Part 7: Chapter Two - pt.2

The interrogation of Ospina was finished, but Klara still had business to attend to before going home.

It appears Anna has accumulated ample reserves of medicine. Interesting foresight... I must convince her to donate it for the community. But I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as that...




You are such a pretty girl... Lovely, just lovely!
Olgimskys are beginning to confiscate medicine, Anna. They say you have all sorts of drugs... Is it true?
No! I don’t have anything. When I was young, I used to play in the house of one evil wench... now she had quite a stockpile! A remedy for every possible malady. She went on to live a hundred years. Her whole house had this intolerable pharmacy smell... Do you take me for someone like that? Nonsense!
Don’t lie to me, Anna. I even know where you keep them. Why do you have to be like that?
What is this torment...? This is surely an intrigue against me... They want to kill me, ruin me, drive me to the grave. Yes, the grave... Listen to me! I don’t want any diseases eating me alive, ruining my skin... If you can’t let me have even that... you can just go ahead and shoot me to death!
Give them at least some of it. And keep the prettiest pills for yourself. I think it’s a good idea. Right?
Is that an order? Even so... Simon was the only one I obeyed even back then... now I don’t take orders from anyone! Medicine will be worth its weight in gold pretty soon!
How did you know? Hey... look into my eyes, Anna! Remember yesterday? You were talking about villains and outlaws...
Listen... Don’t touch me, darling, and I will repay your kindness. I have all kinds of means, you know. I’ll tell you something interesting. Yesterday’s Ripper was taken under the patronage by the Olgimskys. They don’t have to confiscate medicine... He can make it himself!
Are you sure?
News spreads quickly. His father knew the secret! The Ripper concealed this skill from Big Vlad... Because it’s a secret knowledge and requires blood! Plus he must have guessed that Olgimsky would make him work off his debt. That would serve him right! Show one of his potions to Vlad, and he will chain him to a wall at once!
He’s not up to it, I’m afraid... Say, you people are a friendly lot!
Am I supposed to wish this killer well? Find out if the rumours are true. If they are – tip Vlad off, and he will put him on a leash. This will rid us of the creepy Haruspex – let’s hope he dies bent over his still! Just find out whether or not his potions are real. We must know it for sure.
Very well. But how?
He has already prepared a few mixtures... an Herbal Bride told me so. Ever seen one of them? You know... the naked ones, who collect herbs in the Steppe... swarthy local girls. That one belongs to an herbalist; he warms the is earth. for her... Their yurt is just outside the town. Go find them, all right?



The town was so small that the Steppe was never more than a few minutes away. Alexander’s map had locations of three herbalists marked on it by hand. Klara picked the closest one and set off in the worm’s approximate direction. The trip didn’t bother her as much as she’d thought it would: the earth under her feet was even and fairly dry, withered weeds didn’t grow thick enough to impede progress. She reached the yurt much quicker than she expected to – it almost seemed as if the land itself was helping her run faster. That or whoever had made the markings on the map wasn’t very good at representing distances.

Anna recommends me to ask the herb gatherer about the Haruspex’ healing potions.



A lonely worm was collecting dry twigs for the fire.

Ae-wah... We don’t want you, Shabnak-Adyg... Leave or I shall say an incantation that will turn you back into clay. Ohlon zuhun zhelay urda tae hundae oobshan shuloon daegoor aebacha...
One more word and I’ll turn your blood into lumpy pap.



It took the Impostress fifteen more minutes to reach the second yurt. Its owner wasn’t nearly as hostile.

What do you want, daughter of earth?
Have you seen a big man with sinewy hands and a propensity to kill? They call him the Haruspex.
There are several haruspices, several knowing ones. Which do you need? Oyun is the most big, the most dangerous. He came here two days ago, stomped our fires, our yurts. We hid, or we would have died under his hooves.
No, I have no use for such a monster. I need the new one, an outsider.
It is Burakh, you need Burakh. Not old one, young one. He came here, yes.
Did he bring you herbal potions?
He did, yes. I did not take. He took them to traders, to sell to traders.
Who are those traders?
All Herb traders are in the dugout. A cruel man is leader there – an artist, a builder... Came from the other side of the Steppe. Where only clothed corpses and spawn of Suok live... He collects twyre potions, violates the Herb... Blasphemer!
Violates?
He treats the Herb poorly, tries the Herb’s patience... He buys the Herb at higher price than we worms do. He bred strife among us, made us kill those who gave him secret spices... Do not give him the Herb if you find it, he will offend the Herb.
Do you want me to sell it to you?
I won’t have any business with you, you smell like clay! Don’t visit us any more, you smell like greasy, clotted clay...
Where can I find that den?
On the shore of Vein. It will be easy for you to find it. You must go down to enter it. It is underground, yes, close to Suok, yes...
Good-bye, worm.



There was only one «dugout» close to Vein.



The sign read «FACTUS EST: Stamatin’s Pub and Drug Den». This Stamatin was most probably the man she was looking for, a trader who hopefully could attest to Burakh’s ability to make healing concoctions.



Klara entered the surprisingly well-illuminated establishment. The place seemed very clean and spruced-up.



Nobody was drinking at the bar. A few townspeople were pecking at their breakfasts in their booths, but there were no other visitors at that hour.



A dancer was swaying her hips slowly on stage without any kind of music setting the rhythm.



The only person watching her was this tall man with a cane. One look at him was enough to identify him as the den’s owner, as he looked so bold and self-important among the plain and downcast looking patrons. He was holding his head really high as if to make sure he was watching down his nose at anyone no matter what their height was. The man also hadn’t bothered to change out of his pyjama pants, which meant he was living in the building.

Have I started seeing double? I thought there was only one pair of twins in this town.
It depends... Whom are you talking about?
Me and my bro.
Have you seen me already?
So, what are you doing in this opium den? Do you want some hashish? Or you want to see this diva of the Steppe go into a trance and tear the last remaining rags off her body? Speaking of which, are you sure you’ve turned twelve already?
Did the Haruspex sell you twyrine infusions?
Look at this! This heavenly being knows a thing or two about earthly affairs... Yes he did. Why do you ask?
Olgimsky would like to know...
Ha-ha-ha! That sly dog... yes, right... if Vlad learns that this cutthroat can mix potions, he will never leave him alone! He has already enslaved eight thousand men for his profit, he will have no trouble grabbing one more.
Oh, no...
Choose whether to give him away or not. Haruspex will prove useful to you. Don’t get on his bad side... He will learn who has ratted him out!



So it was true. The cutthroat was actually capable of producing some kind of holistic medicine of his own. Klara considered revealing that information to the Olgimskys so that they would leave Anna alone... but the den owner was right. Even if telling on Burakh could indeed hurt his situation, it was too early to play that card at the moment, before the full extent of his capabilities was known.
If that meant that a certain neurotic woman would have to empty her medicine cabinet, Klara had no problem with it.




I have returned, Anna. The Olgimskys are waiting. Give me the medicine. It won’t help you anyway.
...How can you tell?
Pray, Anna. You are looking for salvation in the wrong place.



The wooden box was heavy for a girl to carry, but definitely not big enough to keep the whole town medicated. Pills and bottles of various sizes were rattling inside of it all the way to Younger Vlad’s place.

Now I can take the drugs to Vlad Jr. I have followed the dictate of my conscience.



Five minutes later, Klara was entering the shed again. She put the box down in front of Vlad and sat on it.

I have talked to Anna. Has she really been saving medicine up and waiting for the second coming of that plague for five years?
Yes, it is so... Are you beginning to have suspicions? No, you shouldn’t suspect Anna of spreading the infection. Did she give you her stash?
Yes... She had no choice.
How did you manage to do it?
I told her that medicine wouldn’t help her any.
Is it true?
I don’t know... it’s just the feeling I have. Why did you suddenly turn so pale?
Well, well... It seems like I finally know who’s in front of me. I’m having conflicting feelings about you. My heart implores me to offer you everlasting friendship... while my head’s telling me to keep away from you.
Don’t worry. Your words don’t matter anymore. There is nobody closer to you than I am right now. Remember this.



All this medicine was only worth five hundreds to him, apparently. Klara took the money and headed back to Stem. It was time to return the verdict on Ospina’s involvement in the epidemic.




Let justice triumph. Mercy for the innocent, reckoning for the guilty.
I talked to Ospina. I looked inside her soul.
I didn’t expect any less from you. And what did you see there?
Poison, darkness, and soot.
What’s your verdict? Is she guilty?
No. She is not to blame.
That is Bad news... Seems like a miracle didn’t happen.
Dare I remind you that it’s not for you to judge?
...Anyway, it’s not as if I expected finding the culprit to be easy. This is going to turn the scales even further against your twin! Be on your guard, Klara! Your reputation has suffered, because common people can’t tell you two apart.
It doesn’t matter; it is not Ospina’s fault.




No, Ospina is not guilty of starting the epidemic. What she thinks happened isn’t real. She spoke the truth, but all she heard was noise. No matter what awful acts she is willing to take the blame for – I shall not pin this on her. Perhaps she can still redeem the evil she has caused.






Q: So how far out of town do those herb-gatherers live? It seems very remote.
A: They hang out just outside town. It's about 1 or 2 minute run from the graveyard.

Q: So, how long would it take to run from one end of town to the other, say, from the Abattoir to the Polyhedron? Like twenty minutes or so?
A: Looking at the map, I think I could do it in 7 minutes. Time goes faster in-game, of course.

Q: Wait, so the worms and the butchers are different species? ...what are the butchers then?
A: They are tall kabuki-looking motherfuckers in leather and with goggles. We haven’t seen them yet, because they are all trapped in the Apiary, along with Odonghe.