Siderius sat down beside Carsten and examined him. He had never seen this type of disease before.
The Bubonic Plague in his old world was a large-scale curse, carried by flies and was fueled by witch's magic. It was extremely contagious and the flies were able to multiply themselves by eating into the flesh of the patients.
This Gray Death was different. It ate into the flesh of the victim from the outside. Their skin fractured because of dryness and lost its healthy color. It was similar to a necrotic infection caused by the undead.
But those injuries behaved differently. A vampire sucked the life out of someone by consuming their blood. A zombie infected one's biological system and rapidly decomposed a living being.
To understand more about the Gray Death, Siderius needed closer examination. He reached out his hand to touch Carsten's petrified limbs.
Carsten woke up from his slumber and jerked back immediately.
"Don't touch me! I'm sick!" Carsten shouted.
"I am a healer. I can help you. If you allow me." Siderius said.
"It's contagious. You will die too!"
"I will not be killed by a mere disease." Siderius reached out his hand.
Carsten noticed Ashe behind Siderius.
"You came?" A glimpse of light appeared on his face. Carsten was happy to see Ashe but he hid his emotion quickly. "You shouldn't come, Ashe. You can get the Gray from me!"
Ashe sat down beside the bed and held his hand firm. "I can't abandon you, Carsten. Not when you need me."
Then she turned to Siderius. "This is…Siderius. He's a healer. He can help you if you allow him."
Ashe placed Carsten's hand upon Siderius'. Carsten hesitated but he didn't back away. He chose to trust Ashe.
The hunter carefully felt the surface of Carsten's skin.
The skin had fallen into some sort of temporary transformation. It wasn't necrosis but all of its life force was drawn away. It must have gone somewhere.
"Lift up your shirt. I need to check your heart." Siderius said.
Carsten looked over to Ashe. He needed her confirmation to proceed. He didn't know Siderius.
Ashe nodded, "You can trust him."
"Fine."
Carsten lifted up his shirt. There were veins on his chest, leading up from all of his limbs and joining at his heart. Siderius placed his hand on Carsten's heart.
Carsten's heart was working overtime. It pumped blood like a hungry wolf, concentrating all the life force into one spot. His blood pressure must be several times higher than an average person.
He should have been dead already. But something was keeping him alive. Something that could break the natural order.
"Magic…" Siderius muttered.
A female miner entered the tent. She was very bulky for a woman. Visible muscles bulging under her skin.
If you weren't big and strong in the mine, you would surely be dead in a couple of weeks. The work here was inhumane.
She had short hair that went above her ears. Her face was still covered in dust from the mining.
She heard Siderius mumbling just in time.
"Magic? What do you mean by that?" The woman said.
"And you are?" Siderius asked.
"Nadia. You can say that I'm in charge around here." The female miner said.
"How long has he been like this?" Siderius said.
"A few weeks maybe. He got the Gray a month ago. We thought it was simply a common cold but it got worse and worse," Nadia said, "There isn't anything we can do now. We can only let him be until the guards come for him."
"Have you contacted them yet?" Siderius said.
"No. I'll have some people notice the guards tomorrow. He needs to be quarantined for all our sake."
"That's it? Won't you even try to save him?"
Alex spoke up. "Watch your tongue, healer! Do not speak to our boss like that."
Nadia grabbed the miner and pulled him back. "Relax. He's only trying to help."
"Can I really be saved?" Carsten's voice was shaking.
Siderius said with an overwhelming confidence. "Aye. I can save you."
"What are you on about, healer? There is no cure to the Gray. It is an incurable disease." Alex's voice was becoming louder.
"Any disease can be cured, given the right instruments. Even the infamous Gray Death." Siderius simply said.
Nadia was contemplating silently. Even the thought of getting rid of the Gray was too much for her to process.
This propaganda was drilled into the people of this place for generations, making them think they were being punished for their lowborn status.
She observed Siderius closely. His dark eyes were unique and his aura told her he wasn't lying. Nadia knew that at least Siderius thought he could save Carsten.
There wasn't any harm to let him try. After all, Carsten would be dead anyway.
"Go outside, Alex. Let me have a talk with our friend here." Nadia said.
"Are you sure you can handle this, Nadia?"
"You don't think this skinny healer can harm me, do you?"
Alex nodded his head and left the tent, leaving Nadia with Siderius and Ashe.
"Spill the beans then. How can you cure Carsten?" Nadia said.
Siderius sat beside Carsten and placed his hand on Carsten's forehead.
"His body temperature is low. This disease seems to absorb all of his life force," Siderius said, "I believe I can save him with the right medicine. But I need some materials.
Rock Salt. I know you have it."
Coming inside the Rocky Pit, Siderius had seen all sorts of minerals. But only one piqued his interest. Rock Salt was a great source to extract Salt, one of three primes of Alchemy, an important ingredient for a lot of Alchemical processes.
Nadia stayed silent. Her fingernails tapped on the wooden table.
Then she said, "how much do you need?"
"Quite a lot."
"And you think that I can give these to you for free?" Nadia pouted her lips. Siderius' offer started to sound more and more scummy.
"Not for free." Siderius shook his head. He placed the rabbits on the table. "I know meat is scarce around here. How much can I get for these little creatures?"
Siderius planned to sell the meat in exchange for a map. But right now, there was more important matter at hand. He couldn't pass on the chance of obtaining Salt, pure Salt that was perfect for Alchemy.
Additionally, if he was able to cure this Gray Death, he could also establish a connection with the miners, which in turn would make everything easier for him to acquire materials in the future. A lot of alchemical elements needed to be dug and it would be too much for Siderius to do everything.
It was best to have someone else do it for him.
"Normally, a catch like this can sell for twenty to thirty bronze coins. But I see that whoever dissected these rabbits did a great job. So to be fair, thirty-five bronze pieces for each one.
A rock salt costs ten bronze coins each. How much do you want?"
"Only ten bronze pieces, huh?" Siderius thought silently. In his opinion, rock salt was way more valuable than mere rabbit and definitely couldn't be traded like this. But prices were decided by demand.
Salt was everywhere while fresh meat like this was scarce. People were afraid to hunt inside the woods. They could only eat what they planted or bred. This made wild meat much more expensive than it needed to be.
This trade was a catch for Siderius.
"Then I take five of it. Then give me the rest in coins."
"As you wish."
Ashe sat beside Carsten and held his hand.
"Hang in there, Carsten. We won't let you die." Ashe said.
Carsten smiled. Even when he was in pain, he tried to appear strong to not worry the girl.
"Don't worry, Ashe. I won't die until you return."