Solo Gilded Cage [Job Thread]

[Oscar]

75th of Spring, 513 AV Traveling through Kalinor was and experience in itself, often requiring the assistance of a Symenestra to properly get around the hanging city. The Nest was a whole other issue in itself to get into, as Oscar had discovered. Unlike many other places in Kalinor there was no rope or cord leading into the Nest, instead one had to be lowered into it by way of three Symenestra using a harness. Oscar grunted slightly as one of the male Symenestra tightened the leather harness around his chest. The healer carried no medical supplies with him, if the issues today had been serious enough they simply would have brought the surrogates to the Purging. His mark would likely be sufficient in dealing with his patients here. The cavern of Kalinor was dimly lit and rather murky to his human eyes, the soft glow of the luminescent stones lining the walls providing the only light for him. The hole to the Nest was very well lit by comparison, in fact the Nest itself was comfortably lit, no doubt to comfort the surrogates. The healer sighed as bitterness rose in his chest, he was still very much disgusted by the Symenestra ways but there was nothing he could do about it. He was one healer, he could only do so much. Oscar was slowly lowered into the hole leading into the Nest, it was something that always filled him with equal parts dread and odd comfort. The Nest was one of the few places in Kalinor that was reminiscent of the world above, though it was much more richly furnished than any place he had ever lived. However he knew what this place really was, it was hard not to dread it when the ones that left it were bound to end up in the cold rooms in the Place of Purging. The Nest was a gilded cage at its finest, beautiful but inescapable until your appointed time arrived. As the healer touched down in the Nest he attempted to brighten his expression, to look more serene. He was being selfish by focusing on his own reservations of this place, it was his job to provide comfort and healing not hopelessness and fear. These women needed to be given comfort and hope, not more worries. Oscar quickly took off his harness with the help of a waiting female Symenestra and it was sent back up out of the hole, to be lowered again only after he was done here. The healer inclined his head in gratitude to the female Symenestra who beckoned for him to follow her. "It is good that you arrived, human, the surrogates seem to prefer you as their healer. Three have requested you today, though their problems appear to be minor." The female said, her grasp of common surprisingly fluent. "I will help these women however I can, my lady." Oscar answered simply, opting for the comforting use of common. The Symesenstra female gave him a sidelong glance as they walked, raising an eyebrow at his words as if to remark on their irony. He was just delaying the inevitable, perhaps that was true but it was an inevitability worth delaying.

[Oscar]

The inside of the Nest was certainly beautiful, breathtaking even, designed to be the greatest of luxury for its inhabitants. The halls were brightly lit and draped with many fine silks, rich furnishings were abundant and the surrogates were allowed to walk these halls, at least until their set curfew. For a prison it was certainly enticing, Oscar could see why some women voluntarily came here, compared to life on the surface this was a haven. The Symenestra woman gestured for him to enter an nearby door way and stood aside for him. Oscar inclined in his head in gratitude and entered the room, his expression possessing its usual serenity, though a careful observer would notice that it looked more forced than normal. The room was richly furnished and quite a beauty to behold, the massive bed was the main attraction of course, he could bet that it would take a great deal of his current funds to afford such a comfort. Comfort was no concern of his however, at least not his own. A comely young human woman was lounging lazily on the bed, smiling a seven watt smile at him as soon as he entered. Her brown hair was cut shorter than his own and she possessed something of a dancer's build, it wouldn't surprise him to learn that she was indeed a dancer of some kind. Women from all walks of life ended up here it seemed. "Hello, miss, I am Oscar. If you show me what is troubling you we can get started." He said, his smile soft. "Of course, Oscar, its nice to finally meet you. I'm Anna. Some of the other girls you helped spoke highly of you, I was hoping you could help me out too." She said, gesturing to her right leg. "I was practicing my dancing steps, but I must have pulled a muscle or sprained something because its pretty sore." She explained as Oscar crossed the room and examined her right leg. The healer touched it through the fine silk fabric of her dress, moving his hand to feel around for any noticeable abnormalities. "Tell me when I hit the sore spot." He instructed as he felt around, his mark in plain view. After a little bit she hissed slightly when he reached the area where her leg joints met just behind the knee cap, indicating that he had found the spot. Oscar lifted the hem of her dress up past that point, tossing a slightly apologetic look to his patient. He placed his right hand on the sore spot, clutching his holy symbol with his left. He closed his eyes and willed the divine power of Rak'keli to flow from him into the sore muscles, a slight glow enveloping his hand. It was always a pleasant feeling, healing another, it was more significant worship to Rak'keli than any mere prayer or words of thanks would ever be. He continued to let the power to flow from him until he felt that what was wrong had been made right. Oscar opened his eyes and looked to Anna searchingly. "Try to move your leg around a little." He instructed. She looked a little awed by his earlier display, a normal response to one who had never witnessed the powers of Rak'keli in use. Still she moved her leg inward and extended it outward again, her mouth open in surprise. "Its like it was never hurt... wow the girls didn't lie about your powers." She said. Oscar chuckled slightly, that was what most people seemed to attribute his powers to, him. The force behind them was so much more than he could ever be, he no more owned the powers than he did the air he breathed, he was simply borrowing them. "They are not my powers, they are the blessings of Rak'keli given form. I am merely her servant and a small vessel for her considerable strength." He said, moving away from the bed. "Wait! You don't need to leave now, do you?" The young woman asked. Oscar gave her a small smile over his shoulder, his brown eyes filled with a certain sadness that seemed out of place. "I'm afraid I have others I need to tend to, miss Anna, however, ask for me again and I will come if I can." He replied, striding out the door and into the hallway.

[Oscar]

Oscar was led to his next patient, dwelled in a room a little ways down. His guide was silent, most symenestra seemed to be like that, quiet towards him unless they needed something. He was fine with that, his duty was to heal and soothe and comfort, not to seek luxuries for himself. If the symenestra wished to give him silence then he would accept that silence. The next woman was a little bit older and was rather more attractive than the previous girl. Her hair was black and she looked rather short and slim. She was sitting on a small chair at a desk she had no doubt requested, writing something down before she noticed his entry with a smile. Oscar noted that she appeared to be human, but there was something odd about the way her eyes were. They changed color from a dull grey shade to a deep blue, which in itself was odd. It seemed like the product of magic in his opinion. Still he smiled back at her and approached with an incline of his head. "Greetings, miss, my name is Oscar, healer in the service of Rak'keli. What aid do you require?" He asked. "Greetings, Mr. Oscar, I am Selene Frostfawn. I asked for you because I've been suffering from rather annoying headaches lately, and I was hoping that you could help." She responded, tilting her head slightly. The healer nodded, depending on the severity of the headache it was likely that he could only soothe it. His skill was professional and Rak'keli's gift was indeed great but currently he could only do so much. Oscar knew that he was no great healer and some days that irritated him, as his wish to help others was limited by that fact. He consoled himself with the idea that Rak'keli would gift him with further blessings if he proved himself worthy, and not before. The healer placed a his right hand on her forehead and clutched his holy symbol with his left. Again the soothing powers of Rak'keli flowed from him into the woman to correct any wrongs. This time there was some stress on his part, as the headache was indeed too severe for his current gift to heal. He couldn't fully make it go away but he could lessen her suffering and speed up the process, as well as give her some advice to deal with any pains. He continued to pour more of the divine power into her, noting that she appeared far more relaxed by the process. It didn't surprise him really, many of his patients had described the healing power as being warm and soothing. Oscar wouldn't know, he had never attempted to use the power on himself, it would be selfish to do so. Finally after a few chimes, Oscar cut off the power and stepped back, feeling a little tired from his exertion. He gave the Selene an apologetic look. "The headache itself was too severe to deal with entirely, however it should be much more manageable and disappear much more quickly. I would suggest you rest a great deal, if you need an herbal supplements I will do my best to provide you with some." Oscar said. Selene nodded slowly, taking in the information the healer gave her with a look of acceptance. "I see, well it certainly feels much better so thank you for that. I'll be sure to ask for you again if anything comes up." She responded. Oscar inclined his head once more before turning and striding out the door, ashamed that he had not been able to fully assist the woman with her pain. It was a failure in his eyes.

[Oscar]

As they walked to his last patient Oscar could feel the toll of using his powers extensively beginning to take hold. He was feeling a little more tired and sluggish and his breathing was slightly irregular. It was relatively unnoticeable to the common on looker, but Oscar could feel the weariness washing over him. Still he would continue to heal until his last patient was free from any pains that might ail her. He had already failed one, he would not fail another if she could help it. He was led to another room located much further down the way and was about to enter when his guide stopped him. He gave her a quizzical look which was met by a rather serious expression. "This last one is... a little unstable at times. So far she has not proven dangerous and is mostly cooperative, however I would suggest caution when interacting with her, human." She warned, letting go of his arm after delivering her warning. Oscar nodded slowly before walking into the room, his quiet smile in place. What he found he had not expected. The rooms only occupant was doing push ups of all things on the floor of her room, glancing sideways for a moment to take note of her visitor. As she stood he noted that she was a full head taller than him and possessed what he could describe as a warriors physique. Looking at her, Oscar could only wonder one thing, how had the symenestra managed to convince or capture this woman? The tall and broad shouldered woman looked down at him, nodding after a little while. "Your human. Good, I was getting tired of being tended to by the pale skinned ones." She said at length. Oscar registered her words and quickly regained himself, inclining his head slightly. "Hello, miss, I am called Oscar. What seems to be the problem?" He asked, still rather awed by how physically imposing the woman was. The woman snorted at those words, chuckling slightly in amusement. "The problem? Being stuck in this fancy prison is one, but I'm assuming you mean physically." The tall woman said, seating herself on the edge of her bed . Oscar walked over to her, nodding at her clarification and wincing slightly as she spoke the word prison aloud. It was the truth, after all, for all of the luxuries this place provided it was still technically a prison with a dark purpose. He knew that but he had never actually said it aloud. "I might have pulled a muscle during some exercises a little while back, my leg throbs whenever I put too much weight on it. It isn't too terrible but it is annoying as it hinders my other exercises. Can you do anything to help?" She asked, blunt and to the point. Oscar nodded slowly, if the problem was not too severe, which appeared to be the case as she was doing push ups just fine earlier, then it was likely he could help. He kneeled down and was directed to the spot on her left leg, which he immediately set to work on. As he healed his curiosity got the better of him. "Might I have your name, miss? Also why are you exercising in this place?" He asked. She regarded him for a moment, her blue eyes searching before snorting again. "Why is my name important, in all likelihood we won't meet again. Exercising helps to break the monotony of this place, it better than just sitting around and waiting for the axe to fall." She replied. The healer flinched at her mention of the axe falling, her blunt assessment of the situation was not far off. Clearly this woman knew, or at least had an idea of, what the symenestra really wanted them for. Though that still rose the question of how they captured so capable looking an individual. Oscar curbed his curiosity though, she would tell him if she wanted him to know. The injury proved not to be overly severe, and was rather easy to set right, however the weariness from earlier was back worse than before. He stood with the woman, who stretched and tested the healed limb. "Not bad, healer. Thanks for the help." She said simply, before returning to the activity she had been doing earlier. Oscar looked at the odd woman for a long while, amazed by her tenacity or her seeming acceptance of the situation even knowing what she did. It was strange, more than strange it was difficult to believe. The healer shook his head slightly and headed out of the room, ready to return to his room and rest for a little before returning to the Purging.

[Poison]

THREAD AWARD!

Skills: Observation 3, Medicine 1

Lores: Patient: Anna, the surrogate; Patient: Selene Frostfawn, the surrogate; Patient: the surrogate who doesn’t want to tell her name

Notes: As you were using your gnosis to heal, I couldn’t give you much in the ways of experience points. I gave you one point in medicine for examining your first patient and three points in observation for making observations about the women. The thread was well written, but the surrogates were all rather calm – even the last one. I want to read a post from you sometimes where a surrogate insults you, tries to throw things at you and accuses you of helping the enemy!

If there are any issues with the way I graded the thread, feel free to send me a PM!