Chapter Three-Hundred Seventeen

It’s looking like I’ll need to expand downward in the forest once everything is ready.  I have a little bit of depth available in there right now, I’ve been able to dig a pretty shallow couple of caves, but my claims basically stop once we hit rock.  I’ve been paying attention to Leo’s scouting efforts, and it’s looking like the area under the forest is pretty solid, so that’ll be good, even if I’ll need to spend more than expected to make room for roots.

Thankfully, the fight between Olander and Rocky has helped shore up my mana reserves.  I’ve taken to trying to keep a decent surplus, even after keeping a steady flow into the ally emergency fund.  Zorro didn’t need to worry about my current income and mana usage, but it’s never a bad idea to keep enough around to handle emergencies.

Interestingly enough, while the fight itself was a pretty good boon of mana, all the attendant stuff made even more.  People selling things, buying things, I’m pretty sure even the wagering helped make me mana.  We’re going to need to do more exhibition matches in the future, definitely.

It looks like everyone else is doing well with their mana, too.  Violet has a steady trickle going into the pool thanks to her sewer stuff.  Who knew waste management could be so lucrative?  She’s slowly upgrading her spawners, and Onyx has been trying to get advice for what to do next from Teemo.  For now, all I can really suggest is to continue working through the backlog of sewer stuff, and maybe have Coda take a look around once things are as clean as they can reasonably get.  I’ve heard most cities build their sewers with dungeons in mind, but I dunno how that actually works.

Hullbreak is also steadily contributing.  People have been itching to delve him, and now the weather’s warming up, I think he actually has more mana than he knows what to do with.  He’s spending it on his seacave expansion, and Coda and I both have been resisting going to give him advice without him asking.  The progress is slow, but I think that’s more like normal pacing for most dungeons.  He’s definitely taking a lot of inspiration from the Lighthouse for the sections above water, roughly carving the walls to look like brickwork.  I think it’ll be a great delving spot once he’s finished with it.

Southwood, too, is thriving in spring and storing mana in the ally pool.  He’s experimenting with a few combat encounters using his current denizens.  Most aren’t really good for a fight, but I think he’s aiming for a more casual combat than the steady ramping of training that I do.  I can also see the uptick when the nomadic orcs come to visit him, which is cool.  I bet they’re going to enjoy having a more stable Southwood as well as a new place to trade with in Silvervein.

Closer to home, Zorro is cutting his teeth on exploring.  I don’t know if it’s quite what he wants to do, but he’s giving it a solid try, which is all I can ask for.  He’s also started sneaking out into Fourdock, using his illusions to appear like a random stray as he wanders the city.  Teemo says Leo and Poe are testing him to try being an Explorer like Nose, but I wonder if I could use an extra set of eyes and ears in and around Fourdock.  Much as I try to ignore it, there’s no denying that I’m getting a lot of attention from the kingdom and from several different gods.

I might actually need to dirty my nonexistent hands with… politics.  If I’m going to deal with that, I’ll need to know what the movers and shakers are actually up to.  I swing my focus to Teemo to suggest he have a talk with Zorro, only to see he wants my attention, too.

“Oh, hey Boss.  Good timing.”  He gives me a few seconds to parse what’s going on, with Larx and a kobold waiting.  It looks like they’re in Larx’ home in the enclave, and judging by the tea and little biscuits, the ratkin elder has been entertaining the kobold.

So what’s up?

“Parm here has something he wants to ask you,” he answers, gesturing at the kobold who looks like he’s going to have a nervous breakdown.  He looks like he wants to bolt, or curl up in his chair until I go away, but soon words flow like he’s afraid they’ll never come out if he stops now.

“I need to talk to Queen, please!  I saw the healing she was practicing when you… when you l-liberated us, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before!  Please, I’ll do anything to learn!”

If I could, I’d raise an eyebrow at his outburst.  He seems pretty timid and unsure of himself, like a lot of the kobolds.  Most are adjusting pretty well, but some are having a bit of a crisis as they figure out how to do things without being told to.  If I had to guess, I’d say he’s in the group having trouble.  I don’t want to rain on his parade, but…

Teemo nods along to my thoughts before he speaks for me.  “Alright, I’ve got good news and bad news for you, Parm.  The bad news is: I’m not going to take you to Queen.  Her style of healing is pretty revolutionary, as far as I can tell, but I refuse to sit and translate for her for the actual months or years it’d take for her to explain everything, not to mention doing the same for Thing and Honey.  If you want to learn from her, you’ll have to wait until the Boss’ speaker project is finished… and I don’t think we’ve even had a chance to start on it.”

Parm looks devastated at that news, pulling his legs up and hugging them, prompting Teemo to quickly continue.  “However!  The good news is Queen isn’t the only one who knows that kind of healing, and I think they’ll be more than happy to teach you.”

The pain of having his hope dashed is waylaid by confusion as he looks at my Voice.  “What?  But I thought… who?”

Larx smiles as he realizes exactly who, and Teemo spells it out only a moment later.  “The antkin.  They have a lot of different castes, and one is a medic caste.  Their method of healing is directly inspired by Queen and the Boss, focusing on knowing exactly what to fix and how, rather than just throwing mana at the problem.  That’s the kind of healing you’re interested in, right?”

Parm leans forward in his chair, looking desperate once more.  “Yes.  Yes!  I’m… I’m not cut out for the kind of situations where fast healing is needed.  Back in… back then, and I guess now… I’m an Apothecary.  I treat the more ordinary pains, illnesses, and problems people have in their lives.  I want to be able to do that even better, and Queen’s method just… felt right.”

Teemo smiles at that.  “Perfect.  It’s not going to be quick, just so you know.  There’s a lot to know about how the body works, and that's without getting into the differences between, say, an elf and a spiderkin.”

Parm nods easily to that.  “I know.  Even pale elves and pale dwarves will have different reactions to different mixtures, and some will be allergic.  I… I can learn,” he insists, even as he rubs his wrists at some memory.

“Well, I think the antkin will be better teachers than what you used to have.  Let’s go get you introduced then.  Are you ready to go see Dean Tam?”

“Um… right now?”

Teemo nods and slips through a shortcut to land on Parm’s shoulder.  “No time like the present, right?  Unless you had something else you need to do?”

He looks over to Larx for advice, who simply smiles and starts cleaning up.  “If you want more of the tea biscuits, you know where to find me, Parm.”

With Larx refusing to be his excuse, Parm swallows heavily and nods.  “Alright.  How do we get there?”

“We’ll just take a left through Larx’s pantry, hang a Q through a shortcut, and then it’s a hop, skip, and a jump to the medical college.”  I laugh as Parm tries to make sense of that, and Teemo smiles.  “I’ll guide you, don’t worry.  See you later, Larx!”

“Do visit again, you two and Lord Thedeim as well.”  He chuckles as the other head for the shortcut, and like Teemo promised, they soon are standing outside the medical college.  It honestly looks a bit intimidating, despite how clean and peaceful it looks.  It’s probably because of that, honestly.  Hospitals can try to hide it all they want, but nobody is there for happy reasons.  Well, maybe the maternity ward, but everyone else is there because something is wrong.

Teemo continues to guide Parm through the complex, not giving him a chance to lose his nerve.  Medical ants give them curious looks as they pass, but nobody tries to stop them.  Teemo is pretty recognizable, and none of them want to mess with official business, even if I rarely think of it that way.

Oddly to me, Parm seems to relax more and more as they travel.  If he’s used to healing the sick and injured, he’s probably pretty used to this kind of atmosphere, even if the medical college hasn’t really seen any outside patients yet.  He even has a peaceful smile by the time they find Dean Tam’s office, and Teemo announces them.

“Hey Tam!  Are you busy?”

Parm’s nervousness returns in full force as Tam looks up from her slate.  Her mandibles and antennae twitch in a smile as she sees her guests.  “Ah, Voice Teemo and… a friend.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Are you accepting enrollment yet?” asks my Voice, earning a surprised stare from the Dean.

“Enrollment?”

“You’re a college, you need to teach, right?  Hard to teach without enrolling students.  Parm here wants to sign up.”

Tam and Parm both look a bit lost, though the antkin recovers quickly enough.  “I… suppose that’s true.  Parm, was it?  You’re interested in learning?”

“Ah… yes?  I saw Queen’s work in uh, the field hospital, and I wanted to be able to do the same she did.  T-Teemo said she’s unavailable, though…”

Tam nods.  “And he and Lord Thedeim suggested us.  We do focus on similar methods of healing, though it’s much slower and more involved than most magical methods.”

“That’s, that’s fine.  I’m an Apothecary, so I’m used to the slower, steady pace that most people need to heal.”

Tam’s eyes brighten at that.  “Ah, an Apothecary?  Then I think I know how you can pay your tuition, too.  We have a lot of alchemical methods available, and though they’re good for preventing any unwanted infections, we don’t know much about treating diseases especially.  If you are willing to teach us, we will be more than happy to teach you what we know in turn.”

Parm blinks at that.  “T-teach you?  But…”

Tam laughs, bright and happy.  “We don’t know everything, Parm.  We really do have a significant hole in our knowledge, and you could be a step in filling it, if you’re willing?”

Lost, Parm looks to Teemo, who shrugs.  “It’s up to you, but if you want to learn, this is probably your best option.”

The kobold still looks uncertain, but he turns his attention back to Tam and gives a small nod.  “I guess?  If you really want to listen to a sl- a former slave.”

Tam nods and stands, moving around her desk to hold out her hand to shake.  “Saving lives is too important to worry about pride, titles, and standing.  As far as anyone here cares, your position as an Apothecary makes you someone to listen to, no matter your past.”

Parm stares at her for a few awkward seconds before Teemo flicks his ear.  “Pst, shake her hand.”

“Oh!  Uh, yes!”  He fumbles for her hand to shake.  “Saving lives… just helping people be healthy again, is all I want to do.”

Tam’s mandibles pinch in a happy grin.  “Then you’ll fit right in!  Let me introduce you to some people and let you get settled in, then I need to go over a curriculum.  I don’t think any of us was expecting anyone to want to come learn even before we finished officially becoming dwellers!”

Teemo quietly makes his exit through a shortcut as Tam leads Parm away, the kobold still looking nervous, but also growing more and more eager to start this chapter of his life.  While I doubt it’ll be easy, I don’t doubt that it’ll be satisfying.