After walking out of the inn, I feel refreshed. Never thought I would be sitting still for a long period of time like that...
Still, there's this entire aspect of life I haven't heard about even once. Magic... It sounds... No it's a bit embarrassing to think about it.
Welp, it's time for my usual medical training.
"Oh, hey, welcome, Fortune!" Carolyn greets me "What's with that thoughtful expression you have?"
"Um... Well... I was studying."
"Ooh, what were you studying?" She asks and I tell her about the world of magic
"I see, well, come to think of it, I barely saw any magic users coming to the hospital. And even then... They're usually the miners..."
"Wait, so whatever those guys were doing was magic?! Like those flares and such?!"
"Probably. It's better to be concrete when describing magic."
We both get to work right soon after. I recount numerous tales I have from when I was working in the mines, starting from blowing up crabs to finding a nice crystal by myself at one point and Carolyn gets curious about my job.
"Say, given that you know so much about them, why are you no longer with them? Was it a choice? And how did you even end up here?... Was it your father?"
"... Well...
Yeah, my dad was a miner and since I was, hell, still a wimpy kid, he wanted me to man up and assist him during work...
When he WAS working, anyway.
His coworkers actually were quite fond of me, given that I was merely a kid. Like you, they also needed a helping hand; so they would allow me to do some minor jobs, such as carrying the debris and fetching various equipment. I actually thought of that as a dream job for me in spite of my sister's complaints; she was more into woodworking.
It was fun, but well... My father began to slack off on his work. He wouldn't come to it anymore and I had to stand in for him. Everything was so heavy and painful. The coworkers actually tried to lessen the pressure put on me, but the "higher-ups" demanded that the free slot be filled or else.
I tried reasoning with my dad, but he wouldn't have any of it. He threatened to sell me to... Well, "people", so I had to keep up in order to survive.
They paid me generously for my efforts and I thought that would be it, but it wasn't. That... That FUCKER took away my money, claiming it was his. The money he should've been struggling for!!---"
"Language."
"Sorry. But yeah... He kept taking the money. And all my savings were gone. But because of him I can't even tell anyone what's truly happening! He said he's going to turn my brain into paste if I told anyone about him taking away "his" money."
"But why are you telling me this?"
"... I got fired. And I can't return to the mines anymore."
"What happened? Did they find out?"
"No... A casualty happened.
During our usual bombings through the mines, a scary explosion happened and a huge rock fell onto the eldest and skilled member of the group - Mr. Galhen. He was the person who kept our morale high during the whole experience, as there were both rock monsters and general malnourishment to worry about.
We were endlessly mining for materials we can't use, and to some it started to really get to them. Some swore they kept hearing "the delirious whispers" in the walls and began to scratch the walls until their nails fell down. We tried to contain those people, but they would usually end their lives by banging their heads on the walls or trying to go inside tight crevices. Some would use the mining tools on themselves to end it all. Some would intentionally throw themselves at the rock monsters, begging them to bash their heads in. It was insanity
Mr. Galhen tried to save as many people as possible though. He would tie them up and create a sort of "isolation space" where after a while, the miners would calm down and continue working. He also looked after me the most...
~
"It must be disturbing seeing all those loons lose a few of their screws, eh? Don't worry. Just try to not think about it. You have so much to live for."
"..."
~
He was our beacon of hope, but given how easily people die in the mines... I suppose is turn was up. It was unexpected too. We didn't expect a gas pocket to be so close, so we were pretty confident. And when he died... The mine caught on fire and we all had to evacuate.
Ultimately, they decided to fire me because they believed they can't risk a child dying here in the mines. When I returned with the news, my dad was furious. He beat me black and blue because of this and demanded I bring him money or else...
I tried taking on other jobs, but due to general poverty of the village, they wouldn't accept me on the full basis
That brings me to here."
Carolyn looks at me with a sympathetic, yet sad expression "I'm... Genuinely sorry, Fortune."
"Eh, well, this place was hellish anyway; besides it happened long ago by now." I shrug "But I can still sometimes hear their screams."
She then gently pulled me closer, half-hugging me. She doesn't utter a word, but her eyes tell it all. She's... Sorry for me. It's odd that people care for me. I almost want to melt away right now.
But work is still work. Sorting out the newly arrived medical supplies, I ask Carolyn about the magicians more, since she was familiar with them.
"Oh, those are brilliant people. What they do is truly something exceptional. I personally don't wield magic, but my twin sister did - she was a pyromancer. Our parents however seemed to prefer me over her in spite of her talent. That didn't matter - we both loved each other and she would do various tricks for my amusement. I even heard she joined a guild and was a high ranking member, but... It seems even she couldn't stop the Daemon that destroyed our home village.
I was studying abroad at the time, so the news broke me. I really wanted to see her again, but it seems life had different plans.
I came back to mourn my sister's death as soon as possible, yet when I arrived, beneath a smoldering ruin, I saw a tiny little girl where her house was. She was unconscious and malnourished, clutching a doll. I figured out that she was my niece and took her with me. And now I have Cathy with me."
"Oh..."
"Sorry, got carried away. Genuinely, magicians are truly aspiring. And since I saw my sister near Cathy, it means she protected her til her dying breath."
And so we continued to talk until our shift was over. She paid me a small fee for my work and said she expects me to visit her tomorrow. Cathy was sleeping that day, so I didn't stay with her this time.
Returning home, I try to find another way to store money so that my dad won't find it. Under the floorboards should be alright, no? When I did manage to pull some of them out (which wasn't easy at all), I find a diary of Sylvie. While prying into someone's diary is awful... The curiousity is clawing at me. I'll check it out later though, dad might notice me.
Afterwards, I made notes of everything that I learned today in my diary, or at least the things I could remember, and went to sleep; hoping for a better tomorrow and that my dad won't discover my money this time.