Chapter 80: Goblin pox

Givontair: 

We near a small village, just as the sun sets. Yet, there is a gray flag on the gate. I groan. Just what happened this autumn, for almost every town and village to be suffering from something? As soon as the guards see us, they open the gates for us. I blink at that. Were we expected?

"Are you the healer, Givontair the White?" One of the guards asks. His face is full of pimples. Considering this is the grasslands, there could be only one suspect. Goblin pox. Yet, his skin hasn't turned green yet. 

"I am, just how many people suffer from the goblin pox?" He seems to be happy, that I managed to pinpoint the illness right off the bat. 

"The entire village. I just knew that you will be able to help. We are a poor village, but we can give you anything you wish for, as long as we have it," I hold up a hand. Never have I been in the habit of robbing people blind. 

"I just need some food and water, for my traveling companions. Also, news, if you have heard anything," I say. The guard shares a look with his fellow guard, and nods.

"That is easily done," he says. One thing I can't understand, though, is just how did these people get the goblin pox. 

"Have goblins been through this village recently?" I ask the two Uruk men. 

"Well, this all happened when Jared killed that one rat," the guard says. "It turned out to be a goblin shaman in disguise. The curse was laid after that."

"Just how close is the next goblin settlement?" Nathaniel asks, his hand going to his sword. 

"We are not going to attack them, if they are peaceful," I tell my soulmate. There are women and children in the settlement, to be sure. I don't want to have their lives hanging on Nate's mood swings. Goblin pox is not even deadly, unlike regular pox. 

"You are such a dreamer," Ajax says, as he snorts smoke. "If a shaman was in the village, then he was there as a scout." 

"You don't know that," I say, but he is already sniffling the air. "Father, please don't do this. Most people of the goblin tribes don't go against the law." 

Ajax huffs, but doesn't go in the direction of the goblin scent. The thing is, if the goblin shaman spread the goblin mana, then the tribe must also be sick. For a goblin, the sickness is deadly. I must go to the settlement, and see to them first. 

"Nate, come here," I say, and Nathaniel comes to me. I can see, from the look in his eyes, that he doesn't understand why I singled him out. I pull out a sheet of paper, from my medicine recipe book. 

"Calamine is easy enough to mix. Keep Erik with you. I have already given him instructions about how to handle someone with the pox. As he has already had the chicken pox variety, goblin pox won't latch on him," I give the sheet of paper, and then turn to Erik. "Are you ready to combat your first epidemic?" 

Erik looks uncertain, but Ajax places his hand on his shoulder, and gives the boy a reassuring pat. 

"You will see that goblin pox is not something that takes too much effort to combat. That is, when the patient is not a goblin," Ajax says. I smile gratefully at him, for his kind words towards my son. 

"I will do my best. Can Ajax come with me?" I don't know just how these two became as thick as thieves, but I am glad for the closeness. Ajax is a different person, around a child. A part of me is sure, that he would have never stopped so low, as to endanger Erik. 

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"He can help you, to be sure," I say, and Ajax nods. "Ok, we have our tasks. Nate, take Elias and Norrix with you, and help Ajax and Erik with the mixing of the calamine." 

"Ok, but will you be well, surrounded by goblins?" Nathaniel asks me. "And is Sorix coming with you?" 

I can hear the betrayal in his tone. It must have stung, when he wasn't the one, whom I called to save me from the Plague Lord. Yet, I think that he should get over it. He agreed to an open relationship, and so it will remain as such. 

"You can come next time. It is just that, goblins respect the Dread. A Dread Lord with me, will be more convincing of my intentions, than a dragon slayer," besides, I am certain that he wants to kill off the goblins. 

"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that," Nathaniel bows his head. 

Sorix moves closer to him, and lifts his chin with a finger. 

"I feel slightly peeved, that Giv doesn't trust me with the protection of Erik," Sorix says. I blink at that. Does he want to go and help Erik instead? "Just what makes you so special, that you are always given the most trust?" 

From the angle I can see, Nathaniel looks ready to argue. 

"You are the one whom he always calls for help," Nate says, and I feel my chest tighten. Does he think himself weak?

"You are the one whom he trusts with the things that matter," Sorix retorts. 

"Son, knock their heads together, and go safe the goblins already," Ajax's words prompts Nathaniel and Sorix to look at me. I shift in my spot. 

"We can talk, when people aren't dying," I try to suggest this compromise. Yet, both look unconvinced. 

"I can say I love you both equally, but I barely know you," I admit, the two narrow their eyes at me. "That is not to say, that I won't give this relationship the try it deserves."  

"When you come back, you better be ready to tell us you love us," Nathaniel says. Sorix nods. 

"Well, it will take effort from the both of you, won't it?" I ask them, my patience becoming strained. 

"I will lay the foundations, but you will have to tie the bow," Sorix tells Nathaniel, who nods. 

I look between them, as they finally separate. Just what sort of a conviction do these two men have, when it comes to me? Just who falls in love this fast?  

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