Chương 25: Help With Conditions

Kindle did not enjoy the basket. Aurelia could tell from the way he held himself inside it, body curled more tightly than comfort required and one foreleg braced against the woven wall whenever she changed direction.

"I know," she murmured. The covered basket shifted in her left hand. Kindle made a quiet sound from beneath the cloth.

"You cannot walk this far yet." Another rustle followed. She imagined the look he would have given her if the cover were removed. Aurelia continued uphill through Bellhaven's morning streets. The town had already settled into its daily rhythm. Shop shutters stood open. Carts moved between the upper market and the roads leading down toward the lake. The air smelled of damp wood, bread, and fish carried upward from the First Catch market.

She drew attention without intending to; the white hair made that unavoidable now. Aurelia noticed people look at her, then at the covered basket. Some merely watched; others whispered once she passed. Two young men carrying sacks outside a grain shop seemed ready to approach. One nudged the other and glanced toward the basket as though considering whether to offer assistance. Then Aurelia turned enough for the morning light to catch her hair. Recognition crossed both faces, and neither came closer.

The drake siblings. She had heard the phrase twice already. It was not cruel. Still, she disliked becoming recognizable for something Bellhaven had not decided whether to fear. Kindle shifted again.

"We are close." The healer's abode occupied a wide, two-story building near the eastern side of Bellhaven's civic district. Its pale plaster walls were framed in dark timber, though the windows were larger than those of most neighboring structures. A blue-gray tidestone ramp led to the entrance beside a short set of stairs. A carved wooden emblem hung above the door: two open hands surrounding a flame. Inside, the building felt warmer than the street. The main room contained six beds separated by standing screens.

Three were occupied. An older man slept with one leg bound in splints, while an assistant changed the dressing on a woman's burned hand. Near the rear wall, a coughing child sat upright as another healer held a steaming cup beneath his face. Shelves covered nearly every free stretch of wall. Glass jars, folded cloth, dried herbs, metal instruments, and labeled containers filled them in careful rows. A woman looked up from a desk as Aurelia entered.

She appeared to be in her late thirties, though the silver threaded through her dark brown hair suggested either greater age or a profession that encouraged it. Her sleeves had been rolled above the elbows, revealing old stains along the cuffs of a cream-colored healer's coat. [[Mira Halden]] [[Second Seal: Healer]] Her eyes moved from Aurelia's hair to the basket. Recognition came immediately.

"You must be Aurelia."

"Yes."

"I am Mira." They exchanged a brief greeting. Mira did not ask what Aurelia carried. Instead, she stepped around the desk and gestured toward a door at the back of the room.

"Come with me." Aurelia followed. The private chamber beyond was smaller than the public ward but more heavily equipped. A narrow bed stood beneath a hanging lamp. Cabinets lined one wall beside a washbasin, and several metal hooks had been fixed into the ceiling above the bed. The room smelled sharply of boiled cloth and bitter herbs. Mira closed the door.

"Was it mentioned what I needed help with?" Aurelia asked.

"Velara stopped by yesterday." Aurelia tightened her grip on the basket. Mira's gaze dropped toward it.

"She gave me a likely explanation." Aurelia placed the basket on the bed and removed the cover. Kindle lifted his head slowly, stretching his neck after the cramped journey. His pale scales caught the lamplight, making the damage more visible rather than less. The dark ridges that once glowed with trapped flame had faded almost entirely. Mira's professional composure shifted. Not fear, but definite concern.

"Hello," she said softly. Kindle watched her. Aurelia rested one hand against his side.

"She is going to examine you." His claws tightened in the blanket.

"It is all right." Mira approached without reaching for him immediately.

"That is Kindle?"

"Yes."

"May I touch him?" Aurelia looked at Kindle. He remained tense but did not pull away.

"Yes." Mira placed two fingers beneath his jaw. Aurelia recognized the expression as her eyes unfocused. Status messages. Mira moved her hand slowly along Kindle's neck, then pressed two fingers near the base of one damaged area. Kindle flinched. Aurelia stroked the side of his face.

"You are safe." Mira examined his eyes, mouth, claws, and the dull plates along his chest. She listened to his breathing through a small metal cone and held a thin crystal near his sternum. The crystal remained dark. Mira tried again near the base of his skull, but still nothing. Kindle grew increasingly uneasy, though he endured each test. Finally, Mira stepped back.

"He is stable." Aurelia released a breath.

"But?" Mira looked at her.

"He is a Remnant."

"I know. The system identified him." Mira's eyes narrowed slightly at that, but she did not pursue it.

"His body remains intact. His organs are functioning. There is no immediate collapse." Aurelia kept her hand on Kindle.

"I have been caring for him. My passive abilities stabilize those under my care."

"That explains more than I expected." Mira studied Kindle again.

"Most Remnants decline faster." The relief Aurelia had felt disappeared.

"How much faster?"

"It varies."

"That is not an answer." Mira folded her arms.

"Remnants are creatures whose bodies were shaped around magic they no longer possess. Their physical condition may remain stable for a time, but the longer they remain without that magic, the more difficult it becomes for their bodies to maintain themselves." Aurelia's fingers tightened against Kindle's scales.

"He has been improving."

"He has been stabilized," Mira spoke carefully.

"That is not the same thing." Aurelia did not like where the conversation was going. Mira seemed to notice.

"Pouring Weave into him will not solve this," she said.

"I know. I spent days trying." Aurelia regretted the sharpness as soon as she heard it. Mira did not react.

"I did not plan to sustain him with my own Weave forever." Mira's gaze moved over Aurelia. Not to the hidden mark above her heart, but through her.

"You may not have planned it," she said, "but your body suggests you have been preparing for exactly that." Aurelia went still.

"What does that mean?"

"You are carrying a repeating pattern of strain." Mira stepped closer, though she did not touch her.

"Vitality loss followed by magical restoration. Then magical depletion followed by physical recovery. The cycle is controlled, but continuous." Aurelia resisted the urge to cover her chest. Mira could not see Reciprocal Pulse, but she could see what it did. Before Aurelia could ask more, Mira turned toward the cabinets.

"Sustaining Kindle's life will require knowledge, not merely more Weave." She opened one cabinet and removed several thin books.

"There are treatments for long-term magical depletion. Spells that support organ function. Methods for slowing tissue decline. Ways to manage pain and improve appetite." Aurelia looked toward Kindle. He remained curled in the basket, watching them both.

"A normal life?" Mira hesitated.

"A comfortable one, potentially."

"How long?"

"If his condition remains this stable and you learn properly, he could live something close to a natural lifespan." The words should have been enough to make Aurelia cry with relief. Instead, they left a hollow space behind them. She waited until Mira finished speaking, then she asked the question that mattered.

"How do I restore him?" Mira's hands stopped over the books.

"I do not know." Aurelia watched her face.

"Is that all you know?."

"I know that restoration of a true Remnant is beyond ordinary healing."

"That was not what I asked." Mira closed the cabinet.

"Aurelia."

"A lead. A rumor. A place to begin."

"There is no practical method I can offer you."

"Practical is not the same as impossible." Mira's expression tightened.

"Nothing short of advancement into the most legendary Seals would provide anything resembling certainty." Aurelia's pulse quickened.

"So it can be done." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"That is not what I said."

"You said there is no certainty until then."

"I was attempting to explain the scale of the problem."

"You explained there is a scale." Mira looked away. The motion was small, but it was enough. Aurelia stepped closer.

"Please."

"I cannot."

"Cannot or will not?" Mira's face changed. Regret appeared first, then restraint.

"Speaking further would be irresponsible." Aurelia looked at the books in her hands.

"You were permitted to help keep him alive." Mira's silence deepened.

"But not restore him."

"Aurelia..."

"That is what you said."

"I said I could provide resources supporting his health."

"But not resources that would strengthen or restore him?" Mira closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she looked genuinely unhappy.

"I have been instructed not to provide restoration-related information." The room seemed colder.

"By whom?"

"I cannot discuss that."

"How long does this instruction last?"

"I do not know, but it is not permanent." The answer came too quickly. Aurelia felt something hard settle inside her. Temporary. They were waiting. The council wanted time to decide what arrangement made strengthening Kindle acceptable.

"What do they know?" she asked. Mira's jaw tightened.

"I cannot answer."

"You know there is something."

"I know enough to understand that careless guidance could place lives at risk."

"Kindle has saved lives. Now Bellhaven is deciding whether he deserves to become whole based on whether that benefits them." Mira flinched. Aurelia looked down at Kindle, who had lowered his head. Whether he understood every word or only her anger, she could not tell. Mira placed the books on the bed beside the basket.

"These will help you care for him." Aurelia looked at the titles. Managing Magical Depletion. Practical Support for Failing Vital Systems. Long-Term Care of Awakened Beasts. Useful books, generous books, but not the truth she wanted.

"I am sorry," Mira said. Aurelia believed her, which made it worse. She covered the basket again, leaving enough space for air. Mira did not try to stop her. At the door, Aurelia looked back.

"If I learn enough to ask the right questions, will you answer them?" Mira's expression held no hope.

"I will answer what I am permitted to answer." ─── 🐲🐲 ─── By dinner, everyone knew the part that offered comfort. Aurelia sat beside Kindle near the hearth while the others gathered around the table. The weakened drake had eaten well after returning from Mira's and now rested against her chair, head tucked close to the enchanted log. The three larger drakes slept outside again after another afternoon of work. The quest above the hearth remained unchanged. [Hatch Quest: Strength Despite Distance.] [Evening Meals Shared: 1/3.] Aurelia finished explaining Mira's recommendations.

"There are treatments I can learn," she said.

"Not only healing skills. Actual medicine." Talia leaned forward.

"And she believes Kindle can live normally?"

"Something close to it."

"That is good," Talia's relief was genuine.

"At least we know this is not a matter of keeping him alive for a few more weeks." Roy sat across from her, one hand resting against his cup.

"That does matter." He had chosen the words carefully.

"But?" Aurelia knew him too well. Roy glanced toward Kindle.

"It does not remove the underlying problem." Orion had eaten very little. His attention remained on Aurelia, waiting for something she had not yet said. Roy redirected the conversation before he could ask.

"How was training?" Orion's expression soured.

"Useful."

"That sounds enthusiastic."

"Edric moved us into formation work." Garrick looked toward him.

"You said yesterday that coordination was one of your weaknesses."

"It is."

"Then what is the issue?"

"Formation training prepares me to fight beside Bellhaven's guards. It does less to prepare me for defending the homestead alone." Aurelia understood immediately.

"Did you ask?"

"Yes. Edric said individual instruction would come later." Roy nodded slowly.

"Another time."

"His exact phrase." Garrick leaned back.

"That seems reasonable. You have trained for two days." Orion's tone remained controlled.

"It may be. Edric is giving me useful instruction. He is also prioritizing the kind of instruction that makes me more effective within Bellhaven's structure."

"That benefits both sides," Garrick said.

"Yes."

"Then why is it a problem?"

"It is not necessarily a problem."

"It sounds like you are trying to make it one." Aurelia looked toward Garrick, his frustration had arrived quickly. She intervened before Orion answered.

"How did your meeting with Dorian go, Roy?" Roy's mouth tightened.

"Almost exactly as expected. I decided to go to the warehouse early."

"You were not scheduled until later," Aurelia said.

"What did you do?"

"Observed." Talia looked amused.

"You spied."

"I examined publicly visible transactions without announcing myself."

"That is spying with better posture." Roy ignored her.

"Dorian began reselling Greenbind this morning."

"So quickly?" Aurelia asked.

"He already had buyers prepared." That answer settled heavily over the table as Roy described what he had seen. Small quantities of Greenbind sold to carpenters, shipwrights, masons, and warehouse owners. Dorian divided the material into prepared containers and charged prices far beyond the estimates he had offered during negotiations.

"How far beyond?" Orion asked.

"Several orders of magnitude." Garrick stared.

"That much?"

"Yes." Aurelia looked toward Clover sleeping outside.

"And the waste?" Roy's expression became colder.

"Dorian arranged collections from several workshops and food sellers. They pay him to remove material they would otherwise discard." Talia understood first.

"He is paid for Clover's inputs."

"And again for Clover's outputs," Roy said. Aurelia felt foolish for not seeing it. Dorian had secured Greenbind without accepting the cost of gathering its raw materials. Bellhaven's businesses paid him to collect waste, Clover transformed it, and Dorian sold the result at an enormous margin.

"He is earning money twice," she said.

"Yes." Orion placed both hands on the table.

"Did he lie?"

"Not directly," Roy sounded almost disappointed by that.

"He gave estimates low enough to shape my expectations, then allowed me to believe his resale margins would be modest."

"Can the contract be broken?" Orion asked.

"Not without cause."

"Is deception cause?"

"Not if every written term remains accurate." Garrick's chair scraped.

"Can we stop? This entire meal has become a Bellhaven bash." Everyone looked toward him as he sat rigidly, jaw tight. Garrick continued before anyone answered.

"The healer gives Aurelia books and tells her Kindle can live. Edric gives Orion training. Dorian pays enough coin to buy an estate." His voice sharpened.

"And somehow every one of those things is being turned into proof that Bellhaven is manipulating us." Orion shifted forward. Aurelia saw his body prepare before he moved, but it was Roy's voice cut across the table.

"Sit down." Orion had not stood. He looked toward Roy.

"I am sitting."

"Then remain that way." Garrick's expression hardened.

"I am not wrong."

"You are not," Roy said. The admission stopped him. Roy looked between Garrick and Talia.

"This dinner will not become a demand that either of you choose sides."

"No one said—" Orion began.

"I am saying it now," Roy's tone remained quiet.

"That town offers both of you a real future. Garrick could become a guard. Talia could train, work, and build relationships independent of us. Bellhaven's concerns about the drakes do not erase any of that." Talia watched him closely. Roy continued.

"Nor does generosity erase exploitation." Garrick looked away.

"The town permanently changed our lives," he said.

"Dorian's payment ended problems that could have followed you forever."

"Yes."

"Then maybe this is simply how trade works." Roy gave a tired laugh without humor.

"Perhaps." Aurelia looked toward him. Roy unfolded his napkin, then folded it again.

"Perhaps more powerful people create arrangements that benefit everyone while benefiting themselves far more. Perhaps that is simply what happens when one party has coin, law, knowledge, and buyers, while the other has something valuable and no idea what it is worth." His cynicism quieted the room.

"I do not regret signing," he said.

"I dislike understanding why Dorian was so pleased." Garrick's anger had not vanished, but its shape changed. No one spoke for several moments. Kindle shifted beside Aurelia's chair. She rested one hand on his back. The others had only heard the useful part; she now saw that doing so had been cowardice. Aurelia looked toward Mira's books stacked on a nearby side table.

"There is more." Orion's eyes found her immediately. Aurelia swallowed.

"Mira knows something about restoring Kindle." Every face changed. Roy leaned forward.

"What?"

"She would not tell me."

"Did she say she knew?" Talia asked.

"She said nothing short of the most legendary Seals would provide a guaranteed solution." Orion's expression sharpened.

"That means there are uncertain solutions below that."

"Yes." Aurelia did not soften her certainty.

"She made it clear that she had been instructed not to provide restoration-related information." Garrick went still.

"By Bellhaven?"

"She did not name anyone."

"But you believe it."

"I know it." Roy studied her.

"What exactly did she say?" Aurelia repeated the conversation. She was permitted to provide resources for Kindle's health, but not permitted to provide anything that could restore or strengthen him. The restriction was not permanent. Mira's regret was clear, but she refused to name who issued the order. By the time Aurelia finished, Orion's hands had curled into fists.

"They know a way… And they are withholding it."

"Yes." The fire cracked behind Kindle. Aurelia felt heat rise behind her eyes.

"I hate them for it." The admission came out unsteadily.

"I hate that they are using him. I hate that they can look at what he became after protecting us and still decide his restoration is something they should control." Her voice broke.

"And I hate that I understand why. If Kindle regained his strength, Bellhaven would have another powerful drake outside its walls. They do not know us well enough to trust that." Aurelia wiped at one eye.

"But he is not a weapon they get to keep broken until they feel safe." Orion pushed his chair back. Not fully standing, but enough to make the wood scrape. Roy looked at him.

"Violence against Bellhaven would solve nothing."

"I know."

"Then stop looking as though you intend to tear down the council hall."

"I said I know," Orion's voice remained low.

"I will not attack the town." He looked toward Kindle.

"I will also not apologize for being furious." Roy held his gaze.

"I did not ask you to." The room fell quiet. Garrick remained at the table despite the shame visible in his face. Talia placed one hand over his wrist. Roy sat with his cynicism, Orion sat with his anger, and Aurelia sat with Kindle and the certainty that Bellhaven possessed something it refused to share. Dinner cooled in their bowls. After a time, Garrick spoke.

"I should not have called it a Bellhaven bash." Orion looked toward him.

"You were defending the future you want." Garrick flinched. Aurelia understood then that the choice was no longer abstract for him. Roy unfolded his napkin again.

"We can acknowledge what Bellhaven offers without pretending every condition is fair… And we can be angry without deciding everyone in the town is an enemy." Orion looked toward the hearth.

"Mira helped Kindle."

"Yes," Aurelia said.

"Edric is helping me."

"Yes."

"Dorian paid us enough to change our lives." Roy's mouth tightened.

"Yes." None of those truths canceled the others. Aurelia reached down and lifted Kindle carefully into her lap. He settled against her chest, weary but trusting.

"We learn what Mira is allowed to teach," she said.

"And we keep looking for what she is not." Roy nodded.

"Quietly." Orion did not look satisfied, but he did look controlled. They remained at the table. Conversation resumed slowly, not with laughter this time, but with plans. Roy would review the contract for any path to future renegotiation. Orion would continue training while paying attention to what Edric avoided teaching. Aurelia would begin the medical texts immediately. Talia offered to help locate other healers or references in town without directly asking about Kindle.

Garrick volunteered to listen at the guardhouse for any mention of Remnants or restoration. No one solved the problem, but they chose not to face it alone. The quest above the hearth flickered. A clear tone sounded. [Hatch Quest Progress: Strength Despite Distance.] [Evening Meals Shared: 2/3.] Aurelia looked at the display. The Weave had counted the meal only after the anger remained at the table with them. Kindle lifted his head at the sound, prompting Aurelia held him closer.

"One more," she whispered. Whether she meant the dinner or the chance to make him whole, she was no longer certain.