I'm worried," she mumbled into the fox's fur.
"Kyuu..." Kyuubi purred.
"I hope... I hope everything turns out okay. T-They're nice people. They don't deserve this," Breena said to herself as she started crying.
A good few minutes passed before she finally fell asleep, her exhaustion having won control over her body.
Kyuubi wriggled free of her grasp and then stretched. A look of unusually keen awareness entered her eyes before she seemed to sigh and shake her head. She then curled up into a ball and went to sleep herself next to Breena's head.
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