Mellia — Xdreams
????, Fire Season, Season/Illusion Week
Context
Fire Season/Illusion Week/Waterday/middle or late afternoon, not long after Coming Clean. [[[s01:session-42|Session 42]]]
Events
Sometime in the afternoon, after everyone arrives back at the village with the relics, Mellia emerges from a room looking damp and clean. She wanders about, caroling, “Oh Xenofos, I need to talk to you. Where are you?”
Xenofos dries the quill, closes the ink bottle carefully and sets his writing aside. He was in the hall. No hiding attempt except maybe from Yelm. He walks to the door when he hears the call, shading his eyes.
Mellia spots him since he’s not hiding and walks over to him. “Let’s go for a walk, where our hosts won’t have to hear me shout.”
Nod. ” Good to see you, too cousin.”
“I am very glad to see you up and about, Cousin, but why aren’t you with Jaldis?”
Meanwhile, Mellia will attempt to take Xenofos by the arm and steer him to a nice spot out of earshot of the village.
“I told her I need to be with Varanis if able and she let me go.”
There is enough room inside the palisade, but only just. Outside might be better.
“With all due warnings.”
Outside it is, as Mellia takes a deep breath and bites her tongue. After a minute, she asks, “Did you pay attention to them?”
“Well I did not collapse to the wayside though that was a possibility. A risk I was warned of and took. Might not have been wisest choice but taken after deliberation.”
Mellia gives Xenofos a look that bodes ill indeed.
“She also warned of possible craving for more of the same stuff. That has not happened either nor do I have wish to make that journey again.”
” Rural Sartar seems like a perfect place to avoid that temptation should the urge suddendly hit me anew, don’t you agree?”
“That reminds me,” Mellia says, “I need to ask Dormal and Irillo for a gigantic favor.”
Raised eyebrow.
Mellia thinks they are out of earshot, so she lets loose. “XENOFOS, SON OF VALINYR, THEGN AND LANDHOLDER! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?”
“Knocking myself to dreamless sleep.”
Shrugging of shoulders and tone do indicate he knows this was a failed idea.
“YOU FOOL!” Now Mellia looks like she wants to cry. “YOU NEARLY DIED!” At a normal volume, she asks, “Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Is there healing for spirit lost this side of Ty Kora Tek’s halls? I am not ill or wounded.”
Mellia sighs. Now she is crying. “I can talk to you, I can listen to you and I can give you safer herbs for sleep. I CAN’T DO ANYTHING IF YOU DON’T TELL ME THESE THINGS!”
There is blinking. “Fears must be overcome, not talked of except maybe in jest. And mere nightmares… “
“YOU NEARLY KILLED YOURSELF WITH THOSE DAMN DRUGS!” Mellia takes a minute to fight herself back down to reasonable volumes. “Proper sleep is very important, Xenofos. Is it wrong for a warrior to stand in a shield wall against a powerful foe?”
“I ride to battle, with comrades, yet alone, but I hear what you are saying.”
“But babbling of my nightmares is like publically running away from the shieldwall. I will not do it.”
“Xenofos,” Mellia pleads. “Let me help you. Let us help you. We love you, except maybe for Dormal.”
“I honestly don’t think you can cousin. And were I to talk I would just drag you down unnecessarily.”
“At least let me try. If I can’t help you, I can go with you to the Great Hospital and get you the very best of care.”
“I am not ill, nor wounded, nor do I have time to lounge in hospital taking place of patient in real need.” Xenofos is talking in very sensible and calm manner.
“You are very ill in mind, Xenofos. Not sleeping will make you that way. Please?”
“I do sleep. Sometimes quite undisturbed, even without poppyseeds or wine.”
“YOU’VE BEEN USING POPPY? How much and for how long, Xenofos?”
“Quite unnecessary to be so upset. It is relatively mild sedative and I have used it in small doses and rarely.”
“For about a year”
“Mixing that with wine is a good way to die. You may be addicted to poppy, Xenofos. Poppy isn’t harmless, even the seeds.”
“If that is addiction I can handle it. Since leaving Nochet first time I have ingested its smoke three times. And the dose has been the one our house apothecary recommended.”
“I need to speak with the House apothecary,” Mellia says, tone grim.
“Apothecary was just doing what you told you would to me, give safer herbs for sleep.” Again, very calm.
“Poppy is addictive, especially when smoked. If you take too much, you will stop breathing. Yet you will need to take more and more,” Mellia replies.
“So far that has not been the case for me.”
“Your luck is not endless,” Mellia warns.
“No, indeed not.” Xenofos’ smile looks like a hollow image of his former self.
“By the way, where did you get the hazia? Was it from that huge, Chaos-tainted stash we found above the Chaos temple?”
“Do you really need or want to know?”
“If it was,” Mellia points out, “you may have acquired Chaos taint or worse. Not only would we need to find a way to remove it, we’d have to save you from Rajar.”
“I don’t think you need to worry of that.”
Mellia confines herself to giving Xenofos a truly nasty look. She is clearly running out of energy.
“It was stupid. I will not do it again. I will face the results.” The voice is earnest and determined.
“Thank the gods,” Mellia says, slumping in exhaustion.
