Stories Twice Told [Closed]

A chance encounter in the Lower District leads Calem on a trip down old roads and old memories.

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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Calem Sabathe
Character
Khy'eras' Okayest Doctor
Level
02
24 / 24 HP
20 / 20 MP
0p / 0g / 0s / 50c
Race: Human
Class: Cleric
Posts: 60
Joined: January 19th, 2020, 10:46 pm
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Been thanked: 9 times

Stories Twice Told [Closed]

Post by Calem Sabathe »

There was still a few days before the train to Ninraih would leave. With no official business to take care of, Calem had decided to indulge himself in one of his favourite pastimes - aimless walking. It was a simple exercise, but one that he had always found refreshed his spirits, and he'd almost always found something new everytime he kept treading along the various winding roads of Fellsgard. A new house, a new face - there was even a simple pleasant indulgence in seeing the various pets running through the roads. It still amazed him that on a walk similar to this one, his life had been changed.

He couldn't say that he'd walked every road of Fellsgard - he wasn't so naive as to believe he knew every secret of this town - but he liked to think he knew more of the roads, at least, than many who lived here. 'I must remember to buy new shoes at some point...' Calem thought to himself, as he strolled through the streets. He'd heard, once upon a time, told by one of the Archaicist priests, of a monk in the city who had been able to tell exactly where was based on the feel of the road beneath his feet. Calem was glad his shoes weren't quite at that level yet, though.

Calem looked up from his wandering, having been lost in thought to realise where he was, and he felt his spirits dampen just slightly. By chance, he'd walked into the Lower District of Fellsgard. Calem felt slightly uncomfortable on walking into this area; he sometimes felt as if he was flaunting his luckier nature as a middle-class citizen to poorer folk (if unintentionally) - and likely, most of these people deserved better. Coming here on official business had been one thing - as a young boy helping the Archaicist priests, there had been many times he had followed Father Blackwell here on a mission of mercy to help the ailments of the poorer folk. There had been times even in his more professional career where he had come to the Lower District - but it was rarer than he would like, as there were plenty here that struggled to afford the treatments of a major hospital. 'It's just cruel. Something like this just shouldn't exist, not in a place as prosperous as Fellsgard.'

Hundreds of times Father Blackwell, his fellow doctors, his friends - they'd all told him that this was simply a fact of life. Everyone wished there was infinite resources and manpower to keep everyone healthy and happy, but that was a fantasy. The reality was simply that life wasn't always as pleasant as it should have been. But every time someone had told Calem that, even as a child, his mind had always came back to the same place: 'But why can't that be? Why can't we strive for that?' That was why Calem worked as hard as he did - maybe one day, if he worked hard enough, that dream might come true. And even if it didn't, it was something to strive for, and that was enough.

Calem was pulled out of his reverie by a tug on his cloak. "Excuse me, sir, um, are you the doctor?" Calem turned to face the voice - a young girl, probably not more than the age of twelve, with messy blonde hair and blue eyes. Her clothes looked surprisingly well off for being patched up several times - perhaps the child of a local seamstress? Her face did look somewhat familiar. "Oh, well, I'm a doctor, though I'm just, well..." Calem didn't exactly want to admit to a young child that he'd just aimlessly walked here, especially without his supplies, much of which were packed up. "I don't have many of my supplies with me currently, so I'm not sure I can be much--"

"No, no." The girl cut Calem off. "You helped my ma. About six months ago, she came down with a bad fever. I remember you were there, you and some other old guy." Calem was amazed that someone remembered him from that long ago. He rubbed his forehead in an attempt to jog his memory. "Let me think. Your mother was..." The memory was slow coming to him. "...I remember around this area, a lady with the fever...that was Isabelle, yes? Isabelle Maple? That must make you...young Rebecca, yes? Rebecca Maple?"

The girl broke out in a wide grin. "Hey, you remember!" She did a happy spin on her tip-toes. "Yeah, thanks to you it all went away a few days after! Everyone round here was worried sick it'd take her and spread but you got it sorted out no problem!" As Calem remembered, the sickness itself hadn't been seriously infectious. Treatment and medicine had been simple enough for Calem to offer, when he'd been asked to help as a favour from a priest who'd frequented the area and knew Father Blackwell. The only way it would have gotten worse was if it had been ignored - anywhere else that wouldn't have been a problem, but here in the slums, certain hygiene issues could have caused more serious issues. "Well, of course - I'm glad I could help, Rebecca. Is your mother doing well, still?"

"Oh yeah, we've been doing pretty good, honestly. Pa managed to make some good money and we've got food for the next few days!" Rebecca grinned like she'd just won the lottery. It was a terrifying thought for Calem - if there was a food shortage, there was going to be much worse than a headache coming around. "You've got to come with me, Mr. Doctor!" Rebecca started tugging Calem's sleeve. "Ma would love to see you again, and Pa, and my idiot brothers, it'll be great, they'll all want to say thanks, 'cause we didn't get the chance last time!" Before Calem could say anything, the girl pulled at his sleeve and half-dragged Calem across the Lower District towards her house.
Word count: 1012
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