Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 109

Max asked anxiously, “Sh-shall I bring a do-doctor from t-town?”

“There is only one good doctor at Anatol.. We can’t ask him to leave his clinic, so we’ll have to send the patients there in a carriage.”

He stood up and tapped his chin as if evaluating how many people they needed to move.

“The clinic will struggle to accommodate so many patients. Let’s first transport those poisoned by werewolf venom and then treat the other patients by hand.”

Max anxiously swallowed. She wondered if ‘ourselves’ included her.

“Wha-what sh-should we do?”

“It’s not difficult. We will first apply poultice to the swollen injury, put a splint the broken bone, and stitch any cuts with a needle and thread.” He explained patiently.

Max stared at him with a shock she couldn’t hide from her face, “Sti-stitch...?”

Looking at her expression, which made it seem like she may pass out any moment, Ruth sighed and said, “I’ll be handling the stitches, so just stay by my side and help me, my lady.”

Max sighed in relief and nodded. “O-okay.”

“First, let’s send those with high fever to the clinic.” He left the barracks in a hurry.

Max pulled herself together and followed the wizard.

The servants of Castle Calypse took 15 patients with boiling fever into a carriage and sent them off under Ruth’s instructions. Those Ruth had healed with healing magic had porridge and medicinal tea prepared by the maids. Regaining their strength, they even began to help with repairing the cabins.

There were a total of eight woodcutter cabins. Four of them had cracked walls and if they did not repair it quickly, there would have been no way to stop the cold at night. They cut the timber into even planks and started hammering them together loudly. Max did her best to hear Ruth’s full explanation over the noise.

“Drench a clean piece of cloth in strong alcohol and gently wipe the wound. I can’t tell you exactly why, but doing this reduces the chance of the wound rotting.”

“Co-could there be so-something in alcohol that sto-stops wounds from rotting?”

“It could be. After all, the alcohol itself doesn’t go bad quickly.” He agreed carefully while threading small and fine needles.

“They call it Healing Alcohol of the South and it’s not completely clear how it works. According to them, the wound should be kept clean, the bleeding is not good under any circumstances, and the patient’s should not get too cold or too hot. I thought it was nonsense at first, but... I got much better results through their methods than by sprinkling dog urine on the wound or using leeches, or searing the wounds with a hot iron.It is incomparable to healing magic.... but it is the best way to do this.... for these kinds of situations.”

While he spoke, he began to finely stitch up the wound. Max recoiled bodily as if her back had been stabbed with a needle.

“If we close the wound like this – one stitch and then tie it off, another and then tie it off, it is very easy to remove the thread later. Would you like to try it once, my lady?” Ruth said, but his gaze did not leave his work.

Max shook her head like a rattle. She hated looking like a coward, but she absolutely had no nerves at all to sew up human skin with a needle!

“It’s not that different from sewing leather shoes.” Ruth tried to encourage her.

Suddenly the guard who had been reduced to a leather shoe, made a painful groan from his position face-down on a pile of straw. However, Ruth continued to sew wounds without paying any heart. Max, Like a diligent apprentice, soaked some linen in strong alcohol and wiped it cleanly every time some blood trickled out, and cut the thread with scissors that had been sterilized over a flame when a knot was tied.

“Now, finally, if we apply this ointment that helps the wound heal quickly and bandage it up, we’re all done.”

After Ruth has tied off the last stitch and the thread is cut, he applied a sticky ointment to the wound. It seemed that it was a lot painful for the guard, who had been drooling and lying quietly on his stomach, couldn’t stand it and made a cry.

“S-sir W-wizard... Can’t you just use your healing magic? It feels like there’s a fire pressed against my back.” The guard, struggling in pain, pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t use magic anymore today. I’ve used up all my magical power, you see.” Ruth replied as if he was talking about the weather.

“My God...” The guard gasped.

“Just put up little while longer, I’m almost done.”

After carefully applying the ointment, Ruth tied the wound tightly with a long cloth.

“If you apply the ointment once every two days and change the bandage, it will heal cleanly within 10 days,” he said, then put the ointment in a small bottle and handed it to the guard.

The guard thanked him in a small voice,mumbling as he accepted the bottle of medicine.

Max gathered up the equipment and followed Ruth to the next patient. While he was switching the wound, Max helped with little tasks, like feeding the wounded person water steeped in medicinal herbs, tearing the cloth into long strips for bandages, covering the thread and needles in strong alcohol and handing it over to him.

Even though it was the first time in her life that she was doing such work, Max was able to carry it out well thanks to Ruth’s instructions. Whenever Ruth rearranged a broken arm or leg, she applied a splint and fixed it securely with a cloth and wrapped hot towels around the swollen ankles.

Finally, when all patients were treated, she was so tired that bending her fingers seemed difficult and like hard work. Max sank down beside the brazier and let her body melt away by the heat. Before she knew it, the sun was completely set and the darkness fell outside.