The infirmary quickly became quiet the moment Lady Oya spoke up. Sir Emiya's pained groans became more pronounced by the silence, reminding everyone of the pressing issue at hand. Rei gives one last questioning glance to Jasper and Anya, the two still locked in a tense standoff, before heading towards the patient's bedside. He has to stop himself from being rude and holding his sensitive nose. There's a pungent smell coming from the dark elf's bleeding wounds. As a healer, Rei has never seen something so severe.
"How did this happen?" He extends his hands to transfer his light mana into the wounds. True to Riell's words they do not close, it just feels like he's throwing his mana into a bottomless pit. The discolored cuts refuse to close.
"I was out on patrol when I suddenly got surrounded by a group of Mesmeirs. They hounded me all the way to the gates, I tried to defend myself and killed a few, but they just kept coming. It's like they took the wrong medicine today, Mesmeirs are pack animals but they're usually timid." Emiya is a seasoned knight, even while in severe pain, he manages to explain it all.
Rei frowns at his story, familiar with the attack patterns of the corrupt horned mounts called Mesmeirs. They usually don't hunt outside of the forest, preferring to use their illusions to lure weaker prey. If confronted by a strong contender, they usually back off and run away. It really is strange that they would hound a knight of Sir Emiya's caliber all the way to the city gates.
[Cure].
Rei changes tactics, using his holy magic to cure Emiya's altered state first.
The knight groans in pain but his complexion finally eases up, slowly returning to a warm healthy shade of brown.
"Thank God, the poison appears to be leaving his wounds!" Lady Oya is relieved by the change. Cure is not an easy spell to use, most nuns in the church are unable to cast it successfully. Despite her long years learning magic, even Lady Oya finds herself unable to do it as easily as Rei. Whether this is due to her being a dark elf with an affinity to earth magic rather than light magic remains unclear. At least now that the poison has been cured, they can finally heal the patient normally. She looks to Rei with gratitude in her wise mist-veiled brown eyes. "You are truly a blessing from the goddess to us."
"My skills are still poor compared to the deacons of the big churches in the capital." Rei scratches the back of his head, embarrassed by the sudden compliment.
"Hush my boy, it would be a waste of my two hundred years of life if I can't spot a natural talent like yours Rei. I may have lost my sight some time ago but give this old woman some credit. Before retiring here, I trained some of those 'famous' healers of the church and none of them have your natural affinity to light magic. You have a bright future ahead of you so keep your chin up and take the compliment. It's well deserved." She lightly pats him on the head like she often did when he was a boy. At his current height it might be difficult for the average woman to pull off, but like most elves, Lady Oya was gifted in the height department.
"I can take it from here, go chat with your friends for now. I will join you once Sir Emiya's condition stabilizes." She shoos everyone away to avoid agitating the recovering knight. It's clear they still have a lot to air out.
Left to themselves, Rei leads the group to the small dining room in the annex. Once everyone is seated, he looks to Anya, noting that she chose to sit closer to him and as far away from his uncle as she can. Her wolf ears and tail keep twitching in agitation, giving away her discomfort.
"Anya, what's going on? How do you know my uncle?"
"He's a very bad man Rei, don't believe a word he says!" she yells, looking very heated with her fangs poking out and hot tears threatening to spill out of her emerald eyes.
Jasper doesn't look flustered by her accusations. He simply cocks his head to the side with an odd look on his handsome face. "Say, my dear in what way have I offended you? I don't recall ever meeting a runt like you, which tribe do you hail from?"
"The storm fang tribe, the same clan you massacred ten years ago!"
Jasper genuinely looks confused for once, tilting his head even further like an owl. "Right, and I would do this why?"
"How am I to know you blood thirsty murderer!" Anya stomps her feet, crossing her arms over her chest and refuses to look at him.
"To think that while I've been hibernating in peace someone would dare to impersonate me to do something so dastardly. Interesting, I really want to see who has the balls to do it!" There's a youthful cheer in his voice that doesn't match the wide smile on his face that spells out the unspeakable horror to befall this offender once he's caught. Rei feels a chill on the back of his neck just seeing it. Secretly, he lights a candle for whoever was dumb enough to do it.
"So to be clear, that is to say you didn't kill any of Anya's clansmen Uncle?"
The older Bastion scuffs, "as if, why would I hunt down a pack of wolves in the boonies when I could be lavishing my two precious amethyst gems with all my affection and attention instead. I'll have you know my time is quite precious nephew."
"Then can you think of who might have done such a thing?" Rei tries to bridge the gap between the two. It would be a real mood killer for their journey to the capital if there's friction between party members. The massacre of her clan isn't something Anya would bring up lightly. It's been a knot in her heart all these years, he knows there are times she cries her eyes out at night when she thinks no one is listening. If they can solve the mystery of who committed the murders that night it would prove Jasper's innocence and lay Anya's inner demons to rest.
Jasper huffs, feeling very insulted that this puny child would dare accuse him of something so vulgar. His red eyes squint at her, taking in all her characteristics to see if anything stands out as a motive. His sharp phoenix eyes narrow at the sight of the locket around her neck. A look of recognition appears in the depths of his eyes as he looks at the innocuous rose locket.
"My oh my, I never thought there'd come a day when I see someone wearing a cursed item as a fashion statement. Are you not afraid of the adverse side effects little runt?" His ominous chuckle easily rings through the now silent room.