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[gypsy_merrique]

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Merrique had thought the illness she brought back from Ilshenar several weeks back had, by and large, been cured by the drow who she now feared most above all her Umbran peers. It was true, he said to her she should take things easy and relax. But languishing her life away with idle behavior was not her way. Everything she did, she did with verve and gusto. Perhaps to some managing Umbra's finest establishment was of no large consequence but to her it was just perfect.

How could she possibly relax with so much going on? She was learning new skills and talents all the while making sure the Den was running smoothly and keeping her private life enjoyable. Unfortunately, Merri's inherent inability to put life on hold seemed to catch up with her. When she and Walter had last come to his house, she'd been tired, granted, but otherwise fine.

But this morning, waking up alone in his bed, her body was shot through with fatigue and pain. Muscle groups seemed to scream at her and her head pounded. It hurt to breathe...little sips of air were all she could take without bringing on a painful coughing fit. There was a horrible pain running up her right leg, a fire starting just below the ankle and cruising right up to the knee. Merrique looked around and found a note beneath the bedside candlestick, a hastily scrawled parchment informing her that Walter had felt the need to hunt and promising to be back before too long. The note distracted her long enough for a wan smile to cross her lips. "Men," she thought, "And their need for the thrill of that kill."

Exhaling deeply, and causing herself to feel slightly dizzy, she lay back in the bed and pulled all the blankets over herself. She asked her gods to bring Walter back soon--she was too weak to stand and bring wood to the fire and oh, but she was cold and her thirst was a quiet rage. Perhaps he would know a healer, or summon some sort of aid.

Anything but that fearsome drow.
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. . . But the dark is very trustworthy.
It's always as dark as you thought it was.
And you don't have to work at staying there.
All you have to do is survive it.
And I've been doing that forever.
from the novel "Dark Debts" by Karen Hall

[Walter]

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Walter had been fresh out of meat in the house now for a couple of days, so he woke up early to head for the woods. He had a both flung over his shoulder, his skill with a bow was poor, but good enough to kill a deer, for the much needed meat. Finally after a few hours he drops a great hart. After gutting, cleaning he drags it back to the house to be butchered and smoked.

After the last of the meat was hung in the smoker he cleaned up and walked up to the bedroom, there she is lying in bed all bundled up in the blankets. When she looked at him her face was pale, but she seemed glad to see him there.

"Walter, I need some water." After letting out a rough cough.

Walter goes down to get her some water and brings it back up and sets it next to her on the bed. She could hardly move as she reached for the glass Walter could tell it was hard for her. So he picks up the glass and slowly pours abit into her mouth for her. Not sure what was wrong, he quickly pens a note to a healer he knew from Trinsic to come quickly.

"Is there anything else I can get you dear?" Walter looks down at her abit worried.

She looks up at him pale and weak, "It's cold in here."

Walter looks over at the fire and sees it had burned down so he gets up and throws a few more logs onto the fire and gets the fire blazing again.

"Is there anyone I should contact, who would know what’s wrong, I have a healer from Trinsic coming, might not get here until tomorrow though."

"You rest dear." He tucks the blankets in for her and goes to retrieve a chair and he sits by her side. Attending to her every need.
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[20:28] Inkari: walter=chuck norris

"What do you mean I can't sell castle deeds I create on Ebay?" - GM Darwin circa 1999

[gypsy_merrique]

---

In and out of the sleep that claimed her, Merri vaguely remembered Walter coming in, giving her water, stoking the fire. It just felt so good to avoid the reality of the pain her body offered, to drift in the depths of the non-waking world. So it was with some annoyance that she greeted the healer when he roused Merrique, Walter at his side. She squinted up at the two men, wanting to be angry but simply not having the strength.

The healer asked Merrique a number of questions. Some seemed standard, some seemed odd. Her heart jumped a beat when she heard the healer telling Walter that her sickness was unlike anything he had seen, and that he likely could not heal it...that the best they could hope for would be to ease the symptoms. It made Merri nervous that the two men then stepped away and spoke quietly, their foreheads mere inches apart.

A few minutes later they stepped back to the bedside, Merrique not liking the expression on Walter's face one bit. The healer made incantations over the sick woman, applied a poultice to her pained leg, gave her two different potions to take. Instructions were given. After gagging down the potions, the healer replaced them with a several-day supply and made sure Walter would see to her treatment should she be unable to tend it herself. The healer then left, with a strange look passing between him and Walter.

The bedroom door closed, and Walter resumed his place beside the bed. Merri fell back into a deep sleep, so deep that even dreams were beyond her. When at last she woke, it did seem her symptoms were nowhere near as bad as they'd been, but she did feel weak and worn. In a sleep-slurred voice, she asked Walter the date and he told her.

Merri's eyes flew open and she sat up, a bit too fast. She explained that there was a party in Umbra the next day, that she had things to do, people to see. Walter gently pushed her back into the bed and told her to rest a while longer.

She did.
_________________


. . . But the dark is very trustworthy.
It's always as dark as you thought it was.
And you don't have to work at staying there.
All you have to do is survive it.
And I've been doing that forever.
from the novel "Dark Debts" by Karen Hall