Chapter 38. Hero Statue
Eight o'clock in the morning, inside the case.
The clutter piled on the long worktable in the work shed had been pushed aside, and a cauldron was set in the middle.
Pale blue flames licked at the bottom of the cauldron, and a brown-black viscous liquid seethed like magma, bubbles welling up and bursting.
Wisps of white vapour rose from the cauldron, wrapped in a strong medicinal smell, gradually filling the small wooden shed.
The smell seemed to have a soporific effect, and Pro, sprawled at the corner of the table, began to yawn as it sniffed.
Its little head bobbed uncontrollably, eyelids heavy; if not for the temptation of the silver ladle in front of it, it would already have sunk into a sweet sleep.
"Pro, I told you ages ago—go out and play first, and come back when I've finished simmering the potion.
You wouldn't listen, and now you can't keep your eyes open, can you!"
The potion simmering in the cauldron was a recipe Duncan had found last night in Newt's notes.
According to the description there, it could suppress a magical creature's excitement and agitation and help it sleep.
It could not completely cure the Kelpie Mori's ailment, but it could make it feel a bit better.
"I'm not sleepy!" Pro forced its eyes wide, gave its head a hard shake, and said stubbornly.
"All right, then stay there.
I'll call you when I'm done," Duncan said.
He walked to the only brick-built wall in the shed and tapped the second brick on each side with his wand.
A rattling tremor sounded, and a passage wide enough for three to walk abreast appeared.
A gust of chill air rushed out to meet him, swept across Duncan's face, and curled away into the distance.
Pro, who had been on the verge of sleep, gave a start and woke at once.
It glanced at Duncan and inched forward cautiously.
Duncan stepped into the frost-rimmed room, and stones set into the walls lit of their own accord, providing a dim glow.
Inside the rectangular room, the left side of the floor was neatly stacked with layers of meat, and on the other side various vegetables and fruits were piled up.
This was feed Duncan had emptied out from Newt's stores, prepared for the Erumpents and the Kelpie.
At a flick of Duncan's wand, a few pieces of meat from the topmost stack wobbled up and floated out one after another.
Duncan followed and stepped back out.
Behind him the wall shuddered violently; the bricks slid back to their places and closed up again.
Duncan's wand moved again.
He directed the hunks of meat to fall onto the chopping block.
A light breeze passed; the frost on their surfaces vanished and they regained a fresh, appetising colour.
At the same time, the large knife flew over and chopped up and down.
Previously, Newt had done all this work, and he had only been responsible for pushing the cart to feed them.
After Newt handed the case over to him, he followed Newt's notes and just about learnt those few commonly used spells.
He still was not very practised, but it was enough.
Magical creatures were not fussy and liked things plain; as long as they could eat, that was fine—they did not need Michelin three-star knife skills or haute cuisine.
When the cutting was done, Duncan pushed the uneven pieces into an iron bucket and let it float up to follow behind him.
"Have you been up to mischief again?" Duncan narrowed his eyes and asked when he saw Pro's sneaky look as he came to the table where the cauldron sat.
"No!" Pro answered loudly and solemnly, with the firm air of, "If I've done wrong, then go ahead and execute me."
"I've been keeping an eye on the cauldron for you.
It just stopped sending up white vapour—see if it's done."
As if afraid Duncan still wouldn't believe it, Pro added another line in a fawning tone.
From Pro's look Duncan knew it must have stolen something again, but a glance around revealed nothing amiss.
So he let it go, pulled open the pocket of his school robes and leaned it towards Pro.
"All right, in you go.
Time to set off."
Pro obediently hopped forward and dropped neatly into the pocket, leaving only a pair of round little eyes showing.
Duncan poured the potion from the cauldron into the iron bucket that held the meat, left the room with it, and headed towards a nearby area.
Pro blinked, staring thoughtfully at the creaking, swaying iron bucket behind Duncan, then suddenly spoke.
"Duncan..."
"What is it?" Duncan answered softly.
"If it eats these medicated chunks of meat, will Mori get better?" Pro asked.
"Possibly, but there isn't much hope," Duncan said.
"Because I still haven't worked out what's making it ill."
"Then… if I give it a few Galleons, will it get better faster?" When Pro spoke, a pained look flashed in its eyes; handing over its beloved Galleons was as painful as killing it.
But it remembered that when it had been ill before, Duncan had fed it medicine and then given it a few Galleons, and it had soon recovered.
Maybe if Mori received its Galleons and then drank the potion, it might recover quickly too…
That fellow was usually a bit rough, but at times was really not bad!
Miser Pro thought this as it reluctantly moved a paw towards the pouch at its belly, ready to bleed itself dry.
"Thank you for the thought," Duncan said with a smile, rubbing Pro's chin with a finger.
"Galleons don't have that kind of magic for Mori.
Keep guarding your little treasury.
Don't worry—I'll do my best to find the cause quickly and get Mori well."
"Oh…" Pro replied dully.
It let out a breath, though there was a faint disappointment in its heart.
Entering the Wilds, the black speck circling in the air soon spotted Duncan.
It whistled down from on high and landed before him.
"Good morning, Kray," Duncan said, stroking Kray's feathers.
"How's Mori doing?"
The previous night, when he returned to the quarters, he had specially told Kray to fly over for a look at Mori whenever it had time.
"Not great," Kray replied.
"It rested a short while yesterday, but early this morning it started going berserk again."
Duncan frowned, exchanged a few more words with Kray, and turned into the adjoining area.
Two Erumpents bounded on all fours, charging joyfully at Duncan; the ground shook like two speeding locomotives.
If Duncan had not known these two rough fellows, he would definitely have thought they meant to ram him to death.
"Running that fast—are the wounds on your legs healed?" he asked when the two Erumpents skidded to a stop just in front of him.
"Mm-hmm!" Charlie nodded happily.
"Doesn't hurt at all!"
The other Erumpent, Ari, shut its gaping mouth, slammed Charlie with a sideways shoulder in annoyance, and bellowed, "Why are you snatching my lines?
Duncan asked me, not you!"
"He obviously asked me!" Charlie shot back angrily, raising his voice.
"All right, all right," Duncan hurried to stop the two giants from brawling, lest they hurt him by mistake.
"Since you're healed, I'll help you take the bandages off."
Once Ari and Charlie calmed down, Duncan tapped his wand, and the bandages on their legs slipped off, revealing healed skin.
At the same time, a line of text appeared.
[Optional quest complete: The injuries of the Erumpents Ari and Charlie have completely healed under your careful care, and they have recovered their health.]
[Quest rewards: Erumpents Ari and Charlie Affection ×20 (currently 95), Random Magical Item ×1, Virtual Coins ×200]
[Current Virtual Coins: 1120]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the magical item: Hero Statue]
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