233. Damage: Wiremu

“What do you mean it might be permanent?” I yelled.

“We are not sure. She is still unconscious, and the healers want to keep her that way as long as possible.”

Rodion and I got in late that night, and Tabitha was waiting for us, with Tāoke obviously guiding her to us. She was guiding me to see Kelda, who was at the Healers Society. The sign outside said “Society for Healthy Living”, then advertised “Everything for your Total PMS Health”.

“PMS health? I asked.

Tabitha looked at me like I was a simpleton, “Physical, Mental, Spiritual Health.”

“Of course, the attributes,” I felt like a simpleton. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight at the moment.

“Kelda looks a mess. She is mostly covered in bandages with healing salves to encourage skin growth and reduce scarring. She only has patches of hair. She is breathing OK. If it had got into her lungs … well, it didn’t. I just don’t want you to be upset when you see her.”

“I think it is too late for that already.”

Kelda was in a private room on the first floor. Astrid was asleep in a chair next to her, and Liten flitted over and then back to Kelda.

“Yes, I know, little one, I feel helpless too,” I told her.

Astrid woke at the sound of my voice, “Oh, you are here, good. I will leave you alone with her.”

I stopped her for a moment. “Thank you so much. Tabitha said it was only because of you that she is alive.”

“Well, I already lost one team, I wasn’t going to let it happen again.” Trassig, her stoat, scurried up her leg and hid in her jacket. “The Healers will be around in the morning to change the dressings.”

I sat in Astrid’s chair, held Kelda’s hand, and looked at her with every sense I could. The parts that weren't bandaged were still raw. She had bandages over her eyes and most of her head. Her mouth wasn’t covered, but there was some sort of cream on the skin. My Thermal Senses identified hotspots under the bandages, and this was confirmed by my Spiritual Senses that there was residue still there, which was being combated by the ointment.

I reached over to the window, which was open enough for Liten to slip in and out. I opened it wider, and Tāoke slithered in. He was still quite injured and was in his 12m long form, and we didn’t want to scare the healers, so he hadn’t come in with us. He curled up under the bed. Tabitha grabbed a second chair from somewhere, and we just sat.

After a while, I said, “So there is going to be an invasion?”

“That’s the plan,” she said.

“The beast attacks?”

“I think they are the excuse. Krov’ turns up at the gate with an army, and Boris is all, “Protect us from the constant attacks the Kingdom has abandoned us,” I raised an eyebrow at that. She shrugged and continued, “He submits to Krov’ to save his people. He can sell that to the people anyway.”

“So the wyvern group were here to isolate the city?”

“Yeh. I am pretty sure there is a spy in the courier company stopping messages for help, and those they can’t stop, they then signal the bond so the dragon farters can intercept it. They were losing people. I haven’t figured out who sabotaged the Rune Communications, but it was an amateur.”

“They have to know the kingdom wouldn’t stand for it and that an army was coming.”

“I think the plan was to be entrenched and fortified before the kingdom finds out, so any attack is too costly, both in troops and civilian casualties. That was part of the reason for the fort. Ruku thinks that is a fifty / fifty gamble depending on the commander the army sends. Even if the army backs off, he says there are other methods. They just take longer.”

“Assassination, sabotage and infiltration?”

“Basically. I get the impression the kingdom has tried assassinating Krov’ before, but his blood affinity has kept him alive. There is also some sort of Pack link with his Blood Bitches, which nobody seems to understand.”

“And there are two hundred of them. What’s the plan if Krov’ gets here first?”

“There are several being tossed around. We can’t defend this place, and I am pretty sure Krov’ will be surrounded by his Blood Bitches, so assassination is unlikely. The favoured plan at the moment is to retreat and meet up with the army.”

“Can you prove anything you just said?”

“Not much. When the army gets here, we will sweep for spies and try to get confirmation. There also might be something in that safe you brought back. The Blacksmith has only just started on it and is unhappy with the soldiers that won’t let it leave their sight.”

“Why would Boris do this?”

“I didn’t stop to ask. My prevailing theory is he was bitter at the loss of his family and disillusioned at the Kingdom. I think he had just had enough. I haven’t found whether any advisors were encouraging these thoughts or not. I have only just met them officially.”

“He has to know Krov’ wouldn’t leave him alive.”

“Maybe, maybe not. He may not have cared. One last “Fuck you” to the king as he exits life. I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Let me know if you need me to do anything,” I said.

“I am good for now. I am running around playing Countess. Ruku and Runa are a big help. You stay with Kelda. She is going to need a lot of support when she wakes. The Healers have big concerns over her Mental Health. Her greatest ability and enjoyment in life have been stripped away, and it may be permanent.”

“Yeh, and by fire as well. It is going to resurface issues from her childhood.”

Tabitha left soon after that, and I settled in for the night. I dozed on and off. Kelda stirred a couple of times but didn’t wake.

I woke to a scream. Sunlight was streaming in the window, and a Healer and two assistants were at the door to the room.

“What?” I asked a bit groggily.

One of the assistants pointed to the other side of the bed and said, “What’s that?”

I stretched my head and then said, “Oh. That’s Tāoke. He won’t hurt you.” When I said he curled up under the bed, he was too big for that, and half of him was curled out the other side. His head rested on top, and he watched the door with his tongue tasting the air. I guess it could look intimidating. The intimidating look was a bit spoiled, in my opinion, as Liten was perched on top of his head, and she was fluffing her wings.

“We can’t work with him there.” The healer said.

“Right. I said. “He can pop out and sun himself on the roof for a bit. Actually, before he does, he has these lacerations. They are healing, but you might have something to speed it up?” I got Tāoke to uncurl enough for the healer to see.

When they came into view, the healer took a sharp breath, “How is he even moving?”

“With great difficulty, actually. The claws ripped out some of his bones in the area, and they will take time to Regenerate.”

“We have a whole Vetenary branch. Mike, run down and get the flesh replacement paste and notify senior Vet Geraldine, as she will be the best to help.” as Mike turned to leave, she said, “Bring the big jar.” She turned to me and said if it is too painful to move, we can free up an adjoining room.”

I got the impression from Tāoke he would prefer to lie in the sun. “Thanks for the offer. He is fine to move. Our Pain Resistance is quite high.”

She looked at us as if we were mad. Mike wasn’t long, and I helped the healer cover the wounds with the paste. Geraldine would be along later in the morning to see him. We were just finishing when Trassig scampered into the room. He ran up Tāoke’s curled body, nuzzled his head in greeting and jumped onto the bed to sniff Kelda.

“What are you doing blocking the doorway?” I heard Astrid’s voice complain from the hall. The two assistants parted out of the way, and Astrid stopped at the door. “Yep, that would crowd the room. Morning,” she greeted us.

“Morning,” I said as we finished, and I opened the window. Tāoke slithered out and up onto the roof.

“Don’t get it dirty!” Astrid shouted at Tāoke.

They wanted me to leave while they changed Kelda’s bandages, but I insisted on staying.

“It is pretty horrible,” Astrid said. I just shrugged, so she turned to the Healer, “Just do it. Nothing will move him if he doesn’t want to move.”

It was pretty horrible. They worked one limb at a time. One thigh was particularly bad, with acid marks on the bone. The skin and flesh were completely gone on the upper thigh. One arm was the same, but the other only had flesh wounds.

Then, they started on the torso. She had been facing the attacker, so it was only the front that was burned, but it was bad. Several ribs were eaten through. One breast was gone completely, and the other was only half there.

Then it got worse, and they uncovered her face and scalp. The flesh on her nose was gone, and only a damaged bone was there. She had no lips and scared teeth. Her eyes were just open sockets. No eyes, eyelids, or eyebrows, just empty space with scaring all through them. I barely registered the scalp with the skull visible.

How did she even survive? How is she staying alive?

The Army cheated her out of the Regeneration Skill by making her learn an unsuitable class. If she had been an Archer, she would have passed the journeyman level and specialised as a Monster Hunter. On the other hand, she wouldn’t have nearly as high a Physical Constitution if she had the Archer Class. I checked her Status. She was always open to me. Her Warrior Class had levelled in that fight, but it was now Level 9, one short of the Journeyman Level, and the needed Specialisation.

I looked at her Classes: Observer, Targeting, Tracker, Seeker. Are all those classes now useless to her? She will be able to see through Liten’s eyes, and she has Flame Senses and Thermal Sensing (Air). Will it be enough?

She was a Chef and Baker. The Army should have put her with the support division, and she could have cooked her way through her enlistment. Her tongue was half gone. Will she be able to taste anything again?

I know it was not the whole army but a political faction that damaged her. I feel like hitting something hard and repeatedly. I want to kill something. Maybe I should go and join Krov’.

The Healers finished wrapping her back up, and the assistants left. The Healer and Astrid stood beside the bed and spent some time pumping some sort of Spiritual Healing into Kelda. I could sense the flow but didn’t know what it actually was.

Kelda wouldn’t want me attacking her kingdom. I forced myself to sit back down and hold her hand. Pain Resistance didn’t help with this type of pain.