User blog:Wuldnakest/The Cat and the Bird Part 3

       I unloaded my things and waved to the carriage driver as a thank you, and I walked towards what I suspected was the administration building. It was the biggest with four stories, with the curved roofs coming off of them. Along each ceiling paper lanterns hung to illuminate the balconies. I went into the building with the best hopes. They'll be the ones who would set me up with a place to live while I worked.



       I approached a desk with an old man behind it who sported a few wrinkles and the best Fu Manchu I've ever seen. It easily put my own short beard to shame. He wore a yellow robe trimmed with black along his cuffs, and he had a hat with a tall rim and a puffy ball in the middle.



       "Hello," I began, "I'm Llewellyn, the new doctor."



       The man glanced up at me. "Oh yes, have a seat. Magistrate Gungtu can talk to you soon." His accent was thick since he’d obviously had little experience with the Common Language after the past Westerners died.



<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       I was puzzled by his words. This man with the glorious dragon-barbs wasn't the magistrate? I shrugged at that notion and went to sit where he instructed. The real magistrate must've had facial hair that put even a Fu Manchu to shame. After some time an old man with gray hair and a clean-shaven face emerged from a room and I stood up to greet him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "New doctor?" he asked me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Yes," I replied, "I'm Llewellyn, from the nation of Kemrie in the archipelago west of the Ewrasi Continent."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Hard name,” he replied. "Yes, have you cured this sick where you come from?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       Oh boy, I knew exactly where he was going. If I told the truth, a whole host of questions that I can't answer would come, and they might even send me back home. "Yes," I lied. "Healing magic is quite effective in helping the afflicted recover." That was a half-truth as the disease was curable, but the process was slow since one very skilled doctor could heal only one patient a day. Because of that slow pace, many afflicted still died because of the vast numbers of them and the few doctors there were. Plus when a doctor contracted the disease, he couldn't heal himself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       He raised his eyebrows in surprise, and I knew he wasn't buying it. "And you know this magic?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Yes I do," I said. "Now, where will I be staying during my time here?" I tried to steer the conversation away just to avoid his probing.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       He grinned. "Ah, Mr. Xuan has a house. If you speak with him, I am back to work." He left without giving me a chance to reply, but I didn't care; I was just glad to be out of his questioning presence. Plus his broken speech was difficult to understand.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "I have one building that you are to work out of," he told me, his mustache putting extra power into his words, "you share your sick center with the nursery and bakery."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Sir, that does sound very-"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "I joke," he laughed. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to stop that joke. Anyway you stay in the building farthest north in Xao-Tung-Na. It has a second floor so you can stay there." The more I looked at his mustache, the more I was reminded of a certain dragon I encountered during my...misadventure in Zipangu.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Oh fantastic," I said.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "But," Xuan said sternly, "you do your desk work here in the magistrate's building. We want to make sure you're not giving the sickness to more people."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Right, of course," I said.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Good. I see you tomorrow morning," he said as he handed me the key to my new house."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       I smiled and nodded. "But before I go," I spoke up, "are you married? Perhaps to a lamia kind of woman?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       He looked up at me with a stern face. "A ryu," he said quietly, "And you keep your mouth shut unless you want to be thrown into the river with me."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       "Certainly," I replied. Obviously he was keeping his marriage to himself, perhaps because monsters are frowned upon in Siaina, he was cheating on her, or whatever other reason he could have, but it wasn't any of my business. I grabbed my pack and quickly walked out of that building. Back home I feared field work because of the great risks it had for me, but now I hoped for it, just so I wouldn't have to spend time doing desk work with the scary magistrate and his shifty assistant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       I walked to the exit and closed the door behind me and looked at the town. In the dim moonlight I couldn't see much besides the silhouette of the houses, but one or two had illuminated paper lanterns hanging from the ceilings of the balconies that provided a fantastic amount of light.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       When I came upon my new building, I saw it already had a blank sign out front, one which I was thinking I’d put the symbol for doctor on tomorrow. I suppose I owed these people to begin immediately since they were all paying for me to be here. My new home had two stories and red tiles on both its roofs. In the moonlight I saw it had hooks for lanterns, but there were none hanging. The house sat dark and it seemed only recently abandoned. I went under the overhang and opened the sliding door made of wood and fabric and went inside.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       Inside was too dark to see until I used my magic to create a torch in my hand. In the room was a single table just inches off the ground with pillows around it, which looked like an eating area. Perhaps I'd make it my operating table if patients came to me instead of being treated in their own homes, unlike at home where the doctors came to the sick. It seemed like a fantastic place to start, and I was getting eager to begin. The walls were painted red and trimmed with gold. There was also a tapestry of words that I didn't understand, but it was obvious it was read top-to-bottom instead of left-to-right, like the Goidelic script a world away, but unlike the left-to-right Common script. In short the place was beautiful, though I really had no idea what any of it meant or if it symbolized anything.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";color:#222222">       I went upstairs and opened the sliding doors to two small rooms with no furniture, meaning I'd have to find some from elsewhere. Both rooms were red colored with doors to the balcony outside. With no furniture, tonight would be a less-than-pleasant sleep on the floor. I sighed and rolled out my sleeping bag. After disrobing I slid in and tried to get some sleep.