As Chase helped Jed sit up properly on the bed, two Romans came into the room, one supporting the other. To Chase's utter surprise, the one being supported was General Octavius, who was wearing just a tunic and sandals. Clearly there was a bandage underneath them, since he could not have recovered from such a wound in such a short space of time.
Deciding that the woman must be the medic, Chase frowned at her. "Is it the bes' idea for 'im ta be up an' about like this?"
"He insisted," the medic said, though her frown and tone of voice made clear her disapproval.
"I am sorry, Athena," Octavius said gently to the medic. "But I had to come." He turned to look at Jed. "How are you feeling?"
"Me? Ya were the one who got stabbed." Jed raised an eyebrow amusedly. "I'm fine. Yerself?"
"Healing," Octavius said, though he happened to shift his body, causing him to take a sharp breath in and then cough a few times.
"How is it yer up an' about?" asked Chase, keenly interested in the answer. "Yer were bleedin' out not too long ago."
Athena gave a mild glare in his direction but she answered for Octavius: "The blade missed the vitals and didn't actually go in too deep. It caused some blood loss but it looked much worse than it was." Octavius coughed again, and Athena added disapprovingly, "Octavius, you must go back to Rome and rest. Julius has been very worried about you."
"I can manage," insisted Octavius.
Jed shot an amused glance at Chase, who said, "See what I mean about patients' stubbornness?"
Jed then looked back at Octavius and said, "Are th' Merlinians and Greeks gettin' such a visit too?"
"No," admitted Octavius. "There was actually a matter I wished to talk to you about."
Chase attempted to make himself busy and was definitely not deliberately listening into this potentially very interesting conversation. Athena seemed to be doing the same thing, hovering awkwardly and looking at the ceiling.
"What is it?" Jed asked.
Octavius paused. "It is about the attack."
Jed leant back and closed his eyes with a deep sigh.
"Does this distress you?" Octavius inquired.
"I've kinda been tryin' ta block it outta mah memory," Jed admitted. "But if there's somethin' ya need ta talk ta me about concernin' it, I'll try mah best ta help."
"Thank you." Octavius moved further into the room, helped by Athena, who seemed to be getting more and more disapproving by the minute. "The two of us were the last two of the people in that room conscious."
"Excludin' Chase, who ran off just after everyone else was hit," Jed said with an amused glance at his doctor, who gave him a stung look back. Jed seemed to recognise that that fact was deeply embarrassing and distressing to Chase, and he immediately said, "I'm sorry. Please continue, Octavius."
"As the two people conscious longest during the attack, I wish to consolidate our knowledge and possible determine a motive and a means."
"I think one o' those things is pretty clear," Jed said pointedly. "The means. Arthur's a sorcerer."
"Jill said he isn'," Chase said immediately.
"Well, I am certainly no expert on such matters, but it seems that there was no way Arthur could have used magic if he did not already have it," Octavius said, wincing slightly towards the end of his sentence. "If we are talking about controlling a mind, as the woman Jill seems to think, then it is not possible for him not to be. It is impossible for one, even if acting under mind control, to access magic one does not have."
"Possession, then?" Chase suggested. "If he was possessed by a sorcerer-"
"It would be the same," Octavius interrupted, shaking his head. "One cannot use magic one does not have."
"It seems to me," said Athena quietly. "That we should not rule out the most obvious possibility: that King Arthur was acting under his own influence."
A pause followed this. What Chase deduced from this was that this opinion was not Athena's alone; she had simply spoken aloud what the others were thinking.
"I am sorry," Athena said, bowing her head. "I did not mean to speak out of place."
"You did not speak out of place," Octavius assured her. "You were simply giving your opinion. That is allowed."
"Thank you."
"We were all thinkin' it, I'm sure," Jed said, shifting his body a little, causing him to groan in pain.
Chase and Athena exchanged glances. Since both of them were doctors, they knew they were both hoping to bring the meeting to a close so that they could allow their patients to rest and recover.
"Is there anythin' else ya two can deduce?" Chase asked. "So we can get ya ta rest?"
Octavius and Jed exchanged a glance. "Maybe the fact that the two o' us weren' immediately hit, like the others were, is significan'," Jed said.
"That is true," said Octavius thoughtfully. "The two of us were still standing when the others were hit."
"What happened?" asked Ambrosia's voice from the doorway.
Everyone turned to look at her, making her cringe. "S-sorry. I just…I wanted to know what exactly happened."
"Maybe that woul' be useful," Chase said.
"There is not much to tell," Octavius admitted. "It suddenly became dark and I heard grunts of men as they were attacked."
"When the lights came back, Chase was gone and th' others were out," Jed added. "I saw Arthur holdin' a sword. Before I knew what 'ad 'appened, he'd stabbed Ockie. Can I call ya Ockie?"
Octavius looked taken aback. "Alright."
"Before I coul' react ta that, I completely blacked out. Only when I woke did I realise tha' the guy musta hit me."
"Pretty hard," commented Chase. "Ya had a concussion and ya coulda had brain damage. Speakin' o' which, I'm gonna hafta ask ya two ta leave," he added, addressing the two Romans. "Jed needs rest, and I'd imagine ya do too."
"Yes," agreed Athena, taking Octavius's arm. "Come."
Octavius nodded and stood up straighter, intending to walk out. However, the movement must have stretched his wound because he collapsed forwards with a sharp exclamation of pain. Chase moved but Athena was quicker; she helped Octavius to his feet and slung his arm over her shoulder. "We must hurry you to Rome," she said. "You need more treatment and rest to recover."
"Wait," Jed called as the two turned towards the exit. "Can…can I ask ya a favour?"
"Sure," said Octavius, attempting a smile. "How may I be of assistance?"
"Back before all o'…this happened, we had a bitta trouble wi' a race o' people called the Mayans. They lived far up on our territory and I'm worried they might be here. Would ya be able to send a patrol or somethin' to check?"
"I will arrange it," Octavius promised.
"Thanks."
As they left, Chase helped Jed lie down. "And ya need rest too. Okay?"
"Yes Doctor Chase," grinned Jed, settling down.
As he closed his eyes, Chase quietly left the room. He wondered why Jed had told Octavius about the Mayans. They hadn't attacked or anything since everyone appeared in…whatever this place was.
Still, he thought darkly to himself. Doesn't mean they won't.
