'Even that is only possible when you need to give one patient the ti to recover before continuing the treatnt.' Solus said.
'Also, the second booth turns useful when you have a guest Healer in your village. Nana gave her spare booth to Lith first and Tista later during their apprenticeship, knowing they would leave for the academy.
'Lutia was very lucky to have more than one Healer before it developed into a city. Most villages have none and their people have to travel for hours just to receive the most basic treatnts.'
'Four booths an there were two permanent Healers in Gabash!' Friya now understood the clue. 'It also explains why the house was recently renovated and the Awakened have yet to find a clue.'
'Exactly.' Nalrond telepathically nodded. 'The Rezar lived here as a Healer and the villagers are covering for them. That's why the villagers are so determined to send the Awakened away.
'People from tight-knit communities are ferociously protective of their own. I bet the Rezar got exposed while fighting the bandits to save the villagers and now they feel guilty about what happened to their friend. Lith? Protector?'
'Sorry.' Lith and Solus grimaced while activating the Eyes of nadion. 'The Healer kept working and their spells have wiped away any lingering energy signature that's not their own.'
'I'm not doing any better.' Protector sniffed the air. 'This place has been scrubbed with darkness magic from top to bottom. It slls cleaner than my ho.'
As they looked around the office for clues, the door separating the waiting room from the ward opened and an old woman walked through it.
"Sorry for the wait. How can I help-" She was still fixing her long, grizzled blonde hair in a bun when her hairpin fell to the floor along with her jaw. "Supre Magus Verhen? What are you doing in a backwater village like Gabash?"
"I'm here to help." Lith put on his best business smile and offered her his hand. "I've heard you have so badly injured people."
"Those bull-headed fools looked for trouble and found it." She shook it with both hands. "Their injuries are above my limited talents. Please, help them. They are idiots but also good n. They ant no real harm."
"They'll be back on their feet before dinner miss… ?" Lith left the phrase hanging, waiting for the Healer to introduce herself.
"Pylina." Nalrond activated a Scrambler he had borrowed from Jirni. "Healer Pylina of Gabash, but everyone calls her Jinx. You only see her when things get bad and your purse is always several coins lighter when she leaves."
Unlike the Hush spell, the Scrambler hid a conversation by altering the voices of those inside its area of effect instead of insulating them. The Awakened would still hear Nalrond and Pylina talking, but their conversation would be just small talk.
The Scrambler ensured that those eavesdropping wouldn't suspect a thing because after its activation the conversation still made perfect logical sense, it was just boring. Jirni's device was also cloaked, making it invisible to Life Vision.
"How do you know my moniker?" Jinx's grey eyes narrowed as she stared at the stranger.
"You told this story yourself, Jinx." He replied while taking his hood off and shapeshifting back into his human form. "You had a good laugh about it. Rember?"
"Ashur!" She blurted out in surprise.
"Close." Nalrond nodded. "That was my alias when I visited Gabash. My real na is Nalrond. I'm here for-"
"Thank the gods you're alive!" Much to his surprise, Jinx rushed to hug him and cut him short. "Salmar will be so happy to see you. He thought everyone else was dead. Are there more survivors with you?"
She smiled at the rest of the group with hope whereas Nalrond had a hard ti suppressing his disappointnt.
"I was about to ask you the sa thing." He sighed. "Is Salmar the only one who reached Gabash or are there others?"
Lith didn't want to intrude so he looked at Friya for answers but she shrugged in reply.
'It's not the na of Nalrond's father. That's the only thing I know.' She said via the mind link.
"Yes, he was alone." Jinx nodded. "What about you?"
"I thought I was the only survivor until I heard-"
The office's door opened and Nalrond promptly deactivated the Scrambler and put his hood back up.
"I'm really sorry. Did I interrupt sothing?" Bor could feel Nalrond's eyes on him.
If looks could maim, the remains of the village head would've fit into a bucket.
"Is the condition of our friends that dire?" Bor smiled sheepishly trying to understand what he had done wrong. "Do you need so more ti to discuss the treatnt?"
'Sorry, Nalrond. My plan backfired horribly.' Lith said via the mind link.
'It's not your fault.' The Agni replied. 'You had no way to know the Rezar we were looking for was one of the villagers. No one did.'
'Still, it's my ss and I can fix it.' Lith put on his business smile again.
"Yes, it's that bad but I've already found a solution." He then said. "Healer Pylina, please bring my assistant back to the patient ward. We'll take care of the office business for you."
"Yes, Supre Magus." Jinx wasn't stupid and understood Lith was giving them a plausible excuse to be alone.
"As you wish, Professor. It might take a while but I'll follow your instructions to the letter." Nalrond gave Lith a bow of gratitude and walked inside the ward with Jinx before turning the Scrambler on again.
"Co forward four at a ti." Lith raised his hand and the room fell silent. "You can sit wherever you want and talk but keep your voice from disturbing our work. Those caught cutting the line will be sent straight to the back.
"Leave the door open and the corridor free for ergencies. Rember that the next person in need might be soone you love."
"Yes, Supre Magus. Thank you, Supre Magus." The villagers were about to kneel when Lith stopped them.
"No kneeling! You'll dirt my floor and I'll have to waste ti cleaning it! Wipe your feet before you enter."
'I swear to Mom, it feels like he's possessed by Nana's spirit.' Solus inwardly chuckled and Protector joined her.
'You can't work side by side with an old hag for years and not pick up a trick or two.' He replied, smiling with nostalgia. 'Let's get to work and make enough noise to keep the attention of the Awakened on us.
'We must buy Nalrond the ti he needs to talk with Jinx and cover for his absence. Nonetheless, even if our competitors suspect sothing there's not much they can do about it.'
***
The other Awakened apprentices had failed to notice the oddity of the four booths for two reasons. Most of them ca from an Awakened bloodline and had never set foot in a village Healer's office.
Even if it were decorated with entrails as festoons and there was a bloody altar at its center, the Awakened would have dismissed it as weird folk customs.
On top of that, none of the Awakened apprentices had spent more than one minute visiting the local Healer.
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