Humble Evenings - Witch On Call

Katarya gets an urgent request for help from a family in the slums

Fellsgard is the foundation of Khy'eras' history and through reconstruction, it is now a vibrant and lively city. People reside here due to mild climate, opportunities, and safety and stability. Adventures often start from Fellsgard. Read more...
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Katarya Frost
Character
Witch
Level
04
46 / 46 HP
40 / 40 MP
0p / 0g / 0s / 35c
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Posts: 315
Joined: September 27th, 2019, 12:09 am
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Humble Evenings - Witch On Call

Post by Katarya Frost »

Kat pushed the ledger book away from her, with a happy sigh. She was still figuring out how to ‘do the figures’ for the day, something her grandmother had never taught her before she had died, but then, she was busy teaching her herbology, medicines and curatives, and most of all, how to use the magic she was born with and be the best Witch she could be.

Taking her wine, she took a long drink and made a face at the large book. “Just to be clear; I hate you.” She said aloud … to the book.

Suddenly, a bang made her nearly jump out of her chair, spilling wine down her dress, which she cursed profoundly. She looked across at her sweeping brush lying on the floor. It had fallen, and that meant one thing: “When the broom falls, company is coming.” Her grandmother’s own, wise words.

Kat’s hand went to the smooth stone that hung on a pendant around her neck. If there was any danger nearby, it should feel warm (or sometimes hot). The fact that it felt just a normal temperature meant that whomever was coming her way was either not a threat, or so much of a threat that her little charm was not picking anything up.

When the bell rang in the hallway upstairs, which linked to the doorbell outside the shop, Katarya realised she was soon going to find out.

***

“Please, miss. You have to come!”

“I don’t have to do anything.” She pointed out, looking at the man from her shop doorway.

He stood just down the three steps that led up to the shop. He was evidently a resident of the slums; his clothes were little more than rags, his face was dirty, though streaked with tear tracks. “It’s my young un.” He began to explain. “She’s not right. Hot as demon-fire, rashes all over her. She can hardly even breath, miss. Nessa told me to come to you, so I ran as fast as I could to -”

“Oi there!”

Both Katarya and the man turned at the shout, and saw two of the city’s guardsmen emerge from the darkness. “You bugger off,” he said, to the man pleading with Kat. “We don’t want your sort round here hassling decent folk. Be off or you’ll be sorry.”

The man turned back to Kat, he held his dirty flatcap in his hands as if he were saying a prayer to her. His eyes and voice full of desperation.

“Name?” She asked, quietly.

“Erm, Euwan Gull, miss.” He sounded confused at being asked.

She flicked her head towards the shop and stepped aside. “Get in.” She said, watching the guards as he scurried inside. “All is well, gentlemen. Nothing to bother you with this evening.”

“You shouldn’t be having the likes of him in your shop at this time of night.” The other spoke up. “Or any time for that matter. They’ll rob you as soon as look at you.”

“He needs to get back to where he came from.” Seconded the other guard. “You can’t have him in your -”

“I can’t? Kat raised a brow. “I was unaware of this new law which says who I can and cannot have in my own establishment. Especially since Mr. Gull is a patient of mine. Now why don’t you go searching for other damsels in distress, because this damsel is doing just fine.” She stepped back. “Good night, gentlemen.”

With the door closed, she turned and looked at the poor state that was Euwan Gull. He looked both relieved, exhausted and desperate all at once. “Thank you, miss. Thank you.”

“Save the gratitude for now; tell me exactly what is wrong with your daughter, then we’ll see.”

***

It didn’t take -too- long (in Kat’s opinion, though Euwan Gull stood like he was stepping on hot coals) before the two of them were off. Her symptoms were a very high fever, a rash all over her body, fatigue to the point of barely being awake, and so many more. “Why did you wait four days before seeking help?” She rebuked him as she had packed up almost a bit of everything in the shop; the symptoms were so vague and could be attributed to so many things, that she wasn’t taking chances.

“No one to go to,” he said, simply. “Can’t afford any one.” But he looked at her with conviction. “But if you can help my little girl then I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you’re paid miss.”

“Let’s see the patient first.”

And so, with him carrying the heavy bag, and she the lantern, they made the long trip to the east side of the city. And though she wasn’t a stranger to the slums, she was still always shocked by the living conditions of these poor folk.

She was nervous. This was her first ‘out-call’, and it was serious (out-calls usually were). She had joined her grandmother when she had done them, and so all she could do was hope she remembered how her grandmother used to be … though Lilian was so warm and nurturing and Kat … well, Kat was a little sharper round the edges. Questions of doubt filled her mind. What if she didn’t know what the girl had? What if she mis-diagnosed her, and used the wrong treatments? What if that 7 year old girl died under her care?

She lifted her chin a little and strode forth, wrapping herself in confidence (real or not). She had no idea what would happen until she saw for herself.

It seemed an age before they reached the slums. The roads gave way to dirt paths, and Kat lamented the state of her boots would be in when all of this was over. The houses weren’t really houses at all; more sturdy shacks of varying degrees of disrepair.

Euwan finally pointed to a small place, and basically took off at a run. “This way, miss!”

‘I should have worn flats’ she thought, and picking up her skirts, jogged after him.

***

Standing inside, Katarya looked around at the place the Gulls called their home. It consisted of only two rooms. The one she entered into was their living room, kitchen and there was a small table she assumed they dined at. It wasn’t dirty, but it had a sullen feel about it. It was drab and dreary, and it made Kat feel a little embarrassed at being only 22 and owning a shop with it’s own home above it she could call her own.

Euwan moved quickly to the door that led to the other room. “She’s in here.”

Kat nodded and made her way through the door into what was their sleeping quarters. Two single cots, probably one for the couple, the other for the daughter. What if they had another child? Kat tried to focus on the task at hand.

The scene before her was solemn. A little girl lay on the bed, breathing soft, shallow breaths; sweat beaded all over her head. Her dirty blond hair was damp and tangled. And she was so thin!

The whole room was full of thin smoke and the smell of burning herbs … basil, if she wasn’t mistaken.

Next to the bed, sitting on the floor and holding one of the girl’s hands, was a woman who, when she turned to look up at Katarya, was basically the same but without the sickness; pale, thin, gaunt. Both parents could not have been more than a year or two older than she, but the ravages of the life they led seemed to have aged them.

Kat needed to remain composed. This was no different than people coming to her at the shop with their problems … except it wasn’t. This girl might very well be dying, beyond all help. Clearing her throat, she unhooked the cloak and unceremoniously, threw it over a chair next to the wall. “Good evening, Mrs. Gull. I’m Katarya Frost.”

The woman looked like she had been crying for years, and had not slept for the same amount of time. As Kat introduced herself, the woman looked up at her with the same desperation as her husband had done so, and also with some small glimmer of hope. It was not an easy thing to hold, that gaze. “Oh, Miss! Please help my baby girl. I don’t want to lose her! I couldn’t live if I lost her! I …”

Kat accepted the bag that Euwan passed her. “Alright, Mrs Gull. Let me take a look before we go down that road,” she glanced at the bedside table and the bowl which held the burning herbs. “Mr. Gull; take that bowl out of here and open a window.”

The man hesitated. “We was told it would bring the heat down, make her fever go away.”

Kat knelt beside the bed, her eyes scanning the young girl. “Basil can have that effect, but your daughter is struggling to breath, and I doubt a room full of smoke is going to help her.” She reached out and put the back of her hand on the girl’s forehead. It was moist with sweat and burning to the touch. “Boil some water, plenty of it. And it you have any cool, Mrs. Gull could use a cloth so she can wipe that brow.” She didn’t wait for him to agree, but took a look at the rash that covered all of her visible skin below the neck. It was red, not too dark, and mottled. That could mean a number of things. Lastly, her hand went down to the girl’s wrist, where Kat counted the beatings of her heart. It was slow and faint … not a good sign.

“What’s wrong with her?” Mrs. Gull asked.

Kat could see the woman fighting back the urge to cry. “I’m not too sure, yet.”

“I thought you were a healer!”

Kat flicked her eyes to the woman. Usually, a tart retort would be the order of the day when something like that was said, but this was a woman in fear of losing her daughter. “I’ll get to the route of it, Mrs. Gull. But first, we need to get that temperature down as fast as can. Now … let me see.”

***

Almost two hours later, Lily had poultices on her forehead and chest.

Kat had ground those herbs up faster than she had ever done before, and her arm even ached a little. She had even made some tea with cloves and ginger, for when (if?) she woke up.

There was one other thing she could try …

Reaching into her bag, she picked out a long piece of string and slipped it into her pocket. “We’ll give some time for the poultices to do their job, then see how we’re getting on. Meanwhile, I’m terribly sorry but I need to use the toilet.”

Mr. Gull looked at her and averted his eyes. “We don’t have no toilet. We just go outback … a bucket.” He was obviously embarrassed.

Kat shrugged. “I travel quite far to get some of the herbs I need. I have no worries when it comes to using that outdoors for that particular activity.”

Suitably mollified, Euwan led her outside, and then headed back in, leaving her with a lantern and faced with a bucket which made her grimace.

But she wasn’t there for that. With a quick look around, Katarya tried to check to see if there was anyone around (though at this time, there would likely be no one, she couldn’t really see far enough even if there were). Satisfied, she took the sting out of her pocket and wrapped it round the covered lantern.

Kat took a deep breath, holding her hands towards the lantern and string, she closed her eyes and muttered some words as she began to tie a single knot into it.

“Lantern bright, with burning fire,
Keep within you, my desire,
Listen to the words I speak,
And clear a path to what I seek,
Into this rope they power is wound,
Until I return it unto the ground.”


She felt a slight tingling sensation go through her as she used the simple spell. It was the best she could do without having sigils and signs painted here and there, without chalices and ritual daggers … She was even uneasy at doing this. As soon as someone is called a witch by one person, it tends to spread fast, and since -actually- was a witch … well, that would cause her a whole lot of trouble.

Being as satisfied as she could be she headed back inside.

***

“What is that?” Mrs. Gull said, tiredly, as Kat returned.

Placing the string across the top of Lily’s chest, Kat glanced to the exhausted mother. “It’s a string made from a special herb that is a big help with some fevers. I want to try everything I can to help your daughter.”

This seemed to satisfy the mother, for she just nodded.

“Ah, a knot!” Katarya would have rolled her eyes at such poor acting, but … well … “I’ll just get rid of this, and then we can see if it makes a difference.”

String or rope spells were one of the most amatuer spells a young practical magic user could learn. Infuse the knots with your wish, then simply undo them when the time is right.

Kat just hoped it held true here. She focused on the knot, undoing it slowly, and then feeling the string warm up. It didn’t necessarily mean Lily was cured, but it had done something. “Now, all we can do is wait.”

***

And wait they did.

Kat hadn’t even realised she had dozed off when a long moan brought her out of her half sleep. She rubbed her eyes and forehead, but soon got to her feet when she realised the moan was coming from Lily.

The young girl shifted in her bed, her face screwed up, showing her discomfort.

Her mother immediately took her hand. “Lily?! Lily, darling; can you hear me? It's your mam, darling.”

Kat made her way over to the bed and once again, placed the back of her hand on the girl’s forehead. The feeling of nice, warm skin satisfied the witch into a small smile. “The fever is broken.” She announced.

Euwan, who stood in the doorway looking as anxious as ever, let loose a big sigh. “Oh, thank the stars for you, miss.”

The mother kissed her daughter’s hand before looking up to Kat. “Is she better? Have you made her better, then?”

Katarya wanted to say yes, but it would do no one much good to lie, right now. “We’ve tackled the fever, so she’ll be stronger to fight what is ailing her. Next is getting some fluids into her.” She turned to Lily’s father. “Mr. Gull; make up some tea with these,” she took from her bag garlic and cloves. “Lots of it. She’ll need as much as she can take.”

He complied immediately, but the mother was looking up at her. “So she’s not better, then?”

Kat sighed. “ She is better, Mrs. Gull. But there’s more to do. Take a little hope that we’re a step closer.”

***

The next few days were spent running the shop, closing a little earlier, studying what her condition might be, then a trip every day down to the slums to check on Lily.

The girl looked a little better, but it was apparent that herbal teas wasn’t going to make the girl well. She needed something more. Something magical.

***

Lilian’s Book of Shadows was extensive, so it took a few more days until Katarya found something that she was carefully sure might just work. But it needed to be done with caution. If Lily’s parents saw her performing magic on her daughter, it might very spell the end of her … she smiled at the inadvertent pun.

Grabbing what she needed, she set out.

***

“Mrs. Gull; go and eat something,” Kat suggested on her next visit.

The woman shook her head. “I can’t leave her. What if something happens, or she needs me? I can’t.”

Kat held in a sigh of frustration. “You must, Mrs. Gull. You'll Be no help to her if you are half starved and sleep deprived. I’ll stay right here and I’m only a room away. I can call you if anything changes. Okay?”

After a few moments of looking at her daughter, the woman finally nodded. “A quick bite.”

As soon as she left, Kat reached into her pocket and brought out a small lump of rose quartz. Placing it carefully on the girl’s chest, she put her hands over it and focussed.

‘Come on,’ she said, as if talking to the very disease that wracked this poor young girl. The incantation wasn’t long, but it wasn’t in common, either. Some form of Elvish perhaps … it didn’t matter; she just had to get it right.

Katarya knew it was working when he hands began to feel warm and she began to feel tired. She was -pulling- the sickness from Lily and trying to force it into the stone. She was a little nervous that she might pull some of it into her, but she didn’t move her hands.

After a few more moments, there was a sudden rush of energy, and a faint cracking sound. Kat opened her eyes, and reached up to wipe the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. She felt exhausted. When she moved her hands, she looked down at the stone. It had lost it’s rosy pink colour and was now a muted, cloudy grey. It was also cracked. It had taken as much as it could, and Kat could only hope that that was enough.

Just as she took the stone away, Mrs. Gull appeared in the doorway. “If you’re hungry, miss, there is some … are you alright, miss? You don’t look well.”

Kat did not -feel- well, but she forced herself to give the woman a smile. “Oh don’t worry about me, just a little tired is all.” She bent down to her bad, slipping the stone inside quickly. Her heart was beating fast; not just because of the effects of the spell, but she had been on the brink of discovery … the brink of ruin. “Lily is doing well … I’ll pop back in tomorrow and check on her.”

***

Though she desperately wanted nothing more than to climb into bed, Kat knew she needed sugar and water before she slept. The spell, done so hastily, had taken its toll.

She only hoped it was worth it.

***

“Miss Katarya?”

Kat looked up from her ledger which was laid out before her on the shop counter. She had been so absorbed in it (though not with any pleasure) that she had not even noticed her visitor. “Mr. Gull,” she gave him a warm smile. “How fares the patient?”

“Well that’s what I came to tell you.” He said. His face betrayed him, for he was smiling. “She’s sat up in bed, eating like there’s no tomorrow.”

Kat allowed herself a long sigh of relief, and even a smile. “Well … I guess we managed to beat it!”

He nodded his head. “-You- did, miss. And we shan’t ever forget it. We’ll be forever grateful to you for saving our Lily.” He looked to her. “We was wondering if you might join us for dinner this evening. I know Lily would love to speak to you properly, and the missus wants to thank you in person.”

Though all she wanted to do was get the working day over with and go to bed (the spell she had so hastily cast was still causing some tiredness, though it was abating), she couldn’t think of any good reason why she should decline. “That would be wonderful,” she lied. “I’ll bring the wine.”

***

Dinner was quite something, in that it was probably the blandest meal Katarya had ever tasted. Everything had been boiled … even the small amount of meat. But she was sensitive enough to know that this was a good meal to these slum residents. They were delighted with the wine, with Euwan even saying that nothing they could get would ever compare!

Lily, now that she was awake, was quite the sprightly creature. She was talkative, curious, and was told off multiple times for ‘sassing’ her parents, or talking out of turn. She even had quite the sulk when her both her parents had responded with a resounding “no” to her request to taste the wine.

Kat was not good at small-talk, and besides Lily’s illness, the three adults had not really talked at all. Mr. Gull worked at one of the factories as a ‘grunt’ (his words), while Mrs. Gull was a cleaner for a few local shops. Both made barely anything. “And you, Lily?” Kat asked as she forced down the last boiled potato. “What are you planning on doing when you get a job?”

It was Mrs. Gull who answered. “Not much choice for a lass her ago, miss. Probably a workhouse … hellish places, but they are always hiring,”

Kat had heard of these places; from the stories, some men preferred prison to workhouses, and she had no idea they had children working there too. Stories abound of terrible conditions leading to all sorts of lung and heart problems, infections and such. “What would you like to be?” She asked, looking directly at Lily.

The little girl shrugged. “I want to have a nice job that lets me have a nice house and money for mam and dad, too.”

Kat nodded. “A respectable dream, but you might need to be more specific. Do you know your letters and numbers.”

“She knows some,” said Mrs. Gull. “Euwan’s mam taught her, for all the good it will do her.” To say that her daughter had been brought back from the brink of death, Mrs. Gull seemed a little doom and gloom. “Can’t even afford a book, so what’s she supposed to read? She should have spent those hours learning a proper skill; something that will work.” She put her knife and fork down and looked directly at Kat. “People round here, in the slums, don’t get opportunities like you lot do.”

‘I just saved your daughter’s life and now you’re going to shame me?’ Kat put her fork onto her plate. “That was delicious. Thank you so much for the food, it was lovely.” She gave both parents a smile, then sat forward. “I also want to discuss with you payment for my services …”

Mr. Gull was quick to jump in. “We’ll put something aside every time we get it, miss. We’re so grateful to you, and promise all our debt with you will be paid back.” He looked a little uncomfortable. “It may take some time, but I promise you’ll get every penny owed to you.”

Katarya nodded, then made a ‘hmm’ sound, as if thinking. “You know, I think I have an idea that could work well for everyone.”

They all looked at her, curiosity hanging heavy in the room.

Kat smiled.

***

“Una, how many times do I have to tell you this?” Kat looked the other woman, around her own age and someone she had known for years. “I don’t sell or make love potions. I wouldn’t even know how!” That was a lie … in a sense. Love potions never really work out that well. “All you need to do is start courting the right type of man. All these crushes are on terrible men! A fleeting dalliance with a wandering sailor … however handsome … does not a marriage make! Go home, and come back when you have a real problem.”

Una left in a huff, and Kat shook her head as she did. So many young women asking for love potions! She was even considering putting up a sign!

Raising a brow, Kat realised she had not heard any sweeping for a while. She stepped from behind the counter and looked around some of the taller shelved where she found her new apprentice gazing at the labels of the many herbs that were on show. “Lily,” she said, startling the girl. “You are to sweep, not to gawk at dried plants. This floor better shine like the sun before your father gets here, or I’ll trade you in for a donkey.”

Lily began to sweep furiously. “Yes, miss Katarya!”

Shaking her head, the witch went back to the dreaded edger, but smiled at the sound of the broom on the floor. Three days per week, four hours each day … Katarya even sent her home with a few coppers, some for her parents and some for her new charge, which Lily promised to ‘put aside’, but was most likely spending it on sweets and such. One could hardly blame her. Her parents had tried to insist on giving it back, but Kat had stood her ground. A few coppers didn’t mean much to her and she -was getting labour from it, after all.

Things could have gone a little smoother, and soon the news had spread among the residents of the slum about the kindly healer who would help anyone. It was a reputation she hoped would go away. No one had ever called her 'kindly' before!
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