The walk away from town gave me a moment to consider what was happening. This was my first time meeting Nathaniel, so I didn’t get what his problem was. I tried to understand Jasmine’s point about what I did, but I couldn’t really understand why any of Oakheart would even care?

  It was my family, and I would know best what they would have wanted. I couldn’t understand who they were getting angry for! Themselves? I didn’t miss their funeral, and even if I did, no one would have told me. My parents?I know what they wanted, they didn’t.

  They just seem annoyed because ‘That Ashley’ never existed. They never got the one they wanted; the one who came for the funeral, the one who stayed behind while they were sick, and the one they just understood.

  There is no Ashley that returned back to her parents' funeral. There is no Ashley that stayed behind when they were sick. And they’re right, there probably isn’t an Ashley they’ll understand.

  She doesn’t exist.

  It’s just me.

  So when I think about what’s happening with Ophelia, Rattlejack, or the Zombie Boys can I absolve myself of that guilt too?

  “Cold Ashley” is still something other people have created, and it's not like I’m not consciously aware. I know what’s happening. I’m writing in my book, just putting points of data together.

  So, if I accept ‘That Ashley’ doesn’t exist, then I have to accept that ‘Cold Ashley’ doesn’t exist either. It’s not a different Ashley that killed the wolf, and it wasn’t a different Ashley that saved Mrs. Carnwich’s life. I don’t get to attribute my good actions to 'me’ and then anything I find distasteful to ‘Cold Ashley’, when I refuse to accept the faults of not being able to be ‘THAT Ashley’.

  I am aware that I am killing things. I am aware that is bad. But I am choosing to ignore it. Since if I am not able to be ‘THAT Ashley’ that pretends to care, why can I be ‘COLD Ashley’ that pretends to not?

  I think it worries me that’s all there is underneath. I put research and data over someone’s life, and it was the best solution.

  But was it a solution I should have considered at all?

  And what about the undead? If I am putting their souls into their own bodies so they can work for me, just so I don’t have to worry about labour costs, how am I a good person?

  How is that no different than slavery?

  And my pullback is I wouldn’t go that far, I wouldn’t actually buy slaves. But this is the same thing, just without coins.

  I don’t know what to do. I’d be ruined without it.

  So, the only real solution is ‘Cold Ashley’ exists, and she only exists until I get the farm done. Then I’m done with this, and I’ll just stay legal.

  But if I accept that, then ‘THAT Ashley’ has to exist too, and people are going to start expecting me to care.

  It was all very confusing.

  I stopped spinning only when I had stepped on Mr. Anderson’s farm, except now it should be Noel’s Farm. I took a deep breath.

  The Anderson farm was different than Pa’s farm, in the sense that I didn’t have to fix it by using [Necromancy]. It was always fairly good. The Anderson’s had bought 45 acres to my farm’s east, and used half of it for meadowlands and the other for farming. The reason they did this was their plot of land had the river running through it! It made the dirt and soil ultra-fertile, and the Andersons were good farmers who didn’t plant corn.

  No corn.

  They had a lot of wheat though, and hops. I think they used to make Ale for the town.

  What I meant to say was I smelled what I remember a good farm smelled like. Lot’s of wheat and fertile lands, and fresh air that didn’t reek of corn.

  But the farm had been listed for 1,200 gold pieces, which was underselling it. The acreage alone was worth a good 800 gold pieces! But with the river?

  I could grow peach trees! I wouldn’t have to spend money on buying candied peaches anymore, and I heard the real thing was better than store bought.

  I was glad to be with the dirt. It always kept my head clear. I would have to talk to Noel to see if he’d sell me half of his land at least, hopefully up to the River.

  But right now, just like Jasmine, Noel needs ‘COLD Ashley’, whatever that means.

  I walked up the wood steps and then knocked on the door. For an abandoned place that no one had bought in years, it already looked better than mine!

  Noel opened the door and I looked up at him. He just stared at me for a moment, as his long hair fell to either side of his face. I said nothing.

  We both waited for a moment.

  “Oh, Hello, Lady Hart,” he began, breaking the silence for some reason.

  “You… were expecting me right, Noel?” I asked.

  “Yes…?” he responded, his eyes raising at the statement.

  “So, can you get out of the way?” I asked, attempting to slide past his massive body.

  He shifted his chest. “And hello to you, Noel,” he said, going up in pitch as he spoke.

  Noel led me past his den, and towards the back where he was actually able to have rooms! He’d only been here one day, and his house was already bigger than mine! I was genuinely impressed that a farmhouse could be this big. I would have so much more room.

  I could even have an entire spot for all these dresses I was getting. Another thing to add to my farm.

  He opened the bedroom door, and a warm, cozy feeling room greeted us. The room had pillows and cushions, with exquisite looking drawers and bookshelves. I tilted my head to the side, and saw that most of those books were Sylvan in nature!

  I couldn’t even read Sylvan! I could tell because of the beautiful cursive script that looked like one stroke. They said master Sylvan Scholars could write entire pages without ever lifting up their quill.

  Oh, and there was a man on the bed.

  Noel waited for me to stop gawking, which was rather kind of him, and then nodded towards him. But I already had a system.

  My eyes twitched, and I concentrated on The Symphony. The cold chill of winter flowed around me, and the gentle sensation of being clean came through. The room however had its own song in the Symphony. I could feel the warm sun peeking between the forest. The soft feeling of grass underneath, and the intoxicating scents of exotic fruits.

  I shook that feeling off.

  The room was filled with Rot, but this one wasn’t as ‘black’ as the one that Mrs. Carnwich had. I could see the way it moved, and it landed on surfaces to immediately die. The few that touched Noel didn’t seem to stick. That either implied it couldn’t bond with Noel or most things, and/or it wasn’t airborne. I didn’t know which answer it was at the moment, and frankly, I didn’t want to know. Any risk was too much.

  I donned my Crow Suit.

  Noel turned to look at me, “What are you wearing?” he began.

  But then I realized something important! Noel was a [Druid]! “Noel! I NEED GERM-KILLING HERBS!”

  “What?! Why are you yelling? What is a germ?!” he said, covering one of his ears as the man on the bed shifted uncomfortably.

  Right.

  “Sorry. I’ve been looking for herbs that could kill germs. Oh! Germs are little flying things in the air that get you sick. They’re everywhere, but don’t worry, the ones in this room aren’t sticking to you. So you’re fine. I think. I’m still figuring this out as I go along.”

  “Uh… Huh. Is there any ‘germ-killing’ herb you want?”

  “Mint, Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, and Juniper Berries.”

  “...Are you trying to season a dish?”

  “What? Do you have time for this Noel? Stop making jokes, I’m here to help your husband, not argue about herbs.”

  Noel’s eyes opened wide, and he pursed his lips. He shook his head and then just stood up, saying nothing more.

  But he was gone, so I turned to his husband. Or, the second Patient.

  The man was incredibly… pretty. Ma told me that boys were handsome and girls were pretty, but I couldn’t tell with this one. He looked masculine, but his face was so smooth and angular, and his hair was as long as mine. His ears were a bit sharp and pointed though, so he might have been part bat?

  It wasn’t too important right now, as I looked over his body. His skin was exceptionally soft and smooth, and he had lean muscle. He was incredibly lanky looking, but with his musculature, I would imagine he was far stronger and faster than he looked.

  A part of me wanted to cut him open, and figure out how he worked? Would any of this be useful to my operation on the farm?

  And that was the problem. Why would I think that? I’m not supposed to cut him open, or admire his musculature like that. I shouldn’t be thinking of what benefit he has to me if he was undead, since that’s wrong.

  But without these concerns and interests, I don’t care about the body at all. There is no ‘That Ashley’ that cares if this is Noel’s husband. It’s just the one that wants to cut him open.

  I blinked, losing myself in that train of thought. My fingers idly traced over his skin till it got to the ribcage. My hand rested against it, feeling his body breathe in and out.

  “Wait a minute…?” I said, finding a little wound. It looked odd, and my finger grazed over it, causing the patient to groan in pain.

  He opened his mouth, and what I assume music or singing came out of? It was a strange sound that flowed far too well together. I wasn’t sure why he was singing though.

  I returned my attention back to the wound. It was a small incision, but there was something coming out of it. It was squirming, like a loose strand of hair on his hairless body.

  I pulled out my bone tools and rolled them out on the table. I picked up my scalpel and tweezers.

  “Ashley, what are you holding?” Noel asked, returning with bags of herbs in his hand. I snipped my tweezers in the air and spun the scalpel.

  “Tools?”

  “I.. I can see that. What are they made of?”

  “Oh! Chicken bones.”

  “Danu’s Breath… okay. You understand that normal people would find you holding bone tools in your hand incredibly weird?”

  “Jasmine didn’t say anything?”

  “Jasmine’s your age and is more worried about her mother. I’m worried about you. You can’t use those Ashley. I’ll buy you steel ones if you can’t afford it.”

  “Alright, I’d appreciate that.” I immediately responded.

  “Interesting, no fight?” Noel asked, but I looked up at him. Was this him just trying to connect to ‘THAT Ashley’? The one that’s supposed to care and not just work? I didn't know why he kept talking after the information was exchanged.

  And I was thinking of cutting up his husband too. If ‘Cold Ashley’ is in there, do I have ‘That Ashley’?

  “I… Tell… me… about… your hus–husband?” I slowly… spoke out? Each word was painful to say, since I was unsure of what I was trying to accomplish. But I wasn't born an Academic, I practised it. I could practise this.

  “Right, you probably want to know my history? Or why am I married to an Elf?”

  I looked at his smooth face, angular jaw, and pointed, bat-like ears. I guess they weren’t that batlike. I tilted my head to the side. “Oh. He’s an Elf!”

  “Ashley, you recognize he’s male too then, right?”

  “I did say ‘husband’.” I responded.

  Noel’s eyes scrunched at me, and it was the same expression Jasmine gave when someone was saying something obvious but I wasn’t picking up on it.

  My mind immediately reeled, and I had to find ‘That Ashley’ again.

  “Yes… he… is… male… That… is… very… good? I… am… happy for you?” I tried again, hoping that is what he wanted to hear.

  Noel stared at me. His eyes scanned my face, before settling down on my eyes. “Ashley, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine! I am just… trying to care… about you?” I said, and immediately paused. “I mean, I care about you, but I am trying to care in a way you would understand?”

  He let out a deep sigh. “How old are you, kid?”

  That question came out of nowhere, and broke into my confusion! “18, why?”

  He looked at the elf. “Is Aywin alright, like, for the next while, or is he critical?”

  “Oh, he’s more than fine! I think I can handle that one easily.”

  “So, it can wait for a bit?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Good, then get up and come with me. You haven’t talked to anyone, have you?”

  “I’m talking to you right now!”

  Noel didn’t react at that statement, but watched my eyes. “No, you haven’t talked to anyone with what’s on your mind, right? I’m still a [Druid], Ashley, and my perception is quite high. Not that I need to have a high perception for this… Something is wrong with you, and you need someone to listen.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, or at least make an argument for me to at least do the work first. Noel was faster than me, and gripped my suit by the arm, and with how clumsy I was, I couldn’t even pull away.

  Noel took me to the living room, and boiled water. “Take that ridiculous suit off, Ashley.” he ordered, placing a cup of hot tea in front of me. It smelled like berries.

  I did as I was told, and changed into my farmer’s outfit. Noel took the seat in front of me… and said nothing.

  I waited for the tea to cool down, and he did too. I took a sip of my tea first, and then he did his.

  This continued for half an hour. I was getting bored, and I was running out of tea. I swirled the last drops against the bottom, and glanced up.

  “Noel, can I have some more tea?”

  “Of course you can, Ashley,” he responded, pouring me another cup.

  And then we remained in silence for another 15 minutes.

  “So… what are we doing here?” I finally asked, nervously looking around.

  “I’m waiting for you to calm down.” Noel replied, who hadn’t moved from his post.

  “I am calm! I’m just bored now. I want to go back.”

  “No you’re not calm, kid. You spent the last little while zoning out over tea. You’re happy for the distraction. What’s on your mind? I’ll listen.”

  I held my breath in, but then exhaled. Noel was a good person! He was Adrian’s friend! When people talked, he would listen! He didn’t have to hide who he was! “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me,” Noel responded.

  “If a soul exists, and I’m binding it to a body, it means I'm enslaving someone! I’m practising slavery! I’m killing people Noel! And I can’t say it’s this ‘Other Ashley’ who raises the dead and imprisons them. Because ‘That Ashley’ that cares that you have a husband doesn’t exist!”

  Noel looked at me for a moment, and then just released his breath. He gave a small laugh. “Couldn’t have thrown me an easier question there, Ash? Okay, which one of those questions did you want to talk about first?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Do you want to talk about your magic? Do you want to talk about if you’re a bad person? Or do you want to talk about not caring about my husband?” Noel asked me.

  I watched his eyes, trying to figure out his angle. “...I want to talk about all of them, and find out if I’m just like this! That I should be, you know, normal and feeling bad.”

  “Okay, so you want to know if you’re a bad person for being a [Necromancer] and raising the dead. And, you said it came from two points, right? Slavery vs Necromancy, and then killing people. Probably a host of others, but that seems to be your biggest concern.”

  “Right.” I responded.

  “Ashley, why do you think it’s like slavery?”

  “I’m forcing a spirit to work against its will in a body so I can just make vegetables! I didn’t realize I was preventing someone's soul from going to the afterlife.”

  “Ah. That.” Noel leaned back. “Ashley.”

  “Yes, Noel?”

  “Are you asking for someone to listen to you, or do you want advice?”

  “Why would I want someone to listen to me? I gave you my argument, I need an answer back!”

  “Okay. Then I’ll just advise you, and know that it all comes from a friend who wants to see you grow.”

  “Fine, whatever.”

  “Traditional morality of what is good and evil is decided by those who are in charge. It is the very same people who say it is wrong to enslave someone that finds it morally right to pay another’s family a few copper pieces a day and then charge them a silver to be lodged on their master's property.” Noel began.

  He poured me another cup of tea, but moved to sit beside me.

  “The reason you find this so strange is because you’re still far too young, Ashley. You’re looking for an equivalence in your actions and relating it to a concept you find similarities too because you want to hold yourself accountable. But, for the Children of Danu, there is no soul - you reincarnate. However, I understand you are both a Daughter of Rhyvesta and probably schooled by Amaril, so you view souls in a concept of eternal use.”

  “Yes?” I responded, taking a sip of my tea.

  “Then whatever end a soul has it is slavery and just a resource. Either you come back, and there is nothing to be claimed, or your imprisoned in your flesh, then in the bones, and then in one of the afterlives till everything ends. Whatever made that system must be cruel. What you do with a soul is of no consequence, since any finite time will be lost to the infinity afterwards.”

  I bit my lip. “That just sounds like ‘The universe sucks, so do it anyway’ Noel.”

  He shook his head. “No. It means that you can’t have other people tell you what something is like or isn’t. I know what Love is, and it’s regardless of what the edicts of Elora are, pressured by the Knights of Amaril. I don’t see a ‘dead soul’ as a human life to enslave, it is like aether - an energy of its own, and just energy.”

  I had to consider what he meant. “If The Mind and Soul become one thing before descending, isn’t that still a person?”

  “Are you separate from your body?”

  “I don’t think I am?”

  “If you are separate from it, then why do you care what happens to it? The pain, the hunger, all of that? If you aren’t, do you still exist after your body dies?”

  I looked at my own hands. “I do not know. But I don’t see what this has to do with me thinking it’s slavery or not.”

  “Ashley, your head jumps to slavery because you don’t know your own standards yet. Morality is a set of principles a person lives by and judges others for. Yours are borrowed from a church that bans slavery but allows people to work as indentured servants. If their edicts were true, all death is eternal imprisonment on the earth. It doesn’t matter what they think or claim to know, all that matters is what you do. What do you think happens?”

  “Well, I think if the [Animus] and the [Animum] have to become one thing, it’s not really a person as I understand it. Also soul’s have to change all the time, and while it might sound harsh, I don’t really feel like it’s THAT different from what you described, where someone is just bound to do something they don’t like. Except in this case, I offered my undead freedom, and they just stood around like idiots! I did my best! Even Ophelia is free to do as she pleases.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “So, is it fair to say if those things had free will, you’d let them go?”

  “YES! I don’t want Ophelia to work for me because she’s bound to me because I created her! I want her to be my friend!”

  “And Ophelia can leave, right?”

  “Yes! But she won’t because I am her Mistress! She calls me that all the time! It’s creepy!”

  Noel shook his head. “I think you know what you’re doing is not slavery, Ashley. If you held a person’s collar in your hands, I think you’d drop it. The ones that can think, you seem to make friends with, and the ones that don’t, are just… gone.”

  “But what about the ki–”

  “Everyone kills. Even Amaril, who claims that ‘Thou shall not Kill’ is a thing has many people who do under whoever's name, but justify it by saying it was righteous or not. That shouldn’t matter. The end result is the same: They chose to kill. They chose to keep the leash and collar. Everyone does it, and we know we have to allow it. We just don’t let people do it for no good reason, and it’s funny that the good reason is whatever someone else decides. I personally feel no guilt for cursing Madeleine’s sister. The… woman had it coming.”

  I stared at him still, but let my head fall onto the table. Noel patted my shoulder. “Hold yourself to what you intend to do and why, not what it looks like to others. I am impressed by how much your logical side doesn’t get bothered by things others would consider massive problems. Any other doctor or person invested would turn us into the Inquisitors for breaking Elora’s Law.”

  “Wait, was that the problem?” I asked, finally having it click. “You were worried that I would tell someone about your husband? I don’t even care about him!”

  Noel pursed his lips, suppressing a laugh. “Or Social Norms and Taboo’s. And definitely not how to phrase something politely. So why are you so invested in a taboo that doesn’t even apply to you when you know you wouldn’t break it. Ashley, the fact you think things through logically is an asset, even if people don’t understand it. I am sure in a real situation where someone offered you slaves, you’d turn it down. There may be similarities, but there always are, and if we start saying what’s objectively right here or subjectively wrong there, do I get to make my own decision if I marry my husband?”

  “Oh, right, he’s an elf right?”

  “...Yes?”

  “He has parasites inside of him. It’s why it’s not infecting you.”

  “Ashley, kid. I appreciate it, but I’m here for you right now. I have the best doctor I know of on it. And, for what it’s worth, I am proud to have met you. You aren’t that bad compared to many villains, or even many heroes I have met. I wish half the people I faced were only trying to sell bloody vegetables to the undead, do you understand how trivial that is?”

  “You don't want to know if your husband is going to get better?”

  “I do, but I know you’re just using that to stop talking about yourself. If you ever just want to talk, have someone listen, or give you guidance on just yourself, my door is always open.”

  “About that, I want to buy your land.”

  “What?”

  “Your land.”

  “Can this wait, Ashley?”

  “Yes, but so can everything else.”

  “Danu’s Breath, I walked into this one. Okay, what do you want?”

  “I’d like at least half of the farmland, but if you’re willing and able to wait, I would be open to buying all of it.”

  “Sure, 100 gold?”

  “What? No, the land is well over 1000 gold, and even if we took out this wonderful house since I have my own, I’d expect to pay 800.”

  “Yeah, sure, since I know you’re setting a price you want it to be, and anything less is charity.”

  “Do you not want your land?”

  “No? I moved here to get away from the city, I don’t farm.”

  “So you bought the farm right beside mine and you didn’t even want to farm it?” I stared at him. “That’s stupid Noel, go live in the city.”

  “Ashley, my elven husband and I would be executed. And that's if we're lucky.”

  “Adrian, nor anyone in this town, would do that. I don’t think they care.”

  “Like how they shouldn’t care about you not going to your parent’s funeral?”

  “I… how did you know that?”

  “Small Town. I heard about it from a mutual friend. Said he was glad you found friends elsewhere. Told him I already have different views of the dead. My family already thinks I am dead, and I didn’t see any fancy funeral for that either.”

  “You should tell them you’re alive!”

  “...They know, Ashley.”

  “Oh.” I responded. I wish I understood what Noel was implying here, but at the same time, his life didn’t really affect me. I guess I just can not be ‘That Ashley’. “Well, their loss then. I get someone who can cast [Rain], and that’s all that matters. And if you hold onto the price till I get my money in, I will be more than happy to relieve you of your land.”

  He just shook his head. “Anytime you want to talk, I’m here.”

  “While I appreciate and will hold you to that, I do not have time to continue allowing your idle chatter. I was here to help your husband, not chit-chat.”

  “Mhmm,” he responded, ignoring my urgency and took a sip of his tea. I put on my suit, and walked back into the room.

  Noel did walk in a bit later, but I was already at work. Parasites are not carrion to my dismay, so I had to just extract one to figure out what it was. I had seen the small hole near his rib cage, which was atypical of most of these things. From what I read, they tended to prefer fatty parts of the body, or orifices. For something to be here meant that the parasite was transferred by another animal – zoonotic?

  I moved to the edge of the rib cage again and found that hole. I pulled out my loop extractor and aligned it against the hole. I applied gentle pressure until a white, wiggling tip emerged. It looked like a maggot, but it wasn’t one since I’d have been able to summon it out.

  My forceps clamped around the thing, and I slowly began to peel back. And peel back. And peel back.

  This white, massive worm looked like the longest piece of white hair. I was glad it wasn’t thick, since then I’d genuinely be weirded out. It squirmed against my forceps , but at its massive length, it flopped around like hay and grass.

  Noel gasped and began to approach, but I removed the loop extractor from the elf's chest, and pointed it at Noel. “Stay back. You’re not protected from ROT.” I quickly responded, which made him just look at me. I wagged the extractor at him.

  I would definitely need to keep families out of the room I was working in. They clearly didn’t understand medical procedures.

  I placed the long worm into a tray to examine it. It naturally rolled into a spiral even as it writhed about.

  I focused my vision, and then turned to look at his body. His body was weak, but the germ presence was fairly low. It seemed these things were smart enough to keep the host alive, but I could see dozens of these angel hair things moving around.

  Whereas before I could [Drain Life] and remove the bad cells, this was looking at something microscopic living inside of something else. I was more likely to just hit the fleshy subject than the worms, so that was off the table.

  Puncturing him open wouldn’t be an option either, so I’d have to consult my book.

  I pulled the Libre Sanitatis out and began to pursue the pages, turning to the section on Parasites. I looked through the diagrams and such, until I found it.

  I flipped the page, and it seemed I needed a combination of herbs that I did not have. I could probably make the medicine now that I was a [Chirurgeon], but if not, I’d ask Madeleine to use her [Alchemy] to do so.

  Thankfully, the parasite was content keeping the host alive, so they could remain fed.

  I stood up and turned around to face Noel. “I have good news and bad news!”

  “...Give me the good news first, Ashley.”

  “Okay. Your husband is just going to suffer for a while.” I cheerfully stated, which caused Noel to stare at me. “Oh! Sorry, I just mean he won’t die. The parasites are smart, so they’re just going to leave him suffering.”

  “Ashley, how is that good news?”

  “Because the bad news is I don’t have the cure? I can make it, but I need you and Madeleine to help me find Balinka leaves, Nightshade, Thyme, and maybe some lemon so he actually swallows it?”

  “That’s the bad news to you?”

  “I don’t have any medicine on me, so I can’t do anything about this situation.”

  “You know what, fine. I understand. It’s good that he won't die and we have time, and it is unfortunate that you weren’t prepared for this, but it is fixable!”

  I beamed under my mask! “Thank you! Yes, that’s right. So, as soon as we can get the herbs, I’ll make an anti-parasite for you and tell you how to administer it… oh right, Noel, what’s his name?”

  “Aywin,” he said. “I’m sure he’d love to meet you when he gets better.”

  “No thanks, I’m good. I think I’m at my limit of people I can know, and anymore would mean I have to replace someone else.”

  “That’s not how that works, Ashley.”

  “Of course it is, how else would it go?”

  Noel shook his head, but stood up. He wrapped his arm around me to give me a hug, and patted my back. “Just go on, Kid. You’ll be fine. But right now, you can’t really do much more, right?”

  “Nope! I’ll deal with it as soon as I can make some medicine.” I repeated, and he released me. I felt like I wouldn’t mind if it went a bit longer, but that was rude.

  So instead I turned around, getting ready to go to Melissa’s place. “I will return with 800 for your land as well.”

  He shook his head. I hope he wasn’t realizing he was getting the short end of the stick.

  I met Jasmine outside of Melissa’s house; she smiled at me. “So, Nathaniel is going to apologize, and if you wouldn’t mind, I was hoping you could give him a check up too?”

  “Sure!” I immediately said, before catching myself. “Is he going to get mad if I give him advice?”

  “He better not,” Jasmine smiled, but her eyes looked all scary-like. I shook it off, and instead stared at the top of the tenement.

  Melissa opened the door and ran down, urging us to come inside. We went into the living room again. I could already hear The Dirge in my ears, and I wasn’t focusing. Someone was very, very close to death.

  I glanced around, immediately donning my Crow Suit. “You two should stay here.” And when Melissa rose up to follow, Jasmine pulled her down and shook her head.

  I entered the bedroom where Mrs. Bellamine was kept, and she looked awful. Dragonpox was so called that since of the scaly segments it left on the skin, which hid pustules and boils filled with pus.

  I didn’t have to even activate my [Clinical Eye] to see how badly she was doing, but I must.

  [Anima] near non-existence. [Animus] is deeply fading. [Animum] is deeply fading.

  The patient was middle-aged in my mind, which made sense since I believe Mrs. Bellamine was a year younger than my mother. Her smooth face was replaced by rashes and scaly lumps of skin, and her face was covered in boils. Every time she breathed in and out, rot burned into the air. It was black and heavy, clinging to everything.

  I would burn this room down.

  I looked at my clothes, and the germ-killing herbs were doing its job. Each time a germ or rot touched it, it burned off, getting stuck or tossed aside by how thick the material was.

  I turned around and walked out of the room.

  “Melissa.” I called, who stood up and came running till I raised my hand.

  “Stay there.” I instructed. “Have you been inside this room?”

  “No! Adrian is the only one who goes in, he’s immune to disease!” she said. I looked at her body.

  She was lying. I could see the rot growing inside of her body, but it was very, very small.

  But Melissa wasn’t my patient. So I stared at her. I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t just tell her that, since she didn’t ask.

  “Okay!” she finally blurted out, “I went in! She’s my mother, you know. I just wanted to make sure she’s fine. Why?”

  “You’re also infected.” I answered, content that she asked.

  She looked down at herself, her face twisting, her mouth opening and her eyes going wide. “N-No.”

  “Be quiet, yours is easy to fix. But if I do it, you can’t tell anyone.”

  “O..kay?”

  I raised my hand and used [Drain Life] on her. She screamed for a moment, but then the black rot was burned away. It wasn’t too much, so I returned the vitality to her.

  “W-what was that?”

  “Blood-letting,” I said. It basically was. “Do not tell people I do this. As I will not tell anything I see, held in sacred trust,” I repeated

  “F-fine. I won’t.”

  I nodded, and went back inside.

  Now comes the real problem. I couldn’t just do that for her, she’d just die. It was her entire body covered in disease at this point, and I’d be basically draining out her entire life force to fix the infection. And her wounds! Boils, Pus, and it’s all over the place. I had to make a plan.

  I opened the Libre Sanitatis , and just went to the page on Dragonpox.

  I had an idea of what to do now. Draining everything was easy, I could puncture all the wounds. Likewise, I already dealt with necrotic flesh before, and that was easy to clean up. But… a complete blood-letting? This is the second time in a day I had to use an emergency procedure, did anyone in this town take care of themselves?

  That’s not fair. You know they were just as poor as you, and you got lucky. You’re here now, and you can solve this, Ashley.

  I took a deep breath. I would need to do something to fix this issue in the townsfolk later, and I guess it’d be good to keep them alive so they might want to buy my carrots? Though, I feel like that might be unethical, so, maybe don’t sell carrots to them?

  I don’t know.

  I couldn't see my angle in this, but I knew I still had to do it. And I was also stalling. How do I remove someone’s entire blood pool, keep them alive while it’s purifying, and then return it to them? It took a minute last time, and it was cutting it close. I am sure just making someone 0% isn’t going give me MORE time. With how frail she is, she wouldn’t survive a repeat procedure.

  I leaned back against the wall to think and closed my eyes to focus on the facts.

  And that’s when it hit me. I don’t have to wait for her to [Anima] to be restored. I mean, If I wanted to use hers yes, but not if I wanted to restore things. I've been using [Drain Life] to restore things I’ve lost, not purify. That’s its initial purpose! It takes, to give.

  If I had many people who were okay with it, I’d just extract a small amount from everyone to restore, but I dont have that as an option. Next plan.

  I walked over to Mrs. Bellamine, and didn’t bother waking her up or talking to her. I know I should have, but I can talk to her later when she’s not near death.

  I looked at her body. I know not to pop blisters, but most of these were infected and I could see the pus and germs inside. Her boils were the same, and at some points, it just seemed like giant sacs of disgusting disease atop of rank, dead flesh. I could fix her body, and she had so many wounds that it was just more efficient to be thorough and pop them all, than it was to identify the few that weren't infected.

  For the next 30 minutes that is all I did. I examined every inch of her body, found an infected blister and used a heat-sterilized scalpel to drain it. It left disgusting, ugly, blotchy spots all over her body, but it let me see the very little living flesh she had left. The bucket I was using to collect this mess smelled foul, and I was breathing in herbs right beside my nose. I still felt like I had to reinforce and replace the herbs.

  Pimples, sores, wounds were all examined, and then I could finally call in the Alvira Blowfly. I opened the window and beckoned them towards me. I would probably need to start breeding these so I had a supply I trusted, rather than this emergency system I was using now.

  I guided the Blowflies to rest atop of Mrs. Bellamine and lay their eggs and eat. It would take awhile for all the necrosis would fade, and…

  I knew what to do.

  I walked outside, still wearing my outfit, and looked at Jasmine and Melissa.

  “How is she, Ashley?” Melissa asked.

  I said nothing, but turned to Jasmine. “Jasmine, could you please escort Melissa to have her find me some Balinka leaves? I need them for the cure, and I have to monitor the patient.”

  Jasmine blinked, but stood up. “Sure?” she said, taking Melissa’s hand and going out of the room, and then house. I watched them from the window as they left.

  I then went outside too, leaving my outfit on. I had to stop thinking, so I could do what was coming next.

  I wandered back to Jasmine’s neighborhood, avoiding the common roads and centrally congested areas. The Crow Suit was hot and heavy, but I would have to endure it.

  Jasmine’s place was in the bad part of town, where the drunk and no-lives would go. It was still morning, so anyone in these alleyways were either homeless, invalid, or uncared for.

  I ignored that judgement too.

  I moved around the Mermaid’s Tale, a rather raunchy inn that served seafood. I never tried it, so I don’t know if the food is as bad as people say. At this time, it was still closed, but I had found what I was looking for.

  A fat man was beside the trash pile, puke on his shirt and piss on his pants. He reeked, but he still snored past all of it. It was deep and loud, showing me that he was fully alive.

  He wasn’t my patient, so I wouldn’t use my [Clinical Eye] to evaluate him. In fact, I swapped my role back to [Reaper].

  The flies and locusts surrounded my body, and I could hear the drums of war. My Crow Suit lens began to fog up in Miasma, and Levan’s Scythe returned to my hand.

  I felt the heft of the handle.

  My hand shot out, slicing the drunk’s throat. Red blood began to spill out, and he woke up, immediately choking on the lack of oxygen.

  My hand rose as the green vitality flowed off the dying corpse. It flew into my hand, as the fresh Anima pooled itself in my palm. I quickly deposited it into a glass vial, and turned to the corpse.

  My hand waved over it, as [Compost] would return his waste of a body to the cycle.

  I put back my [Farm Girl] outfit, and walked back to Melissa’s house. As soon as I crossed the door, the Crow Suit came back on.

  I walked towards Mrs. Bellamine’s bedroom, and glanced outside. No sight of either of them yet. I closed the blinds, and raised my hands towards her.

  But then I stopped, realizing I had to wait 10 more minutes to be a [Chirurgeon] again. That was the time I didn’t want to be idle. I didn’t want to go back to that version of Ashley that overthought this.

  I know I was right. I would gladly give up someone else’s life for the people I care about. So, I could spend the next 10 minutes wrestling with this, or just get on with it.

  I was a [Reaper]. I would tend to the cycle, and it’s not like I had to target specific bad cells in Mrs. Bellamine. Her entire body was bad.

  The green flow of magic poured out of Mrs. Bellamine, and into my hands. However, unlike when I was a [Chirurgeon] the color didn’t change to match what I knew was there. It was all green.

  But I knew she was completely diseased. Her body squirmed, trying to get away, to escape the pain of having her entire [Anima] ripped out of her shell. She was covered in maggots, with open sores and popped apart blisters.

  I would keep this sight to myself. Another thing I would not judge.

  She couldn’t even scream, that was how much of it was taken out of her. I hated this procedure, but it worked.

  The green flow finally stopped, and I held a ball of Anima. I didn’t consider it all, and frankly, didn’t need it, so I let it disperse back into the aether. I quickly ran to Mrs. Bellamine, uncorked the [Anima] I had just gotten for her, and poured it into her lips.

  Her lips lapped at it first, but then she began to drink greedily.

  Her body heaved in and out, but her breathing was going to be stable. She had no more infection in her body, since I had cycled out her entire blood and her entire disease.

  Her body was scarred, but she’d live. I’d come back later to clean up the mess on her flesh.

  But if she stayed in this room, she’d get reinfected. I picked her up, and gently took her outside to the living room to sleep on some cushions.

  I… never checked the [Reaper] role quest. Was this always in my purview and rights to do?

  I poured myself a cup of tea, not wanting to think about this. I didn’t open the new abilities, or the new skills.

  So, the real Ashley is a murderer.

  The door opened up, and Melissa and Jasmine ran in.

  Jasmine shouted, “ASHLEY! There’s no BALINKA LEAVES HERE! They’re only found in Flowers-by-The-River, is that ok–”

  They both turned to look at me sitting at the table, staring at Mrs. Bellamine sleeping on the couch.

  “That’s fine. Please tell Adrian to burn everything in that room. And the room itself, if all possible. I have done the impossible and saved your mother.”

  Melissa ran towards her maggot covered, popped open mom and halted. “She’s covered in maggots!”

  “Let them eat the rotten flesh, I’ll remove it soon. Your mom was very sick, and I had to do an emergency procedure.”

  Jasmine’s eyes blinked, but then her mouth opened in understanding. “Oh! Balinka leaves…” she realized. “So, she’s fine now?”

  “Yes.” I responded quickly.

  “How did you ma–” Melissa asked

  “All that is held in Sacred Trust, Melly.” I quickly cut her off. “I can’t tell you anything about my patients.”

  I still stared at Mrs. Bellamine’s body.

  I was okay with what I did.