156 - Nara

“Nara,” the girl whispered after Willow’s tenth attempt at prying her name from her lips.

“Nara,” Willow repeated. “A beautiful name.”

The girl looked at the pebble in her hands.

“We should go,” Alexandra said. “Both Kam and Nara need to visit the Hands, and so do I.”

Willow looked at her. “Will you be alright?”

She nodded. “They won’t know who I am.” With the curse running inside her core, and One Among Many, Leander had assured her that nobody in the basin would see through her divine class.

“We’re going to get you all fixed up,” Willow explained to Nara. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Where is Miss Edith?” Nara asked.

Alexandra and Willow shared a look.

“She won’t bother you anymore,” Willow said. “Do you want to stay with us?”

“Many. Rocks. We. Have,” Speck added.

Nara nodded at the stick figure.

“Wait, you can hear Speck?” Alexandra asked.

Nara nodded again.

“I can’t,” Willow said.

Kam shook his head.

“Rock. Lovers. No. Barrier.”

“I’m not sure that’s the reason, Speck.”

Alexandra let Speck carry the girl. The elemental performed the task to perfection, delighted to find a kindred soul sharing its appreciation for rocks. They went down the mountain and quickly found their way back to Balrum.

Before the gates came into view, Alexandra recovered Nara and put her on her back while the elemental hid back inside her body. Speck could live under the moonlight, but the people of Balrum wouldn’t appreciate his presence.

The idea of making a good first impression was still important to Alexandra, and she didn’t want to ruin her effort like that.

The gate was open and guarded, but they were let in without question. They walked straight to the local temple of Fanon, a troglodyte building near the tavern. Unlike in Esmera and Kator, the local branch of the Hands was free for all to enter, and seemed closer to an actual temple than a hospital.

The main hall was deep and wide, reminding Alexandra of the inside of a church. The side walls were decorated with unpainted stone statues of various characters, men and women dressed in robes. At the very end stood an altar.

A statue in particular caught Alexandra’s attention, the one closest to the altar. It was that of a man wearing glasses, a face she would recognize among hundreds.

Hakim.

She looked at the other statues. “Are they the previous Saints?”

“Precisely,” an old woman wearing the Hands’ white robes said as she strolled into the hall. “From the first to the present Saint Hakim.”

Alexandra nodded. “Good morning.” She really hoped her skill evolutions and sickness would be enough to hide her class from her. “We need healing.”

“I figured as much.” The Hand looked at Nara on Alexandra’s back, then at Kam. “What happened?”

“Not here.”

The woman took them to a side door, and through it, into a corridor that led to a series of private rooms hidden deep inside the cliff. She picked one that was empty. A small office with a bed and desk, and locked the door behind them.

“Two kids with severe lifeforce depletion,” the healer said. “The girl is far from class selection. What happened?”

Alexandra shared a glance with Willow, then Kam.

“The Velvet Masks are involved. They’ve been using Nara as a vessel for a malediction that’s supposed to create a lifespan treasure.”

The healer’s expression hardened. “Those accursed cultists… And the boy?”

“Bloodline,” Kam said. “They wanted to use me as fuel.”

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“I see. And you two?” she asked, pointing at Alexandra and Willow.

“We noticed our friend was missing, so we went to save him. The cultist is dead, but more may come. I don’t know if they’ll give up on Nara so easily.”

The woman nodded. “I will have the order on alert. Sadly, we are the only order operating in the basin. There’s only so much we can do.” She paused. “Please put the girl down on the bed so I can examine her.”

Alexandra did as she was told. Nara was quiet through the process. Silent and well-behaved, she left no emotion to transpire.

The woman put a hand on her shoulder and shuddered.

“I can’t do anything about the curse,” she said. “It’s too advanced. I also can’t help with the lost lifeforce.”

“That is fine. We will manage on our own. Please heal her superficial wounds.”

“Superficial? The hurt runs much deeper than that. Poor girl. I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve been put through.” She paused, and warm light appeared on her palm. “Let Fanon soothe your pain.”

The light spread from her palm and sank into Nara's skin. The girl's eyes widened, then softened. Color came back to her cheeks. Bruises and cuts along her arms healed.

Nara watched silently, but with apparent curiosity.

The healer moved to Kam next. Then Alexandra and Willow.

“That's the best I can do,” the woman said. “The lifeforce won't return on its own. You’ll need to travel to the Mother Well and be ready to pay the price. The curse—" She looked at Nara and lowered her voice. “A malediction isn’t so easily cured.”

“I'll find a way,” Alexandra said.

The healer walked them back through the corridor and opened the front door of the temple herself. “Come back if the wounds reopen. Or if worse finds you.”

Outside, the sun sat higher than Alexandra expected. Nara blinked against it, one hand shielding her eyes, the other still closed around her pebble.

“You two should head back to the house," Alexandra told Willow. “Get her fed, get some sleep. I have somewhere to be.”

Willow frowned. “Where?”

“Medh's. I have elemental essence to sell.” She passed the girl into Willow's arms. Nara went without protest, her head already drooping toward Willow's shoulder. “Kam, will you be alright?”

“Yes,” he said, his gaze fixed on Nara.

Alexandra watched them start toward their home. When they turned the corner, she went the other way, toward Medh’s shop.

On the way, she checked on her journal.

Drain Life 8 -> 9

Looks like my new manipulation of the skill helped. She slightly regretted not trying Aggressive Assimilation on the cultist. Alexandra was now wondering if humans would all have the same effect. She would find out soon enough. It would have been a scary thought to her past self. Now, the thought of having enemies had settled into her mind. Eventually, she’d get the chance to fight someone her own rank, and finally recover her missing lifeforce.

One Among Many 1 -> 2

The meeting with the Hands went well. If the healer had noticed something, she hadn’t shown any sign of it.

Then there was her daily.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 118 Days | 10% All Stats, 10% Skill experience

Next Milestone: 250 Days

Daily Quests:

• Grind a rock into dust without losing a single speck (0/1)

Alexandra grimaced. Speck isn’t going to like this.

Speaking of whom, the elemental was still hidden inside her body. It only occurred to her as she was pushing the door to Medh’s shop that bringing him along to the elemental essence trader’s wasn’t the brightest and safest idea.

“Stay hidden,” she whispered, knowing that turning back now would be more suspicious.

“Yes.”

Medh was not there, which gave her second thoughts. Maybe she should turn back. Then again, letting Speck run free inside the city was asking for trouble.

She stepped inside the shop and rang the bell on the counter.

A few minutes later, Medh emerged from the tunnel leading to his storage.

“Miss Alexandra, a pleasure to see you. You’re here to sell, I assume.”

She nodded. “Yes, I have a few sources.”

“Good. I’m always ready to buy. What do you have this time? More slime elemental sources?”

She shook her head and grabbed her gourds. “Better. Bone elemental sources.”

Medh snapped to attention. “Bone? Let me see.”

He grabbed the gourds and opened the first one. “I see. This is indeed a bone source. Not in the best condition.” He checked the second gourd. “This one is better.” Then the third, the fourth, and so on. A faint smile appeared on his face.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I’ll take all of them.” He licked his lips. “Are you sure you’re a Bronze-rank? Even my best Gold hunters rarely bring me such rare essences.”

Alexandra shrugged. “What can I say? I’m just that good.”

He doesn’t have to know I got lucky.

“Well, I hope you’ll keep working hard. I’m always ready to buy. In fact, I’ll give you ten percent more than the stated price for this lot.”

Alexandra smiled. “Thank you.”

Medh handed her the money and met her gaze.

“It might be too much to ask now, but I’d like to offer you something.”

“I’m listening.”

“One of my best clients has been looking to acquire a solar elemental source for a very long time. Unfortunately, the only known solar elementals in the basin are Platinums, and with humans being restricted to Gold in the region, I have yet to find a hunter willing to undertake this task.”

Alexandra’s smile widened. “It’s a lot. I’m just a Bronze, you know.”

“I know. I’m not asking you to fight a Platinum now. But once you reach Gold…” He paused. “The prices on the list I gave you are only indicative. For something as rare as a solar elemental essence, I’ll shower you with more gold than you can imagine.”

“Well then.” She extended a hand to shake his. “I’m in.”

After all, she was already hoping to hunt a solar elemental. Getting paid for it was a great bonus. Not to mention, this sounded like a quest if she’d ever seen one.

Medh shook her hand.

“Miss Alexandra, I’m glad you came to Balrum.”

She bade her farewells.

“I’m glad you came,” he repeated as she was crossing the doorway.