Chp.27: Visiting the sick

While Rhaegal, Corgorin, Serengal and their friends returned underground, Haku acted as if nothing had happened. After all, it shouldn't have aroused the slightest suspicion, and consequently it was best not to appear worried or worried. Luckily one of the things he was good at was acting, and especially maintaining a stoic facade. However, his bad temper this time was more difficult to hide: last night's conversation had upset him. Even though everything had worked out for the best in the end, it saddened him that Rhaegal was still so afraid of his reaction that he kept certain things a secret from him. Perhaps the fact that Rhaegal had finally made up his own mind meant that they had taken a step forward…but still he was very annoyed by it. He wondered how long that cursed mistake he'd made nearly two years ago would continue to haunt him.

Those emotions were more evident than her usual ones, and in fact they didn't go unnoticed. Zamor noticed the dragon's distress, but clearly he couldn't imagine what had happened, so he assumed that Haku was angry that his family had been unfairly excluded from caring for the sick. Zamor didn't want to antagonize Haku, since he knew very well what he was capable of and in any case he didn't want to lose his help, so he tried to be sympathetic: "I know that what happened wasn't your fault and that both you and the your brothers and sisters have always just wanted to help us. I never wished it would end like this, even I was hoping people would be more open-minded after everything we've been through together. And in fact what Tzegorn saw were probably just isolated cases, useless hotheads who just wanted someone to blame… under normal circumstances I would have ignored their existence, but…"

Haku snorted. He wasn't in the mood to hear Zamor's pathetic apology, because he knew it was bogus. Just as he didn't care about the lizardman's feelings, Zamor didn't care about his feelings: he simply needed him and wanted him on his side, and that's why he acted nice. Just like Haku acted friendly when she wanted something between him. He and Zamor didn't have much in common, but they were both hypocrites equally. Not that it bothered Haku, since he didn't give a damn about honesty and indeed favored and respected people who relied on all their means to achieve their goal, including the gab. "It doesn't matter now. I know why you did it and I fully understand it. In the situation we are living in, even the smallest outbreak of discontent can spread until it becomes a fire, and therefore it is advisable to extinguish it immediately... even by cutting the trees around it". He groaned. "What had to happen is now happened. Let's stop thinking about the past and focus on the present"

Zamor smiled satisfied. He understood: Haku approved of his decision even though he didn't like it and there would be no repercussions for it. That was enough for him; nothing else mattered to him. "Okay, you're right. Now, let's think about today's program. I think it would be good to start with a visit to the sick camp. It's important that people understand that we are close to them. If that's all right with you..."

Haku snorted. From his point of view it was just a waste of time, since their presence would not magically heal the sick, but in fact he had noticed that newcomers tended to be more self-confident when people who were important to them were polite with them and encouraged them to continue. "It is fine for me"

"And for me too" Tzegorn said, who in turn was aware of Haku's bad mood. However, although this should normally have caused him euphoria, at that moment he couldn't be happy with the victory he had obtained over his enemy... because he knew that said enemy had already prepared a new move.

Tzegorn knew that Haku had figured out how to find a cure; he knew this thanks to his trusted spy, Atelas, who had repeatedly relayed useful information about dragons to him over the last few weeks thanks to his befriending the humans who accompanied dragons. Unfortunately that information wasn't very helpful, as even humans were ignorant of many things about dragons and during that time there had been some bad blood between them and dragons, but they were something none the less. And the day before Atelas had given him vital information: Rhaegal, under Haku's orders, had put the team back together to go find a cure. Tzegorn had thanked the gods that Rhaegal wasn't as paranoid as his brother: if he were, he certainly would never have agreed to reveal such things to a new member of their group.

Tzegorn now knew that there was a cure, and obviously the reasons given by Rhaegal to justify the secrecy of the operation (not wanting to create false hopes) didn't convince him: why not just talk about it with Zamor in private? He would have kept his mouth shut. For a moment he had feared that the dragons were aiming to find the cure and use it as a weapon to blackmail them, but that didn't make sense: what would stop the people of Iluvatan from rebelling once the disease was eradicated? Besides, they could have simply decided to continue using the remedy currently in use. Not to mention that Rhaegal had sworn to personally deliver the cure to Zamor in front of everyone. That last detail made him understand the truth: Haku aimed to use the discovery of the cure to create a feeling of gratitude and admiration towards the dragons. A simple and at the same time ingenious act that had an excellent chance of success. That dragon was really a master of mind control, not the magic one, but the common one. Tzegorn absolutely couldn't allow it.

The problem was that he couldn't do anything. He didn't even know when Rhaegal and his accomplices would return, so he couldn't ambush them; and even if he did, trying to rob dragons wasn't a good idea. And he couldn't even follow them since he didn't know any spells that allowed him to breathe underwater and at the moment he certainly couldn't ask Isaac or any other of the village mages. Had he had more forces under his control he could have tried to set up a roadblock around the lake to await them and take them by surprise, but sadly he didn't have enough men to surround the entire lake, and even if he had them victory would have been uncertain and very difficult to obtain.

He wasn't the only one who knew the truth: Leuce also had one of his spies among Rhaegal's friends. Tzegorn was sure that Dyana was also an informant and that she would tell the lionman everything she discovered. But he couldn't count on Leuce's help: lately he had gotten very close to Zamor and shared his ideals, so it was probable that he had already told him everything, and the fact that Zamor hadn't said anything to Haku showed that he wanted this it happened. Tzegorn could understand why: Zamor, like him, wanted the cure, but unlike him, he was fine with the dragons exploiting it to advertise themselves among the population. After all, Zamor shared Haku's idea of ​​creating a united society between dragons and newcomers; unfortunately the lizardman didn't realize what a danger the dragons represented. Either way, Tzegorn had no chance of derailing Haku's plan: he could only hope to find a way to ruin his position before he got the cure.

He had to invent something, but he certainly couldn't do it from scratch. He had to do as he always had: observe and exploit the situation, hoping that fate would give him the right opportunity.

While he was thinking this, the three had already arrived at the sick camp. That was the name people had given to a gated neighborhood on the outskirts of the village, where all the houses and buildings had been converted into places to contain infected people. All the access roads were barred with makeshift fences and heavily guarded by armed guards; all those who entered had to completely cover their skin, eyes, nose and mouth to avoid coming into contact with the body fluids of the sick in any way (it would have been enough to avoid getting too close, but there was always the possibility that someone would sneezed on him). When they arrived, Zamor and Tzegorn put on gloves and wrapped their faces with drapes, while Haku instead did nothing and waited since he couldn't contract the disease; after which they entered.

When they were inside Haku's nostrils tightened and the dragon let out an annoying snort; for his incredibly sensitive sense of smell, the smell was unbearable. A horrible stench of blood permeated the air: not sweet blood like the one Haku loved to drink from his victims, but dirty, diseased, almost rotten blood. Although the healers did their best to keep the place clean, since it was known that diseases thrived more easily in putrid and dirty places, they still couldn't remove every single drop of infected blood that sick people continually regurgitated. Even Zamor and Tzegorn were bothered by the smell, let alone Haku.

Inside the sick camp, the streets were mostly clear, but in front of some buildings (which were presumably where Isaac and his aides examined the infected) there were a few lines of people sneezing and coughing, as well as some healers that continually came out of the various houses bringing with them bandages, water, medicines and so on, in a desperate attempt to help everyone... but it was evident that it wasn't enough. "We still don't have enough personnel" Zamor commented seeing that scene.

"Yeah" Haku murmured with some disappointment. He had hoped that, after all the demand they had made, there would be more volunteers… but unfortunately people were too scared of the blood death to stay close to the sick. It was at that moment that he noticed a familiar figure among the healers. "You there!"

The called person jumped as soon as she heard the dragon's voice, but as soon as she noticed who had addressed her, she immediately calmed down. He rushed over to the trio and pulled the cloths off his face, revealing himself to be Misune. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? I should ask that! What are you doing here? You could get sick!" Haku answered her with a growl.

Tzegorn was surprised by that scene. It was the very first time that Haku seemed genuinely concerned about someone. "They know each other?" he whispered to Zamor.

The lizardman shrugged. "She was his slave when we were captives. I don't know how that's possible, but he took a liking to her. I think she's the only non-dragon being he really cares about"

Tzegorn looked at Misune in confusion. She was a normal elf… no, maybe half-elf? He couldn't see her ears well because of all the clothes she was wearing. He wondered what had generated Haku's interest in her. But soon after something surprised him even more: that girl in fact responded in kind to the dragon. "I'm here to help the sick. There's an epidemic going on and you said you needed all the help you could get. And as you can see, there's already a few of us. I'm no healer, but I can take care of these people and perform some basic tasks to make them feel good"

Tzegorn didn't imagine that anyone could exist capable of responding to Haku with that confident and arrogant tone; he doubted even Zamor would. Yet Misune showed no sign of fear, even when the ten-meter-long dragon that now towered over her like a mountain let out a snort so loud it ruffled her hair. "This isn't a game. You could get sick"

"I know. But everyone here could get sick. And I wouldn't be safe out there either. I might as well stay here. If I get sick, I'll get treatment like everyone else. If I don't get sick... that's all the better, and in the meantime I'll help them" Misune replied in a confident voice.

Haku was about to reply, but then he remembered what he and Misune had said a while ago. He wasn't her father or her brother: he couldn't keep arguing that she would put her safety before the lives of others. It was her choice after all… just as it had been Rhaegal's, Corgorin's, and Serengal's choice to leave using their real bodies. If he had respected their wishes, he could respect Misune's as well. So he just snorted and looked away indignantly.

But that was enough for Misune, who smiled as if she had just won the dragon's approval, and then she turned to Zamor: "What brings you here, lord Zamor?"

"I have to see the sick" the lizardman replied. "Can you lead the way?"

Misune nodded and pulled the cloths back over her face. "Of course. Follow me, please"