TRC - Book II: Searching for the Sky (Male x Monster Girls)

Chapter 14

"Fuck you, Kal! I hope your fucking dick falls off! You are never, ever touching me again! Get the fuck away from me!" Perra screamed in the mage's face.

Kal was so shocked by the outburst he stood up from his place next to the large tub and turned towards the door, his expression blank as he automatically followed the laboring woman's orders.

"No, no, no, no," Elta said, jumping up and gently steering him by the shoulders back to the water-filled basin Perra was sitting in. "Any other time she tells you to go away, you do it. But not now, your place is here." The cleric put her hands on his shoulders and pushed, directing him to kneel and resume his position by the tub.

"Slow your breathing, girl, before you pass out," said Lulen. "You can't push when you're asleep." The old midwife had a hand on Perra's belly and was pressing in various places to be sure that the baby was aligned properly. "Boy," she commanded holding out a hand towards Kal. Taking it, he channeled some magic into her while she peered intently at the pregnant woman. Nodding at what she saw, she let go. "A few more contractions and she should be ready."

Elta was still amazed at the old woman's ability to see into the bodies of those she touched. It had been a bit of a shock the first time she helped Lulen, the midwife reaching out and demanding magic from her. The cleric didn't have the same kind of control as Kal and it took a few frustrating failures before Elta discovered that attempting to cast a healing spell where the central glyph was disrupted by the old woman's body had roughly the effect they needed. She sent news of her discovery back to the church in the capital not long after she arrived but the luke-warm response they sent back led her to believe that they hadn't taken her seriously.

In return, Lulen had been amazed by the large metal washtub that arrived strapped to the top of the cleric's carriage once Elta explained what it was for. The blacksmith had also taken a keen interest in it since the metal was so thin but quickly lost interest when the cleric explained that she had no idea how it was manufactured other than it was something that stemmed from a recently discovered way of making tough but light armor.

A new method of giving birth cropped up in the last couple of years where deliveries were happening in a pond, stream, or bath instead of a bed. The added buoyancy from the water seemed to make the process much easier on both mother and child and new mothers were quickly singing its praises. Unfortunately, it was discovered that doing this in a tub, where the dirty water couldn't circulate out, could lead to infections. Those that gave birth in a body of water didn't seem to have these issues, given that the water was clean to begin with. Since it was difficult to keep the water both warm and circulating in the average city home, the method was nearly abandoned until a few priests began purifying the water immediately after the woman delivered, even before the child was lifted out of the water. Seeing the clergy's relative success, washing the child and mother after a water birth became required, regardless of how clear the water was once finished. It was still recommended to have a cleric available as the spell purified any dirtied water that may have gotten into the baby's eyes, ears, and nose as well as anything that might have flowed back up into the mother. The purification spell was also far simpler than a healing spell and therefore cost much less than having a cleric come back a few days later to heal any infections that occurred.

All these things combined made the method accessible to the majority of the urban populace and quickly replaced delivering in bed or on a birthing stool.

Elta hated the idea of charging for bringing a child into the world. Unfortunately, the high priests and priestesses disagreed and expected reports of services rendered to the townsfolk and what she charged them. They weren't particularly callous about it in person but were very firm that it took gold to run an organization as large as the church and that they couldn't give away their time and abilities.