Kingdom Come: Ch 6

A powerful wave of dizziness swept over me, and then a sense of warm fullness began to push behind my eyes and against my temples from the inside. It wasn't painful, but it was definitely not comfortable... though it was kind of awesome, too, because I literally felt my mind begin to recall words I'd heard and make connections between them and the things they referred to. The knowledge poured in like hot sand, with every grain a word or a letter or a fraction of meaning. I wasn't sure if I was going to claw my face off or start gibbering in tongues by the time it finished, but sure enough... I could suddenly understand the murmured conversations in the hospital ward beyond the door.

"Damn," I said. "That's kind of nifty."

"Heh." Mashka grunted her amusement. "If only we were all Starborn like you, eh? Ready for Churvi?"

"Hit me."

We repeated the process for the second language: money and skill points went in, and language came out. It seemed easier to learn than Vlachian, with less discomfort. Once the trade pane was closed, Mashka gave me a shrewd look.

"Come," she said in her native tongue. "We should make the rounds of the hospital. You should be able to learn the skills of a healer while we wait for your lady to rouse. The guard will come out of her room when she wakes.”

I heard her speaking the foreign tongue - a language that sounded a lot like Mongolian to me - but the words made sense. It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. I'd grown up bilingual, speaking English in public and Korean at home, but learning a new language so quickly was definitely a new experience.

"Sure." I nodded. "Mind if I ask you about Myszno while we work?"

"Not at all. Few people here are interested in my homeland... it is refreshing to have someone ask." Mashka gave me a sharp nod, gathering her tool bag. "Where to begin?"

“What are the Thunderstones?” I asked. “We can start there.”

“Ahh…” she nodded, sweeping ahead into the ward. Seven patients waited for us. Rutha had been taken to a private room, guarded by a tattooed Knight of the Red Star outside. “The krr’akhi. No one knows what the Thunderstones are. They probably do not exist, except in stories and songs.”

“Do you know any of them?” I tried to mask the desperation I was already starting to feel.

“Yes, of course.” She huffed a little. “The most famous story is one you’ll hear in taverns everywhere while you’re in Myszno. It is the tale of Burna and Lahati.”

That immediately piqued my curiosity. “Burna?”

“The Nightfather.” Mashka sketched a small gesture on her brow. “Here, he is known as-”

“Chernobog, or Matir,” I finished. “Yeah, I know. His name is the same in Tuun’haar. We call him Burna as well.”

“Interesting. But, to return to the story.” Mashka sucked on her tooth for a moment, getting her words together. “Once long ago, the Solonkratsu were a learned and skillful people who built great palaces and cities across the world. The greatest of the queens lived here, in Vlachia, and she ruled all of the dragons from the crushing waves of the Black Sea in the east to the Bay of Swords, where Taltos now stands. But she was a virgin. Her maiden name was Lahati the White Frost, and she was quick and wise and beautiful, as all great queen dragons should be. She was born white as snow, with horns and claws like polished diamonds, and eyes of black fire that could see into a man’s soul. She grew great and sleek and lovely, and she was so swift that no dragon buck could so much as lay a claw on her no matter how hard and fast they flew.”

“One day, Burna was walking the face of the world as a man, and he saw a brilliant light streak across the sky. It was Lahati, followed at a distance by many struggling dragons. She winnowed the air like a swallow, forever out of their reach, and the god found himself fascinated by her beauty. He shapeshifted into a great bull dragon with stars for eyes and scales as black as pitch, and took to the air to join the mating flight. He flew as fast and as high as he could, dashing other dragons out of the air in his lust. When Lahati heard their screams, she turned to see him closing on her.”

“The great bull caught the queen in the air, and in the fury of their first coupling, the god turned Lahati’s scales to obsidian, save for the white marks of his teeth on the back of her neck. The marks looked like the petals of a chrysanthemum, and so when she assumed her mated name, she became Lahati the Chrysanthemum Queen. She was the beloved mate of the Nightfather for all her days, and when she died, he wept for a day and an age. Not even the Prince of a Thousand Names could call his beloved back to life when his father, Time, took her to the grave. Wherever Burna pounded the earth, great craters appeared. Wherever he drew his claws, valleys and canyons were made. He wandered east, and he reached the Black Sea, he went to his knees by the ocean and screamed Lahati’s true name. The peaceful water turned furious and black, and there where he knelt, the Thunderstones erupted from the earth. It is said this is why the Black Sea is so fierce, and why the Dark God no longer walks with us as man or dragon, for he cannot bear to live without his queen by his side.”

While she spoke, the Mark prickled on the back of my hand. I felt a strange longing, and almost reflexively checked my telepathic link with Karalti. She was outside, warm and comfortable. Sleeping, probably. “Huh.”

“That is all I know of the Thunderstones. If you want older stories, you will have to visit the shamans or the monks. That could be why you wish to go to the village of Myszno, hmm? There is a monastery there.”

A monastery? “How do you get to Myszno Village from Vastil Pass?”

“Well, you fly to Vyeshniki, then cross the Sarviz River and head south, into the highlands. Unfortunately, that is all I know… and the land has probably changed a lot since I was a girl.” The old woman shook her head. “Now, here: I’ll give you the recipe for Concentrated Green Moss Tincture, and you go and prepare it for me. Then you may ask another question.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Sure.”

Getting a simple recipe uploaded to my memory was nowhere near as intense as learning a language: a prompt, a pause, and then ‘ting’, I knew a new recipe:

Concentrated Green Moss Tincture (Herbal)

Heals 150 HP over 120 seconds

Requires: Green Moss x 3, Lye x 1, Aqua Regia x 1 (Hydrochloric Acid x 3, Nitric Acid x 1), Pure Alcohol x 1, Bottle.

Sell Price: 30 rubles (silver)

While Mashka worked, I mixed the Aqua Regia, then mashed the moss and added it to the powerful acid, dissolving it. Once I had a thick forest-green sludge, I added the lye – carefully – and let it froth and bubble until the liquid settled. Then I sieved it into a pot, added the alcohol, and transferred the liquid to three bottles. When I bought them to her, I got a notification:

[You gain 5 Skill EXP!]

“Okay. What else?” She asked.

“I have some more skill EXP, so teach me more Churvi. And tell me about the city that fell to the Demon,” I said. “And about Vastil County.”

“The cities. Hmm.” Mashka scowled thoughtfully as she administered one of the potions to a semi-conscious man with a badly broken leg. “Well, Myszno has only three cities of any size. They are Karhad, Vyeshniki, and Litvy. Karhad is the Ducal seat, where the House of Bolza reigns. It was the capital of Myszno long before it became part of Vlachia, a place of learning and industry. There are factories and mills, and many artisans live there. Lumber, metals, and mana are taken to Karhad to be refined before they journey west. Here – thread this needle for me. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.”

I took the needle and catgut she held out to me and got to work. “Vastil is the wealthiest county, though?”

“Aye. And Litvy is the biggest city in the province now - ever since the House of Soma began building airships. It is a city of commerce, and the noble families of Litvy are mercantile. They live by the scales there, not the sword. Litvy also has a good school, and a sacred smithing college run by the Forgebrothers. When I was a girl, House Soma wasn’t even nobility!”

That was an interesting piece of information. “How long ago was that?”

“Oh, about sixty, sixty-five years ago now. They were mere merchants back then. Shipwrights. They manufactured airships for the Crown, which is how Orvel Soma gained his peerage. His grandson is now Count of Vastil, but I hear Lorenzo Soma is nothing like the man his grandfather was.”

“Huh. Good to know.”

We spent about thirty minutes finishing up the rounds, and every time I helped Mashka, the Skill EXP trickled in. When we were done, Mashka beckoned to me and took me aside to her laboratory. There was an Alchemy table with a safe for storing mana, a herbalist table, and floor to ceiling dressers full of potion ingredients along the walls. It was clean and cozy, the herbal smell overlaid with a faint ozone scent – the odor of mana.

“You are leaving tomorrow morning, then?” She asked me, puffing as she climbed a step-stool and hauled a bag of tools from a shelf.

“Yeah.” I watched her from the doorway. “Not much time to learn from you, unfortunately.”

“It is unfortunate. I’ve never taught a Starborn before, but if they’re all as quick as you, I’ll be glad to see more of them in Taltos.” She began to rifle through the bag, pulling out leather wrapped surgery tools, bandages, linen cloth… and then an old, battered pair of spellgloves.

“I… uh… thanks.” I actually flushed. No one had ever described me as ‘quick’ before. “I’m not really that smart, though.”

“Shush. I didn’t ask your opinion, did I?” Mashka motioned to me to come closer. “Now, you’re going to want to prepare for the journey, hmm? I have a few things to give you. You may also use this oratory to work.”

I drifted over as she pulled rolls of parchment out and laid them down beside the gloves. “Recipes?”

“Yes. Here: put them in your inventory. Practice those formulae, and you’ll be ready for Journeyman level in Herbalism. I need a new valve for these spellgloves before you can use them, though. Wait here.” She pushed the stack of papers over to me, then hopped down and bustled off to her alchemy table.

I uploaded the new recipes to my Inventory, and received a string of prompts:

[You have learned new recipes: Starberry Salve, Goldenseal Tincture, Droptick Oil, Nightshade Solution (A), Bonefuse (A), Bull’s Strength Potion (A)]

[Congratulations! You have reached Herbalism 11! You can now study Journeyman-level textbooks, brew more complex potions, and use better equipment!]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked Alchemy (Levels 4 – 10)]

[Your ability to understand Alchemy has increased! You have unlocked detailed recipes and instructions, including listed benefits and side-effects.]

Hell yeah. I’d been stuck on Alchemy 4 - the limits of self-taught Alchemy - since before I’d left Ilia. While Mashka fiddled with the gauntlets, I eagerly bought up one of the new recipes and had a look:

Bonefuse (Alchemical)

A phototoxic potion which instantly repairs broken bones.

Benefit: Administering Bonefuse will cure any set and splinted fracture. You must straighten any broken bones before use.

Side-Effects: Bonefuse will cause the patient to be painfully allergic to sunlight for 2-5 days. Exposure to direct sunlight will inflict the Burn status and drain 20 HP damage per minute of exposure. The side-effect cannot be offset with other medicines.

Toxicity: 6/10 (Risk of Stranging if used on NPCs.)

Ingredients: Comfrey x 2, Bergamot oil x 1, Mana (Any) x 1, Monster Saliva (Any), Bishop’s Weed x 1, Distilled Water x 1, Sealed Flask.

Sell Price: 20 olbia (gold)

Damn, Bonefuse wasn’t fucking around. Curious, I went to examine one of the first Alchemical potions I’d ever made – my unused bottle of Barghest Serum. The murky glowing potion had been sitting in my inventory ever since I’d first brewed it, un-used. That was because its description HAD been a one-line warning: ‘a deadly poison that allows you to see in the dark for 60 seconds.’ Bringing up the item description now gave me an expanded breakdown, just like the Bonefuse recipe:

Barghest Serum

A deadly poison that allows you to see in the dark for 60 seconds.

Benefit: Consuming Barghest Serum gives you perfect darkvision for one minute. You can see in lightless environments, and even underground. Barghest Serum can also be used to poison weapons. Wounds inflicted by weapons poisoned with Barghest Serum will glow with bright light for up to six hours.

Side-Effects: Barghest blood contains a potent toxin that drains HP. NPCs take 150 HP damage over 2 minutes after contact or consumption. Player characters take 100 HP damage over 2 minutes. Mercurions, Monsters, Dragons and Dragonforged characters take no damage from this poison.

Toxicity: 7/10

Ingredients: Barghest liver x 1, Barghest Eye x 1, Eyebright x 2, Water x 1, Sealed Flask.

“Here we go. There’s a new valve on the left hand… very important to keep an eye on the durability of these things. You don’t want your mana leaking everywhere.” Mashka rejoined me at the island counter in the center of the room and handed me the spellgloves. They weren’t exactly new, and were made of brown leather, cloudy crystal, and old brass fittings.

[You got Old Alchemist’s Spellglove!]

“This is a good first glove. It can only process fractionated Greencrystal Mana, but that’s all a beginner really should be using,” Mashka said. “A Green Mana spill isn’t likely to kill anyone. You’ll be able to use better mana and better equipment as you gain more experience. You can start by making potions in my Alchemy laboratory, but you must buy the mana from me. I can’t afford to just give it away.”

“No worries,” I replied. “And thanks. These will be really useful when we’re stuck in Myszno.”

“I hope so. I fear for Lord Bolza. When I was a girl, I remember seeing the lord’s father in town once. The Bolzas, and all their knights and beautiful glossy hookwings… that spectacle was what made me want to come here and see the big city.” Mashka’s eyes softened slightly as she spoke. “But that’s enough of this old woman’s rambling. You should go and see your sorceress. She may appear lifeless, but those in coma often benefit from kind touch and encouragement. Assume she can hear and will remember everything you say.”

“I nodded. “Thank you. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Eh, no. I’m more concerned about what I can do for Myszno and His Majesty.” Mashka sighed. “Ignas is under terrible pressure. But I think I’ve done all I can in the time we have. I’m too old to travel. If you wish to continue your studies, you will find tutors in Myszno. Rumor has it that the Tuun monks, the Baru, fight in the army alongside His Majesty’s troops. If that’s true, they will have even greater healing abilities than I. I’m sure your countrymen will be glad to receive you, given you bear the Black God’s mark on your skin.”

“Long story, but I don’t think they will.” I rubbed the back of my hand, feeling the Mark of Matir prickle and ache. “I... uhh… broke an oath to expose Andrik’s plot against his brother.”

“Then you must atone, but the Baru are as merciful as they are fierce. That is the meaning of the knife you carry.” She pointed at the slender, ice pick-like dagger hanging from my belt. “You are already on the path of the healer. Now you must live up to it.”

“Thanks. And thanks for all of this help,” I replied.

“It is my pleasure and my duty both.” The Masterhealer pressed her lips together in a thin line. “I have lived here in Taltos for many years now, but Myszno will always be my home. When I pass, I wish for my old bones to be taken back there and given a proper burial in the manner of the Kel Khammut. So please… do everything in your power to protect Myszno. There’s a plot waiting there with my name on it.”

***

Even though I knew Rutha was unconscious, I tapped on her door before letting myself inside.

The Knight of the Red Star who had been posted to keep watch over her looked up when I entered: a fierce-looking man in the red and black lamellar armor of his order. His head was shaved except for a forelock at the front, and his cheeks were tattooed with lines of script that ran from just under his eyes to the edge of his goatee. He had a saber resting across his lap and a half-read book in his hand, and nodded to me as I crossed to Rutha’s bedside. She was hooked up to a small magitech device. The core of the machine swelled with a blue-white glow. When the glow peaked, magical glyphs shone briefly on Rutha’s skin, and she breathed in. When they faded, she breathed out. It was some kind of arcane iron lung.

“Hail, warrior,” the knight said in Vlachian. I recognized him - it was Ur Lanso, one of the retainers often seen at court. “Do you need to be alone with the lady?”

“Yeah.” I pulled up a seat so I could sit beside her. “Thanks.”

Ur Lanso rose, bowed stiffly, and then left the two of us in the herb-scented hush of the room.

Rutha was Lysian - an elf, essentially - from my home continent of Daun. She’d always been a short, delicate woman, but weeks of torture had shrunk her. Her long ears were scabbed, and the skin of her face was stretched tightly over her jaw and cheekbones. Her lips were dry and cracked. Her short-cropped hair emphasized the thinness of her neck, the jut of her collarbones... and the poorly healed fracture there.

“My god.” I pulled my gloves off, then cupped one of Rutha’s hands in mine. They were thin and brittle, like bird’s legs. “Those fucking bastards.”

There was no response. Rutha’s eyelids didn’t even flicker, and because of their stillness, I noticed that she was missing her eyelashes. They had been scorched away somehow. Frowning, I smoothed away a strand of hair from her face, then got some of the lip balm Mashka had left beside her bed and smoothed it onto her lips, making sure they were well-coated. Despite what Mashka had said, I didn’t have much to say to her. After making sure her lips didn’t hurt, I checked her dressings and her IV, thinking until the words came. 

“Whatever they told you, whatever they did to you... they were wrong,” I said, haltingly. “I’m going to get them all for what they’ve done, Rutha. To you, to me, to Karalti’s mother, to their dragons, to the game. They’re dead men walking. I’ll find a way to delete them right the fuck out of Archemi. You’ve got people on your side out here. We’re waiting for you, when you’re ready to wake up.”

I gave Rutha’s limp hand a gentle squeeze and lay it back down on top of the covers. For a time, I just watched her, remembering her. The Rutha I’d met on the Arabella was fierce, dynamic, brilliantly intelligent. Matir had told me that she was part of Ororgael’s plan to return to Archemi, and in my darker moments, I’d wondered if our brief love affair had been part of his plan all along... but looking at the damage done to her, it couldn’t have been. She’d had the shit beaten out of her by someone who was furious. There was no art to it, for lack of a better term. They were angry, violent injuries inflicted by someone with a grudge.

“You just... you get better, okay? You need to meet Suri, and Ignas… and Rin and Karalti.” I bent down, and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to Rutha’s cold forehead. “I’m going to try to get stronger. We’re going to a war tomorrow… but I’ll come back for you. I promise.” 

The sorceress didn’t stir as I left, her chest rising and falling in time with the machine beside her bed.