Plague of divinity

Chapter 8

"Enrick," he responded with a nod in return.

"So, what's an odd fellow like you doing out here alone?" Ave looked over his shoulder to confirm her suspicions. Enrick beckoned to his satchel.

"Collecting herbs, what about you?"

"Ahh, could you be the village doctor? Nice mask by the way."

"Oh I got it when-"

Enrick then realized she hadn't asked and shut his mouth quickly "heh, thanks... I like your hat." He walked a bit past her and began looking at the base of a fence post for the recognisable little green leaves. "Yeah I'm the village doctor," he spoke as his leather gloved hand brushed over the small foliage, searching for what he needed.

"It's ok, you can tell me where you got the mask if you want, don't let me stop you." She sounded almost amused.

"I... got the mask on a trip. Some friends recommended for me to wear it here," He could feel heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment at his verbal stumble being noticed.

He didn't even notice how close Ave was until he noticed her shadow right next to him, he quickly looked up in surprise. She had her hand on her chin inquisitively, her eyebrows narrowed in thought as she stared at the place he had been looking.

"I don't think you'll find what you're looking for here," She spoke, still staring at the same place.

Enrick looked confused, how could she know the herb he was looking for? "What were you doing here again?"

She looked down at him from the side of her eye for a brief moment like how a king would view upon a peasant, almost like someone like him shouldn't be asking such questions, before she shifted her greenish gold eyes shifted away again "I'm watching over these fields of course, I thought it was obvious. Why, you don't trust me?"

He shook his head quickly in apology for asking, mainly because there was this feeling of uncertainty of what would happen should he say he didn't. "N-no I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." He did find it a little weird she expected him to trust a complete stranger though.

"You're looking for catmint right?"

Enrick blinked before nodding slowly, he could feel himself getting a little suspicious "how did you... know?"

"Hm?" Ave looked like she only just realized he was talking to her "Oh... some doctor came here a while ago, they were looking for the same thing. Haven't seen them in a while though." She paused for a moment at her own words, as if she was thinking, before giving a little shrug. She lifted up her hand, figuring out her bearings and after a moment pointed in a direction, giving a smile like she was proud of herself. A fence post quite a few metres away.

Enrick went over to the spot she had pointed to, the wheat licking at his thighs as he rushed through it, trying to keep his balance and not trip on any obstacles hidden by the long strands in front of the nice lady. When spotted the post at a closer distance he felt a small wave of disappointment rush over him when he couldn't see anything. Had she been messing with him? He let out a sigh, lowering his head a bit. Of course, he shouldn't have been so eager. Had the other doctor that came here have to deal with this pranking too?

He felt a pang remembering Samael and Lydia. His former co-workers. They must have tried so hard to cure this pestilence when they were still alive, giving every last breath they had dedicated to stopping the oncoming plague. Crouching down with depleted energy, Enrick continued to look. Even if Ave had been playing a joke, maybe there could still be something else here he could use. Something then clicked. Wait a minute... Samael and Lydia... If they were trying to cure the plague before... surely they would have written down some notes as they went along?

Enrick's hand brushed a large leaf aside and a smile slowly dawned on his face as he suddenly revealed the herb he had been seeking. Looks like she hadn't been messing around after all! If he could find where his previous co-workers had left their notes, it could save him months, precious time that had cost them their lives.

As he placed as many leaves as he needed within his satchel, his free hand clenched. He wasn't going to let their lives go to waste. Neither of them had been the kind of people to settle into a grave without doing their best to fight against it. He was going to do the same, for everyone.

When he stood up he found he was a little wobbly from being on his knees, he made sure to quickly right himself and get his balance back quickly as he could, leaning on the post as he quickly shook his legs off as they had cramped a little. When his legs were recovered he began walking back to where he had seen the strange lady, he wanted to thank her.

His footsteps quickened as he neared the spot, he had been disappointed when he had first reached the spot she had suggested but after realizing she had actually been telling the truth, he wanted to let her know of his appreciation. Truth be told it had been kind of nice to be able to speak with someone without unwanted drama stirring for a change, considering how his previous conversations since being here with people had been, put him on some kind of edge after the interactions.

"Ave, you were right! I-" Enrick paused mid-sentence as he realized the person he was hoping to thank was nowhere to be seen. He looked around to see if she had walked somewhere else before realizing there was no sign of her. "Oh..." he felt a little disheartened he couldn't thank her, a part of him wondering if he had just imagined her altogether by the fact he couldn't see her anywhere, but he knew better than that. She had shown him the location of the herb, something that he probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise, or at least it would have taken up a lot more time. Oh well, it wasn't the end of the world. He took one last little look around just in case, before beginning to make his way back through the golden field.