Raw Draft: Tunnel Rat 171 (Patreon)

Just got this down on paper, and still thinking about it, but here it is. Feedback or criticism is welcome.

There were things worse than death, Milo thought to himself. He looked back fondly on the Snake when it had squeezed him to death or bitten his head off. Afterward, he took a break in the real world, got jobs done, and woke up at his camp and started plotting revenge.

Being the test subject for experimental medicine was less fun. Despite telling her he wasn't worried about dying, Gendifur scoffed at the idea. "I don't care if you're a player, a lawyer, or a wizard and can scoff at death and walk out quickly, you don't get to die on me. That would mean I let you die, a mockery of my healer's oath. And it would be wasteful. I can heal more people by keeping you on the edge of death and drain more out of you every hour."

She said this as she jabbed him again with a needle. "Now eat that piece of cheddar, drink your berry juice, and try to relax. I need to give Bleusnout and Smiley another dose. They are responding well to the treatment and might even live until tomorrow."
Leaving Milo to experience more of the joy of hypovolemic shock, she walked off to try and keep her three worst-off patients alive.

Justin's wounds had been treated the same way as Larrys. The big guard was sleeping soundly now. Larry had walked over to where Justin lay on a cot, patted his head and then moved the cot close to Tallsqueak so he could sit next to both of them at once. Larry's recovery had been nothing less than miraculous. Cheese and Fiendish Regeneration had overtaken the venom in his system, aided by his high resistance to poisons, toxins, and venom that he was granted by his Fiendish Resistance. "Larry thinks Tallsqueak needs more cookies. Auntie Irma gave Larry a whole bag. We can share." Milo wasn't hungry at first, but under his friends urging managed to eat a few cookies and drink more of his fruit juice. He was also rapidly recovering, but somehow Gendifur always knew when he was able to donate more blood and came for him like some smiling vampire. The consolation was he saw how many people she was able to cure with each jar of his Elixir enhanced blood. The infirmary was almost empty now, only a half dozen of the worst patients were left, including Bleusnout, Smiley, and a badly injure Helen Brownfur.

This was the fourth time that Milo had donated blood. Gendifur had checked him constantly after the first time, and used a spell Milo had never heard of before to keep track of how much blood flowed through him. "These have been passed down through our clan for ages. Mistress Milzners Very Excellent Rune of Diagnostics, Bejack's Rune of Flowing Blood, Nessy's Restoration, And, of course, Count Echse's Ray of Fracture Finding. Not everything magic gets taught over in the Tower of Strife."

She had also brought over two of her student healers to help her with some testing. Milo was regretting being curious about his bone marrow. Gendifur produced a hand-cranked drill with a very narrow drill-bit of hardened bone. She strapped down his left arm, and made a small incision, then a deeper one until she was looking at the bare bone of his upper arm. "You weren't kidding about thick bones. Your humerous is  50% thicker than normal. Let's see how tough it is. This will hurt some."

Milo translated the last statement to: "This will hurt a lot!"

Gendifur tried several times to drill into the bone, then gave up. "This is ridiculous! What are your bones made of?"

"Old bone, reinforced with ancient runes and a lot of magic. But let me see what I can do." He'd never tried manipulating his own bones this way, but in theory, it should be the same. After a minute, he felt he'd made a small opening in his bone. "Try now."
The drill penetrated easily, and Gendifur retrieved a small sample of his marrow. "More magic in this than in your blood. Good to know. She extracted a little more, then used a spell to close the wound. "Larry, keep feeding him cheese and cookies. You should eat as much as Tallsqueak does, and if Justin wakes up, get some cheese into him." She walked away to care for Smiley and Bleusnout.

Gendifur was getting desperate. Justin was out of trouble, but there was something very wrong with Bleusnout and Smiley. Justin and Larry had taken many wounds but healing had been started within minutes of the fight ending. Whatever had been used to poison the two cheese makers had been given days to sicken them before they got any help. She knew for sure that each had been given large doses of Milbenkase, the spider cheese. There was also Black Mold in their lungs and their blood, and at least one other type of poison. Giving them each a large dose of Tallsqueak's blood had helped keep them alive.

She had examined his blood with her spells. As expected, his blood was rich in the little red food bringers, and he had a large amount of white protectors. What she hadn't expected were the glowing yellow sparkles that danced around the protectors. She suspected something had changed in the marrow of his suspiciously large and hard bones, but didn't have time to experiment.
As she had with Tallsqueak, she made an incision in Smiley to expose his bone, then drilled into it so she could extract a sample of his marrow.

It was bad, she could tell immediately. There was something attacking his bones. They were soft and his marrow wasn't producing new food bringers or protectors. What she did next was probably against the healer's oath. She injected the samples of marrow she'd taken from Tallsqueak into four of Smileys bones. Then she gave him an entire pint of Tallsqueaks blood. Sometimes as a healer you used a needle, and sometimes you needed a hammer. Gendifur needed a hammer right now or these two would be dead soon.

Bleusnout was worse! The sample she took from him actually showed Black Mold inside of his bones. She looked over to where Tallsqueak was talking with Larry. A strong soul could walk back from death, but she'd never seen it. Was he really that confident that he could return?

"Tallsqueak? Larry has questions about Blue Boxes. Does Tallsqueak know about Blue Boxes?"

Milo had been watching Gendifur, and what she was doing, and was surprised by Larry asking his questions. "The ones only you can see? Yes, I get those too. What do you need help with Larry?"

Larry was staring into space, trying to concentrate on something. "Larry's eyes have trouble reading, especially his big eye. And the boxes are confusing. Boxes are telling Larry he has to do stuff because Larry killed lots of spiders. And maybe something bad? It says I get a reward for cheating and breaking space time. Larry doesn't mean to break things!"

Milo reached over and took one of the chewey chunks of cave cheese and began gnawing on it. Tough on his teeth, but really tasty. "I think that's ok Larry. What did it give you?"

"Blue box gave Larry 20 points for cheating and 30 points for killing many spiders. But boxes are upset his isn't spending his points. They say Larry has to spend them."

Milo sat up and concentrated. "Tell me what they say Larry."

"Larry needs to spend 109 points. Then Larry has to pick a new Larry. Lots of yucky new Larrys like Rampaging Death Machine and Breaker of Reality. Larry doesn't think he'd like those."

Milo agreed. "I don't think those are good choices either. What are the good choices for new Larry?"

Larry spent a lot of time reading off three of the choices that weren't yucky:

Were-Fiend: You have learned to return to your pre-fiend state! Be normal most of the time! In times of great stress or danger you can let your old self out to play. Rend your enemies in a ferocious berzerk rage that you barely remember before changing back to your normal self.

Dancing Fiend: Continue your quest to teach mortals the dances of the Fae. Leap, caper, and confuse your foes as you fight with a combination of Fiendish Prowess and Fae Cunning. Gain grace and poise.

Hero of Flowertown: It's Hero Time! You know what needs to be done when someone is in trouble. It's up to you to save the day.

Milo didn't have a good answer. "What do you want to do Larry?"

"Larry wants to do all of them. Larry wants to be old Larry, from before sneakybadguy gave Larry cheese. Larry wants to dance! And Larry is a Hero!"

"Why don't we start with your points, Larry, that might help you decide. Find a blue box that lets you spend your points. I bet the boxes have been showing it to you. Then find the choice that lets you increase your intelligence and your wisdom. Take all the points you can."

A minute later, Larry's eyes got big, and he smiled. "Larry found them. Larry is smarter!"

"And now Larry knows what to do! Larry will be a Hero!"

You have chosen the path of the Hero.
Heros don't always have an easy life, but they make things better for everyone else!

Gain Heroic Title: Heroic Defender of the Hollow!
All of the Hollow knows what you did to help them. It will take time, but you have shown them what a Cheese-Fiend is truly capable of and gained their acceptance. You may spend points on Heroic Boons.

Gain Title: Hero of Flowertown
You will always be welcome in Flowertown, as will your friends from the Hollow. Brinka will be more than happy to make a Larry-sized door whenever you want to visit. You may spend points to gain favors granted by the grateful Fae.

Perk: Fiendish Regeneration becomes Perk: Heroic Regeneration
Perk: Fiendish Resistance becomes Perk: Heroic Resistance
Skill: Chase Prey is replaced by Skill: Catch the Bad Guys!

You have purchased the following:

Fae Trickery: You have gained +3 INT
Ancient Wisdom: You have gained +3 WIS
Finesse and Style: You have gained +3 DEX
Endless Grace: You have gained +3 AGI
See the Unseen: You have gained +3 PER
Perk: Heroic Regeneration is upgraded from Fiendish Regeneration
Perk: Heroic Resistance is upgraded from Fiendish Resistance
Gain Skill: Flower Arrangement (INT)
Gain Skill: Nature Appreciation (WIS)
Gain Skill: Proper Manners (CHR)
Gain Aspect: Magic of the Fae (CHR)
Gain Skill: Weasel Breeding (WIS)