Chapter 11) Plague

We successfully made it past the gates and the mountains. We spend quite a few days hiking and camping, keeping in the mountains and wilderness as best as we could. We noticed a strange amount of activity on the road between the gate and Chronos, and it become even more unusual as we got closer and closer to Rados and found nothing. There were no patrols. There were no guards. There was nothing but fading trails hinting that people had run as fast as they could. Various items, such as dolls or handkerchiefs, were embedded into the mud, abandoned in haste.

What in Jugdral happened? I feared the answer.

As we approached Rados, the wind tried to ward us away, blasting us with the smell of death and rot on the wind. We winced at it, but kept going, to determined to be deterred. But it was still heartbreaking to step within the city limits and have the half-rotted corpse of a child greet us. They were wrapped up in a blanket, like someone had tried to carry them to be properly buried, but gave up. It was better than the next one we walked past. It was a young man who had just been tossed to the side.

"What happened here?" Noba whispered after we past the tenth corpse. It was the only sound as we all walked. There was no bustling market. There was no quiet murmur of people doing chores. I thought I heard distant sobbing, but it never got louder, no matter where we walked, so I wondered if it was simply a ghost wailing. "The buildings…"

"The buildings are abandoned or falling apart," Dain murmured. He held onto Noba's hand tightly and used his free hand to help Vala jump around a large pile of rotting garbage just piled in a corner. Vala clung to his arm afterwards, peering around in morbid curiosity. "There is no one in the market. There is dust and dirt on the roads."

"It's like it died." Noba leaned into Dain's side. "It's like coming back to our village when…"

"There's not enough blood for that. Thankfully."

"But the feeling of walking through a graveyard is the same," Baldur mumbled. Hesitantly, I took his hand in the hope of giving him some comfort. He squeezed mine and smiled slightly, so I hoped it worked. "Though, maybe if it's a Sorrow or something, then we're just not where the blood would be?"

"There's not enough blood on the air," Hezul replied. He glanced around carefully, eyes narrowed. "It takes weeks for the blood and dark aura to disappear, and there are as many dead children as adults."

"Why do you…? Oh, right, you lived in the capital."

"Yes, Gwyneth and I had front-row seats to all the sacrifices and arena matches." His eyes darted to the side, ignoring Baldur's horrified look. I smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. It was sad how you got used to things. "Movement over there. A single person by the sound."

"You really do have good senses," Jarl murmured. He went ahead and drew blade, though the rest of us simply remained wary. Well, Vala conjured up some flame, but it was easier to hide. "Come out. You're horrible at sneaking."

"And you, as always, are damn horrible with tact, Jarl." Someone stepped out from behind a building with a caved in roof, and at first, I swore they were somehow flame come to life. Their hair was a warm red, a shade or so lighter than Vala's, and their eyes were a molten orange, burning with a quiet fire. They also dressed in various shades of oranges and reds. "One of these days, someone will remove that blunt tongue of yours," they continued calmly, regarding Jarl with almost annoyance. Jarl matched the look with perfect exasperation… before both of them started laughing. "Gods of flame and life, I am glad to see a friendly face."

"If mine is friendly, I know things are rough." Jarl smiled warmly. The rest of us exchanged looks of shock; it was the most expressive we had ever seen him. "So, what is going on here?"

"First, we must be polite. I know you hate manners so, but I love them." The newcomer smiled warmly at us, deepening some lines on his face. 'Smile lines', I had heard them described, once. "Greetings, young ones. You may call me 'Salamander'."

"You're going with that name of all things?" Jarl gave him a droll look. The rest of us just tried to not react to the very odd name. "Really?"

"It is the name of my tribe, and I am proud of it." 'Salamander' shrugged, but the rest of us exchanged another confused look. What was a 'tribe'? "It also spares the young ones' tongues from trying to pronounce my name."

"I didn't mean your full name, you… bah." Jarl rolled his eyes and looked to us, gesturing to Salamander. "Well, that's what he's insisting on. He's part of Rados's resistance, by the way." Only now did he notice our bewildered looks. "What is it?"

"No doubt you've been doing your 'oh, I am so broody and stoic' thing again on accident, and now they're confused because they were certain you had the emotional range of a particularly shallow puddle." Salamander's eyes danced in mischief, and Jarl just looked to the side, hiding embarrassment. I didn't even know Jarl could get embarrassed. "Regardless, if you can forgive me, but I am assuming you're here to visit our little group, so how about I lead you there and I learn your names later?"

Quietly, we all fell in step with this 'Salamander', walking through the too silent streets. As we walked, I noticed how crammed together all the buildings were. They were practically built on top of each other, and I wondered how safe that was. A single fire could have destroyed them all in an instance, and no one would have any sort of privacy. I wondered how they managed to keep everything clean with everyone sharing the same space. There were no answers, sadly, so I focused on things I could get an answer about, like why Vala kept frowning.

"What is wrong?" I asked her quietly, stepping a little closer to her while still holding onto Baldur's hand. I had to hop over a very mucky and smelly puddle to do so. "Is it the city?"

"No, it's the pixies," she whispered back, letting go of Dain's arm to grab mine. "They're…" She shook her head and pointed to Salamander, still chatting quietly with Jarl. "You look."

"I am not as good at that as you, since I decided against specializing..." Still, I did shift my 'focus' slightly, bringing my attention less on the world and more on the magic within the world. In mere seconds, far faster than normal, I saw the pixies, the representation of fire magic, dancing about Salamander. But it wasn't in the way I had seen them 'dance' around anyone else. They batted and poked him, almost like children trying to catch their parent's attention. "That is…"

"Odd, right? They're playful and helpful, sure, but they don't really initiate anything. You normally have to call to them to catch their attention. Yet they're like particularly clingy cats with him." Vala's frown deepened. "It's weird. Not necessarily dangerous, of course, but…"

"I saw them faster than typical."

"Again, not necessarily dangerous, but…" She sighed. "I don't know. I've been thinking there's more to Jarl than meets the eye, and this is just…"

"Everything okay?" Baldur asked, leaning a little forward to look at Vala. "We noticed the whispered conversation."

"Nothing dangerous, for now," Vala instantly replied. I noticed Salamander glance back at us curiously. "It's weird, but not dangerous."

"We sure?"

"You're one of the weirdest people in all of Jugdral, but you're not dangerous to us."

"Hey!"

"Salamander, this is the way to the castle," Jarl suddenly said, apparently completely oblivious to our conversation. I doubted that was the case, though. He always seemed to notice everything. "Why are we…?"

"Our glorious lords who adored elevating themselves above the supposed filth fled when the plague rolled into town," Salamander answered grandly, voice dripping with sarcasm. He even gestured as if he were in a play. "There are Loptyr priests, of course, but they're holed up in their temple, too afraid to venture far for fear of coming down with the sickness and dying." He laughed bitterly, and shook his head. "They're a threat if you're near, but that's it. They horde the last of the good supplies, and won't leave for anything. But the castle means we have more room to tend to everyone and, initially, it seemed like people were getting better, getting out of the garbage dumps they'd been forced to use as houses."

"Plague?"

"Yeah, that's why the place is more of a cemetery than a city." Salamander's sarcasm disappeared for quiet pain. "It comes on suddenly. High fever. Severe headache. Body aches. Some would cough. Others would get nauseous. About a week later, a rash began forming, starting on the back or chest and spreading to the extremities. That's… when it gets worse." Salamander winced and looked down. "Delirium, sensitivity to light, severe pain, low blood pressure… it would continue for a couple of weeks. And then..."

"Death?"

"Some make it. Most don't." He sighed heavily, shoulders rising and falling with the motion. "Most don't." He looked back at all of us and smiled bitterly. "I don't know what you came here for, young ones, but all you're going to find is the sick, the dying, and the dead."

None of us knew how to reply to that, and so, we kept silent as we followed Salamander through the dusty, collapsing streets to the large manor that had once served as the ruling lord's castle. The outside showed signs of neglect, with cracked pillars and flaking paint, and the inside smelled of dust, mold, and filth. There were traces of someone trying to clean, but not managing it. The stale and sour smell of bile and unwashed bodies lingered in certain pockets, like the wind had gotten too tired to carry it. We walked past rooms filled with the ill and the dying, and people far too thin and far too exhausted trying to take care of them. There were so many that they weren't in beds, merely piles of makeshift blankets stitched together from various rags. Some rooms had no ill, but simply crying people. A few looked up as we passed, staring at us dully. I wasn't sure if they even processed we were there.

"Ah, I don't know what to do about food… and we're running out of soaps… and…" Eventually, Salamander led us to a large room that once might have hosted balls. Now, it seemed like a communal sleeping room for the relatively healthy. "Plus there's the lack of clean cloth and we're basically reusing blankets at this point…" A young girl rushed about the place, muttering to herself while she moved things, took things, double backed for things because she forgot something. "That can't be healthy, but we can't burn the things. Then no one will…" Her tangled brown hair was pulled into two lopsided twintails, like she had just tied it back like that because she couldn't find hair ties large enough to tie it back into a ponytail. Her complexion was ashen, pasty even, as if she hadn't slept well for days, making her freckles stick out like flecks of dried blood on tile. "Ah, too much to do… too much to do…!" Her eyes were bright, though. They were a pale blue, almost grey, and sparked with determination and life. It was the look of someone who refused to give up, even though she had absolutely no idea what she was doing, because her only other option was to lay down and die.

"Sabia, I've returned," Salamander called. The girl yelped and spun on her toes, nearly dropping whatever she was holding. From my perspective, it… honestly looked like garbage, but I was sure it was something important. I couldn't tell what, of course, but I was certain. "We've some guests from Emer."

"We do?" The girl, Sabia, looked at us blankly. "Oh, uh… hi, then?" she greeted, bringing up her hand to wave. She then promptly dropped everything on her foot. "Ow…!"

"I told you that you were working too hard." Without a bit of hesitation, Salamander crouched down to help gather the things. "You remember Jarl, yes?"

"Uh… Emer's right hand, right? Friend of yours?" She smiled awkwardly, fiddling with her hands. Her clothes hung loosely on her, and were badly mended. She actually kept her pants up through a rope tied around her hips. "Um… hello? Oh, wait, I said that."

"You did," Jarl replied. He looked around the room, frowning. "Where is…?"

"Dead." Her voice and expression went flat. "Ask any name. That'll be the answer. Sadly, I'm the highest ranked, so if you're looking for the leader, I'm your girl. Unlucky you."

"I didn't mean…"

"I know. But I figured I'd save us some time. No offense, but I don't… have a lot…" She looked over at us, and self-consciously tugged at her hair. "Though… uh… hi to your friends? New members? What are you doing here anyway?"

"Emer has been worried."

"Oh, yeah, sorry." She shrugged and laughed sheepishly. It sounded broken, especially with her smile. "I saw one of her crows. Didn't know how to call it down. Or the code even if it did came down. Come down. Er…" She paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Whichever. Wasn't taught either. This really wasn't…" She sighed and shook her head almost violently. "Nope, nope! Got to be chipper!" She lightly slapped her face a couple of times and then clapped her hands. "Right, so, you came with a group?"

"It would be more accurate that Jarl is here as our watcher while we did some tasks for Emer in exchange for her cooperation in a rebellion we're putting together," Baldur interrupted, stepping forward with a calm and warm smile. Sabia tilted her head, noticeably confused. "But we can discuss that later. Might we assist you here?"

"Assist? Help?" Sabia repeated. She blinked slowly, almost like she couldn't understand the words. "You can?"

"Well…"

"I do… having a healing staff," I mumbled. I held it up for emphasis and smiled sadly. "I don't know how to cure illnesses, at all, but maybe I can tend to symptoms or injuries that have been ignored?"

"And I've got some medicinal knowledge!" Vala added cheerfully. She smiled brightly and held herself as tall as she could. I noticed Salamander giving her a curious look as he continued picking things up. "Gwyneth and I can work on tending to the ill. More people means more breaks!"

"I am certain Dain wouldn't mind cooking as well…" I looked hesitantly at Dain for confirmation, only to see he was already walking towards something. "Um…"

"He's looking for the kitchen," Noba laughed, clapping her hands. Both sounds drew attention, and I suspected it was the former sound that earned us the strange looks from the others in the room. "He's been half-plotting what to cook as we walked. I can help him. Something tells me that everyone will need a nice good meal, and he'll need all the help he can get for that."

"Meanwhile, Hezul and I can move stuff and other physical labor," Baldur volunteered, smiling softly. Jarl glanced at Hezul, but Hezul simply nodded, confirming Baldur's words. "We can also do patrols, if you'd rather that. But regardless, we can help, and we'd like to, if you don't mind."

Sabia stared at us for a very long time before suddenly bursting into tears. "Oh, thank you so much!" she sobbed. Automatically, Baldur patted her back and let her cry on his shoulder. "Thank you so, so much!"

Over the next week, we did what we could. It felt like pathetically little, but the people were grateful. Between Vala's knowledge, Salamander's knowledge, and my staves, we were able to alleviate the worst of many of the ill's symptoms. Everyone's moods improved with the improved meals, since Dain and Noba were never too exhausted to cook. A lot of cleaning got done, thanks to Baldur and Hezul being able to lift the heaviest bits. They were tiny things, mostly brought about by us not being worn down by so many dying and taking care of who remained. But Sabia was grateful, as she told us frequently, especially when we managed to have enough of a break to finally explain our goal.

"So that's why you're traveling," Sabia murmured, sipping some lukewarm water while Noba brushed her hair. All their tea was saved for the ill; they simply didn't have enough. "Well, I don't mind throwing our support with you, especially to get Emer moving." She winced as her hair jerked back. "Ow…"

"Sorry, your hair is really tangled," Noba murmured. She flicked some water onto Sabia's hair again to try and loosen the tangles. "When did you last brush it?"

"I… uh… don't remember…" She blushed all the way to her ears and sipped more of the water. "It just got lower and lower on the priority list."

"Well, certainly can't blame you," Vala noted. She, Noba, and I were on 'break' with Sabia, and were resting in one of the very few rooms with nothing in it. Vala used the time to make more medicines, while I mended some 'blankets'. They truly were a mess of rags stitched together like a patchwork quilt. "But, to keep on topic, you sure you want to give even verbal support?"

"Well, you lot are doing more for the people than anyone else," Sabia deadpanned. She switched from 'chipper' to 'tired and flat' very quickly, probably because the 'chipper' was a mask she wore to try and keep everyone a little happier. This was a burden she never expected to shoulder. "Besides, what do we have to lose? The plague has taken almost everything. Might as well give the rest to people who can change things. Though, again, not a lot. But I'll tell Jarl."

"That is kind of you," I murmured. Honestly, it felt horrible to 'take' that support when we were doing next to nothing. It felt like we were sprinting as fast as we could and we continued falling behind. "Ah, but I did have a question. Are there no followers of Lord Maera around here?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, staff. Of course you'd know." She smiled kindly, yet bitterly, though she winced "We did, actually. There were a lot of them. But this isn't the first 'plague' the city has dealt with. Just the first that wasn't fake."

"Fake?"

"Yeah, the nobles and priests got tired of the healers making things safe. So, they poisoned the drinking water to fake a plague, counting on their good will to lure them out." Sabia sighed and rubbed at her eyes. I honestly wasn't sure she had gotten more than a couple hours of sleep the entire time we had been here. "The ones that didn't die fled out of the city, in order to not lead them to our safehouses. The very few that remained afterwards were killed by the real plague that rolled in a couple weeks later."

"Do you know…?"

"How many lived? Not really. The direction they ran? Yep. Honestly, I think I know where they went. I just…" She smiled brokenly. "There's too much. No one could go. Not safely, at least."

"Then in a couple of weeks, we can go get them." I made sure to smile before I held up the blanket I had been working on, to make sure my stitches held. A few looked weak, so I worked on reinforcing them. "Between my staff and a token I have, we should be able to prove we are friendly."

"Salamander mentioned something about supplies in the temple," Noba murmured, half-focused on her task. Vala, meanwhile, was completely focused, to the point that she had balm and dried herbs smeared on her face from where she irritatedly pushed her hair out of her face. "I think, at least."

"That's what we think, at least," Sabia confirmed. "He's been trying to sneak in and get what medicine, and staves, they have. No one has training in staves, but hey, maybe someone could figure it out." Sabia sighed, again. "But there's always too many. He really needs another person to do it safely. No point in getting the supplies if he dies before he makes it here."

"Dain is pretty sneaky, and I'm good at hunting, so maybe we can help out." She finished brushing Sabia's hair and began braiding it back. "I'll head out in a bit to hunt anyway. He can come with me and we can scout about together."

"...You all are the best…" Sabia sniffed and started crying again. "Ah… I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Noba tied off her hair and reached around to hug her. "You're allowed all the tears."

Not quite sure what to do, as I wasn't sure how to comfort a person, I decided to leave the room to drop off the blanket I had mended. When I stepped into one of the 'ill rooms', I decided to just go back to work to give the current tender a break. They thanked me kindly, practically wobbling on their feet from exhaustion, and left to take a much-needed nap. The first thing I did was drape the newly mended blanket over one young child with too few blankets. They smiled sweetly and sleepily at me, not quite lost in confusion yet, and quickly fell back asleep. I checked their vitals to make sure they were still steady, and then checked on the other children in the room. We tried to keep everyone grouped together by age, for the few times they were well enough to talk to each other. All the children in this room were children too young to be Hunted.

"Mama…?" one called as I passed. They flailed about and managed to snag my skirt. "Mama, it's hot…"

"Is it?" I asked, smoothing their hair out of their face. I didn't react to them confusing me for their mother. Delirium was common for the illness, and this little one had been sick for almost three weeks now. "Here, I shall take a blanket off then."

"K…" They continued squirming when after I removed one, only settling down when I removed a second one. I carefully folded both up and made to leave, but they whimpered. "Don't go, Mama…" They snagged my skirt again. "I don't want to be alone…"

"I shall be right back." I crouched down by them and smiled. "I just want to put these up. I shall tell you a story when I return."

"K…" They let go of me and curled up on their side. "Love you…"

"I love you too." What else could I say? They truly thought I was… "Think of a story you want me to tell."

By the time I returned, the child had died. I didn't sleep that night, too afraid that another would die when I was away, all alone and whimpering for their mother, just like this one.

"Gwyneth, you sure you don't want to rest?" Baldur asked me, likely to distract himself from his task. I simply shook my head and rubbed a balm on a crying child's arms. Something had bitten them in the middle of the night, and the itching was almost as painful as their headache. I couldn't blame them. My own arms were scratched up from where something had bitten me. A few of the bites fell on my barely-healed burn scars, and made them ache. "I don't think you've slept well for a week."

"I am fine," I murmured, shaking my head again. The child's tears faded as the balm started working and I wiped their face and nose with a spare rag we had. They smiled in thanks and I smiled back. "Have any of us slept well?"

"Mmm, no, I suppose not." He smiled sheepishly and carried a wrapped up body out of the room. Another one had died during the night, and Baldur handled carrying out the dead in the mornings. Hezul took the afternoon shift; Jarl had the evenings. "But I'm not sure I've seen you take breaks."

"I do, though I mend or something while resting." Done with that child, I went to the next one, thankfully asleep. I used my staff to ease their headache and then went to the next. "It is very relaxing."

"I suppose." He returned and crouched down another of the dead to wrap them up. The bodies would be buried together in a mass grave, just like the others. "Oh, but before you ask, I've been asking Vala too."

"I… wasn't going to ask?" I looked up from where I was rubbing balm into a child's rash. My vision blurred for a moment, and my neck ached. "Why would I ask?"

"I… that…" Baldur sighed and picked up the body he had been wrapping. "Never mind."

"Very well?" I was still very confused, but I shrugged and continued what I was doing. "You mentioned that you, Hezul, and Jarl will leave soon to look for the healers?"

"Yeah, there's not much else we can do." Baldur left briefly and then returned to deal with the next corpse. "The rest of you can do stuff here, but at this point, the three of us are just burying the dead. We'd like to help."

"I think that summarizes all of us." Done with my task, I jumped to my feet to try and get some energy into me. Instead, the room spun and I stumbled, resting my hand on my head as it began throbbing. "Ah…"

"You okay?!" Baldur, thankfully, caught me before I stepped on anyone. "I knew you were overworking."

"I think I simply stood up too fast." I tried to smile reassuringly at him, but the headache made it difficult. "Though, I suppose I should lie down for a moment."

"Yeah…" However, Baldur frowned at me and rested a surprisingly cool hand on my forehead. "...You have a fever."

"Ah." Well, that wasn't good. "Oh dear."

Baldur carried me out of the room and got Sabia to let her know. Sabia immediately squeaked, babbled apologies, and rushed about to get me set up in a small room that was all my own. The room with ill my own age was full, and this one was small enough that it might remain 'just' mine, because all the larger rooms were being used. By the time I was settled into a little bed of blankets, Vala had caught up with us and took over helping me.

"Argh, I should've been checking on you!" she growled, stomping about the room to try and clean it. Once, this might have been a storage room, truthfully. "You've been working with the sick! Of course you'd get sick too!"

"Are you okay, Vala?" I asked softly. It occured to me only now that Baldur had been worried both of us would catch the illness, due to how much contact we had with the ill compared to the rest of them. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine, but damn it, we should've been checking! Gods, we're idiots!" She sighed heavily and flopped down next to me. "I'll be sure to get checked every day now."

"I am sorry." I smiled bitterly. "Though, I don't like being useless, yet here I am..."

"Let this be a lesson in the dangers of overworking!" She poked my nose and I made a face. "Not that I can talk, mind. We might have gone a little, or a lot, overboard. Honesty, forgetting to get ourselves checked, who does that?"

"Us?"

"Yeah, yeah…" She sighed and brushed the hair out of my face. "You still look odd with short hair, by the way. It was down to your knees."

"I am well aware." I would probably grow it out again. I liked it long. "I suppose if-"

"Your next words better not be 'if I survive', because I am not letting you die." She scowled. "I mean it. I'll burn the god of death alive if I have to."

"How… would you burn…?" I muffled a giggle. "That makes no sense."

"It's meant… oh, never mind." She scowled further, but brightened up when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

"My apologies." Hezul stepped in, expression stoic. "Baldur, Jarl, and I decided we'd leave soon," he explained quietly. "I thought…"

"I need to get you guys medicine!" Vala yelped, scrambling to her feet. "You guys chat! I'll see you later!" She was off like an arrow, nearly knocking Hezul over in the process.

"That was… odd." Hezul stared after her for a moment before shaking his head and sitting by me. "How are you feeling?"

"For now, I am simply a touch feverish, and my head feels like I suffered through four opera shows back to back," I answered, making my tone light. I didn't want him to worry. "Though perhaps it is only that last one we saw."

"The one with the ridiculously high note that made dogs wince?" he asked dryly. He laughed a little, but it disappeared for a frown when he rested the back of his hand on my cheek and noticed how warm I was. "I should've been keeping a better eye on you."

"Vala and I should have been watching ourselves." I took his hand and shook my head. It made it ache more, but I… "We should have been watching each other better. If there is fault on one of us, there is fault on all of us."

"I suppose." His continued frown told me that he blamed himself. It made me feel worse than the headache did. "We'll be gone for a while. A couple of weeks, at least."

"Take my staff and there is a token Blaggi gave me in my pack. It is the less intricately carved one." The other I 'borrowed' from Heim. I had to return it. "It shall help. I hope."

"Okay." He stared at me for a long moment, studying me, and then he hesitantly brought up my hand and kissed it gently. "Don't die. I will be back as soon as I can."

He left then, and I stared after him, startled by… whatever that was. I couldn't help the silly, stupid smile on my face or the little giggle that escaped. Here I managed to be troublesome and catch a potentially fatal disease, and yet, here I also was, smiling like a particularly silly child. I was the worst, yet I was also happy. I supposed could live with that.

"Vala, why does the ceiling look weird?" I asked while she tended to me. It was blessedly dark, thanks to Noba pinning blankets over the windows. The light hurt my eyes, so she was being very careful with the pinning. It was nice to be able to see. My eyes finally adjusted. "It is too high for the house?"

"We're in Rados, Gwyneth," Vala answered, smearing balm over the rash on my torso. It went all the way to my neck, and was spreading to my arms and legs. "Rados."

"Oh, I forgot." That happened a lot lately. It was so hard to remember things. Just this morning, I had tried to get out of my nest of blankets of a bed to go teach, as I did in camp. At least, I thought it was this morning. It could have been yesterday or… not at all, actually. "I miss the house. It was nice."

"It was. But we're all still here."

"We are. I like it." I smiled at Noba as she crouched by me, opposite of Vala. "Hello!"

"It is so strange seeing you so cheery and rambly," Noba commented. She smiled slightly, and a touch bitterly. "Here I thought I'd like it more." She adjusted the wet cloth on my forehead, more there to help soothe my aching head than anything else. "Do you need more pain medicine?"

"If she takes anymore today, we might kill her with an overdose," Vala refused. She set aside one balm and took my wrist to rub a different one into it. "Unless you meant the pain relieving?"

"Honestly, I don't even know what I meant." She sighed and ran her hand through my hair. Her hand was cool. "How are you feeling, Vala?"

"I'm still fine, thankfully. Salamander keeps an eye on me, as does Sabia." Vala smiled bitterly. I couldn't remember who Sabia was, or Salamander. "When she's not apologizing, I mean. It's been a full week, and still, every other word is an apology."

"Sabia feels guilty about everything. She puts too much on herself." Noba grumbled something under her breath that I didn't hear. "If not for her, everything would've descended into anarchy."

"So says the person who is like 'we should save the world because of all the people we can't save'."

"That… er…" Noba sulked. I reached up with my free hand to poke her cheek. "Fine, you got me."

"Of course I did."

"Noba, you in here?" With barely a knock, Dain walked in then, and promptly tripped over something, nearly falling flat on his face. "Why is it so dark in here?" he asked, groaning. "Ugh…"

"The light hurts Gwyneth's eyes," Noba answered. She stood up and carefully walked around Vala and me to help steady him. "Even candlelight is too much." It was true. It made my eyes burn and tear up. Then my head hurt more. "Also, your punishment for not waiting. What if we'd been changing her clothes?"

"The door is half-open." Dain rolled his eyes. "But, yes, I should've waited like a polite person."

"Thank you!" She grinned triumphantly before shrugging. "Anyway, it's a bit early for cooking, right?"

"Normally, yes, but Salamander did a patrol and he thinks we can sneak in, like we've been planning for a week and a half. Since a lot more have gotten ill and we're running out of ways to reduce the symptoms..."

"Oh, yeah, let's go." Noba moved behind Vala, resting her hands on her shoulders. "You want to come, Vala?"

"...No, I'm going to stay here," Vala replied, focused completely on rubbing the pain relieving balm into my joints. They hurt horribly, all the way to my fingerbones. Fingerbones? Finger bones? I couldn't remember. "Set fire to something for me."

"Well, sure, but…" Noba began. She looked up at Dain and both looked surprised. I couldn't remember why that would be. "You sure you don't want to seize the excuse to char some priests."

"I'm needed here. Who knows how long it'll take for you two to sneak in?" Vala shrugged and brushed the hair out of my face. I simply smiled, having no idea what was going on anymore. "We'll be waiting. Come back soon."

"We will." Noba kissed the top of Vala's head and stood up. "Promise."

"When we're back, I'll make whatever you want," Dain added. He knelt by me and rested his hand on my cheek. The fever must have burned him because he winced. "And you think of what you want to eat when you're better, Gwyneth."

"Sure," I replied. I couldn't remember what he could make. It was probably 'anything', but I still couldn't remember. "Be safe."

"We'll try."

"It is so warm. I think I want to swim," I babbled. Everything was a blur of blacks and browns and other colors. "I don't want to hunt, though. I just want to swim."

"We can swim when you're better," said the person sitting by me. I didn't know her. She was pretty, with red hair and red eyes. Part of me thought 'blood', but another part of me said 'fire'. "And I'll make sure Noba doesn't take you hunting."

"That sounds fine, miss." I giggled a bit, feeling bubbly and bouncy. Though everything also hurt. It hurt to breath. It hurt to exist. "I wonder what it is like to fly? Is it like gold? That is a pretty color. So is blue, but not grey. Grey is boring."

"Depends on the grey." The fire-blood person tried to put something in my mouth, but it looked like a snake or something, so I shook my head. "You need to eat, Gwyneth. It's just broth."

"No, it's a snake." I made a face and stuck out my tongue before turning towards a noise. "There is something in the walls." I tried to push myself up, but Fire-blood stopped me. "I should get it out."

"It's just people walking down the hall, Gwyneth."

"No, no, it is in the wall." I sulked at Fire-blood. "I think they might be birds. They must be birds trapped in the wall."

"I cannot believe you can still form perfect sentences and think that there are birds in the walls."

"Mother always got mad. She said it wasn't proper for a princess. I hated being a princess. I liked it for Galle, though. Then Galle got eaten by a shadow." I brought my hands up like they were claws and mimed a beast pouncing, closing my mouth with an audible clack. "He disappeared one bit at a time and I didn't notice! I thought he was just moody. Isn't that funny?" I thought it absolutely hilarious. "He kept me locked up. I wanted to run and fly. I almost flew off the castle roof once. I thought it would be fun. I could fly and fly and then go splat, like the children who jumped from the arena because they got tired of killing people."

"Making a mental note to talk to you about that when you're coherent because that's worrisome."

"Hmm? Why?" Why was it worrisome to fly? "I want an apple. Apples are good."

"I'll get you one when you're better. A nice, crisp one. It's almost autumn."

"Oh, so all the leaves are going to turn pretty colors! I want to jump in them."

"We'll do that when you're better."

"Yay!" I giggled and sighed. But then I laughed because someone appeared behind Fire-blood and they were on fire. "Hello, fire person." I waved at the mess of oranges and yellows and bronzes. "Are you in pain? The ones the priests burned always screamed."

"I would love for them to be stupid enough to try and burn me," Fire-person replied, something white flashing with the words. They reached down to touch my cheek and strangely, their hand was warm. "Her fever is high. Did you use…?"

"We ran out," Fire-blood grumbled. "She's not my sole patient, Salamander." She tried to feed me a snake again. I made a face at her. "I mean; I'd tend to only her if I could, but my conscience won't let me even if my heart keens."

"Of course."

"Are there some in the supplies? If you're back, I'm assuming…"

"We're actually coming back in stages. There was more than anticipated. I'll head out soon."

"Good. That'll…" Fire-blood looked at me worriedly. "She's…"

"I'm dying, aren't I?" I blurted. Then I laughed because the words were absolutely hilarious! "I always wanted to die."

"You're not dead yet, Gwyneth," Fire-blood hissed. She frowned at me, determination making her eyes spark like flower. No, that wasn't the word. Flower wasn't the word. What was the word? I couldn't remember. It started with an 'f'... "And I won't let you. Just rest. Noba and Dain just came back, and Hezul and Baldur will be here soon."

"Okay…" I didn't know… most of those names. I did recognize Hezul's. I knew him. I loved him. Maybe. Something made me afraid, but the rest just didn't care. I liked the warm feeling. "Fine…"

I wasn't sure how much time passed, but one day I woke to little pain and someone running their hand through my hair. Slowly, with a little whimper, I opened my eyes, blinking a few times at the bright light. But, after a moment, the discomfort eased and so, I focused on the blurs slowly solidifying in things I recognized. I smiled as soon as I realized Hezul was sitting next to my little 'bed', playing with my hair.

"You're awake," he murmured, smiling back softly. "You still have a bit of a fever, but the worst of it has passed. You're just recovering now."

"Welcome back," I whispered, voice cracking a bit. My throat hurt. "When did you return?"

"Late yesterday, with the healers. You were cleared this morning and now it is late afternoon."

"The other ill?"

"Most are cleared, but a few are still being tended to." He laughed softly and then looked up. "Vala, she's awake."

"She is?!" Vala appeared on the other side of me, her hair falling out of a ponytail and into my face. "Good morning, sleeping beauty!" she greeted with a laugh. "Well, as much of a beauty as anyone can be, being formerly deathly ill and all."

"No, no, you are supposed to lie and say that I look like I am as fresh as a daisy," I joked, laughing too. It felt so nice to laugh and not ache. "That is the polite thing to do."

"Maybe a stomped on daisy." She grinned though, smug and victorious. "I told you I wouldn't let you die."

"You did." I felt I had to tease her, though. "You also didn't notice I had woken up."

"Give me a break. I was unpinning the blankets. Noba did too good of a job." She made a face and I laughed. "They're going to be washed like everything else."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the healers came in and ordered a total cleanse of everything, and for a lot of clothes to be burned and washed in super hot water. As in, Salamander and I had giant metal tubs boiling for hours." She shrugged. "They aren't quite sure how exactly it spreads, beyond being in cramped quarters with other ill, but they have noticed this disease doesn't spread or even show up if everything is nice and clean. It likely set in because the nobility didn't properly clean or repair anything, and then spread because everyone ended up cramming together to help treat each other." She glanced at Hezul and then clapped her hands. "But neither here nor there. I'm rambling. Baldur made me promise to let him know as soon as you were awake, so I'll be right back."

"He's with Sabia at the moment, helping her with distributing medicine," Hezul explained. He frowned a little in confusion. "If he's not there, then he joined Jarl for a patrol."

"Got it!" she cheered. She leaned down to kiss my cheek and hopped around to hug Hezul. "See you later." Then she was off. Again.

"I feel like she's trying to communicate something and I am missing it completely." He shrugged and focused on me again. "Do you know it?"

"I have no idea," I replied with a little laugh. I reached up to muffle it, but Hezul simply caught my hand instead. "So, was I the only one of us to get sick?"

"No, Vala was actually isolated a day or so ago, though you were too delirious to notice Salamander was the one tending to you that day. She'd been overworking herself, just as you had." He began absently tracing patterns on my palm, his expression dark. I wondered how bad I had gotten. Some of the dying had been very bad. "Your staff is being repaired, by the way, and they've offered to continue your lessons while you recover. We'll be here for a while longer to make sure everything is safe." He laughed softly. "Dain and Noba might have set the temple on fire, you see."

"That will draw attention, perhaps." I was a bit surprised, truthfully. Dain was normally the most subtle of us. But who knew what had been within the temple? Maybe they had simply snapped. "Regardless, that sounds good." I watched him for a moment, tempted to ask why he kissed my hand. But then I decided it didn't truly matter or, rather, I decided I didn't need the answer. "It seems I am always causing you trouble."

"You have never caused me trouble." He hesitated for a moment and looked down at our hands. "And you never will, for as long as we live."

"That sounds almost like a challenge." I couldn't help but smile. "I think I shall stay with you always, just to see if that changes."

"It never will." He smiled back slightly, almost shy. It had been a long while since I had seen him smile shyly. "But you are more than welcome to try."

"I think I shall."

"Dain, Noba, why are you two hanging back?" Out of nowhere, Baldur walked in with a smile and a laugh, though it quickly turned to a yelp when Noba tripped him. "Hey, what did I do?" he complained before shrugging and sitting down next to Hezul. "Morning! How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling much better," I replied, muffling my own laugh. I tried to push myself up, but Hezul had to help me. I ended up leaning against his chest to remain up. "Thank you for taking care of Hezul. I know first hand how tricky that can be."

"I think he forgets he's human sometimes." Baldur grinned and Hezul rolled his eyes. "But seriously, Noba, Dain, why were you hanging back?"

"Gods, some days, Baldur…!" Noba groaned, facepalming as she entered. Still, she had a warm smile on her face. "Hope you're hungry! Dain made you some soup!"

"I made everyone soup," Dain corrected, coming in behind her with a tray. His neck was bandaged, for some reason. "I am simply hoping Gwyneth is well enough to eat some of it."

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes and plopped down next to me, opposite of Baldur and Hezul. "Vala is letting the healers know that you're awake, by the way. Sadly, I haven't had time to learn their names yet."

"To be fair, we didn't need to know their names while they were saving lives." Dain sat down next to Noba and set the tray on my lap, a steaming bowl of delicious soup tempting me severely. "Think you can eat on your own?"

"I would like to try," I murmured. My hands shook a bit as I took the spoon, but to my delight, I did manage to feed myself with… minimal mess. Thankfully, any spills ended up on the tray. "I do wish I could have helped more."

"Honestly, all any of us really did was buy time," Noba pointed out. All of us shared looks, well aware of how weak we had all been. "But that was enough. Based on what the priests said, there would've been a lot more dead if we hadn't helped." Noba grinned. "And if something like this happens again, we'll know what to do. We're stronger from it, or will be. That's what I think!"

"That is very much like you."

"What does that mean?!"

"It means it's typical you," Dain deadpanned instantly. He rolled his eyes and grinned. "Obviously."

Talk turned to teasing Noba, and then teasing Dain. Baldur ended up being the next target, by virtue of Vala returning at last and joking about something I never did quite catch. Through it all, I carefully ate and tried to not choke on my laughter. Hezul remained right next to me, joining in the teasing with ease, and that was how our afternoon, and evening, was spent. I wouldn't have given it up for anything.

Our Family

Gwyneth

20 years old

Class: Shaman; Weapons: Fire - E, Wind - E, Thunder - E, Light - D, Staves - C

Recovering from infection with the plague, brought on by overworking to help the ill. She's almost irritated by it, feeling like it is just another way she's too 'weak' and needs to get stronger.

Also in the process of bribing Vala to not mention anything she said while delirious. Quite a few things no longer apply, especially nowadays, though she understands why Vala was worried.

Hezul

22 years old

Class: Paladin (dismounted); Weapon: Swords - A, Lances - C

Has honestly never been so terrified in his life, when he thought Gwyneth was going to die and there was nothing he could do but watch

Has heard of entire towns being wiped out by illnesses, but had never seen it before. Feels saddened that he only knows how to fight, since he's… not very helpful in these sorts of things, though he's proud to do what he can

Noba

19 years old

Class: Soldier; Weapons: Lances - B

Insisted on burning the temple partly for Vala and partly because of how frustrated she was by everything. She knows it's probably not the healthiest thing, but it felt like a statement. 'We are the children you did not burn, and now, we are coming for you'.

Hates how helpless she felt, but is determined to find the silver lining to the situation. They learned a lot, and they also know how to limit it for, say, a giant army in a fortress. It's a good thing, she thinks. And hopes.

Baldur

21 years old

Class: Mercenary; Weapons: Sword - B

Is very oblivious to 'romantic moments' and thus accidentally ruins them fairly frequently. It took Noba quite some time to explain why she and Dain were frustrated with him

Volunteered to go looking for the healers because he was feeling horribly helpless… much like he was when his first and second homes were destroyed. He hates being helpless more than anything.

Dain

23 years old

Class: Soldier; Weapons: Lances - B

Agreed with the fire thing for the statement part. They will burn down the old world and rebuild. He's very pissed off that this plague happened and how easily it could've been prevented. The incident clears… most of his doubts. He still wishes they stayed hidden, but if they are going to fight, they are going to fly.

Still, he was glad to cook for everyone and has taken to teaching the healthier ones, so that they feel like they're doing something to help out

Vala; Fjalar

18 years old

Class: Fire Mage; Weapons: Fire - A

She had actually been ready to go after the priests, to burn them alive and delight in it. However, she looked around at all the ill and then at Gwyneth and knew she couldn't leave them. She's not sure if she's proud of herself for holding back or irritated

Notices Salamander keeps an eye on her, and almost snaps at him for it. However, unlike Jarl's watching of Hezul, it feels more like he's simply making sure she's okay, so she grudgingly goes with it. It was helpful when she herself took ill, allowing her to recovery very quickly.

Our Allies

Jarl

Unknown age; appears in his early twenties

Class: Hero; Weapons: Swords - A, Axes - C

Though he's determined to maintain his distance, he finds himself softening on the group. When he sent off a message to let Emer know what happened in Rados, he requested that he give them more time.

Apparently is often unaware of how he comes across, and doesn't purposely try to appear stoic or anything. It's just how he is when he's particularly serious.

Salamander

Unknown age; appears in his early fifties

Class: Mage Fighter; Weapons: Fire - A, Wind - B, Thunder - D, Swords - C

Has been serving the resistance for less than a year, but is considered a valuable member due to his kind words, calming presence, and knowledge of medicinal herbs. Keeps an eye on Vala for unknown reasons.

Wears a strange red gem on his belt, one that seems to spark with an inner fire. It almost seems to pulse with magic and lends to his otherwordly, yet strangely comforting, air

Sabia

16 years old

Has absolutely, positively, no idea what the hell she's doing. She's only in charge because she was the old leader's assistant and literally everyone else is dead. Even worse, despite her youth, she is among the oldest of the surviving members of Rados's resistance

Prone to crying when feeling overwhelmed, which has essentially been her default state for the past six months. She's so grateful that the others arrived that she's started believing in the gods and their mercy again and has taken up praying again for the first time in ten years. She can think of no other explanation for how they arrived when they did, though she is careful to make sure she doesn't hero worship. Or tries, at least.

Author's notes: Though it has a higher mortality rate, the plague mentioned here is based off of epidemic typhus (which can reach a mortality rate of 60% if untreated), so named because it often causes epidemics during/after wars and natural disasters (and is responsible for the deaths of millions across history). It's transmitted via lice (and scratching the bites to allow the bacteria into the bloodstream) and has an incubation period of about one to two weeks. Just in case it wasn't clear (and might not be for the scene where Gwyneth is suffering from delirium), each scene is about a week apart from each other.

'Sabia' is a latinized form of Sadb, the mother of Oisin (a warrior hero and poet in Irish mythology). Fun fact, the 'Mage Fighter' class is exclusive to FE4 (though the Tactician Class of Awakening is very similar). Female Mage Fighters have access to staves. Males don't.

Next Chapter - Recovery