The Church worked fast, or perhaps their timing was simply impeccable, as that was the moment when the Clerics came in to inform everyone that the evacuation helicopter for the wounded Elites was landing, and that it was intending to return to the Capital as quickly as possible.
“Where in the Capital will it be landing?” Overlord Drake asked.
“The University’s Wounded Veteran Treatment Hospital.” The cleric responded immediately.
That was likely one of the many facilities that were actually connected to the University and Cathedral, but hidden in the woods, to preserve the feeling of natural surroundings.
“Alright, we will come with you. We would like to be present for the official diagnosis from the resident experts.” Prince Axel declared.
“Did we do something to piss off Colonel Valerie?” Karl muttered to himself, making the Prince and Overlord both laugh.
“Probably. Goddess knows I likely did, but that’s just how she is. But we were tasked to ensure that the students were safe and to impress upon the Church that we can’t afford any lingering damage that will hinder their growth. We had to be on this front for an inspection anyhow, so it was no big thing.” Prince Axel remarked quietly.
“So that’s how it is. I don’t think that we have much to worry about. My arm might be mostly useless right now, but it will almost certainly recover in a reasonable timeframe.” Karl replied.
Axel smiled and gestured toward the door. “It’s that almost that the brass finds unacceptable. Now, I suppose we should be leaving, as the Church specifically made space for everyone in the evacuation flight.”
That made sense to Karl, especially when they had started with the speculation that one of the others might have made it to Commander Rank. The church did almost all the testing once you were out of the Academy, and two of the most likely candidates were Tessa and Lotus.
The thought of Lotus, the tiny wild child of a nature cleric as a High Priestess brought a smile to Karl’s face, which drew the attention of the others.
“Something amusing about an evacuation flight?” Harry asked.
Karl shook his head. “No, I was thinking that they likely expedited it, hoping that one of their own had reached Commander Rank. Now, it might be Tessa, but can you imagine Lotus as a High Priestess? I mean, nature Priestesses are known for being a little out there, but Lotus in charge of stuff that involves sitting and paperwork?”
Lotus gasped in horror and Doug laughed.
“There are at least fifty pages of reports to write after you officially advance. You should mentally prepare yourself, little one.” The High Priest teased his counterpart.
“And how long did it take you to do them?” Tessa asked.
Doug shrugged. “I got through the first assignment that day, and I’ll get them the rest of it later.”
Meaning that he still hadn’t done it, even months after the advancement test was completed. Either the paperwork wasn’t all that important, or the Church just gave up on the Nature Priests and let it slide. Karl had thought that they were going to force him to be responsible for at least a whole week before letting him escape again.
Once they were loaded, the helicopter began to spin up the rotors, and Karl’s head began to pound in time with the thumping of the air.
“Here, take one of these. It will help with the headache. Head injuries are tricky, since so much healing magic depends on what the body thinks is its proper state. It knows what a healed arm should be like, but when the brain is injured it gets confused.” One of the clerics explained as he handed Karl a small white pill.
Karl swallowed the medicine and immediately his headache began to fade as his whole body became numb.
Fortunately for him, the ride ended long before the pill wore off, and before he knew it, Karl had his arm around Dana, leading the group into the hospital while she grumbled about it being a waste of time as she wasn’t injured.
“Physical wounds aren’t the only thing that we treat here.” One of the clerics informed her with a gentle smile.
Lotus pulled Dana out from under Karl’s arm with a smile, and gave her a spin. “Relax, I’ve been here before. It’s good to get things off your chest, and they have the good food, as long as you’re not sick.”
Dana smiled softly. “Is it common for Nature Priestesses to be sent for mental health evaluations?”
Lotus nodded happily. “All the time before we are confirmed as followers of the Green Dragon or one of the other Nature Gods. People usually think that we’re crazy or scatterbrained, when we’re really just bored.”
“Or stoned.” Ty muttered.
“That’s a definite possibility. The others tell me that I don’t need drugs, though. I’m fun enough without them. Speaking of which, once we are settled in for the night, can we get Karl to let Rae out again? I want to swing in a hammock.” Lotus agreed.
The cleric in front of them in his doctor’s robes gave her a concerned look while the group laughed.
Karl gestured to her bag. “You know there is a hammock in there. You can just hang it up in your room if Rae isn’t around to make you a custom one.”
“Oh, right! I forgot that there was one in here. We haven’t had a chance to use them in a while since we’ve been in the same spot with new ones made for us.”
The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to take a deep breath before dealing with them again.
“I would ask if this was new behaviour, but it clearly isn’t. Are there any other oddballs in the group that I should know about?” He finally asked.
“Other than the Werebear Totem Berserker who gets super growly if you tickle her, the guy who talks to his pet monsters, the War Priestess who treats a Lightning Cerro as a pet, and Doug? Not really.” Lotus replied happily.
Harry and Ty gave each other knowing smiles, while Bob smirked at Doug.
“See, brother. I AM the normal one.” The warrior laughed.
Lotus shook her head. “That honour definitely goes to someone else in your family. But you don’t really qualify as an oddball.”
Doug gave Lotus a high five, while the Doctor shook his head.
“You know what, I’m bringing in a specialist team for this. I’m not doing this on a Monday.” He muttered as he tapped a button on the wall by a door.
It seemed to be some sort of pager, and after a second, four aging hippies came jogging down the hall, as if there were some type of emergency.
“You paged?” The first one to them asked, panting a little from the exertion.
“They’re all yours. I am clocking out.” The first doctor informed them, while the four confused Nature Priests looked at the group.
Karl saw the moment that the realization hit them, that the first guy just wasn’t up to dealing with the shenanigans of a green robed High Priest and his friends, and they spread their arms in a welcoming gesture, indicating that the group should come forward.
“Alright, we have your notes from the flight. Who is Commander Karl, the one who … No, that can’t be right. It says here you were punched in the face by a Frost Giant.” One of the clerics in the back asked.
Lotus shook her head. “Technically, she punched him in the chest, and his head hit a tree when he was finished flying. The initial diagnosis was a concussion.”
“Alright, was that before or after he lost the arm?” The doctor asked, directing it at Lotus, as the first responder on the scene.
“After, but not long after. The fight was over when I got there, but it couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds apart. I did my best to put the arm properly in place, and he’s got motion in the fingers, but they’re still weakened and not responding properly.” She explained.
The man with the most prodigious of the beards among the group nodded in understanding and cast some sort of spell over Karl.
“That’s an easy fix. It’s just nerve damage, and we can fix that as we deal with the head injury. It would sort itself out in a few weeks of treatment anyhow.” The bearded Doctor agreed.
“Why does nobody have name tags?” Karl asked Doug, who was standing beside him.
“So that we can’t yell at them by name. It helps keep things impersonal. Once we’re settled in, and they know that we’re not in the middle of battle rage or psychosis, they will usually introduce themselves. But these are Dale, Jerry, John and Skittles.” Doug replied.
The bearded man burst into laughter.
“High Priest Xander Moonbeam Rainbow. Doctor Xander to most, but this impertinent whelp made up a nickname for me when he was still one of my more promising students.” He explained.
Well, that was an unfortunate name. Perhaps his parents were nature priests as well.
