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Alternative Healing Practice

"Tell me again what it is we're supposed to be doing. You know, just to clarify my position." Kaniku asked as he stoked the flame. It was morning, and the three adventurers had all awoken from a broken sleep to enjoy some breakfast before hiking the last leg to their destination. Kaniku, a kitsune sorcerer, was not happy with the plan set forth due to the danger involved and wanted his voice heard.

Xevren, a rather large taur cleric, took a big bite out of his egg and bacon sandwich before answering. "Our guild leader has sent the three of us on a mission to investigate and hopefully rescue four of the prior guild members who seem to have disappeared on a quest to liberate the Illorin Village. They, like us, were sent to investigate and never reported, so we're going to clean up their mess and hopefully figure out what happened to them."

"And you see the math involved there? Four of them went missing, three of us are sent to save them. Shouldn't we have at least, I dunno, five rescuers? I mean, whatever made Saethwr and the others do a disappearing act is almost certain to take us three down as well."

"You're not wrong, but you forget who we are. When they were sent, they likely didn't realize there was any danger involved so were careless. Plus, between them, they're tiny. Ithilwen is a rather small geomancer and ranger, Iraneth is an equally small shaman, and Syrus is a tiny kobold fighter. The only one who has any real defenses is Sir Saethwr the knight. One ambush, and they could all be captured or eaten or killed. With you, Hal and I can protect you." Xevren explained, pointing to the rather large and stout skunk warrior Hal.

Hal took a bite of his breakfast sandwich and nodded in solidarity, saying not a word.

Kaniku sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I'm just saying, greater numbers would have helped. I know you're huge, I know you are a great healer, and I know Hal's a battle-hardened warrior, but if an ambush happens, then I'm still exposed."

After finishing his sandwich, Xevren nodded and wiped his lips. "You're right. More would be better, and we are always prone to attack, but that's why we're being careful, scoping out the area, and keeping one eye open. I'm sure even you understand that, Kaniku. Have we not been adventuring together long enough for you to trust me?"

"Yes, of course Xevren. Accept my apologies. It just feels like we're walking into a trap, is all." His concerns were valid, and though he wasn't a coward, he was known to be overtly cautious since he was a sorcerer first and foremost, with the skills of a rogue as well; as such, he lacked any significant defenses and was constantly in need of healing from the team's cleric.

The situation was quite dire, too. Weeks prior, the guild had been hired by a wealthy noble to investigate Illorin, a village that had been under constant attack by bandits and monsters in the prior months. The intermittent siege of the village seemed to come out of nowhere, and the logical next step was to hire some adventurers to fend off the attacks and figure out where they were coming from. All was going well, until the last team suddenly ceased communication and failed to return.

Xevren and his companions were the only other team available at the time that it was decided to send another team to investigate, which meant they were the default option. This worked for them, as the pay was quite good, but that didn't stop Kaniku from being rightly worried about what awaited them at Illorin Village.

To make matters worse, they were to be given a bit of a taste of what was to come that morning.

After finishing up their sandwiches, Xevren and Hal started packing up the cooking equipment and dousing the fire pit as a snap could be heard in the forests around them.

"Did you hear that?" Kaniku asked. "I think we're about to be ambushed."

Xevren unsheathed his mace, nodding towards Hal to do the same thing. "It's possible, but it's more likely just some deer or something stepping on a twig. No reason to fear yet."

Kaniku's many tails flicked and twitched as he sniffed the air, paw pads glowing to prepare a spell. "Don't be so sure, it sounded like it was up in the trees, not on the ground." He glanced around, backing up to ensure he was between the cleric and warrior.

Then, as they were all staring up in the treetops, a rustling could be heard all around them, rattling the branches and leaves while stirring up the crows and ravens from their perches. Seconds later, dozens of tiny creatures - each about the size of a medium dog - burst out of the trees at them in a swarm. They had a body like a crocodile and eight spindly legs, covered by green orcish skin with massive fangs at the end of their mouths. As they leapt, they hissed like a snake with their maws open.

Hal turned to back-handed swing, cleaving one in half across the jaw, leaving it in a pile of green and blue slime at his feet while dozens of others all continued to swarm them, smothering both Xevren and Hal while leaving Kaniku alone, presumably due to his size and relative lack of threat.

Kaniku knew that he was the only one who possessed the ability to attack so many creatures at once, so he charged up his spell and let it loose, spraying the arachno-crocs with fire and physical magic all at once, blasting them back into the forest.

The few that remained on Xevren and Hal tried to bite, latching their massive fangs into their flesh but finding only the metal and leather of their armor. Xevren spun and grabbed each of the little critters one by one, tossing them to the ground before stomping or stabbing them while, Hal used his sword to carve each of them up one at a time, severing legs and impaling them like a kebab.

All three fighters lashed out and stood back to back in a triangle, turning around slowly so that Kaniku could spray his fire blast spell all over them one by one, blinding the arachno-crocs enough that either Hal or Xevren could end them. As it turned out, the fire - though good at scaring them - did little to harm them. They seemed almost immune.

"Such beasts stand not a chance against us!" Xevren boasted as he swung hard, killing one and cleaving four legs from another. He kept glancing back to Kaniku and Hal to see if they needed any help or healing, but they seemed to both be handling themselves quite well so he turned and focused his attention on the leaping monstrosities that were attacking him in waves.

They swung, they danced, they ignited the air before them, staving off the attacks and slowly cutting the beasts down one leg at a time. In time, Xevren and Hal both managed to reduce the number of monsters to only a few, which turned and fled. The battle lasted only a few minutes, but it took its toll on all three of the adventurers. Hal, especially, as he collapsed down to one knee with his sword on the ground next to him, chest heaving.

"Are you alright?" Asked Xevren, turning to focus on his fallen companion.

Hal shook his head, not speaking but peeling the collar of his armor to the side to reveal a bite mark on his neck oozing with green and blue liquid over the black and white of his fur. One of the arachno-cros had slipped in between his armor and helmet, their long fangs finding its mark.

Xevren knew what this meant, and while he had no idea how dangerous the venom was, he knew he had to quickly take action to ensure it didn't have any permanent, lasting effects. He also knew that simple healing techniques wouldn't work, as it was poison instead of a flesh wound, as such he understood that the only option was one of his less conventional healing methods. "Take off your armor and helm, Hal. I gotta deep cleanse the wound."

Hal did as he was told, peeling his helmet off and setting it to the side as he undid the clasps and leather straps on his armor, letting it fall off him. Once his neck and the fang wound was exposed, he leaned to the side, pulling the fur to the side to reveal the flesh.

"Alright, now don't move." Xevren said as he leaned down, pressing his lips to Hal's neck, tongue lapping up the bitter venom of the arachno-croc to swallow it before salivating all over the wound. His tongue caressed and massaged the puncture hole removing as much of the venom and blood as it could before slathering him with his saliva. "That should cure you up. Give it ten minutes or so, then we should head out to Illorin." As both Hal and Kaniku knew, Xevren's saliva had healing properties of its own, and was the only surefire way to heal a person from envenomation or infection.

As promised, Hal's wound quickly healed within minutes of applying the salivary salve.

Frustrated yet satisfied with their victory, the three adventurers packed up the last of their cooking and camping equipment to head into town. Now that they were better informed of what awaited them there and what was likely the cause of the last team's disappearance, they went forth with their head held high and their weapons drawn.

Hours passed as the three adventurers traveled their final leg to Illorin Village, eyes peeled and minds prepared for any horrors that may await them. As the reports had indicated, it was not only monsters, but also bandits that were attacking the village so they needed to keep their palms ready at their coin purses.

The actual leather that held coins, not their balls; even though Kaniku joked about it.

"Finally." Xevren marveled as he stood before the gates of Illorin. The entire village was protected by spike-top walls built of dozens of straight logs each about four meters high or so. Xevren was so tall he could almost see over them while at a standing positon, but respected the village's privacy too much to rear up on his hind legs to do that. He leaned in and knocked. "Hello? This is Xevren of the Guild alongside my allies Hal and Kaniku. We're here to aid you in your monster and bandit issues." He stepped back and awaited a response, unsure of when he would get one.

"You do know that the village has been under siege, right?" Kaniku pointed out. "What makes you think they'll openly invite us into their village when bandits have been robbing them blind in the wake of these monster attacks? You gotta give them more than that." He then stepped forward and hopped up onto Xevren's back to wave. "Hey! We have weapons and skill to use them! If you'd like, we can come and help protect you!" Still nothing.

In spite of there being no response, Hal stepped up and lightly pulled at the gate, stepping back as it creaked and swung open before them, revealing that there were no villagers, guardsmen, or any other sort of greeter awaiting them. Such an image did not conjure up thoughts of well-being.

"That's never good." Kaniku muttered as he charged up a spell. The others all prepared their weapons as well, expecting that there might not be anything left of the village given this omen.

They stepped through the gate with Xevren being forced to lower his head. Around them there was an open clearing with barracks and tents strewn about before the village homes. The entire length of wall was lined with platforms for soldiers to occupy yet remained unmanned, bows and arrows leaning against the wood of the wall for an assault. Beyond them, the white-wood village with not a single soul stirring or walking up and down the streets.

Kaniku hopped off Xevren's back to close the gate behind them, bracing it with a wooden beam before hopping forth to the front of the pack. As the smallest of the adventurers, he took point in exploring the empty city.

Their only option was to remain silent as they slowly explored the village, peeking into windows only to see curtains and drapes, or leaning next to the tents to see if they heard anything. They didn't split up, for fear that whatever had ambushed the city would attack them one by one again, and their strength was in numbers and solidarity, not in their solitude.

After effectively walking all the way through town and back to see that not a single station was manned and not a single home answered their knocking, they reconvened near the gate to decide what to do next, as looting and plundering was not in their modus operandi.

"What exactly does this mean?" Kaniku asked as they stood in the path between the tents and the gate. "Nobody's here, nobody's answering their door, I don't see any monsters, and I don't see anyone defending the village. Dozens of turrets around the village for archers, not a single one stationed. Something about this place creeps me out, and I kinda want to get out of here."

Xevren slammed his mace in the ground and leaned against it, ears twitching as he glanced around. "Honestly, I don't think we've investigated enough, we should actually see if anyone's inside the houses or the tents."

Kaniku growled a bit, ears flat to his skull. "That's not us, Xev. We don't invade homes, we don't steal, and we don't abuse our power. It wouldn't be right to break and enter a person's home."

"You're entirely correct, that's not us and I would feel terrible about it, but if there is anyone here worth saving or helping, it would be a worse crime to leave them without offering a paw. It is clear that something bad has happened here, potentially an arachno-croc attack, but we cannot be certain. Our job is to find our guildmates, figure out what happened, and complete the mission as was laid out in the summons." Xevren lowered his head, shaking it slowly. "And if that means finding and carrying corpses back home, then that's what we have to do."

Hal turned, face stony as he nodded. As he opened up his mouth to speak, he was interrupted.

A small ferret looking fighter bolted out of the nearest tent, hands up to beg. "Please, help us!" he said, voice bordering on squeaking. "The creatures, they have taken so much from us!"

Kaniku knelt down next to the ferret and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Tell us, what has happened here? Where is everyone? We want to help, we truly do, but we need to know what horrors have befallen upon you to know how to fight back the darkness."

The ferret leaned into Kaniku's touch as he composed himself. Xevren stared intently, checking to see if there were any wounds on him that he could heal. "They're relentless, the octocrocs. Waves of them, dozens at a time, maybe hundreds. Easily thousands over the past weeks. They come every day, swarming our village and attacking anyone they can get their fangs on. They're not particularly strong, but they do have that venom, and that's what has put everyone in their beds; that's why nobody is outside and nobody responds to you, those who are alive are all bedridden and their families are caring for them." He pointed back to the nearby tents, each one big enough to house dozens of people.

Xevren nodded, silently noting in his head. "And I imagine, based on how weak they are, your people are more or less safe in their homes?"

"Yes, yes. Ever since the last crew came through to try to put an end to the constant attacks, we've found that simply staying inside and not being exposed when they swarm, that we're fine. They don't attack if we're not exposed. Some might call that cowardly, but it's saved our lives on multiple occasions. However, you being here might attract them again and I don't think our people could survive another assault by the octocrocs."

"Do you know where they're coming from? Is anyone controlling them? When did this start?" Kaniku asked, probing as best he could. "The more information we know, the better. And furthermore, our old friends, where are they? Are they safe? If we can go see them, then we can join forces and we'll have a far better chance at successfully driving this scourge back."

The ferret gulped and nodded. "Yes, my friend, they are here, but they are not well. I don't know about your other questions, but I know that your adventuring friends took the brunt of a recent attack about a few weeks ago, and they're all incredibly sick due to the slow acting venom. The octocrocs got them good, and while they held up well for a week or so, they steadily weakened until they were unable to stand. Now, they're all bedded up at the infirmary, and I fear that they won't last another week."

Xevren stood tall, his instincts taking over. "Take me to them, if they are still alive I can heal them with my various curative skills and abilities. We mustn't waste a moment."

"Well, we have a few moments. Like I said, the venom is very slow-acting, and probably won't kill them as it's not strong enough, but it has incapacitated them for weeks now. I just-"

"Stop prattling on and tell him where they are, friend!" Kaniku demanded. "Words don't heal unless it's the incantation of an arcane spell!" He stopped himself, worried that he'd been too harsh with his own words, thus negating his intention to help. "Forgive me, but we were just attacked outside of town a few hours ago, and I fear that we may be in danger if the rest of the swarm followed us."

The ferret's ears stood on end. "Yes, yes, I apologize! Here, they're in this tent, all four of them!" He quickly sped his way over and tapped at the second largest tent of the group, the one big enough to hold at least eight people. "Our healers are working on them, slowing the venom, but unfortunately spells do not do much to halt its progress and they're getting worse."

Xevren nodded in acknowledgment and dove around to the opening of the tent flap, sticking his head and torso through the door without pushing any of the rest of him in, as he was too big to fit. "Ithilwen! Saethwr! Are you here?" He asked, eager to help. The nurses looked up, and lining the one side of the tent was all four of his companions, each lying in a bed of their own with glowing teal drips next to them.

Saethwr was closest, the red scaled biped dragon with the purple belly had his neck and shoulder bandaged, a bloody patch in the middle. Next was the iridescent reptilian known as Iraneth, laying on her side with a teal drip going to her as well. Third was Ithilwen, the blue and white canine; she was shivering in place, breathing heavily as she whimpered. Finally, Syrus the tiny kobold warrior was curled up in a ball on top of his bedding with a nurse standing over him, taking his pulse.

"Hey, if you could wheel those four out, I can heal their-" Xevren started, only to be cut off by the worried cry of the ferret bolting into the tent.

"They're here! HIDE!" He dove under the nearest bed and covered his head, shivering as Xevren pulled his upper torso out of the tent and grabbed his weapon.

He readied himself as he saw around them easily one hundred of the octocrocs - or arachno-crocs, as he liked to call them - all climbing daintily over the spike-topped walls with ease. Each of his companions had readied their weapons, with Hal holding his massive blade in both hands as Kaniku rubbed his paws together. Xevren looked down at his sorcerer companion, shield in one hand and mace in the other. "Ready an ice based spell, they appear to be both reptilian and arachnid, both are weak to ice and your fire did nothing last time."

"You've got it, boss. I started readying my blizzard spell the moment we got into town." Kaniku confirmed, grinning as he gently waved his hand from one side to the next, preparing himself for the octocrocs as they dove down onto the platforms and onto the ground around them. His only concern was that there were civilians in the tents around them, civilians and warriors. If his blizzard spell wasn't aimed properly, it would hurt those he intended to help.

While he focused as much of his concentration as he could, he danced with his hands and arms, creating a whirlwind of snowflakes and ice pellets in front of him, which he leaned into, pushing it away and spreading wide to hit every single octocroc along the wall that was attached to the door. Dozens of them froze solid immediately, falling off the platform and onto the ground, shattering in place while dozens more crawled over the corpses of their brethren to attack Kaniku, Hal, and Xevren.

"Good, good! Keep that up! We'll take the stragglers!" Xevren tapped Hal on the shoulder and nodded, which told them both to go on the wide ends of the blizzard spell, between the wave of the enemies and the tents they were tasked with protecting. Xevren used his sheild to bash them, slicing and turning to buck with both his hind legs, shattering those that had frozen to the ground and squishing others. As he got close to the triangular blizzard spell emanating from Kaniku, he felt a chill under his armor, so he sidestepped away and swept wide with his mace to cut down more of them.

Hal, on the other hand, was a thick-bodied skunk with well protective fur covering his body. He cared not for the cold and didn't worry about getting some frost on his arms. He dove headfirst into the crowd of the octocrocs, swinging wide to cleave and shatter all he could with every motion. Dozens went down before him, three or four at a time, until it became clear that the onslaught wasn't stopping.

All three of them were fending off hundreds of the beasts at the same time, keeping them from getting to the tents or the homes in the village as the bodies started to build up in piles at the wall. Curious, Xevren reared up to see how many more were coming, only to see that there had to be thousands filling up the pathway and the surrounding fields. However, it wasn't the number that shocked him most, but the seven figures that stood tall in the blanket of the octocroc bodies. Seven reptilian drakes each holding a staff with a glowing orb in the end.

As he fell back to all fours, still smashing and bashing with mace and shield, he glanced back to see Kaniku's stance weakening. He'd been keeping up the blizzard spell for many minutes, far longer than he should have, and he was losing his energy. The look in his eyes was asking Xevren how much longer he would have to keep up his spell.

In that brief moment, Xevren had a choice to make. Either die amidst a wave of these tenacious vermin, or attack the source of their control and perhaps save the lives of hundreds all hiding in their homes, caring for their sick and wounded. In that brief moment, he knew what he had to do. "Halt the spell, get Hal, and fall back!" He ordered, pointing at Kaniku.

The fox paused, giving one final burst of ice magic before nodding and diving over the tents to get to Hal and give the command. Kaniku, for all his brashness, knew when to listen to Xevren.

"Alright, let's do this!" Xevren growled to himself as he barreled over the heaping bodies of the dead octocrocs towards the main gate. Dozens more of the creatures attacked him, swarming over his body and sinking their fangs into him as he clumsily grabbed at the door's barricade and tossed it to the side. Behind him, the octocrocs were washing up against the first tents like a wave, tearing the fabric down as they gnashed and slashed with their legs and teeth.

The massive coon taur swung the door open and forced his way through the writhing mass of croc-armored bodies and thick skinned spider-like legs, crushing dozens of them as he forced his way down the path to the seven scaled figures. He had to make it to the ones in control, and he knew that he could weather the barrage of attacks that came. The closer he got, the more the octocrocs smothered him, so many of them hanging off his body and torso that he could barely see through them as he took his final steps, swinging his mace and slashing the nearest of the seven staffs in half.

A shockwave of energy burst from the shattered crystal and descended upon the thousands of octocrocs, which stopped in place and scattered to the forest, lost and uninterested in the light. As they scurried away, Xevren regained his vision while the dozens that had smothered him joined the rest of their brethren in the forest. He was going to attack the seven reptilians, but they had all darted off in all different directions, disappearing into the forest with their minions.

Xevren felt a weakness in his body as the many venomous bites took over him, allowing him only the barest strength to look up the path and through the gate to the walled off village to see Kaniku on Hal's shoulders, sword up as the last of the octocrocs scurried out of the clearing. Luckily for Xevren, he had a great immunity to venom, and the bites had little effect on him, especially when coupled with the weak strength of their jaws.

He forced himself up the pathway again to reemerge through the gate, only to see that the swarm had done its damage, having torn down almost all of the tents, further injuring more of those housed in the infirmaries while leaving their bodies broken and weak.

"What happened?" Kaniku asked, weakened by his vast expense of magical energy. "We win?"

Xevren slowly nodded. "We pushed them back, they're gone for now, but I get the feeling they will be back. There were drakes, tall-standing ones, with staves. They appeared to be controlling the swarm." He explained in between ragged breaths. Even as he himself struggled for energy and strength, he reached out and cast a spell to both Kaniku and Hal, healing them and restoring their vigor.

Kaniku gasped gentle, smiling as his energy was slowly restored. "And these drakes, how many of them were there? How did you stop the attack?"

After finishing his restoration spell, Xevren shook his hand a bit and sheathed his mace. "There were seven in total, each with a staff of their own, all a different color. I think. It was hard to see with all the monsters on me. I destroyed what I think was the main or prime staff, the one that was black and white. The other six all scattered." He recalled as much as he could, but lacked the certainty needed to say anything further or go on.

"I see, I see. So if my understanding of enchanted relics is correct, and it more than likely is, then this means that once they revive or replace that staff, they will once again have access to the control spell that was able to summon an army of monsters. Lovely!" Kaniku rolled his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "So that solves the mystery, can we go home now?" His face twisted a bit as he spoke as he did not actually wish to go home, but it was clear that the spell had drained him, and he felt that he wouldn't be prepared for such an attack if they were around for the followup.

"We did figure out what the cause of the attacks was, but we still don't know the reason. Besides that we also have a lot of people to heal up and a village to restore." Xevren looked around to the pile of dead octocroc bodies and the tents that had been torn asunder with dozens of half-lucid warriors moaning and grumbling in the wake of the attack. "I can't dare leave them like this. I have a better plan. How about we stick around, restore the warriors of this village, heal our guild companions, and prepare for a followup attack. With our powers combined, we can catch the seven drakes, destroy all of the staves, and find out why they have been attacking."

"So you're saying that we're gonna go to war for these people?" Kaniku asked, knowing the answer. "Sure, I guess that works for me. I don't want to presume, but I do hope that the reward is good enough for what we'll do for this place."

Xevren scoffed. "We don't do it for the reward, we do it for the greater good. We do what we do to make the world a better place. You know that."

"Yeah, I do, but there's no denying that a reward would be nice, since we always do more than what is asked of us." He leapt off Hal's back and cracked his neck and knuckles. "So I guess this is a grounds for war then, is it? Let's do this." He made a fist and but it up next to his head for Hal.

Hal extended a fist, lightly bumping at Kaniku's while he held his sword over his shoulder.

"So it's decided. You two will help the villagers rebuild while I focus on healing the weak and wounded, starting with Saethwr, Iraneth, Ithilwen, and Syrus. Once they're back with us, we'll have a team ready to counter the seven drakes." He rubbed his paws together, healing himself in the process. "Let's do our thing!"

The three of them bumped fists in the middle and all went out to do their duties.

Much of that afternoon was filled with dour yet dutiful work from not only Xevren, Hal, and Kaniku, but every other able-bodied person in the village. Tents had to be put back up, warriors needed to be taken to the remaining infirmary locations, and most importantly the heaping piles of dead octocrocs both frozen and not.

"The one good thing to come out of this is that at least the villagers are well fed." Joked Kaniku as he grabbed one of the monster legs and used a spell to scorch it. "This stuff actually tastes pretty good if you are smart enough to get to the meat. Similar to turtle or snake meat, but a bit sweeter due to the legs being so spindly. Want a bite?" He extended it to Hal, who gently shook his head.

Xevren couldn't help but smile at Kaniku, knowing that it was usually he who expressed the most optimism in the wake of battle. Perhaps that was just his humor that was coming through. Either way, the post-battle clean up was going well and there was a lot of progress being made, so that made Xevren very happy. It wasn't until he came to remember what he was up to before the battle that he truly moved to action.

He stepped over and around the bodies and the nurses that were strewn about the clearing, making his way to what he imagined was the main infirmary tent. There, a regal looking avian hybrid healer of gold and orange feathers was lined on all sides by potions and salves, bandages and splints. "Excuse me, sir? Miss? May I offer my services?"

The avian turned and bowed gently, smiling as their long tail swayed out behind them; it was quickly becoming clear that this healer was part dragon, part avian. "Of course, we can use all the help we can get here. Unfortunately, spells don't do much for venom so all you can really do is help them survive until their bodies recover; that could be days or weeks from now."

"Actually, I'm not so sure that's true. Right before the attack, I was consulting my old friends about using my healing techniques on them, which have actually been proven to work on all sorts of wounds, be they poison, venom, or superficial." Xevren countered, keeping his head low to hide his keen interest in offering this particular service.

"Really?" The avian smiled a bit, narrowing their eyes as their feathers flattened to the back of their head and neck. "And what exactly is this miracle cure of yours? Furthermore, can you market it and make a profit from it?" They said as they rubbed their hands together.

Xevren was slightly put off by this, but he didn't let it interfere with his duties as a healer. "Well, my saliva and many of my belly fluids act as a natural salve, and when rubbed into wounds can not only heal them but recover the target from poison and venom attacks. I could, in theory, lick them each one by one to heal them like a cat, but I have a more effective and more efficient way to do it if you'll hear me out." He was fumbling over his own hands, for his proposed healing methodology was one he quite enjoyed doing even though he was also getting the benefit of healing others.

"Go on, I'm listening."

"My bellies can hold up to sixteen of these warriors, these fighters, these mages. If I can swallow them up, hold them in me overnight, and let them out in the morning, then I can completely heal every one of them, and I can do the same thing tomorrow and every day past that until everyone in the village is restored. Once that happens, I can get my crew together with the first band of fighters that came before us, and we can seek out the drakes that are leading these attacks."

The avian's eyebrow raised as they scoffed. "Well, I'd love for that to actually work, and given the things I've seen in the past I believe it will, but good luck convincing more than a dozen wounded soldiers to willingly sacrifice themselves to a stranger in the hope that they might heal up faster. Takes a lot of faith to do something like that." They paused, rubbing their beak. "But if you can successfully encourage the civilians here to let you do that to them, then go ahead. I can't advise it, but if you're certain it works then I'm willing to let you have a go at it."

"Many thanks, my friend. May the skies shine bright upon you." Xevren bowed and slipped out of the tent to return to both of his buddies, pulling them into a private group chat.

Kaniku looked up at the other two, tails wagging and swaying. "What's on your mind, Xev? What happened in the infirmary tent?"

"I have a plan to heal these warriors so that this village can return to its former glory and properly defend itself, but I don't think many of them will accept my methods unless we can show that it's an effective way to recover from poison. Moreover, I'm worried they won't let me do it."

"You're going to eat them, aren't you?" Kaniku asked as he nodded his head in approval. "Yeah, that works, but you're right, they might not allow it. Somehow I knew you'd be eager to do that again."

Xevren gulped and tensed up, somewhat surprised that Kaniku knew. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm eager, I just really want to help others and I feel this is the best way to do so."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, buddy. I know you enjoy it, and there's no real reason to hide that fact. We know you find this to be the most exciting part of the job, don't we Hal?" Hal smiled and nodded, showing his teeth. "Yeah, we've been traveling with you long enough. Anyway, how do you suggest we convince people to essentially sacrifice themselves to you? To most people, such a healing technique is more akin to surrender than it is to defiant recovery."

"We need to get one of the other guild mates to wake up and submit themselves to me. If others see that they are willing to do this, then they will see the trust and honor and might follow suit." It was a solid plan and he knew it, yet his voice shuddered a bit as he was dealing with the minor insecurity that came with the fact that Kaniku and Hal had both seen right through him. His personal enjoyment in his healing endeavors - especially the ones that filled his belly - was something he preferred to keep to himself. If others were readily aware of his own pleasures, they might see his enthusiasm as creepy.

Kaniku glanced back over to the exposed tables and beds that were once covered by a tent, the farms of injured locals that were all in need of healing as well as the four guild members who had come before Xevren, Hal, and Kaniku. "I could just do it, you know. I mean, I know for a fact that your gulp method works, and I am not entirely sure any others will wake up, especially not after being bitten again. During the battle I saw each of them get tagged at least once, so I doubt they're going to wake."

Xevren huffed and shook his head. "But you're alert and able bodied, you'd be better off not in my belly, out here helping and applying salve to those I can't fit or won't allow me to swallow. I'd rather you not go that route, but if things get dire enough and I can't wake one of the others, then I guess we have no choice in the matter. Healing these people is the top priority."

"Yeah, but what if, even after being shown to be safe, they still don't want to risk it?" Kaniku countered. "What if they still refuse your aid?"

Hal huffed and slowly shook his head, lowering his gaze as he waved Kaniku off.

Xevren nodded, patting Hal on the shoulder. "He's right, we can't force ourselves on the others, the locals deserve their autonomy and if we take that freedom from them, we're no better than the beast masters who seek to...do whatever they do here. We're not monsters. That said, Saethwr, Ithilwen, Iraneth, and Syrus are all part of the guild. Even unconscious I can take them inside me, and I could even walk with them in my belly. If the locals refuse our help, then we operate on their rules, this is their land, but those four are our teammates."

"Sounds good. So, do you wanna make an announcement, or should I?" Kaniku offered, thumbing back to where most of the others were stationed. "Honestly, I think I better do it, since you're not the most charismatic." He turned to speak, only to be stopped by Hal, who slowly shook his head.

Xevren also shook his head. "Not yet, I'm gonna go and see if I can convince Ithilwen or one of the others before making any announcements. No need to draw attention to us until I'm sure it's needed. Plus, if nothing else I want to mentally and physically prepare so I'm not caught off guard."

"Yeah yeah, sure sure." Kaniku mused. "You do your thing, Hal and I will keep working until you give us the signal."

"What's the signal?"

Kaniku clapped twice, twisted both wrists, put one palm to his forehead while the other was on his chin, then slapped his maw shut before sticking his tongue out. "Do that, and I'll know you're-"

"I'm not doing that." Xevren laughed. "But good job."

"Fine, just wave me over, I'll keep an eye out if you need me." Kaniku bowed and left the circle, quickly heading over to one of the few tents that was still erected.

Xevren patted Hal on the shoulder. "I truly hope they don't resist on this one. Slurp therapy is a hard sell but you know first hand that it's the best option for healing this many people all at once."

Hal grinned, baring his teeth as he returned the shoulder pat, nodding gently before walking away to join Kaniku, giving one last thumbs up before grabbing a wheelbarrow full of octocroc corpses and pushing it down the path to beyond the gate. Apparently not all of them could be saved or eaten.

Finally on his own and prepared to go forward with his mass healing plan, Xevren trotted over to the felled infirmary tents, daintily stepping between the rows of exposed beds. Over at the other end of the clearing, some of the tents were being put back up with poles, with medical supplies being hurried into them. The tall coon-taur stepped up to the nearest nurse, signaling that he wished to speak.

"Yes dear? What can I do for you?" She asked as she peeled back one of the warrior's bandages to reveal a series of puncture wounds. The sleek lass didn't look up from her work while speaking.

Xevren fiddled with his thumbs a bit as he built up the courage for his proposal. "Well, I'd like to help, I think I have something that will really turn the tide of this-"

"We can always use help, can you grab me those bandages?" She said, still not looking up.

"Yeah, sure." He reached over her with his long arms to get a bandage roll for her. "But that's not what I meant. I am a cleric, a healer, so I know many spells to heal wounds and help with recov-"

She grabbed the bandages and wrapped them around the warrior's shoulder. "Yes, but this isn't a problem with wounds or fatigue, it's venom. It's poison. Which spells don't help; we don't need another mage healer or cleric or holy warrior, we need medicine, and we need people to help with supplies."

He could tell she was busy, but she wasn't letting him finish as she was too focused on work to realize that what he had to offer was different from any others. "M-miss, I'm really sorry to be rude, but bandaging up a bite like that won't help. I can help them, I myself am a sort of healing chamber for this sort of wound. I have nearly perfected a procedure in which I can take victims inside of me, and after a few hours I can have them mostly healed from virtually any wound, including venom and poison."

The nurse stopped to give him a sidelong look, one eyebrow raised. "Sure, whatever you say, champ. Can you stop being foolish and go to the head tent to ask for some serum? I think this one is about to fall into a coma."

"I'm not being foolish, miss." He insisted. "I can't force you to let me do what I need to do to help, but I can display it if I can wake one of my friends. They'll vouch for me, you'll see!" He leaned over to where Ithilwen was laying, waving a hand over her face only to have the nurse leap over and push him away.

"Would you cut it out? I have patients to care for, either help or-"

He growled at her, then immediately stopped himself as he came to realize that he'd almost let his emotions get the better of him. He was a healer, and didn't even care for being in combat that much, so he wasn't the most contentious type. Due to this, he felt bad and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to growl, but you're interfering with my work as well. I know you're doing what you can to help your patients, but I am also seeking to help them in a way that you cannot. If you allow me the time to wake one of my friends and discuss the matter with them, I assure you that they will collude my story and they will consent. I won't make any further moves without consent, is that fair?"

She pulled away, letting go of his wrist while slowly shaking her head. "I can sense that you are sincere, but I'm sure you realize how absurd your claims sound, right?"

"To an outsider, of course. It's not a widespread technique, which is why I didn't just come over here and swallow up one of your patients." It was that moment, as he looked in the nurse's eyes, that he realized the issue was not going to be convincing each and every one of the sick warriors in the rows of beds that his technique would work, but it would be a matter of convincing the attending healers. Their job and their onus was on the health of the wounded and sick, which included protecting them from threats like ravenous coon taurs. "Just watch, you'll see."

With her tentative approval, Xevren got down onto his belly next to Ithilwen, holding her hand while his own paw pads started to glow. His magic coursed through her body, converging at her heart before having her chest heave high, taking in a deep breath as her eyes shot open.

Ithilwen blinked a bit and meekly looked over at Xevren, smiling as she reached out to rub at his snout. "You came..." She wheezed. "But you're too late."

He shook his head at her, keeping her hand in his; had they let go, she'd have fallen back into slumber. "I'm not too late, I arrived just in time. I can heal you, but I have to-"

"Swallow me?" She interjected. "If that's what it takes, then please, do it. Don't hesitate."

Xevren swelled a bit with pride and confidence. "Just make sure you tell the nurse here that you are okay with this; she's not letting me do my work without consent or at least some proof that it works. Can you do that for me, just tell her what she needs to know?"

Ithilwen slowly nodded, grinning as she took in every laborious breath. "Yes. Xevren here is our guild healer, his methods are...." she paused in to take another breath before continuing. "They are unconventional, but they work. I trust him with my life, which I feel I may have to submit to him."

The nurse narrowed her eyes again, but then shrugged and shook her head as if giving in. "Alright, I suppose if you're absolutely certain that this will work, and your friends trust you, then go right ahead. Not gonna lie, that's one strange way to heal people, but in a land of spider-reptiles and explosive potions and magic gems, I suppose it's not that outlandish. Go ahead, but make it quick, I don't want you disrupting the other patients."

Xevren winced. "Actually, I was planning on gulping up every one of your patients. I could have every one of them completely healed by morning. Well, not every one of them, but about fourteen to eighteen, depending on size. I'm a pretty big guy, and my belly stretches to accommodate any and all that fit through my jaws."

"I can't just let you-" The nurse started, only to be cut off by a groggy yet lucid Ithilwen.

"Jarrie, dear, you can trust Xevren. I know it's weird, but if he says he can help, he can help, and with how dangerous those waves of attacks have been, we need all the help we can get." She collapsed back on the bed, sighing deeply as she squeezed at Xevren's hand. "Just, trust him. Trussssst himmm." With those final words of advice, she passed out again, hand slipping from Xevren's.

The coon taur looked over at the nurse - apparently named Jarrie - as leaned in, eyebrows up. "Well, is that proof enough? Can I do my work, then?"

After a few moments of tense silence, she conceded. "Sure, you do what you have to do. If Ithilwen trusts you, then so do I. These four here, the ones the guild sent, they got to know us quite well before they, too, succumbed to the venom. If they say you're worth trusting, then I'll trust you." She stepped back, arms crossed. "So how exactly do you do it, then? Is there some spell or incantation that you need to perform before or after?"

"Not at all." Xevren said as his eyes warmed and he smiled. "Just gotta deposit the recipients into my belly, and my inner fluids take care of the rest. You'll see." He peeled off the sheet from Ithilwen in its entirety, revealing her fully naked body. With a solemn bow and a pat to her chest, he cradled her body in his massive hands and lifted her up so that her feet were resting on his tongue.

As he gaped his maw wide, he let gravity take over, her lithe canine body sliding down into his gullet. He closed his maw around her midsection and gulped, teasing her toes with his throat flesh before extending his neck and enveloping her completely. With one final gulp, an Ithilwen-shaped bulge slid down his throat to disappear into his taur belly. "See?" He pointed out. "Nothing to it."

Jarrie the nurse looked concerned but said nothing; the expression on her face made it clear that she was arguing internally with herself about what was happening, at least until Xevren continued.

"Like I said, depending on size I can get about fourteen to eighteen in me; since some of these fighters are quite small I'll have no issues swallowing them down." He next reached for Iraneth by repeating the same action, starting by peeling the bed sheets off her and lifting her up high. Only this time, she woke up for just long enough to quickly show her shock and acceptance within a matter of seconds. She recognized Xevren, and knew what he was doing so she relaxed and allowed herself to gently slide down his gaping gullet until he closed his maw around her and swallowed her up.

"Alright, well I'm going to go somewhere else because, regardless of how fascinating this may be, I really don't want to watch." Jarrie confessed, throwing her hands up and walking in the other direction. "I guess it's break time for me. If any of the other nurses ask, I'm at my home."

Xevren smiled and twisted his neck a bit, using the pressure to help Iraneth slide down his gullet. "Will do!" He then looked out over the two rows of other warriors he needed to swallow, counting them and gauging their size to see how many he'd fit on his first run. Beyond the four guild mates that he had come to save, there was a series of four kobolds, three dragons, three felines, two canines, and three naga. A little bit beyond the numbers he was used to, but between the felines being rather small and the naga both being like scale noodles that could fit in the cracks, he'd be fine.

After readying himself for his upcoming task, he patted his belly and went to work, making his way down the line of nursing beds like a buffet. One at a time, he peeled back their sheets, stripped them naked, and daintily slipped them down his gullet. He started with the canines and felines, knowing that their fur would be the most restrictive to get down and soaked with his belly juices. Scales, on the other paw, would take to his hunger far better. As he gobbled them down one by one, his gut slowly expanded to its maximum capacity, abdominal wall pressing out against the straps of armor.

Upon finishing up his first batch of the furred ones, he paused to take a moment, shifting his gut around and patting the gradually expanding bulge in his torso. Xevren was a large taur, and he could fit a lot in his belly, but that didn't stop him from expanding like a balloon as the first batch filled his first stomach. He looked pregnant, with his abdominal wall pressing out against his armor and straps.

"Full?" Kaniku asked as he hopped over a bed to help out. "I guess you didn't need my help!"

Xevren slowly shook his head, his belly gurgling as it twitched and constricted around his meal. "I guess not! Well it works better this way, anyway. The patients are all unconscious and unresponsive, so they'll stay that way until I'm done with them. Tomorrow morning, they'll wake and won't even know what I've done here; it will be quite nice." He yawned to realign his jaw before heading down the other aisle of patients, this one starting with the biped dragons.

He peeled back the covers and scooped up the dragon in his hands, careful to fold up his snack's wings to his back to better ensure a simpler consumption. Once he'd rolled up the dragon like a wing burrito, he shoved him in his maw headfirst, gulping and gaping while extending his neck forward to better swallow him in one easy motion. As he did so, Kaniku flopped back onto his bed with his hands spread wide.

"I don't get it, Xev." He moaned, staring at the sky. "I don't get how you get all the fun. I don't suppose you could swallow me, too, could you?"

The coon taur gulped down the last of his dragon, relishing the sensation of leathery wings pressing out against his gullet. The instant he knew that the morsel was resting comfortably in his second belly, he turned to Kaniku. "What do you mean? Are you injured? I can help you if you are!"

Kaniku waved him off. "No, I'm fine. The octocrocs didn't get me during the last wave, I was just a little exhausted by using that much magical energy. No, I just never get in a position where I get to explore your body. It looks fun and I've been eager to try it for months since I saw you do it for the first time." He hopped off the bed and sauntered over, pressing his hand up against Xevren's distended belly, feeling the writhing mass of limbs and bodies pressing out against him. "Could be fun."

Xevren couldn't help but chuckle as he reached for the next dragon, a blue and purple scaled female. "Well, I'll keep that in mind. Right now I really have to worry about these fighters. If we can get them healed up right fast, we can have a whole garrison of warriors to fend off the next attack. Sorry Kaniku, but I don't have room for you this time." He said, as he grabbed the next dragon and forcefully shoved her down his throat headfirst. This left only kobolds, naga, and two of his companions left.

Given the pattern he'd established, Xevren felt it would make the most sense to go for Saethwr next, as he was a dragon and could be best consumed next to the other dragons. Plus, it made a whole lot more sense to ensure his friends were healed first, just in case. With that in mind he hobbled over and grabbed Saethwr out from under the covers, happily scarfing him down followed by a belch that urged him to cover his mouth in shame. "Whoops, didn't mean to do that." He apologized with a blush.

"You're eating more than a dozen people, you're going to belch." Kaniku pointed out. "Air will enter you, and it must escape somehow; I'd much rather it be out that end."

"Right, right. That makes sense, yeah." Xevren agreed as he yawned, realigning his jaws before preparing himself for the next course, the naga. He went for the one with the short, thick body first, slipping them in head first and slurping them down like a noodle as their scaled body passed through his gullet into his belly with ease, the last of the tail zipping beyond Xevren's lips like a flicking tongue.

The other two snakes went down just as easily, each being slurped up one at a time, filling and distending his second belly to give him the look of a land whale, so fat that his belly touched the ground and he could barely stand. He noticed this himself and laughed, jauntily rolling from side to side as he reached out to pluck Syrus from his bed. It was then, with kobold in hand, that Hal finally came over and casually sat at the end of the line of beds, resting his elbow on his knee as he watched.

"Oh, hey Hal." Kaniku said with a wave. "Good to see you can join us. Do you enjoy the view?" Of course, Hal only smiled and nodded, not saying a word. "Glad to hear it."

Xevren kept on his quest, belly gurgling and shifting with the addition of every new prey item. He knew that his stomachs had been well trained to shuffle and toss his food until it was best fitting and most comfortable, thus ensuring he could consume the best amount of prey since he knew that the more he could hold in him the more efficient this method would be. He held Syrus by the tail and dangled him into his gullet, closing his maw around the kobold while using his tongue to force him down his throat and into his belly next to the dragons and naga. Again, he offered but a light burp before reaching forward to grab the next one.

Problem was, the next one was just out of range and his belly had grown so big that he couldn't take the steps needed to get closer. Hal saw this and got to his feet, stepping over the farthest Kobold to pick them up, toss them over his shoulder, and carry them over to Xevren.

"Thanks, buddy." Xevren said as he took the kobold off Hal's shoulder. He took in a deep breath before putting that kobold in his maw, gulping it down headfirst only to find that he was having a bit of a hard time getting them all the way down into his belly. He was about at his limit, and he knew it, so he patted his belly and helped his gut to shift around the food items, making a bit more room for the remaining morsels to slip into him.

While he was focusing on his accommodations, Hal had grabbed the next two unconscious kobolds and tossed them each over his shoulders, bringing them to Xevren to eat one at a time. After leaving them on the closest bed, he went to get the last two, the final two fighters to be healed overnight.

"Bluh, this might be getting to be too much." Xevren groaned as he took one kobold in each hand and looked down at the last two that Hal was carrying over. "But I can do it, for the people of Illorin village!" He then put both kobolds in his maw one after another and gulped down as hard as he could, twisting his neck and bobbing his head to get the most out of his swallow. Both did disappear into his belly, bloating him just a bit more, but he was thinking that he wasn't going to fit the last two.

Kaniku could see the reservations on Xevren's face, so he got up and started doing a cheer dance in order to properly motivate him. "Come on Xevren, let's go! Whoot! Whoot!"

At the same time, Hal presented the last two on their own beds, each unconscious and exhausted from a week's worth of building up venom in them. He bowed with his hands out and backed up, leaving Xevren to his work as he returned to a sitting position, passively watching.

"Fine, I'll get these two as well. You know that's nineteen in me, right? Will be a new record if I can do it, previous record was eighteen." He picked each of the final two up, each in their own hand, before relaxing and widening his jaw, gaping his maw open to leave a clear and open path down his esophagus into his belly. He dropped the first in and swallowed, feeling him practically dive down his open gullet before dropping the second in after him, filling the maw and plugging his throat.

Like last time, he gulped and bobbed his head, twisting his neck while lightly massaging at his own throat and passage down into his gut. The process took a solid few minutes of repetitive swallow motions and self-caressing, but in time he did feel that familiar lurch as his belly took on the final kobold, making it nineteen total! He pumped his fists in the air and yawned, peeling at his cheeks to ensure both Hal and Kaniku saw that he was empty from maw to esophagus, with nothing sticking out. "I got it! Yes!" As he pumped his fist again, he noticed his whole body shifted as his gut clenched and massaged each of his morsels into place. "Now, I guess we just wait until they're healed!"

Hal nodded and chuckled a bit, rolling his eye as the head healer came over to them.

"You know, it's probably best to get these beds out of the way if you're the new healer. Also, if the octocrocs come back, then you'd better find a way to put yourself in a tent or something. We find that, as long as we're indoors, they don't usually attack us. Even tents work, so yeah, find a way to make that happen and I'm confident you'll be fine."

Kaniku agreed, so he and Hal both helped in grabbing each of the beds one by one, taking them into the actual building across the village meant to house medical supplies while Xevren remained in place surrounded by the wooden walls and the other tents.

For a brisk moment in the afternoon, Kaniku and a few of the other able-bodied fighters took a bit of a break, some of them relaxing at Xevren's side in the light sun. Then, finally, they did in fact erect a tent over top of Xevren's body, with the entrance being near his maw in case anyone woke up and wanted out.

As expected, that night went by without any issues. No attack, and both Hal and Kaniku stayed by Xevren's side the entire time aside from when they went away to eat real meals with the rest of the villagers. After a nice, relaxing sleep, Xevren woke to feel a shifting disturbance in his belly as the first of the patients started to wake.

Luckily for him, getting his patients back out of him was a whole lot easier than stuffing them in. After Hal reached down Xev's throat to grab at the tail of the last kobold and dislodge him from his belly's opening, the rest came pouring out, each covered in his restorative belly juices.

Four kobolds, three dragons, three felines, two canines, and three naga as well as four guild members in the form of Saethwr, Ithilwen, Iraneth, and Syrus, all came out in single file, forming a pile of twisted and interlocked limbs at the end of the tent. Xevren belched once as he had regained his normal size once more, then helped each of the rejuvenated patients go to have a shower and clean off.

Things had gone well, and it was time for Xevren to decide what was next, another round of meals that needed his help to be restored, or more adventuring with the revived guild members in order to uncover the source of those staves that the drakes possessed. He left it up to a vote between he, Kaniku, and Hal.

Kaniku felt like perhaps they should go after the drakes first, now that they had a full group of seven adventurers to counter the seven drakes. However, Hal had a slightly different view, believing that they should stay in town and help to revive everyone who had fallen victim to the venom before becoming a hero. When Xevren turned to him, he said only two words.

"Bon Apetit."