Chapter Twenty #8
The cleric’s feeble smile vanished. “We would if we could, but with the herb prices rising so drastically, it is sadly impossible.”
Idsilla pressed her lips together. The shelter was already struggling just to feed its supplicants. With prices soaring several times over, the clerics had already used up most of their donations.
A young noblewoman who had been keeping silent glanced around at the others. “Why don’t we send messages to our relatives asking for donations?” she cautiously suggested.
Idsilla snorted. “Do you think the other territories would be better off when the capital is in such dire straits? Have you forgotten that the king has already levied exorbitant taxes to fund the coalition army? They would all be pressed for money.”
“Then what are we to do? Even the monastery would not be spared if a plague breaks out,” Alyssa said, her eyes welling with tears.
In an apparent attempt to reassure her, the cleric said gingerly, “If we keep the refugees isolated from the rest of the city before an outbreak occurs, we would be able to prevent a scourge from besetting the capital, so—”
“I-I noticed copious amounts of l-lizard grass on our way here….” Maxi interjected. She had been deep in thought until then. “Could we not u-use that?”
Everyone’s gazes flew to her.
“Lizard grass?” the cleric echoed. “I’m afraid I have never heard of such an herb….”
“Lizard grass is quite e-effective against stomach pains,” Maxi said.
“Giving it to people…w-with indigestion…is said to quickly alleviate the s-symptoms….” Her knowledge of lizard grass was purely based on what she had read in Ruth’s illustrated book on herbs.
Even she knew that her voice lacked conviction.
The cleric regarded her skeptically. “May I ask how you know about this herb?”
Maxi swallowed hard, trying to appear confident. “I-I am…a healer. I also studied herbs…while I studied the art of healing.”
Idsilla’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know you had such talents, Lady Calypse.”
Maxi pursed her lips. “I-I am afraid my skills are not good enough t-to be mentioned. Monster attacks…a-are rather common in Anatol…s-so I began studying last year.”
“What does the herb look like?” the cleric asked.
Sorting through her memory, Maxi tried to describe the herb as precisely as possible. “I-It is a grass with diamond-shaped leaves…that have black spots on them. It grows in the shade…and emits a t-tangy scent when you snap the stems.”
The cleric rubbed his chin. “I see that you are referring to the weed that grows in the yard. I was not aware it could be used as an herb.”
Maxi gave the cleric a cryptic look. Considering that most of the books Ruth had recommended to her were from the south, it was not surprising that the cleric was unaware.
In general, books were a luxury only the rich could afford, and scholarly books from the south were especially valuable. They could practically be traded for their weight in gold. It was therefore inevitable that the knowledge they contained circulated at an ant’s pace.
There were things she had not fully explained, and Maxi rushed to tell the full story. “Lizard grass is p-poisonous, so eating it raw…might worsen the stomach ailment. It is usually b-boiled…to remove the harmful properties…before being used as a treatment.”
“Would you mind checking the weed in the back to make sure it is lizard grass?” the cleric requested.
Maxi nodded, and they immediately made their way to the yard. There they found an abundance of lizard grass growing in the plot of land overrun with shrubs and weeds.
Although Maxi had practically memorized the contents of the book on herbs, it was only knowledge in her head. Her personal experience with herbs was limited to roughly twenty types of plants.
Concerned that her memory might be wrong, Maxi only spoke after she had meticulously studied the plant. “Lizard grass leaves…as thick and dark as this a-are highly poisonous and cannot be used as herbs. You must o-only collect and brew…those with thin leaves and lighter spots.”
The clerics promptly plucked a few leaves and showed them to her. “Will these do, my lady?”
Maxi measured the thickness of the leaves with her fingers and nodded.
Eager to test the herb’s efficacy right away, the clerics collected a handful of lizard grass and took it to the kitchen. As they boiled the leaves inside a cauldron, a peculiar smell filled the shelter. The clerics looked skeptical but slowly fed the concoction to the patients nevertheless.
Fortunately, the herb proved effective, and the patients’ breathing grew less labored after an hour or so.
The lizard grass was even more potent than Maxi had hoped, and she let out a sigh of relief.
She had been secretly sick with worry that it might be ineffective.
Even the gloomy faces of the clerics brightened.
“It seems to be working well,” one of the clerics said. “To think that we had such a useful herb right under our noses…”
“I-I’m sure not many know of its herbal properties…because of the f-fastidious care required to prepare it,” Maxi remarked.
“Do you know of any other herbs we might find around us?” another cleric inquired.
The effectiveness of the lizard grass must have removed all doubts the clerics harbored about her.
They now regarded her in a different light.
After inspecting the area around the shelter and pointing out some of the useful herbs, Maxi returned to the monastery with the other noblewomen feeling relieved and even a bit proud of herself.
When they came back to the shelter a week later, the number of people stricken with food poisoning had markedly decreased.
However, the total number of patients had somehow increased.
The sick from all around Levan had apparently flocked to the shelter as rumors of the ill miraculously returning to health began to spread.
Since most of the skilled healers had gone with the campaign party, there was currently only one running hospital in Levan.
Sadly, even this hospital was unable to provide proper treatment because of the exorbitant cost of herbs, and the church lacked the resources to tend to the sick.
Thus, it was hardly surprising that people rushed to the shelter when they heard rumors of a talented healer at the facility.
Before she knew it, Maxi was acting as the healer of the shelter. She scoured the forest with the clerics to search for herbs whenever she could and occasionally even healed patients with magic.
The other noblewomen also actively helped in caring for the sick. Though some frowned and considered the work below them, most of the women were grateful to have something to do.
“This is nothing compared with the hardships my husband is enduring on the battlefield!” one of the noblewomen exclaimed as she folded a pile of ragged but clean towels.
“This is a hundred times more gratifying than trembling in fear while I pray, terrified that his body might return on a wagon. My act of kindness might even induce the heavens to look kindly on my husband.”
Maxi was certain that everyone felt the same. The women tended to the sick as an act of prayer. They gladly took on menial tasks such as feeding feeble patients or wiping them down with wet towels. Some even learned how to prepare the herbs from Maxi.
As the days passed by in a flurry, the women slowly regained their vigor, and Maxi also began to sleep and eat better as she took on the laborious work at the shelter.
Levan’s food shortage was resolved when merchants from the south arrived in an enormous vessel carrying cargo holds full of food. With this, the conditions inside the shelter improved. With news of victories coming from the north, everything seemed to be changing for the better.