News:

- Chubby Dwarves are low fat.
- Pippen accused of getting drunk and feeling Merry
- Mexican Hobbit corrupted by One Ring. Known as Smiegel

Main Menu

Kit's Life

Started by Dray, March 19, 2006, 12:33:09 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Dray

For the first time since Ragnor had placed her on the bed, Kit moved. Although the right side of her face never left the mattress, she slid back at Ashe?s touch in a quick jerk, pushing her upper torso with the push of her hand. Her eyes had opened for a second before snapping closed against the pain. The violation of the movement sent the already abused muscles into spasms. Kit convulsed horribly. Her face contorted into a silent scream as the muscles began to rip against the contracting spine.

Ashe deftly lifted himself above her and placed his hands under the cloths, pushing some of them away in the rushed attempt. With both knees at the edge of the mattress supporting him, he hovered atop the bed and pushed down between her shoulder blades to pin her. While closing his eyes and tilting his face upward, he said a short prayer in the Cant to Mahiya. Jarmok watched as a warm reddish glow formed around his hands and then flowed into Kit. She almost immediately stopped convulsing and the muscles in her body relaxed. He let up so she could breathe fully.

As Ashe lowered himself from the bed back to the floor, he kneeled next to the bed to look at her face. Just as his eyes became level with her face, she opened her eyes and gazed emptily through him. For a moment, he wasn?t sure if her eyes had merely slipped open while she was in an unconscious state. But then her eyes caught his visage in the forefront of the void and she was startled by his presence, and within a short moment, she became terrified by it.

This summoned frightened words which came in ragged bursts, as though merely talking was more pain then she could bear. Her voice was lower and choked with liquid.
 
"Why have you come back for me Markell...you have...a new slave...why do you want...me again?" she asked Ashe, as blood started to drip from her mouth.

Wildfire

Ashe looks at Jarmok, nods to Kit, and quietly says, "Keep ripping."

Ashe walks over to Kit and gently rests his hand on her head. "Shhh...Kit, don't worry about your legs. I want you to think of your happiest moment when you were little. Can you tell me about that, my child?"
Wildfire

One should never underestimate the stimulation of eccentricity

Johan

"Hrung." rrrrriippp
Avatar Courtesy of The Image Bank

Dray

"Why can't I feel my legs?" Kit asked in a stuttered voice, caused by the shivering. Since she hadn?t moved or made a sound since requesting her mother, Jarmok and Ashe had hopes she had lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Wildfire

"It probably would and I'm sure Maccabeus could help too. The truth is, I'm deep in the favor of Mahiya. My skill to heal through it's power should be enough to help her...physically. But Kit has to want to live. For a such a young girl she's been through enough tragedy for three lifetimes. Sometimes, if there's too much pain in someone's life their soul collapses and they loose the their will to live. Kit is so young...it's amazing she's had the resolve to continue this far." Ashe explained.
Wildfire

One should never underestimate the stimulation of eccentricity

Johan

"Maccabeus help?" Jarmok asked as he tore the linens in the fashion that Ashe had indicated. "Magic water help?"
Avatar Courtesy of The Image Bank

Wildfire

Ashe smiled wryly at the question. "A seer, by definition, is one that can sense the future." Ashe picked up a sheet and tore it with his teeth and then ripped it down the middle.

"For what most people know of them that is what they do...tell the future. However, the word seer has become the name for all that can focus their mind to achieve desired effects." Ashe hands Jarmok a sheet and says, "Rip." Ashe makes a tearing motion with his hands. "They're sort of like Priests or Arcanists."

Ashe looks down at the unconcious girl and back to Jarmok. Looking him right in the eyes Ashe says, "I'm not going to lie Jarmok, I'm hopeful that she'll survive but she's no where near out of this yet. She'll lose a barrelful of blood when the time comes. I just hope her little body can handle the trauma." Ashe smiles a little bit and says, "The suspense of it all is killing me."
Wildfire

One should never underestimate the stimulation of eccentricity

Johan

Jarmok drew confidence from Ashe as the herbalist simultaneously worked and spoke. Somewhere in the depths of his mind a change occurred moving him from frightened, anxious friend and on-looker to a focused participant. Now was the time for disassociated action, he knew. He could and would do whatever Ashe told him to do in order to save Kit.

"Do what have do." He nodded curtly to the herbalist and placed his load of linens at the foot of the bed.

"What is seer?" he asked as they moved about each other in a medic's dance. He spread out a particularly large and thick-pile towel over Kit's lower back. "Prchew [hands coming up and apart in a simulated explosion]." He said as he caught Ashe's questioning glance.
Avatar Courtesy of The Image Bank

Wildfire

"Mommy? what the..." Ashe asked not expecting an answer from Kit. Ashe looked at Jarmok whose arms were heaping with sheets and washing towels. "Oh...very good. Put them at the end of the bed or close by, if you would. We'll need them to soak up the blood when this blister ruptures." Ashe said.

Ashe's voice was cool and even. He was not erratic as he had been moments before. Jarmok got the sense that Ashe was fully aware of what needed to be done to help his young friend through this trauma.

"Jarmok, I'm glad your here. Kit, being a seer, may experience some...odd behavior. She may even become violent. Are you prepared to do what may be needed to be done for her safety...and ours?" Ashe said. There was a wild, enthusiastic look in Ashe's eyes. It was a look that Jarmok had never seen in Ashe before. It was a look that told Jarmok that he knew more than he was telling.
Wildfire

One should never underestimate the stimulation of eccentricity

Johan

"Where want?" Jarmok asked, nodding his head to indicate the load of linens that he had brought from the closet.
Avatar Courtesy of The Image Bank

Dray

As Jarmok passed through the door on his return he heard her broken voice.

"Mommy?" Kit whispered from her bed in complete distress. She was still in the same position, laying on her stomach with her head turned away from Ashe who shot a look of fear at Jarmok.

Johan

Jarmok's head tilted to the side and his face wrinkled in confusion.

"Talk lot, tell little." He answered. "Is here look for priest. Help friend at Alberron? Friend hurt legs, not work." The impact of that statement hit Jarmok rather suddenly. "Is same maybe?" He asked hopefully.

"What else?" Ashe pressed, ignoring Jarmok's question. The herbalist's terse response goaded Jarmok to think harder.

"Family killed. She slave to slug at swamp. Swamp of something." He concentrated a moment, trying to recall that night so long ago. "Tears?" He shrugged, unable to recall. That didn't sound right, but it was close. "No. Not tears. Was word I not know, but close."

"Seers?" Ashe suggested.

That sounded right to Jarmok. I could likely have been that, and Ashe had said that word only moments before. What else? "Kit make chem-kals long time. Not want to, but slug made her. Make control her. [shrugged] not understand." He admitted.

"Was from near Kaz'burn, think. Is all I know." He looked apologetically at the herbalist.

Ashe started to erratically pace back and forth, momentarily appearing to forget about Kit upon the bed. He started to mumble quickly to himself, his hands shaking. ?She was in the Swamp of Seers. She?s a Seer! No wonder it feels familiar. I?ve tried so hard to forget those days?.but now isn?t the time to fall apart. Kit needs me?and Jarmok. Hold it together?let Mahiya work through you?.? As Ashe mumbled to himself Jarmok crouched upon a stool in the corner and curiously watched on, letting the man work out whatever demons he had.

As if breaking out of a waking dream Ashe shook his head and put his hand on Jarmok?s shoulder. ?Thanks Jarmok. Your memory will serve her well. I think I have a strong idea what this is all about,? he said. He actually looked very pleased as he walked back to Kit?s bedside. Looking for a long moment at the wound once more.

When he spoke again it was with quick enthusiasm. ?We?re going to need a score of cloths. This engorged blood blister is eventually going to pop. There?s a linen closet in the other room. Please bring every cloth in it to this bedside. I?ll get some water heated over the fire.

Although Ashe had the enthusiasm of a little boy getting dessert, Jarmok knew Ashe didn?t want to see Kit in pain. He surmised that the odd glee was due to Ashe having found an answer to Kit?s ailment. The lean outlander sprang deftly from his stool towards the room that Ashe had indicated and the trove of linens to be found there.
Avatar Courtesy of The Image Bank

Dray

[OOC: All posts from this point coordinated by Dray, Wildfire and Johan]

Jarmok was surprised to find that there were enough of the thin cloths to cover almost Kit's entire body. He was equally surprised to find, as he finished covering her with them, that there appeared to be a profound lack of change in her condition and she was still restlessly unconscious. If anything, she was perhaps more stressed now, as she appeared to be shivering, her teeth chattering as her back and upper torso convulsed.

Jarmok had recently begun to think of Kit in terms of an adopted sister. She was the closest thing that he had to family since Mercer had left, and he felt oddly connected to the young girl. Even more so than he had to Mercer, with whom he had lived for several months. He had to choke back the anguish he had for the girl who was obviously in so much pain. He wished that some foreign body would leap forth so that he could hack at it with his axe and be done, but this was not an enemy that he knew how to tame. 'At least she is unaware.' He thought as he looked on helplessly.

Ashe was working furiously, grabbing boxes and jars from the shelves. A few leaves from this one, a shake of orange powder from that one, a drop of syrup from yet another. These and more he drew, mixing them all vigorously in a large, heavy wooden mixing bowl. These he ground and stirred, adding steaming water from his kettle as he worked the contents and the air of his lodge filled with an odd, heavy, earthy aroma. He then took more materials from the shelves and deftly added a new array of ingredients. Soon a fantastic clutter clogged his bench. Ashe picked through them as he worked, and Jarmok wondered at the herbalist's ability to pick the right ingredient from the dozens that had settled around his work area.

Jarmok turned back to look at Kit, he wished he could put a blanket on her. The cold peppermint cloths clung to her tightly, covering nearly every inch of her and her chattering teeth were now framed by pale blue lips. The ointment on the cloths would not abandon their chill quickly, and a fine mist issued from them, flowing up like the fog off the river in the morning, and mixing their scent with Ashe's heavier one, making the room smell pleasant. An odd sensation, Jarmok thought, given the gravity of what was going on there.

When Ashe spoke Jarmok turned to see the man facing him. "Don't worry my friend," he said. "She has to cool down or she'll get too hot. So, her shivering is good thing." He smiled a weak smile, meant to placate Jarmok, then returned to his work.

"What make for Kit?" he asked him.

Ashe did not look up. "Something for her pain. Maccabeus's healing was only enough to stay the pain but not fix the problem. My healing spells most likely wouldn't heal her either." he said, then paused a moment.

He left the bowl at the bench and moved over to Kit and took two cloths off of her lower back.

The bluish oval mark was almost hard to look at. It quivered with the rest of her body and was now swelling upward out of her skin.

They could almost see small currents of the blood move throughout it as Kit's heart pumped. Ashe put his hands on both sides of the wound, slid his fingers between the bed and her stomach and pressed in. Kit let out a small gasp of pain but did not wake. Ashe didn't skip a beat, he massaged the back of her upper thighs, feeling the muscle for what Jarmok did not know. He then moved his hands to the top of the wound and pressing lightly.

"No!" Kit yelped in pain but never woke from unconsciousness. Ashe, assured that his patient would remain asleep, continued his examination. He returned his hands below the wound and when he touched her tailbone both he and Jarmok were startled as her tailbone moved downwards when pressed. Kit did not flinch.

He looked up at Jarmok, "Great Grandtree..." Ashe whispered "Her spine down here has practically liquified. She walked in here just six hours ago. Whatever is happening, it's aggressive. The energy from her is much stronger now as well." Ashe started to speak in his mystical tongue, "What's going on in there Kit? You may have been to a place that most haven't." he said. Jarmok, although not understanding the language, did recognize the frustration in Ashe's voice.

"Jarmok, I don't have to tell you that anything that would have affected her spine like this would, in all likelihood, have killed her. Her spine column is severed just above the tailbone!" he said looking at the wound in anger.

Ashe replaced the peppermint cloths and rose. "Has Kit ever mentioned anything about her past, Jarmok?" Ashe asked as he paced about the room. His fingers were placed on his temples as if he were trying to concentrate.

Dray

Kit had lifted her head from the pillow. When she reflexively withdrew from Maccabeus as he sat upon her bed, he knew that she was held captive by her fear. Her eyes were held by the vision of the crystal, which dangled in front of her face, only a gnome's arms' length away.

Her face was flushed red from being pressed into the pillow; her eyes were circled deep and dark purple from days of hardship. Maccabeus thought compassionately that she truly looked as if she had lost the battle.

Then her eyes met his, and the warmth of Mahiya's Crown upon his chest unexpectedly extinguished. For the blink of a lost moment in time he felt alone. That momentary eternity passed and startlingly, he perceived in a flash a deep understanding that translated through Kit's eyes and into her soul. In that moment, her eyes sobered and conveyed a deep and considerable thought of appreciation.

And with a simple yet sighing sob, she reached up for the crystal with a shaking hand.

'NO!' The voice yelled. But its protest was sundered as Maccabeus pushed the crystal into Kit's hand.

His small, calloused hands met her slender ones with the crystal in between, and Maccabeus felt his breathe catch in his chest. He felt as if a portion of his spirit was pinched between the young girl and the treasure that the Blackheart would now, Maccabeus knew, not obtain. As comforting as that thought was, it was overshadowed by the sudden fear that his own life was now in jeopardy, for in quick understand he knew he was a conduit between Kit and her crystal child.

On one side he felt the touch of the girl's mind, a churning vortex of unbirthed power that somehow had gestated for more seasons than this girl had known. On the other side he felt the cool, empty tranquility of an unknowing entity. The crystal truly was akin to a newborn infant, born from the lass.

As Kit cried and shook, Maccabeus envisioned her mind as a damn. One that held back a vast torrent of power. And that dam was cracking, melting like a glacier upon a mountainside. The water that would be released when that dam failed would descend in an undeniable rush towards the waiting lake that was the crystal. And Maccabeus was the dry river bed that would lead that water from behind the dam and into the lake. Under Mahiya, such a release often changed and destroyed the landscape beneath it.

His drive for survival urged him to let go, to release the bond that he now shared between Kit and the Crystal. But his training and his being knew that doing so would surrender the crystal to the Blackheart and undo generations of effort and sacrifice. Also, the sympathetic ache in his heart would not allow him to abandon Kit in her time of need.

A fervent prayer to Istisha and her mother upon his lips, he closed his eyes and tried to steel himself for the impending deluge.

Breathing deep and meditatively, he closed his eyes and focused on the power in her: the energy that threatened to consume him in its wake. He could sense the rigid, icy block in her mind melting, warmed by Kit's own consciousness. She was willing herself to let it go.

The moment before her release, even as Maccabeus cringed in anticipation of the ordeal, he opened his eys and watched her frail face. She was now staring at the crystal though her mind was far away. Her lips moved silently. "I will no longer be afraid of you."

"Aye lass, there ye go, Paladine loves ye." He said to her soothingly, not really sure whether she could hear him or not.

Then the dam broke. Maccabeus lost his vision, not sure if he had clenched his eyes shut while the pain overwhelmed him or whether it had been taken away. The power of her flooded the riverbed around him in his mind, he tossed and tumbled with it, unable to find direction as he drowned. Then all was black.

Dray

(OOC: Awaiting post by WF)