Worry still gnawed at me about Irinda. I'd only been back in the city for a day, and yet it felt like I'd been putting off visiting her. Perhaps it was time to change that.
Henrietta approached Ophelia, pushing Sil out of the way. He joined me at the foot of the bed and we watched as she readied the vial and then began to pour it into Ophelia's mouth. The liquid ran down the sides of the bottle slowly, like sludge down the side of gentle slope. I used [Insight] on the remedy. Mostly because I was curious how in the hells beans could help heal someone.
Singing Concoction of Healing – A mixture of healing reagents made using the powder of Indorian Singing Beans mixed with Leaves of the Alpharot Bush. When used alongside healing abilities, can expedite the recovery of both physical and mental injuries.
I quirked my lips slightly reading the System's description. Henrietta had said that the mixture would help Ophelia recover faster, but she hadn't mentioned anything about healing abilities. I didn't have any of those, and I assumed that Sil didn't either, as he hadn't offered them up earlier. Did that mean…
As if hearing my train of thought, Henrietta extended a hand to Ophelia's forehead, her palm facing downward. Her skin began to glow slightly, the light from her palm flaring across the younger woman's skin. I watched in utter amazement as the light seeped from around Henrietta's hand and into Ophelia's head, the older woman's eyes rolling into the back of her head slightly, her lips moving rhythmically, repeating something. A chant perhaps?
The light from her palm stretching across all of Ophelia's body, starting from her forehead and slowly making its way down, coating her skin in it. There were places it stopped, as if the hand guiding it were probing for something, but it always continued. It moved across her until it reached her feet, and then the light faded and Henrietta's eyes opened slowly. She withdrew her hand along with the now mostly empty vial. Exhaustion painted the features of her face, the bags under her eyes were larger, and the wrinkles dotting her forehead looked deeper, as she turned to Sil and me.
"I've done all that I can for the moment. Her body is whole, her mind is… mostly whole. But she has to fight her own way out of whatever she has going on in there."
I frowned at Henrietta's words. Wasn't there anything else we could do? We'd practically put the entire city guard on alert by breaking into the clinic for those beans.
"For now, we should let her rest." The older woman advised, motioning to the door.
We all left together, Henrietta closing the door softly behind her. She led the way back downstairs to the back room. Sil and I sank into the chairs around the table she kept in the center of the room as Henrietta cleaned up the vial and ladled more water from the pot and into a kettle. After another few moments she handed us both steaming cups of tea before settling into the chair beside me.
"It's always difficult having to wait for someone's body to figure things out," she began, blowing on her tea gently. "But I have faith that your friend will wake up in good spirits. The medicine took root very quickly, and her mind—though there are some troublesome places—appears to be in good health all things considered. Whatever happened to her could not have been easy to endure."
"She was attacked by the Empress," I muttered, anger once more digging its claws into my gut. "She must have done something to her before shipping us all out west."
Henrietta nodded slowly, but Sil only stared into the swirls that lined the surface of the dark tea in front of him.
"It is possible something was done to her. This…" Henrietta's eyes shot to mine before she looked between Sil and I. Understanding seemed to kindle within her gaze. "attack on her mind—I'm almost positive it was an attack—was deliberate. I can't tell exactly what was toyed with, mind magicka was never my strongest suit. But I can see the remnants of someone else's touch."
For a moment I wondered if those remnants might be from my [Party Leader] skill, which had connected Ophelia to me when I'd granted her System access. It was a bit plausible, though I hadn't actually relied on the skill as far as I could recall. I took a sip of my tea, letting the warm liquid melt away some of my worries.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
I felt an immediate refreshing sensation flood through my body as the flavors mingled on my tongue—hints of orange and cinnamon, as well as some spices I didn’t recognize. They all came together to create a fruity yet bitter flavor.
A message appeared before me.
Stamina restored. Stamina: 100/100
I tried not to blink in confusion. "Does this tea have something refreshing in it?" I asked, curiosity derailing my own thoughts.
Henrietta gave a short nod. "It's a blend of herbs that can help rejuvenate your body. I find it more enjoyable than drinking Staminia tonics. I figured after the day you've had, you could probably do with some freshening up." Her eyes moved over me, like a tired mother eyeing the ugly outfit her child had put together.
I ignored the look. I didn't need to explain myself to her, no matter how young and stupid she made me feel. And I didn't have any other clothes, so staring at me with disapproval wouldn't change anything. I almost said as much. Instead, I took another sip of my tea and turned the conversation back to the matters at hand. "While Ophelia recovers, I want to head into the city."
Neither of them retorted. So I continued.
"I have some other things I'd like to take care of—mostly meeting up with some old friends and ensuring they are all squared away nicely. There's also this lovely inn I plan to take over."
That last bit seemed to finally draw Sil out of his staring. His eyes alighted on mine and I offered him a wry smile. "It's not the nicest place in town, but it'll beat sleeping in a wagon, I assure you."
"I can help," he offered.
I shook my head. "Better if someone stays here, in case Henrietta needs anything else. There are also supposed to be some guys from the Dock Street gang coming by to clean up their mess and drop off some gold for the trouble they caused. I'm not really sure where we stand with them, but their leader wants to make a deal. I'd prefer to make sure they don't mess with Henrietta anymore."
"I can handle myself, child," the older woman chided me. She lifted her own cup to her lips and then eyed Sil. "You should drink that," she told him.
"I'm not feeling particularly thirsty at the moment."
"Still," she began, putting her own cup down again. "It will help you feel more refreshed. From what I've heard about your abilities, you seem to rely on some type of Mana specific to your iteration of the System. Trust me. It will help."
Sil let out a huff and took a sip of the tea, making a face of disgust at it. "It's so bitter," he remarked.
Henrietta simply laughed as I continued sipping at my cup, enjoying the flavor. We fell into the motions after that, going over our immediate plans.
I would go out in the evening, before the sun was too low in the sky, and make my way over to Will's to check in with him and Irinda. Once that was done, we'd come up with a plan for how to deal with Brin and the Dock Street deal. There was also the Aurelion matter, which I didn't bring up more than to warn the two of them. I still wasn't quite sure how to feel about that one just yet.
I'd thought that he might become a problem, especially when I broke the news I was kind of in bed with the rebellion. But the fact that he had sent Felix and some of his thugs after me brought to light an entirely different issue. There was also the entire [First Claw Of The Lion] title that I'd noticed when using [Insight] on Felix. I didn't like jumping to assumptions when it came to the System, but the writing was pretty clear on this one. Felix had likely been given System access by Aurelion. The biggest question about it all, though, was whether or not Aurelion also had the [Party Leader] skill.
A knock at the door to the alley behind Henrietta's drew me from my thoughts, and all three of us turned our heads to the door. Henrietta pushed up from the table and answered it, dragging the door open to reveal a young boy, smudges of dirt covering his cheeks.
"Miss Henrietta," the boy chirped, his voice high an full of energy. "News for ya." He held out a sheet of parchment and Henrietta took it, holding it up so she could read it.
I watched as her mouth titled into a frown.
"Thank you, Josef," she said, withdrawing a few coins from her pocket. "Tell your mother to come see me again when its safe."
The boy nodded as he took the coins, then he scampered away, a pile of the parchments tucked beneath his arm. Closing the door, Henrietta turned to both of us.
"Moving through the city is about to get a lot more difficult," she said, holding up the parchment.
I stood, crossing the short distance to her and took it, looking at the script written across it, the imperial seal present at the top and bottom of the page.
BY ORDER OF THE HOLY EMPRESS OF DRAGONS:
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ALL GATES IN AND OUT OF THE CAPITAL CITY OF CAELTHARA HAVE BEEN CLOSED AND LOCKED.
VISITORS WILL NEED TO FIND HOUSING WITHIN THE CITY, AND TRAVELERS SEEKING TO ENTER THE CITY WILL BE TURNED AWAY.
THE CITY IS NOW ALSO UNDER A NIGHTLY CURFEW. ANYONE FOUND WANDERING THE STREETS AFTER THE SECOND MOON RISES WILL BE SEQUESTERED AND QUESTIONED.
REBELS ARE PLANNING AN ATTACK AGAINST THE HOLY EMPRESS OF OUR MIGHTY EMPIRE, AND THEY MUST BE FOUND AND EXECUTED.
PLEASE REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR TO THE NEAREST CITY GUARD OUTPOST.
I read the words a second and third time, letting them sink in completely. "They've put the city on lockdown?"
Sil began to laugh.
Alex Everett becomes a Progenitor, a mythical race thought extinct, and is empowered by more than just the System. Now, if only the universe can survive him.
What to Expect: LitRPG System Apocalypse, Weak to Strong MC (sometimes OP), Smart Lead, Base Building, plenty of magic and sword fights, and No Harem. Daily chapter releases!
A Progenitor never stops growing.