***
As Father Hatheway made his way back to his room, the pain in his leg seemed to grow, consuming him. He stumbled into his room, his body seething, and he collapsed onto his bed, then raised his robe to look at his leg. The necrosis on his calf was now the size of a walnut. Within a few months, if he didn't receive treatment, his life may be in jeopardy.
'I need to tell her, stop hiding it. I already decided to tell her about it, so why do I keep procrastinating? Is it because I don't want to hurt her?'
Father's mind raced with questions, trying to find the truth of why he had yet to tell Anemone the problem, even though he had already decided that he would. He then grabbed the jar of moss that he had retrieved from Astrape and set it under the bed. He opened the jar, and an earthy smell, similar to a forest floor, filled the room. He grabbed one of the pieces of moss, which smeared small bits of mud on his hand, then sat at the table in the corner of the room, which had the mortar and pestle.
The mortar and pestle were made of smooth granite, putting the moss inside and beginning to grind it into a smooth, consistent paste. It looked visually appalling; it was a dark silver turned brown because of the mud, but he needed to trust that this was the remedy. Father bent over while in the chair, setting the mortar on the ground, then took the paste he had created and began to smear it across his wound. He immediately felt relief, sighing as he leaned back in his chair.
The paste he had created, per Astrape's guide, was beginning to suck the mana out of the wound, making him feel immediate relief. Father slumped back while relaxing.
'I am glad this worked, or else we would have had to seek out the Life Savant, and I don't like her.'
As Father began to steady his mind, he decided to go ahead and turn the rest of the moss into the paste, after all, nothing would happen, right? In the end, he decided to keep a small, one-time-use vial in his pocket for emergencies.
As Father finished, his wound now feeling like a normal leg, he stood and returned to what he really wanted to do today: enjoy the festivities. Father stepped outside, returning to the streets and wandering about, trying all assortments of foods, such as kebabs, small bites of random meats, and even monster meats. Father stumbled upon a small stall with only three people lined up. Looking ahead, he saw the person in the front of the line was a slight shade of green and looked as if he was close to vomiting.
The smell emanating from the stall was so strong, Father felt as though he could see the smell flying through the air in small strings. After a while, and a few incidents involving others puking, Father stepped up to the stall, and now he understood what all the fuss was about. In front of him was an older lady, similar to a witch. She had a wart on the left side of her long nose and a black hat. She was short and holding a cane.
The bowl in front of Father contained a purple liquid with small bits of white and red floating about. The smell was appalling to say the least, making him want to run away. He showed a gentle smile after accepting the bowl, trying not to show how worried he was. He eventually gathered the nerve to taste a small amount, so he grabbed the small wooden spoon that was soaking in the stew and brought it up to his mouth. The stench made him want to drive the spoon away, but he wanted to at least try it since others had.
The spoon entered his mouth, making his body recoil at the thought that he was eating something that reeked so terribly. But the meal was surprisingly tasty; it sent mixed signals down his spine. The flavor was immaculate, the texture was just like normal soup, and it even felt like his body immediately strengthened as a result.
Father almost stumbled backward in surprise as he swallowed more of the soup. The elder, witch-looking lady seemed to have a smug expression, like she knew this would happen.
'Maybe everyone reacts this way.' Father thought.
He continued eating until the wooden bowl was empty, then he returned it to the lady.
"Thank you for the food, ma'am."
"You're welcome, youngling."
concotion
a
'No one has ever called me young before.'
Father felt a bead of sweat run down his face from embarrassment as he stood up and walked away from the stall.
***
In front of her were two knights readying to fight. Both had a large build and swords about a meter in length (~3.3 ft). Both bodies were clad in silver armor, with the only difference being the shield; one was blue and the other was red. The two men bowed to each other, standing opposite in the ring. The man with the blue shield kept his sword on top of his shield in a ready position, with the shield directly in front of him. Whereas the man with the red shield had the shield to his side, and the sword directly in front of him.
Some people in the crowd would already be able to tell who was more adept here, or at least think they could tell, but Astrape was still a rookie when it came to the sword, so she wasn't able to. She didn't think about who could win or who could lose currently; she wanted to watch the duel and take notes, increasing her strength. She wanted to protect her friends and make sure she never went through that hell again, which she only escaped due to Astrape, Father, and Theseus' help.
The duel began, and the knight in red did a sweeping motion at the other knight's side. The blue knights' feet skid against the ground as they use their shield to block the incoming assault. The attacker didn't relent, instead putting more pressure, even using their shield to try to bash the blue knight. The speed at which the duel took place seemed to rapidly become faster; attack after attack flew by. The blue knight expertly blocked every attack, finally finding an opening as the knight in red raised their sword to attack.
The blue knight charges forward, using their shield to bash the other, pushing the red knight back. Withdrawing the shield, the blue knight pierced their sword forward, the red knight barely dodged, the sword instead going in between their waist and arm. Astrape's eyes shone bright as she watched the spectacle. She was becoming fascinated with it.
The blue knight continued trying to attack, and as they swung their sword in a wide motion, at a downward motion from the side, the red knight blocked it, forcing the sword to connect with the ground, producing a loud clang. The red knight used the opening, piercing their sword forward, but it was into empty air. Both parties seemed to be experts at dodging, blue better than red, but the red knight was better on the offense.
'Offense is the best defense.' Astrape thought.
The red knight eventually drew first blood as the blue knight couldn't predict the expertly placed stab that collided with their shoulder. But as the stab happened, the red knight couldn't retrieve their sword in time. The blue knight used their shield to hit the sword into the air, knocking it out of the opponent's hand. In this opening, they stabbed at the open hand. The shoulders of both parties were now injured, and the armor that originally covered their shoulders was caved in from the heavy assaults, opening it to reveal cut skin beneath that poured out blood.
"You are quite good." The red knight stated, his expression unreadable as he took off his helmet.
"And you are without a sword." A soft, feminine voice said, behind the mask of the blue knight.
They circled the arena, and eventually the blue knight stood above the red knight's dropped sword. Without bending down, the blue knight kicked the sword at the opponent.
"Why, thank you." The man said, putting on a smile.
"Stop mumbling and focus." The blue knight responded.
"Oh, come on. Can't we have a little fun and converse? Or are you too chicken? Maybe you think you'll get distracted and make an opening for me to win this duel. Remember, this is just a contest, let's have some fun."
"I'm here because I want to grow."
"Well, whatever."
The red knight dug his foot under his sword, kicking it up into his hand, then he dashed forward with incredible speed while reeling his sword backward into a striking pose. The blue stood there with an indifferent stance, just waiting, and as the knight approached, the red knight shot the blade forward, the blue knight blocked it, creating a loud clang. Astrape thought this was just a copy of a previous encounter, but this time, the sword didn't leave the red knight's hand, and the red knight instead did a sweep at the blue knight's legs, spinning on one leg.
The red knight missed the leg sweep as the blue knight stepped back. The man continued his spinning motion, bringing the sword back around; it was as beautiful as a dance. And as the blade came around at a downward angle, the blue knight blocked it with their shield with incredible precision.
"Stop repeating actions. Or else the opponent will be able to read you easily." The blue knight said before sticking their sword forward towards the gut of the red knight.
The red knight flew backward with such momentum that their feet skid on the ground.
"I'm not. I'm trying to make you create an opening."
"A legendary knight such as myself won't hold back against any opponent, thus hiding as many openings as possible."
"You sure do think highly of yourself."
The blue knight unclasped their shield, dropping it to the ground, and now took on a new pose, similar to a parade rest. The knight had both hands wrapped around the handle of the blade, with the blade pointed down and resting on the ground.
'They are wide open, what are they doing?' Astrape and the red knight thought.
The red knight slowly approached the other knight, but the blue knight didn't flinch or twitch in the slightest. They stood incredibly still. The knights now only had two meters (~6.6 ft) between them, close enough to where a small lunge and a swing of the sword would connect.
As the red knight was readying an attack, the blue knight raised their soft voice, trying to make it deep with failure.
"You are going to swing at my right side, then you are going to punch my gut as I block your attack."
The red knight, before actually swinging, stood there motionless.
'H-how? How did she know?' The red knight thought.
"I'm not a mind reader, don't worry. I just have fought so many people, I can read body language."
The man began to slightly quiver, not out of fear of dying, as this wasn't a match to the death, but out of how big the difference was in experience.
Before responding, the red knight flew forward, doing exactly what the blue knight said, swinging the sword at the person's side, then, as the blue knight blocked it, the red knight tried to punch their gut. The blue knight was incredibly fast, hitting the sword away and kicking the red knight backward. As the red knight fell to their back, the blue knight stood over them, with their sword to the knight's neck.