A Dose of Consequence

[Artemis Black]

Early Winter AoN 289

Artemis rode atop Sir Francis the great moose with all the pride and confidence a man sitting astride a beast capable of upending a carriage was due. The four of them, he and Ksenia atop the mount, Jourin and Dáire acting as guards, had managed to make their way through the streets at a sedate walk with little trouble beyond what was becoming the usual stares and gawking.

They only had to stop and ask for directions once, Artemis simply hailed a passing guard who looked dumbfounded for several moments before getting them oriented the right way. “People are much more polite when you can crush them with your antlers,” Artemis mused to himself. He briefly considered it might have to do with his clothing. He was wearing the best clothing he owned, a tailored long coat in light charcoal, a fitted men's vest in deep patterned blue with a white shirt underneath, high-waisted trousers in the same light charcoal, and black laced shoes, all topped with a fine looking silk hat. He was only carrying four, less than half the usual, very reachable daggers.

The Grace of Cecilia Healer’s Hall was a rather clean looking building, with clearly maintained whitewash plaster and thick windows covered inside by dense curtains. There was even a functional stable nearby with room aplenty for healer’s wagons, supply carts, and moose parking.

Artemis slid Sir Francis into one of the larger open stalls before the stable hand could manage to close his mouth from surprise. “I’ll double your fee, he loves carrots, don’t surprise him,” he said decisively after he’d slid down into the hay with the help of Dáire. The young man closed his mouth with an audible click and nodded fiercely.

The doors into the hall were not open wide, as Artemis remembered seeing them in the warmer months, but they seemed to slide freely when Jourin pushed at them. Artemis grinned before settling his merchant’s mask into place. ‘I could get used to someone taking precaution on my behalf,’ he thought quietly as he strode into the hall. The place was bustling with a nervous energy, clean stone halls with vibrant wall hangings depicting various herbs, potions, and scenes of Cecilia dulled the thud of their boots as they approached a broad wooden desk. The woman behind the desk looked polite but harried and her attention remained on paperwork for several moments before moving to the band.

“Good morning, how can I help you sir?” the receptionist asked, her tone forcibly cheery but not reaching her eyes.

“Hello, I have a voucher for services from my bank. I require a personal checkup and a visiting healer to ensure my work crew are on the mend following thuggery and violence against us,” Artemis said kindly, removing his voucher from his jacket and placing it on the table.

The receptionist raised a brow and collected the paperwork, scanning it silently for several moments. “Yes, this is acceptable and covers the required costs.” She looked over at a seperate batch of paperwork, clearly scanning it for information. “You can be seen now, room 12 on the left.” She pointed to a hallway to clarify.

[Calem Sabathe]

"Which to choose, which to choose...of course this book is one of my favourites but..." Dr. Calem Sabathe looked over the small library of books that he'd kept in the bookshelf, agonising over which ones would fit in the bag that he kept in the corner. "No, no, Ersten's Guide is more important than Taberge's Herbology...general well-being will have to do it, the rest won't fit...I wonder if I can buy a horse before I leave...?" The young doctor muttered to himself as he hefted another book off the shelf, flipping through the first couple of pages. "...hmmm. Where am I going to get replacements for these? I hope the staff don't throw all my books out while I'm gone..."

Muttering to himself, the young doctor carefully opened up the bag he kept, already overflowing, and managed with a bit of effort to shuffle around the already varied amounts of goods in there. The travelling bag already had several pockets inside and out, full of herbs, tonics and bandages - in recognition of his service here, the hospital staff had given him a little bit of their excess stock. It wasn't much, but it would hopefully keep them out of trouble with House Enlann and give him enough to start with. Even this much would require a certain delicacy in travel, but Calem was at present in no rush. He had until the end of the work day to decide what else to take with him - though at this point the bag wouldn't fit much else.

He would have kept idling over the books if not distracted by a knock at the door. "Ah, just a moment!" he shouted, pushing the large bag into a corner of the room, and putting down a new sheet over the chair. Satisfied that the room looked as presentable and safe as possible, Calem moved over to open the door. "Ah, good afternoon! Can I help..." Calem blinked. Where he had expected only one patient, instead he saw four. "Four...? That wasn't on my schedule for today..."

Calem turned to the man in front - wearing fancier merchant gear than the rest (or so he assumed - Calem was still terrible with fashions), he presumed that this was the leader. "My apologies, sir, but would you be so kind as to show me the paperwork you received?" Taking it from the man's offered hand, he began to look over the written sheets, clicking his tongue. "...mm-hmm, yes, everything appears to be in order, excellent. Well, then, let's get started." Looking at the merchant - the paperwork mentioned that he was one Artemis Black - and then briefly looking over his compatriots. "Would you prefer your check-up first, Master Black, or shall I look over your companions first?"

[Jourin Argall]

The congestion on the street seemed to thin out somewhat as the party neared the clinic. Even with Sir Francis's considerable bulk and his tendency to let his heavy antlers swing back and forth in front of him, people still pressed in too tightly for Jourin's comfort. The extra room on the street was most welcome, least of all because they could all likely breathe a little easier.

Jourin lingered beside Sir Francis to help Ksenia down and then fell behind her and Artemis, allowing them to lead the way to the front door, just as she had done before. She cut ahead of them once to shoulder the portal open and glance quickly inside, although she didn't necessarily anticipate a hostile welcome. Sure enough, there wasn't. At least not the kind that required her intervention.

The Grace of Cecilia was not wholly unfamiliar to her. The last time she saw it, however, had been some time ago and she was out of her mind with a fever-induced delirium. When she was finally deemed fit to leave she hadn't cared about its size or cleanliness as much as she had been about recouping the loss to her purse. Now that she was looking at it through a coherent lens, she had to admit that she couldn't have done better for herself at the time.

Jourin's tension was not quite as high inside the clinic. She did not glare around them as they moved towards the room the woman directed them to. Her gaze ran to the corners as well as up and down corridors, still on the look out for danger, but it wouldn't seem as though she was expecting any to find them.

When the door opened upon a smaller, frail looking man in glasses, Jourin swept him from the top of his red head to his toes out of professional obligation. Whatever threat he might pose, it was insufficient to warrant more than a hard blank stare while everyone else filed into the room. As was becoming typical of her, she didn't say anything, but took up a protective post by the door.

[Artemis Black]

Artemis felt a minor twinge of concern as he noticed the doctor was particularly young, like he was, and not a wise looking sage of a man. He’d not seen many true doctors in his life, but all the ones he had encountered looked like they were present during the last age and spoke with the gravity of time’s wisdom.

“Just me for now, good doctor,” he said with an easy smile to hide his nerves. “I believe the order also has a request to come to a work site and check the crew as well?” Artemis asked, he hadn’t actually read the work order so leading questions were his best bet. “We can complete the inspection of my companions then if it suits you. I believe several would benefit from attention without terribly much delay.”

Artemis looked around the room quickly when he finished speaking. It was clean, somewhat spartan, and had a very over-packed bag in the corner. Perhaps something to question later. “I’ve not been to a doctor in some time, so please be thorough and complete as I won’t likely have time to return to one with my business growing by the day.” Artemis’ smile grew slightly wider before he restored his neutral mask.

He often trusted service people more than he should, but he felt confident he could land a knife between the doctor’s eyes before he got any sort of incantation off and he knew enough about ingredients in potions to know what was poisonous or too much.

“My health is yours to assess and improve doctor,” he said with a slight bow of his head.

[Calem Sabathe]

"Ah, that's so? Excellent, excellent, please come in and...uh..." Despite himself, he couldn't help but flinch slightly at the sight of the giant woman whom now lingered in his doorway, looking over both him and the hospital at large with...disinterest? Dismissal? Dis-something? Calem certainly wanted to close the door and focus on the one person at the time, but he also wasn't comfortable with confronting the person whom looked like she could dismantle him through thought alone.

"...yes, yes, my apologies for keeping you waiting, Master Black." Calem turned his attention to the young man whom he was supposed to be treating. Focus on what ails this one right now, and other problems will sort themselves out - he was just going to have to focus and try to forget about the audience. "Could you lie down on this chair please?" Calem gestured to the chair briefly, before taking off his spectacles, cleaning them, and putting them back on. At least with the patient in the chair, he could focus on them.

Calem took a brief look over the man lying on his chair. From an initial look, the man looked like he'd gotten into a few fights, but this was hardly the first time he'd seen such a man come through here. However, despite the thick clothes that covered his body so far, Calem could tell from the look in the man's eyes that there was, though betrayed only ever so slightly, a look of discomfort as his chest rose and fell. Likely whatever ailed him was more than just a few scrapes. "Very well, sir. I'll need you to take your shirt off so that I can assess your condition, please. Before we start, are there any particular pains or concerns you wish me to address? Please mention anything, no matter how small - both this hospital and myself provide clients with both privacy and professionalism." Well, as long as nobody passed too close to the open doorway, but that was neither here nor there now. Besides, the woman in the doorway looked like she was more than capable of making sure there weren't any prying ears.

[Dáire]

Dáire found himself silently following the odd collection of humans towards the healers hall- a building he usually tried to avoid as much as possible. Again he helped his injured lover slide from the mooses lofty back before allowing the brusk woman to lead, her highly defensive behaviour mildly amusing and irritating at the same time. Did she really believe it possible Artemis had an ambush waiting within the city’s place of healing?
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The smells of herbs, illness and blood hit Dáire up the face as soon as he breached the threshold, it was an overpowering assault on his nose. He spluttered slightly before deciding it best to breath through his mouth while he was in here, most of the smells were pleasant but they were still very pungent. The place had changed little since he’d last rushed here with an injured human, though today it was far quieter with significantly fewer people strolling around. Everything was still stark white, the floors were smooth from use and the hangings around the walls still held their colour- though he suspected they were probably replaced every few decades.

He looked on in quiet curiosity as paperwork was handed over and the sad looking receptionist indicated a hallway to his companions before meeting his eyes for a few moments. It caused him to hesitate, the face of the middle aged woman was strangely familiar to him. His eyes narrowed on the woman as recognition sparked in her eyes also. He glanced in the direction the others had headed, just in time to see Ksenia’s back disappearing into the darker hallway. His attention focussed on the receptionist and he moved up to the table, the paper work she’d be sorting prior to dealing with Artemis seemingly forgotten for the time being.

“Never thought I would see you again.” She said in a strained voice, the same falsely cheery expression plastered on her face. Dáire frowned slightly as he wracked his memories to come up with an explanation as to how he knew this woman. Her expression fell as Dáire continued to look at her with an open look of confusion and milk frustration. ”You don’t remember me.” It was a sad statement, maybe even tinged disappointment. The woman’s pale blue eyes were lacklustre, the skin around her eyes and mouth sporting fine lines and a few grey hairs dusted her temples. Obviously uncomfortable with Dáire’s silence and intense inspection, she dropped her attention back to the desk, moving sheets of paper around as he continued to stand there like a fool, his mind still unable to place her.

She sighed heavily, bracing her forearms on the broad table as she peered up at him through wisps of sandy blonde hair, the swaying tendrils having escaped the tight updo pinned to the back of her head. “You look no different you know; well, maybe your hair is a tad longer but it looks as though the past 22 years never happened for you.” Dáire snorted, breaking eye contact as he fidgeted, gaze dropping to the floor before he looked back at the woman. As if looking away and back again would make him remember? He offered her a tentative smile when he finally did speak, “Believe me, they happened and wasn't hasn't worn on the outside certina has on the inside.” he paused briefly, well aware how he worded this could either sooth, or hurt the woman's feelings since she evidently remembered him vividly. “You’re right though- your face is familiar to me but I can not place from where.Care to jog a foolish memory please?”

This time when the woman smiled, it was a true one but it still lacked joy. “I lived in a town near Verdant Row at the time, we met in the tavern there but … I suppose it is as you said back then, it was only a few nights and you would move on and that it meant nothing. I shouldn't have expected you to remember who I was.”

Dáire winced inwardly, had he really been so cold? Thinking about it now, he knew he had and guilt swamped him for it, he didn't remember the woman’s name now though. “Elvera,” he said softly and her smile brightened just a touch, “I do remember now, I’m sorry, it was a long time ago for me also. What brought you to Fellsgards then?”

She gestured around her, as if it wasn't obvious, “I trained to be a healer, but today is my turn dealing with this,” She gestured to the scattered paper work before her, “I drew the short straw today but there wasn't as much demand for healers back home and so, here I am. You told me you hated cities, and that’s why you wouldn't stay around our town, what is here that has captured your attention?” Dáire felt heat rise into his cheeks as he glanced the direction his companions had gone, he prayed the colour wasn't noticeable as thoughts of Artemis filled his mind, but then all that had gone down at the Hart overpowered that and he sobered. It must have shown though, as Elvera smiled knowingly at him as her attention darted to the now empty hallway as well. There was now a sparkle in those eyes that had been dull only minutes before, “She’s a lucky woman to have caught, and kept your attention.-”

“Ah no she’s not-” Elvera raised a blonde brow at him, “Muscle didn't strike me as your type but …” She trailed off, and Dáire groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “Not her either, I think she’d rather stab me with a blade than let me touch her. Work just … work got a bit messy a few weeks ago, I had planned to collect a few contracts and be on my way again but things happened, I met him, more things happened and well … I’ve been distracted this time.”

Her eyes widened slightly, “That little thing?” She nodded towards the hallway, grinning now, “Well, that’s not something I would have guessed. I wish you luck wanderer, men are a nightmare to deal with.” She winked at him and Dáire was reminded just why he had spent several days with this woman those decades ago, and wasn't surprised she had landed herself in a role that allowed her to care for others. He grinned broadly, “I should catch up to them, maybe we can talk again another time?” She nodded, still smiling “Go, you know where to find me should it tickle your fancy”.

Dáire strode off down the hall, counting the numbers off in his head as he approached room 12. He could hear the soft voice of the doctor from within and Artemis’ familiar tone responding. “It’s Dáire.” he said softly from behind Jourin, not wanting to startle the woman and have to fend off rather bruising blows. Easing through the open door and slipping around behind the large woman, he came in to find Artemis already in the examination chair and chatting softly with the healer. He offered a soft smile and hoped it wasn't anything too serious, the man was too young to have persistent problems in his mind.

[Artemis Black]

Artemis looked over as Dáire’s voice came from the doorway. Jourin let him slip by and into the room. Artemis gave the Kerasokan a brilliant smile. "I’d love to know what kept you from me, but another time," he said with a chuckle before returning his attention to the matter at hand.

“Jourin, the door please." Artemis sat fully up and reaching into his inner jacket pocket to remove a tightly bound leather roll. "Have no fear doctor, I imagine the good defender would only mostly enjoy ending your existence if you threatened me. I’m sure under all that disdain and deadly sharpness is an adorable puppy of a woman who could crush your head like a ripe melon without remorse."

He grinned and unrolled the knife holder, carefully removing knives from his clothing and slipping them into the holder before taking each garment off. It took less time than usual, given he was only directly carrying half his regular count. He hummed softly as he worked, before finally reaching his shirt.

“I do hope it doesn’t look too terrible," he said as he winced and removed his final upper garment. His chest was marred by a long angry looking series of bruises that formed a slanted line from edge to edge. Everything appeared a blend of deep purples and reds, with only the faintest halo of yellow at the furthest edges.

Artemis glanced down at it and frowned. "I’d have expected some of this to at least start to recede by now. At least last I checked none of it is broken, and my guardian wasn’t too rough with me." He twisted himself experimentally, grunting in annoyance as heavy twinges of tightness and pain rippled through his torso.

“I took a hard hit to the side of a building at full tilt, a knife to some armor a few days before that around- here," Artemis poked at his chest and winced. "Since then, I’ve had a full bottle of Midwife’s Helper, professionally made mind, and also a shot and change of good brandy right after. Shouldn’t have made things this bad though." He looked over at the doctor and shrugged.

“Oh, and I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to faith, or magic, or whatever, so if you had any of that knocking around in your bag maybe keep it there." He offered a wry smile and settled back into a more relaxed, but clearly uncomfortable, posture. "I’m likely all sorts of bruised and nicked besides, my work is rather unforgiving. Please let me know if you find anything more extreme, many lives depend on me as of late."

Artemis found he was revealing a lot of information to the doctor, though nothing that could truly be used against him. Medicinal misuse was far from the greatest of moral crimes and the rest was simply a statement of fact.

[Calem Sabathe]

And right as Calem was finally starting to tune out the fact that there was a scary lady in his door, he was once again distracted by someone else coming in through his door - a Kerasokan elf. 'This isn't meant to be a show at Mac's...' Nonetheless, at the very least the scary lady shut the door so now - assuming there wouldn't be more people - Calem wasn't going to have interlopers peering at his door. It was already bad enough that many of the doctors considered him green just because he wasn't at least fifty, but he didn't really want them peering in like vultures ready to take away his opportunities to learn just so they could fuel their own egos.

...well, that was being a bit bitter, but that was neither here nor there. Master Black was speaking. It took a second for Calem to realise what he was saying, but as soon as Calem did, he turned, looking the large 'defender' right in the eyes, his own having gone wide through his spectacles. He took a few steps away from Artemis, towards the table on the other side of the room, before reaching into his robes, pulling out the scalpel set in his robes and putting them on the table as far away from him as possible. "S-see, madam? Just my s-scalpels in here. N-no knives, I-I assure you, no t-trouble here! Please don't hurt me." he stammered. It was embarrassing to admit the terror he felt, with all the people whom could likely kill him with little effort - though likely they already knew.

Calem turned away, took in a few breaths. 'Professional...' He'd be lying if he said he was perfectly calm, but it looked like the other's in here were only interested in making sure he didn't stab Master Black - something which he has no wish (or probably ability) to do anyway, whether he had guards or no. "I...apologise for my behaviour, Master Black." Calem felt terribly awkward, right up until he saw the rainbow of bruising that was his patient's body, and his mind immediately snapped back to doctor mode. True, the damage was severe - though he had seen people recover from worse. Calem ran his hand across the man's upper body - tender, of course, but as Artemis spoke, it was clear that this amount of bruising was excessive, unless he'd been smashed against said wall like a ragdoll.

Calem put his ear to Artemis' heart - it beat strong, despite everything - maybe a little too strongly. "This kind of heartbeat makes sense then...even now in this chair your heart is pumping intensely. Have you just finished a major workout, or..."

Artemis' next words about Midwife's Helper, however, made Calem's eyes go wide again, though this time less with fear and more with amazement. "I'm sorry...a full bottle of Midwife's Helper? And alcohol as well?! Where did you even...no, that's none of my business. Better question - are you insane?" Calem rubbed his brow. "I'll take it that you think it's just pain relief, like anyone who asks for it. And yes, it is - in much the same way that fire is good for cleaning a house. Unless you really do plan on giving birth sometime soon? And mixing alcohol with it, Ixaziel weeping, the fact that your liver hasn't permanently shut down...well, I suppose at least it proves you're, if nothing else, incredibly lucky. Actually, it's an interesting note, now that I think about it - apparently Midwife's Helper and alcohol can be mixed without fatal results, I must remember to see exactly how much alcohol is in a shot of brandy..." It took a moment for Calem to realise he'd been ranting - to a client, nonetheless!

Calem took in a breath and sighed - admittedly, this wasn't professional at all, but in the face of such blinding recklessness it was hard not to be incredulous, adventurer or no. "Master Black, I am aware your business is none of mine, but can I at least insist you try to refrain from such potent mixtures in your future work? Too much medicinal abuse could lead to body organs shutting down, and I dare say it's also the reason why the bruising across your body is so severe. I would suggest no less than two weeks of bedrest and nothing more than light exercise to get you back to peak physical condition, but I have a suspicion that's unlikely. In the meantime, I'll do what I can..."

Calem plucked a salve from his shelf. "Thimbleberry and gilliweed...this won't cure your physical ails - only rest will do that - but something like this should at least take a bit of the sting out - help your muscles recover a little, disinfect any remaining wounds. It'll be a little uncomfortable at first though." Calem slowly rubbed the salve into Artemis' chest. The fact that he was being watched by a small audience suddenly occurred to him again, but he shook it off as best as possible as he continued to massage the salve into Artemis' body.

Though something occurred to Calem as he looked into Artemis' eyes as he mentioned allergies. "Wait...allergies?" Calem moved his face up closer to Artemis' eyes, gently moving apart the eyelid to look at as much of the eyes as possible. It was a bit difficult to tell, but there was certainly more redness in the eyes than he'd expected. Looking over Artemis' body again, it was a bit difficult to tell through the bruises, but there was certainly signs of rash - if anything, it looked like Artemis was already having trouble with allergies, albeit currently at a very minor level. "...sir, do you currently have any trouble with your body itching?"

[Ksenia]

Ksenia slid into the corner of the room quietly, letting Jourin take up her post at the door. Daire came in a few minutes later - curious, she thought, as he was usually no more than arm’s reach away from Artemis - but she said nothing.

She did wince upon seeing the angry, deep bruise across Artemis’ ribs. Here she’d been hugging him tightly and he’d hidden the pain of that from her. The doctor examined the bruise, running his fingers over the area.

‘Wait - a “full bottle of Midwife’s Helper” - weren’t those bottles meant for multiple doses?’ she thought. Clearly, the doctor concurred and chastised Artemis for being, well, stupid. Ksenia didn’t disagree with his opinion, professional or less so.

She stifled a sigh and pulled out her notebook to write down the ingredients in the salve - Artemis would probably need more, and with his current luck, she’d have to go get it for him or risk him finding a hemlock and mistletoe concoction. Hearing Artemis say he was allergic to magic, though, caused her to look up in surprise.

“Wait, if you’re allergic to magic, then how did you - I mean, um, you’ve been very close to people who use - you know. How were you able to deal with that?” she said, confused and slightly exasperated with Artemis. She flicked a glance over at Daire; he wouldn’t have used any, obviously, being Kerasokan, but he knew about that bi- the Banished, she corrected herself.

Artemis hadn’t sounded like he actively wanted to get the woman in trouble, so Ksenia was taking the lead from him. She admitted to herself that it would be rather satisfying to make life terribly difficult for that woman though.

“Not to bother you, doctor, but if I can see that salve when you’re finished, I’d like to make sure I’ve got the correct spelling,” she said, looking back at the page in her notebook.

[Artemis Black]

Fear appeared plainly on Artemis’ face at the mention of organs shutting down. It was one thing for Robert to threaten such, and he’d always been careful to follow the Ritualist’s advice, but this doctor had no cause to badger him and he almost glossed over Artemis’ clear brush with death as if giving out a prescription.

“I can definitely teach you a thing or four about good drinking, the size and scale of shots, and get you some of the stuff I took, same batch and all if you’re willing to work with the Goose,” he offered the doctor when the man asked him about itching. It wasn’t that he was avoiding answering per se, more he was still adjusting to how terribly stupid he’d been.

He looked at Dáire and smiled weakly, seeing the sparkle of the Kerasokan’s eye reassured him that he wouldn’t be risking himself like that again and that it had been worth it in the end. Then Ksenia started asking questions and he reflexively barked a laugh that immediately became a wince and groan.

“Well you see Kessy, I just sort of took her by the hips and-” he made a rude motion with his arms. “There was usually some shouting, you've heard that, and then we just snuggled. Though now that you mention it I did feel a bit - tingly - afterwards. Not sure if that was the blood rush or something else.” His banter had, he refocused his attention on the doctor.

“Yes, allergies, right. I’ve got an- well an itch isn’t quite right, but I can’t place it either, so there’s nothing to get at. It sort of lingers sometimes and then goes away. Has been getting more frequent.” He shrugged, not unfamiliar with random aches, pains, and twinges of itching given his body’s brutal existence.

“Unrelated doctor, but do you happen to know where a fellow could find nice eyewear, those look like they’d be useful in- uh document making. An important thing in business that.” Artemis smiled unconvincingly as he blinked excessively to resettle his eyelid.