We were followed by a procession of curious villagers as Mylisant led us to the big house at the foot of the mountain. As we walked the streets, countless eyes watched us through slits in windows and cracked doors.

I fell back to walk beside the girl from the bar. Kalli followed and insisted on standing between me and the other girl. Slightly amused, I nudged Kalli with my hip.

Is somebody jealous?

With much greater force, she slammed her hip back into mine nearly knocking me over. Why should I be jealous? Are you saying there’s a reason for me to be jealous?

Nope. None at all. We both know I only have eyes for you.

She laughed out loud before she realized and clamped her mouth shut. You know I can see through your eyes. I saw you checking her out.

Do you mean looking at her? It’s hardly the same thing as checking her out. This is checking someone out.

Kalli blushed as I looked her up and down, spending extra time on her more feminine charms. Before I could do anything else, she punched me in the shoulder. We both winced at the shared pain and she rubbed my arm to make it feel better.

Ow! Do you realize that’s going to leave a bruise?

She stuck her tongue out at me. I also know what you can do with blood. That isn’t going to bruise unless you want it to.

I reached for her hand at the same time as she reached for mine. We shared the moment in silence, squeezing each other’s hands. It was at that point that the other girl chose to speak. “Are the two of you done flirting over there? I assume you came back here to ask me something.”

Clearing my throat, I explained, “Um, yes. I wanted to know what happened to your father.”

She winced at my words before sighing heavily. “It doesn’t matter. That was over a month ago. Nothing can be done for them anymore.”

I felt bad for the girl. If we had accidentally stumbled onto Hudholm Summit a little earlier, perhaps I could have saved him. Wanting details, I asked, “If possible, I’d like to know more about what happened to your father. Perhaps I can help prevent the same thing from happening again.”

“Do you have a way to exterminate mountain trolls?” She spat venomously.

Looking back and forth between the girls, I replied, “There might be something I can do. Can you tell me more about these trolls? And what happened? You said before that you had asked for help. I assume that means the trolls didn’t kill your father right away. Did they take him prisoner?”

The girl was fidgeting while staring at the ground. An old man put his arm around her shoulder and turned to talk to me. “Guinny means well. It’s difficult for her to be orphaned so young.”

Kalli’s grip on my hand tightened when she heard the word orphan. I could feel her opinion of the girl, Guinny, beginning to change. Turning my attention to the old man, I asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”

He nodded and began, “We are a mining town. The majority of the families here work in the mines up on the mountain. The trolls of the Wrotor Empire live in tunnels underground. Usually, we can coexist without too much trouble. The problem arises when our mineshafts accidentally breach their underground passages.”

The situation with Guinny’s father was a lot more complicated than I had originally thought. Trolls weren’t just wild monsters to be defeated. There was an entire nation of them down there. For all I knew, there were more trolls than humans. At least in the mountain area.

“So what happened?” I asked, trying to piece things together. “Do trolls take prisoners? If so, then why is it too late to rescue them?”

Guinny shuddered and the old man wrapped his arms around her, explaining, “We don’t communicate with the trolls. Some of the named families do go down there on occasion but nobody in Hudholm even speaks their language.”

“So her father could still be alive!” I exclaimed, trying to give the kid hope.

Kalli tugged on my hand and gave me an urgent look. We have to rescue him, Mel. We can’t let her become an orphan. Not if we can help it.

I smiled at Kalli, knowing that she could tell what I was thinking. Getting a nod from Wendy, I announced, “We will go talk to the trolls for you. If your dad is alive, I will do what I can to bring him back for…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Guinny threw herself in my arms. Her weight bowled me over, causing her to land on top of me. She sat up, looking embarrassed. “Oops, sorry.”

“Get. Off. Of. Him.” Kalli spoke, slowly and softly with an air of murder in her voice.

Not recognizing the danger, Guinny turned to scowl at her. “Relax. I was just thanking him.”

Gasps from the crowd informed me that Kalli was on fire before I saw it. Heat radiated from the pyromancer and tiny crimson wings sprouted from her back. Her dress rippled as flames flowed all around her.

Guinny instantly let go of me and crawled away from my angry girlfriend. Kalli reached out for me, taking my hand and hoisting me to my feet. I could tell by the looks of awe on the villager’s faces that they expected me to be burned by the fire and were surprised when I was unscathed.

Looking around at the stopped procession, Kalli shouted, “Does anybody else wish to hug my mate? Please, step right up.”

If anything, the crowd of onlookers backed away. I laughed and hugged Kalli, her fire going out in my arms.

You’re cute when you’re jealous.

She bit my ear, causing me to yelp. I’ll make you pay for that.

Up ahead, Mylisant and the other town elders had noticed that we stopped. She stomped back over to us and said, “Ahem. If there are no further delays, my home is just up this way.”

The mayor’s house was far more lavish than anything else I had seen on Gaia. It even put Hellquist Manor to shame. Built against the mountain, the four-story building towered over the rest of the town.

Ivory columns framed the front of the building and red cobbled stones lined the walkway leading to the towering front doors. Two manservants opened them as we approached. Mylisant paid them no attention and strolled into the mansion.

The rest of the crowd, including Guinny, stayed behind in silence as we entered the mayor’s estate. Wendy, Kalli, and I followed the woman into a small parlor where she sat and waited expectantly.

The three of us exchanged glances, the two girls silently designating me to speak for the group. I shook my head at the mayor and said, “Normally, I’d love to sit down with you and chat but as I said before, we’re on a schedule. Guinny said something about your daughter. Is she sick?”

Mylisant stood abruptly, knocking over a coffee table. “Er, yes. She has been for several days. The doctors don’t know what it is but she hasn’t eaten and she is getting weaker. I don’t know what to do. Do you think you can help?”

“Take me to her,” I ordered, figuring it might be something I could cure.

We were taken up several flights of stairs before we got to her daughter’s room. All of us were surprised when we looked in the room and found a woman laying restlessly in a canopy bed. The bed brought back memories of my time in the dark room at Lady Shaw’s manor.

“This is your daughter?” I asked incredulously.

Mylisant nodded. “Yes. Can you help her?”

Glancing at Kalli, we shared the same thought.

She’s old!

Slowly, I made my way to her bedside, hesitant to touch the scantily clad adult. I had been expecting a small child. Fortunately, it was obvious what was wrong with her. “She’s been poisoned.”

Mylisant gaped at me. “How can you be sure?”

For me, it was as simple as looking at her menu.

Name

Poalla Pouimont

Class

Spoiled Woman

Level

1

Affection Level

Poisoned

Rather than explaining the menu system to a backwater Mayor, I went with, “I can just tell.”

The poor woman was drenched in sweat, causing her nightgown to stick to her skin. I swallowed hard and reached out to touch her. Mylisant moved toward me but hesitated when I looked up at her, stammering, “Is that, um, is that really necessary?”

I nodded, explaining, “Yes. If you want me to cure her, that is.”

She turned her attention to the two girls. “Can’t one of them do it?”

Wendy shook her head. “Sorry, I’m an aeromancer. Melvin handles all of the disease curing.”

Kalli moved over to the bed next to me. “I can’t heal either. Sorry.”

She then winked at me. Yet.

Seeing Mylisant back down, I placed a hand on Poalla’s arm and probed her with my mana. As soon as I entered her system, I could feel the impurities. They were everywhere. Burning. Corroding. Her body fought back at the acid that darkened her veins as it passed through, causing her body to become hot and flushed.

Separating the poison from her blood was a simple matter as I had full control over the blood in her system. From there it was a matter of expelling the vile substance. Using my mana, I formed a protective coat around the poison as it continued to circulate through the woman.

The poison had gotten everywhere, propelled by her vascular system through her body and organs. I couldn’t manage the damage until I found a safe exit for the poison. It wasn’t enough to just neutralize it. I had to expel it somehow.

I chose to follow the natural path through her body. I pushed the poison through her kidneys. They didn’t want to work, so I fed them with my mana, rejuvenating and reactivating the organs. From there it was a relatively quick trip to the bladder.

Because the organs had both been out of commission, other waste was instantly added to the poison as it all passed through the woman’s bladder.

I ignored decorum and gave no warning as I expelled the poison along with the rest of the waste. Poalla shuddered and let out a loud moan as she wet the bed.

“Oh my.”Mylisant shrieked, rushing over to pry me from her daughter’s arm.

Kalli and Wendy intercepted her, holding her back. Attendants approached the room but Wendy held them off with a gust of wind. In a loud voice, she said, “Let Melvin work. He’s saving her.”

The challenge of rebuilding Poalla’s body was more tiring than removing the poison had been. Thinking back, I might have been able to edit the poison away but deep down I realized that curing her manually had been the more permanent solution.

None of the organs I encountered were beyond repair. While the plague ate away at the internal organs like a hungry mouse gnawing on cheese, poison burned everything it touched, leaving scorch marks on the vital organs.

My mana combined with control over blood and tissue quickly repaired the woman. My last stop was to her core, where I checked the tiny dormant marble to see if the poison had caused any damage. Since I was already there, I flicked at it with my mana, bringing it to life.

Once I was satisfied that she was healthy and awakened, I withdrew my mana, announcing, “There. All better.”

“What have you done to her?” Her mother screamed, rushing back to her daughter.

Looking down, I couldn’t help but laugh. Poalla did look worse for wear. If she had been drenched in sweat before, it was nothing compared to her current appearance.

Her hair was matted and soaked in sweat, looking as though she had stepped out of a shower and jumped into bed without drying her hair. She had peed more than I thought was possible for a human being. That was probably my fault for making sure we got everything out in one go.

She lay on the bed with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. I took a step back and added, “She is healthy now, if not exhausted. Clean her up and give her some rest and she will be good to go.”

“What about the poison?” Mylisant wanted to know. “Who poisoned my daughter?”

I shook my head sadly. “I don’t know. Do you have any enemies?”

Mylisant shook her head. “No. Everyone loves me. Well, I suppose some of the citizens might be a tad bit jealous. Sometimes that is. I don’t know. Why would anyone want to poison my poor sweet daughter?”

The last thing I wanted to do was play detective. I pulled up Poalla’s menu and added a Poison Immunity(Edited) trait, saying, “I’m sorry but we don’t have time for this. She can’t be poisoned again. At least I’m fairly certain she can’t. Either way, we don’t have time to deal with it. I need you to tell me how to get to Wrotor. I am going to go find out what happened to Guinny’s dad.”

Mylisant spluttered and stood up, crossing the room to me. “You cannot do that. You wouldn’t be able to speak with those savages. Also, your presence will cause needless problems. I forbid it.”

“I have no problem speaking to savages,” I explained. “I am speaking to you after all.”

She blanched in front of me, shrieking, “How dare you. Don’t compare me to those filthy trolls. We are nothing alike.”

I sighed, realizing that my statement had sounded like an insult. “I apologize. I wasn’t insinuating that you had anything in common with a troll. I was just pointing out that I don’t speak your language either but I can communicate with you just fine.”

Mylicant’s jaw dropped open and she asked, “If you don’t speak Dabian, how are you talking to me in it right now?”

“That isn’t important,” I replied, walking toward the door. “Can you tell us how to get to Wrotor, or do I have to go through the mines?”

She shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. You can get to Wrotor through this house. There is a passage through the basement.”