Zack woke the next morning to find Cloud completely unresponsive once again. He was awake, but his eyes didn't follow any movements and he didn't respond when spoken to. It was painful to see, after how much like himself he had been the day before, but Zack had gotten used to Cloud in this state. He managed to get a small bit of porridge into Cloud's mouth for breakfast, and Alvor's wife helped him dress Cloud in some fresh clothes. She then handed him a small coinpurse, a dagger, and some old but still serviceable leather armor.
"From my old adventuring days," she said, "It's lucky for your friend that I've always been built like a boy."
"I really can't thank you enough for all of this," Zack said.
"We'd never leave a good man in need," she said, "If you want to repay us, come back sometime and buy equipment from Alvor. He makes good steel."
"I will. Thank you again."
There was no chance Cloud was going to be able to walk in this state, so Zack decided to put his sword on Cloud's back, and carry Cloud on his own. They'd be in a bit of trouble if they got attacked along the path, but it was clearly well-traveled and the only thing he saw while carrying his unconscious companion was a pair of wolves off in the distance.
The road was easy enough, even carrying Cloud, and he reached the gates of the city in the early afternoon. There was a single guard in front of them, female, though it was hard to tell under the bulky armor and the face-concealing helmet.
"Halt!" she said, sounding a bit worried. "I'm sorry, traveler, but you'll have to turn back the way you came."
Zack stopped and looked at her, hitching Cloud into a more comfortable position, "Why?"
"I'm sorry, but we're not allowing any travelers into the city right now," the guard said firmly, "Jarl's orders."
"But I have news for the Jarl. About what happened at Helgen," Zack said, "And my friend is sick and needs a healer, too. You have to let us in."
"I'm sorry, but I won't disobey any orders from the Jarl," the guard said, "I'm sure he'll allow the gates to be open to travelers again soon. In the meantime, I'm sure one of the farms around here will put you up."
Zack nearly growled in frustration, "I am not leaving. I'll stand right here at this door until you let us in."
"Look, this is foolishness," the guard said, her voice rather strained. "Just go find somewhere else to stay, I can't disobey my orders. The Jarl says no outsiders in town right now."
Zack opened his mouth to argue once more, but a voice from behind him said, "Tifa Lockheart, for shame!"
Zack turned to see a woman approaching with a basket full of flowers. She was obviously an elf, with her slender frame and exotically slanted eyes, but she was rather short, even for a wood-elf, and her eyes were bright green, which Zack didn't think elves normally had.
"You're turning away needy travelers at the gate? Just yesterday you were explaining to me how a true Nord never leaves one of their own in trouble. Look!" She pointed to Cloud, still draped over Zack's shoulders, "He can't even walk!"
The guard, Tifa apparently, somehow seemed sheepish even with the face-concealing helm, "It's not my decision, Aerith..."
"I'll vouch for them," the elf said. She smiled at Zack, "You need to bring him to the temple, right? I'm an acolyte there."
"But you don't even know them!" Tifa protested.
"So? If I vouch for them and they cause trouble, I'll take the blame for it instead of you."
Tifa seemed to ponder this for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright, I suppose I can let you in in that case."
"Don't worry," the elf said softly as the guard turned to knock on the gate, "They like me here. No one will bother you if I vouch for you."
"Aren't you taking a risk?" Zack asked. "I mean, we could be thieves or murderers for all you know."
"I don't think you are," she said with a soft smile. "But if you want, I could revoke my vouch and leave you out to sit all night. I wouldn't want to show you too much kindness, after all. You might start thinking elves aren't all evil Dominionists or something."
"Do they think that about you?" Zack asked.
"Well, I've been living in Whiterun for forty years, so they knew me before the Great War. So they accept me, but as a rule, Skyrim isn't too fond of elves."
The gate opened with a creak, and she waved them through. Zack changed his grip on Cloud and followed her.
"And I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter. I really do like Whiterun. The people here are good people. Don't think badly of Tifa, please. She's new to that job and desperately wants to impress her family by doing it well. I'm Aerith, by the way," she said, smiling more widely at him. She really had a very charming smile. "Come on, the temple is up the hill, through the market. Lady Danica and I will take good care of your friend."
"Thank you," Zack said, and finally took a look around at Whiterun. There weren't any trees planted inside the walls that Zack could see, and the buildings weren't too close together. They seemed to be made mostly of wood, so the space between them was probably a precaution in case of fire. It would be hard to haul buckets up this hill to put fires out.
Especially if the fire had been caused by a dragon... Zack shuddered, and hitched Cloud a little higher on his back. He'd take care of Cloud first, then tell the Jarl.
"People are staring at us," he noticed.
"You're carrying an unconscious man and a sword nearly as big as he is," Aerith said, "I'd stare, too. The temple is this way, just up the steps past the market."
"Thank you again," Zack said. He'd said an awful lot of thank yous today. So many people had been kind and helpful since they'd escaped... he couldn't help bracing himself for something to go wrong.
After the market square, there was an old stone staircase, and at the top another square, this one surrounded by houses. A pretty trellis surrounded a huge old tree, which looked sadly dead.
"What's the story with the tree?" he asked.
"The Gildergreen?" Aerith said, "It used to be a site of pilgrimage for worshipers of Kynareth, but it was struck by lightning a few years ago and never recovered... you should have seen it in bloom. It was beautiful. It was what drew me to Whiterun in the first place."
On the other side of the square was a large and elaborate building. It was a little weatherbeaten, like all the buildings in Whiterun, but still very stately.
"This is the temple?" Zack said.
Aerith nodded, and pushed the door open. "Lady Danica, we have another patient," she called.
Inside, one could hardly tell that the building was a temple. The first thing Zack noticed were the beds. About a dozen soldiers, Imperial and Stormcloak, were lying on them. Some were bandaged quite heavily, and Zack could see that one man was missing an arm. A woman in priestess robes was kneeling by the bed of a man with bandages over his eye, her hands filled with the soft gold glow of a healing spell. She looked up at them.
Zack eased Cloud off of his back, and Aerith helped him not drop unceremoniously on the floor. The priestess sighed.
"Put him on the empty bed, Aerith. Is his ailment urgent?"
Zack shook his head, "He's been like this for a year. Another hour or two won't hurt."
The priestess's eyes widened, then she looked at Aerith, "Alright, you take care of him until I can do something about Aren's infection. You have as good an instinct as I do."
Zack detached his sword from Cloud's back and leaned it against a nearby pillar, then carried Cloud to the one unoccupied bed. He laid Cloud down on it very gently, and stroked his face, "It's going to be fine, Cloud. We're safe here. The healers are the best in the Empire. They'll get you fixed up in no time."
"You're very devoted to him," Aerith said, kneeling by Cloud's bedside. She picked up his hand and held his wrist for some reason – Zack knew very little about medicine, only the most basic of healing spell that any idiot could learn.
"I'm all he's got in this world right now," Zack said, "I'd never abandon him."
Aerith smiled at him, then turned her attention to examining Cloud. It looked like random poking and prodding to Zack, which would probably just upset Cloud if he was aware of it, but her touch was light and quick.
"This is the strangest thing I've ever seen," Aerith said, "From what I can tell, he's the model of health, but..."
"But he's not responding to anything," Zack finished for her, "He was awake enough to talk and eat yesterday..." And tackle an executioner and run from a dragon, but Zack didn't want to mention that part.
Aerith pursed her lips, "Hmm... what exactly put him in this state in the first place?"
Zack took a deep breath. He didn't really want to talk about it at all, but... she probably did need to know in order to help Cloud. He'd always thought that Cloud's illness was him retreating into his own mind to hide from the world, but for him to go back to this corpse-like stillness after he'd been pretty much himself yesterday made him think that maybe there was more to it than that.
"Mara... where do I even start?" Zack asked. "Alright, to make it quick as possible, Cloud and I were used as a mage's experiments. We were his prisoners for nearly four years."
Aerith's jaw dropped a little, "Four years?! What was he doing to you?"
"Gods, what didn't he do to us?" Zack muttered, "I don't even know half of what he did. But whatever it was, it hurt. A lot. About two years in, Cloud would start to just... well, check out whenever he was hauled out for experiments. He'd go totally blank just like that. I always figured he was hiding in his mind to escape the pain. After a while, he started to do it even when he wasn't being experimented on, and eventually, he was like that all the time. Hojo liked it, he didn't fight."
"Hojo?" Aerith asked.
"That's the name of the mage who did all of that to him. You've heard of him?"
"I'm not sure," she said quickly. Zack was fairly certain she was lying, but he didn't know why.
"I killed that bastard when we escaped," Zack said, "I wanted to torture him like he deserved, but I needed to get Cloud out. I thought for certain he'd wake up once he realized the experiments had stopped. He did a little bit, but..."
Aerith nodded in understanding, "He keeps retreating. I've seen it happen before. Some of the soldiers I treat are a little bit like that. Their memories of things that have happened are so vivid that they overpower the real world."
"But we're safe now," Zack said, sitting down heavily on the side of the bed and stroking Cloud's hair out of his face. "We're safe now. We escaped from Hojo nearly a year ago, and he still keeps going back to this. After yesterday, I thought for sure he would wake up..."
Aerith covered his hand with her own. Her touch was very gentle, like she was soothing a spooked horse. "He will. It may take time, but he will wake up."
She sounded utterly certain. Zack found it reassuring.
"And until he wakes, we will care for him. We never turn anyone away."
Zack nodded, "There's not a lot you can do for him, though, is there?"
"I have a few ideas for things to speed up the process," she said, "but it ultimately comes down to him."
"He's strong," Zack said firmly, "And he's a survivor. He'll wake up soon."
It was very hard for Zack to pull himself away from Cloud's bedside, even just to climb the stairs near the temple up to the castle. Aerith assured him that she would watch over Cloud, and that if he woke up she would tell him where Zack had gone.
Even the castle was made of wood, Zack noticed as he approached the doors. This whole town would be a tinderbox if that dragon came around here. He really hoped it wouldn't. He pushed the door open and walked inside.
The main hall was huge, easily as big as any stone castle he had ever been in. At the end of the hall was a man he assumed was the jarl. The throne, at least seemed like a good indication. He was deep in conversation with another man, so Zack walked up close enough to the chair that he would be noticed when they finished arguing.
Suddenly he found himself staring at the point of a sword being held by a fierce-looking dark elf.
"What is your business, approaching Jarl Balgruuf?" she demanded.
Zack held up his hands and tried to look as harmless as he could, "I have news about what happened at Helgen. When the dragon attacked."
"Well, that would explain why the guards let you in. Against the Jarl's direct orders, no less." She eyed him suspiciously.
"She didn't want to," Zack said, remembering that Aerith had said the woman at the gate was new at her job and wanted to impress her family. He'd feel awful if she got punished on account of him. "I was arguing with her for a while and then Aerith came up and said she'd vouch for me, because I had a sick friend who needed healing."
The dark elf sighed, relaxing a bit, "Yes. That is something Aerith would do. You may approach the Jarl, but try anything and I'll put you down."
"Yes, ma'am," Zack said, fighting the urge to salute. He walked up to the man on the throne.
"He has news of what happened in Helgen," the dark elf said, "Apparently, there really was a dragon."
The Jarl looked at him, seeming a bit concerned, "So it's true, then? You were actually there? You saw the beast with your own eyes?"
Zack nodded, "Yes. I only got one good look at it, but it was definitely a dragon. It was the size of a small building, including the wings."
"Tell me the whole story," the Jarl ordered, "Please, start at the beginning."
"Well, the legion had captured Ulfric Stormcloak, and was about to execute him," Zack said. He decided to leave out the part where they'd been about to execute him, too. That was more complicated than he wanted to go into, so he would just tell it like he and Cloud had been observers. "I was in Helgen with my friend Cloud – he's down at the Temple of Kynareth right now."
"Was your friend injured in the attack?"
"No. He's been sick for a long time. I was bringing him to the Temple, because I'd heard that their healers are the best in Tamriel. It's why we came to Skyrim at all."
The Jarl smiled proudly, "They are. Lady Danica and Aerith once managed to reattach a warrior's leg. He walks with a cane now, but he has both his legs."
"Really?" Zack was impressed. Reattaching a severed body part was all but impossible. If they could do that, surely they could help Cloud back to reality.
"Really. But that's a story for another time. Please, continue."
Zack continued, "We were passing through Helgen on the way to Whiterun. I didn't actually see the dragon land – I was paying attention to Cloud – but I felt the ground shake when it landed. Then it started breathing fire, and everyone was screaming... Cloud and I made it to one of the towers, and at that point, I still had no idea what was going on. Someone was yelling about a dragon, and I found out she was right when it broke through the tower wall and breathed fire at us... We got out of the tower and ran for the Keep. Ended up in there with both an Imperial soldier and a Stormcloak, and they called a temporary truce while we were running from the dragon.
"We were able to escape through a tunnel under the fort. We made it to Riverwood, Cloud and I spent the night at the blacksmith's house, and I carried him here this morning. I got him settled in at the temple and then came up to tell you what had happened. Alvor hopes that you can send troops to Riverwood, they're worried that the dragon is still nearby."
"I'll send a detachment out at once," he declared, "Proventus, see to it."
"Sir, if we send troops to Riverwood, Jarl Sidgeir will think we have sided with Ulfric Stormcloak and are preparing to attack him," said the man who had been arguing with the Jarl when Zack came in.
"I said see to it, Proventus!" the Jarl snapped, "I don't care what Jarl Sidgeir will think. I'll not sit idly and let a dragon burn my hold and slaughter my people!"
Proventus took a step back, clearly a bit cowed, "Yes, sir. I will do as you say." He turned and walked quickly for the door to the side of the room, giving Zack a sideways glance.
The Jarl cleared his throat, and Zack looked back to him, "You've done me a service by bringing me this news, stranger."
"The name's Zack. And it was nothing," Zack said, "I mean, it's not like this was out of my way, and there's not much I can do for Cloud but sit next to him and fret and get in the healers' way..."
The Jarl smiled, "Even so, thank you. I'd like to give you a small reward for services rendered." He raised his hand and took off one of his rings, a silver band with a small, reddish stone in it, and held it out to Zack. "Here, you ought to be able to trade this to Hulda for at least a week's worth of room and board at the Bannered Mare."
Zack accepted the gift. That would make a difference for certain, if he didn't have to worry about where he would sleep or eat for a few days. "Thank you very much."
"Can you use that sword?" the Jarl asked suddenly.
Zack grinned, "Yep! I started sword training and building my strength with my old mentor when I was ten. It took a year before I could hold it steady, let alone swing it. But I'm an expert with it now."
"Really? Well then I might have a job for you," he said, "It requires someone who has the strength and experience to brave an old ruin full of undead."
Zack had certainly cleared old ruins of undead before, but he shook his head, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to sell my sword arm until Cloud's recovered. I won't leave him."
"But you just said that you were only getting in the healers' way."
"I can take an hour or two to run up a hill and deliver a message, but I can't leave for two or three days. What if he wakes up while I'm gone? I don't want him to think I've abandoned him."
The Jarl looked disappointed, but nodded. "I understand. Well, when your friend is recovered, come see if I still need someone for the job. I'll pay you well."
It had been two days with very little change in Cloud's condition. Aerith and Lady Danica were doing their best, Zack could tell, but they were clearly at a loss. Zack had wanted to stay in the Temple with Cloud, but Lady Danica told him quite firmly that with as many patients as they had, they couldn't afford to give a bed to someone who wasn't there for healing. Zack didn't like it, but the inn was very close to the temple, so he stayed there until Aerith shooed him out in the evening, and returned as soon as he woke in the morning. He wasn't getting enough sleep at night, and he often fell asleep with his head on Cloud's bed.
A gentle hand on his shoulder roused him from sleep, "Zack, wake up."
Zack grunted, and looked up into Aerith's green eyes.
"Here, drink this," she said, handing him a small metal flask. Whatever was in it smelled like flowers. "It'll help. Your muscles are going to be stiff from sleeping like that."
"Oh, thanks," he said, accepting the flask and drinking the thin, watery potion. It didn't taste like anything much, but he felt the tension in his neck and shoulders ease immediately. "Do you have a potion for everything?"
"Just about," Aerith said, "My mother starting teaching me alchemy when I was barely more than a baby."
Zack smiled at her, and then looked back to Cloud. He was still staring blankly at the ceiling. Zack sighed heavily.
"He's doing a little better, actually," Aerith said, "He turned his head to look when I dropped something by his bed earlier, and his eyes follow your hand if you wave in front of his face."
"That's good," Zack said, testing it to see if he really was. Cloud's eyes followed his hand, just like Aerith had said. "That's great. Come on, Cloud. When you feel better, we can go visit your family. Your grandparents live in Skyrim, right? Wouldn't it be nice to see them?"
Cloud turned his head toward Zack, and his eyes seemed to focus a little.
"Do you think he'll be able to eat?" Aerith said, "I didn't want to just put food in his mouth and choke him, but he needs to eat something."
"Are you hungry, Cloud?" Zack asked, "There's soup, or bread and cheese if you're up to eating."
Cloud's brow wrinkled in confusion. Zack took that as a good sign.
"Okay, soup it is. I'll go get some for you. I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere."
Zack stood up, rolling his shoulders to rid them of the remaining stiffness.
"While you're out, Zack, can you pick up today's food from Saadia at the Bannered Mare?" Aerith asked. "If you're walking around anyways. I'll sit with Cloud for you."
"Alright," Zack agreed. He didn't like leaving Cloud, but he also didn't like being so useless. He could do an errand for Aerith in the meanwhile.
It was a lovely day outside, bright and sunny with a cool breeze blowing up from the plains. He wondered if Aerith would let him take Cloud out for a walk. He wondered if Cloud would even notice the difference if Zack brought him outside. Probably not, he thought with a sigh.
The inn was all but deserted in the early afternoon, just Hulda and Saadia were in the main room, cleaning. Hulda looked up at him as he entered.
"You're back early," she said, "What can I get you?"
"The food for the Temple," Zack said, "Aerith asked me to fetch it for her."
"Oh, of course. Just a moment," Saadia said. She leaned her broom up against one of the posts by the hearth and disappeared back into the kitchen.
"How is your friend doing?" Hulda asked.
"About the same. He's focusing a little better today, but... he's still got a long way to go."
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, "I'll be sure to keep him in my prayers."
Zack didn't know that her prayers would do Cloud any more good than his own had, but she was probably on better terms with the gods than he was. He'd cursed every one he could think of while trapped in Hojo's care, so they might be a little cross with him. He thanked her, and Saadia returned from the kitchen with a large covered pot and a bag of apples.
"Just tell Aerith to bring the pot back this evening, and we'll cook up their food for tomorrow," she said.
Zack nodded at her, and headed back to the temple. It appeared nothing had changed in the short time he'd been gone, though he'd hoped for some improvement. Cloud was still staring at the ceiling, and Aerith was sitting next to him, looking pensive. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Here, I'll take that," she said, "I'll give everyone their meal and then we can talk. I had an idea."
"What was your idea?"
She opened the covered pot and began to dish up small bowls of soup. "Well, it seems to me that Cloud is almost awake, but very unfocused. So I was thinking that I could try putting a little magicka potion in his meal today."
"Magicka potion?" Zack repeated incredulously, "What good would that do?"
"Just a minute." Aerith took one of the full bowls and an apple to an injured Stormcloak soldier who was sitting up on his own, "Lunchtime, Alfrend. Vegetable soup today."
"A man needs his meat, elf," the soldier grumbled, "Are you trying to starve me, you Thalmor bi-"
"I would advise you don't finish that sentence," Aerith said, a sharp edge in her voice, "You're getting vegetable soup because that's what Hulda and Saadia sent us today. If you want meat, you're welcome to go out and buy it for yourself."
Zack had no idea how she managed to stay so calm, but she showed no signs of being bothered as she finished serving lunch to everyone else. Finally, she brought a bowl to Cloud's bedside.
"What was his problem?" Zack asked, keeping his voice down, though he was quite sure the soldier could hear him still.
"I get that on occasion," Aerith said, "It doesn't bother me that much. Everyone I care about treats me with respect, and as for him, he'll be healed and out of my hair in a few days."
"You shouldn't have to put up with that," Zack said, "Just 'cause you're an elf doesn't mean you're with the Thalmor!"
"They wouldn't accept me anyways," Aerith said, "I'm mixed-blood."
"You are?" Zack asked, surprised, "Well, I guess that makes sense, you don't really look like a normal Altmer..."
"My mother was Altmer," she said, "And my father was a Bosmer, but his father was a Breton. He told me I got my eyes from my grandfather, but he died long before I was born."
"Wow. Sounds like quite a family history."
"It wasn't really all that unusual before the Oblivion Crisis. Here, lift him up, and we'll get him fed."
It didn't seem like she was interested in going into any more detail, so Zack slid his hand under Cloud's shoulders and hoisted him into a sitting position. He braced Cloud's back against his shoulder until Cloud was sitting mostly upright on his own.
"Alright, Cloud, it's time for food. Are you hungry?"
Cloud grunted, and Zack smiled. That had sounded like an affirmative. Aerith held up the bowl, and raised the spoon up to Cloud's mouth. After a long moment, Cloud moved his lips and slurped noisily. Zack grinned, and petted his head. "There you go."
He glanced at the soup and saw it was a slightly different color from the other bowls. "Did you put magicka potion in that?"
"Yes," Aerith said, wiping up a drip of soup from Cloud's chin, "It's easier to mix it into food than get him to drink it himself."
"So... is that going to help him?" Zack asked.
"It's just a hunch," Aerith said, "But if it doesn't work, it wont hurt him. Magic is a mental art. Learning and casting spells requires concentration, willpower, and intelligence. Potions can increase the amount of magical power you have to draw on, but they're not actually giving you more magical ability. Nothing actually does that. Magicka potions actually work by improving your concentration and willpower, making you better able to use your magic without wasting magicka, so it basically makes you feel like you have much more magic to draw on."
"So, you're saying it will help his concentration?" Zack asked.
"I believe so. With luck, it should help him figure out what's real and what isn't. Give him a little protection against the illusions his mind is conjuring up. And like I said, if it doesn't work, it won't do him any harm."
"That makes a lot of sense," he looked down at Cloud, who was chewing what looked like a slightly undercooked piece of potato, "Is it good, Cloud?"
"Mm-mm," Cloud grunted, and nodded. Zack couldn't help his grin.
"Looks like it may be helping, Aerith."
"Or he's just hungry," Aerith said, giving Cloud another spoonful when he opened his mouth, "Here you go, Cloud."
Cloud chewed and swallowed, looking quite content. Whether or not Aerith's cures were having any effect, Zack couldn't help but be pleased at how happy Cloud looked. He hugged Cloud tightly, getting a protesting grunt.
"Get better soon, Cloud," Zack said, "'Cause I'm going to need you to watch my back."