Eliona's War 3: Lethal Healer

Ch. 36

Maun slid into the seat across from Severance. He wore a pleasant smile. Before he could say anything, a shadow fell across the table. The air suddenly carried a chill, as if someone had opened the door on a blustery winter day.

A hand reached into Severance's field of view and placed a cup before him. It was filled to the brim with a dark red substance. Severance looked up to see Ozul beside the table. The man retracted his hand, his cold eyes finding Severance's.

"Drink it slowly."

With that bit of advice, Ozul turned and soundlessly strode back to the counter. He walked like Batin, Severance realized, with a very soft tread. You'd never hear him coming unless he wanted you to.

"Well, you heard him. Drink up, Sev." Maun leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable.

Severance eyed the cup. The liquid looked a lot like watered-down blood. He grimaced. "What is it?"

"Something very nice. I promise."

That didn't sound suspicious at all, especially since it came from Maun. Still, Severance had an idea of what it was for. He curled his hand around the cup. It felt cool to the touch. "Am I going to be able to run the dungeon after this?"

"Of course."

"All right." There wasn't much choice, anyway. They said they'd help, and while the Veiled's methods might be a bit questionable, they always did what they said. Severance lifted the cup and sniffed. There was no scent, which was slightly encouraging.

He took a sip. Fire rocketed up his nose and into his brain while scalding magma roared down his throat. He choked immediately, tears springing to his eyes. Severance barely set the cup down before he erupted into a coughing fit.

It reminded him of the time he unintentionally ate a huge glob of wasabi paste, except this was a hundred times worse.

When Severance managed to regain his breath, he leveled a glare at Maun. "You call that nice?" he hissed.

Quiet laughter came from the table by the wall.

"Just keep drinking." Maun made a 'go on' gesture.

Severance narrowed his eyes. Whatever this stuff was, it was incredibly potent. No wonder Ozul had it under lock and key. "You're trying to get me drunk, aren't you?"

Maun just smiled pleasantly in response. He didn't confirm it, but neither did he deny it.

Annoyed, Severance grabbed the cup and took another gulp. The stuff burned even worse on the way down. He imagined drinking rocket fuel that was already ignited would be far more nice.

Maun was an evil bastard.

Tears streaming down his face, Severance took a moment to remember how to breathe before going for a third taste. Perhaps taste wasn't the right word, because his tongue was so fried by the first two that there was no way he was going to taste anything for a month.

"Do I have to drink all of this?" He clutched the cup in both hands. He was worried he'd spill it all over the table when he violently coughed up his lungs and a kidney.

"Yes. Keep going, Sev. You're doing well."

That useless praise irritated Severance so much, he tossed back another gulp of the horrible red stuff. Doing well? Was that what this was? He was sure he was drowning on this stuff. Some of it even came out of his nose when he proceeded to choke on his second kidney.

He glowered at Maun and agreed very strongly with his former assessment: Maun definitely was an evil bastard.

Look, said evil bastard's smile was getting even wider now. Severance wanted to punch it. He wasn't a very good puncher, but practice makes perfect, they say. He wouldn't mind practicing a few times on Maun's stupid face.