Rubies and Rumors

Chapter Twelve

            The line-up at the student run clinic was even longer than Junseo expected. There was a disgruntled murmur when the eight junior healers in matching blue smocks and caps arrived with their packs of supplies. Their senior directed them to work in pairs to assign priority ratings to separate the urgent, chronic, and more minor matters in the line. At first there was some grumbling from the front of the line but it stopped when Junseo and his partner carried a small girl who had been badly mauled by a dog forward.

The girl's distraught mother could not provide much comfort to the child so Junseo asked an older couple near the front of the line for help. The woman took charge of the young mother and the man sang some nonsense songs to the girl while the healers went to work. Junseo longed to put some of his crystal energies into cleaning the young girl's wounds but knew such a treatment was considered out of scope for a junior student. It would also be dangerous tap into his crystals so early in his shift.

He and his partner did what they could to clean up the wounds before their senior took over with the more delicate process of trying to repair the girl's nose and lip. Junseo measured out some of the pain reducing balm he had given to the old man for his arthritic hands on a previous visit then asked if the couple had any other ailments or concerns. The man thanked Junseo for the balm and then quietly described his wife's foot sores before going back to distracting the little girl with silly tunes.

Junseo fetched a basin of water and some clean linens and went to work washing the older woman's feet. Once they were revealed, her ulcerated sores would have made her one of the more urgent cases so Junseo felt no qualms about taking time to treat her. His partner had backed away at the first whiff of rotting flesh and was obviously relieved to be sent to find more disinfectant. Their senior frowned at what had happened but did not say anything.

After Junseo finished, he asked the young mother if she would be capable of watching over her child and her new friends. She seemed to come to her senses as Junseo first gently moved the young girl to a mat in the back of the clinic then piggybacked her newly designated auntie to the next pallet over. The old man gave him a watery smile as he followed "his girls" to the recovery area. Junseo then returned to the task of sorting the patients left in the line-up. After the first pass was finished, he joined the group responding to the more minor complaints.

His senior called him over to help with a more serious case involving a neglected cut. The dark lines running up the man's arm were ominous. Junseo got permission to try his crystals but had to warn the patient if it did not work the best choice would be amputation. He asked a fellow junior to set out the jade pillars and do an anchoring mantra. The young man seemed ready to panic but Junseo explained this was no different than their usual meditations.

His senior helped raise the cleansing barrier and nudge their patient into a trance but let Junseo take the lead on trying to isolate the poisons. He managed to move the impurities nearer to their source and then nodded to his senior who quickly cut off the two infected fingers. They let the blood run for a minute and then cauterized the wound with their combined energy.

"Professor Yip didn't exaggerate. You are very good with your crystals. Our patient would have lost his whole hand without you." The senior healer smiled.

"I'm glad we could what we did but it still won't be an easy recovery. Do we know if he is with a guild or trade hall?" Junseo asked looking around for the fellow's companion.

"Nah. He's just a boatman. They usually don't have much when their contract is up and who will hire him now?"

"I would just as soon not have all our efforts go to waste so I trust you will help him find a place to recover." The man's doubtful face made Junseo stop talking. He took a deep breath then walked away before he said something regrettable.

The hardest thing about clinic duty was knowing a good portion of what they had to treat came from their patients not being able to afford proper care. As the students slowly made their way back to the academy to record their day's efforts Junseo kicked a stone down the road.

"It's like trying to bail out a leaky boat," he complained.

"A leaky boat, in high seas," his partner for the day added.

"Bailing a leaky boat, in high seas, and you have one hand tied behind your back." Junseo responded. Then each of the other students added something to the description. It was a small consolation to know he was not the only one feeling discouraged. Back at the academy the students handed in their log-books then went their separate ways. Having hours and procedures validated toward their training level seemed to cheer the others but Junseo still felt flat so he was glad to retreat back to the forge.

Manager Doak understood the problems Junseo was describing but asked him what the alternative might be, "Should the academy just stop offering the clinics?"

"You know that is not what I mean. It's just there should be more places for folks to get help. Something as simple as a warm place to stay until they can't be back on their feet. It shouldn't be so hard. Not when somebody worked their whole life."

"You are right. We tend to think it should all fall to their families. If everyone took care of the people they were related to, not just the immediate say first degree, but the second, and third."

Kim Hae-sung chimed in, "Wouldn't we all be cousins of one kind or another?"

"I think that is the point," In Song-hee added. "Most gangs started out as extended families just trying to take care of each other."

"Then they started to compete for recruits and resources," Park Chenhui muttered something else under his breath which made Song-hee flush with anger.

"Some of the older gangs still call themselves Benevolent Associations, the guilds have them too," Junseo added before the others could start arguing. He could feel the tension growing between the other boys but did not know what else to say.

Go San Jin sat down behind Junseo, reached around, and rested his chin on their young leader's shoulder. Junseo leaned into the hug and breathed out slowly. "Somebody didn't anchor the cleansing field very well," San Jin explained as the others stared at this oddly intimate behavior by their most senior member.

Junseo started to cough, jumped up and ran across the courtyard to the facilities. They could hear him retching.

"Gross" Bon Xuiyang said.

"Worse than that, I'd say plain dangerous," Manager Doak frowned.

Junseo's shaky return did not exactly reassure. "It was my fault. I keep forgetting the students at the academy aren't like you guys. If any of you were unsure about your anchor you would speak up." He sighed and looked around the group, "Not that San Jin would ever have to worry. I bet if you had been there, we could have pulled enough poison out to save the man his fingers."

"Or we could both be over there retching out the last dregs of poison and wishing we knew to respect our limits," San Jin handed over a cup of water. "Are you going to explain this to the Knight-Master, or am I?"

"Would you be willing to come talk with Professor Yip with me, instead?" Junseo looked from San Jin to Manager Doak.

"As well, not instead." San Jin replied hoping the encounter with the head of the medical academy might be hosted at his family's home. His mother's impeccable hospitality might help reduce the tensions between the men seeking to mold Junseo's future.