RP:Potential Recruit for the Healer's Guild

Part of the Rise of Larket Arc

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Summary: Sabrina and Josleen meet in Larket for the first time since Queen Hildegarde's coronation. Sabrina asks Josleen, a fellow healer (of admittedly lesser talent) to manage House of Ara, the Larketian outpost of the Healer's Guild. Josleen asks Sabrina to help investigate the new disease in Larket which has been erronenously pinned on Kelovath. Josleen hopes that discovering the disease's source with vindicate Kelovath.

Fortess Sickbay, Larket

The newly expanded medical facilities for the town above are quite different than what once stood here. While Ikked is still seen wandering from bed to bed checking on new patients, many other freshly appointed healers are covering the floor. Numerous white linen beds line the walls on either side of the building with bedside tables holding water basins and medicines situated at the foot of each. Cabinets along the back wall hold an array of herbs and potions used for the sick and ill who wander in. Ikked even has several items for purchase by the various healers of Hollow. Two doors are also found near the back. One appears to be another room brimming with supplies, while on the other hangs a sign simply labeled ‘Surgery’. A fitting facility to a recently prospering town.

Sabrina stood elbows deep in a man who looked far too serene to have been split from pelvis to sternum. His eyes flutter dreamily as he speaks of gopher holes and pixie mistresses. The elfess is less than charitable when it comes to conversation, just as well as she seemed far too concentrated to be attentive to any relevant questions he may have had. Two very young healers standby, the Mark of Asclepius noting their status, and crisp clean uniforms tagging them as green. A boy and a girl, no more than seventeen if one was to guess high stood watch as instructions are given and each bit of the man’s insides are catalogued. The Master Healer looks up from her work, “And the next step would be?” Her brows come together “Jacob, are you listening at all?” Her common is broken, and she frowns when he cups his mouth and turns away. The younger of the two, a female chimes in. “ Clamp the artery at both ends, and clean up the area.” It wasn’t a question- the girl knew. She is rewarded with a smile and an affirming nod. “Very good Abby, would you like to do the honors?” The Elfess would not step away, her touch was the only thing keeping the patient from a pain-ridden madness.

Having heard that Sabrina was in town, Josleen decided to visit the elf healer. They'd not seen each other since the war, and even then their meeting had been brief and all business. Kelovath mentioned Sabrina was recently appointed to the Larket council as well and a congratulations were in order. The bard and healer in her own right (through a far, far cry from a master) visited the sickbay. Helpful guards pointed her to a window overlooking the surgery. Josleen could only bring herself to watch the operation briefly, not because she was squeamish (war numbed her to gore) but because perhaps the patient doesn't want his innards expoed to strangers. There's a lack of dignity in being so vulnerable, weak, exposed, cut open for the world to see and be reminded that you are animal. Josleen spared the man the glare of her gaze and waited for Sabrina to finish the surgery. Josleen busied herself as she waited by volunteering to do the emotional work of healing, talking to patients and lifting spirits, applying balms and a little laughter.

Sabrina could hear the change beyond the walls of the surgery room, more so she could feel the difference in energies that bled through. She encourages Abby the best she can, praising her good work but hurrying it along to see what the cause of such changes could be. Curiosity was not beyond the woman. Once the appropriate stitches were administered and the return of blood flow commenced Sabrina made quick work of speeding up the recovery process and leaving the patient well on the road to recovery. Few cases required a complete heal and with hands as busy as hers it was unwise to complete a full heal if circumstance did not call for it. She uttered a few words, numbers and dosage information, before finally stepping away from the wounded. She reaches for a clean towel and begins washing the remnants of him from her hands and arms. Stepping out of the room she scans briefly the occupants of the recovery room. She didn't have to look far to find focus on the more positive flow of life within. "Quite the talent you have. Agoyoanye says there is something to be said about a good bedside manner." She steps toward Josleen. "It is a thing that can not be learned." And she knew, because as much effort she had given in attaining it, it could not compare to what she witnessed before her. The gift of the Elfess did not grant her the natural state of making people feel at ease, her disposition over her curse left her wanting in the areas of mending the chords of people's hearts. She offers no formal Human greeting to the beauty before her, it was simply not her way. Instead she bows her head with eyes closed and her right hand moves from her heart and opens toward Josleen; an elvish gesture equivelant to an offer of love. It was one movement short of respect, but that may come in time as it was reserved for those deemed worthy or of her own decent.

Josleen moved away from the patients as she conversed with Sabrina. "Aaah, thank you." Josleen didn't force a hug or handshake, but instead mimicked the elvish greeting. Her father is an elf, and she knew the custom even if she infrequently needed to use it. "I don't believe I have met Agoyoanye. Is she a healer here in the fort as well?" Whether a yes or a no, Josleen would offer no follow up question as she came here to see Sabrina first. "I wanted to thank you again for the supplies you donated during the war, and to thank you on your appointment to the local council. Also, I believe I caught a glimpse of you across the floor at Queen Hildegarde's coronation, but failed to greet you properly. How rude of me."

Sabrina 'hms' about the question over Ago, it had been too long since her supposed second hand spoke with her and her region had been going to hell in a handbasket over recent weeks. The 'hm' was neither positive or negative, and guild business would remain guild business. She bows her head formally to the thanks given. "If Frostmaw is ever in need, we will do what we can. Always." And it wasn't limited to that specific region though it had spread their efforts quite thin. "The Council is an honor, especially since I can take service under Lord Kelovath, and honorable man is rare to come by, but you know this I am sure." She saw the two together and even by now her social understandings placed them together and happily so. She almost gives a knwoing wink, though slight as it may have been. "I did make a quick entrance at the coronation. I couldn't very well not show up for such a prestegious event, but I allowed the games and splendor to primarily be enjoyed by our servents. They so did deserve it." Something about they way she spoke said she was grateful to all who put forth the effort to reach out in frostmaw's time in need.

Josleen isn't quite sure what to do with her face at the title 'Lord Kelovath'. Her lips flicker in and out of a smile. The title is correct, of course, but she hasn't heard someone else say it before. The bard assumes Sabrina knows that Josleen and Kelovath recently bought a house together. Kelovath bought a house, really, and made a gesture by adding Josleen's name to the deed, which is entirely too much and too soon, but they are both romantics. "They did," she agrees with Sabrina's last point before seamlessly changing topics. "I'm looking to do more in the city. I'm not familiar with Larket, and doesn't have contacts here. I moved here to be with Kelovath, but aside from him I know few others. Do you live in Larket year round? I was thinking I could help at the clinic, either here or elsewhere in the city."

There was a period of silence before Sabrina would answer, the blood drying sticky along her arms as she made her was past Josleen to the basin and began to wash. "I do, yet I do not. Guild business keeps me moving. Most recently a month in Rynvale." She is putting a great deal of effort into the scrubbing and inspects the entirety of the surfaces being cleaned. Another plain towel is procured and she pats dry, leaning against the thin vitrine style cabinet as she pondered busy work for Josleen. “I try to keep all aspects of the guild work within a small circle, but in recent visits to the supply rooms I have noticed a gross negligence. Curious. What is the extent of your knowledge in the area of herbology? I have recently found myself in need of someone who can at very least tell the difference between Blizzard Bell and Kelay Supus.” Her eyes narrow at Josleen to see how long it took for the woman to relate those herbs as being one in the same aside from color and heartiness, if she could do it at all. She didn’t expect Josleen to log and stock the shelves, no, she expected her to tell the damnable students to stop mixing things up… with authority. Maybe even give some insights in appropriate bedside manner.

Josleen nods eagerly at Sabrina's question. "I know the herbs, and can certainly tell the difference between Blizzard Bell and Kelay Supus!" She laughs like this is a marvelous joke. Can anyone not tell the difference? Herbology jokes! "Same uses, of course, though I found in Frostmaw that the giant's bodies break down Blizzard Bell more easily than Kelay Supus. Same effect, of course." She shrugs, as the mysteries of genetics and enzymes are beyond the scope of Hollow. "My father is Kyl'oriel, the academic and author at The Mage's Guild in Xalious, which is where I grew up. He's written most of the textbooks and journals detailing herbs, minerals, and animal-sourced reagents. So I grew up knowing all about the plants and animals found in the wild, how to identify them, how to use them respectfully. I was never gifted in magic itself, and thus cannot heal through magic, unfortunately, but have some experience brewing potions and mixing salves and powder."

Sabrina looks impressed, for a half-breed she was quite learned. A smile is gifted, a real one which only slightly differed from the well-practised ones. "I was inquiring to see if you would be interested in learning to care for Ara while I take my long trips. Honestly, I have read a lot of your father's work." A beat. "Would you consider joining the guild and managing the Larket facility?" She wasn't usually one to rush into things, but part of the training involved building certain levels of trust both in workmanship and by level of honor. But she knew this woman who was held in high regard by so many people Sabrina would entrust her life to. She recalls some saying about birds and feathers, it is filed away. "Your duties would essentially be maintaining records of stocks as well as pointing the students in the right direction. If you felt to venture as far, maybe teach herbology with local influences." She mentioned nothing about actual healing, but she felt that someone with as much bedside manner as she just witnessed, Josleen would not need to be told when to take it upon herself or call someone else for assistance. "We have another healer in Larket, I am sure Artia would be more than happy to show you the ropes." There was really nothing to show, the calling of a healer mostly depended on doing what needed to be done when the times called for it.

Josleen's head cants to one side. "Ara? Is that a local clinic? Forgive my ignorance of Larket. I've hardly been here a month." She nods at the list of duties and slowly a smile grows. "I suppose I could join the guild, though perhaps I should think on it and talk it over with Kelovath." Very quickly she grasped her role as a political girlfriend. She knows her actions are under scrutiny by the public, and any decisions she makes need to be calibrated in the public image she and Kelovath wish to maintain. It's likely that when compared to Kelovath, Josleen is more aware of this requisite of political life. She'll teach him. "Oh I know Artia. She's on the council as well, isn't she? I've only met her once, in Frostmaw actually. It seems the two cities have close ties. Is she a friend of yours?"

She smiles. “The House of Ara is a learning clinic. It houses the supplies that are distributed throughout all of Hollow and hosts the deployments to healers in areas of need. We do treatments there, at times, and on occasion routine procedures are scheduled here at the sickbay for a hands-on experience. I suppose you could call it a base of operations until I can get a proper Guild building set up.” But she nods, Kelovath should be consulted when someone that close to him makes any decisions. Luckily Sabrina was respected enough that her status should not thwart Kelo’s decision on the matter. “Artia, well… she is… unique.” Her smile is convincing enough. She accidentally misses the opportunity to declare a friendship with the human female. “So far as I know Larket and Frostmaw tend to take care of each other. Eleenin and Yerrel are excellent sources of gossip over the two cities should you like to learn some overly dramatic versions of the activities in either.”

Josleen could add 'professional gossiper' to her resume of talents and does not for a second believe Sabrina's smile following her commentary on Artia. Juicy. She takes a mental note to dig into that later. Though with who? Kelovath, though Josleen loves him dearly, hasn't really engaged in gossip with her. "I've never met Yerrel. Perhaps I should make his acquaintance. By the way, what do you make of the crowd that's been gathering outside the Red Ogre Inn?" Sabrina, depending on how long she's been gone, may or may not know about this, though as a council member is it likely she has been debriefed. In short, the crowd about about 30 people believes that Kelovath attacked the fortress sickbay and released a deadly, magical disease which has been incurable thus far. Those afflicted with the disease are quarantined in the fort. (Sabrina would probably know all of this.) Kelovath was seen attacking guards and releasing the disease, however the attacked must have been disguised at Kelovath, because Kelovath at that exact moment was at Hildegarde's coronation in Frostmaw (along with Josleen and Sabrina). The protestors argue that the Kelovath in Frostmaw is the fake Kelovath, a diversion and alibi while the real Kelovath attacked Larket. Theirs is a minority opinion, of course, but a loud one. "I was wondering if there is any way that analyzing the disease could lead to clues that prove Kelovath is innocent."

Sabrina does in fact know of the stories circulating Larket, and she throws a hand up to Josleen before she can really finish. "I saw Kelovath at the coronation, you passed by me though you probably didn't know. I am an Ardent, love. I can tell you that every being puts off a different life energy and the Kelovath that passed by me is without a doubt the real one." She had stood next to him when being appointed to the council, and she could identify him as easily that way most would in seeing him, without the margin of error. There was no mistake, in her mind, at who the real Kelovath was. "As for proving it, well, I don't think even I could persuade people into understanding the depths of my abilities, Ardents are so rare these days." But this did not solve the problem of the masses. "Analyzing the disease could produce an origin, but I fail to see how it would clear his name since we all know there is a disease present. And it only validates that fact." She was being less than helpful, but not by choice. "I would look more into the traces of the imposter and analyze the origin of the individual, in the meantime...Artia" Just saying the name altered her tone by a fraction, though a bard would pick up on the inconsistancy in a beat. "... may be able to manufacture a cure. I hear she did rather well in the Fermin Plague, despite not being able to identify it when she had it." The Elfess recalled being present during the course of the black magic ritual, vividly, and her presence was required to recognize the final product where Artia failed to do so. Her hand absentmindedly comes to her face, in recollection of the burn Artia inflicted on her during the process. She was still deeply irritated at the nerve of that woman- to use Dark Magic in the presence of a Druid.

Josleen nods along with Sabrina's puzzling out of the problem, and interjects to add helpfully where she can. "The source of the disease may help us find the imposter, couldn't it?" Again Josleen notices the change in tone when Sabrina speaks of Artia. "Yes, I heard Artia cured the fermin plague. Were you involved in that at all?"

She wasn't about to take credit for Artia's cure,"Artia made it, by unnatural means. It could stand to reason she could do it again. Maybe her studies will have taught her to understand her findings this time." She didn't want to assume Artia had been tending her studies, there was no proof with the new construction of botanical Gardens just north of her home. Artia was a busy woman. "If not I am sure there is a way I can be of assistance." Larket was, and will forever be a Human region, she, as always, would only step in when the human resources had been exhausted. She wasn't above helping, but they would never learn if Elves continued to bend at their every failing. Larket needed the Humans to be able to stand alone, or at least mostly so. "I have upmost confidence in the Witch's ability." Tones held proof, that wasn't a lie. Professionally she respected Artia on some level. The poorly hidden negativity was of a personal nature. And it was irrelevant to Artia's purpose. One thing was certain, she was not putting herself in a room with the Dark Druid's magic ever again.

Josleen smiles a little stiffly as she tries to navigate the drama between members of the council. Her prime concern is Kelovath, and whatever is happening between Sabrina and Artia doesn't put him at any risk, political or otherwise, and so she drops the subject altogether. "Well, if you do have any insights in how to discover the disease's origins and absolve Kelovath of this heinous crime, I am sure he would be happy to hear it. As would I, to be frank, for some within the mob whisper untrue things about me." She takes a deep breath as if bracing herself against the public and political figh that she suspects will worsen before it improves. "Well, I shouldn't take up anymore of your time." She smiles and curtsies a little to say goodbye.

Her brows come together, she hadn't heard a negative thing about Josleen thus far, but then, people rarely came to the Elfess with juicy tid-bits since she didn't endulge the curiosity of drama and whispers. "Lady Josleen." She thinks hard for a long awkward silent minute, what could she say? It was not her position to make people feel emotionally better, she dealt with the body- not the mind. "I will look into it." She seemed to have made up her mind about it, and would take a trip to the sickbay before the day was out to obtain samples. If this is what the girl needed to not only save face (Which is a high priority in Elvish standard) then this is what Sabrina would do. It was no longer a matter of a town solving its problems, but one of her potential own that faced public ridicule. If she was known for anything, it was that she took care of her people. She wasn't getting all mushy about her revelation though, her tone and body language did not soften in the human sense- she just changed her mind, at least, that is all the truth that could be gained from the details.

Josleen sighs with relief. "Oh, I'm glad to hear you say that." The bard doesn't need to explain to the healer how to go about finding the disease. Sabrina's connections out pace Josleen's in Larket. "I'll let you know what I decide about Ara, after I have spoken with Kelovath. Thank you and have a great day. I do hope to see you soon." She bows her head, and if Sabrina says nothing more than a goodbye, leaves.

"Curious." It was a near silent statement for herself rather than the departing audience. She offers Josleen no more than a formal bow of head, indicating her understanding that it was time to part ways. She was not usually one for a lot of words so the Elvish gesture would have to do. Several names run through her mind. Her first stop after the sickbay would have to be Artia. The witch was far more social than the Elfess, surely she would have answers- or at least, more names. She would watch Josleen leave for but a short moment before the groans of a waking patient in the surgery room gather her attention and she heads back in. "Mr. Holden..." The learned positive tone and cheerful words are cut off by a closing door.