The village square was quiet in the late morning. Most people were already back at work, fields, shops, stables. Only a few stragglers remained, buying bread or gossiping near the well.
Revvyn walked slowly his rins was still aching from the night before. Every step pulled at the bruises across his side.
Lily stayed close, one hand hovering near his elbow like she was afraid he'd fall again. She hadn't said much since they left the house. Just quiet steps and the occasional worried glance.
They turned down a narrow side lane behind the bakery. The healer's hut was the last building before the trees took over—small, crooked, walls patched with mud and thatch. Smoke drifted from the chimney, smelling of dried herbs and something sharp, like boiled vinegar.
Lily knocked twice. The door opened almost immediately.
An old woman stood there. She was short, hunched, hair like dry straw tied back with twine. Her face was lined deep, eyes sharp under heavy lids. She wore a stained apron over a faded dress, sleeves rolled to the elbows. One hand held a wooden spoon dripping blue paste.
She looked at Revvyn's face, his swollen eye, split lip, purple blooming across his cheek, and didn't blink.
"You look like the undead, like you refused to die." she said. Voice rough, like gravel underfoot. "Come in before you stain my steps with your blood."
They stepped inside. The hut was cramped, warm, cluttered. Shelves lined every wall—jars of roots, dried leaves, murky liquids.
Bundles of herbs hung from the rafters. A small fire crackled in the hearth. The air was thick with the smell of sage, mint, and something bitter underneath.
The old woman—Eldress Marilyn—set the spoon down and wiped her hands on her apron.
"Sit," she said, pointing to a low stool. "Both of you."
Revvyn lowered himself carefully. Lily stayed standing, arms crossed tight.
Marilyn pulled a three-legged stool over and sat facing Revvyn. She tilted his chin up with two fingers—calloused, surprisingly strong, and turned his head side to side.
"A Broken nose... Your jaw's bruised but not dislocated. You've been kicked more than punched." She let go. "Who did it?"
"It didn't come here for me," Revvyn said.
Marilyn snorted. "It matters if they come back for round two. But fine—keep your pride. What do you want?"
Revvyn swallowed. "My father. He's… not waking up. He hasn't moved since last night,but his Heart still beats...we came for a cure."
Marilyn leaned back, eyes narrowing. "Describe the symptoms. Before he stopped moving."
Revvyn thought back. "Coughing. He couldn't breathe right. His legs have been paralyzed for months. He Sweats even when it was cold."
Marilyn nodded slowly. "Souns familiar... I'll say it's the Shadow Lung Disease. Mana-poisoning from old beast exposure. Starts slow—cough, weakness, paralysis. Then the lungs fill with black mist. Eventually the heart just… stops trying."
Lily made a small sound.
"Is there a cure?" Revvyn asked.
Marilyn looked at him for a long moment.
"There's no cure in this village," she said. "Not even close."
Revvyn's stomach dropped.
"But," Marilyn continued, "there is something that can force the lungs clear. Temporarily. Long enough to buy time."
"What is it?" Lily asked quickly.
"Midnight Flower." Marilyn stood, crossed to a shelf, and pulled down a thin, worn book bound in cracked leather. She opened it to a page near the middle and turned it so they could see.
The drawing was rough but clear: a single tall flower, petals black at the edges fading to deep violet in the center, glowing faintly.
Below it, a map with crude lines of forest paths, a river, a circled area labeled "Moonlit Forest."
"It grows deep in the Moonlit Forest," Marilyn said. "Only blooms under a full moon. The core inside can burn the black mist out of the lungs. One flower might give him six months. Maybe a year if he's lucky."
Revvyn stared at the map. Moonlit Forest was marked with tiny skull symbols along the deeper paths.
"How much does one cost?" he asked.
Marilyn closed the book. "If someone was stupid enough to go in there and come back alive with one? A thousand silver. Minimum. Most healers won't even touch it... it's too risky but the ones who do, charge whatever they want."
Revvyn looked at the four coins still in his pocket. Then at Lily.
He stood up with struggle.
"I'm going to go there," he said.
Marilyn laughed once, it was dry and short. "Boy, you can barely stand. Moonlit Forest eats F-rank tamers for breakfast. You'll be dead before you see the first petal."
Revvyn met her eyes. "If it's rare, it costs a lot. That means it's valuable. If I bring one back, I can sell the rest. Pay off the debt. Buy real medicine. Keep him alive longer."
Marilyn studied him. The sharpness in her gaze softened for just a fraction.
"You're serious," she said.
"Yeah."
Lily stepped forward. "Revvyn—"
He turned to her. "I have to. If I don't do something now, he's gone. We wait for the academy, we wait for rewards, we wait for Lucien to take everything. I'm done waiting."
Lily looked at him for a long moment. Her eyes were wet again, but she didn't cry.
"I'm coming with you," she said quietly.
Revvyn opened his mouth to argue.
She cut him off. "Don't. You almost died last night because you went alone. I'm not watching that happen again."
Marilyn sighed. "Young love is going to get you both killed."
Revvyn looked back at her. "I'm a beast tamer, I can go...i can be careful."
The old woman shook her head. "Careful doesn't stop a C-rank serpent from biting your throat out."
She stood, walked to a shelf, pulled down a small clay pouch, and pressed it into Revvyn's hand.
"Two healing beans and a vial of anti-venom paste. Crush a bean if the pain gets bad—it'll dull it for a few hours. The paste goes on bites. It'll slow the poison long enough to crawl out."
Revvyn closed his fingers around it. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Marilyn said. "You owe me if you make it back alive. I don't do charity for fools who run into death."
Revvyn nodded. "Deal. Whatever it takes."
Marilyn gave him a long look, then turned to Lily.
"You're staying here," she said.
Lily's eyes widened. "But—"
"No buts," Marilyn cut in. "Your father-in-law needs you more than he does. Someone has to keep the house standing while this idiot tries not to die. And if he doesn't come back, someone has to tell his mother."
Lily's shoulders sagged. She looked at Revvyn.
He met her gaze. "I'll be fine. Marilyn gave me beans and paste. Stay with Dad. I'll come back with the flower."
Lily swallowed hard. "You better."
Revvyn nodded.
Marilyn opened the book again, pointed to the map.
"Moonlit Forest is three days on foot if you don't die on the way. First day, the outer woods. Wolves, boars, maybe a dire-rat pack. Second day, the mist starts. Illusions. You'll see things that will try to play with your mind. The Third day, the deep forest. The Midnight Flower grows near the center, guarded by Moonlight Serpents. C-rank. Fast. Venom that paralyzes in seconds."
She tapped a small clearing on the map. "Camp here on the second night. Avoid the river, don't drink from it ...things live in it. And whatever you do, don't go in during daylight. The flowers only bloom at night."
Revvyn memorized the paths, the symbols, the warnings.
Marilyn closed the book. "You're an idiot. But if you're going to die, at least die trying."
They left the hut together. The sun was lower now. The square was almost empty.
Revvyn glanced back at Marilyn's door.
Four weeks to the academy.
A dying father.
A stolen fortune.
Lucien waiting for him to fail.
He looked down at Syll, who had reappeared beside his boot sometime during the conversation. He looked at lily whose face was worried.
"Let's go home... we'll leave tomorrow morning." he said.
Syll chirped once, it was soft, almost encouraging.