RP:Working Hours

Part of the Restoration of Lithrydel Arc

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Summary: A whole dozen of Dwarves get badly injured following a methane explosion in the Mines. Thamalys, with an handful of novices only to help him out, struggles to deal with the frankly quite awful situation. Eventually, Nebb finds Emilia, who rushes to the House of Ara in the attempt to turn the tide. The sun goes down, and two Dwarves are no more. Feeling mildly nostalgic, the two healers decide to leave the families of the fallen what the Genasi righteusly lables as "one last night of sleep before countless nights of tears…"

Larket: House of Ara; Rebuilt

Thamalys spat, an awful mixture of sweat, dust and blood. Not his - and yet the Avian was soaked into the crimson thing, long streaks painted on his bare chest, dripping down in all kind of fashion till they reach the marble floor. In front of the Spellblade, a whole row of wooden table, more than one dozen, less than twenty, each one hosting a sturdy hairy figure clad in steel and leather. Dwarves, not an usual sight within the walls of the House, as that breed was definitely not prone to suffer pain or disease. But they dug, and dug too deep, till a huge mass of methane gas eventually found the flames of their lanterns. Not many made it out of the Mines, and all those who did were lined up on those tables. The Winged Beast was presently coordinating the effort of a number of healers - mostly novices, though. “Where the bloody hell is she…” growled the Blue, more than well aware that his magic was of fire and flames - exactly what those dwarves did not need. He needed the icy touch of the Wintry Lady, and he needed it now. Some of the dwarves were howling, desperate yells of monstrous pain - those were the ones who fared best. Some others, did not even move at all, their flesh carved into bloody scars, consumed by the explosions, their clothes stuck onto them, still piping hot, beards reduced to old torches. The Blue tore another piece of fabric from the chest of a red-haired dwarf, a massive piece of flash following. The stench was unbearable. “Just find her, will ya!” screamed the Winged Beast on top of the noise, pointing a bleeding hand toward the utterly confused shapes of Nebb, at the moment circling upon the scene, still trying to locate the Genasi within the mess that suddenly engulfed the House.

Emilia had been out within the woods to the south of Larket in Kelay attempting to practice learning to use a bow with her stubborn black hand strapped with a contraption to her wrist. It was a sudden landing of a familiar one, Nebb, upon the top of her head that got her attention drawn away from the sheer focus she’d had on trying to pull the bow string back. “Bloody hell, Nebb, what do you want, get off my head yer talons are sharp!” the Genasi squaked back at the squawking bird, still sitting atop her snowy curls until she followed him. Thamalys had him well trained, no doubt about that. It was with speed given by her horse that the Genasi arrived back to House Ara. Nebb would fly in first making triumphant noises that he’d found the Icy Woman. Shortly after the Genasi would burst through the door of Ara bringing with her a sudden wave of icy cold air, a burst that swept over the room of burned dwarfs, dropping the temprature of the room instantly. Wide eyed the Healer stared at the numerous men laying on tables that smelled god awful of burnt flesh and who knows what else. Squirming free of the leather straps about her wrist Righty took off too began assisting before the woman even had a chance. Bloody hand.A man upon a back table with clothes still melted into his chest is where the ice hand began. It was not as good as two hands, but single cold black fingers pressed over the burnt flesh allowing a wave of chill to spread before it started to slowly separate cloth from flesh. Emilia herself turned to find the winged man where he was presently already blood covered himself with the blood of the men upon the tables. “Why didn’t ya send Nebb sooner?” She said softly all while knowing he probably didn’t have time to even think other than save these men at first. “Where would ya like me?” Oddly enough she gave him the leadership of this, but he did already know what was happening more than she did.

Thamalys sighed, a sound close to a snort that was actually one of utter relief. “Emi - finally! I - did - send Nebb ages ago, but the useless lump of meat and feathers could not find you…” noted the Avian pointing a bony finger to the righteously offended bird of pray, the latter squawking with disdain to make sure everyone in the House was notified of his disagreement. Truth is, things were not looking up at all, and a tad bit longer could have meant the end of more than one wounded. In the meantime, one of the novices jumped away from Righty screaming: “What is that thing? Shoo!” gestured the tiny elf, with both hands threatening to vanish the efforts of the blackened hand. “Let it be, Tilya, leave it I said!” snapped the Blue, actually stepping between novice and said hand. The Avian shook his head, tired as death. “Emi, I would have you split into twelve, to be honest…” began the Spellblade, both of his arms falling on his sides, a cascade of dirty knotty dreadlocks raining over his face. “But let’s try to stabilise those that are not moving yet. This one, help me out please… I removed much of his clothing, but this strange fabric is literally glued to his face and I cannot remove it… I could burn it away, sure, but of all magics, mine is basically useless today…”. While ranting, in two big steps only the Blue would have shown the Icy Lady toward the patient in question, a young dwarf laying still in the middle of the row. A novice brought some cold water smelling of one of Thamalys’ concoctions - the Wind knew how many he had to sacrifice already on that day. Almost casually, the Avian washed his hands into the bowl, waiting for the Wintry Lady to determine what to do next. The dwarf at his right sight never cased to scream…

Emilia looked at Thamalys with a glimmer of magic in those ice blue eyes at the mention of splitting herself in twelve to aid him in tending to his wounded dwarfs on this day. “Ay, twelve is too much, but how about six?” she whispered softly in reply. Eyes closed the little wintery lady raised her hands from her side up to mid-air in slow motion. Magically before the eyes of everyone within Ara bits of frost from the ground began to form, rise and take shape. Five of them to exact, Emi herself making the number six she quoted him. Opening her eyes the frozen shapes of herself made of ice and snow began to shuffle away from the Genasi and begin assisting the novice healers at the tables. Little magical snow people that would only last for so long before their magic would melt away leaving them as puddles on the ground, yet each should have a few hours of very minor movement and aide in them. Emilia herself turned to follow the Avian then to the one wounded he placed as most critical. Righty wagged a finger at the one who tried to shoo it away, almost like a silent laugh before getting back to work. Emi cast her eyes down upon the face of the dwarf, “I suppose frostbite is easier to monitor than burns in some cases. Be prepared to warm his face back up after I finish breaking off the frozen bits of this fabic, aye?” With nimble fingers the Genasi touched his face with a soothing cold touch, allowing the nature of her chill to spread over him to the point it was frosted ice that caused the fabric to break like wet hair in Frostmaw. Gentle hands would pick the frozen cloth both carefully and quickly so as not to let the flesh suffer too long under her cold. Lifting her hands, “Warm him, please” she asked the avian when she was done. How perfect a pair together fire and ice, opposite yet neither could manage alone without the other.

Thamalys just raised an eyebrow in witnessing five exact replicas of the Icy Lady rising out of the blue (pun not intended…), but most of the novices gasped in awe. “Yes, this is phenomenal, but no, there is no time to dwell into this particular shade of magic now - back to your posts… and for pity’s sake, bring me that shappire and sage salve I left on my desk, will you? Tilya, move!” growled the Wings Beast before positioning himself on the other side of the wooden table, observing the skilful fingers of the Genasi unpicking the tricky fabric. Crackling and hissing, the latter eventually did come out - while the ivy-shaped tattoos of the Avian twitched and spiralled across his ivory skin, a faint glow of blue materialising on his hands. The Healer did not wait for the last piece of fabric to be removed. Engaging in a deadly dance with the Wintry Lady, the moment her frosty fingers managed to remove a tiny patch of tissue, there the flaming finger of the Blue tiptoed, to counteract the frostbite. The chest of the dwarf was rising and lowering with more ease now, but the pain obviously kicked in soon after, as the young creature desperately clawed at the Winged Beast. “Easy, you… just give me some time…” soothed the Blue the moment Tilya came back panting, holding a bottle filled with a sparkling blue oil. Down a generous dose went, soaking into the horrible wounds of the dwarf - he would have to live with awful scars all his life, but those people seemed to cherish such things anyway. “I just don’t know what I will do without you…” whispered the Blue to the Genasi, only to hastily correct himself upon the inquiring look of Tilya. “I mean we. The House. The Guild, I don’t know what the Guild would do without you. Anyway. I believe I’ll take care of the red-haired one, now…” concluded the Blue, quickly disappearing in a vortex of dreadlocks and crimson toward the most far away table of them all. While ambling there, he silently took notice of the work of those five replicas - excellent, but of that he did not doubt for a second. Without saying one more word, the Spellblade gestured Tilya to bring water and salve. There was much left to do, but thanks to the Emilia, hope had dislodged despair.

Emilia and Thamalys were a sight to watch working with one another, the way the fire and ice danced around one another without ever extinguishing the other, harmony where little truly existed in this world. Eyes of novices watched the pair in short bursts watching in awe of the skills of the adept pair before tending back to their own wounded. Some spark of inspiration as to what the future could hold for them as their skills too grew. Before the winged one could walk away to tend to another the frozen hand of the Genasi reached to grasp his, a tight squeeze that would result in a hiss as fire and ice met for just a moment, “It is not what you or the guild would do without me, but rather what we all would do without each other. Everyone of us is a vital importance to this world and you are no less skilled than I,” hushed words, but truthful all the same. His skills could be said to rival that of the Genasi herself only his knowledge and hers were from two separate parts of the healing world. One cannot judge one by the same standards as the rest. Smiling the Genasi let the winged one along with his novice turn to tending to the red haired one far off. The Icy One herself turning to head off to another of the dwarfs on the tables. It would be a long night ahead for the healers, but as a team they would be able to triumph over losing. Scars and long days of rest awaited these dwarfs. Righty and the five ice clones continuing to follow commands in aiding in all the limited ways they could offer.

Thamalys, eventually, leaned against one of the columns supporting the high ceiling of the House. Exhausted, he was. By the time he and the Wintry Lady - not to mention the army of novices - were done with those dwarves, the sun had almost disappeared beyond the polished windows, casting a scarlet light into the hall. Of the twelve wounded, just two did not make it. Not even the combined efforts of Avian and Genasi could bring them back. Some would have labeled the day as a success, but the Blue could not - two lives were gone, and under his watch. Down to the Spellblade thus fell the duty to inform the families - letters had to be written, asking the closest relatives to come to the House. Anyone in Larket knew the meaning of those letters. Pain and sorrow filled the whole space. Nebb nailed his talons into the flash of the Avian, trying to wake him up from that sleepy feeling that seemed to have embraced the Blue. It worked, to an extent. Mildly bewildered, the Winged Beast looked at his own arms, dirty and sore. He needed wash that and that weakness away. “Emi…” he called weakly, moving a few steps toward the baths. “I will take care of the letters. Please just give me a few moments…” added while stumbling down the stairs, his voice a mixture of gratitude - how many would have perished without the help of the Genasi? - and sadness.

Emilia herself had grown tired after hours of healing with novices and Thamalys. The five snow clones of herself melted by now into puddles upon the floor of Ara. Ten men mended and resting, two being escorted by novices away to be held on ice until family could claim the bodies. The white woman was more pink than pale as the blood of the fallen coated the pale flesh and curls, she too would at some point find herself washing away the stains to her flesh. Watching the Blue stagger away the Genasi was quick to his weak and tired side. The lady would offer support to him in getting to the bath. Until he would dismiss her the Genasi would remain at the side of her companion. “Thamalys we may have lost two men this day, but our efforts saved ten. In the future we may only be able to save one, but never will be able to say we didn’t give it our best efforts and that we did not try our hardest to save those who have fallen. The dead will be there in the morning and the letters can go out in the morning. Let those families go to bed with a shred of hope before we destroy their worlds. One last night of sleep before countless nights of tears…” There was a gentle tone to those words, as if the Genasi had experienced both sides of those letters in the past, and in truth she had too many times to count. Most days she still waited for them to announce the passing of her long gone children to ease her mind of wondering where they were, if they were alive or dead, etc. A gentle kiss to the forehead of the Blue, “Good work you have done this day.”

Thamalys nodded slowly. “Of course, you are very right… no need to ruin the night of those poor souls… let us wait wait till next morning then…” sort of managed to put together the Blue, for a moment only almost seeking the shoulder of the Genasi. A matter of a split second, though, and down he kept walking, not before repaying her kiss by caressing that pale freckled cheek. In the dim light of the innards of the house, where purple candles only lightened the way into the dungeons, the Winged Beast did not even realise he painted five strokes of pure crimson on said cheek - so tired he was. “I tried my best, Emi… still not enough, but I did try. And all of this is because of you… Wind, long past are the days where our biggest concern was a cup of minty tea spilled on the books of the House… you remember that? Feels like ages ago. And then war, and then…” thus he kept rumbling, while the two of them eventually vanished, engulfed in the comfortable darkness of the House.