Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 94 - Progress

Jace leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Hours of sitting cross legged on his mattress, hunched over staring at the laptop and scribbling notes had taken its toll. I really should get some furniture he thought, a proper table and chair for starters. The over turned crate which the laptop was sitting on will have to go. It was not suitable for serious research and was killing his back. Jace groaned as he stretched his long cramped legs.

Around him were neat piles of scribbled notes. His research for a cure for his poor avatar was non-conclusive. Taking a different track on the issue, he had broadened his focus and had come to a weird conclusion. Jace was not a medical student, yet from all his meticulous study into the matter, he had deduced something surprising. Now to run it by Vera, also known as Isis the Priestess, who in real life was studying to be a nurse. She was completing her internship at a local teaching hospital. She should have some credible insight on it, he hoped.

Once she did, he would try to correlate it to Sharak's research. Quickly, Jace sent a message. He knew she was working and did not want to disturb her. She would read his text during her break.

A short upbeat electric guitar riff sounded from his phone half an hour later.

Notification!!

Whoa! That was fast.

Vera : Amazing. You are on the right track. I've more or less come to that conclusion myself.

Jace : Then why didn't you tell me.

Vera : It's not very good news ...

Jace : So, I'm right then? Earlier, you established that Laz's poison is some kind of toxin. Now we know it's animal base since Sharak confirmed it, right?

Vera : Yes. We also now know that there is no known cure or remedy for the unique orc substance. Antibiotics don't work cos it's not a bacteria. Also, you cannot detoxify Laz as it is not only in his blood but has been absorbed by his whole body. So far, there is no real effective antidote. So far, alI I have done is to delay the inevitable and suppress Laz's pain. I even tried vaccination of the diluted toxin on some test subjects ingame but you know what happened ...

Jace : Yeah. I saw Sharak's version.

Vera : I strongly suspect that the nauk dzi vras is a toxin made up by the twisted minds of Sintrixx. Something like that could never exist in the real world.

Jace : So the only option Laz has left is some kind of homeopathy, am I right? That kind of cure goes way back.

Vera : Technically, it's not a cure. I hate to admit it but all Sharak's works hints at that. I suspect that's part of why the Banished One sent Kalthu over to our realm. He was looking for several ingredients. There is something else though, I feel that I'm missing something. I'm still figuring that part out.

Jace : Val sent you Kasakh's translation of Sharak's Research? The whole thing? What does the word on the map say?

Vera : No, he has only sent me part of it. Apparently Kasakh is very demanding and is driving poor Val crazy. What we now know is that the Illaru blade was made and sold by a Witch. We have to find the Witch for clues. She would know something if she is still alive somewhere.

Jace : The Witch ... hmm.

Jace frowned at his screen. How to find the Witch? To do that, they had to find out who had bought the Illaru from her. Varbuk was dead, no help there and the jaav ukon's blade was destroyed. Maybe the Overlord knows something? Surely Sharak had spoken to him.

Vera : What are you thinking?

Jace : I think we need to talk with the Overlord.

Vera : Be careful. If he decides to kill you and Constantine on some pretext, all would be for nothing. You would both re-spawn in the human realm leaving poor Val there alone with Kasakh. He would really go crazy then.