Sand & Stone

Chapter 5: Operation

"My intellect is frightening."

-Great Scholar Huggs moments before being mauled to death by his own creation.

"Can you feel that?"

Anna smiled at me like some common doctor as she sliced slowly into my thigh. My eyes went wide in pain.

The fuck you think?

Is what I tried to say, but all that came out were some grunts, I still couldn't move a single limb and it seemed if I lost focus I might lose the ability to breath. She nodded pleased and took a step back, leaving the scalpel embedded in my thigh.

"Good, that means we can begin the operation." she turned to rummage on a nearby table, filled with odd metallic bars and some god awful looking plants. I forced my eyes away from the tools that glinted ominously.

The mine's medical room didn't see much use, not because they weren't injured but because Reji refused to pay for a doctor or supplies. A dull, brown chamber illuminated by many lanterns and candles. The walls were lined with aged wooden shelves with thick coats of dust, each crammed full of new strange concoctions and elixirs Anna had brought in. I was in the center of the room, stripped naked atop a chunky oak table.

I wasn't a boy anymore, already past my thirtieth year, so I wasn't shy of my own manhood being out. It being out with a scalpel wielding mad woman around was a different story.

Anna's hands started to twitch as she paced nearby, muttering something inaudible to herself. I thought I caught the words experiment and first try but I tried very hard to ignore that. I started to reminisce about how I'd gotten myself into this situation. It seemed it all began when I accepted that first god damn contract to join up as a mercenary, from there on it was one cursed deal after another.

And here I was, on a table, naked with a woman but nothing fun going on.

I was too lost in my thoughts to notice Anna walking closer to me with a strange item in her hands. It looked like a thick metallic bar. Her eyes glowed with a glee and interest that made me shudder.

"You know Brutus, you truly are a one of a kind experiment. Did you know both your legs are broken, I bet not. Brute's Brew did its job in both drawing out your full potential and reducing the effects of pain." she said as she placed the short bar beside my thigh. "Do you know what this is?" she said holding it up to me.

A toy you use to replace the touch of a man? You are a sick woman after all I doubt you've gotten much love.

"I thought not." she said ignoring my silent insult.

"It's called a Structural Runic Rod, they are inscribed with various fortifying runes that make them able to support thousands of pounds without breaking or bending, in addition they have runes warding off erosion and degradation due to elements, often they are used in siege equipment. They will be the perfect replacement for your bones. And this..."

Anna turned to the table donning long thick leather gloves and grabbing a long purplish vine that had spikes all over, and the worse yet the thing squirmed in her hand.

"Will enhance your muscles and tendons. It's a rare plant from the swampy east Empire called Lurker Vine. It's a parasitic plant that burrows into frogs and snakes sapping nutrients, it causes the animals to go quite erratic and eat nearly anything they can. Animals with this vine show strength and endurance two to three times greater than their un-afflicted kind, the Academy suspected this was due to the plant injecting some kind of serum in the muscles but the line of research was banned."