A new begining Ch 19

Thaleds was usually quiet at night. Only the house of healing had lights coming out of the window. Doctor applied medicine to a little girl's burn scars. The mother of the girl was kneeling by her bed and held her hand as she prayed. The little one who would toss and turn in the middle of the night from pain was now calm and half asleep. Doctor let out a sigh and stood up from the bed.

"Don't worry too much, dear. She will run around by next Sunday."

"Thank you, Doctor, thank you so much. If the Masked Goddess and you haven't helped, she would have.... I will do as you say. I will stay here and help those in need."

"That is very generous of you. The Goddess and I are very happy to welcome you two in our community, but now concentrate on getting better. You should also get some sleep."

The woman couldn't stop her tears from falling. When she first heard of this place, she was sceptic. There were thousands of tales about healers with good will who would help the poor only to turn out a quack, however she ran out of choices. Her daughter was slowly but steadily dying. Her wounds festered and the fever seemed never ending. When she arrived a young man in red robe asked a lot of questions about their conditions, some even she didn't think about. They immediately laid her in a sick bed and started her treatment, as well as the mothers. She was also in a bad shape but other than her daughter’s treatment she didn't dreamt of more, but the Doctor insisted on checking on her too. The medicine worked and from the day they got here she only prayed to the Masked Goddess.

The number of people with similar stories was only rising. A lot of them stayed in the village to help others. The ones directly helping were given roof and food, while the others got food rations but no logging. They lived a simple but happy life here.

After the Doctor checked on the patients he took out a carefully folded piece of paper from his pocket. Tonight was the promised night to flood the Thaleds with people. He didn't need to wait long before a long caravan of people with torches could be seen from a distance.

"Everyone who is free should come with me."

Around thirty red robed people followed him. They were in awe of the carnival like procession. They could hear one of the dark elf's loud voice.

"C'mon folks, we're almost there! You can see the village from here!"

The marching mass was tired, but once they saw the robed healers greeting them, their faces lit up instantly. Doctor stood before the healers and bowed.

"Greetings in this humble village of Thaleds. May the Masked Goddess take you under her wings. I'm the head of this peaceful sanctuary; you can call me Doctor. The robed gentlemen will help you with housing. It may be humble, but we will do everything in our power to make your stay more comfortable. If any of you have any injuries, please follow me."

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The crowd whispered among themselves. No one ever heard of the Masked Goddess, but the residents seemed welcoming. They soon got sorted based on medical needs and family situation. Doctor tried to keep every family together. Their lodging was mostly bunkhouses or tents, but nobody complained.

The next morning Petra woke up after a very long night. The house her parents left for her after their death was destroyed in the awful fire just yesterday. She was devastated but thanks to the help of various people she ended up in Thaleds. The tent she was staying in wasn't glamorous and she had two other people with her, but they seemed decent, and the bed was comfortable.

She stepped out of the tent and found some kids running around wearing red scarves. They were under the supervision of an older woman who was dressed in full red. They were helping to bring water to the lodgings for everyone to wash up. Her heart filled with a warm fuzzy feeling and wanted to join them to help.

"Thank you honey. They are good kids but are a handful. Here is another bucket, we have a well there behind the corner."

She arrived at the well and saw a crowd of people with red accessories getting water and bringing them to the newcomers. She was shocked at how many people were working on accommodating them. She also saw that slowly but steadily more and more townsfolk came to work together with them.

"Every newcomer! Come to the sick house! The Doctor will assign you to roles!"

A healer shouted going around the streets. Petra left the bucket near the well and got moving. The building was unmistakable. It was a three-story building with gigantic letters painted on it spelling "SICK HOUSE". She was a little hesitant but followed the mass which was organized in three lines. Some people were going along the lines with papers and asked different questions. One of them finally reached Petra.

"Welcome Lady. I would like to ask you a few things so we can assign you the best suited job while you're here. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah sure. I would be just bored here anyways."

"Great. Can you read and write?"

"Yes."

"Then if you don't mind, I would just leave this paper and pen here. You can fill out the answers, but if you don’t want to answer something you can just leave it blank.”

He then stepped to the next person.

Petra didn’t waste her time and started to write on the paper. When it was her time, she just handed it to the Doctor.

”Hmm… I see that you worked in a kitchen before. How was that? Did you like it?”

She found the Doctor quite intimidating. His hair was messy under the hat, his brown eyes glowing in a disturbing red glow. He looked like he hasn't slept in the last few decades. On the contrary his voice was soft and warm, the kind that you would hear from a priest in a temple. It made people less weary of him.

"Yes, I worked at my parents’ restaurant before they passed away. It was our bonding time for as long as I can remember. If there is any possibility that I can work in the community kitchen, even if it's just washing the dishes then please assign me there."

Her only passion was cooking, but since that tragic accident she lost her spark and only worked odd jobs, however now that she saw so many people in need, her soul yearned to get back to her destiny.

"Of course, Dear. We are happy to welcome you as our new line cook. See that woman at the green pole. She is our chef. She will bring you around and take care of you from here on, but if you have any problems or questions, you can always find me here."

Petra thanked the Doctor and with a newly found purpose she was ready to throw herself to work. Only if she knew that her magical transformation wasn't faith's work, but the very Goddess she will worship from now on...