RP:Searching for Holy Solutions

To find the first part of this RP, you can find it here: Battle for the Children: Team B

Summary: After finding the missing child deceased, Gilwen and Kelovath return to the sick bay with the body. There, they encounter the grieving parents, and after, discuss the curse on Sage and what help they might offer one another.

Fortress Sickbay

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.

Kelovath wasn't really in that big of a hurry to the sickbay. The boy was dead, yes, but once making it passed the Fort, there was little need to rush. The child, still mostly covered thanks to Krice's shirt, was extremely cold at this point. His face was not completely covered, but little could be done about that, with the position he was lifelessly being held. During the entire trip passed the entrance to the Fort, the paladin did not speak. He did not greet the many, many familiar faces. This was beyond a sad moment for the paladin and he knew it would only get worse once stepping through the door of the sickbay. But, regardless of whether he wished to do it or not, it needed to be done. Immediately, the family of the dead boy, the mother and father at least, came rushing over, sobbing. As expected. The brother of the boy, however, stood there in complete shock. Knowing as to the next step, Kelovath stood there in the doorway, holding the child.

Gilwen followed Kelovath in communal silence, her head bowed to watch the path and her next footstep rather than run the risk of staring at the deceased child in the paladin’s arms. She operated on autopilot until whatever reverie she had found herself in had broken with the sounds of grieving parents, and it was only then that she looked up to take in her surroundings. The parents of the child clung to each other, supporting their weight on their spouses precariously held person. While they hadn’t forgotten their other son, in that moment their grief had taken over all else, and it was all they could do to avoid collapsing there on the floor before the paladin. Gilwen watched the small family with evident empathy, but she stepped forward to rest her hands on the shoulders of the parents, who were far too lost in their own misery to realize the blood-covered state of the woman. Despite their clearly human heritage, Gilwen murmured softly, her words those of her mother’s tongue, but despite the old sylvan language, the prayer the elder offered seemed to bestow a small sense of peace. Once the short litany had concluded, the elf moved past the couple and their remaining son to locate a washbasin. The couple themselves seemed to pull together, and though they continued to softly weep, the mother turned to her remaining son and gathered him to her, while the father reached forward to accept the body of his youngest son with a shaky “Thank you.”

Kelovath stood there in silence the entire time. He had no words and a massive lump in his throat forbid him from speaking. For some reason, his attention mainly focused on the brother. He looked as lost as the paladin, but much worse at the same time. Being the religious leader of Larket, he had been around death often enough. But knowing there was the possibility of preventing this death dramatically took it's told on the Parson of Larket. Well, more the Ambassador now, but what's a title, really. Once the father reached out to take the boy, Kelo gave a few nods and allowed him to do so. Saying 'you're welcome' was obviously not the proper response, thankfully the paladin refrained from saying it. Or from saying anything at all. In a daze, he walked by the still, and for a long while, grieving family, and made his way toward the room labeled 'Supplies'. He didn't enter. Instead, his gaze lowered his eyes narrowed a bit, and tears slowly rolled onto his cheeks, then landed on the floor.

Gilwen was gifted with a clean towel and a bowl of clean, cool water to wash with by one of the healers that were on duty. Between the fermin ichor and her own blood still oozing from the deeply furrowed claw marks across her cheek, she doubted that the patients resting and recuperating found a sense of calm by looking at her, and so she had stepped off into the room where the supplies were kept and quickly removed most of the coagulating substance. When she returned, it was just in time to catch sight of Kelovath’s tears, and a fresh wave of emotion griped her chest tightly. The basin of now tainted water was passed off, but the towel was kept and pressed to her insubstantial wounds. “Even if we had done everything perfectly, if we had been faster, I still do not think we would have been in time to save the boy,” she stated softly after a stint of silence.

Kelovath took in a deep breath after Gilwen's words and nodded. He knew that. Krice got there much sooner than the other three and the boy was already gone. Damn Fermin. That was the main thing that stuck out in his head. The fermin. Killing them wasn't enough. They kept coming and they will continue to cause damage. The tears stopped and although Kelovath wanted nothing more than to go back outside and kill more of those damn beasts, he knew where he was really needed. With yet another long, drawn-out sigh, he lifted his head and looked to Gilwen. "Thank you." Whether it was for her previous actions against the fermin or for her encouraging words, it didn't really matter. A smile started to show, but it quickly shifted into a frown, followed by, "Your face..." Becoming concerned now, the paladin started to reach out, then remember an important thing. Manners. Softly, he asked, "Want me to heal that...?" Kelovath was about to say her name and realized he didn't know it. He didn't know anyone's name from the group, in fact. Not even the vampire, who he had actually stood next to at a wedding.

Gilwen pulled the wadded towel from her cheek, and sucked in a small, but sharp breath as the fibers that had clung to her wounds finally pulled free; her spiritual connection with nature and her natural healing abilities (both holistically and magically) provided a speedy recovery time. However, this perk was not instantaneous, and would take a while yet, so the elf nodded her consent. “My name is Gilwen,” she offered before turning her face to present the paladin with her left cheek; had it not been for his use of the holy fire earlier, she might have been more hesitant to accept this small favor. “You are a paladin, no?” She asked, her green eyes finding him in a sideward glance. “You’re also the one pining away for Nancy.” The tone of her last comment was touched with a note of half-hearted humor.

Kelovath glanced over at the grieving family for a moment, his eyes once again being more drawn to the brother. The boy was crying now, which strangely made the paladin feel a little better. Being stuck in shock the child previously was would not have been a healthy thing. Kelo decided that when things calmed down, he would reach out to the family and help them however he could. Noticing now that the elf, who he can now call Gilwen, presented her wounded cheek to him, his hands lifted up to her cheek. This time, he did not whisper the name of his god, Arkhen. It was purely magic. Holy magic, at that. His armored hands, about an inch away from her cheek, began to glow. For the first question, the man nodded his head and hardly whispered, “I am, yes.” But, at the mention of Nancy, his eyes grew wide, then narrowed, and his head shifted to the side. “How do you know about that?” The paladin was actually tempted to stop healing the woman’s face, but being in a sickbay, with a somewhat loudly grieving family was not the proper place for clash.

Gilwen hadn’t settled her gaze on the grieving family as she waited for the start and conclusion of the healing process, and instead moved to count how many living bodies dotted the area. Before she could complete her count however, the answers to her questions drew her attention back toward Kelovath in another sidelong stare. “I met you in the taven in Kelay,” she answered, “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘met’, but we had a brief conversation. About Nancy.” Finding her answer suitable, she opted to change the subject back to the acknowledgement of him being a paladin. “Would you be able to tell me who Kelovath is? Lady Hildegarde advised that I find him.”

Kelovath 's healing was basically over at this point. The wound had mostly healed over, but it would still take a day or two for it to look like nothing happened. Of course, with Gilwen's own healing power, it would probably look perfect by the end of the day. It was at that point, did he fully recognize the elf and remember their very quick conversation at the Tavern. He was rather distracted that day with other matters. Nancy being one. He laughed at her question, gave her cheek a quick inspection before pull away some. "Hildegarde is a wise woman. Strongly believes in Aramoth, which is respectable. Why are you needing Kelovath?" One of the many nurses wondering about in the sickbay just happened to walk by during that last part and laughed. The paladin gave her a silly look and brought his attention back to Gilwen.

Gilwen remained the ever patient patient, and it was only once Kelovath stepped back, signaling the completion of his task, that she started to turn back toward the paladin completely. However, before she could answer his question, her attention was arrested by the laughing nurse, and she glanced between her and Kelovath, her expression one of skepticism. “I need his help,” her words came slow and uncertain, and she narrowed her green gaze onto the paladin. There was a brief flicker of something akin to shock and understanding that disrupted the suspicious set to her face, and replaced the expression with slight agitation- whether at herself or Kelovath, it was uncertain. “You’re Kelovath… aren’t you?”

Kelovath said to you, "Indeed I am. And whatever help you need, you will have. I know we were unable to...Save him. But you aided Larket, so Larket will return the deed."

Gilwen sucked in a lung filling breath as if that might quell the slight embarrassment she felt, but with Kelovath's agreement to help her, to help Sage, that held breath was loosed in one fell swoop. "Sage forest is cursed. All the trees are rotting, and nothing we do seems to stop it. Hildegarde said you might be able to help us stop the spread of the plague, as well as lift the curse. But it's not only that. The elves are beginning to think that the curse my spread to them," Gilwen, clearly, was not of the same mindset, "and since Frostmaw's gates are closed during this time, I wanted to ask the council of Larket to extend to the elves a brief period of refuge until either the curse is lifted, or until Frostmaw is once more available to us." Despite the uncertainty flooding through her, she had managed to keep any trace of it from her features. You said to Kelovath, "Could you vouch for me, in front of the council, should I need it? I am willing to extend any aid I have available during Larket's time of need."

Kelovath listened to the explanation while only giving a few nods here and there, keeping all emotion in check. Kind of a difficult thing to do, considering their surroundings, but it seemed the family had already left the sickbay. Probably to bury their son. Again, the paladin made note to seek them out later on. As for Gilwen, "I will speak to the council about your people. I must warn you though; I doubt the fermin will stop attacking, simply because your people are needing help. For all we know, the fermin could direct their attention to the elves. Larket has troops to spare, but you must know the dangers that threaten Larket. As for the curse, I can request several other paladin's from Larket to aid you, as well as myself. Should this be a true curse, we can help."

Gilwen managed a small, tight smile and shook her head slowly. “I highly doubt that any fermin attacks will stop until something drastic is done, but it’s my hope that we might find some sort of sanctuary in the Eternal forest. We have plenty of mages and druids to set up perimeter defenses if we are forced to move before Larket’s problems have been fully dealt with.” She didn’t intend to bring her plan to the council, or if need be, to the denizens before she had all of her ducks in a row, however. Until then, her people were safe, just scared. “I might have enough troops of my own to spare to help manage this fermin problem, and I am more than willing to throw my name into that proverbial hat as well.” She was spreading herself thin, but she needed all the alliances she could pull together. Now she needed Larewen. “Thank you, Kelovath, for this,” she said, her hand lifting to touch at the closed, and healed wounds. “If you need anything, please do not hesitate to send word.” With a short nod, the elf turned to leave the sickback.