The Gate Traveler-Chapter 38B5 - : Lending a Heal

Toman led us to meet with the settlement leader. Along the way, we drew plenty of attention—some glances were merely curious, others sharp with suspicion. A few held outright hostility, eyes narrowed, and lips curled.

At the gate of the outermost palisade, the guards stepped in to block our way, hands resting near their weapons. Their expressions made it clear they had no intention of letting us through. Toman didn’t argue. He leaned in, speaking to them quietly. A tense moment passed before they exchanged glances, then grudgingly stepped aside.

“Why the hostility?” I asked, echoing Mahya’s earlier question.

Toman focused on me, studying my face for a long beat. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. Finally, he let out a sigh. “Bad history.”

“What kind of history?” Mahya asked.

His jaw tensed. “It is not my place to answer, but you will get answers soon.”

Walking was painfully slow compared to balloon travel. From the air, we covered the entire city and half the ruined one in just half an hour. On foot, it was a different story. Two hours passed before we reached the first palisade, and another hour and a half dragged by before we finally stepped into the residential part.

Along the way, I used Identify on everyone we passed. Every single one of them had a class, but what piqued my curiosity was that not all of them were combat-related. Only the guards we had spoken with in the ruined city and those stationed at the palisade gates had combat classes. The rest held utilitarian roles—Builder, Scavenger, Logger, Farmer, and similar trades.

Toman led us to a house near the gate, then turned to me with a firm expression. “Your dog needs to stay outside.”

“No,” I said. “I’m not leaving him unprotected.”

Rue sent me an offended wave of emotion. “Rue can protect Rue!”

“I know, buddy,” I told him telepathically, including the rest in the communication. “But until we know what’s going on here, I want all of us to stay together.”

Toman’s frown deepened. “A dog can’t go into the logistics building.”

“Then your leader can come out to us,” I said. “I’m not leaving my friend unprotected.”

Mahya and Al silently stepped closer, arms crossed. Their casual but firm stance reminded me of old gangster movies—the kind where the bodyguards flanked the boss, exuding quiet menace. The thought almost made me snicker.

Toman exhaled sharply, nodding with apparent reluctance before disappearing inside.

I neatly arranged a table, five chairs, a plate of cookies, and a pot of coffee. Mahya glanced at my setup, a smirk tugging at her lips as she snickered quietly. Al gave a small nod of approval.

Five minutes later, a woman approached. She looked to be in her fifties, her almost-white hair pulled back neatly. Steely gray eyes swept over us, sharp and assessing.

Roda Almatai

Mage Level 15

She studied us, her gaze lingering on each of us in turn, losing focus. Al and I barely earned a reaction, her expression remaining neutral. Unease flickered on her face when her eyes landed on Mahya, her posture stiffening just a little. Then she reached Rue.

Whatever composure she had shattered instantly. Her attempt at hiding her emotions was a complete failure—her eyes went wide, and her mouth parted slightly in shock. For a moment, I thought her eyes might pop out of their sockets.

She took a deep breath, smoothing out her expression as she regained her composure. “You wished to see me?”

We exchanged glances before Mahya stepped forward, taking the lead. “Hello. We wanted to visit the settlement and understood that it requires your approval.”

“Why?” Roda asked, her tone sharp.

Mahya frowned slightly. “Why what?”

“Why do you wish to visit here?”

Mahya shrugged. “Because it’s the only place that looks remotely sane.”

Roda blinked at her, expression unreadable, as if Mahya had just spoken in a completely foreign language.

Al placed a hand on Mahya’s shoulder, stepping forward smoothly. “We are traveling the continent, stopping by different cities.” He gestured toward me. “John is a healer and a merchant.” He gestured to Mahya. “She is a wood artisan.” Then, tapping his chest, he added, “And I am an alchemist. So far, the cities we have encountered have been less than pleasant. Your settlement looked different, so we decided to visit. Unfortunately, one of your guards attacked us and accused us of being slavers.” He nodded toward Toman. “He suggested we meet with the settlement leader to get permission to stay.”

“Do you want to stay here?” Roda asked, her gaze flicking between us.

Another round of glances passed between us before Mahya answered. “For a short while.”

“You're not looking for a place to settle?”

“No,” we all said in unison.

That seemed to amuse her. A faint smile touched her lips. “You’re very decisive.”

“We are exploring,” Al said.

“These are dangerous lands to explore,” Roda pointed out.

Mahya’s lips pressed together, her patience clearly thinning. “We’re not helpless.”

Roda nodded. “I can see that.” Her gaze lingered on us for a moment before she turned to Toman. “They can stay.”

Without another word, she pivoted on her heel and strode back into the building, leaving us standing there.

Toman hesitated, glancing between the door Roda had disappeared into and the table with the cookies. His expression flickered with something—indecision, maybe curiosity—but he didn’t reach for anything.

I gestured toward the table. “Can I offer you a refreshment?”

He shot me the look. “No, thank you.”

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I shrugged and stored everything away. “Where can we stay?” I asked. I had no intention of opening my house.

“We don’t have hotels here,” Toman said, his tone flat. He pointed to a nearby house—if it could even be called that yet. The structure had walls and a roof, but there were no doors or windows, just gaping openings where they should have been.

“This is the only unoccupied house,” he continued. “You can stay there, but the builders will resume work on it tomorrow. You’ll have to vacate it then, and once it’s finished, the new residents will move in.”

“No way,” Mahya said telepathically, her tone sharp with finality.

“We’ll stay outside the settlement,” I told Toman. “Will the guards let us back in?”

He hesitated. “It's dangerous outside.”

Mahya crossed her arms. “What kind of danger? We didn’t see any beasts or monsters nearby.”

“No, we eliminated everything,” Toman said. His expression darkened. “The danger I mean is from Almatai or Almadris.”

“Can you elaborate, please?” Al asked, his tone measured. “We have no idea what you are referring to. Also, isn’t your leader named Almatai?”

Toman’s expression hardened, his gaze flicking toward the building where Roda had disappeared. His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching before he let out a sharp breath.

“Almatai and Almadris are neighboring city-states,” he explained. “Before the fall, this land belonged to House Almatai, while the territory to the east belonged to House Almadris. After the fall, both houses renamed their city-states after themselves.”

His lips pressed into a thin line before he spoke. “Nine years ago, most of the guards from both houses turned against their rulers. They purged the noble families—almost wiped them out completely.” His voice grew heavier. “Most of the people here—guards, servants, and others who once served the houses—are survivors who fled before they could be executed.”

He paused momentarily, then added, “The only survivor of the two noble houses is Lady Almatai. She is our leader.”

I opened the Map and spotted the two cities Toman had mentioned. Both were about two days away in opposite directions—one to the northeast, the other to the northwest.

“Why settle so close to them?” I asked.

Toman exhaled, his gaze distant. “When we fled, we hoped to find refuge in Toteran. Turns out, the refugees from House Almadris had the same idea.”

“What’s Toteran?” I asked.

He gestured to the north. “The ruined city where we met. When we arrived, it was overrun with monsters and dungeons. We lost a lot of people trying to secure it.” His expression darkened for a moment before he continued. “Originally, we planned to move further south, but Lady Almatai suggested we settle here instead. The ruins provided a steady supply of scavenged materials, which helped us rebuild.”

“What kind of danger do they pose now?” Al asked.

Toman’s expression darkened. “They send hunting parties to kill our people,” he said, his tone heavy with restrained anger. “They treat it like sport.”

“We’re not helpless,” Mahya said. “We’ll be fine outside.”

He let out an indistinct sound I took as assent. “Then you need to leave soon. The gates close at sundown.”

We turned toward the gate, but a thought struck me just as we were about to leave. I glanced back at him. “You mentioned needing a healer?”

“Yes, very much so,” he said, his expression shifting to something almost hopeful. “Can you return tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” He gave a small nod. “I will meet you near the outside gate after sunrise.”

We ran back to the ruined city and continued inward to an area that looked unexplored. I opened my house inside a ruined house against a wall, and cooked dinner.

“Thoughts on this place?” Al asked over dinner.

Mahya stabbed a piece of food with her fork. “Still deciding.”

I leaned back. “I’ll help with healing tomorrow. See what I can find out.”

The following morning, I did meet Toman near the gate—just not as early as he had expected. The sun had already climbed in the sky, casting long shadows over the settlement. He didn’t look pleased, but kept his thoughts to himself, offering only a curt nod before turning on his heel and leading me into the settlement.

We headed toward the same half-built house he had suggested we stay in the night before. As we approached, I spotted a large crowd gathered outside, their eyes shifting toward me with a mix of expectation and desperation. It was immediately apparent that all of them needed a healer.

Some bore visible injuries—wounds bandaged with scraps of cloth, blood visible through the fabric. Others had limbs stiffly held together with makeshift splints, sticks bound with twine, or strips of torn clothing. And then some looked ill—faces pale and clammy, eyes sunken, some flushed with fever, their skin slick with sweat. A few shivered despite the day’s warmth, while others coughed weakly into their hands.

Toman stopped a few paces ahead and gestured toward them, his voice tight. “As you can see, we’re in desperate need.”

I stepped forward and clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. Conversations quieted as dozens of eyes turned toward me.

“Hello, everyone. My name is John, and I’m a healer. I’ll be treating all of you, so there’s no need to worry, but I need a little time to set up my workspace first. While I do that, please talk among yourselves and arrange a line based on severity—those in the worst condition should go first.”

I gestured toward Rue. “This is Rue, my bonded companion. When I’m ready to begin, he’ll let you know.”

With that, I stepped inside and cast Aggressive Clean on the entire space—floors, walls, and ceiling—just to be safe. The stale scent of dust and sweat vanished instantly, replaced by fresh air.

Next, I set up a proper workspace. A table with chairs for consultations, a sturdy treatment table, and a few mattresses on the floor for those who might be too weak to move after the healing. Once everything was in place, I looked around, satisfied with the setup.

Turning to Rue, I gave him a nod. “You can send the first patient in.”

“Yes, boss!” Rue said, tail wagging as he trotted outside.

That was how I spent my first day in the settlement—treating people one after another, with barely a moment to rest. Every patient was an E.R. case—broken bones, deep wounds, and various cases of poisoning. All the people that I thought were sick were actually poisoned from two sources. They had a dungeon in the ruined city with various poisonous plants and vines that some people here cleared for levels and resources, or the green flying snakes. It turned out that after being paralyzed by the snakes, the bite area exhibited signs of poisoning and got infected.

At some point, the entire house was full, mattresses occupied by people too exhausted to move after the healing. Seeing there was no more space and knowing I needed a moment to breathe, I decided it was a good time for a break and went looking for Rue. I found him outside, darting around with a group of kids, playing what looked like an intense game of tag.

“Rue! Lunch!”

That was all it took. One second, he was weaving between laughing children, and the next, he was beside me, tail wagging so fast that it was a blur.

After we ate, I returned to wake up the sleepers, ensuring they had instructions to eat and drink before leaving. Once they were on their feet, I started another round of treatments.

Toman visited me late afternoon and handed me a small cloth bag. Inside were a few pieces of jewelry set with gems. “This is from Lady Almatai for your services.”

I thanked him and continued healing until the sun hung low on the horizon. Just as I finished with my current patient, Rue trotted in, followed closely by Toman and Mahya.

“We need to go,” Mahya said. “They’re closing the gates soon.”

Nodding, I quickly stored everything and turned to Toman. “Do you need me tomorrow?”

“Yes, very much,” he said without hesitation. “The people you saw today are only a fraction of those in need.”

“I’ll come in the morning,” I assured him. “No need to meet me at the gate—I know the way.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly, and he thanked me profusely. With that, we headed for the exit, slipping out before the gates shut for the night.

As we walked, I glanced at Mahya. “What did you do all day?”

She shrugged. “Walked around, talked to some people.”

“Find out anything interesting?”

“Sort of.” She shot me a sideways look. “For starters, Lady Almatai wasn’t always so great. Before the guards turned on the nobles, her husband was a ruthless lord who treated his serfs like crap, and she never stepped in to stop him. When everything fell apart and they escaped, not all of the servants and guards wanted to follow her at first. But she was the highest-level person among them, so they didn’t really have a choice. Over time, she proved herself as a good leader, and they started to trust her—but not completely. There’s still doubt.”

I frowned. “Doubt about what?”

“She wants to rebuild a strong guard force and take back her territory,” Mahya said. “But a lot of people here are afraid that once she does, she’ll go back to being the same kind of ruler her husband was.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And they just told you all this?”

She smirked. “I may have implied that we might take people with us when we leave. The ones who were interested in leaving explained their reasoning.”

I shot her a flat look. “We’re not taking anybody with us.”

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“Of course not,” she said quickly. “I didn’t promise anyone anything. Just implied it to get them talking.”

“Feels like malicious lying.”

Mahya rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be a sanctimonious prick.”

I kicked her leg. “Don’t be a heartless bitch.”

She laughed and threw an arm around my shoulders. “You’re the best.”

Yeah, that was Mahya in a nutshell—Logic, where art thou?