Chapter 17: Extending Trust
It took a moment for Noah to register where he was. This wasn’t the cavern he had been in, and neither was it the room he was staying in. The ceiling was made of wood here, unlike the stone structure everywhere else in the village. A sheet covered Noah’s body, and he pushed himself up, when his balance flew off, and he tumbled sideways.
A numbing pain hit him from his left arm, and he remembered once more that he’d lost it in the last fight. Pulling himself up with his other arm, Noah raised himself, the sheets covering his body sliding down. Bandages covered his chest, face and arm, patching him up. Clearly some amount of time had passed since he’d passed out.
“I don’t like how often I'm passing out,” Noah murmured, and paused. His throat was hoarse, quite a bit so. Glancing sideways, he noted a wooden stool next to his bed, with a silver colored bell resting on a tray. Picking it up, he decided to ring the bell a few times.
A moment later, a woman wearing delicate but simple garbs of green and white walked in. Noah instinctively used Identify on her.
[Soothing Healer - ?]
“How do you feel?” the woman asked. Her voice was calm, unnaturally so, and it made Noah relax as he leaned back onto his bed.
“Thirsty,” he replied.
The woman nodded, picking up a jar of water from the wooden table set across the room, and poured it into a glass, which she brought up to Noah’s mouth.
“I can drink it myself,” Noah replied, grasping the glass. To his surprise, his arms shook as he held the glass, but he pushed through, and drank the water. The relief was immediate, as his thirst was parched, and Noah let out a breath. “How long was I out?”
“Hmm. Two days, now. You have a miraculously powerful recovery. I had expected you to take at least a week to recover,” the woman said, giving Noah a kind smile.
“Thank you, for looking after me. I’m not sure what happened after I passed but I doubt I would’ve survived on my own.”
“No need for thanks. It’s my job after all. And the entire village is eternally grateful to the two. If anything, we should be the one thank you,” the woman said.
“You seem used to this,” Noah said. “There’s this... soothing feeling about you. Is that because of your path?”
“It is and it is not. We do live next to a mine. And one that used to be a dungeon at some point. Accidents happen. And limbs get destroyed. I’m the only healer this village has after my father died, so I have to learn how to keep them calm, and allow them to grieve properly for their loss. But my abilities do help.”
Noah nodded. Though grief, he wasn’t entirely sure on. Perhaps it simply hadn’t registered properly yet?
“Can I ask for your name?” Noah asked.
“Leah,” the woman said.
Noah paused at her words.
“I had a friend named Leah,” he said, a strange emotion rising in his chest. “Well, co-worker more than friend. But she was a kind woman. I just feel sorry that I...” Noah trailed off.
What am I sorry for?
He frowned, trying to think of something. He felt sad when he thought about Leah, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember why. Like someone had poked a hole in his memory.
Is this related to my death again?
Despite his best effort, he could not remember what it was, and a moment later, he realised he was simply staring into nothingness. Noah put the thought aside. “I’m sorry, I’m starting to daze out.”
Leah waved his worry away, moving over to check on his injuries. “Nothing to apologise for. Your body is working extremely hard to heal you, so it is natural to be a bit out of it.”
Noah nodded, before his gaze went to his stump. “Is there anything that can be done about this, or is it too late now?”
Leah looked at Noah’s stump, as her smile finally slipped. “I’m sorry. I could’ve tried to regrow it. With your healing ability there was a chance for it to work, but you had traces of Necrosis Poison which had eaten up your insides, especially your heart. I had to prioritise healing those. I don’t think I can regrow it anymore. It’ll take a full restoration ability to bring it back. And that’s far beyond my abilities.”
Noah nodded. He’d not had much hopes, but it still hurt to hear. “What if I still have my arm? Could you do it then?” he asked, before taking it out of his inventory.
Blood dripped from the cut off limbs, dark lines running across his veins as the sheets were stained red, and Noah cursed for his stupidity.
“I think so too. But I’m not sure. I want to trust you Noah, I really do. But I’ve already been betrayed once, and I’m finding it hard to. It’s why I need to know. Just... what are you? Why do you have all these strange abilities, and why do you keep throwing yourself into these dangerous situations? You could’ve easily let me handle the mines, or the quest of going back. It would’ve made sense to do so. But you went out of your way to interfere, as if driven by some sort of goal or purpose. Yet, despite your seemingly righteous qualities, you can command the creature of the abyss, and seem to utilise their powers. I’m just not sure what to make of you,” Aurelia said, looking into Noah’s eyes.
Noah met Aurelia’s eyes, glancing back. Could he trust her? Yes, he had been frivolous with speaking about things, but that was about him bring from a different world, a relatively understood thing, if Aurelia was to be believed. But having a pact with the void, having no memory of his own death, and then the shards... should he tell her? What would happen if he did?
Well, she might kill me right here. But if I don’t, I doubt she’ll take me along with her. And... maybe I could navigate this place all on my own, but it’s an entirely new world. I’m not sure how far I’d make it without someone’s help.
Noah sat in silence, before making his choice. He liked Aurelia. She was a bit strange, but her hesitation made sense, and he could see the reasoning behind her actions as well.
“I cannot say,” Noah replied, watching Aurelia’s expression as he spoke. "I don't have the memories of my own death, not just my death, but also, things in general as well, as if holes have been cut out from my mind. But I can promise you this. The reason I can command void creatures is because, as I told you, I woke up in the void after my death. It is why I have my Path, and it is part of why I have that letter as well. I don't intend to cause you any harm, I do not intend to kill any innocent people, and I am not a raving mad lunatic who's trying to plot the end of the world. I'm just a lost man in an unfamiliar world, trying to explore my new surroundings. You can use your lie-detecting ability to check," Noah said, looking into Aurelia's eyes as he spoke.
"I'd bluffed, I don't have anything like that," Aurelia replied, then paused as if considering something. "Hold our your hand."
Noah felt a bit confused, but extended his hand. A mana stone appeared in her hand, and Aurelia ran it across his palm. "Hold this in your hand and press it over your heart. Let your mana flow through the stone."
Following along, Noah pressed his fist at his heart, keeping the mana stone balled up in his hand, as his own mana flowed into it.
"Repeat this after me. I have not said anything that is untrue today, I swear this on my Astral soul," Aurelia said.
"I have not said anything that is untrue today, I swear this on my Astral soul."
Noah felt the stone in his glow brightly before settling down.
You've sworn an Oath of Honesty!
Noah looked down at his hands in confusion. "What did this do?"
"When you lie, your mana and aura waver. Only masters of aura can hide that, and a mana stone can detect strong wavering. If you were lying, that stone would've cracked," Aurelia said, taking the mana stone from Noah's hand, before nodding. "Very well then. I'm going to trust you Noah. I owe you my life, and I'm not going to be any more ungrateful to my saviour."
Noah shrugged. "Seen worse, dealt with worse. Water under the bridge."
"That is a strange sentence, what does that even mean?" Aurelia asked, frowning.
"It means to let bygones be bygone," Noah replied.
"I see. Water under the bridge. A curious expression," Aurelia said, before looking back up to Noah. "I know that I said I'll trust you just now, but I'm still curious about something. Why did you butt into the affairs of this village. There was no reason to put yourself at risk like that."
“Well... I don’t know. I didn’t expect it to be this dangerous. I guess I got cocky after I survived two dangerous fights unharmed. Magic has also been... addicting. I can just teleport now. It’s so wild. And I let it get to my head. But at the same time, that’s also just how I am. I don’t remember how I died, but the last memory I have of before my death is punching my boss right in the face because he was harassing a co-worker of mine,” Noah said, smiling. “I just like to butt into other people’s business.”
“And you lost your arm. Or you could've died You’re not invincible Noah,” Aurelia said, and then paused. “Are you?”
Noah snorted. “No. I seriously doubt it.”
“Okay. I’m still adapting to all of this. All of you, really. But if you’re going to be an adventurer, especially one that will be traveling with me, then you cannot take risks like that. I understand wanting to help, but your life and survival should be your priority. You can’t help anyone if you’re dead. So, no stupid risks and gambles without thoughts given to it.”
Noah nodded. “That’s fair,” he replied, and then paused, before shrugging as he added. “I guess I really went out on a limb there huh?”
Aurelia looked at Noah with a surprised expression, before a snort escaped her. Her face contorted with a groan as she cupped her face in her palm, laughing as she did.
An amused cackle burst out of Noah’s mouth at her expression, as he felt significantly better than he had done before.
“You’re the worst,” Aurelia said, standing up from her chair.
“Sure, but you haveadmit, that was really funny,” Noah said, still smiling from ear to ear as Aurelia began to walk out.
Shaking her head, she let out a sigh. “I can’t believe I just agreed to put up with you for any longer.”
