A Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts: Chapter 12

A Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts: Chapter 12

…

Commissioned by Sivantic and Citino

Wordcount: 5000

…

The various ails and maladies that pervaded that the people of the refugee camp were things I thought lost to the new world I inhabited.

The As’kari’s prosperity had deluded me.

They were the largest, strongest tribe of the Great Desert, a people who could only be matched by all the other tribes rallying against them. Their hunting parties were as large as the warbands of other tribes. For every craftsman another tribe had, they had a doze, and thrice the number of warriors and mounts as any other.

That was born from herds of carefully-cultivated, monstrous insects and ownership of several oases within the Great Desert.

Though they used everything they had, never allowing for excess and sharing it all equally, the truth was that As’kari’s prosperity was born from the other tribes finding their own situation lacking in comparison. Though the other tribes of the Great Desert were just as capable of surviving and thriving in their harsh environment, as they followed the same creeds and traditions… they couldn’t hope to reach the same heights as the As’kari did due to simple shortage of resources.

The poor and depraved in the Great Desert were not fewer in number, not weak and lacking in food, but that was itself a form of poverty.

A form of poverty that I had not considered as such, until I looked upon the familiar face of an old tragedy from my previous world.

The refugee camp reminded me of the slums of my previous world.

The paths between shelters were filled with trash and refuse. The houses nothing more than wagons and what could be made from scrap and forest. There was no form of order within the camp, no sign of latrines, or permanent fixtures such as cooking areas. Everything was everywhere and, in the chaos, everything was dirtied and made lesser.

The moment I looked upon the camp, I knew that my knowledge of medicine and surgery would not suffice.

The circumstances of the camp itself needed to be addressed.

I considered awaiting the aid of those who brought me here.

The knight who went ahead with the former slaves to gain help from the nearby stronghold.

A stronghold with high walls, with smoking chimneys, and large soldiers in polished armor atop its walls… who all looked with disdain upon the refugee camp that filled the cleared spaces between their walls and the forest.

I saw the apathy in their eyes and decided to act.

I knew that they will not save them.

So, I would.

…

The As’kari had many laborers tending to the camp’s waste. Though the average individual tended to their own, making use of the surrounding sand and a bucket, the massive insects cared for the by the tribe tended to excrete as much as their bodies suggested they would. Specialized beetles were ridden by many laborers who collected dung into large spheres and rolled them about. If the As’kari were near an oasis an attempt would be made to make use of the waste as fertilizer, or a means to expanding the oasis, if no risk was brought to the fresh water.

The same could not be said for the refugee camp and it was clearly causing issues.

After speaking briefly with the various individuals who came for treatment, I deduced that cases of cholera were slowly rising. Many were becoming very feverish, experiencing intense bouts of diarrhea, and were wasting away despite being fed and provided water. The hardier constitutions of the humans in this world gave them greater resistances, and an increased chance of survival, but the disease was so strong that it merely extended their suffering until they perished as little more than husks.

Therefore, after addressing the most pressing of injuries, I called upon the able-bodied of the camp for the creation of a latrine.

Many of the able-bodied were tough men and women who lived in the outskirts of society. Their lives were spent in towns plagued by monsters. It was through their strength and cunning that the refugee camp persisted to this day. They were used to living in the wilderness, assisted in helping their fellows survive, and were the primary fighters and hunters of the camp.

They came when I called to refuse me.

I soundly beat in each of their heads that they needed to listen to me and heed my orders.

A few were beaten with words.

Most were beaten by force.

Now they all lumbered and grumbled after their chosen leader, as I looked upon the refugee’s source of freshwater.

I asked the grizzled, gray-haired man questions and he replied, to the best of his ability.

“What are the rules for using the river.”

“Shit further downstream or get twenty lashes.”

“Are there any signs that say such a thing? Guards that monitor the river?”

“… Nah.”

“Set up a shift for it. Increase the lashes to thirty. Immediately.”

“Aye.”

Corporal punishment was something I did not support, but it was the established punishment within the confines of the refugee camp. According to my patients and my new staff, before its implementation the refugee camp had issues with many crimes. After the first public lashing, with the individual’s crimes called out with each lashing, a harsh, savage form of law and order was instilled upon the refugee camp.

It could be made better, but there were more pertinent matters to attend to.

I crouched and looked upon the flowing river with a critical eye.

It is a rule that water must be made potable through the boiling before being imbibed. It was a practice that the refugee camp was already practicing. For their drinking water, and the cleaning of their bandages and belongings, they expended the energy to gather wood and boil water. That duty was left to the weaker denizens of the camp, who couldn’t hunt, and it already took their entire day to do so.

However, they did not boil their water before they bathed.

In the depths of the desert, where the wind was harsh, the air dry, and heat was harsh, it was difficult for infection to take hold upon the body through scratches and the like. The hides of the As’kari people are typically tough and almost leathery. Those who have power and wealth painstakingly using what excess funds they could the beautify themselves, if they could not achieve the same realm of unnatural power as Kan’Is and his daughter.

The As’Kari did not have to fret about the infection of scratches and the like, only those from moderate and severe wounds where many illnesses could fester at once, would threaten the constitution of an individual. Poultices, bindings, and stitches were a fine answer to those sorts of wounds… but the same could not be said for those bathing in fouled waters.

The signs were already there for most of my patients, and even the hunters.

Reddish welts, boils, and irregular scars covered their bodies.

Irritation born from malignant organisms infected scratches in their wounds.

The forest was warm, had middling humidity, and the soft shine of the Tree of Light could be looked upon with ease by a child. Finally, there were the facts that the river’s flow was gentle, there were no guards keeping watch for any who defecated upstream, and the refugee’s habit of bathing in groups.

The refugees, in essence, were cleansing themselves in their own filth.

Only the first group of bathers was cleansing themselves by any noticeable mount, whilst those who followed waded into the gunk of the others.

That needed to change.

“We’re creating a pond which will be used to bathe, which will use the river’s flow to clean itself.” Many of my gathered associates looked upon me with confusion, until I met their gaze with a glare. They flinched and bowed their heads. If they did not understand, then they can simply follow the orders that I prescribed. “All of you dig a waist-deep ten men across and five men wide. I will attend to the rest.”

They grumbled, but set to work, while I turned my gaze away from them and towards the trees.

I found a few of good quality and approached them.

Fresh wood would rot, if used in my intended purpose of creating channels, sluices, and gates, but the As’kari had many tricks to call upon when it came to collecting water.

One of which was extracted from plants and beasts, which I found worked quite well upon recently chopped trees.

Any excess will be for improving their shelter and defenses against the continuous onslaught of monsters.

Though, according to the refugees, the monsters have started to abate since my appearance.

Though whether that was due my presence, or some malicious plan on part of the beasts, was unknown.

…

Food was another issue within the camp.

The people beyond the desert were unused to consuming monstrous creatures, unlike the As’kari, and though I had no problem consuming most of the beasts… various symptoms arose within the camp.

After noticing this, I began examining the issue that was severely limiting the food supply, while searching for the differences between the As’kari and the people I now served.

The difference between complexion was obvious. These people were fair-skinned, whereas most of the As’kari sported darker skin tones. However, amongst the refugees there were individuals who had darker complexions who had the same symptoms as the rest of their fellows, and the fair-skinned Knight who guided me had no issue consuming monsters herself.

Thus, with that possibility debunked, I paid closer attention to the populations within the camp that were suffering issues, as well as the severity of their ailments.

The ailments ranged from a light fever and indigestion to crippling body pain, blooding from the orifices, and a severe fever that could lead to death. All those who had milder symptoms were close to the Hunters and followed their rules regarding the consumption of the flesh of the monsters. Small pieces, very well cooked, and in tandem with other foods. Those who consumed it and suffered moderate, or severe, symptoms tried to have their fill off the meat.

The refugees themselves verified my findings, before moving on with their daily chores.

I investigated the matter further, while comparing the diets of the refugees with the As’kari’s own.

Before night fell upon the world, most of the refugees lived in outlying towns and tended to small farms. Their main source of food was grain, typically milled and turned into bread, which was then supplemented by cattle and other, normal fauna. They considered the consumption of monsters a necessity in lean times, and otherwise chose to not consume it, because of the severe effects it had when not properly consumed.

It was a stark contrast to the people of the As’kari who had everyone on the tribe eating their fill every day with common monsters. Kan’Is regularly feasted upon the stronger monsters, and he loudly proclaimed that he drew his strength after having his fill of particularly strong ones. His daughter agreed with him from time to time, though only amongst close confidants, as she didn’t desire to share the knowledge with others.

Though the evidence was decidedly lacking, I decided that it was necessary to act, as the supply of normal for age and fauna near the refugee camp was dwindling.

Both the monsters and the refugees were making quick work of the fauna and flora in the land.

My path was simple.

I would mix the traditions of the As’kari and the hunters together to create a foodstuff that was safe and buy me time for further research.

As monumental a conclusive answer would’ve been, a stop-gap solution in the interim was essential.

Enlisting the aid of the hunters of the refugees, I took in all their knowledge and their hunts, and set about making the meal made for children in the tribe.

It was thick gruel composed of beasts, and most of the wheat and grains my people traded for every year. Cooked in large tubs, strips of beasts would be boiled for hours and hours with a mash, until an easily-reduced slurry remained just shy of burnt. The dough would then have its water extracted and be ground up into a powder for the creation of crackers reminiscent of hardtack that could easily be stored for long journeys.

Children ate the squares every day for most of their childhood, celebrating the day they ate the normal foods of the tribe, and those foods had no ill effect upon them whatsoever.

So, I worked with that knowledge in mind and soon enough the refugees were complaining about the taste of the meals, but were complaining with full stomachs.

However, any further investigation, I wished to conduct on the matter had to wait until later, as after a week of waiting fate played its hand.

…

A horn resounded from the periphery of the refugee camp and I looked up from my perch on Cornelius, where I had been carefully writing my discoveries.

Those working to better their station with the cured wood I provided turned the noises way, while a runner rounded the corner and headed straight for me.

It was the child of one of the hunters.

A young woman fourteen years old, yet with the same height as a few of the mature men within the camp.

“Chosen, we need your help!” Her name was Nicale and her father’s name was Kunst. Neither referred to me by my own name. They always called by “Chosen” and looked at me with the same gaze as the Knight. I did my utmost to convince to call me by my name, or perhaps “physician,” but they refused adamantly. “My father and the others found something!”

Cornelius turned her way, but jittered in a way that shook the reins wrapped around his saddle.

He got along well with the tall, young woman, but he bid me to order her instead of simply following without question.

I pulled the reins her way and Cornelius’s many legs began to go her way, as I made my inquiry.

“What did your father find?” I took note of the surrounding shelters. Many men were going inside and fetching what weapons they could. Even the lightly wounded. A troubling sensation formed in my gut as I realized that I already knew the answer, before Nicale spoke.

“Monsters! In one of the largest herds we’ve ever seen! They’re coming from the west!”

The words sent a mild panic through the refugee camp.

As, I'd feared, this was yet another difference between these people and the As'kari.

Here the monsters banded together for reprisal attacks, whereas in the desert they fled before the warriors and the might of the tribes. The people here were weaker and less capable of fighting, because they had no need for such things.

Thankfully, the beasts that they faced were of far lesser quality than those of the Great Desert.

“Gather those capable of fighting and butchering monsters. I will tend to them.” I turned my gaze to the immense walls in the distance, beyond a moat, and with a raised drawbridge and gate. Anger arose within me as soldiers clad in armor stirred atop the fortifications. They were nothing compared to the men I had cared for in my previous life. Those who laid down their lives for their nations en masse, who braved artillery, machine guns, and disease for mere meters of ground would be ashamed of them. “Go now, girl, search for them.”

The girl seemed ready to say something to me, perhaps out of concern for me, but she shook her head once before running further into the camp as others milled about in fear.

Her courage and decisiveness was appreciable, but I had no time to waste.

I turned Cornelius towards the west of the camp.

It was time to get more sustenance for the people of this camp.

…

Upon Cornelius’s back, I sat while the hunter and armed men of the camp watched my work.

They stood behind hastily built palisades armed with bows, spears, and axes, the spears were mostly sharpened pitchforks, while the axes made for cutting down wood rather than battle. Those with bows used short ones with curved horns, insufficient for hurting armored soldiers but fine for smaller game. They were truly peasantry who had no true weapons to their name.

Many of them would’ve perished against the horde of monsters that came forth.

The monsters were large wolves with black manes and scarlet hides. Their claws were large and resembled daggers more than anything that could be composed by nature alone, while their maws were filled with such sharp fangs, they nearly looked fanged. Though vaguely reminiscent of natural canids, they were truly monstrous creatures with greater strength, ability, and bloodthirst than their normal, natural kin.

Humanity would have never befriended these creatures and turned them into loyal allies. These were alpha predators that were best avoided or hunted down to the last. The pack-mentality which helped the wolves link themselves to humanity was present amongst the black-and-scarlet wolves, but their loyalties lay only to themselves.

Knowing that, I destroyed all that came forth from the shadows of the forest.

My threads encircled necks, limbs, and torsos before squeezing tight though an exercise of my will. Every thread was a snare and a noose. I brought their legs together to ensure that they couldn’t move, before sending another to their necks. They were unlike the beasts of the Great Desert, who had ferocious bodies and protective chitin the hide their weaknesses. These creatures were little threat to me and were more a source of sustenance for those under my care.

As I tended to the onslaught of creatures, taking note of how many were more hesitant and ready to disengage, I addressed the leader of the men present.

“Kunst, tell the men begin to gather the dead and begin processing them for food and hides.” He was the young woman’s father. Nicale shared with him her brown hair, but his features were rugged and gray streaked his hair. He was startled by the sound of my voice, as was many of those watching my work. “But bring one to me. I wish to study it and dissect it.”

The older hunter gave orders and soon men were walking past the barricades warily. Their fear bolstered some of the more cautious monsters, but their sudden charges only found them snared by my threads once again. They were strong creatures, but the threads at my disposal were composed of the same silk used by As’Kari to fashion protect those who hunt monsters and gather the materials for the finest armors. Their exact strength was unknown to me, but if they were capable of binding the beasts the Great Desert, they would suffice for the creatures that I faced now.

“Dissect?” My thoughts were interrupted by Kunst’s query. It took me a moment to realize that I used a world that they did not know. The As’Kari had adopted the use of the word after I explained it, but these people spoke a different language from my own and it was likely that the word did not exist in theirs. “What is “dissect,” Chosen?”

“I will take one and examine its body, take it apart, and find its weaknesses.” I left behind many of my scrolls to the As’Kari, so my journal sufficed as an explanation. During my travels from the Great Desert, I compounded knowledge from all the beasts that I encountered and transcribed their anatomy into a book with a piece of charcoal. I handed the leather journal to the curious hunter. “I do the same for all the beasts that I encounter. The knowledge to fight them will reach all in the future.”

Or, so I hoped.

The As’Kari kept written records and taught their young as they knew the worth of knowledge in the harshness of the Great Desert. Capable, talented individuals needed to be found and raised properly in roles of leadership for the sake of the entire tribe. That way, even if a great calamity fell upon the leadership of the tribe, there were capable replacements for them and they would be able to live on. Thus, much emphasis was made on creating records, in cultivating a means to do so, and thus paper and scrolls were easily acquired within the Tribe.

It wasn’t the same here, as I had suspected knowledge was kept out of the reach of the common people.

“Ah, I cannot read, Chosen. My apologies.” Kunst bowed his head in shame after I offered him my journal. He looked at the pages bound in leather with awe. It was possible that the people of this land, despite having fearsome knights and the ability to fight against an eternal knight, did not produce books for its people to use. The thought rankled me. These people did not even know what was being taken from them. “But you can offer such things to the nobility. They can read and they will see worth in what you are doing.”

I said nothing as I brought my hand back, but my emotions were made clear as monster or two came apart due to my strength instead of being simply chocked. Several of those who went forth stepped back at the sight, until they noticed that the rest of the pack started to retreat. My intentions had been to invite as many of the creatures forward for their meat and hide, but my anger had caused the last portion to flee.

My studies were not for the sake of those who sat behind walls, soldiers, and left others to starve. They were for the betterment of all those who sought out knowledge. Whether they sought out knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself, or wished to better their odds in this this strange, different world… I cared not if my knowledge spread freely to them. The thought of my knowledge being paid for by the nobility and housed in their libraries solely for their own benefit… filled with wrath that forced me to act without thought.

I let loose a sigh and turned my attention back to the ongoing operation.

The hunters and butchers were hard at work. They took to the bodies and used their own ropes to hang them up. They placed buckets and pails beneath the creatures before slitting their throats. Gravity carried the blood out onto the awaiting, cleaned vessels, which were carried back to camp the moment they were filled to be included in the new diets of the refugees. The blood of monsters, especially lesser ones such as this, was only marginally different from that of animals. Its taste would be gamy, but the nutrition it would provide will be immense, especially as it slowly eased more of the refugee camp towards being capable of consuming the flesh of magical beasts.

Nothing of the creatures was going to go to waste. Their organs were to be processed into stews after being thoroughly cleaned and boiled. Their flesh dried or served flesh. The bones and hide will make for fine materials for armored clothes. While the refugee camp lacked in many things, many who lived within them had professions pertinent to survival. Though the tanners and craftsmen found it difficult to work in their current conditions, many carried their livelihoods with them, and were capable of working.

This bountiful harvest of monsters was going to sustain the refugees for a long time.

Perhaps until aid from those who lived behind the massive walls of the fortress decided to help them.

As unlikely as that was.

…

The camp gathered around for a small feast to celebrate the outcome of the assault. Tensions had risen immensely at the news from the moment the horn resounded over the camp, but now all gathered around the center of the camp to eat and be merry. Their meals contained only a small amount of the meat and boiled offal gathered earlier in the day, but most were eating the stew thickened with the blood of monsters and made with a broth of their bones. Some struggled with the taste, but hunger bested them, and they consumed the meal after overcoming its strange flavor.

I had my fill of the food, but declined the invitation to join in the camaraderie of the small gathering.

There was still work to do in the camp.

I’d attended to most of the wounds I found since I’d arrived. Cuts, infections, and other minor maladies were easily handled. However, there were individuals in the refugee camp that needed my continued attention.

Primarily those “touched by the darkness.”

I’d initially believed it to be superstition, but the refugees led me to them and told me of their tale.

When the eternal knight settled upon the world, as monsters came forth in strength, a strange illness befell certain individuals in many villages. Refugees from various towns and outskirts described the malady as a sickness that began with black markings upon the skin, which sapped at the body and mind of those who had them. Some managed to overcome it somehow, the markings fading away after a few nights of terrible fever, but many succumbed to it, becoming worse as they bled from every orifice, and became mad with pain until they did everything to end their own suffering.

They stated that if the strange markings covered half the body, it was too late for them, and that a merciful death was the best and only option. Of course, I objected to that assertion, the mad claim that we should leave the illness to chance and simply watch. Thus, they deferred the matter to me, allowing me to care for those who had the black markings with the camp.

A dozen of the “Marked” were given unto me, six survived after I provided them with increased care and nutrition through their fever, while five perished as they “failed” and “lost” to the illness as it overtook their body. The refugees thanked me for my efforts, telling them that I miraculously saved six men and women they thought lost to them, but I focused and the five that I failed and the last one who remained.

A girl who survived the death of her entire village, who survived the harshness of the world alone until she found this camp, and who helped the hunters of the refugee camp fight against the beasts. The refugees had cared for her when the markings appeared on her skin, with a few of the camp’s mothers taking shifts to try and nurse her to health, and they lamented when she fell into a deep coma because of her fever… but still did their utmost to feed her honeyed water even in their crisis.

She had introduced herself as Gale to the camp, whilst dressed as a boy, but the women tending to her shared with me her secret before I began my efforts. They even stayed and checked upon me as I cared for her, despite my youth, in order to protect her. Their actions alone told me about how much they cared for the girl… and how much harm it would bring to the refugees if I failed in saving her.

Thankfully, I learned from my errors with the five I lost and improved upon my technique from those whom I had saved.

I began the proper treatment the moment I entered the tent through a cord of my threads linking her with me.

The illness was magical in nature and its effects were the same. It leached and consumed power from those it infected through some unknown means of transmission. The black markings covered the body, sapping more and more power from the individual who had it, and the effect was the body wasting away. The individual had to contend with illnesses that they would normally ignore while their strength was sapped away, and when the marks covered their bodies, they began to break down from within in without. My autopsies of those who perished from the disease showed that their bones were as brittle as glass, their organs came apart at a touch, and their muscles were frayed.

The exact opposite of what came from strengthening oneself through the power within and the consumption of powerful beasts.

So, I healed the girl through the bridge of thread I made with us, and lifted her head to feed her. Not with honeyed water, but with a broth made of the blood and bones of the monsters we hunted. The first session had improved the girl’s condition immensely, and the second and third beat back the markings on her body, even though it began to cover more than half of her. The fourth and fifth led to her fever fading away… and this sixth treatment was sure to see further results.

The moment that thought crossed my mind… the girl’s breathing changed and I brought away the bowl from her lips… only to find her hands seizing it from me as she sat straight up and supped from it incessantly.

I watched the girl have her fill of the concoction that many men in the camp struggled to consume… and sharp gaze at me with the bowl outstretched.

“More.” The first words from the girl’s mouth after a month in a coma was a demand. Steely eyes, beneath a curtain of ragged, wild black hair took in my strange features but dismissed them after a moment. “I need more. Please.”

Thankfully, I had intended to force the girl to eat the entire pot I’d brought along whether she wanted to eat or not, after her awakening, so I had no issue with nodding, dismissing the thought of asking her questions, and simply feeding her.

After all the complications of the day, having a patient eager to get well again was refreshing.