Their rounds were uneventful. All of their patients were nobles suffering from minor diseases that had exploited their contacts to have healers come to their homes.
"Okay guys, we are almost done." Yurial said once they had checked all but one of the names on their list
"I have saved this patient for last because he is a friend of my family and it could take a while. Is there any problem if we get back a little later than usual, Professor?"
Ironhelm shook his head, he had no reason to refuse. The longer he babysat them, the lesser paperwork he would find at his return. Having someone else doing it for him was the main reason he had volunteered for the task.
"I'm sure you can handle it without me. I have much to do. Have fun with your friend." Lith snorted, opening a Warp Steps right outside the local branch of the Mage Association. He was about to step through when Yurial stopped him.
"I'm really sorry, Lith. I have a favor to ask you." Yurial didn't like being forced to ask for his help, especially since Lith had been giving him the cold shoulder for no apparent reason for days.
"What is it?" Lith glared at Yurial like the first day they met.
"The person we are going to visit is actually a friend of my father. He doesn't have the authority or the status to get an appointment with one of the great healers of the Kingdom.
"So he did all he could to be included in our rounds. I don't know why, but he expressly asked for you. He even pestered my father until he was promised that I would ensure your collaboration."
"Is this person influential?" Lith asked. One thing was adding another name to the list of those that owed him a favor, another was wasting his time with minor nobles.
"Actually, no. House Tanash is a young magical bloodline that didn't produce a magician in the last two generations. They are on the verge of losing their status. There's not much they could do for you, but if you agree to help, my household would be indebted to you."
Yurial understood the meaning behind Lith's words, so instead of playing the friend card, he decided to make a deal.
Lith nodded. House Deirus was on the rise and he was already on good terms with them. Together with the Ernas, Archmage Deirus was someone that could help him greatly, if ever the necessity arose.
Despite being located on the outskirts of the high-end district, House Tanash turned out to be a magnificent mansion. It was a three-story building, each floor about two hundred square meters. Yet despite the pristine white walls and the enchanted fence surrounding it, Lith could clearly see that it belonged to a declining household.
It was much smaller than the Marchioness' house, something more fitting to a rich merchant rather than a magical bloodline. The mansion had no garden at all, there was no insignia along the walls or on the front door.
It seemed like they were trying to hide their identity.
After Yurial knocked, the door was opened almost instantly. The butler wore quite an expensive dress. His white shirt was made of silk while the deep blue blazer and the pants were cashmere. He was a man around 1.65 (5'5") meters high with blue eyes, blond hair, a beard and mustaches of the same color.
The butler was deadly pale and sweating bullets, several stains could be seen on the collar of his shirt.
"Lord Deirus, thank the gods you are here! I was starting to lose all hope!"
Lith smirked at the bad manners of the man, who was dragging Yurial inside instead of making way to his master.
"You must be Master Lith." The butler said while suddenly grabbing his hand and holding it like it was a treasure. The man's hands were slippery like an eel because of the sweat. Lith wanted to get rid of him but didn't know how to do it without being rude.
"You are exactly as they described you. Tall, calm and with a gaze that would make even a baby stop crying. I hope that everything else about you it's true too. My son is in desperate need of your help."
"Your son?" Lith blurted out.
'They must really be in hot waters if they don't have a butler. Either that or the situation is so desperate that Lord Tanash came to open the door by himself. Yet it doesn't make sense. If his son is so ill, how come they didn't accept him at the White Griffon hospital?' Lith thought.
"Lord Tanash, this is Lith of Lutia." Yurial was truly embarrassed by the lord of the household's behavior, but he kept his cool and performed the proper introductions in their host's stead before Lith changed his mind about helping.
Yurial knew that those days it was really easy for Lith to lose his temper.
"Lith, allow me to introduce you Duke Vinald Tanash." Lith shook his hand, using darkness magic to cleanse it as soon as he managed to get free from the slimy vice.
"Duke Tanash is not himself today because…"
"Yes, yes! Please, excuse my manners, Master Lith!" The Duke cut Yurial short, giving Lith a bow so deep his head almost touched the ground.
'Definitely desperate.' Lith concluded.
It was only thanks to the efforts of Yurial and of the family butler that they managed to calm Vinald enough to let their guests accommodate in the tea room. Lith noticed that after serving the tea for everyone, the butler spiked the Duke's with liquor.
After several cups of liquor diluted with a bit of tea, Vinald managed to calm down enough to explain himself properly.
"I'm really sorry for earlier, but I just received a piece of news that will be the final nail in the coffin of my household if even Master Lith proves to be powerless against the ruin looming over our heads." Duke Tanash turned pale again, his words on the verge of turning back into a rambling.
The butler had lost all hope to preserve the dignity of his master, so he poured liquor instead of tea into the cup.
"Let me explain. House Tanash was founded by my great-great-grandfather, Gillam Tanash. Born as the son of a humble blacksmith, he managed to become an archmage and served the Kingdom with honor.
Before his death, he received the title of Duke for his achievements.
"Alas, after him no one in our family showed the slightest talent for magic. All we have comes from Archmage Tanash's work, but in a single generation, there is only so much one can do. Over time, our contribution to the Kingdom has become less and less.
"We didn't have a mage nor the necessary funds to gain merits enough to increase our status. That was until my son, Zintar, was accepted in the Lightning Griffon academy. He is no genius, but he is very talented and hardworking. During the first three years of the academy, he always was in the top percentile.
"This year, after the second trimester, his grades started to drop. At first, I thought it was all my fault. With the civil war on the brink of exploding, I tasked him to… protect the interests of the family. It forced Zintar to neglect his studies quite a bit."
The truth was that House Tanash had been one of the most active members of the new magical bloodlines party that wanted the civil war to happen. The Duke had tried more than once to escalate the events, aiming to get rid of the ancient households that threatened to take everything away from him.
They constantly reminded the Crown of how useless were the relatively poor and mageless households to the Kingdom.
He had forced Zintar to sabotage the studies of his rivals and engage them in fights outside the academy's walls.
"The lack of practice led him to almost fail his second exam, so he went back to study full time. The problem is that the situation never improved. His grades are still bad enough he is likely to be expelled.
"Now that the Crown has decreed no third exam will take place, he is doomed. If he fails, we'll lose our noble status, our home, everything."
"You want me to tutor him or what?" Lith was exasperated by those ramblings. His fingers almost pierced the armrests of the armchair he was sitting in.
"Gods, no. He already has the best tutors and teachers I could afford. I want you to visit him. Zintar says that something is wrong with his body, that no matter how much he tries he can't focus as well as he did before.
I already had him visited by the best healers I could find, but they found nothing. You are our last hope."
"A mysterious illness that makes you fail in your studies is the oldest excuse in the book." Yurial whispered to Lith's ear.
"Even I used it a lot in the past. Usually the prescribed cure is a good pep talk and a cut on the daily allowance. It sure worked on me."
Lith nodded.
'This man is just sad. He refuses to admit his mistakes and tries to find someone to blame. If his son lost a whole trimester, no matter how talented he is, he cannot catch up.' He thought.
Duke Tanash lead them on the first floor, where his son's study was located. The walls were covered by bookshelves filled with tomes covering all the conceivable magical topics.
Several volumes were missing. Some had been left open on the floor, occupying most of the space, others were piled on a desk behind which a youth was sitting while taking and reviewing notes.
An open door revealed a state of the art Alchemical lab. Just like the study room, the lab was a mess, with shattered components on the floor marking failed experiments and burn marks on the walls.
The Duke introduced the youth as his heir.
Zintar was a fifteen-year-old boy with blond hair like his father and deep set eyes from the lack of sleep. He seemed to be on the verge of exhaustion.
"Nothing, father. No matter how much I study or practice, my results are always mediocre." Judging from his bloodshot eyes, he had no more tears to shed.
"Don't worry, son. Master Lith is here. He is the only White Griffon student that was chosen by his Professors to assist them during the plague. If there is someone that can help you, it's him." Duke Tanash patted Lith's back like he was a long lost brother.
Lith barely escaped Zintar's hug, starting to chant his diagnostic spells and stopping him on his tracks. Lith used everything he had, yet he found that there was nothing wrong.
Even the spell Professor Marth had devised with his help against the parasites gave negative results. Yet the more spells he used, the more Lith was certain that Zintar wasn't making excuses.
After learning Necromancy from Professor Zekell, Lith was now able to follow the mana in his spells even when he used fake magic. Lith could perceive them working properly, but each one would lose a bit of their strength as soon as they reached Zintar.
Even if his mind was still a mess, he hadn't forgotten about the boxes and their content. Lith used Invigoration to check if Zintar was wearing one of those mysterious items or had been poisoned.
As Lith suspected, Zintar's system was plagued by the same toxin he had obtained from the boxes. The layer was thicker than the one he had experienced.
'With so much toxin in his bloodstream, he should barely be able to cast tier four spells. This kind of prolonged exposition is clearly deliberate. Without a parasite, the toxin should wear off in a few weeks.
'Also, despite being poisoned for almost six months, his core doesn't show any sign of discoloration. He has been administered small doses over time. Whoever did this, didn't want to kill him, just to make him fail his exams.' He thought.
Lith was about to give him the good news, but then he froze up.
'If I cure him, the existence of the toxin will become of public knowledge. The responsible will have plenty of time to get rid of the evidence and go into hiding. With the traitor afoot, I can't trust Ironhelm. I must report this to Linjos.
'I have finally found a way to share my knowledge about the boxes or at least about the toxins they contain. Let's hope this is enough to change the future.'
"I'm sorry, there's nothing wrong with you." Lith said with his most professional tone, while father and son both burst into tears.
Yurial, Quylla, and Friya examined Zintar too but to no avail. Lith was annoyed by such a waste of time, but he had to keep the façade and pretend to care about the patient.
After they left the house, they used a Warp Steps to return to the local branch of the Mage Association and from there to the academy.
"Have lunch without me, I have things to do." Lith walked away before they could even register his words.
"He's always in a bad mood recently." Friya pondered. "I'm really starting to worry about him. Maybe something bad happened in the mining town."
"Me too." Yurial nodded. "The question is, what could possibly be so bad to turn him back to how he was nine months ago? And why does he refuse to speak about it even with Phloria? She's going to freak out one of these days."
"I have no clue." Quylla shook her head. "By the way, didn't you feel something was odd with our last patient? I can't put my finger on it, but all my spells gave me a weird feeling."
Quylla, was the only one besides Lith talented enough for necromancy to have developed even more her mana perception thanks to its practice, but unlike him she had no idea what they were against.