Post by Solana on Mar 27, 2024 15:25:57 GMT -5
Chapter Five- Bittersweet
Raculi was small and secluded enough that any visitors were a big deal. Ships were greeted by most citizens not working the fields or tending flocks, and the Dragonship Destiny should have gathered everyone in the village.
Mauri's heart sank when she saw one figure standing near the beach, and not the one that her heart was longing for. As they grew closer, she recognized him at last.
"Josam!" she called out once they were in earshot. She jumped off of the Destiny as soon as it came to a stop. Leo followed just behind her, while Smythe and another guardsman had brought Leo's and Mauri's things.
Ronfar's grandfather could move quickly despite his limp. He smiled joyously and embraced Mauri and Leo tightly in a hug. He had treated the siblings as his own grandchildren even before their parents had passed, and it was a relief to see him alive and well.
"Mauri, Leo, thank the Goddess that you've finally come," Josam murmured.
"Ronfar wrote us that he's caught this plague," Mauri explained. A sick fear took hold of her heart. "Is he... is he...?"
"He's alive, but not well," Josam answered quickly. "It's been.... well, you can see for yourself."
Mauri took a good look at her hometown and felt faint. There were many, many more graves in the village's small cemetery. Ash from bonfires to burn contaminated items floated in the air, thick and cloying and painting everything in sight with a tinge of gray. Far fewer people could be seen working in fields or tending flocks, and they were quieter and moved slowly instead of singing or trading greetings. Even the herding and hunting dogs seemed to have lost their spirits.
"By the Goddess...." Leo murmured in horror.
"My boy is in his house and has refused most visitors to keep them healthy. I'll bring you to him," Josam offered.
"Mauri, why don't you go ahead?" Leo suggested. He pointed to his men starting to unload the extra supplies from Azado. "I'll see to storing the supplies and rejoin you soon."
Mauri nodded and followed Josam to Ronfar's childhood home, next door to hers and Leo's. On the way, her heart was hurting at the atmosphere of the village. There was so much pain and so little hope. If ever there was a place and time for Althena's mercy, this was it.
Dear Goddess, you feel the pain of every one of your children. I beg you, grant me the strength to bring your love and life back here.
Josam hesitated for a moment outside of the little house. "He may insist that you leave, my girl."
"It doesn't matter. I came here to try and heal him, and that's what I'll do," Mauri replied.
Josam smiled weakly. "Very well. Prepare yourself." With that, he knocked on the door. "Ronfar, my lad? You have a visitor."
There was a coughing noise inside. Mauri's fists clenched when she heard how weak it was. "No visitors! It's not safe!"
"I don't think this one will listen," Josam replied, then opened the door and let Mauri in.
Mauri's hands flew to cover her open mouth. Ronfar was in worse shape than she had dreamed. He looked like he had aged a decade in a few months and hadn't slept in most of that time. Purple bags hung under his weary eyes and his skin had a slight gray tinge to it that frightened her. His clothes hung loosely on his frame as he sat up in bed.
"My love..." Mauri murmured, coming closer. She felt the familiar flush of heat that signified a fever, as well as widespread pain. What was this...?
Ronfar's eyes blazed with love as he saw her before swiftly shifting to anger. "No! I told you not to come! I didn't want..." He broke off coughing.
Mauri reached for the locket that hung over her heart. "This said I had to come, Ronfar. I would never abandon my beloved, my soulmate, my husband of my heart."
Tears welled up in Ronfar's eyes. "It isn't safe. I haven't been able to figure out anything about how this plague spreads..." he protested weakly.
"I don't care!" Mauri cried out as tears fell down her own cheeks. She ran to him, throwing her arms around him in desperation. "I love you. I love you. How could you think I would stay away when everything I need is right here? I had to try, my love."
Ronfar hugged her back tightly. "I'm so glad.... I've needed you for so long, Mauri. It's been hell.... and I couldn't do a damn thing...." The tears broke, and he started sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder.
Mauri held him close, making low soothing sounds and letting him know that she was there, that they were together again. She didn't say that everything would be all right, because it wouldn't be for a long time. But their hearts beat together, and their arms around the other created their own little world for just a little while.
It wasn't until Leo showed up with a jug of water and box of food that Ronfar came back to himself. He smiled weakly at his best friend, still wiping his eyes and nose. "I thought I told you to keep her away."
Leo shrugged, hiding his alarm at Ronfar's appearance. "If you think you'd have any better luck, you're welcome to try."
"No, I know when I'm beat. Why not come sit down so we can talk?" Ronfar suggested, pointing to a chair.
Leo pulled it next to the bed while Mauri settled on its side. Then the beastman went to pour a pitcher of the water and grabbed three cups, passing one out to everyone before taking a seat.
Ronfar sipped gratefully, then let out a long sigh. "So it all started when I was working in Zaback..."
Ronfar had been kept busy in Zaback with healing miners' injuries and illnesses and giving advice and sermons. Some nights when it was quieter, he'd play phalanx and other card games with different groups to get to know the people and listen to stories of their lives. Although an orator, he'd found that one of the best ways he could help people was to let them talk.
"That was how I first learned about the plague here. It wasn't long after that I got the missive from the Chosen to come home," Ronfar explained.
It was as bad as he had described in his letters to Mauri and Leo. Although it was rare for an entire family to be struck by the plague, many families had at least one ill member. Nothing touched it- not healing herbs, not recovery magic, nothing. In fact, recovery magic seemed to make things worse.
"Make things worse? How so?" Mauri asked in puzzlement.
There were two main symptoms of this plague- a fever and pain. Almost every time that Ronfar had tried healing it, the patients would cry out and often start screaming from the pain. Meanwhile, the fever would get worse, eventually causing the death of the patient.
"I can verify that," Ronfar said grimly, "I was struck by it about a week ago and have tried healing myself at least once a day. It... it burns like hell, as if it's rejecting the magic we use."
"Is that even possible?" Leo asked.
"I've never heard of anything like it," Mauri confessed.
"Me neither. Even Balse is stumped, but he's been plowing through books in Pentagulia's library like a madman. He's trying, but I don't know if he'll find anything in time," Ronfar said grimly.
Mauri didn't dare to ask, but Leo did. "How long would he have to search?" Ronfar hesitated, so Leo gripped his shoulder. "How long do we have for this battle?"
"About another two weeks," Ronfar whispered, "It's been about three weeks between the first symptoms and death."
Mauri's heart nearly stopped, but she forced herself to ask the next question. "How many other patients remain?"
"None. I'm the last one."
Mauri and Leo looked at each other, each steeling their determination. Then Leo bowed his head slightly. "I am at your command, sister. How do we start?"
Mauri took a deep breath to steady herself. "Ronfar, I'm sure you kept notes on the cases in your journals, yes?" Ronfar nodded. "Leo, please find them for me. When you have time, please read through them. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can find something we missed, especially because someone trained can skim through and miss something important."
Leo nodded and got to his feet. Ronfar pointed out the desk heaped with books from his studies and the journals. "You'll want the red one on top."
Mauri then turned to Ronfar, her eyes solemn. "Ronfar, I'd like a closer look of this plague. May I do so?"
Ronfar held out his hands. "Go ahead, sugarplum."
Mauri took them and laid a soft kiss on his knuckles. Bowing her head, she started softly chanting.
While Mauri's sensitivity let her 'tune in' to a patient's symptoms automatically, she had learned how to enhance it enough to feel a close approximation of the patient's experience. It was invaluable with helping unconscious patients or those too young to speak or when she needed more specific details.
Mauri gasped as heat flooded her body- it was a severe fever. Pain played over her nerves like a kaleidoscope- severe pain in her chest and belly, less severe in her shoulders and hips, but shifting in severity as time went on. Burning appeared and vanished in her hands, then ankles, then neck, then feet. "Oh... oh, Ronfar, how long has it been like this?"
"Two days. You can let it go, love," Ronfar pleaded.
Mauri shook her head, trying to breathe slowly through the phantom pain. "You said it got worse with recovery magic. I'd like to try healing it now."
Ronfar glanced over at Leo who was thumbing through the red journal. "Which of you two is the more stubborn?" Leo and Mauri each pointed at the other. Ronfar chuckled. "That's what I thought. Let's give it our best shot."
Mauri nodded and squeezed Ronfar's hands encouragingly before beginning. "Mother Goddess, you who hear all the cries of your children, a terrible plague is sweeping through this land. Your child, whom you saw fit to bless with two missions, needs you now."
The familiar white/gold light began building up around them. Mauri suddenly felt a pair of jolts of pain through her shoulders.
"Nnngh," Ronfar grunted, then gestured to Mauri. "Keep going!"
Frowning, Mauri continued. "I beg of you, send the light of your love to obliterate this illness and save his life! For this I pray!"
The light blazed like the white-hot heart of a fire. Mauri sent it streaming into Ronfar, chasing every bit of the illness in his body that she could sense.
Ronfar bit back a scream as Mauri moaned. The pain had flared up in response to her recovery magic, exactly as Ronfar had said. The fever also went up a few degrees.
"Stop this!" Leo yelled, then lunged forward to separate them. Mauri groaned and let the spell go, breathing hard as the sensation of pain quieted. Ronfar was panting, sweat trickling down his brow as if he had just finished a marathon.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, love. Please forgive me," Mauri begged, her eyes tearing up.
"There's nothing to forgive, sugarplum. I told you to continue," Ronfar said strongly.
Leo topped off the glasses with fresh water and shoved one each to his best friend and sister. "Is that how it was with all of your patients?"
Ronfar gulped down his glass of water and held it out entreatingly for a refill, which Leo obliged. After a few more sips, he finally sighed and nodded. "Every. Single. One. The more times I tried to heal them, the faster it advanced."
Mauri resisted the urge to kick the wall. "How is this possible? It almost seems...."
"...crafted, doesn't it?" Ronfar finished. He smiled grimly. "I've had the same thought many times. No normal illness would react to Althena's power like this. The pattern is also odd, hitting one person in so many different families."
"I saw the fires and ash in the village- you've taken the normal precautions?" Mauri asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm not betting our friends' lives on the chance of being wrong," Ronfar assured her.
Mauri sat back and tried to think. There had to be a way to work around this illness or just overpower it with sheer force. With a lack of assistance from any other clergy, she would have to find something new.
"It's time to dive into our books, then," Mauri decided. Going to her trunk, she removed the most advanced holy books she owned, some of which even Ronfar didn't have copies of. She gave him her copy of Advanced Theory of Magical Illness and grabbed Advanced Spellcrafting for Healers for herself.
"Leo, can you put the teapot on, please? It's going to be a long night," Ronfar said. Leo nodded and went outside to go get some more firewood for the stove.
Mauri settled into a comfortable sitting position on the edge of Ronfar's bed, but he looked up and patted the mattress next to him. "Sugarplum, it's been so long. Can I just... hold you?"
Mauri smiled coquettishly. "Of course." She eased next to him, sighing in pleasure at the familiar scent of his cologne and the warmth of his body next to hers. He flung one arm around her to hold her close and sat the book on his chest. Mauri snuggled in and rested her book against her legs.
"We can do this, love. If anyone can find a solution, it'll be us working together," Mauri whispered. Ronfar nodded, kissed her cheek, and started reading.
Raculi was small and secluded enough that any visitors were a big deal. Ships were greeted by most citizens not working the fields or tending flocks, and the Dragonship Destiny should have gathered everyone in the village.
Mauri's heart sank when she saw one figure standing near the beach, and not the one that her heart was longing for. As they grew closer, she recognized him at last.
"Josam!" she called out once they were in earshot. She jumped off of the Destiny as soon as it came to a stop. Leo followed just behind her, while Smythe and another guardsman had brought Leo's and Mauri's things.
Ronfar's grandfather could move quickly despite his limp. He smiled joyously and embraced Mauri and Leo tightly in a hug. He had treated the siblings as his own grandchildren even before their parents had passed, and it was a relief to see him alive and well.
"Mauri, Leo, thank the Goddess that you've finally come," Josam murmured.
"Ronfar wrote us that he's caught this plague," Mauri explained. A sick fear took hold of her heart. "Is he... is he...?"
"He's alive, but not well," Josam answered quickly. "It's been.... well, you can see for yourself."
Mauri took a good look at her hometown and felt faint. There were many, many more graves in the village's small cemetery. Ash from bonfires to burn contaminated items floated in the air, thick and cloying and painting everything in sight with a tinge of gray. Far fewer people could be seen working in fields or tending flocks, and they were quieter and moved slowly instead of singing or trading greetings. Even the herding and hunting dogs seemed to have lost their spirits.
"By the Goddess...." Leo murmured in horror.
"My boy is in his house and has refused most visitors to keep them healthy. I'll bring you to him," Josam offered.
"Mauri, why don't you go ahead?" Leo suggested. He pointed to his men starting to unload the extra supplies from Azado. "I'll see to storing the supplies and rejoin you soon."
Mauri nodded and followed Josam to Ronfar's childhood home, next door to hers and Leo's. On the way, her heart was hurting at the atmosphere of the village. There was so much pain and so little hope. If ever there was a place and time for Althena's mercy, this was it.
Dear Goddess, you feel the pain of every one of your children. I beg you, grant me the strength to bring your love and life back here.
Josam hesitated for a moment outside of the little house. "He may insist that you leave, my girl."
"It doesn't matter. I came here to try and heal him, and that's what I'll do," Mauri replied.
Josam smiled weakly. "Very well. Prepare yourself." With that, he knocked on the door. "Ronfar, my lad? You have a visitor."
There was a coughing noise inside. Mauri's fists clenched when she heard how weak it was. "No visitors! It's not safe!"
"I don't think this one will listen," Josam replied, then opened the door and let Mauri in.
Mauri's hands flew to cover her open mouth. Ronfar was in worse shape than she had dreamed. He looked like he had aged a decade in a few months and hadn't slept in most of that time. Purple bags hung under his weary eyes and his skin had a slight gray tinge to it that frightened her. His clothes hung loosely on his frame as he sat up in bed.
"My love..." Mauri murmured, coming closer. She felt the familiar flush of heat that signified a fever, as well as widespread pain. What was this...?
Ronfar's eyes blazed with love as he saw her before swiftly shifting to anger. "No! I told you not to come! I didn't want..." He broke off coughing.
Mauri reached for the locket that hung over her heart. "This said I had to come, Ronfar. I would never abandon my beloved, my soulmate, my husband of my heart."
Tears welled up in Ronfar's eyes. "It isn't safe. I haven't been able to figure out anything about how this plague spreads..." he protested weakly.
"I don't care!" Mauri cried out as tears fell down her own cheeks. She ran to him, throwing her arms around him in desperation. "I love you. I love you. How could you think I would stay away when everything I need is right here? I had to try, my love."
Ronfar hugged her back tightly. "I'm so glad.... I've needed you for so long, Mauri. It's been hell.... and I couldn't do a damn thing...." The tears broke, and he started sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder.
Mauri held him close, making low soothing sounds and letting him know that she was there, that they were together again. She didn't say that everything would be all right, because it wouldn't be for a long time. But their hearts beat together, and their arms around the other created their own little world for just a little while.
It wasn't until Leo showed up with a jug of water and box of food that Ronfar came back to himself. He smiled weakly at his best friend, still wiping his eyes and nose. "I thought I told you to keep her away."
Leo shrugged, hiding his alarm at Ronfar's appearance. "If you think you'd have any better luck, you're welcome to try."
"No, I know when I'm beat. Why not come sit down so we can talk?" Ronfar suggested, pointing to a chair.
Leo pulled it next to the bed while Mauri settled on its side. Then the beastman went to pour a pitcher of the water and grabbed three cups, passing one out to everyone before taking a seat.
Ronfar sipped gratefully, then let out a long sigh. "So it all started when I was working in Zaback..."
Ronfar had been kept busy in Zaback with healing miners' injuries and illnesses and giving advice and sermons. Some nights when it was quieter, he'd play phalanx and other card games with different groups to get to know the people and listen to stories of their lives. Although an orator, he'd found that one of the best ways he could help people was to let them talk.
"That was how I first learned about the plague here. It wasn't long after that I got the missive from the Chosen to come home," Ronfar explained.
It was as bad as he had described in his letters to Mauri and Leo. Although it was rare for an entire family to be struck by the plague, many families had at least one ill member. Nothing touched it- not healing herbs, not recovery magic, nothing. In fact, recovery magic seemed to make things worse.
"Make things worse? How so?" Mauri asked in puzzlement.
There were two main symptoms of this plague- a fever and pain. Almost every time that Ronfar had tried healing it, the patients would cry out and often start screaming from the pain. Meanwhile, the fever would get worse, eventually causing the death of the patient.
"I can verify that," Ronfar said grimly, "I was struck by it about a week ago and have tried healing myself at least once a day. It... it burns like hell, as if it's rejecting the magic we use."
"Is that even possible?" Leo asked.
"I've never heard of anything like it," Mauri confessed.
"Me neither. Even Balse is stumped, but he's been plowing through books in Pentagulia's library like a madman. He's trying, but I don't know if he'll find anything in time," Ronfar said grimly.
Mauri didn't dare to ask, but Leo did. "How long would he have to search?" Ronfar hesitated, so Leo gripped his shoulder. "How long do we have for this battle?"
"About another two weeks," Ronfar whispered, "It's been about three weeks between the first symptoms and death."
Mauri's heart nearly stopped, but she forced herself to ask the next question. "How many other patients remain?"
"None. I'm the last one."
Mauri and Leo looked at each other, each steeling their determination. Then Leo bowed his head slightly. "I am at your command, sister. How do we start?"
Mauri took a deep breath to steady herself. "Ronfar, I'm sure you kept notes on the cases in your journals, yes?" Ronfar nodded. "Leo, please find them for me. When you have time, please read through them. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can find something we missed, especially because someone trained can skim through and miss something important."
Leo nodded and got to his feet. Ronfar pointed out the desk heaped with books from his studies and the journals. "You'll want the red one on top."
Mauri then turned to Ronfar, her eyes solemn. "Ronfar, I'd like a closer look of this plague. May I do so?"
Ronfar held out his hands. "Go ahead, sugarplum."
Mauri took them and laid a soft kiss on his knuckles. Bowing her head, she started softly chanting.
While Mauri's sensitivity let her 'tune in' to a patient's symptoms automatically, she had learned how to enhance it enough to feel a close approximation of the patient's experience. It was invaluable with helping unconscious patients or those too young to speak or when she needed more specific details.
Mauri gasped as heat flooded her body- it was a severe fever. Pain played over her nerves like a kaleidoscope- severe pain in her chest and belly, less severe in her shoulders and hips, but shifting in severity as time went on. Burning appeared and vanished in her hands, then ankles, then neck, then feet. "Oh... oh, Ronfar, how long has it been like this?"
"Two days. You can let it go, love," Ronfar pleaded.
Mauri shook her head, trying to breathe slowly through the phantom pain. "You said it got worse with recovery magic. I'd like to try healing it now."
Ronfar glanced over at Leo who was thumbing through the red journal. "Which of you two is the more stubborn?" Leo and Mauri each pointed at the other. Ronfar chuckled. "That's what I thought. Let's give it our best shot."
Mauri nodded and squeezed Ronfar's hands encouragingly before beginning. "Mother Goddess, you who hear all the cries of your children, a terrible plague is sweeping through this land. Your child, whom you saw fit to bless with two missions, needs you now."
The familiar white/gold light began building up around them. Mauri suddenly felt a pair of jolts of pain through her shoulders.
"Nnngh," Ronfar grunted, then gestured to Mauri. "Keep going!"
Frowning, Mauri continued. "I beg of you, send the light of your love to obliterate this illness and save his life! For this I pray!"
The light blazed like the white-hot heart of a fire. Mauri sent it streaming into Ronfar, chasing every bit of the illness in his body that she could sense.
Ronfar bit back a scream as Mauri moaned. The pain had flared up in response to her recovery magic, exactly as Ronfar had said. The fever also went up a few degrees.
"Stop this!" Leo yelled, then lunged forward to separate them. Mauri groaned and let the spell go, breathing hard as the sensation of pain quieted. Ronfar was panting, sweat trickling down his brow as if he had just finished a marathon.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, love. Please forgive me," Mauri begged, her eyes tearing up.
"There's nothing to forgive, sugarplum. I told you to continue," Ronfar said strongly.
Leo topped off the glasses with fresh water and shoved one each to his best friend and sister. "Is that how it was with all of your patients?"
Ronfar gulped down his glass of water and held it out entreatingly for a refill, which Leo obliged. After a few more sips, he finally sighed and nodded. "Every. Single. One. The more times I tried to heal them, the faster it advanced."
Mauri resisted the urge to kick the wall. "How is this possible? It almost seems...."
"...crafted, doesn't it?" Ronfar finished. He smiled grimly. "I've had the same thought many times. No normal illness would react to Althena's power like this. The pattern is also odd, hitting one person in so many different families."
"I saw the fires and ash in the village- you've taken the normal precautions?" Mauri asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm not betting our friends' lives on the chance of being wrong," Ronfar assured her.
Mauri sat back and tried to think. There had to be a way to work around this illness or just overpower it with sheer force. With a lack of assistance from any other clergy, she would have to find something new.
"It's time to dive into our books, then," Mauri decided. Going to her trunk, she removed the most advanced holy books she owned, some of which even Ronfar didn't have copies of. She gave him her copy of Advanced Theory of Magical Illness and grabbed Advanced Spellcrafting for Healers for herself.
"Leo, can you put the teapot on, please? It's going to be a long night," Ronfar said. Leo nodded and went outside to go get some more firewood for the stove.
Mauri settled into a comfortable sitting position on the edge of Ronfar's bed, but he looked up and patted the mattress next to him. "Sugarplum, it's been so long. Can I just... hold you?"
Mauri smiled coquettishly. "Of course." She eased next to him, sighing in pleasure at the familiar scent of his cologne and the warmth of his body next to hers. He flung one arm around her to hold her close and sat the book on his chest. Mauri snuggled in and rested her book against her legs.
"We can do this, love. If anyone can find a solution, it'll be us working together," Mauri whispered. Ronfar nodded, kissed her cheek, and started reading.