Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 35 (Patreon)

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 35

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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We were escorted out of the city’s walls and into a clearing filled with tents and half-built wooden structures. It had water towers being set up, ditches were being set outside, and there were pits being assembled just nearby. Towers were set up outside the perimeter of the ditches and wooden walls were being erected.

I recognized it quickly as a quarantine and observation camp.

I spoke to Lucien as we approached it.

“You’ll need strong warriors accompanying your physicians, if you wish to search the people coming into the city.” All the waste and refuse would go into the large pit, rather than risk spreading anything through contact. The towers were more to observe the camp and its inhabitants than offer protection. Though the wooden walls would provide some security, it was without a doubt that they were to impede people leaving more than keep everything else out. “They will need to be your knights, at the very least.”

“We have an order of knights ready and waiting to take control of this place once it is built. They themselves are experts in curses and all manner of magics pertaining to the disease.” Lucien shared from horseback. My mind stilled at those words, and my curious gaze drew the man’s attention. His calm features and bright blonde hair was hidden in a plain, visored helmet as he rode ahead of his knights while I followed on Cornelius with my companions on his back, too. “Ah, yes. Such magics would be unfamiliar to you of the Great Desert. Most of your people feast on the flesh of monsters and grow strong because of that. Most such spells only affect those who have little power, as they would have to overcome the strength of those they wish to inflict disease upon.”

I frowned at the news, even though it seemed good, I could not help but worry.

Outside of the Great Desert, it seemed that the practice of consuming monsters was frowned upon and discouraged. That would mean such spells would affect most people. To use disease as a weapon against whole populations made my stomach turn over. How could I stop such a thing?

No.

One challenge at a time.

We entered the large observation camp and Lucien dismounted and began to explain their plans.

“Refugees will enter through that gate and into the tents. There they will be stripped and their belongings searched and stored away. They will be provided new clothing, then they will be sent to stay in the wooden shelters for a period of three days.” Lucien looked at me and I nodded at the design. There could be jars of the parasite hidden amongst the infiltrators. No. The infiltrators need only injure themselves and offload spawn into blood or meat and create a small vat hidden away in the city to create more of their kin. “You shared your findings with us, so we will do the same: these creatures cannot survive on the same food as our people. They need to consume the flesh of monsters. If they eat what our people eat, then they will begin to starve.”

That was an observation that I had missed, but it was obvious in retrospect. These creatures would require more sustenance than the normal individual, thus making the quarantine all the more effective.

Or, rather, it would be if these creatures were not so intelligent.

“These creatures will find a way to circumvent this. They will hide and find other paths into the city.” I looked at the massive city. One of the first fortresses that protected that capital which surrounded the immense tree of light in the distance. “They may very well simply avoid this city and journey onward with as much supplies as they can carry and while navigating the spaces between.”

“And, that is where all the other orders of Knights and our military come into play. Already, the net is cast, and patrols are set. We have many mages, specialized in finding those with power, casting their gaze across our lands.” Lucien spoke, but this time his voice was more terse, as he looked upward towards the sky filled with flying ships. “I am aware that no net is perfect. That they can very well slip through that as well, but what else can we do?”

Djet’Is spoke up and answered.

“Attack. Destroy them at the source. Burn them and make it so they cannot waste their people on trying to attack in turn.” I had to nod at those words. These infiltrators and possible saboteurs were possible because the parasites had the initiative. They could spare their individuals with power and intellect to this task because they were not being hunted down and their homes destroyed. “Search for them, destroy them, and make it so that they can only defend, and not hunt or sow discord.”

It was a simple statement, an answer that a man such as Lucian should have arrived at, but instead he was relegated to doing this instead.

“There’s a reason why you can’t do that, isn’t there?”

“Aye. There is. If we go forth, then this city will be put to siege by those left behind, especially those villages that you have graced with your blessings, physicians.” Lucien stared at me and I felt Gale’s presence keenly at my side. For a moment, I wondered how they knew I emboldened the refugees so much, then I realized that the answer had already been provided. Their mages, the ones they intend to use to scan their borders, were used against us. “The villages you left behind are thriving. They are growing in strength. By last count, it was found more than a thousand people were there that could match a common knight, and they are only growing stronger.”

“They were left to fight or die. So, they fought and grew stronger. Such is the way of things.” Djet’Is spoke simply, while Gale glared at Lucian. I could tell that she construed his words as utterly evil. In a way, he implied that by not dying, her people became thorns in the side of his people. That they should’ve died, so that he could face this threat as he wished. “Your people were strong as well, and you forced them to such position. Can you truly blame them for their newfound strength, Knight of the Forest?”

Lucien’s brow furrowed at hose words, but soon enough he shook his head.

A dull chuckle left his lips, devoid of humor and filled with self-loathing.

“I suppose that I can’t. Still, physician, you know what I must ask of you. If those villages and warriors are a threat, then all I can do is hold fast and prepare my defenses to ensure that my people hold the advantage. I cannot go forth when there are hundreds of warriors trained by those in the Desert ready to attack my people.”

“For what they did to us.” Gale stated and glared at Lucien.

To the man’s credit, he nodded at her words.

“Because of what we did to them, we have every reason to believe that they would attack us with intent to kill, so we cannot move.” In the end, even with a devastating enemy on the brink of bringing ruination upon all, the actions of people against people have fractured any possibility of a united front. These parasites were the sort of disaster a nation was meant to counter, much like a devastating earthquake, immense storm, or other great tragedy. Yet, but betraying its people and leaving to die, they now find themselves cornered. “Already the northern line is under attack by those left behind. The people there are shepherding immense hordes of monsters into fortified villages and threatening the destruction of whole cities. The people that you have emboldened, physician, can do much worse.”

“They can, but they won’t. They are fed, they are growing strong, and they have made contact with the As’Kari. Though many wish to fight against you, many more wish to survive and thrive without your people interfering with their lives.” Gale grimaced at my words, but nodded. Lucien looked at Averi’s way. The knightess sent to those lands nodded. A semblance of relief seemed to come upon the armored frame of the city lord. An ambient tension seemed to disappear as those words spread to the rest of the guard. “They will not aid you. If you go to them, you will find only harsh words and anger. Those people will never kneel to you again, but they will not seek your destruction.”

Those should’ve been the end of the matter, but Gale spoke.

“Because they were saved, because they were aided as they should’ve been. All those left behind in my home were spared, unlike those attacking the northern territories. Over there, people can live, fight, and work for their families. The north is different.” Gale glared at Lucien’s way. The words were inflammatory, but they were true. “You owe the physician more than you can ever know.”

A low murmur erupted from the guards, but Lucien cut them off with a raised hand.

“In that case, physician, what do you wish for in exchange for this immense favor?”

“From your people? I only wish this disease destroyed before it can overtake the world.” I swallowed my own thoughts regarding his nation and kept them to myself. These people were cruel and selfish. They abandoned so many to die. No, they did far worse. They exploited them, took those who could fight and produce anything of worth, then left them to perish. In my eyes, this nation was nothing more than a brigand kingdom with immense power and might. Though I believed in sharing information and bettering the lives of many, I never considered sharing my knowledge with these people. I interacted with them solely because I wished to see this great and terrible plague destroyed. “Let us move onward from that matter. If necessary, I will go and return to Gale’s people and explain the matter to them. They will know what is at stake, and they will see reason.”

And, I will restrain them myself from making such a mistake, if I must.

Though, I hoped that I earned enough repute amongst them that I would need to do so.

…

After overseeing the quarantine zone and offering advice on how to make it better, talks turned toward the destruction of the parasite.

Lucien, surprisingly, shared information that surprised us all.

“A spell is being prepared that will target these creatures and your ‘biopsy’ will be of immense aid in the matter.” I had wondered why there were so few dangerous monsters in these lands. There were large numbers of lesser creatures, analogues to wolves and bats but empowered with the environment’s ambient power, but nothing like the monsters in the Great Desert. The answer was in the form of the magics of disease that the inhabitants employed. Those that remain have strong resistances to magic, needing strength of arms and Knights to dispatch, because those who did not were destroyed passively by diseases designed to kill only them. Much like how a fumigator would use poison to kill rats in a household, the mages of this land had numerous spells that create poisons lethal to monsters, but not to people. “With this knowledge, we can begin work on a spell that will target these remade cells of the parasite, which will not harm us in turn. Physician, do you have any samples of the creature on hand?”

“I do. Sealed in spheres of glass. It is dormant. If you add it to a mixture of monster blood and viscera, it will return to life.” I contained the glass in a box filled with wooden shavings, and the box itself was lined with metal within and had a wax seal. I took every precaution I could while transporting the parasite, even while it was dead. “These creatures, when without the food it requires, slows down and enters a state of hibernation… can your mages find them, if they are under such a state? What if they are transported in this dormant state to your cities?”

A grimace formed on Lucien’s face as I presented those questions.

“Can you present the sample?” He asked, and I procured it from the chest carried by Cornelius. Unlike all my other things, the box it travelled in was suspended within another box with springs and wires working together to make it so that the inner box was effectively always suspended within the larger one. Not only that, but if it was not opened correctly then a flint would strike tinder and the sap that lined its insides would come alight. The whole thing would burn within minutes if it fell off Cornelius and was jostled open. The larger container was robust and large enough that only the insides would burn, if it somehow caught alight while traveling. “I see. No. It should be fine. It still reeks of power. I did not notice it, because of your presence and that of the As’Kari’s heir, physician.”

Djet’Is crossed her arms at those words.

“Then, what if you face a foe that can hide it such as him or I? The lands we left had many strong Warriors from your lands who chose to fight rather than hide. Could one of them not transport these creatures into your cities?” Djet’Is questioned and even with his face covered with a helmet, I could tell that the city’s lord was frowning. Some would say this is all unnecessary paranoia, but the truth was that these parasites could be used as a weapon by the enemies of these people, too. “Will your poison magics be able to quell them, if they are contained as Will contained them? What if they are contained alive in the ichor that keeps them alive, forester?”

Lucien was silent for a long time, before answering.

“We will search for them, we will do our utmost to find them, and warn others of the possibility. That is all that we can do now. Perhaps, whatever magic the mages will concoct can be applied to cities permanently, too.” Lucien’s words sufficed, and we kept walking beside one another. Still, the guards that followed us became restless. There were no perfect answers. All we could do now was our best. We entered one of the structures and found a false floor that was guarded within. The tunnel was cool and damp… and I realized what was happening. “We have an infected individual stored here. One that has tried to speak to us and parley. Physician, I would like for you to be present and evaluate it.”

Parley?

That singular word echoed in my head.

Were these creatures driven by more than death and destruction and the stealing of bodies?

And, if they were, did that mean I was in the wrong for killing them for those acts?