Solo A Matter of Perspective

[Devi]

Spring 5, 515AV, late evening – Devi’s Apartment Her finger poked at the tip of the small pair of scissors experimentally. They were just as sharp as they appeared and Devi was thankful she had not prodded at them any harder. Many such shining instruments were spread out on the table before her and Devi found herself admiring each of them in turn. When she had been apprenticing with Versin she had only ever assisted with surgeries. He had his own kit of tools just like these, kept meticulously clean. They had always been as shining silver and just as sharp as if they were new, each time he used them. The last Winter had brought her a long season of ill patients. She had learnt more about infections and cold-related illnesses in the last season alone than she had done with a few years as Versin’s apprentice. Working alone meant needing to think of everything herself, no longer would she have anyone to fall back to, to make a decision. That said, she had been surprised with the amount she managed to absorb. The young doctor had also halved the amount of sleep she was getting, though even that she was starting to get used to. These days she was starting to acquire her own presence in the neighbourhood. People seemed to be trusting her and turning to her first more often. Every now and then that meant that something cropped up that she had never seen before, or had only heard about second hand. She was venturing into the new and coming across challenges which were stretching her medical knowledge. The new season had kick-started both her mind and her ambitions. Already she had made the unusual purchase of a longbow and begun a regimen of practice. Once she had enough confidence in her skills she would be able to venture a little further into the woods (preferably not so far that she would get easily lost) to hunt for various beneficial and poisonous herbs, as her mother had done before her. As for her day to day work however, her next challenges would come sooner or later. When they did she would be prepared with a surgeon’s kit. She nodded to herself, satisfied with the thought, and replaced the items within the new, larger case. She packed her smaller healer’s kit, with its supply of herbs and medicines, into the case so she could carry everything at once from now on.

Receipt200GM taken from ledger for Surgeon's Kit

[Devi]

Spring 6, 515AV , very early morning – Devi’s Apartment Devi woke with a start to a loud banging at her door. Slipping out from under her blankets she made quick time to the door and opened it a crack to find a very desperate face on the other side. “Please! Doctor please... You have to help... It slipped and I didn’t mean...” Devi opened the door a little further to take in the woman’s face and give her brain chance to fully awaken. The woman was distraught and babbling hysterically, tears streaming down her face. She began weeping, unsure what to do with herself. “There’s so much blood...” “Stop,” she directed, pulling the woman just inside the doorway. Releasing her, she moved to her bureau and opened it, picking a pair of trousers and pulling them onto her legs underneath her night-shirt. She spoke to the woman as she got dressed, lacing her words with as much authority as she could in the hopes that her tone would pierce through the woman’s distress. “Tell me your name and describe the injury.” Within a short time she learned that the woman’s name was Marie and that it was her husband hurt. Devi’s eyes lingered on Marie’s hands, stained with blood. There were also large stains on her skirt, as though she had been kneeling in the liquid. She was a little too hysterical to be of much further descriptive use but Devi was already diagnosing in her mind. With as much blood as she could see on Marie she thought it likely her husband had a pierce-wound of some kind and a deep one at that. It was the kind of would, ironically, that her new kit would be all too suited for. Devi caught a few more words and gathered that a pair of large scissors had caused the injury and that Marie had tried, unsuccessfully, to remove them. Good and bad both... she thought to herself. There was no time to lace her usual corset but she pulled her Ramie tunic over her head, grabbed her kit and then calmly told Marie to direct them to her apartment.

[Devi]

When they arrived Devi took in the details before her in quick succession. She could see a man lying on the floor, groaning, barely conscious. A young boy was crouching nearby, holding a thick cloth against the man’s abdomen, a knife sticking loosely out of the mass. Despite the effort to stem it blood had seeped out from the wound and had been smeared across the floor by various movements. A few pieces of furniture had been disturbed – a chair was overturned, a glass vase smashed on the floor and various items from beside the hearth had spilled. Thankful at once for her long Ramie tunic, she knelt beside the child and gently took eased his hands from the cloth. He looked up at her, bewildered and tear-streaked and then looked down again, scrabbling backwards at what he saw. Devi set her kit down on a patch of relatively un-soiled floor and lifted the cloth tentatively to assess the damage. From the size of the knife that she could see, the wound was fairly deep and somewhat messy, though not guaranteed to be fatal. It was still seeping blood, though it was already slightly stickier where the blood had begun to clot. She quickly replaced the pressure on the wound with one hand and reached to pull open her kit with the other. She thought of asking the child for assistance but quickly dismissed the notion, realising how traumatised he must be, remembering all too clearly her own very similar experience. Back then she hadn't spoken to anyone for days after the fact. He needed to be taken out of this mess and cleaned up, away from the smell and sight of it. Then again she also needed assistance to close the wound. Someone should also be alerting the healers at Soothing Waters of the injury and even the knights, of the incident. Never mind an assistant... I need an entire staff. As she reached in her pack for the bottle of alcohol she knew was within, her eyes darted around to locate Marie. She was, unexpectedly, loitering in the doorway, hands holding her upper arms tightly. “Marie I’m going to need some clean, warm water. Is there any in the kettle?” In deft motions Devi pulled the stopper from the bottle with her teeth, removed the cloth and ripped more of the man’s shirt away to expose the wound. With what she hoped was a clean heft she pulled the knife from the wound and poured in some of the alcohol to cleanse it. Her patient, although barely conscious, groaned loudly and tensed for a few moments. Although those noises she expected, she heard Marie let out a hiss through her teeth. Devi set aside the bloody cloth and poured some alcohol over her own hands, thinking it was the best she could manage to clean them under the circumstances. As she picked the pre-threaded needle from her pack she looked around for Marie once more and found her unmoved, staring at the scene before her. I don’t have time for this... she thought acidly. All the while her patient was continuing to bleed, clots or no. Lacing her voice with as much authority as she could muster she looked directly into Marie’s eyes and issued the order. “Marie – clean water. Now.” The woman hovered for a moment but as Devi quickly turned back to begin stitching her patient she heard shuffling movement coming from behind her.

[Devi]

With surprisingly steady hands, Devi began stitching the skin either side of the wound together. As she did so she found herself all too thankful for her calm nature. She had always been that way, Versin told her. He had been the doctor called when her father injured and then succeeded in killing himself. He told her that in the years since, when she was assisting him, she would drop instantly into that cool demeanour. He had at first been concerned about it, wondering when Devi would snap and lash out. She had found ways of keeping her mind occupied though and all in all, doctoring had helped her recover from the experience. When she had been a child in that situation she had been as the little boy cowering against the wall was now. Numb, almost uncomprehending. These days she slipped into that same numb state but did not allow panic to creep in and lock her body and mind beyond all action. When all was done at the end of the day she would retire to her apartment, wash herself and finally relax. It was then that she cried, became angry, grieved if she needed to. Whenever things were really bad she would visit Ronan knowing, just as he had done when they were children, that he could ease the suffering of her mind. She concentrated intensely on the stitching, trying to knit the flesh together as cleanly as possible. With each stitch that she added the task became easier, the seep of blood easing as she helped the body to close the wound. She knew that based on where it was the man had been quite fortunate – no major organs, such as lungs, had been nicked and the bleeding had not been intense enough to suspect a major blood vessel had been pierced. Still, as she worked she could not help but feel the wound was strange. The angle perhaps, was not one she was familiar with. The small puzzle played at the back of her mind but dissipated slightly when Devi finished the stitches. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw that they were holding nicely. She cut away the rest of the man’s shirt, using it and some more alcohol to clean her hands once more. Marie was hovering by the table, a bowl of gently steaming water beside her. Devi dug around in her kit and pulled out a fresh pack of mixed Vyfox leaves and flowers. She began pulling fronds of leaves and flowers apart, taking enough that she could make a poultice with the water Marie had heated. Applied across the wound, she knew it would help ward against infection and aid the body in sealing the flesh. As she measured out the amount she would need she spoke to the dumbstruck woman, once more trying for a tone that would get through to her. “Marie you need to find a knight to run to the Soothing Waters. We will need a pallet and a few strong bodies to carry your husband to the infirmary there.” Looking at the woman again Devi realised she was frowning at the idea, her hands curled around a blood-tipped knife. The doctor felt a chill settle in her stomach, a few details swirling around her mind in an incoherent mess. In the midst of all else she could not put her finger on it but she felt in her bones that something was wrong. For some reason Versin’s face was amongst her thoughts. A new voice sounded at the door then – an older man entered, dressed haphazardly in a night-shirt and carrying a torch with one hand. Devi sensed he had been there a minute or so already as his expression did not carry much tinge of surprise. "Or perhaps you can do so sir?" She asked carefully. He nodded to her, speaking in a gruff voice. “I can summon the knights easily enough. My old bones won’t be any good helping to carry him but knights never patrol alone.” With that he shuffled off. Devi looked back at Marie’s face, seeing the blood drain out of it before her eyes. Her fingers were now clenched tightly around the knife. The chill in Devi’s stomach deepened.

[Devi]

Devi moved to Marie’s side, taking with her a pestle with which to grind the Vyfox leaves and flowers in her hand. As she did so the doctor eyed the woman carefully. She was now resting her eyes on her husband, their focus wide and far-away. Devi looked once more at the knife in Marie’s hands, then at the debris scattered around the room, finally resting on the young boy seated against the wall. “Marie your son shouldn’t be seeing this. Is there somewhere you can take him, to clean up?” Marie ignored him, mouthing words quietly to herself. For the time being Devi continued to mash the Vyfox, gradually adding the warm water to ensure it stuck together. Her hands continued the familiar motions, adding more foliage and mashing it, adding more water to make it into more of a paste. All the while the cogs in her mind worked. Devi decided to try a different tact. “What’s his name?” This time Marie replied rather abruptly, her voice quiet but determined. “He’ll be safe now you see...” Devi took the poultice she had made and knelt once more beside her patient. He was stirring less and his pallor was extremely pale. The knights could not get there with that pallet soon enough. With her fingers she began applying the poultice over and around the stitched wound, taking the opportunity to check the man over for any less severe wounds she might have missed. She could see some small cuts on the side of his head, an area of angry red skin showing. “I’ve managed to seal the wound so yes, with additional care at Soothing Waters I think he’ll be safe now.” Marie looked at her straight in the eyes for the first time since they arrived. Her look was panicked, her hands beginning to shake. “I thought he was dead... There’s so much blood and he’s not waking up...” “That’s why you came to find me Marie-” Though even as she said it, Devi realised that wasn’t true. Marie hadn’t expected her husband to come out of this alive. “NO!” She snapped, a wildness creeping into her expression. “I stopped it. No more, no more!” She looked at her son as she cried out the last words, seeming to want to persuade him as much as anyone else. Devi paused in her actions and really looked at the boy. She hadn’t seen it before, focused as she had been on his father and with the blood stained over his hands. His shirt was ripped near the collar, a dark bruise blossoming just below his collarbone. She turned back to Marie to find her eyes pinned into her own. Her voice was barely a whisper now. “He shouldn’t be alive...” Sensing a change in the woman Devi finally realised why Versin’s face had been swimming through her mind. She knew in her gut now that Marie was responsible for her husband’s stab wound. Based on the boy’s bruises and the flurry of emotion she could see in the mother’s eyes, she could imagine the source of the commotion. She phrased her words carefully, realising that she could well be in a dangerous situation. “That isn’t for you to decide Marie. His fate is in the hands of the Gods now.” Familiar, booted footsteps sounded from the hallway. “In here!” She called out to them, not taking her eyes off Marie. Two knights entered, hands moving to the pommels of their swords as they took in Marie with her knife. She sensed them hesitate, assessing the physical danger. Devi addressed them directly. “I need one of you down here to help me support this man whilst I bandage his chest.” She eyed Marie carefully as she addressed the second knight, “Marie can offer that cooking knife to you Ser, so she’s free to take care of her son and clean him up.” Devi waited with baited breath to see if her instructions would be heeded.

[Devi]

Carefully the second knight edged forward, one hand outstretched and the other still near the hilt of his weapon. Marie eyed him nervously, shrinking away. Then all at once she held out the knife and looked away, at her son. The knight took the blade from her and set it aside, nodding to Devi as he did so. The first knight had lingered nearby for a moment, in case his companion needed his assistance but now turned his full attention to Devi and the man lying, completely unconscious now, on the floor. Devi continued to instruct him so she could set a bandage in place before they moved him. It would keep the poultice in place and protect the stitches a little longer to ensure he didn’t begin bleeding again on the way. “Position yourself behind him and feel your way under his armpits, gently,” she emphasised. As he did so she continued, routing around in her kit for a set of bandages to apply. “Now when I say, lift his shoulders off the ground and hold them there. I need enough room to fit a bandage around here.” She pointed. On her count the knight lifted and she began wrapping the long bandage around the husband’s torso, carefully sealing the sticky poultice in place over the stitched wound. She worked as quickly as she was able, ensuring the bandages were snug against her patient’s skin. By the time she tied it off, the second knight and a third that she had not seen from the hallway entered with a pallet. One reached for the man’s feet and, again on her count, they shifted him over to the pallet. Two of the knights left immediately but the third, a tall man, stayed by her side watching Marie quite openly. Devi leaned back and breathed deeply, resenting the lingering smell of blood around her. She began packing away her things, cleaning them as best she could until she returned to her apartment and could wash herself properly. She turned to the knight, speaking in low tones. “I doubt he’ll wake soon, if at all, but when he does it would be beneficial to have a knight posted at his bedside.” His eyes shifted at that but he nodded in acknowledgement. Devi turned to Marie, now fussing over her son and trying, unsuccessfully to clean him. She approached slowly, not wanting to startle either of them. “So what say we heat some water for a nice warm bath. I’m betting you both have a tub we could set up in the other room.” Marie thankfully nodded at that and Devi thanked whichever deity was listening that they lived in a family-sized apartment, with a separate smaller bedroom to the main room. Devi made sure to remove her tunic once they were out of the there and washed her own hands first, ensuring she was as free of blood as possible. Gently she helped Marie and her son heat some water and scrub off the horror of the night, thinking that it might take her a great deal longer to feel properly cleansed.

[Sayana]

Devi Skills: Skill EXP Observation +5 Planning +1 Organization +1 Rhetoric +4 Leadership +5 Persuasion +5 Interrogation +2 Medicine +4 Intimidation +1 Sewing +1 Investigation +2 Herbalism +2 Philosophy +1 Philtering +1 Lores: Medicine: Stitching a wound Medicine: Alcohol to cleanse a wound Vyfox: Wards against infection for wounds Herbalism: Preparing and applying a Vyfox poultice Leadership: Taking charge in a medical emergency Investigation: When a wound doesn't match the given cause Philosophy: When to keep quiet about a crime Investigation: Noticing unusual reactions Persuasion: Using an authoritative tone of voice Comments : What a great thread. I never thought there could be so much suspense in a job thread for a doctor. I also have a soft spot for threads containing shady characters were things aren’t all what they seem and not everyone is a ‘good guy’. I love what you did with it. Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message (like really, I’m all ears if you feel like I missed something). Enjoy.