1628, Earth Season, Fertility Week, Windsday
Context
Maalira has settled Tamakt down to sleep, and Yamia will finally allow herself to be helped. Session S3SA: 02.
Events
Outside the small, subdivided tent, and inside the big open room, Yamia is now looking a little more relaxed. She sips at the drink that Tamakt had, which must now be cool instead of warm, and her attention is mostly on her brother. The silvery lantern has been taken away, but the magical light from outside still provides something close to the illumination of dawn or sunset.
“Tamakt is fast asleep, tucked up next to Berra with Varanis watching over them,” Maalira says by way of greeting.
“Thank you,” she replies, and her expression changes from soft worry for her brother to an alert sort of waiting. Maalira has her attention.
“Right, now, I can’t promise this won’t hurt,” Maalira says, settling herself on the grass next to Yamia’s injured foot. “I’m going to do the best I can to keep it still while I get access, but it won’t be easy.”
“I can sharpen your snips if you will be cutting off the boot,” Yamia offers. “I assume no healing will be available for some weeks, so if you could set the ankle so I can walk, that will be sufficient.”1Note for Maalira: She’s likely to be talking about magical healing – it’s past the rule-based 10 minutes in which you can save something badly mashed by just healing it enough. She’ll need Restore Limb or some other magic, if she wants to have it back to workable. A lot of people will be needing Rune magic from the White Ladies and their allies.
“I think I will have to cut it off, yes, otherwise we will do more damage.” Maalira extracts the snips and holds them out to be sharpened.
Yamia tries, says, “One moment, that did not take,” and then repeats the spell. The inner edges of the scissors gleam.
Maalira starts work on the boot, snipping carefully to avoid the skin, and pulls the leather away.
Yamia makes no sound, although it must hurt.
That’s one hell of a mess. It looks like a massive crush injury has been partially healed. There are several broken bones, and the puffy skin is leaking blood. The boot and the splint were keeping everything together. She is perhaps more fortunate than her brother, in how quickly magic might be able to restore this, but Yamia is also paying with pain as a coin.
Maalira hisses through her teeth. “Alright,” she says slowly. “I’m going to need to clean this and put some stuff on it to make sure there’s no infection. Then I’m going to put it back together as much as I can with just hands, and use bandages, your boot and some wood to make a walking splint. It won’t be great, but it will be safer.”
“Thank you,” Yamia replies. “Your attention is appreciated.” Her face is pale, even more so than normal, and she avoids looking at the damaged foot.
“Would you like to drink something that will help with the pain, before I start?” Maalira offers.
“Yes please,” is the answer, in her usual, evenly modulated tone.
Maalira goes to the table set out for healers’ equipment. She pours a measure of wine into a small cup and adds some powder to it, then collects a bowl of warm water, some cloths, and some other bits and pieces. Her arms are very full as she manages to hand Yamia the cup.
Yamia takes it with a polite smile. “Thank you. My understanding is that if you set it, my magic is more likely to scar it into place.” That is, Humakti healing is brutal, and might very well fix things so she can walk on the broken foot because it is set badly on purpose, by her. It is conceptually a… plan. Very Yamia. See where one wants to be. See where one is. Draw the straightest line between the two and traverse it.
“That is certainly one way to heal it,” Maalira says tactfully. She starts cleaning off the blood and gently prodding, checking for infection.
It is not infected yet, and most of the damage is internal – the skin is keeping things together, at least. “It would not be permanent,” Yamia says, after taking a long sip of the wine.
“Ok, this next bit is going to be the bad bit,” Maalira says. “I need to move the bones around.”
Yamia says, “One moment,” and swirls the last of the wine delicately before draining it, and then she leans back on the chair, takes hold of its edge, and nods. Some unsung heroine of this temple worked out how to take solid camp stools and drill just the right holes so that they could be converted into chairs with little effort. Four sticks and a woven pad make for a back-rest for tired patients, and everything still packs down. Yamia presses her shoulders back against the rest.
- 1Note for Maalira: She’s likely to be talking about magical healing – it’s past the rule-based 10 minutes in which you can save something badly mashed by just healing it enough. She’ll need Restore Limb or some other magic, if she wants to have it back to workable. A lot of people will be needing Rune magic from the White Ladies and their allies.
