A Subsidiary Reunion (Jarret)

[Xelhes]

Spring 37th, 512 A.V.

Denval was gone, obliterated from the face of the world. Days had flown by since the incident, but the damage was still fresh to the Ethaefal. As he walked along the side of the boat, his bow slinging over his shoulder along with his quiver, the wish to believe it was a lie constantly fluttered into his mind. The place he had called home was gone now, despite the efforts taken before to preserve it. So much had happened so fast that Xelhes had difficulties processing everything, despite the time that had already passed by. Why did things turn out this way, and what were the Denvali suppose to do? How many could pick up the pieces of their lives and start again?

One of the Denvali on the boat stood out to Xelhes more than the others, though since he was currently talking to another individual the Ethaefal turned to look out towards the sea, still thinking about everything. The explosion had taken every by surprise, the blinding light rising and a blast afterwards that flipped a few of the ships while damaging others. The intensity had destroyed the eyesight of those who looked right at it, and while Xelhes had managed to stop himself from looking the others around him had not. It had been a terrifying moment, to have those who were around him collapsing from the pain of the intense light, and their vision being seized from them. Xelhes did not know if those people would ever gain their eyesight back as while Cian was an accomplished healer there were always limits to what one could do.

Turning back Xelhes noticed that the individual who had caught his eye earlier was now more or less alone, and so the Ethaefal approached him. "It is nice to see you again, Master Jarret." His voice was soft yet carried the high respect he felt towards the elderly man. While they may not see each other often unless it was for business Xelhes enjoyed the older man's company, comfortable around Jarret due to how the man treated him. Having someone who did not mince words or make them overly kind was a refresher to Xelhes, happy that Jarret was one of the people who treated him like a regular individual, regardless of his Ethaefal blood.

Standing beside the elderly man Xelhes' gaze returned towards the sea, finding it calming yet also terrifying. Water had been what he was born in and looking at it always brought a veil of comfort for the Ethaefal, yet he knew creatures lurked in those waters as well. It was a beautiful thing to look at, yet housed dangerous monsters that lived just beneath its surface.

[Tabarnac]

The fishing boat was one of the larger vessels, but only the Star of Denval and some of the merchant ships that had been caught in their harbor and survived the djed storm were anything to write home about. There was some traffic from ship to ship as they had a tendency to drop anchor near shore when night threatened, unwilling to sail blind when the world seemed turned on its head. Planks and ropes connected bows, and smaller vessels moved in and around, ferrying people. It was fast becoming an living organism, this armada of refugees. Jarret grunted at Xelhes. He had a way, but animals and children loved him, and one had to suppose they sensed some gentler nature underneath the curmudgeon. "Make yourself useful," he said, indicating a boiling kettle of water. "Cian Noc and his Sun-singer can't be everywhere." Beside that was a small table with his kit all set up. "Mash the marigold petals, the spinach, and the corn up into a paste. Add some water to get the consistency right. When we've applied the poultice to the eyes, you can mash up some more and boil it down. Then we'll make a tincture of it. Might be more effective, but needs time to set. Long term treatment. Gnosis can fix it, but it can't tell us what it is, and in the meantime, people are suffering."

[Xelhes]

The grunt was a welcome that Xelhes happily accepted, smiling at the greeting and nodding. Some may have found it rude, yet the Ethaefal was simply happy that the man, one of the most knowledgeable people in herbalism, gave any indication that he knew of Xelhes’ existence. After a moment’s hesitation he went over to the table, quickly looking over everything before he did as instructed. Double checking for a moment, he took the marigold petals and corn, gently mashing the two in hopes that he could mesh them together early on. Though the corn did not look like it would help achieve this, Xelhes hoped that there will still be a little fluid inside the vegetable that would help the process along.

Quickly giving up, Xelhes took the spinach and added it into mix, doing his best to mash the three together, if only to be useful as Jarret said. Despite how much he wanted to learn and be useful, the Ethaefal was still wet around the ears and the lack of confidence in his skills did not aid him. As fast as he could the Ethaefal mashed, and when it seemed like the plants would no longer comply with him, he added a small amount of water before going back to work. A few drops at a time, that was all Xelhes would dare add to the mixture. It was easy enough to add more water to the concoction if it was too dry to be the proper consistency, but the moment he added too much water the thing was useless. If it became a runny messy, they might as well fling water into the patient’s eyes, for all the good it would do them.

Adding another small amount of water Xelhes began to ask, ”How many more are still injured fro-“ ,and then cut himself off, shaking his head. ”…Enough. Please, ignore that foolish question.” It was the obvious answer to the question he had almost completed, an ashamed look on his face. One person injured, let alone to the extent of losing their vision, was one too many. Having mashed in another few drops of water the Ethaefal turned to Jarret, a contemplating expression on his face.

How much more water do you think should be added until the paste is correct? I am thinking maybe only one or two, but I want to make sure I do this right.” His voice was clear so the elderly man could hear him, yet his lack of self-faith was just as clear. Everything had been mashed together to create an almost single substance, and while bits still clung to the tool he used to mash it the Ethaefal could not be sure it was finished. To him it still seemed too dry, yet he knew that if he added even a little too much now the entire thing would become waste, and that was something no one wanted. Then again, with the Ethaefal’s lack of practical application, he may have already ruined the mixture and rendered it useless.

[Tabarnac]

"I just don't know," he murmured, sounding haunted, sounding as old, if not older, than he looked. The sea travel was not agreeing with him, the intermittent cold and damp. His stillroom and cave of wonders back in Denval had been controlled environments, at least. Here, for a moment, a keen eye would see the strain he was under, caring for all these people. How many were blind now? He really didn't know. He hadn't his youth anymore to go hopping from ship to ship making house calls. Sometimes he wondered if he wouldn't die before they reached Avanthal, as Winter's teeth bit deep into the north and didn't soon let go. He looked into the mortar, nodding with grudging approval. "Keep at it, lad. The heat and the mashing release what's hidden within them. If Theo were here," he fretted, "we could add some propolis tincture to ward off infection. Sun-blindness will go away with time unless it's severe. This..." He sighed and continued futzing with things. While Xelhes worked the herbal remedy, he began to cut equal strips of clean linen, what little there was left after all the injuries that had accrued in their flight from dying Denval. These would help keep the poultice in place once it was applied to the eyes of the afflicted.

[Xelhes]

It surprised the Ethaefal that the elderly man had answered his question, expecting a hard look instead of an answer considering how foolish the question seemed. Surprise quickly gave way to worry as Xelhes heard the man’s voice, the aged sounds highly prominent. He sounded older than he ever had, and older than he looked which worried the Ethaefal even more so. For a brief moment he stopped crushed the plants and the worry came across his face, words starting to form but quickly becoming lost after the first few sounds. Xelhes wanted to ask if Jarret was ok, or if there was anything he could do to help, but each question seemed foolish or worthless. Continuing his work so that Jarret had less to do was all he could do, and Xelhes knew that.

The nod caused a tiny smile to appear on the Ethaefal’s face, happy that he had not ruined the mixture…yet. Mashing once again the young man listened to Jarret talk, worry on his face again as he thought of something to say, if simply to keep conversation going. It was difficult now though as hearing the old man’s voice made other things more apparent now; he seemed as if he had aged considerably the past few days with strain and exhaustion possibly in his eyes, as well as the wrinkles around them. ”We might not be able to add some propolis tincture, but if this is the best we can manage in our current state then I am sure those who are injured will appreciate it. We will simply have to check on them regularly in order to identify the first signs of infection and then work as quickly as we can…or to get a doctor to, in my case.

Returning to his work, Xelhes began to mash to the best of his abilities, though his seemingly renewed vigor quickly began to dissipate, his mind blank with a faint flicker of exhaustion before he pushed it back. The past few days had been hard on him as well, but this was one of the few times he could do something of use and there was no way he could simply sleep, not now. Releasing the pestle, the man shook his hand for a moment before lightly pressing against his palm with his other hand’s fingers, trying to sooth any cramps that had arisen. The texture of the remedy looked different now, and so Xelhes presented it to Jarret carefully before asking, How is it now? Still needs some work done to it or is it useable?”

[Tabarnac]

He nodded to the mixture and gestured to the strips of linen. "Sprinkle equal parts into the center of each strip, then bind them up as individual doses. They'll need to be steeped in the boiling water for three minutes, and removed to cool. As hot as they patient can bear them without pain, they should be placed carefully over the eyes while the patient is prone..." He looked distant for a moment, then frowned. "Oh." Digging around in his satchel, he produced a pair of mushrooms with what looked like stylized eyes atop the ovate caps. "How could I forget?" he wondered aloud, and indeed, it was a troubling thought. He tossed them into the mortar. "Mash those into it before you dole out the doses. Bright Eyes. Sometimes Caiyha makes things obvious..." He sighed and rubbed his face. "Mash that up, prepare the doses, and then administer it to the patients on board. I have... I need to sleep." That said, he retreated, looking rather pathetic for trying to walk with straight back and shoulders. It would be easy to fear that he had begun his decline into Dira's waiting arms.

[Xelhes]

Nodding back to Jarret, Xelhes picked up a cloth and began to add some of the mixture to it as the old man had instructed, listening as he did so. Even though his role was small, doing this made the Ethaefal feel truly useful for one of the first times. Despite the knowledge he had with herbalism, Xelhes had never used it for practical purposes and never would have thought he could help aid such an injury. When his mentor stopped mid-sentence the Ethaefal froze as well, turning towards Jarret.

With a few words and the presentation of the mushrooms, Xelhes pushed the now useless linen strip aside, not willing to play an attempt at adding the mushrooms to the cloth. Quickly he began to mash the mushrooms as well as his arms would allow, trying to make up for as much lost time as possible. While the remedy would not completely fix the damage caused from Denval’s explosion, it would at least sooth those who suffered, and really that was all he could do now. No matter how much he wished otherwise, Xelhes knew just how powerless he was.

Once the mushrooms had been mashed in with the rest of the mixtures, the Ethaefal began to add them to the linen strips, balancing speed and accuracy as best he could. Following what Jarret said he bound the doses, making sure they were secure before he turned back to the old man, concern on the Ethaefal’s face. To say that he looked like the walking dead was accurate, and Xelhes could not help but worry for the man, as well as fear. ”Jarret, is there anything else you would like me to help you with after this? I am sure there are other problems aside from the eye injuries, and you have been working hard. At least for today, I would be fine with taking care of what I can so you can have some time to yourself.”

He did not want to say that Jarret looked dreadful and sick, as it may simply only upset the man, and so instead thought that maybe offering to take up his work was the next best thing. Later he may have someone check on his condition, but for now maybe rest was the best thing for him. After all, what if he was simply over exhausted at not ill? Still, Xelhes could not help but fear that in a short time the old man would be gone for good, nothing but a husk left behind. Such a thought made the Ethaefal shiver, and worry about how such a possibility may be true.

[Tabarnac]

Old Jarret turned from the doorway. "If you would go and administer those doses to the patients in the cargo hold," he said wearily. "I... I would appreciate that." "Out of the way, old man!" came a hale, hearty, and energetic voice from beyond. Jarret moved out of the doorway and Theo edged in, a rather large tub of dirt with pale green sprouts carried in front of him. His bare arms were impressive in their strength, but clearly he was straining and attempting to hurry. "The cabbages?" Jarret asked. "The same," answered the farmer. Tattoo'd leaves poked out the loose holes of his sleeveless cotton kurta, the work of Bala Herself, it was said. He set the tub down and crouched over it, touching the Denvali dirt with his hands and praying over them. Before Xelhes' eyes, the sprouts began to grow, flowering into full-fledged heads of cabbage in very little time at all. "And see that they are eating fresh vegetables, too," Jarret added to the Ethaefal. "I've seen hints of scurvy among some of them."