A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! The out of the normal occurrence usually leads to something but what that something is... well we'll get there in the next chapter. For now, a little background. ;) Thanks!
Chapter 16
Elphaba, Mr. Samuels, Corporal Roth, and Sergeant Schultz headed to Larry's house down near the mill. They had chosen to ride on horseback rather than the carriage as the streets were busy and the horses would be quicker. Amir was told to find Fiyero and update him as soon as possible. The group reached the millworker's door and Sergeant Schultz knocked on it. The door itself seemed to be made of Quoxwood as it was dark and the knock did not seem to penetrate very far. The building was made of stone and had small windows. It seemed more like a fortress and Elphaba wondered if it was one of the first homes built in the Emerald City.
"Larry! This is the Gale Force! I need you to open the door!" Schultz announced. There was silence and the young soldier pounded on the door and repeated his request. Upon getting silence again and after finding the front door locked, Schultz indicated to his best friend Roth, to head around the side of the building. There was a side entrance and the Corporal tried it.
"It's locked too. I think we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way," Roth told him upon his return.
"No amount of force with my shoulder is going to open that door," the Sergeant pointed out.
"I was meaning Miss Elphaba," Roth smirked. The green woman chuckled and responded,
"Stand aside boys." They moved away and Elphaba conjured a lock picking spell. The front door swung open slowly and they were knocked back by a nasty smell.
"Oh, that's not good," Roth gagged before pulling his tunic up over his nose.
"Let us clear the house first. We don't need any surprises," Schultz turned to Elphaba and Mr. Samuels. The green woman was about to object but she let him do it anyway. The two men headed inside and quickly went through the series of small rooms.
"He's alive but barely!" Schultz shouted out from the bedroom. At hearing that, both Elphaba and Mr. Samuels ran inside. The smell was discovered to be unemptied chamber pots and sweat. Larry was indeed gravely ill but with what, Elphaba didn't know.
"We need air in here and light! Get the windows open, any way you can! Bring me some candles! Mr. Samuels, check the kitchen for any suspicious food or food stuffs!" She ordered the men and they scattered about doing what was asked of them. Regrettably, the windows didn't open, so the two soldiers broke them open, clearing the glass from the window frames with their rifles. Mr. Samuels brought candles and lit them, setting them on a dresser, before heading back out and checking the kitchen.
"Roth, we need to get poor Larry here to the infirmary. Can you get a cart from the Palace? He can't ride on a horse right now," Elphaba told him. She had pulled a chair from the kitchen into the room and sat down next to the ill man.
"On it!" The Corporal left the house and jumped on his horse.
"What do you think it is Miss Elphaba?" Schultz was coming and going from the room, removing the offending chamber pots.
"Vomiting, loss of bowel control, dehydration. Could be a stomach disorder… could be he got some of that flour from his buddies at the mill," Elphaba wasn't sure.
"I found nothing unusual in the kitchen or the trash. If he got the flour like we did, I found no evidence of it," Mr. Samuels could hear their conversation and interjected his thoughts.
"Well he didn't randomly get a stomach problem and he doesn't respond to me talking to him so we're going to have to figure it out on our own. Any moldy food?" She wondered.
"Cheese, not totally unusual. What if he picked something up from the market that didn't agree with him?" Mr. Samuels asked.
"If we can't find it here, then that's a possibility. He could be having a reaction to something he ate that wasn't exactly fresh. We don't know what his day-to-day diet is like. My guess is that he doesn't have Fiyero's cast iron stomach," Elphaba said. Schultz pulled her away from the patient and into the kitchen.
"You think someone was trying to kill him? What if someone ground up some of that Munchkin flower and put it in his drink?" The young man asked. He pointed to the table where two dirty plates and mugs were located. There was also dirty silverware for more than one person. She hadn't noticed it because she was just grabbing a chair for herself.
"What if he has a roommate and the poor bugger is dead somewhere?" Mr. Samuels wondered.
"Only one bedroom. Cozy for roommates and I would hope that a girlfriend would have gone for help," Elphaba frowned. That's when they heard the sound of multiple horses arriving outside.
"Miss Elphaba," Doctor Talib had joined the wagon in coming to see Larry.
"In here," she led him to the bedroom while Schultz headed outside.
"Corporal Bock, we're going to need people to secure this property. When you get back, send reinforcements. I don't want this poor guy getting better and coming home to find all of his stuff missing," the Sergeant said.
"You got it, sir," Bock smiled and nodded.
"Roth, I'll need your help getting Larry out of the house," the senior officer turned to his friend. Roth nodded and the two headed back inside. A few minutes later, they loaded the sick man into a cart and Corporal Bock turned them around to head for the Palace.
"We need to figure out if he was poisoned or just a slob," Elphaba heaved a sigh.
"You have a spell for that?" Schultz wondered.
"Collect the contents of the table. We'll take them back and I'll dig into my books. I'm guessing there is something I can do to find out," she told him.
To Be Continued…