Viera's eyes snapped open at Gaedren's terrified scream. Of the other children who woke up, only she was brave enough to see what happened against her better judgment. Slowly, she pressed the door open to see Gaedren seated on a chair, although the darkness of the room hid his features.
"Yargin, where are you?!" Gaedren called out, his voice cracking in fear. "That bastard son-"
"Finally had enough of your abuse?" a voice chuckled and entered the room. "That doesn't surprise me at all."
Viera didn't recognize the voice of the man who entered the room from another door. He was too tall to be Yargin, and even if there was a torch or lantern to light the room, a hood hid his face. Curious, Viera stepped into the room silently.
"Watch your tongue!" Gaedren snapped at the man bitterly. "I won't lose any sleep if I cut you off for good."
"There's no need for that," the hooded man bowed his head, his tone showing his desperation.
"Then fix me!" Gaedren demanded.
The hooded stranger approached Gaedren and Viera slowly took a step forward, curious who the man was. "You look like a mess. What did Rolth do to you?"
"He's been practicing magic behind my back," Gaedren said with a growl. "Cast a spell on me. Can you fix me?"
"The bad news is that there's not much I can do but help with the damage that's been done," the hooded man reached into a satchel. "However, if it was a spell that he casted on you, it will eventually wear off."
When Viera stepped forward again, the floorboard creaked under her foot. Both of the men turned to face her, and although she wanted to see who the stranger was under his cloak, her eyes were instantly drawn to Gaedren out of fear. She gasped in horror to see Gaedren, already a horrifying man, with his skin loose and falling downwards, barely held onto his bones. Gaedren shot out of his chair and advanced on Viera, who screamed in terror.
Viera gasped when she woke up from her nightmare. She was breathing too quickly and forced herself to slow down her breaths to help calm her down. She sat up on her bed slowly, reminding herself that she was in her room in the Pantheon of Many, that she was no longer the child scared of Gaedren, and that he was dead, killed weeks ago with help from her new friends. Still, she couldn't get the image of Gaedren, cursed by his own son, out of her mind, especially with how real it was to her.
Thinking of her nightmare, Viera realized that maybe there was a reason it was so realistic. It could be that what she saw in her nightmare was actually real.
The truth was Viera remembered very little of her childhood before being taken in at the Pantheon of Many. The priestess thought that it may be a blessing to not have many memories of her time as one of Gaedren's abducted pickpockets. She thought that as a child, she wouldn't be able to focus on her training with those memories and pushed them aside. If they were returning, she thought that it could be a sign. Viera was no longer the young child scared of Gaedren but one of Iomedae's warriors. She wouldn't let her past haunt her any longer.
Viera wondered what her nightmares were meant to show if they were a sign. Gaedren was dead and she was certain that after what Takota did to his body, he wouldn't be coming back. Rolth was still around, lurking in the criminal underworld of Korvosa, but truth be told, the priestess didn't have any personal grudge against him like she did with his father. Gaedren's son was a vile man but Viera had never met him before.
Her thoughts turned to the hooded man. He was much too tall to be any of Gaedren's accomplices from the fishery. He seemed to have a partnership with the old criminal and was willing to help him. Viera thought that maybe the hooded man was still around, having escaped justice for his crimes. It was possible that she was the only one who knew of the man's crimes. If so, it was her duty to bring Gaedren's final accomplice to justice.
With a sigh, Viera rested her head on her pillow. If she was going to succeed, she would need to sleep better, and there was one person who came to mind that might be able to provide a solution.
Viera never had to worry about where to go for healing. She could heal herself of injuries, and for what she couldn't heal, she could turn to the clerics in the Pantheon of Many. Given how close the community at the temple was, she felt as though there was always someone she could turn to for help. However, divine magic wasn't enough to help address her nightmares. Viera decided that if she was ever going to solve the issue of not getting enough sleep, she needed a practical solution. Fortunately, she did have a friend that she thought could help.
Arriving at Wayerden's Alchemical Goods, Viera opened the door and held it open as a pair of dwarves left, each carrying a plain brown sack. She stepped inside and smiled to see Falenas stocking some of the herbal ingredients he had for sale as there were currently no other customers. Viera was seeing a new side of her friend, having only known the alchemist when they were adventuring together. The elf smiled, unaware of anyone being in his shop, and the priestess couldn't help but feel he enjoyed life in his store more than he did working for the Korvosan Guard. Viera clapped her hands together lightly and Falenas turned to face her, blinking in surprise.
"Viera, this is unexpected," Falenas greeted. "Please, take a look, but I'll only be open for a few more minutes today."
"I didn't think that you would close early," Viera said and stepped towards her friend with a smile. "What's the occasion?"
"That tournament Tiran is competing in," Falenas answered and smirked. "I imagine that it'll be safe enough but if any of the noble duelists were to get hurt during a fight, my services as a healer may be required."
"I'll try not to take too much of your time but I need your help. The truth is I've been suffering from terrible nightmares. I was hoping that maybe you had something that could help me sleep more at ease."
"Interesting," Falenas nodded and looked aside. "Give me one moment. I imagined that we wouldn't want to
Falenas nodded and walked towards the door. He flipped over the sign to close his business before turning to face Viera. The alchemist started to walk through the lines of ingredients he had set up, tapping his chin in thought, with the priestess following after him. Viera was hopeful that Falenas would be able to help, and after several seconds of silence, decided to explain more about her problem.
"I've been having nightmares about Gaedren," Viera explained. "I used to have them when I was younger, back when I was first taken in at the Pantheon of Many."
"But you stopped having them until now?"
"That's right. Truth be told, I wasn't sure why I was having them until last night. There was someone else with Gaedren this time but I couldn't see who it was. Whoever it was, he was helping when Rolth cast some sort of spell on his father. His skin… I'd rather not talk about it further.."
Falenas paused looking over some herbs. "That accomplice could have been one of his men that we killed at the fishery that you saw."
"I don't think so," Viera shook her head. "He was much too tall to be anyone we've encountered."
"Was he?" Falenas questioned. "This was during your time as a child, was it not? That would make for quite a size difference."
"Maybe," Viera said with her voice quiet; she wasn't quite convinced by Falenas' logic. "But I think that there is a reason for my most recent nightmare."
"What would that be?"
"That one of Gaedren's accomplices has escaped justice and that it may be up to me to change that," Viera told Falenas. "Gaedren must have had help with his different operations throughout the decades. It's possible that not all of them were caught."
"Be that as it may, many of Gaedren's associates abandoned him as he got older," Falenas moved toward a line of vials, inspecting them thoroughly. "This man you dream of may have moved on with his life years ago. Do you think that it is necessary to go after this man if so?"
"Maybe," Viera sighed. "I don't remember much about my time as one of Gaedren's orphans. If I could remember more, maybe I could… I don't know."
"Although I'm not sure if pursuing any action against this stranger is a wise choice, it's clear to me that your health is suffering," Falenas noted and grabbed two vials in one hand. "We'll start simple with two non magical elixirs, one to help with sleep and one to help with your repressed memories if you want."
"I think I'm ready to remember," Viera said, nodding to reassure herself. "How long will it take for you to make the elixirs?"
"Come back tonight and they'll be ready," Falenas grabbed a handful of red flowers from a shelf nearby. "You'll need to take them both before you sleep so there's no rush."
"And how much would I need to pay for your services?"
Falenas paused, thinking it over, before shaking his head. "No payment is needed."
"I know that we're friends but I should pay you," Viera insisted. "This is a business."
"I won't accept any gold from you, Viera," Falenas told her sternly but with a hint of kindness in his eyes. "Just promise that you won't ever take shiver. It may help you fall asleep but it is a vile drug."
"I promise that I won't take shiver."
"Good."
With the promise made, Falenas collected more ingredients for the elixirs he was going to craft. Viera recalled that Falenas' brother overdosed on shiver and the drug has since become a sensitive issue. Now that the priestess thought about it, Falenas talked little about his family. She learned that he was adopted into a human family and only learned that when talking to Griffin. Viera learned about everyone else's family except for Falenas, who revealed very little of his personal life, and thought to change that.
"Falenas, do you still have family other than your brother?" Viera asked. "I'm sorry if this came out of nowhere but when you brought up shiver…"
"It's understandable," Falenas said, dismissing Viera's concerns casually. "My parents died of natural causes decades ago. It's just me now."
"I'm sorry," Viera bowed her head. "Forgive me for bringing it up."
"That's all in the past, Viera, and you have nothing to apologize for," Falenas reassured her and stepped towards a door leading further into his building. "I understand that I don't talk about my past like you and the others do. I just think that my life before meeting everyone was rather unremarkable. There's little entertainment to be found in stories about running a shop for alchemists."
"Still, I would like to learn more about you and your history," Viera told Falenas and looked back up at her friend. "I feel like if we're friends, I should know more about you."
"Feel free to ask your questions but I must ask that you do it later. I'd like to get started on your elixirs before I have to leave."
"Of course," Viera said with a nod. "And I did promise Alexander that I would visit him before the tournament. I should get going."
"That would be wise," Falenas said and opened the door leading to the clinic's backrooms. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for all of you at the tournament."
"Thank you," Viera smiled. "Take care, Falenas."
With Falenas stepping further into his clinic to get to work, Viera made her way to the exit. Not only was she confident that Falenas would be able to help her with his elixirs, she was able to learn a little more about her distant friend. Although her mind lingered on the hooded man from her nightmare, she pushed him out of mind for the time being. Although the priestess was going to follow up more on Gaedren's accomplices to try to narrow down who the stranger was, now wasn't the time.
For now, Viera was content to enjoy the rest of the day. She would be able to meet with Alexander and Silana before leaving with them to the tournament to watch Tiran. She imagined that Griffin would be there to support his brother and hoped that Takota would be able to join the group. Although Viera was broken when the group disbanded and went their own ways, she felt joy at the prospect of getting back together. Whatever the trouble Zellara saw was, she was certain that they would be able to protect Korvosa.
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter to keep us on track but nothing wrong with that. With Viera and Falenas both being kinds of healers whose personalities differed, I wanted to explore more on their interactions, especially when the story of Seven Days to the Grave continues. I imagine that we'll see more of their conversations throughout the story.
Regarding NaNoWriMo, we're at 18,000 words and I feel as though I'm on track to catch up on lost time. I expect to reach 25,000 words in the next two or three chapters, and given that the month is halfway over in two days, that'll be good enough time to catch up. Unfortunately, I did have to drop other ideas to focus on this, but after everything that came up, it was necessary.
Until next time.
