1629, Earth Season, Disorder Week, Godday
Context
Berra was just chewed up by a telmori, in an attack which hurt many of the young men of Greyrock Fall. Maalira is not yet with the group and does not know this. Season 6, Prax Arc 2.
Events
Maalira was kept in Wilmskirk for a few days after Gunda’s burning, when it was deemed sensible for extra White Ladies to be helping for various reasons, including art fights and a lamentable duel over the correct pose for the noble Berra daughter of King Jarang, secret heir to the Wolf Pirate Island.
It is Godday by the time she gets free of all the arguments. Silor and most of his family have left for his Tula, but there was an offer of a guard to take her Varanis’ way should she wish it.
Silor’s son Jengharl was notably not mentioning Berra’s name.
Maalira gratefully accepts the escort to catch up with Varanis and, oh, her companions.
The escort brings her in towards the Greyrock lands, and deeper and deeper into them. Finally they are met by a local, who asks Maalira straight up, “Are you here to deal with the wounded?”
“The wounded?” Maalira straightens. “What wounded, where?”
“There was a Telmori attack.” The young man says, “We dealt with the sounds but you know how it’s better if you have the Lady’s healing…”
“Of course! Show me the way,” Maalira says, all business.
“It’s up at the end of the path. Just by the fall.” The new guide tells the guard, “It’s alright. They’ve gone. It’s safe to continue.”
“I wasn’t going to stop,” Silor’s man points out reasonably. “But is is good to know you protect the White Lady.”
Maalira starts along the path, already rummaging in her scrip with one hand.
Lofty does what he does best, lumbering in a straight line. “It’s an hour to go,” the hapless youth calls out. He is on foot.
Silor’s guard – Astarmarl Firebull, his name is – has a good pony. He is fine.
“Thank you!” Maalira calls over her shoulder.
Lofty takes half an hour over the distance, and then as the palisade comes into view, a small figure in brown waves and disappears, coming out of the gate as Maalira gets closer. Then she stops, her body language saying she is just remembering something important. She turns away, waving her hands to indicate needing a moment.
Maalira frowns, dismounts, and leads Lofty slowly towards the gate, not wanting to frighten anyone.
Berra stays where she is on the path, looking over her right shoulder at Maalira. Her nose looks pretty badly mashed. “Just so’s you know, I got a lot of scars.”
“What in the name of…” Maalira heaves a breath. “Berra, what happened?! I left you alone for TWO DAYS.”
Berra does not look straight at Maalira. “Telmori. I got my face chewed. Sorry.”
Maalira pinches her nose. “Right. Let’s have a look then, or is there anyone whose needs are more urgent?”
Berra turns to face Maalira. “Nobody’s going to die, but there are a few people who are still chewed up. I’m fine.” Kinda. She should have added something to say she knows what mess the beast made. scars over her right cheek go up to her nose, where the bone must have been broken. The soft tissue there is mashed. On the left, there are tooth marks from ear to eye, and a little twist of a scar where her temple probably broke and the bone moved. Her left eyebrow has a mark right through it, and she is lucky the eyelid was hardly hit. All of the scars are tight or puckered. Orlanthi healing gets the job done in an emergency, but it is not pretty.
Maalira makes a slightly growly noise. “Right, let’s get you sorted out then.”
“No, there are people.” Berra points to the gate. “It’s Godday, so nobody’s wanted to ask the Ernaldans because they were judging on something big, so mostly they’re toughing it out until dusk.”
“Lead the way, then,” Maalira says.
Berra does just that.
Late in the afternoon on Godday, after the shouting, and the healing, and the spear training after the healing, are over, Berra slips down from the pallisade where she is keeping watch and runs out to where a bison and a pony are lumbering along the path to Greyrock Fall. She comes back in with a dismounted Bison Rider, Maalira. Behind them, still on horseback, is a guard, one of SIlor’s old foxes, by the look of him.
Maalira surveys the scene before her.
Mostly, it is people just getting on with their lives. Two young Humakti are training with spears, clumsily, under the eye of an experienced warrior. A few wounded are hanging around enjoying the sunlight, but nobody is looking like they needed a White Lady an hour ago – they are walking wounded, all of them.
Blood on the ground indicates fighting has happened, but it is impossible to puzzle out how much. There looks to be only one big blot of it.1Maalira has failed Battle, and gets no clues what happened from the evidence.
“Right,” Maalira says loudly. “Who’s first?”
Berra points. “Him. He’s limping most.” She points to a warrior sort, or at least a heavily armed farmer sort. The man tries not to look happy about the idea of no longer toughing it out. He is one leaning heavily on a wall.
Maalira approaches with a warm smile. “Where does it hurt?”
“My leg, lady. I got bitten.” He gestures to a heavily-bandaged limb. “And the women are all busy, and you know how scars can be…”
“Of course,” Maalira says, shifting into reassuring White Lady mode. “Can you sit down so that I may heal you?”
He picks up a stick and uses it to help him get to a handy bench. Godday is a time for relaxing after worship and village business, and now there are plenty of people just hanging around.
There are three others who look like they are definitely also wounded. Maalira can tell because they come and casually hang around.
Maalira gets to work on the wound.2Special on First Aid.
There is a bit of work to be done. She can take off the bandage, get everything at the right pressure, everything in the right place… It is old enough that the things that are done to a new wound will not help much, but there are a few tricks, like how and where to put the little bit of magic that will do the what is needed. It will need just a little – far less than it would take an Ernaldan.
All of the wounds look like they were inflicted with teeth. One can be helped best with a little bit of scalpel work, another is doing well but the patient needs reassurance.
And then there is Berra, hanging around obediently with the expression of someone who is doing what they were told, and also has terrible scars keeping the expression pinned in place.
Maalira keeps glancing at Berra as she works through the patients. “I’m sure it must be your turn now.”
“Yeah. My nose feels funny and sideways and I can’t breathe properly when I fight or run.” Berra sits down on the bench. “And my face feels weird when I touch it. Varanis saved my life. I should have mentioned that to you.”
“Is Varanis alright?” Maalira asks, gently probing Berra’s nose.
Berra nods, and then remembers to talk instead. The bone and cartilage are one mess under Maalira’s fingers, and the scars have tiny lightning-shaped puckers and whorls like the Air itself is holding the Humakti together. “I think she’s a bit… she wasn’t there, then she was, so she didn’t get hurt, but I just got bitten then I was alright? She had to see it?” Despite her apparent casual attitude, Berra is very tense up close, snarled up over the whole situation.
Maalira pauses her prodding and puts a gentle hand on Berra’s shoulder. “It’s alright. You’re alright, she’s alright, it’s ok. We’ll get your face straightened out.”
Berra closes her eyes, which does not improve things much. “She’s gone out for a walk or a run or something. She called on Orlanth to keep the Air inside me.”
“That’s good. She will feel better for that, and she’s kept you with us. We need you.” Maalira is using the soft, melodic talking-to-nervous-patients voice. “Now, I’m going to put things more right.”
“Uhuh. I don’t mind if it feels weird.” Berra stares straight ahead, through Maalira.3Maalira passes First Aid, and knows that there are some ways to relieve the scarring.
A few people are hanging around watching, and the two young Humakti have stopped to stare. One of them is Nayale, Berra’s trainee who came all the way through the Grazelands.
Maalira smiles at the young Humakti over her shoulder then goes back to work.
Some pinching, and then… no matter how this is done, it’s going to hurt. Some pain is necessary, and there will be a little blood, but if it is not done, the breathing problems will remain.4GM calls for a Devotion (Chalana Arroy) to know when to stop helping. Maalira passes: here, the minimal possible healing is appropriate. ‘Don’t make the patient more cute by extending this.’
“She just slipped,” the Humakti who is not Nayale explains helpfully, getting into the light.
“Who did?” Maalira asks distractedly.
“The lady. She wouldn’t be taken down by a wolf.”
“Would be,” Berra murmurs, trying not to move.
Maalira looks at Berra. “Did you fall into its mouth?” she asks quietly.
“It… it’s pretty magic, or was. But it was faster than I was.” Berra sighs a little. “I wanna say the sword let me down, but it didn’t. I let me down. It came in under. Must be used to fighting people.”
“Well, that’s only to be expected,” Maalira says sympathetically.
“After she got healed she-” The young man is cut off by Nayale.
“Harmakt, you’re getting in the way. Haven’t you taken up enough time of healers today?”
He deflates, and trudges off. Nayale says, “I expect he’s feeling sore because he didn’t get to fight the weaponthane. Lady Berra’s land is safe, though.”
Maalira arches an eyebrow at Berra. “It can wait until you are better, but I MUST hear the whole story.”
“I can talk now but you do seem to be concentrating.” Berra looks contrite.
“Yes, best to wait,” Maalira says, moving on to another cut.
Berra winces slightly, but lets her get on with it.
- 1Maalira has failed Battle, and gets no clues what happened from the evidence.
- 2Special on First Aid.
- 3Maalira passes First Aid, and knows that there are some ways to relieve the scarring.
- 4GM calls for a Devotion (Chalana Arroy) to know when to stop helping. Maalira passes: here, the minimal possible healing is appropriate. ‘Don’t make the patient more cute by extending this.’
