Location:The City of Thorinn, Aetheria
Sunlight spilled through the open window of Missy’s room at the little inn across from the Laughing Worg. She lay on her bed, staring out at the open sky as the warm air of a Thorinn morning settled around her. Outside, the city was waking and anxious. No doubt most of the wayfarers, and perhaps even some of the denizens, were finding it hard to rest each night, and harder to rise in the mornings. It was a plight she empathized with.
Missy had not slept in four days.
You sleep too much, Missy.Sitting up was an ordeal, as though she was rising back into her own body. She sat at the edge of her bed, hunched, eyes half-lidded, hair strewn across her face, and stared blankly at one of the half-dozen candles she’d set up across the room. Most of them had melted into puddles in their sconces and snuffed out, this one’s wick was barely standing on a brittle, bent pillar of wax. She’d have to replace them before tonight. As the days went on, it wasn’t enough to just be awake anymore. Her dreams were seeping into the shadows, breeding whispers and harboring strange, violent shapes. Things had begun nesting in the dark.
Missy stood and dressed. She was reeling; her head throbbed, she was nauseous, her whole body was beset with tremors. Her mind felt like liquid, holding onto her own thoughts was like trying to grasp water. It was a struggle just to wrap her wrists and secure her robes. She left the inn with her parasol sheathed at her hip, and made a brisk, if unsteady trip across to a smaller tavern a few streets over.
She paused at the door, rubbed her eyes; they hurt as though two coals were simmering in the sockets, but she took a deep breath and pushed the discomfort aside. Seele smiled and went in.
The place was quiet and mildly busy. Wayfarers with the coin to spare bought hot breakfasts and others just nursed cups of water or milk or weak ale. It wasn’t as nice as the Laughing Worg, but Dariel had put much into that place. He was a pleasant man. Experienced, and intolerant of nonsense—though more tolerant than Arie—but nice. She hadn’t forgotten the headache her group had caused him weeks ago, and that he still allowed them in was testament to a patience not present in other denizens, at least when it came to wayfarers.
At a table in the corner was a lone man, and she went to sit opposite him. He was a recent acquaintance of hers, a surreptitious healer she’d met on one of her evening walks. He hadn’t given a name, but he was sympathetic towards his fellow supports, and, importantly, prone to discreteness. They exchanged greetings, and then he placed two fingers on her temple.
Dim, comforting light drifted into her vision, and slowly—very slowly—the headache, the nausea, the little tremors, all began to fade. She felt precious clarity returning to her. The fatigue lingered, lessened but not erased. Days ago his magic would leave her feeling downright well-rested. Now the effects were weaker. It was better than the alternative, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay awake tonight, when the effects wore off. She would still try. It was an old habit, but it was a hard one to forget.
At length he pulled his hand away, and there was concern on his face. “This is the longest bout so far, it’ll be a week, soon. I think you should consider finding a real healer, or maybe some high-end apothecary. Someone who can at least tell you if this is a disease, or some kind of curse, or…I don’t know.”
Did you dream?Seele hid her guilt well. This man had been quick-fixing the fallout of her sleep-deprivation almost since they’d met, and she didn’t have the courage to admit she was doing it to herself. He’d wondered if her group’s healer could help, but she’d asked for his assistance to avoid worrying any of them. Which was true, in all fairness. She didn’t want to be untruthful with her friends, but more than that, she didn’t want to burden them.
Politely, and with more than a few grateful thank-you’s, Seele excused herself from the tavern and started back for the Laughing Worg to meet up with Alex. It was still early, but with how crowded Thorinn had become, she wasn’t surprised to find herself in mild traffic. Many of the wayfarers she saw seemed to be wandering aimlessly, with uneasy looks on their faces somewhere between worry and shame. They didn’t have much, and what little remained dwindled quickly away as the days passed and the call for action went unanswered. When she was able to think about it clearly, it troubled her.
Seele felt an obligation to the Fraternity Hall. Whatever despair she saw outside of it was so much worse inside, where the wayfarers were mainly newcomers with little grasp on the workings of the world. There was panic there at almost all hours, and at night it often devolved into terrible, inconsolable fear—one of the reasons she chose to sleep elsewhere. She was glad to help, glad to lift what spirits she could, glad to teach what she knew to those with bravery enough to even consider striking out on their own. And yet, Aetheria was getting worse.
Her group had discussed the new dungeon already, and while Seele had offered to follow whatever decision was made, she secretly wished to stay and assist the Hall. Perhaps not so secretly though, as she’d been counted as “against.” Now, though, she wasn’t so sure. Only a single group had decided to brave the new dungeon, and they hadn’t returned. Monsters were still appearing, and with so few wayfarers to cull the numbers, denizen villages were falling, quickly and brutally. The people in Thorinn needed help, but it seemed to her now that the people outside needed it more.
Gradually, Seele’s mind was made up. She would do her duty for Drox today, but afterwards she would tell Benkei that her vote had changed. Someone had to do something, and as long as Pariah had been around, that someone had been the wayfarers.
Eventually Seele realized she was standing by a street many blocks past the Laughing Worg. She blinked, but was only momentarily surprised. Time had slipped her again, another side effect, and one she was as dreadfully, intimately familiar with as the rest. At least she was still inside the city. Turning about, she headed back towards Dariel’s tavern, and made a point to keep herself focused the whole way. Alex had been so nice in offering to come with her, the last thing she wanted to do was annoy him by being needlessly late.
When she finally made it back, she took a seat at a table inside to wait. Thankfully it was still early, and she hadn’t missed him.
“We could stick to the courtyard— ” she said to Alex, and a yawn overtook her.
“Oof, excuse me. We could stick to the courtyard, or we could go in and see if the Hallmasters have anything specific they need done. We’ll be helping out either way, so I really don’t mind. Any preference?” Was I in it?
