Book of Valors

2- Reo

Reo aimlessly wanders around Kiern staring at the multicolored buildings and vast ships docked at the harbor. The sheer number of people walking the streets makes him feel small and insignificant. He spots a grand clock tower in the center of town, the top seems to pierce the sky. After staring at it for a moment, he scowls and kicks at some rocks on the ground.

"These damn smugglers, always late." He mumbles under his breath. As if on cue, he gets stopped by two men completely covered in green cloaks with a mockingbird sigil at the clasp. Even though Reo is on the tall side, the two men tower over him. Reo looks them over, wondering if he could take them in a fight if he needs to.

"Reo Blazes?" One of the men asks, his voice bellows even though he's speaking barely at a whisper. Reo nods, slowly, anxiety clawing at him. The hooded men escort Reo through the city and into The Reach. The vibrant buildings, vast shipping yards, and loud voices cloud his senses. They cross Magnolia Square and that's when Reo sees a sight he's all too familiar with. A rod sticking out of the ground with a brown stain going down pooling on the ground. It's dried blood. A common execution tactic in the country of Sunarai, they behead people and stick their heads on pikes in the center of town. The men take him into a tavern that's beautifully decorated white with green accents with a mockingbird hanging over the door. Reo is immediately greeted by a young woman. She has dark copper colored skin, golden brown eyes, and long black hair braided over her shoulder. She smiles at Reo sweetly. Her eyes remind him of a snake; it makes his skin crawl.

"You're Mr. Blazes, yes?" She asks, her Suna accent like a lullaby. Reo nods. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Clementine Lands, the leader of Sola," she holds her hand out to him. Reo takes it reluctantly. "So let's get down to business, you're a doctor yes?" Reo nods again, his voice seeming to have escaped from his body. She smiles again, then abruptly goes up a flight of stairs, urging Reo to follow. Clementine brings him to a room where a young boy no older than four is lying in a small bed, sweating and pale. "Can you help him, please?" Clementine speaks in a hushed whisper, like she's afraid that being too loud will harm him. The boy begins to whimper. Reo kneels next to him and touches his forehead. He hums in response to Clementine's question.

"Shh...relax you will feel better soon," Reo says in a soft tone. He waves his hands over the boy's body until a blue light covers his hands. The boy seems to have an incurable illness. Reo visible deflates. He can't heal the boy but he can help numb the pain at least. He pulls a series of vials out of his bag and mixes them. The blue glow of his hands turns the clear elixir to a light shade of yellow. Reo puts the liquid in the boy's mouth and immediately color begins to return to his face and his breathing stabalizes. He leaves the boy to rest, meeting Clementine outside of the room.

"Will he be okay?" She asks.

"I can only do so much for the illness. I numbed the pain and held it off for a while." Clementine nods solemnly. She thanks him and hands Reo a satchel of coins. He feels weird taking them, as if they're tainted somehow. He's not even ten feet from the tavern doors when he's stopped by the same hooded men that brought him here.

"We appreciate your help, Mr. Blazes but you won't be leaving us just yet." Before he can react, someone hits him over the head, and his world goes black.