Scent Of The Forest

"So, who is it that you want me to heal?" the elf asked Kies.

"Two people. They got injured by wild animals."

"Hm... If it's not too bad, I can handle it. Just don't expect me to restore missing limbs and that kind of stuff."

"No, it's just some scratches and an arrow wound," Kies told her.

"That shouldn't be hard to deal with."

"So, where are they? Are you going to bring me to them or bring them to me?"

"Um..." Kies looked behind him at the door that the three were in. "They're in there," he told her.

"Really? How... Convenient." It took the elf a second to choose the right word.

"Yes..."

The elf walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. She then watched Kies as he knocked on the door opposite her room. The door opened up to reveal Sirks. "You're back-" he noticed the tall elf behind him. "Um... Who's this? Wait... Aren't you that elf from the colosseum?"

"Yes. I was the one in that fight."

"Ahh! What are you doing here!?" Sirks' loud voice attracted Iris' and Wompa's attentions and they both huddled around the doorway behind Sirks to see who it was that he was talking to.

"Oh, is it those two that you want me to heal?" the elf asked, spotting the bandages on the girls' shoulders and legs.

"Yes." It was indeed those two that Kies wanted her to heal.

"Heal? You're a healer?"

"Yes. He asked me to come over to treat some people."

"Really? Then please come in," Sirks quickly moved to the side to give way for the elf, bumping into Iris and Wompa, who he didn't were behind him the entire time. He waved for the two girls to get back into the room and they complied. The elf walked into the room followed by Kies. "Sorry for the mess," Sirks apologized when she entered. He moved around the place and tidied up some of the bags and other things so that the elf can walk into the room without tripping on anything.

"Thanks for the accommodation."

"No, we should be the ones thanking you for coming," Sirks pulled over a chair for the elf to sit in. "May I ask for your name?" he politely asked the elf. Kies found it rather weird to see Sirks acting this way, but it was pretty amusing in a way.

"My name? It's Nyana."

"Nyana? That's a nice name."

"Thank you."

"Now, please excuse me." The elf sat down in the chair which was seated next to a bed. "Who wants to be first?"

"Wompa," Sirks answered for the two girls. She had a more serious injury and it was best if she received treatment first. Wompa hopped over on one leg to the bed and sat down in front of the elf. She painfully raised her leg up for the elf to see. The elf carefully peeled away the bandages and took a look at the wound. It was red and black, and overall not something that anyone would want to see. But Kies has seen worse so he wasn't fazed by it. Neither was Sirks or the elf. The only person that was not comfortable seeing it was Iris and she turned her head away from Wompa while the elf treated her.

"This shouldn't take too long," the elf said. She put her hand over the wound and murmured some words in Elvish. A low green light emitted from out of her hand and the scent of the forest filled the room. In just a matter of seconds, the wound closed up and disappeared entirety, not even leaving a scar or any trace of it behind. Wompa moved her leg around to test it and when she saw that it was fine, she hopped off the bed and thanked the elf. Since she couldn't speak, she bowed her head several times.

"It's alright. You don't have to thank me 'that' much." The elf waved for Iris to sit down next and she did. Iris took her sister's spot and sat down on the bed. She took off the bandages on either side of her shoulders and arms by herself and showed them to the elf.

"Hm... What beast did you end up fighting?" the elf asked out of curiosity as she started to tend to Iris' injuries.

"A big cat." Iris didn't know the name of the animal so she just told her what it looked like. "It had black spots all over its body and yellow stripes on its legs."

"I see... I have never encountered one of those yet in my travel." The elf quickly finished healing Iris' left arm and moved on to her right. It didn't take long for her to heal that arm as well. After she was done, she got up from the chair. She loomed over all three of them. The only person that she wasn't taller than was Sirks.

"Thank you," Iris thanked the elf, getting down from the bed as well. She stretched her arms a bit and saw that they were back to normal. "Wow... Healing magic sure is useful."

"Is it, isn't it?" Nyana agreed with Iris. "Anyway, I'll head back now if there's nothing else you need.' The elf turned to leave the room but Sirks quickly stopped her.

"Wait!" he called out to her.

The elf stopped and turned around. "Is there something else that you need?"

"Um, just a quick question, but are you good with herbs?" Sirks embarrassingly scratched his head.

"I'm proficient with most," she answered.

"What about poisonous ones?"

"Poison? If you're going to ask me to make a cure with the herbs here for a poison that originates from the herbs here... I suggest that you look for someone else. I am not confident in my ability to conjure up something with the things in this desert," the elf told Sirks. It was as if she read his mind completely and knew exactly what it was that he wanted to ask of her.

"Is it possible for you to see it first?"

"I mean I can, but I hardly know any of the vegetation here. Everything here in the desert is so different than what I am used to in the forest. If you can give me a sample of the poison, I can try to come up with a cure. But let me remind you, it's best if you find someone who has expertise with plants in this desert."

"I see... In that case, we might have to trouble you again in the future."

"Oh. That should be fine. As long as you don't drag me into anything dangerous... I have no problems whatsoever."

"Yeah... We won't..." Sirks didn't sound too sure about it when he said that.

"Okay, good night then." The elf bowed her head and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her and a moment later, they heard the door on the other side of the hall open and close. The three didn't have any clue that the elf was staying right in the same inn as them and thought it was someone else. Only Kies knew the truth. He thought about telling them about it but decided to hold it off until they got their hands on the poison.

"Okay, when did you get to know the elf?" Sirks asked Kies immediately after the elf was gone.

"Just today," Kies told him honestly.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow... That's amazing. How did you manage to convince her to help us though?" It was even more impressive considering that they only just met today. Normally, one wouldn't ask for favors from a person that didn't know very well.

"We made a deal."

"A deal? What kind of a deal?"

"Not one that involves you guys."

"In other words, you're not going to tell us, are you?" Sirks interrupted what Kies meant when he said that.

"No, there is no point in telling you something that doesn't concern you."

"I knew it." Sirks shrugged his shoulders and didn't pursue the matter any further. "Though I have to say, I knew that elves were all lookers, but d*mn... She's a real beauty..." Sirks said out loud to seemingly no one but himself. The two girls looked at the middle-aged man in disgust and moved away from him like they didn't want to associate themselves with him anymore.

"Ahem," Sirks embarrassingly cleared his throat, realizing that he accidentally said that out loud. "It's nice to have an elf helping us. This will make matters a lot easier."

"Wait, does that mean that we don't have to fight in the tournament anymore?" Iris butted in, pointing out something really important. She sounded a little disappointed to hear that they may have to resign from it. She had already been disappointed before when she heard that she and Wompa might have to withdraw before of her injuries. But now, even with their injuries, healed, if they have someone who can find a cure for the poison, they have no need to go back to that cranky old lady.

Sirks scratched his head. "Well, that's only if the elf knows how to handle the poison. For now, it's best if we just stay in the tournament." Iris' eyes lit up when she heard that. It seemed that she really wanted to continuing fighting in the tournament for whatever reason. It could be for fun, or it could be something else. But knowing Iris, the reason was probably for fun.

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