The young man took his time with the task. It wasn’t that he was trying to prolong it, but more so he could take the care required to save some of the documents and other things that the office held. For the most part, he salvaged quite a bit, but it did take more time than expected. Time passed, and soon the task at hand was completed, leaving Xeik awaiting the next task at hand. Not that he was here for her every beck and call, mind you, but he wasn’t quite sure where he could and couldn’t go, or what to even do in the domain.

For that matter, he wasn’t even sure how to leave and return. Magic was not one of his strong suites.

Xeik was about to ask a question when someone that Xeik didn’t recognize came with a message. More refugees, and some of them were not well. The thief looked to Lady Angela, unsure of what exactly to do in this situation. He had limited experience when it came to healing tonics and potions, but given the guidance, he could help.

“Just tell me what I need to do,” Xeik said confidently. “I want to help…”

Angela had taken off her coat to help with the cleaning. The realm was something she could just put back together but that wouldn’t teach a lesson. Anemone came into the room and she was panicked. This was different from a Raine panic as Angela reacted in a swift motion.

The hows, whys, and every other detail she could get out of Anemone was soon there in front of them. “Alright, Xeik. It looks like you’ll be learning directly from me today.” She motioned for him to come as she left and went back to the clinic. There were many with bad wounds and some looked alright but it was them that Angela was most concerned about.

“First healer rule sometimes it's the ones who don’t look like they are unwell who are the worst.” She pulled Xeik over to a medicinal station and showed him the variety of herbs they would need. “Their names don’t matter much right now but you can always learn them later from my notes I’ll make. You do know how to read right? Anyways, the appearance of the herbs are what matter the absolute most. A healthy plant is a healthy ingredient. If the plant looks sub-par it will make a sub-par potion. In this case, we are making healing salves.”

She gave him a heavy mortar and pestle. “Do as I do,” she motioned to follow her directions as she added in the various plants and minerals she liked to use. Grinding them up into a nice thick salve she brought Xeik with her, “Grab those bandages over there. Also those maggots. That wound right there looks old and festered.” She pointed it out to Xeik. “We’re going to pack it with maggots and let it sit. After a bit, we can remove them and apply the salve.” She showed him how to pack the wound and she applied the bandages. The old warrior was freaking out. "Oh for crying out loud they are just bugs," she squirted something near the man and the man passed out. "Comes in handy when your patients don't want to cooperate… So you apply the salve like this." She showed him how to do it gently to one of the crying children. "If you talk to your patients you can cheer them up. More than likely they are more scared than feeling hurt so it can comfort them."

Xeik was in awe at the way that Lady Angela was immediately ready for the situation. As she started pointing out the herbs, he quickly memorized the shape and scent of the ones he could, and nodded when she asked if he could read. It had been something that, between Leilah and Raile, he had been taught how to do. But it made sense that a healthier plant would produce a healthier potion.

Xeik wasn’t exactly adept at using a mortar and pestle, but after a few rounds and rotations, he managed to at least produce a salve that was usable. When he tinkered with potions, he rarely did anything like this. It was going to take a lot for him to catch up to where he should be, but for now he needed to at least make it workable. As she instructed him to grab the bandages and maggots, he moved without hesitation. This was easy, and required little to learn.

When the patient flipped out over the maggots, Lady Angela immediately sprayed him with something. A sedative of some type. Xeik looked at the bottle, taking the time to memorize what it looked like, and the smell that followed it. Whatever it was, it worked quickly and the warrior was out.

When it came to the crying children, Xeik felt most at home. This was something that he had to do for the guild back when they were around. “There, there…” he said with a smile as he pet the child’s head. “It won’t be long, I promise. Here…just like this. See? You have this!” There was sincerity and warmth in his voice, as though he were back taking care of his old family.

This went on for some time, with Xeik learning fast. “What about him?” Xeik asked, pointing and running over. There was a younger warrior, one who looked to be in agony. There were several wounds across his chest and stomach, and all of them looked grievous. “What can we do? Healing magic?”

No good. I can’t use magic. And the healing salves we’re making probably can’t handle anything like this….

Angela followed Xeik to the wounded one. She shook her head. “There isn’t much we can do. It’s just his time Xeik.” She put her hands on Xeik’s shoulders and allowed him to see how much time the man had left. “There are a variety of different ways we can increase or decrease the time people have but… he’s beyond that threshold now.”

She washed her hands and grabbed some medicine off one of her shelves. “What’s your name soldier?” She sat next to the man and looked at his face.

“Fredrick.”

“That’s a good name,” Angela smiled a bit. “I’m going to give you some medicine alright? When you go… Just keep walking.” She helped him sit up and helped him take the pills. It didn’t take long at all after that for the man’s breathing to stop. Angela closed his eyes and beckoned with her head for some clergy members to come over. “This… This isn’t something I’ll let you take out of the temple. Only I touch it but it will end a life. Quickly.” She shook the bottle and looked at it. “The greatest thing we can do for people like him is end it faster or comfort.”

She looked up at Xeik and frowned a bit, “You know I brought Simone back from the dead… Aren’t you going to ask me why I can’t save him?”

Putting the medicine up she helped Xeik finish taking care of everyone else. They got them settled and rested. Under her guidance, Xeik and herself made salves for throughout the night. It took the rest of the day and Angela made sure Xeik’s were fit for help. Making him redo the ones he messed up but she never let annoyance come through her voice only understanding.

Once they were done she wiped the sweat from her forehead and they left the clinic. “I didn’t save him because there are costs to depriving souls from the Soul-Stream. It means a stillborn will happen. In Simone’s case, it was different because she had already died so much that her soul had paid that price.” She beckoned him to follow her. “There is a cause and effect for every little thing that we do. Tomorrow is actually a good place for us to start your courage training. We’ll go to the Terrowin’s island and we’ll see how the little ones are fairing. I heard they aren’t feeling too well and Lewis will tear his hair out if they sniffle too much. He thinks everything is them dying.”

She opened a door and motioned for Xeik to go in, “This will be your room. As long as you are here it is yours to do with as you please. The room will shift to whatever you want of it. I’ll have them bring you night clothes so you can settle in… Also, you should try to sleep. If Lewis is going to freak out you might have to be the one to calm him down.” Angela laughed a bit.

Leaving him there she went to go tend to her own children. It wasn’t that long before Raine showed up with clothes, “I GOT THEM FOR YOUUU~ Simone is my phoenix buddy! I want her to be my friend but for some reason, they won’t let me! Ok, I have to go to the Bastion now so I can snuggle up to Maalik and tell him all about my bubble discovery ok?!

Xeik closed his eyes when Lady Angela gave the man the pill. It was something that he struggled to watch, even though it was putting him out of his misery. Sometimes…death is good. That was what she had told him, and here it was proving itself like some karmic magic. He hated it. The feeling that a life could not be saved. But Lady Angela was so elegant about it.

“I want to ask but…I don’t think now is a good time,” he said. There were a few reasons. One, he had just witnessed a death. It was raw in his mind. The second was that he did not want to lose focus on the true tasks at hand. For the rest of the night, Xeik found himself making salves and healing those who could be healed. There were a few times he did something wrong, but Lady Angela was calm and collected, merely showing him what he did wrong and how to correct and prevent it in the future.

When the problems died down, Lady Angela started on about the reason why Simone’s soul was saved, and why others were not. “So…life and death are a circle, then? When one soul leaves, another comes?” He looked down. “Cause and effect…” A lesson for later. He yawned. It had been some time since he had rested.

“So tomorrow then…” Xeik followed Angela into the room that she was giving him. It would supposedly adjust to whatever he wanted it to. “Good night, then…” he said as Lady Angela left him alone. He turned back to the room, which had already changed its shape.

The room had a low wooden roof, just barely tall enough to clear Xeik’s height. It was warm, almost musty in a sense, with a small bed frame in the corner. Opposite of the bed frame was a desk. The last time Xeik had seen that desk, it was littered with plans, blueprints, and dead drops of Hoja Mesto. There were a few other pieces of furniture, a dresser and a small two seater couch, both which had seen better. And at the edge of the room was a basic looking window, but instead of the streets of Hoja, it merely showed the oceans of Elysia.

“Home sweet home…” Xeik went over to the bed, and flopped down on it. It was stiff, but it felt good. Perhaps later he would will it into something better, but for now…this was what he wanted. He started to close his eyes. The door opened up, and Xeik looked to see Raine coming in with clothes. He thanked her, and she left, leaving the young man alone once more.

Maybe now… He closed his eyes. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Maybe this would be a good opportunity. He smiled. Maybe Lewis was the right choice… He could feel himself drifting off. Tomorrow…I have to face him…

“……………..wait, he has an island?”

In the morning, Raine came to get Xeik by knocking on the door and opening it with a bang. “NEW FRIEND! It’s time to get up!” She skipped into the room and pulled him out of bed. “Lady Angela made breakfast for everyone. She wants you to come eat so you can have allllllllllll of the energy in the world!”

After Angela made Xeik eat breakfast she looked him over. She had a bag made up of healing supplies and she blinked for a few. “The look on your face… you have questions?” She wasn’t too shy about diving into his mind. “Oh! You don’t know. Lewis bought Simone an entire island and a castle. Well them but being the housewife that she is Simone does love to flaunt the fact he did it. It drives the other noblewomen insane which makes Simone pleased… She really is a sadist. Big enough for a lot of kids. They did it pretty much right after you met Simone for the first time.”

Angela gave him a smile and opened a portal to the island. The sky was still pink and purple as the sun came up. “Lewis said it’s called Isle el Koskaan. Simone planted everything here and Lewis funded it all. Whatever made her happy he did it.” There was children's laughter in the distance followed by coughing.

“Hey, you need to come back inside if you aren’t feeling too good,” Simone sounded upset as she pulled a tiny Alshaya up into her arms. “You still feeling a bit hot?” She put her hand to Alshaya’s forehead. “At this rate, all of them are going to get sick.” She looked at Lewis. “What should we do?” The mother sounded worried.

At that cue, Angela motioned for Xeik to follow her, “I can manage it. Simone?”

“Hmm?”

“When were you going to tell Lewis that you were sick too?” Now that Angela had said something Simone looked tired almost instantly and the flush to her face that she had been hiding with magic showed through.

“I really wish you wouldn’t have said that…” There was no point in hiding it though.

It didn’t take long for Xeik to roll out of bed as Raine egged him on to go get breakfast. He put on his new clothes, which consisted of a pair of rough leather shorts and a shirt, with a utility vest to go over top. Since it didn’t feel quite right to go without it, Xeik wore his hooded shirt underneath, and flipped up the hood. He would be going into unknown territory today, and he’d need the comfort.

Breakfast went well, and after Lady Angela spoke of how Lewis funded an entire island, and the young thief was just shocked at how insanely successful Lewis really was. “Oh gods…he’s gonna rub it in my face today too…I’ve never been there…” He offered to take the bag from the Goddess, and soon they portaled to the island.

“Isle el Koskaan…” Xeik repeated as they walked down the beautiful nature path. The wisteria arches were something that Xeik had never seen before, but they were amazing to see, and lead them straight to the front of the mansion. Simone was outside with Alshaya, and immediately was greeted by Lady Angela as she approached.

Lewis was pacing back and forth with Everett in hand. The little boy looked distraught, almost in tears. Leilah had managed well, but she was dealing with her own issues at the moment, which lead to this.

“Finally,” Lewis said as checked Everett’s temperature again. “I was worried you’d never show.” The baby boy started to grumble, close to tears. “Oh nonono…I’m sorry. Sshhh, it’s okay Everett, Lady Angela here isn’t going to steal you away. She’s here to help…”

Xeik was seeing a whole new side to Lewis as they followed the couple back into the mansion. Lucas and Rex were in the main foyer as well, with a sickly Fiori sleeping on the couch as the bots did their best to try and comfort her. Mira wassick as well, but it was…weird, to say the least how it presented itself. Lucas himself was sniffling, but Rex seemed fine.

“What can I say, I have a strong immune system,” the red haired boy said with a grin. “All the better to take care of you guys. And where’s Ezili? Is she doing okay?”

The thief put the bag down, and looked around the castle in awe. “This….this is huge. Bigger than anything I’ve ever loote-….er…explored before.”

Lewis took one look at Xeik, and glared. “Less talk more action.” He looked to Lady Angela. “Look at them…now…” He looked to Simone. It had not fallen on deaf ears that she was sick as well. She had tried to hide it as best she could, but they were connected, and he knew all the same that she was just as run down as the rest of them. Lewis, somehow, was holding up though…but knowing the stress he was going through, it was only a matter of time before he broke down.

“All right,” Xeik said as he put the bag down. “I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare some hot water…” He looked to Lady Angela. “Right?” He started to walk. “….er…sorry…where…exactly is the kitchen?”

Lewis scoffed, “Don’t bother.” He waved his hand, and a servant came rushing by. “Hot water…make enough for…I don’t know…however much he says…” He pointed to Xeik.

“Wait…you trust me?” Xeik asked curiously.

“Lady Angela brought you here for a reason, didn’t she? Get the hell to work…”

“Lewis might not. He’s not a fan of nobles and they have to deal with a lot of them because of how they bought the island. My son-in-law practically fucked them in that aspect.” Raile was indeed silver-tongued.

“He’s not afraid I’m going to take him,” Angela sighed a bit and came over to Everett. “He’s really burning up. I would say Everett caught it and passed it to the rest of them. Most likely from someone in town that you had been around.”

Simone wiped her forehead now as she held onto Alshaya, “Ezili is upstairs in bed. She got it really bad but she was just born not that long ago. So she probably doesn’t have any prior illnesses.”

Angela looked at Simone, “Like you. You knew that though.” Looking at Rex she motioned for him, “Can you take Everett from Lewis? Alshaya too. I hate to burden you, boys, more than this but… Lewis, get Simone into bed. She’s probably got it worse than even Ezili right now. How she’s managed not to get sick is amazing to me.”

Angela smiled at Xeik, “Set up a small station for the kids down in the family room. Ezili and Simone will be up in their rooms. It will be easier to watch all of the little ones down here while we take care of the older ones upstairs. That and Simone needs the bed… in…” She waited a few seconds, “Now,” Simone stumbled into Lewis.

“Blankets Rex… Make them comfortable okay?” Once she had her bag out she got some medicine she had pre-made. “This will be enough for the kids. Just make sure they swallow it and don’t choke.” She offered it up to Xeik. “Everett might need more since he’s had it the longest. There should be some berry jam that Leilah gave you?” Angela asked Lewis and once she had it gave it to Xeik. “Make sure he eats this.”

Angela went to Lucas and felt his forehead, “You just started to feel sick?”

With Lady Angela taking charge, Rex took Everett from Lewis, and Alshaya from Simone as the two retreated from the foyer. The boy was more than happy to take the burden off of Simone and Lewis. As Rex fussed around with the two babies, Xeik set out to set up a small station in the family room, to which he was grateful that the house help was so happy and willing to assist. Lewis had already started to take Simone upstairs to bed, but on Angela’s cue, she stumbled, and Lewis had to catch her.

“Here we are,” Xeik said as he got the rest of the miniature station set up. He took the medicine from Lady Angela, and measured it out as instructed. This was something he was vaguely familiar with, as he had to take care of the younger kids when he was head of the guild. There were always those who hated taking their medicine, and there were ways to make them take it against their will, and there was a special technique required to make sure they didn’t choke.

Not that he felt he had to force the babies to eat it, but…

Lewis had come back downstairs once he had gotten Simone settled, and the goddess asked if Leilah had given them a berry jam. It took him a few minutes to locate it, but when he did, it was passed from Angela to Xeik with more instructions.

As Xeik started to take care of the younger ones, Lady Angela moved to Lucas, who had sniffles at the moment. “I’m f-fine, ‘mam,” he said as he scrambled up quickly, his eyes staring wide at the goddess. “No problems here!”

Rex gave him a deadpan look, and immediately moved behind the older boy, locking his wrists together and forcing him to stand still. “Just let the nice lady do her work. Gods, you’re such a whiny brat…” This was enough for Angela to take his temperature, despite the unusual circumstances.

He let his brother go, and dusted his hands off, acting like a pro. “My work here is done,” he said with a smirk. He beat his chest proudly. “I can’t get sick. Too stubborn! Let me know what else I can do!”

Angela put her hands on her hips as Rex helped her out. “You don’t need to act strong,” she said as Rex held Lucas so she could get his temperature. “For you, I just want you to eat this concoction. It will taste like crap but it should knock it out of your system before it gets you like that others.” Taking a few moments she brought back a bowl of thick green goop. She held it up to Lucas, “It’s pungent. Tastes bad. However, it has all the herbs in it that will help you. I would suggest eating it quickly as not to taste it and having water nearby to wash it down. Normally I would flavor it but you are close enough to an adult that I’m not going to.”

Angela gave Rex a smile. “And for you~ You do know that technically you are my great-grandson thanks to your idiot father right? I have to make sure my precious grandchildren are healthy~” She came over to him and slapped the back of his head. “You are even worse than Ezili upstairs. You’ve been stubborn and attempting to hide it if anything you’ve inherited Simone’s stubbornness somehow even if that’s not that case.” She led him over to a seat and laid him down. “You need to rest. Lucas, you are in charge of everyone with Xeik once you get that soup down.”

Once they got the kids settled and checked out she grabbed Xeik and Lewis to head upstairs. “We’ll need to check on both Ezili and Simone carefully. New bodies with a bad illness like this can be bad. Especially for Simone since she is artificially created where Ezili was naturally. Ezili has more defense to something like this than Simone has.”

Looking for more answers she looked over Lewis, “When did this all start? When did you notice the first sting of Simone being sick? I’m sure you noticed even if she didn’t want you to. Has her sex drive gone down at all? Her appetite lacking?” She looked at Xeik. “These are all questions that have a lot of importance. You get used to asking things like this.”

Going into Simone and Lewis's room, Simone was in her nightgown tucked into bed lovingly. She had already passed out but when the door squeaked shut she opened her eyes lightly, "Lewis?"