Tynesday, 21st of Augustus, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

It had been a couple of hours since the incident involving the thugs. The tavern owner, Patar or 'Peter' as the westerners called him, had closed shop for the day. Together with Josias and his companions, they had engrossed themselves in 'martarombo'. It was the Halak custom of comparing bloodlines and lineages to introduce themselves.

Josias was surprised to hear that not only was Patar Parbulan related to Elder Ringkot, but that he was his son. Josias had wanted to ask him about his debt, but as they became so engrossed in speaking of the Halaklands, Josias forgot. Regardless, it was a fortuitous meeting.

"Once more, I can't thank you enough for the aid that you've given me. Mauliate ma ale Tuan Muda. (Thank you, Young Lord)" The tavern owner said as he knelt face first onto the ground towards Josias. The man was practically sobbing.

"Now, now, there's no need for that, Lord Patar…" Josias tried his best to get the man up "It is the least we could do. To aid a brother Halak is always a noble goal. Besides, I am no lord here. I'm just as much a 'foreign savage' as you are."

The man's daughters helped him up to sit on one of the table benches. Patar's eyes were still reddened, but he had a relieved smile on his face.

"If that's the case, then there's no need to address me as 'Lord' either. Just call me Patar." The tavern owner said.

"Nonsense! You are our elder, if nothing else." Sadrach said as he shook his head "Elder Ringkot has always been a faithful retainer to the Hutabaru. As his son, you are like kin to me. To all who bear the name Hutabaru."

"I still can't believe I would meet with the great nobles of Goria like this. In the land of the westerners to boot! I can't even begin to process all the things you've told me… Goria now being a christian nation, Lord King Parhal's death… This is just so much."

"A lot can happen in over twenty years, sir." Josias chuckled "But truly, have you actually been this isolated from news of the motherland? I would have expected Captain Farnaby to at least keep you somewhat informed."

Josias shot a glance to the old captain who could only give him a wry smile.

"I told 'em what I could, but even I can't keep up with everything that's happenin' down there." Captain Farnaby shrugged his shoulders "Besides, whether or not ole' Peter here believes me is a whole other matter. He didn't even believe me when I told him that half the Halaklands are christian now."

Josias nodded his head, accepting Captain Farnaby's answer, but now he was curious.

"Is our christianity a problem, sir Patar? Your father was one of the first to convert among my grandfather's retainers." Josias kept a neutral tone in his questioning. Despite his own aversions to the pagans, he didn't wish to antagonise a man he'd just helped.

"Oh! Not at all, young lord. I myself am a christian, after all." Patar laughed off Josias' question "If I may, and I don't mean to offend the good reverends here, I'm not too knowledgeable on those things. I never really had an attachment to the old ways either. When my late father-in-law insisted I get baptised to marry my wife, I didn't think much of it."

Josias nodded as he gave the man a smile. A lukewarm christian was still better than any sort of pagan.

"Ah, I'm glad to hear that, sir Patar. Lord willing, all the children of the Halak would come to embrace Christ eventually." Josias said "With that being said, you mentioned your wife. I heard she was suffering from an ailment of sorts?"

When he mentioned Sir Patar's wife, Josias noticed how the tavern owner's expression – as well as that of his children – became crestfallen. Patar's eldest daughter had put an arm on her father's shoulders.

"It's… It's something beyond the means of the local healers. It's… It's also one of the reasons I was forced to take a loan from those bastards." Patar clenched his fists as he explained his situation.

Patar's wife had been relatively healthy up until a few months ago. Then one day, she started complaining about pains in her knee joints. Following the pain, noticeable swellings appeared and eventually it became unbearable for her to even walk.

"One of the healers said that they had a remedy that could alleviate my wife's pains. I was excited at first, but it was too good to be true." Patar's expression became embittered as he recounted what happened next "The price the healer asked was exorbitant to say the least. He also said that he won't be waiting for us to gather the money. I wracked my mind trying to scrounge every last penny I had, but I'd already spent a good deal of it not long ago."

"...If I may ask, what did you spend it on?"

"A travelling mage had somehow found himself eating in this humble tavern. While he was eating, he took notice of my daughter Claire here." Patar motioned to his eldest daughter "He said he noticed innate magical potential in her – whatever that means – and extended an invitation for her to study at the Imperial Academy in Skysea."

"Really now? I thought that fancy school was only open for them highborne folk?" Captain Farnaby raised his eyebrows at the information.

"It was. But apparently, His Majesty the King had issued decrees to make them more accessible to talented common folk."

"Hmph. He's takin' a page right out of the Republic's handbook." The old captain scoffed. "These Feldonians are trying their damnedest to grasp at whatever talent they can hold."

"Be that as it may, the mage handed us a letter of recommendation. Claire was excited, but even with such a recommendation, there were still things we had to prepare. Books and tomes for studying, money for a proper dress to the academy, not to mention the tuition. The cost for admission was also high."

"It seems more so that the decree was made to squeeze whatever money they can from rich commoners." Sadrach commented "But your daughter is still here, though. Did you already spend most of your money on books?"

Patar shook his head as he answered, "No. I had sent in the letter of recommendation to an acquaintance to see whether it's genuine. When he confirmed that, I had made up my mind. If my daughter truly had that talent, I wanted to do everything in my power to send her to the academy. It was fortunate that my wife had taught our children how to read and write. I quickly got to work paying a year's tuition in advance and securing Claire's admission. But then my wife's illness appeared and…"

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Patar went silent as his eyes appeared to redden once more. Josias decided against pursuing the matter further. It was a great misfortune. If Josias were in the man's shoes, he too would be hard pressed to come up with a solution.

After a while the tavern owner continued his story.

"After getting the loan, I immediately went back to the healer to buy his medicine." Patar said "But it was too late because he had already sold it. I was distraught until he said another shipment was coming in a week's time. That was where we had gone before we came back today."

"But you came back with a pouch full of coins." Josias was confused "How did you manage to return here if you went to get the medicine?"

"There was no medicine." Patar said with a frown "The healer said it was missing from the shipment for whatever reason. It took me all I had to not murder that sly, skinny bastard. And then we came home and you know the rest. Now, I neither have gold nor a cure for my wife."

Josias crossed his arms as he let the story sink in. It was unfortunate what Patar's family was going through, but there wasn't much else he could do. Unless of course…

"Amang, is there a chance you'd be willing to let us see your wife?" Before Josias could even turn to his wife, Serena had already asked the question. "I may not be much compared to the physicians of the west, but it's worth giving it a look."

Patar's eyes lit up when she said that. He was about to speak, but this time it was his daughter who spoke.

"Though we're already in your debt as is, milady, we accept your generous offer." Claire gave a deep bow before beckoning Serena. "Please, follow me upstairs."

Serena nodded as she held Ruth's hand to follow her. Josias nodded to his wife as the women left the dining hall followed by Patar. He had no knowledge at all when it came to these things. All he could do was pray that his wife would be able to heal the woman.

***

Serena was led into a room on the upper floor of the tavern by Claire. When she opened the door, Serena could see that there was a woman sitting on a bed. The woman looked to be in prayer, The woman yelped in surprise as she saw them coming in.

"Mother, it's fine. It's just me." Claire said.

"Oh, thank the Lord." The woman said as she placed a hand over her chest "I was so worried when I heard that commotion a few hours ago. Your sisters came up saying everything was fine but… Oh my God! What's all this I hear about a debt to Captain Devine? A fight with thugs and…"

The woman trailed off when she noticed Serena standing by the door with Ruth. Serena could feel the woman eyeing her up and down with a hint of confusion on her face.

"...I uh… Who's this you've brought in here, Claire?" The woman said as she straightened her back.

"She's a physician from father's homeland. We brought her here because we think she can help us." Claire started to explain the full situation to her mother. Not long after, Patar had also arrived and helped in the explanation.

The woman – Rachel – had widened her eyes when she heard all of it.

"Please, milady, excuse me for my ignorance! I didn't realise I was talking to a noble from my husband's homeland." Rachel did her best to bow her head and body on her bed, but Serena could see she was having some difficulty moving.

"Oh please, inang (ma'am), it's not a problem. I'm only here as a physician. Besides, all Halak are nobles. Even Sir Patar would be called a lord back in the Halaklands." Serena said as she shook her head and smiled. It was a good thing that she'd kept her identity as a count's niece hidden. It had been quite embarrassing for her to have to rely on the status of someone she hadn't properly met yet. If possible, until she properly meets her uncle, she'd keep that information to herself.

"Still, the fact that you even paid off the interest on my husband's loan. God bless you, milady."

"It is only proper that we help a fellow Halak kinsman. One of my maternal granduncles is the husband of Sir Patar's aunt. We're basically family anyways. Which is why we can't just sit idly by when a kinsman is suffering. Not especially if I can do something about it."

Serena walked up to the woman as she sat herself next to her near the edge of her bed. She needed to have a closer look at Rachel to make a proper diagnosis.

"So I hope you wouldn't mind if I take a look?" Even while asking for Rachel's consent, Serena had already begun a visual examination on the woman's physical condition.

A woman in her late thirties to early forties. No noticeable gray hairs on her otherwise dark brown hair. No patches of baldness either. Her eyes had noticeable bags under them. It was most probably because of lack of sleep.

Besides that, her skin was slightly sallow but that was perhaps caused by lack of proper rest and exercise. Not to mention the bedroom they were in lacked a proper window, being lit up mostly by small slits in the wall and a bedside oil lamp.

"Have you felt like you've lost any weight recently, ma'am?" Serena asked Rachel who gave an amused snort as her initial reaction.

"Pfft, on the contrary, milady. With my right knee and leg hurting so much, I haven't been able to move about much. In fact, I feel as though I've gained weight."

Serena chuckled along as she nodded. "So you said it was your right leg? Would it trouble you if I asked to see it?"

"Oh, not at all, milady! Though, please forgive me for the indecency." Rachel still had a smile on her face as she took off the blanket over her legs. She winced a couple of times as she tried to manually move her right leg with her hands.

There, Serena was finally able to see what she was dealing with. On Rachel's right knee, there was a protrusion sticking out. It manifested like a sort of bump.

"Ma'am, please excuse me if this causes you some discomfort." Serena started palpating around the bump. The bump itself wasn't too big. It didn't have any noticeable discolouration or overt hyperpigmentation.

Serena noticed that Rachel would sometimes wince and writhe in pain, but it didn't look uniform.

"Does it hurt much or does it feel like a mild discomfort?" Serena asked while checking the mobility of the bump.

"To be honest, milady, it hurts when you press it at certain points, but not all of them." Rachel answered "When it comes to touch, it's more like a slight discomfort."

"Alright, I apologise beforehand…" Serena immediately worked to try and move Rachel's leg.

First, she tried moving Rachel's leg from its base. Only mild discomfort. Then, Serena tried to bend Rachel's knee. That was where the difficulty started.

"Ow! Ow!! Milady it hurts!" Serena nodded as she stopped and laid Rachel's leg back onto the bed.

"How long have you had this bump? Your husband said it's only been a month or so since you've experienced pain while moving your leg." Serena asked.

"...To be honest, I've known that something had been a problem in my knee since I was small." Rachel explained. Serena shot a glance at Patar and saw that he looked surprised. It seems no one else knew. "But, besides some slight discomfort, it never really bothered me much. This pain feels like it's stabbing me from the inside."

"What happened then?"

"A few months ago I fell on my knee when I was out walking the markets. Some children had bumped into me. They weren't looking while playing and had bumped into me. They'd helped me up after and I still had my purse on me. I didn't feel too much pain at that time, so I didn't think anything of it… But somehow it's gotten worse. "

Serena nodded as she finally felt like she had enough information to make her assessment.

"It's an abnormal growth from your knee bone, ma'am. Just treating this with medicine is only going to relieve the symptoms. However, the main cause of pain will remain." Serena finally said as she looked at Patar. "There's only one permanent solution for this. We're going to have to remove it."

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