Chapter 26: Jean, are you ok?

Mike POV:

When we were finally let out, we were welcomed by a strange sight. The entire Mirstone was green. Well, there were plants here and there before, but those were yellow, brittle, and honestly worthy of pity.

The trees were just like they once were, before the war and all of the curses which Arkano sent our way. Green, healthy, with blooms, which promised to be heavy fruits one day. The grass was vibrant and thick. The air...

I took in a deep breath. This smokey feeling which I got as I breathed was gone. Not only was it gone, but the smell of the air was so pure, that I could smell the salty notes which came from the sea.

"Is Jean ok?" Asked Lars, who was leaning on Nate, for he couldn't walk any other way.

"You mean the nature spirit?" Asked Basil, who was the most talkative of the strange duo.

"Yes, Jean, he... just how much mana did it take from him to do something like that? It is simply astonishing!" Lars bit his lower lip. A slight movement for just a couple of seconds. Then he nodded to himself. "He would need a warm meal, a warm bath, and then a warm bed. In that order."

And it must have been very important to him, for he spoke so, as if he would single-handedly give all those things to Jean. Well, we did need to find Jean first, but that wouldn't be too hard.

He was bound to be at the spot where the lay lines met. So, near the fountain of the pissing cat.

The closer we got to the fountain, the thicker the crowds became. Everyone seemed to be out and about today. It was simply fascinating to observe. Most people would not dare go out so soon after a rain. The rain, and the nature, for Arkano was still dead set on salting and burning Lergo, peace or no peace, were dangerous.

Yet here the people were. Baskets full of food, smiles on their faces. It was something that I never dared to hope for. 

Soon we found Jean. In the middle of the crowd. Rings under his eyes, a smile on his face. Honestly, he looked like he was ready to drop. The entire piazza was now a garden.

Oh, shit.

"Jean!" I called out, but the crowd was so loud, that he didn't hear me. Or he was simply so tired, that he didn't turn around. I didn't know for sure.

"Jean! Jean!" Nate and Lars soon joined me. The crowd was too thick, and we couldn't so much as be seen because of that. Not even I, with my two meters, could get Jean's attention. 

"Hey, nature spirit! Over here!" But Basil, on top of Rowan's shoulders, finally got a reaction. "Don't you know that what you are doing is destruction of public property?"

Which was a question I also wanted to ask. Still, I would have worded it differently. Like so:

Jean, we have to run! The guards will flog us, we will never be able to pay our debts! Let us go and live on a desolate island somewhere!

Which, would have made more sense than what Basil was sprouting with that lopsided smile of his.

"Eh?" No, of course Jean didn't know. Oh, we would never hear the end of it. Well... at least the cells were dry. For the most part. "But the mayor said it was ok!"

Huh? Jean actually asked for permission?

"What else did he say?" Asked Basil, his shoulders shaking. Oh, he was such an imp...

"That I have to work here every day when I am not doing quests. Public service or something like that," Jean swayed on his feet. My elbows were the right size to part the crowd. Before I could be stopped, I took him in my arms, and prepared to march out. Yet, before I could beat a hasty retreat, Jean pinched me on the arm.

"Put me down, Mike," he all but growled. 

"What? You look ready to drop. You can't be serious, Jean! For how long have you been using your mana?"

Jean just snorted and pinched me again. Maybe I should have paid him more attention, but as things stood, I just wanted to bring him to Lars' house and put him in a soft bed.

Lars had really soft beds, no one could argue with that. 

"Look around you," he waved his hand. I did as asked. The people were no longer jolly. No, they were looking at the ground. Those with baskets already full of produced started giving some to the others. I finally understood.

Jean wanted to feed the entire Mirstone. That was impossible, practically a suicide. Something had to be done, yes, but what Jean was doing currently was not the answer.

"Feed a man for a day, and he will end up hungry once more. Teach him how to fish, and he would never go hungry again," I heard myself say. Those were the words of my father, as he refused to give alms to the beggars. No, he found them a place in the shelter and a job instead. Paid so they could get a haircut, a bath, and food in their bellies.

But he never gave them money directly. Otherwise, he would have ended up in debtor's jail. I believed that Jean needed to hear these words, even if they sounded heartless.

"But the water around here stinks! What fish would the people find there?" Of course, he had to take it literary. I looked at Basil who was looking at his nails. 

If Basil's words were good enough to bring some sense to Nate's head, then he could most certainly knack the hard nut that was Jean's empathy.

"Basil?" I called, and he looked at me.

"Yes, Mike?" He looked about so interested in this drama as he sounded. Which, to be fair, was not very much. Then again, he didn't know us. Why should he care?

"Let me handle this," Rowan, on the other hand, was a saint. 

I didn't know it back then, but the two of them had unofficially adopted the four of us. You never know what you are missing, until someone gives it back to you. Still, I was pretty sure that if I ever called Rowan the mother of the party, he would most certainly smack me over the head.