Chapter 6: The Military Camp

Words : 1868 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

"Sir, something terrible has happened!" The bodyguard who had taken Caleb Shirvinton to the military camp earlier burst into the living room, panic written all over his face. "Over a thousand men at the camp have come down with the same symptoms as you. They're vomiting blood and passing out." At that, Ian Juggins sprang up from the sofa. "Quick-" Before he could finish, a wave of weakness overwhelmed him. Thump! He collapsed back onto the cushions, gasping for breath. Seeing this, Jason Yare hurried forward to steady him. "You're really weak right now. Please don't get worked up." "Doctor!" Ian gripped his hand with surprising strength. "This concerns the military camp-it's critical. Please, you have to help them." "Alright." Jason patted the back of his hand. "I'll head to the military camp now. Please wait for my update." He took a deep breath, composed himself, and followed the bodyguard out of the Juggins family home. More than a thousand men with the Viper Hex-this isn't something you fix in a snap. Even with King Balam's Legacy, Jason could tell just how thorny this was. Every city in Chiton had a military camp like this one, used to supply the five frontier posts. Beyond the borders, the Freedom Alliance and the other Seven of the Eight Nations circled like wolves, clashes flaring year after year. Tens of thousands of soldiers died in battle annually. The importance of the military camp was obvious. However hard the task, Jason had agreed at once. Without those willing to spill blood on the frontier, the heartland of Chiton wouldn't know peace and prosperity. Peace doesn't come free-someone carries the burden so others can live in it. Watching Jason leave, Ian Juggins let out a long, weary sigh. "Marlee, help me back to my room." He was exhausted after all this. "Grandpa," Marlee Juggins said suddenly, "the man I've been searching for is also named Jason Yare. Do you think it could be him?" Ian shook his head, smiling wryly. "Don't go chasing shadows. The man who saved you five years ago was no ordinary figure. The people I sent to make inquiries were either killed or maimed. How could he be this young doctor?" "Yeah, sis," the younger girl chimed in. "If he really was your savior, how could he fail to recognize you? It has to be a coincidence." At dusk. Outside Nivon, at the foot of Drakon. Jason rode in a jeep to the military camp there. Once the bodyguard showed his credentials at the checkpoint, he led Jason inside. No sooner had they entered than Jason's ears perked up. The sound of wailing carried clearly across the grounds. Not far away, a team of medics in hazmat suits rushed past. "This is most likely a new virus. Make sure your suits are on properly!" "Yes, ma'am!" Jason and the bodyguard followed and stepped out onto a massive plaza. It was already fenced off with chain-link, keeping others out. Inside, rows upon rows of soldiers lay sprawled and groaning, packed so tight it was dizzying. Jason scanned the field and couldn't help but suck in a breath. There were far more than a thousand hexed. The bodyguard stood frozen. "When I left to report, there were nowhere near this many." "Stop right there!" A medic ran up and blocked their way, voice taut with urgency. "This plaza is an isolation zone. You can't go in." The bodyguard quickly produced his papers, then gestured to Jason. "By the general's orders, I've brought this young doctor to examine the soldiers." The medic looked Jason up and down, suspicion creasing her brow. "A doctor this young?" "He may be young, but his skill is extraordinary," the bodyguard said. "He just treated the general, then came straight here." "What?!" The medic stared. "The general came down with this-and you cured him?" "This isn't an infectious disease," Jason said. "It's… Never mind. Let me see the men first." He stepped onto the plaza. "Clear sky, bright earth, grant me true essence. Heaven's Eye, open!" The world in his eyes shifted. Colors drained and deepened at once. He sucked in a breath. "It's worse than I thought." Maybe because there were so many hexed, he could see a gray pall of death gathering over the plaza, like a smudge of storm cloud. The soldiers' Innate Vital Energy flickered thin and weak, candles guttering in a draft. He knelt and took a few pulses at random. The results were grim. The hex had already invaded their meridians. If it wasn't suppressed soon, they wouldn't last the night. He backed out of the plaza and gave crisp orders. "Prepare ice. Build an ice wall around the plaza. Then bring enough Dragonbane Powder and lay it down three layers thick, inside and out." Both the bodyguard and the medic stared. An ice wall and Dragonbane Powder, to treat an illness? "Snakes are cold-blooded," Jason explained. "Low temperatures slow them down. Dragonbane Powder does the same. It's almost dark. It's not a good time to treat them, so we'll have to focus on suppressing the Viper Hex for now." The two exchanged baffled looks. Taken literally it made sense, but in a medical context it didn't add up for them. Seeing their blank faces, Jason urged them, trying to keep his frustration in check. "Move. If you don't, the soldiers won't make it through the night." "Oh! Right!" The medic snapped back to herself. "I'll notify the captain." "I'll go with you," the bodyguard said. This would sound outrageous to most people. Without following along to explain, even the general's order might not be enough to convince them. As the two hurried off, Jason turned back to the gray mass over the plaza. It hung like a cloud cover, faint but growing denser by the minute. He combed through what he remembered about the Viper Hex, a deep frown forming. Snakes aren't social-pack them together and they get agitated. The soldiers' Viper Hex had invaded their meridians. Every breath in and out carried a trace of poison. Snakes have a keen sense of smell. Those exhaled toxins worked like pheromones, rousing the hex in other men and making it stronger. It was the height of summer. Nearly two thousand people were crammed into one plaza. The heat alone was brutal, and snakes favored warmth. Given all that, the soldiers' situation was far worse than Ian Juggins's case. "I hope this goes the way I think it will." He clenched his fist. The weight of almost two thousand lives settled on his shoulders like a mountain. Anyone would have trembled. All the more so when he'd only just been called a "miracle doctor" earlier that day. Just then, a group of seven or eight jogged toward him. The man in the lead looked to be in his fifties, his presence hard-edged and unyielding. He jogged up and snapped a salute. "Doctor." "I'm the camp instructor here. My name is Jordan. I hear you cured the commander. Is that true?" "Yes," Jason said with a nod. "And I need that ice wall and Dragonbane Powder arranged immediately. The men are close to their limit." "On it, sir! Second Battalion Commander, assemble everyone still on their feet. In two hours, I want everything the doctor asked for in place." "Yes, sir! We'll get it done!" A man missing three fingers spun and sprinted off. At that moment, a short-haired woman in a white coat and mask stepped up and pulled Jordan aside. "You're being reckless!"

Chapter 6: The Military Camp

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