No, it wasn’t right, even if the guard was scum, he was clearly done fighting. Maybe this would be a lesson to Becmun and these others not to trample over others because of their positions. Tresh pressed a hand to the wound in his side, leaning heavily against the counter as he tried to staunch the bleeding.
“So Ket,” Tresh huffed, still clutching his bleeding side, “Did I put on a good show or what?”
Ket glared, “You and those morons just wrecked my counter! Do you know how much this’ll cost to repair!?”
Tresh shrugged, looking over to the remaining guard, “I’m sure you got some coin for the good keeper ya?” He asked.
“B-but-” The guard stammered.
“Right?” Tresh asked in a low tone.
Intimidation Check: 23 Critical Success!
“Yes sir!” He replied hastily, removing the pouch from his belt before handing it to Ket, “This should cover it, it’s everything I made for this week, please forgive us!”
Becmun snorted, “I’ll take your coin, but after this I never want to see you again. Don’t think I won’t report this to your captain, I think he may be more inclined to listen this time, especially with all the willing witnesses.” He finished, gesturing to the far wall where the villagers stood.
They all seemed to glare at the guard, who visibly gulped before looking at the door of the tavern.
“I need some coin myself.” Tresh said casually, leaning down over Becmun and the other guard, “Ain’t no one gonna tell on me right?” He asked loudly, looking from the townsfolk and the man they were glaring down.
“I haven’t seen a thing.” A man said, scratching his beard.
“Aye, let’s look at the floor here, it’s got interesting patterns don’t you think?” A woman asked, looking downward.
The other villagers mumbled in agreement before simultaneously, they all looked down at their own feet. Tresh grinned, shooting the guard a warning glare before removing the pouches from the two unconscious men.
“The Mangler strikes again!” Tresh laughed, tying the pouches to his belt, “Well, as fun as this has all been, I gots to get goin’. Ass remains to be kicked in the capital!”The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Lana sighed, approaching the door as the crowd all began to cheer. Wincing, he followed after her, still applying pressure to his still-bleeding wound. He’d need to get a potion here soon or this little nick would be a serious problem. Exiting the tavern, Lenny found himself strangely interested in the cobbled streets. Must have been a pain to set all those, it was hard enough doing roadwork in his world.
Tresh blinked, his head aching for an instant before he shook his head. Internally he told the spirit to shut up as Lana rounded on him, her sharp features highlighted orange by the sun setting in the distance.
“I will hire you for protection on my journey, Tresh.” She told him flatly, shifting her bag to her shoulder. “You’ve shown me that you can handle yourself, even though you were almost killed. Not many men can take on three others, unarmed no less.”
“Of course I can.” He grinned through the pain of his side, “I’m gonna die if I don’t get this patched up quick though… can’t leave yet, gotta find a doctor.”
Lana sighed, retrieving a red vial from her bag. Lenny let out a sigh of relief, it looked like a healing potion. Tresh agreed, it was a sight for sore eyes.
“Just drink this, we don’t have time for more conventional means of healing. I’d rather not stay here longer than necessary, the trouble you caused may not be completely over.” She told him, popping the cork and handing it to him.
Tresh took it gratefully, immediately swigging the entire bottle. Lenny winced, it tasted like minced garlic mixed into cough syrup. Yuck! Still though, all the nicks and gashes he received during the fight all began to seal up as the potions contents hit his stomach, working immediately to shore up the wounds. His hand left his side, seeing that the gaping wound had sealed over into a faint scar. The healing hadn’t made the blood vanish though, he’d still need to wash himself whenever he got the chance. Tresh then felt lightheaded all the sudden, nearly falling backward as an intense hunger came over him. What the hell was going on!? He was starving!
“Why am I so damn hungry?” Tresh asked, clutching his stomach, “Was there somethin’ else in that swig?”
Lana blinked, “No, have you never drank a healing potion before?”
Tresh hesitated, “...Can’t remember.”
“Ah yes, that’s right.” Lana said with a nod, “Walk with me, we must leave town now, I will explain to you how it is the potion works.”
Tresh nodded, quickly following after Lana with a sigh, “You got any food?” He asked.
“A bit, but just so you know, the price of that potion and any food you consume from me will be deducted from your overall pay.”
“Fair.” Tresh sighed, “But yeah, how do these potions work exactly?”
“Potions all bear some magical power within them, healing potions are no different in this respect.” She explained as they passed through the mostly-empty streets, “All it does is accelerate the body''s natural healing process, utilizing the body''s own stores of energy. The result is usually intense hunger, as your body has burnt through much of its reserves to heal itself. Think of healing potions as accelerants, rather than cure-alls.”
“No wonder.” Tresh said, “So wait, does that mean if I got stabbed through the spine and drank a potion, I’d still be crippled after?”
“Yes.” Lana replied, “All it does is accelerate how the body recovers from the wounds, they don’t restore you to your original state. That stab you took earlier seemed to have missed anything important, luckily for you, otherwise you likely would have curled up on the ground in ceaseless agony.”
“...Lucky me.” Tresh acknowledged, fingers brushing the fresh scar on his side.
“Indeed. There are some rather rare potions that can restore people in a more absolute way, but they are rare, and incredibly expensive. It’d take a year''s salary from my work to pay for one, if it could even be found.”
“That’s crazy.” Lenny replied, “How long to reach the capital again?”
“Give or take, three months. Later if we run into frequent trouble, which we likely will. Thankfully we’re leaving at the beginning of summer, so we shouldn’t have to contend with snow.”
Looking down at his half-naked form, Tresh found himself grateful that snow wouldn’t be a factor on this trip. It’d be hard to fight in the arena if his feet froze off on the way.