The following day, he woke pretty early, and Elthius dutifully showed him where everything he needed was kept or located just like he did the day before. When he was done, he ate his scones, took his portable laboratory, wore his sandals, and left the hostel.
On getting to the master healer’s compound, master Arcus was already waiting in the doorway for him.
“Ah, I see you have finally arrived. Try to be earlier tomorrow.”, he said,
“Yes, Master,” Aelfric replied.
“very good, very good… Do you have your portable laboratory? ”
Aelfric raised his laboratory bag to show his master.
“… And you have a full complement of herbs? Mugwort, belladonna, elm?”
” I have most, Master, the more rare and expensive I was unable to procure.”
” Aelfric, my boy, excuses will not go far when you hold a human life within your young hands. You cannot give excuses when there’s a life at stake. We must always have a full complement of herbs and reagents.” Alfric attempted to speak again, but his master raised a finger to hush him and went on, “If you cannot find it, grow it! If you cannot grow it, steal it! That golden cypress root may very well save the life of an innocent child!”
” Yes, master,” Aelfric said, crestfallen that he had already begun to disappoint his new master.
“Now, as this is your first lesson, I did not expect you to foresee it, as we are healers, man, not seers! So please help yourself to my personally cultivated stocks, and I will supply you with a full array of seeds when you are ready to undertake cultivation.”
“Thank you, Master,” he uttered, intrigued at both peculiar and sensible manner of his new mentor.
“Yes. When you have finished there, we will begin the rounds. The plush furnishings and overwhelming riches you see here are the results of kind contributions from the grateful and generous members of this mighty city!” Master Arcus boomed, raising his hand in the air to gesture to his meager hut, organized desk, and old cooking pot.
Aelfric was excited to hear that he was going to join his master foe the day’s rounds, but for a moment, Aelfric thought his master was a bitter older man or; that his remark up was in sarcasm, or even hatred of the poor folk he treated, but as he gazed into the man’s face, proud and happy, he realized he was being given another lesson. This man’s humble home and few belongings had so much value to him because the individuals who have donated them, or their small earnings, did so out of gratitude and love. His wealth was immeasurable because every item had the value of a life saved, a child safely born, or death made peacefully.
At that moment, for the first time since his firm decision to become a healer, Aelfric fidgeted, unsure of the choice he had made to become a healer.
Can I do this? What were you thinking, Aelfric? This is a stupid choice you’ve made. Do you want to live your whole life like this? In a place like this? Aelfric ruminated while standing and watching his tutor.
Of course, I can do it. It’s not about my comfort but the impact of service on the healthy living of people. And right now, I have a lot of work to do if I am ever to become a great healer.
After convincing himself, he looked back at where Master Arcus stood. When he did, he felt a sense of peace in the company of one who shreds his need to help and heal others.
“When you deem it ready…” Master Arcus said, holding open the hut door and welcoming Aelfric to join him. He stepped outside with his master and followed him dutifully to the house of their first patient.
The master introduced him to an ill woman and prepared a salve for her skin condition. Aelfric did so, a little clumsily due to his nervousness but a good concoction all the same. His master tasted the ointment, nodded, and handed it to their patient.
“Here, Mrs. Shiba, this should help relieve the tension and pain in your joints. Just rub it in like you would a balm.” Arcus instructed as he handed her the already made salve.
Mrs. Shiba did as she was told. She began hungrily applying it to her neck and arms, sighing in relief. She looked back at where they stood.
“So this is your student, Arcus. He’s outstanding. I must say I approve, and he can prepare my salve tomorrow.” Master Arcus nodded. Aelfric was beginning to see that his master didn’t speak unless there was something important to say.
“I hope you learn all that the good and kind master teaches you, young man.” She said to Aelfric
“I intend to, Ma’am.” She nodded and looked back at Arcus.
” Now, I trust you’ll come by on your way home, won’t you, dear? Your bread and treats will be ready by then, and I’ll add some chicken pies for your new apprentice.”
Master Arcus nodded again, this time grinning in Aelfric’s direction.
“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Shiba,” Aelfric said, feeling so praised and accepted by this lovely, motherly woman that he began to miss his own.
“Nonsense!” She said, ” You must be paid for your services. The real gift is his bread! He just stood there and watched you work!” She smiled at Master Arcus, and he nodded again.
As they left, Aelfric heard Master Arcus mutter,” until tomorrow Anna.” Aelfric was surprised to see him referring to her by her first name, but after a few more rounds of visits to other patient’s houses, Aelfric could see why. Not all of Master Arcus’ patients were as inviting or upbeat as Mrs. Shiba. As the day went on, the treatments became more and more complex, and Aelfric was asked to do fewer and fewer tasks as his master completed complex spells, mixes, and potions. He gave a stern, but detailed instruction, allowing Aelfric to ask questions as they walked to the next home or hovel.
They’d been fed a nice lunch by a fruit merchant with yellowish skin and quivering lips. The tonic they prepared allowed him to live a whole life with a sick and failing liver. As they were offered a sweet liqueur with their lunch, Aelfric wondered briefly if this illness might be self-imposed.
His feet aching by what he gaged as dinner time, Aelfric was relieved when his master turned to him and said, “The last one.”
They entered the home without knocking. Master Arcus was more vocal in this home.
” Gwen! Gwen dear!” A tired-looking woman in her 20s emerged, her hair lay like a heap of straw on her head, Her eyes were red, and her skin pale. She was skinny, and her cheeks were sunken. Aelfric could tell she had been crying and neither sleeping nor eating. He wondered what they would be treating her for. But then he noticed her holding a small child within her clothing. ” Micheal is afflicted with fever,” his master said. “He is two years old, and his mother has been keeping him warm, as per my instruction.”
At the mention of ‘fever,’ Aelfric remembered His sister Beeta. Aelfric could tell this case was very serious. His master had adapted that tone of ‘First Lesson, Second lesson’ instruction. He wondered what his third lesson might be.
“Maggie’s son is too sick to be saved,” Master Arcus said as he placed his hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “The fever has damaged the spark of life inside him, and as they were traveling when the child became ill, I have only been able to make his slow passing painless, although regrettably, I cannot make it painless for Maggie.”
Aelfric’s eyes went wide. This child was dying, and his master had brought him here not to treat him but to bear witness.
“Surely we can save this child.” He said, reaching for the babe. With tears in her eyes, Maggie handed over the nearly lifeless body of her young son. Aelfric held the child, checked his temperature and pulse, and felt the withering beat of life fading away within his body.
” I see,” he said, realizing his last hope was naive and lost. Maggie took the child, cooing at him and petting his head.
” One last drop to ease his passing, Maggie?” Arcus looked her deep in the eyes.
“Yes, Master Arcus, please. Let him go in peace,” she said in between sobs.
He dipped into his bag and placed a drop of oil on his thumb; he then tapped the thumb to the child’s forehead, gently chanting in prayer.
” Not long now, Maggie,” the master said softly.
Maggie sat in a chair, gently rocking her son. She whispered in his ears and brushed soft kisses across his silky hair, slow tears running down her cheeks as she forced a smile and closed her eyes, and we all felt the last glimmers of soul leave the boy’s delicate body. Aelfric wondered what his Master was doing.
How was a mere chant going to make the child give up the ghost? Aelfric ruminated in perplexity. He silently observed his master’s act.
As if waiting for that moment, another woman entered the home. She took the child from his mother gently, took Maggie’s hand, and lead her to the back bedroom.
“Our deed is done, I’m afraid,” said Master Arcus, leading Aelfric out of Maggie’s home. ” We just leave?” he asked, appalled.
“Char is a Devine priestess, and she will bless the child and help Maggie through the time until his burial,” Arcus explained.
” Master, I don’t understand. Did you help the child pass? That oil, that chant, did you speed his death?”
” We are healers, not murderers. When you have treated as many fevers as I, you too will be able to gauge, within hours or even minutes, when a soul will exit the body which has become too ill to house it. The oil and the chant are a healer’s last resort. When a patient is past all herbal and magical help, it removes all pain from the body. We do not give this treatment for curable ailments, as it creates lasting damages, but this is a kindness we are both burdened and honored to provide for one already on its way. The chants and rituals you’ll learn very much later after all else is done.”
They walked back to Anna’s in silence. Aelfric knew his master could sense his unease. He couldn’t help feeling that they had failed the child and that a simple fever ought to be curable no matter how far along. It just didn’t seem right to him. Perhaps it was because it made them feel just as helpless as he had when his sister died. He thought about how he couldn’t help her then and how he still can’t help a child with a similar ailment now. The feeling very much dampened his spirits.
As they approached Anna’s door, Arcus placed his large hand on Aelfric’s shoulder. ” Tomorrow will not be so jarring,” he said with soft eyes and a hint of a smile. That small gesture seemed to calm Aelfric’s mind a little as they entered Anna’s once more.
“Oh, there you are! It’s nearly half six, and your bread is cold Arcus”. The master made a hand gesture as if to say, ” So be it.” Anna came up to Aelfric holding a dish covered in cloth. It was not cold, and the scent of the contents wafted up to his nostrils, making his stomach clench with hunger. He could smell the spicy exoticness of fresh herbs, meat, and the earthiness of root vegetables. Arcus was handed a loaf of bread and a small roughly woven basket of little bite-sized treats. ” Thank you again for the sugar Arcus, and it is so hard to come by these days.” Arcus waved a dismissive hand.
“Until tomorrow Anna, I’m afraid young Aelfric’s lessons for today are not yet over.” Anna glanced at Aelfric, who was exhausted.
“You mind this boy Arcus, I don’t want him showing up here starved and thirsty and unwashed!”
Aelfric felt suddenly self-conscious, wondering if he stunk and sensing that Anna could tell he hadn’t had anything for breakfast, the same way his mother knew when he’d skipped a meal or had somehow neglected himself. Arcus gave Anna an exciting look, a gentle roll of the eyes with the tiniest of nods. She seemed to understand his silent way of communicating very well. Anna smiled and shooed them out the door then, mumbling about setting dough to rise and preparing vegetables for the morning.