57 Toxins
1698 Words
"Well, move along everyone, the class is over and it's time to make way for the next subject." Yvaine said.
"Aw, maaan..." A few grumbles and moans echoed as the students left the room.
"That was a tough crowd eh? Janus said. "Good thing you saved me there Yvaine. It was a struggle trying to get them to keep quiet."
"What are you thanking me for? It was Lady Haruna who made the distraction."
Janus paused. Yvaine eyed him intently and stepped on his foot.
"Ahh yes, Lady Haruna." He said, wincing. "That was a splendid display of magic. Thank you very much for helping the class."
Haruna, who was staring at the floor was startled momentarily.
"Yes of course, your highness. You need not mention it. Did you know what happened right there? When you touched the ball of arcana and it scattered into fragments?"
"I'm not sure what that was but I felt a bit of a shock. No doubt it was your doing right?" Janus asked. Sweat welling in temples.
"Yes... yes, of course, that was exactly as planned. As you said, a distraction." She said before inspecting the walls and floors again.
The next batch of students came in and started shuffling in their chairs. Some were mumbling at how messy the arrangement was.
"Great, they're here." Yvaine said. "Janus, Haruna will be attending this class. Consider it as part of her tour." She winked.
"Wait, how about your class?"
Yvaine rolled her eyes. "She was in my previous one. You've read the message I sent you right? My next class is a workshop and we're going to factories and kitchens. Mistress Issha is holding a crafts session. Plus, Haruna says she's interested in your intermediate math lessons. Surely, you can spare a seat for one more, right?"
Both girls stared at him. He remembered the shock that he felt earlier, but this one felt twice as hard.
#
His next lesson was in geometry and a fair bit of trigonometry. It was a primer for craftsmen and scribes who wanted to venture into designing and producing buildings and crafts. Janus and his assistants had carefully planned out a curriculum that was both practical for the current operations for the village and suited for new innovations in the future.
Haruna sat at the back of the room. Janus evaded her icy gaze as much as he can.
She had the look of someone who was intensely studying something. That something -- it felt like, was him. She answered a few questions that Janus threw out to the class -- the ones that no one else could figure out. She was correct in every single one. Impressive considering there was no piece of paper in front of her.
That wasn't surprising. After all, skilled mages such as herself were given the most attention in education, especially one who was of noble birth.
These lessons must be boring to her, she must think that this school is a load of hogwash with its raggedy rooms and unpainted interiors. A school dedicated to illiterate peasants and nonhuman schmucks. A far cry from the Universities of Mydir and Galedon. Janus wrestled with the thought. Part of him thinks she is being snobbish but half of him thinks he was just being stupid and unreasonable.
After all, he knew nothing about girls.
#
Before class time was over, Janus received an urgent message from Master Ringo. There was a problem in one of the fields. Wanting to escape from Haruna's presence, he dismissed the class early, saying that there was an emergency and took a wagon towards the location immediately. He was so anxious to leave that he forgot to bring the lunch that was wrapped up for him in the school kitchens.
The issue was in one of the ponds west of Lakeside, somewhere adjacent to the Mairobi and Goblin territories.
The land had been already cleared in this plot. There was one brick house erected at its center. The design was all according to the plans and manuals that they had given out. Beside the house was a field that had been plowed and was ready for planting, but this one was entirely empty compared to its neighbors. The other plots that they had passed by were either brimming with produce or at the very least had rows and rows of plants already flourishing.
At the corner end of the field, there was a small pond that was supplying the water of the area. Janus remembered that when they were started to spread the water supply to reach every field, they had encountered a few problems in this plot. There had been a huge gathering of snakes and leeches in this pond. They had to call out one of Yashiek's experts to drive away from the creatures before they could start any reclamation or construction.
As a result, this plot was developed a tad bit late compared to its neighbors. This morning, another issue was discovered. This was most likely the root of their problem, so Janus was called in for advice.
A man greeted him as he arrived and shook his hand. His name was Nikolai, one of the serfs who served Gracewood when Janus was in charge.
"Your Highness, thank goodness you are here. There's something in the water, it seems to be coming from deep down in the ground. When I woke up this morning, a few fish and frogs came floating out of the surface. They were all dead. It's probably the reason why we cannot plant anything here. The water looked even worse than before. We called the goblins to help out but they were having problems in deciding the best course of action, so we decided to call the council. I didn't think they would call you. I know that you are a busy man. I'm sorry for the bother.
"That's none sense, Nikolai, you know I'm always ready to help. Class is already done (it was technically not), and my afternoon is free for today (False, Yvaine wanted him to do something but he left the note on his desk). So this is the best place for me to be in right now. Can you show me the pond in question?"
When they came into the pond there were several guards as well as a goblin alchemist and a dwarf. Janus recognized them as Halbur and Teeko, a master brewer from the Blunthammers and a witch doctor from the snake charmers. This duo was the go-to expert in terms of chemicals and toxins in the village.
They first met at the tavern and were notorious amongst the guards and bouncers for their long arguments about potions and remedies that would last all night long and would frequently end up in drunken brawls. Janus was surprised several days later when they proposed to him plans to build an alchemical workshop near the engineering and blacksmithing facilities. Janus provided them with a few books from his Library along with his vote of approval, and the two have been working together ever since. The once sworn enemies were now partners in crime, they were responsible for water treatment methods as well as finding remedies for certain insect bites and toxic plants and animals in the area.
"Not good. Not good at all." Halbur was inspecting a test tube with one eye behind a small magnifying monocle.
"Two weeks, maybe three weeks of careful cleaning and treatment. Yes, if not it will spread to every nearby well, and we'll have an outbreak. This is too bad. Too bad indeed." Said Teeko.
"Do you have a solution Teeko?" Janus asked.
"Ahh, your highness. 'Tis a pleasure to have you here."
"The pleasure is mine, always good to find you two when there's a problem like this. Now tell me what happened."
"Remember that time when we discovered all the snakes and leeches gathered in this plot? Turns out the pond is contaminated, but it's not something we can reverse entirely." Halbur said.
"Necromantic miasma is deadly, there is a treatment yes but we will need a lot of research and experimentation to counteract the damage."
"Necro---- you mean a necromancer once lived here?"
"Nothing to be feared, your highness. At least not anymore. Years ago there was a necromancer who once roamed the Forest of Mist." said Teeko. "One of the oldest evils that terrorized our tribes, and the main reason why we learned to live with snakes and poisons. Mudghardu was our ancestor's master. A vile practitioner of the deadly arts. But one of our heroes fought him in a mutiny and managed to kill him. Rumors came about that he had a secret lair somewhere, where he hid his experiments and creations."
"And you suspect that this is the place?"
"Yes, according to Master Nikolai here, there were pieces of rubble and wood along the area."
Janus turned to the man. "Is that true?"
"Yes your highness, truly we thought it odd, having stone ruins in the middle of nowhere. But we dismissed it thinking it wouldn't do any harm. It looked like and old random building full of vines and weeds. And besides, we needed to clear out the land quickly before winter came. So we just took out the rubble and gave it to the dwarves, burned the wood for the fires. Never occurred to us that it meant something like this."
"If this was indeed his lair, then all of his experiments fell into this sewage system. If we don't take the water out, it will spread through the rest of our waterworks in the whole village. Right now only grass and weeds can grow, and the cattle and sheep wouldn't even want a bite of it. I am loathed to find out what would happen if it spreads." Teeko said.
"Is there any way we can treat the water without taking it out?" Janus asked.
"Necromantic miasma has varied potency, it will take days to isolate and examine its contents before we can find the cure." Said Teeko.
"If only we can take out all the water, put it in one of our water tanks, and be done with it." Said Halbur.
A branch snapped behind them. Someone was approaching. They all looked behind them at the newcomer. A pit in Janus' stomach crawled, but this time it wasn't caused by any Necromantic toxin.
"Your Highness, you forgot your lunch," Haruna said.
- Writer
