Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 6

The sun set quickly in Eliona.

When he left Ascendance, it still had been well above the horizon. On Earth, Severance would have looked at its position and considered it to be mid-afternoon. But as he and the others followed the narrow forest path, the sun all but fell out of the sky.

The skies darkened, deep purples bleeding in from the far horizon and overtaking the blue. Dusk crept in and thousands of stars revealed their brilliant shine.

The wind shifted, bringing with it the acrid stench of smoke. He wrinkled his nose, expecting his throat to burn or his eyes to sting, but neither happened. Even when clouds of smoke thick enough to bury them in darkness drifted through, he experienced no discomfort or desire to cough.

Surprise rippled through the other players as the road ended sharply. There were more than just a handful of clerics now; dozens of players bearing armor and weapons had joined them, sent to lend their aid in a different manner. Some among them gasped as the smoke briefly cleared and revealed a scene straight out of a disaster movie.

Yellow flames licked up the side of a massive carcass of a building. Much of it lay in smoking ruins, already devoured by the hungry fire. Dozens of people had formed lines, pails of water being passed from hand to hand, water sloshing over the top, until it reached the person closest to the fire.

Other people ran through the smoke and into the building, while two men staggered out, wheezing and coughing. Sweat trailed down their soot-blackened skin. They carried small bundles in their arms, children who'd been wrapped tight in blankets to protect them.

One of the men collapsed to his knees, his precious cargo nearly spilling free. A woman ran to him, and bent low, speaking to him in hurried tones.

Severance's world had ceased to turn. He had never seen anything so awful. Yet the other players didn't seem to notice. They chattered excitedly, awed by the realism of the scene.

He knew it wasn't real. It was just a fabrication to give him a task to do as a healer. Yet his gaze returned to the woman by the fallen man. She'd gathered the bundle into her own arms, and was trying to get the man back on his feet. But he only hunched over, struggling to breathe.

The woman looked up desperately, her gaze sweeping the area for someone who could help. She noticed the players nearby but helpless despair crossed her features. It was like she didn't even consider them as an option.

Severance didn't understand the reason for that look, but he understood the feeling of helplessness. He knew it all too well. He walked forward.

"Inventory." He gripped the Staff tightly when it appeared, the leaves swaying with every stride he took.

Right at the moment, a player burst into laughter behind him. It sounded garish, so out of place, that Severance almost faltered. But the woman by the fallen man had noticed him, and she was watching him. He already was halfway to her, so he couldn't stop now. That'd be even worse than never trying to help in the first place.

Another player laughed. Severance tensed, his steps slowing. Were they laughing at him? Was he doing something wrong again?

The man who'd been coughing fainted. Alarmed, the woman returned her attention to him. "Artu? Artu! Can you hear me?"

The laughs of the players faded at the sight of her distress. Severance hurried the rest of the distance and dropped to his knees beside the woman.

Her eyes snapped to him, cold and wary. "What are you doing?"

This close, he couldn't help but notice how flecks of ash had turned her chestnut hair gray. Exhaustion lined her soot-streaked face. There was also anger, a hostility that gave the impression she was a moment's notice away from chasing him away with her bare fists.