Malgion's Hideout(Voldar)

[Tojzek Kouba]

Tojzek gratefully accepted Jakal’s help, not resting much of his weight on the arm the man slipped around him, but allowing the man to steady him and lead him in the right direction after the healer.  The woman herself was rather short, but her very attitude showed she had some sort of weight among the others.  Somewhat stern, yet she had effortlessly navigated her way through the power play of the room with an effortless politeness which had completely passed Tojzek by.  A small, slightly cold hand slipped into his as he followed the lady in white, and he squeezed it in greeting.  She began to whisper an answer to his question too, a comforting answer.  He was almost proud of her achievement, or at least proud of the care she had shown in executing it.  “Well done for being so careful ‘tuska.” A still-slightly-worried smile and another squeeze of her hand. “But, people who have a lot of money” he pulled her closer and lowered his voice, “they can make more of an effort to get it back again.  People don’t come after you for a loaf of bread, but, for so much….” Another squeeze of the smooth little paw.  This wasn’t really the place for a lesson on the difference between stealing enough to eat and taking a huge pile of money. Even if the merchant had enough to spare.

“I jumped onto a roof and landed on the pot I stole, which I’d already smashed somehow, ‘tuska.  The little shard was deeper than I thought and it had to be…taken out.  So the cut is a bit deep.”  It seemed like he had told the story over and over again today.   Or..no, it had been Jakal who had said it before.  The boy realised he hadn’t actually thanked the man for his help, and he found that despite the anger at the whole of the establishment, it was fading towards this particular criminal.  The man was helping a lot more than he needed to really, caring for Tojz.  Somehow the busy corridor was a bit too busy though, and the youngster too uncomfortable among these strangers to make this a good place to express his thanks. Tiredness was slipping over him slowly, and a feeling, not of relaxation, but defiantly of lessened tension. Calling a healer for him seemed like they would be safe for a little while at least.

The wounded boy stepped slightly stiffly into the healer’s room and submitted himself to her ministrations.  After all, there was no sense in extending his anger to the healer either right?  She hadn’t been involved in capturing them.  Tojzek’s thoughts seemed too exhausted to sustain the rage which had flowed through him before.  All the stress and fear of the day was ganging up on him fogging his thinking process somehow.  A small slightly squishy noise caught his attention – ‘tuska’s worrying cold was back again.  She didn’t have a handkerchief and the runny goo was being wiped onto her hand instead.  He looked down at his shirt: stained with blood, smut from the roof, ripped and quickly fraying around the tear.  The washed out blue really wasn’t standing up to it.  He shifted his weight slightly to protect his damaged side, and ripped off a small triangle of material from the already-torn side.  Tojz passed the improvised handkerchief to his sister.

[Capher]

Vika's hand clamped over the boy's arm. "No! Your clothes are not fit to give to her. The scrap you are giving her is still dirty and will not help her. Lay down, I will take care of your sister," she ordered.

Vika pressed her hand against the girl's forehead. "Open your mouth and stick out your tongue," she ordered the girl.

Vika knew the girl had a fever and a runny nose but she wanted to know why? And it seemed the boy would not allow her to heal him until his sister was taken care of first. That tenderness and caring, touched a nerve in her that she thought had been buried or better thought of as burned away long time ago.

As she waited for the girl to do as she had ordered, she wondered how these two came to be in the employ of the MadCaps? They did not look the type. She also wondered how the girl felt about Taloon?

There was a knock on the door. Jakal opened it up and Horace stepped in and gave Vika a glance.

"Jakal you can leave now," Vika ordered.

"Why? I want to see how you take care of Tojz. How can I become a healer if I cannot watch?" Jakal asked.

"There is only one room for a healer in here and that is me. You have done well enough with what I taught you. Do you think I am going to teach you all of my secrets? Do you think me a fool?" Vika asked.

"No Vika. I never implied that. I will leave," Jakal said as he gave a quick glance at Horace and then closed the door behind him as he left.

Horace looked at the girl and the boy and then moved in closer to Vika he whispered, "These children need help."

Vika glared at him. "I know that. She has a fever, he has a wound that is probably infected..."

"No, I mean they need help," Horace whispered again.

Finally Vika understood and nodded her head. "I will do what I can, first the girl and then the boy," she said in her normal voice, then she whispered back to Horace, "What about Taloon?"

"I will think of something," he whispered and then said in a normal tone of voice, "Do what you can for them, they are wanted, besides the girl has to go through her "nobs" ceremony."

"When she is well enough and her brother can be with her, then she can have her ceremony," Vika replied.

"Good enough," Horace said and then looking at the girl and the boy who had been staring at them. "Do not worry, just follow Vika's instructions and she will take care of you."

He then walked out the door.

Vika looked at the girl. "Are you going to open your mouth or do I have to force it open:?" She asked.

[Jituska Kouba]

Jituska looked at the healer woman, a little suspiciously. Why would she want her to stick out her tongue? Nobody had ever asked that of her before. Then again, she'd never really been to any kind of healer. It hadn't been necessary when Tojz and her had still been living with their parents, and it really hadn't been possible to visit one after they'd gone and the sicknesses had started.

Vika getting distracted helped Jituska make up her mind. There was really no reason for her not to do what this woman wanted. She looked like the kind of person who was easiest to get along with if you did what she said. She glanced at her brother and decided that he'd come to the same conclusion. At least, he'd gone to lie back down as soon as Vika had told him to. So when she came back after chasing everyone else off, she obediently opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

Her nose picked just that moment to start running again. She felt it tickling on the inside, and she knew what was coming, though she tried to stop it. Right after opening her mouth, she closed it again. She just barely managed to blurt out "S...Sorry!" and then she sneezed hard again, which was followed by coughing. She slowly recovered from the coughing fit and looked at Vika, an apology in her brown eyes. "Sorry." she said again, and then opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out again, hoping that this time her nose would leave her alone for long enough for Vika to do what she wanted.

[Capher]

When the girl stuck out her tongue Vika was close to looking into her mouth when the girl all of a sudden closed and her mouth and Vika knowing what was about to happen quickly stepped back as the girl let out a large sneeze. She at least apologized and then she opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue once again.

Vika took a very thin piece of wood and put in on the girls tongue pushing it down so she could look farther into the girls throat.  It was red as she thought. She quickly pulled the wood out of the girls mouth. "You may close your mouth now," She said.

She turned to a cabinet filled with pots and jars filled with all sorts of herbs, and plants: some of the plants were growing in water and they gave off all sorts of different aromas. "Now where are those leaves, ah here they are," she exclaimed as she removed a pot hidden far under a shelf. She pulled open the top of it and a bitter-sweet smell filled the room.  She took out several of the dried leaves placing them in a bowl, securely placed the cover on the pot and then took a pestle and began crushing the leaves up.

When they were well crushed she took a teapot of hot water and poured it over the leaves. "We wait a bit while the water and herbs mix well. In the meantime I will look after your brother," Vika said.

She turned to the boy, who had been lying down on the cot, but had been watching her with suspicion, but also curious eyes. Vika took a sharp knife and cut off the boys shirt. "Turn more on your left side so I can a better look at your wound, " She ordered.

Tojz did as she demanded. He looked at her face. It was frowning. "This may hurt some but I need to to do this," She said in a more softer tone of voice.

She could see that the wound was already showing signs of infection. Jakal had not done as good as a job as he should have or else he did not get all of the shard out of the boy's side. The skin around the wound had turned a yellow-green color and had begun to puff up and apread. Vika knew she had to get the posion out of the boy or else it could spread and possibly kill him.

She put her knife tip in the coals of her fire. "You can lay back down on your back," she told him, "while I take care of your sister," She said gently.

She went to the bowl of simmering leaves and hot water. She knelt and gave it a good sniff. Ah, it was ready. She gave the bowl to the girl. "You have a fever and a sickness in your throat and nose. This herb, called Arivin's Cedar, will help cure you of this ailment. Tell me, how long have you had this problem child?" she asked.

[Tojzek Kouba]

The healer’s words hit Tojz as if he had been slapped in the face; not because of their tone, but the suggestion that he could have been doing something to harm ‘tuska.  Was it true, was it the dirtiness of their lives and clothes which gave her these colds?  To be honest the young boy thought her nose was far dirtier than his shirt, even if it was a little bloody.  Blood wasn’t harmful in itself was it?  He would have the sense to keep it away from his sister if the wound smelt funny or somthing, but fresh blood wasn’t bad.  At least, he didn’t think so.  Maybe he was wrong, this healer seemed to know far more than her did.   He lay back as he was told to, but turned slightly to watch the ministrations with interest.  He had not missed Jakal’s plea to stay and learn either – this woman obviously knew a lot about healing, and Tojzek wanted to know anything which might help his sister in the long run.

This healer and Horace talked together, and Tojzek noticed there were a couple of things said too low for him to hear.  Tiny things, said more with body language and understanding than with words themselves, but the boy was sure they were there.  Something was being planned, another twist or turn which he knew he should try and discover if he could find the energy.  His anger flared quickly and briefly once more, reddening his face for a few seconds.  He hated the complications which had been thrown into their already difficult lives, why couldn’t they just be left alone in peace.   Although he had to admit that they could do with the help right this minute, which was even more confusing to a boy who liked to keep his ideas about people straight and simple; good and bad.  Maybe he should keep a better eye on the healer after all.

However, there was not as much to learn as he had hoped.  The woman in white seemed to be able to tell what was wrong simply by looking down ‘tuska’s throat, and then went to fetch some unidentifiable herbs from a store of medical bottles and packages.  She came to him and he moved as she told him, silent and slightly suspicious but obedient.  “This may hurt but I have to do this”.  Tojz thought she was going to squeeze the wound itself to get rid of the puss which was starting to form and tensed himself for the throbbing.  However, she moved instead towards the fire across the room. He didn’t see that she had placed a knife there until she returned to Jituska.  The sight made him blanche at the thought, but only the tone of his face changed and he made no complaint or noise. His eyes kept swivelling back to the fireplace and the metal tip getting hotter and hotter.  Suddenly the boy really wished he had been far more careful today.

[Jituska Kouba]

Jituska wrinkled her nose against the bitter aroma that came off the mixture, but she obediently took the cup and drank the liquid, assuming that Vika knew what she was doing. The sips that she took were small, so as not to burn her tongue, but even so she felt a warmth spreading through her body. Wrapping her small hands around the cup, she shrugged her shoulders at Vika's question.

"Oh, I don't really know. I didn't used to, but since we went away from home I've been having them more and more often. They were worst the past three... four... months. Something like that." She shrugged her shoulders again and repeated: "I don't really know." She took some more sips from the herbal tea. Despite the bitterness, she was starting to like the taste. With a glance, she looked up to see if Vika had any more questions.

Then she looked to her brother, and from him to the knife, and she bit her lip. She didn't know how much a red-hot knife could hurt, she'd never felt it of course, but she was fairly certain that it had to hurt a great deal. Getting up from her chair, she came nearer to Tojz and placed a small hand, which was warm from holding the cup, on his cheek, while carefully keeping the warm mug in her other hand, making sure that nothing spilled over. Then she stroked his hair away from his forehead. "You'll be ok, won't you Tojz?"

Before her brother could answer, she felt another coughing fit coming over her. She quickly put the cup down next to Tojzek's head, for fear of dropping it. Then she half turned away and let the coughing wash over her. She knew from experience that it was no use trying to keep a fit like this back, it would find its way out of her body one way or another. She felt her shoulders shock, but didn't try to temper them for the same reason. The more she let it happen, the sooner it would be over. After a few difficult moments, she struggled to take a breath. When she could stand normally again, she took the herbal mixture in her hands again. Then she turned back to the chair and sat into it again, feeling miserable. "My chest hurts." she told Vika.

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