AA3 31 - Debt (Patreon)

“Step away from her, now!” The woman snarled angrily as she stepped into the room, shifting her grip on what Verdan now saw to be a polearm as tall as she was, with a long crescent blade that had a slight on its rear.

“This isn’t what it looks like; I mean no one any harm. The Keeper collapsed in the middle of our conversation,” Verdan said, holding his hands up with his palms toward her as his staff fell into the crook of his elbow.

“Step. Away.” The woman’s anger turned cold as she continued to move closer and shifted the grip on her weapon slightly.

“She needs to be moved somewhere warm and given plenty to drink once she wakes,” Verdan said, keeping his hands up and slowly stepping away. 

The last thing he wanted was for this to turn violent, not when things had been going so well.

The woman said nothing further as she moved swiftly over to the Keeper, kneeling down by her side and feeling for a pulse without taking her eyes off Verdan.

Verdan kept a shield spell at the ready, mainly for himself but also for the Keeper. After all, someone had to have been giving her the poison.

With his attention split, it took Verdan a moment to notice the subtle movement of Aether around the woman. 

It wasn’t much, barely enough to catch his attention, but it meant that Aether was moving within her.

Verdan clamped down hard on his expression and adjusted the spell he was holding at the ready. If she was some sort of magic user, he needed to be ready.

Thankfully, once she’d ascertained that the Keeper was alive, the woman simply straightened and moved her polearm to a guarded position. “Tell me what happened.”

“We were discussing matters, and I bargained a demonstration of my magic for some answers,” Verdan said, lowering his hands as he felt the shifting Aether become calm. “I had noticed that she was suffering with some pain, so I made my demonstration a healing spell. Unfortunately, she has been poisoned with something called False Blossom, and expelling it from her system left us in the situation you find now.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Other than a demonstration of my magic, no,” Verdan said evenly, shrugging one shoulder slightly. “And that would prove nothing anyway; I could easily be able to both heal and poison. No, my preference would be that I am able to heal her again, and then we move her to somewhere comfortable.”

“Your logic does not do you any favours, for all that I agree with it,” the woman said, moving carefully back to the door, watching Verdan all along, before shouting for a servant.

The same servant who’d guided them to the room appeared, which helped corroborate Verdan’s story, and in short order, the Keeper was moved to the comfort of her bed.

Verdan disliked her going out of his sight. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for her situation, even if it had been the poison at fault.

“Wizard Blacke?” Magnus called out as Verdan eventually returned to where he’d left the group. “Is everything okay? The servants seem somewhat panicked. Do you know what has happened?”

“More or less,” Verdan said, resisting the urge to sigh. He could tell that Kai and Barb were both on edge, but thankfully, neither had pushed to come find him. “The Keeper fell ill and has needed to go rest.”

“Wizard,” the woman from earlier entered the room, her weapon loosely resting against her shoulder in a much more relaxed stance. “My mother has awoken and verified your story. She asks to speak with you in private. She’s also asked that you keep things private for now.”

“Of course,” Verdan said, realising now that the woman shared the same pale eyes and sharp features as the Keeper. He also noticed her gaze soften a little as she noticed Magnus, and they shared a nod before she gestured for Verdan to follow her.

It had been all of a few minutes since Verdan had left, but he accompanied the Keeper’s daughter back at a quick pace, eager to check over the Keeper.

“Ah, Wizard Blacke,” Bronagh greeted him as he was let into her room. The Keeper was resting in her bed, though her back was propped up to let her still see everything. “I apologise for my abrupt exit from the conversation.”

Verdan caught the slight smile on her face and shook his head ruefully. He’d been quite concerned for her, but she seemed to already be recovering quickly. “All is forgiven, though I feel I should be apologising to you. If I hadn’t cast quite the spell I did, we could have learned of your condition in a less dramatic manner.”

“Yes, Maeve told me what you said,” Bronagh said, her smile turning brittle and her eyes cold. “I’m familiar with the poison, but I doubt I would have realised what was happening until it was too late.”

“He’s telling the truth then?” Maeve asked, casting a suspicious look towards Verdan.

“Oh yes, I recognise the symptoms now,” Bronagh said before grimacing. “I can’t believe I didn’t catch on when my tea was changed. ‘Floral extracts’, I was told. Unbelievable.”

“In that case, Wizard, I must apologise for my actions earlier,” Maeve said, turning to face him with a serious expression. “My name is Maeve Barkstar, Chosen of Clan Thrain. Consider me in your debt.”

“I, too, owe you for this,” Bronagh said, though her voice lacked the force and conviction of her daughter. “Give me some time to rest, and I will answer your questions on the Vespa.”

“I don’t want to overstep,” Verdan said carefully, looking between the two of them. “But I can offer additional healing and perhaps an infusion of energy to help you get back on your feet.”

Maeve shifted uncomfortably but didn’t speak up. Her mother, however, didn’t hesitate and simply extended a hand out towards Verdan. “Please do. This should help set my daughter’s mind at ease.” 

“Very well,” Verdan stepped forward, taking the Keeper’s hand with his own before casting the two spells he had prepared. “Iacha. Hyn.”

Colour returned to the Keeper’s cheeks as she let out a slight gasp, her eyes widening as she inhaled deeply. “My my, you certainly undersold how effective that would be.”

“I’d rather exceed expectations where possible,” Verdan said in a dry tone.

“I must admit, I had my doubts,” Maeve said softly as she moved up beside him. “But that was impressive. The closest to such healing that I’ve seen was performed by a cleric of Govannon.”

“Are there active clerics within the Clans?” Verdan asked curiously.

“A few, not many. They do what they can, though,” Maeve said with a slight shrug. “I haven’t seen one in Glarn in a few years.”

“Enough of this idle chatter,” Bronagh said, motioning for them both to back up. “Go and meet me in the library. I’ll be along momentarily.”

“Yes, Mother,” Maeve said, studiously ignoring her mother’s eye roll as she led Verdan from the room.

The Keeper’s room wasn’t far from the library, and before long, Verdan was back amongst the countless books that the Keeper owned.

Thankfully, a servant had already cleaned up, so they were both able to take a seat. Maeve had stopped a servant along the way and ordered tea for the three of them, so when Bronagh joined them, it was oddly similar to earlier.

The Keeper was looking almost back to normal, though she was careful to sniff the teapot before pouring herself any.

“So, Vespa. What do you want to know?” Bronagh asked, taking the same seat as before with a sigh.

“Keeper Macstan told me they’ve been acting strangely. Someone caused the ones local to Hobson’s Point to attack the city, so I’m wondering if the ones here are being influenced as well.”

“Well, there haven’t been any direct attacks,” the Keeper said, her brow furrowing in thought. “They are certainly more active than usual and are roaming further afield, but that doesn’t sound like what you are describing.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Verdan said, tapping his fingers against the table in thought before shaking his head. “That might not mean they’re still not being influenced, though.”

“Maeve, fetch me my observations for the last ten years if you would?” Bronagh turned a sunny smile to her daughter, who gave her a withering look before doing as she asked.

Maeve retrieved the books with the ease of someone who’d spent endless hours in the library, placing them on the table and handing the top book to her mother.

“Thank you, Dear. These are my personal observations on all monsters and creatures sighted around Glarn. They aren’t definitive by any means, but we should be able to isolate at least the general pattern of Vespa behaviour.”

“May I?” Verdan asked, gesturing toward the next book in the stack.

“Please do,” Bronagh said, her smile widening as Verdan took the book. “Maeve, we can probably manage without issue here. Perhaps you could do a spot check of everyone’s rooms. See if there is anything floral to be found.”

Maeve frowned and gestured slightly to Verdan before giving her mother a disapproving look, which was entirely ignored.

For his part, Verdan kept his attention firmly on the book in front of him. Thankfully, that wasn’t too difficult, as it was packed with both observations and descriptions.

Verdan was still coming to grips with some of the things that were different in modern times, so these notes on behavioural patterns were quite interesting.

After a brief whispered conversation, Maeve left the two of them to their research, firmly shutting the door behind her on the way out.