The scene where the villagers' had been gathered was was a hushed, almost disconcerting kind of chaotic.
There was that familiar sound of laboured breathing, collecting into a uniform sort of hum maintained persistently in the background. There were also a handful of weak murmurs and hushed conversations here and there, albeit mostly from the volunteers and healers themselves.
However, a surprising number of the lying villagers' breathing seemed to have weakened considerably, to the point that some even appeared to now be entirely silent.
As Arin picked his way through the collection of mattresses, with serious-faced folks standing and working at every fiftieth bed or so, he tried hard not to think about how many of these people might not end up making it after all.
No, stop.
From what he'd heard, if he and Siel hadn't taken on this assignment, a relatively insignificant village such as Silvershade, from a supposedly remote and self-contained part of this 'Empire', might not have had anyone respond in time.
During one of their conversations, Siel had mentioned that even the more low-level towers' magicians typically flocked to tasks in the cities closer to the Capital, hoping to build connections and establish upward mobility.
Nothing would've been done. Not unless someone else had figured out the distortion angle, of course.
And in that case, everyone would've died anyway, once the so-called officials had rushed to kill Elara with everyone still asleep.
It wasn't his fault if they still didn't make it.
He'd tried what he could. And even if he later learned there were better, more efficient ways to have done what he did, he'd done his best in the moment.
As much as he loved his video-games, he'd long-since matured enough to know that such a life wasn't for him.
He wasn't a quick-thinking, high-adrenaline hero. He was just an office-worker.
He wasn't even an actual resident of this stupid world. He wasn't Rin.
He was Arin.
Arin grimaced slightly. He quietly averted his eyes from one of the beds to his left, where a healer seemed busy frantically slapping the face of the man who lay there.
He just had to hope that was one of the ways in which those with healing-type talents manifested their magic.
Right.
Even as an idiot, entirely unprepared and unaware of the ways of this world, he'd done his best.
And, more importantly, the most important part was still ahead of him.
He still had work to do.
'It's this way, brother Rin,' came Siel's quiet voice.
As they neared the spot where the headman's estate's residents - including Grif and Elara - had been placed, Arin overheard two nearby volunteers engrossed in discussion as they stood waiting behind one of the healers.
'- not like any curse I've ever heard of.'
'A distorted phenomenon, perhaps? Something in the air, or the grass... Though, I cannot understand the need for all this secrecy.'
'I didn't want to say this earlier, but I wonder if... all is not as it seems. Was it not even an accident, as suspected, but something done maliciously, with the intention of - of destroying this village?'
'No! But then, it ought to be reported at once!'
'I've been wondering why the tower magicians haven't yet. Even if those officials are inclined to ignore calls for help from insignificants such as ourselves, they'd have to listen if the reports came from them, wouldn't they?'
'I'm telling you; those two must be involved somehow. And I fear that, even if they aren't, they are hiding something from -'
The speaker broke off as his companion nudged him with an elbow. The two glanced up at them as they passed by, and shuffled away slightly. All of a sudden, they seemed very interested in watching the healer before them administered his treatment.
Arin looked away, pretending he'd heard nothing at all. He noticed Siel take it a step further, as the boy went out of his way to catch one of the two's eye, and nod at him with a wide smile as he walked by.
The two seemed to shrink even further.
Arin sighed to himself.
Of course the people who'd come here would have questions. They'd want to know what had happened in Silvershade.
To Silvershade.
That was only natural.
The only issue here was that, if even some of these people had as many questions, and (correctly) suspected both himself and Siel to be hiding something...
...how were they going to take Elara away without exposing the distortion?
They couldn't wait too long! This was urgent!
As he and Siel finally came to a stop where the girl lay, still asleep, Arin swallowed. There was another, somehow even more urgent issue immediately at hand.
There was already a healer seated there there.
And he was examining Elara.