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 Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 2:49 pm
This Quest is for Uquin who is striving to become a Healer.
 OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.
IC
It was a well known fact that expert healers were hard to come by. Especially those with years and years of experience under their belt. And in the Jauhar and Tale area, there were none that compared to Rialt. Rialt was a shifter healer living in Jauhar, and his home resided in the northernmost forest, something known to those living near enough to it as the Dying Forest. It was dangerous, and secluded, which was exactly what Rialt wanted. He was a crabby old man, and after years of seclusion has even started to refuse all who come to seek his healing skills.
But it was of interest to those young healers who came to his door to beg and plead for an apprenticeship with the master. And back in Tale, there was a family, all seemingly struck down with the same mysterious poison.
Quest Tasks
||. Uquin should venture into Jauhar’s Dying Forest to meeting with Rialt in order to be taught how to make the antidote for this poisoned family.
||. The antidote will not work unless fresh, so Uquin will have to make it in Tale.
||. Rialt is a hermit who will take a lot of persuading before he’ll do anything except for slamming the door in Uquin’s face.
||. This quest should include leaving the family to find Rialt, persuading Rialt and learning the recipe in order to save the family.
||. This quest should end back in Tale with the cure made by Uquin.
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:25 am
Part I: The Sleeping Family
“You don’t know.” The woman in front of him echoed slowly, as if unsurprised but still horribly devastated by the news. Her green eyes were wide, her features slack with disappointment and mourning. And honestly Uquin couldn’t blame her for being crushed. All around her the world was crumbling; pushing her to run, feverish, through the small village Uquin had been staying at on his way back to Yera, shouting for a healer - any healer. The woman herself was older than Uquin, but only by a few years… a tradeswoman, fresh from the birth of her first child, with a husband who had come back unscathed from the battle at the Fairgrounds. She lived with her husband’s brother and his family - a wife and two more children in a cramped but healthy tree settled in a good place, well built and sturdy.
It was a tragedy that despite the luck in her life - to have a family to help her with her infant, and a husband who came home safely when many others had not… that they would all fall ill to a mysterious affliction. According to the woman, whose name was Ansa, her husband had returned from battle grim and quiet, but thankful for his life, suffering from only a few minor wounds. The threat of war was omnipresent, already a great concern weighing the two young families down - but then the eldest boy-child grew ill, followed by his younger brother. ‘Affecting the weakest first - yet somehow excluding the infant initially’ Uquin had mused to himself.
What had begun innocently as a rapid heartbeat and a mild fever had escalated into a persistent, yet still blessedly mild heat accompanied by either coma or paralysis, Uquin couldn’t tell for sure which. After the children began to worsen, the adults - all three of them, excluding Ansa - had begun to fall ill as well. Ansa had only been feeling the slightest of fevers when she realized her infant falling to the mystery illness as well. Leading to her feverish desperation as she ran over the pathways from tree to tree in her search for a healer, despite knowing there usually was none to be found here. The small settlement was a cohabitation of Shifters and Leaf Earthlings, settled on the borderlands between Yera and Sol, and being such a small community meant there were no healers. Except for him, a traveling prentice.
Deciding to be honest with the woman, Uquin took a deep breath, surveying the family, settled still and quiet on their palettes, all overtaken by coma including the small girl-child, who Uquin had convinced Ansa to set down when he mentioned holding her might harm her breathing. Ansa herself swayed occasionally, but panic kept her awake and this forced wakefulness gave Uquin the best tip to this mystery ailment. “The symptoms you mentioned are fever and erratic heartbeat - you said the children slept after half a day. Then the adults after a full day. You felt your first symptom… shortly before your husband fell to sleep, am I right?” Ansa nodded, her eyes darting to her sleeping husband, a Shifter man, then to her child, still small, and now quiet in what looked like sleep.
“You’re shaking - your breath is rapid. But your eyes appear blown, as are your husband’s eyes.”
“What does this all mean though?” Ansa nearly sobbed, rubbing her hands over her arms, her eyes still locked on her young family. Her voice carried a tinge of accusation, but Uquin didn’t take it personally - he was shaken, himself, from this family’s misfortune. He couldn’t be sure if her shaking was from panic, or a symptom - and if it was a symptom it meant that her family had either stopped shaking, or were physically unable to - paralysis. “The first to become ill, your nephew, has been asleep for more than a day. His heartbeat has slowed, but it doesn’t seem dangerously so for the moment. If this is a coma, whatever caused it should leave his system and he’ll wake - but if this is paralysis…” he trailed off, wincing. Ansa noticed, and moved to settle her hand over her child, biting her lip. “If this is paralysis, there’s a chance it will leave his system - remain the same as it is now, and he will starve or dehydrate - or … will worsen, and he will cease to breathe.”
Ansa sobbed, large tears breaking free from her eyelashes, and for a long moment she rocked, grief-stricken, by her child. Just the risk that death could come from this was enough. Uquin was almost certain this was paralysis, and if it was then water should have flushed the toxin from the brain. Either they would stay the same, or worsen - this he was nearly certain of. But soon Ansa would sleep as well, and he didn’t want to send her to her sleep with certainty of never waking again.
The prentice had respectfully averted his eyes from Ansa’s misery, but was shocked from it when he felt her tear-wet hands grip his own, quite suddenly. When he raised his eyes, he looked into her face - which had shifted from terrified to defiant. It took him aback, and he stared at the woman, his mouth slightly open.
“You have to find Healer Rialt.” Ansa said, her voice breathless but filled with conviction. Uquin’s eyebrows furrowed for she had said, herself, that the village had no healer. Thankfully she clarified, her hands now holding his own in a tight, vice-like grip. “Healer Rialt. Years ago he was the one who we turned to for aid - the one who helped birth our children, and fixed our ailments - but he’s grown old.” She shook her head, one hand releasing Uquin so she could hastily wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. “Old and selfish. He lives in the Dying Forest - to the north, separated from us by the dark forests there. You must - you MUST seek him! He’ll know how to help us, please - please.” She clasped Uquin’s hand tighter, so tight that he winced and tried to pull his hand away, but was unable.
Of course he wanted to help her - he did! But a place like Dying Forest… surely he, a Prentice, couldn’t venture inside without some sort of protection? And even if he did, he had no clue how to navigate in Jauhar - no idea what sort of monsters were there, and he could just doom himself to circling around the forest while the family wasted away, even if some monster resisted tearing the flesh from his bones. There was no guarantee --
Yet when Uquin looked up at Ansa, she was pale, hopeful. She was a stranger, and she was desperate. She didn’t know Uquin, and he certainly didn’t owe her anything, and yet this young mother was trusting her family, and her own life, to him. The clasped hands around his own weren’t trapping him here, they were settling the weight of her burden on his hands, asking silently for him to accept the task - to save them, despite the fact he didn’t know how to do so with his own hands.
She was giving him some chance to leave this place without the knowledge that a young family had only had a prentice to turn to for help, and was giving him the chance to alleviate the weight from his mind. So after a long moment, his belly tight with fear, he nodded and shifted his hands in her own, returning the grip - accepting that weight. Uquin may not be able to save this young family, but he would go to find this Healer, Rialt. And if -- no, when he found him he’d make sure to return successfully.
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 12:29 pm
Part II: The Glowing Path
Uquin’s first trek into a Jauhar forest had been traveling with a group of Leaf Earthlings from Yera to the Fairgrounds for the war - a harrowing enough journey, he had thought at the time. Of course what he hadn’t realized at the time was that the traffic from the rest of Tendaji to the Faire months before had left a large swathe cut through the forest - relieving many travelers from the true sweltering experience of the jungle. The strange, foreign and downright intimidating nature of the odd glowing, humid land had somehow been diminished. The cut paths had produced the barest of breezes.
But now he had descended into the ‘real’ jungle - and to be honest, Uquin didn’t feel prepared in the least. By the time he left Ansa’s home he had worked himself up with optimism and self importance, and his agreement to find Rialt had rewarded him with Ansa’s features blossoming into a soft smile. To help in his search Ansa presented him with a short sword, for protection, which he had tied dutifully to his belt, simply happy to have some sort of blade. Her last gift was a half-used jar of some sort of strange lotion-like mixture, which she’d folded meticulously into his satchel, claiming it to be a Panacea of sorts - against the many poisons of the Jauhar wilderness.
Time being of the essence, Uquin left her side immediately after receiving her gifts, pausing only long enough to collect some more information on this ‘Rialt’ figure. What he heard worried him more than he wanted to admit - the first warning was that the Dying Forest was the worst place for someone to go, especially an outsider. One older woman had shot a glare up to Ansa’s house, cursing quietly, leaning towards Uquin as if sharing a secret, “She ought not tie her hopes to that old Healer - many young Healers have been lost to that forest searching him out. It would be best to make her peace with the Silver Lady, Serin.”
Uquin had initially thought the woman callous in the face of Ansa’s misfortune, but he got a similar sentiment from the few others he spoke to. The village people seemed to care for Ansa, but their opinion of seeking out Rialt rarely faltered - Rialt was a waste of time. For nearly twenty years he’d lived in the Dying Forest - and for the last ten of them he had turned away all who tried to call on him, through any means necessary. “You don’t even know how to deal with the Carnivorous Vines - or Menzuri! Boy, it’s suicide to go into that forest - you’ve done your duty, just move on and let us tend to our own.” An elderly man said, sternly, shaking his head at Uquin’s refusal of his advice.
But now … the green-eyed prentice was realizing what he’d gotten himself into. For a short ways outside of the strange village there was something that may have been a pathway - leading south and west towards Sol. From there, a large glowing crystal had been erected to mark the path towards the Dying Forest. “That old Rialt used to mark a path to his house, but it’s long gone - your best bet is to to follow the path of crystals. If you don’t find him within a day, just turn around and walk straight back out.” The old man had conceded.
Uquin only now realized what he meant. In Tale, a path was… well. A well-worn road throughout the plains, matched up to carefully cropped forest, meticulous so as to preserve as many life-nourishing roots and pods as possible. Any new roads or paths were frowned upon, so this… lively chaos was intimidating. Every pocket and knapse of a tree was filled with some living thing- often large, making his heart shoot into his throat only to realize it was a mass of Illo, or Sumuda stirring in the branches. The glowing life of the forest made every corner look intimidating.
And that was even before he turned at the large, glowing crystal down a path that was more windy than he had expected. Every few paces Uquin paused, wiping sweat from his brow and casting his eyes suspiciously along the ground. Rocks and crystals had been embedded into the moist mulch-like ground - but long since had begun to sink into the wet froth of the life-filled jungle, which was eager to take it back. Once there had been rows of glowing mushrooms planted along the path to guide the way, torn away allegedly by Rialt when he decided to throw away his Healer’s hands and become a recluse. But now the only trace of such a path was the occasional stubborn mushroom, or the subtle glow from under the dark mud of mycelium networks, rooted together. These were Uquin’s hope - that he could gently scrape away the mud until he saw where the networks led.
Not for lack of Rialt throwing off any who tried find him. At one juncture, split by a huge, hulking tree into three paths, Uquin spotted a trail of mushrooms in the distance, and in his eagerness had almost rushed down this path, some small part of his brain insisting that Rialt had had a change of heart and had left the path closer to his home intact. But some small part of his mind said it seemed too simple - so just to be sure Uquin knelt beside the three-way split, taking a crystal in hand and scraping away the dark, moist mulch underfoot. Indeed, the complex strings of the mushroom’s roots led a different route, and Uquin found himself growing more infuriated with this damned man, especially after being told how many Healers had disappeared into this forest searching the man out.
And this was all assuming the mycelium path was the right way to go - for it was likely that that horrible Shifter may had planted it as a ruse, another hole to jump through. Uquin could only hope that old man’s solitary lifestyle had kept him from bothering cover his tracks so thoroughly, and had simply assumed any trying to seek him out would give up easily.
Hours had passed - enough that the lights Uquin had sometimes seen filtering through the dense foliage overhead had begun to dim, and the eerie blue light shining up against red and purple plants quickly filled the young earthling with unease. The very idea of passing a night in this place was just… unthinkable. Holding his small blade tight against his hip, Uquin finally had to concede that if he didn’t find some trace of civilization before the last of light fell from above, then he’d have to give up - make camp where he stopped for the night, and just turn back come morning. Which… filled him with dread, sadness. Ansa and her family was so young… and returning without a cure somehow felt much worse than if he had not come. Because it meant he had FAILED. Beyond all that, however, some small part of Uquin… selfishly, deep down where he never wanted to see, he had had a small hope, a wiggling suggestion that whispered into his mind that this selflessness would convince even cold-hearted Rialt to take him as an apprentice.
Turning his thoughts aside, Uquin continued his walk, wincing as he followed the glowing mycelium, pausing every few meters to scrape at the dirt again to see if he was still following the path. It was such incredible luck then that just as Uquin turned his head up to peek at the fading light from the canopy above - he saw something in the distance. Half recessed into a copse of trees a few meters off the path was what appeared to be a … shack. But Jauhar was such a place that wood, of a non-living variety, lasted a short while out here. Rotten and damp, the wood had turned dark from the wetness of rain and humidity - the wood quitting who knew how long ago to slump, pathetically, against the living tree beside it.
Climbing through the vegetation of the jungle floor, Uquin carefully opened the slanted, door of the shack - his nose wrinkling at the smell of must from within. It was just a shack - clearly abandoned, Uquin thought derisively, shaking his head mournfully at his findings. However - as he came closer, peering into the building, he saw inside not the molded decay of living things, per se, but … what appeared to be a carefully cultivated mushroom hut. Inside were different funguses or varying hues - some glowing more brightly than the others he’d seen, while others were dim or didn’t glow at all. Carefully drawing a hand over his mouth, in case of spores, Uquin stepped back out of the shack and peered around the shack, eyes widening in growing hope and relief as he realized that each tree, around this small clearing, had its bark meticulously peeled away. Wasn’t the bark of Jauhar trees medicinal? And yes - the further Uquin looked, the more he realized that rope ladders had been hung in the tree limbs, leading all the way up, where nearly the entire northern sides of the trees had been bared - and were regrowing under carefully applied moss and mud compounds tied to the smooth sides of the trees.
Uquin had found it - maybe not Rialt himself, yet, but some small proof of the man’s continued living out in this reclusive forest. And somehow without running into a single monster, Menzuri nest or otherwise. A dopey smile rose on the boy’s lips, and he could only sag in relief against the naked tree, his hand settled in disbelief against his sweat-soaked forehead.
He could live here - for a short while. He knew to follow the mycelium back - now all he had to do was stay and climb the trees, waiting until Rialt appeared. ‘Only one day out - not impossibly far, and if I can convince him within the next three to four days then Ansa’s family has hope to recover.’ Uquin thought, giddily. He just had to wait.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 7:48 am
Part III: Always a Family
Uquin was used to being woken up violently. Back home, Isaya had often tossed him from his bed with a loud shout and a slap with a pillow. This, however, was its own wake-up call - a foot digging into his ribs, kicking him from where he’d fallen asleep curled up in a makeshift hammock at the top of the trees. The morning after his first night in the jungle had been a huge relief, bringing with it at least some increased visibility, even if the glowing, dark forest never really lit up, like the forests at home did. His morning had been spent trying to find some sort of fresh water to drink. This was a problem quickly solved when the rain above the jungle opened up and began to pour. His first attempt was to dig a hole in the ground to catch the rain, but the dense, mulch-like soil had greedily stolen, and so the Earthling could only think to greedily cup his hands under a leaf and guzzle as much as he could before the impromptu rain quit its work.
Whatever he was able to drink was quickly perspirated, however, so Uquin instead endeavored to find things to eat. But this was Jauhar - the land of poisonous plants, and so even in this Uquin conceded he was out of his league. Between the heat, humidity, being rained on until his body was slick with both sweat and water from the above canopies, his feet streaked with mud, and his head pounding from what must be dehydration and overexertion, Uquin had torn down what vines he could find along the path and hastily prepared a hammock, like he’d been taught during his stay in Neued after the battle, tying it up at the top of the vine-rope ladder and resting there as much as he could.
During the night he had been awoken by yet more rain - as well as the sound of something scratching at the bottom of the tree, the sound of numerous footsteps below reducing him to a shivering mess of a prentice, swearing that he saw glowing eyes whenever he looked down. In his dreams he was eaten alive by menzuri, wound tight in their webs.
So a kick was never a warm wakeup call, but it was much better than the piercing slide of fangs in his flesh. He let out a shriek, rolling to the side then clinging to the hammock at the last second as, with a terrifying lurch of vertigo, he peered down and saw the forest floor low beneath him. Confused and sleep muddled, Uquin turned his eyes to the side - and saw him. A shifter man stood, barefoot, his feet braced against the branches with the assuredness of someone who climbed through the trees every day of his life. He looked younger than Uquin would have assumed - cleanshaven, his long white hair messy, the wrinkles around his brows and face hard to see during the day.
Uquin had assumed the man to be strong and sure, yet when Uquin nearly fell the old man erupted into a peal of laughter at his expense, tossing his head back with the social grace of a true hermit. Uquin glared, somehow swinging upright in the hammock, his belly clenched in fear as he shakily climbed from it and gripped his hands against the tree, trusting it more than the vines. “You -- why would you -- I could’ve fallen! Broken my neck!”
“You’re fine, boy.” The man snickered, looking down at him with a derisive sniff. Casually, the old man turned and began clambering down from where he’d been standing, gripping the vines for support as he swung himself down from the top of the tree and instead climbed down the rickety vine ladder. On the forest floor the old man was just as at home as he’d been in the trees, his hands on his hips as he peered up at Uquin, who was still only just now swinging uncertainly to the vines. “I thought you leafers lived in trees too? You’re as shaky as a Poscuta up there.”
“We have actual ladders. And walkways.” Uquin shot back, glaring at the resulting laugh as he gracelessly wobbled down the ladder, tendering stepping into the muddy froth of the jungle floor again with a sigh. Even if relief at finding… well, Rialt assumedly, only barely outweighed the annoyance at being woken and made fun of. The moment Uquin alighted on the ground again, the old man mumbled something approving and turned away, gesturing roughly towards the path that Uquin had followed to get here. “Alright, boy. Follow that path and you’ll get out of here. Run along now, you have a war to get to don’t you?” The old man grumbled, snorting as if he thought the idea was funny.
Bristling, Uquin turned to face him, shaking his head and taking a few quick steps to face the old Shifter, his fists drawn in determination. “No, I’m not - well yes I was in the battle, I suppose, but I’m not a fighter. I’m a --”
“Do you think I care what sort of danger you put yourself in, kid?” The man suddenly said, loudly, throwing his hands into the air. “I’ve long stopped caring about you people putting yourself at risk. It’s not my responsibility anymore. Do what you want!” The shifter shook his head, then turned back to Uquin, lifting his eyebrows expectantly. “But why are you still here. I told you how to get out of the forest - so leave.”
Ah. So that was it. Uquin leaned back slightly on the heels of his feet, rubbing his fingers together - and maybe his nervous behavior was enough for a click of realization to light up in the man’s mind. This was definitely Rialt - he knew it. The man stared, then looked Uquin over, and then cursed, swinging around to slap his hand against the rotten wood of the mushroom shed. “Oh, let me guess - a healer. Should’ve gotten rid of this damned thing years ago. How did you find me? You can’t have just stumbled across this place.” Rialt rounded on Uquin, crossing his arms over his chest - and it was only now, standing on equal footing, that Uquin realized the man was solidly built - old, yes, but strengthened by living on his own in the jungle. If he really wanted, this man could blow him away with a whispered word - assuming he was as powerful as people claimed. Even without magic, Uquin had never been strong - and this old man looked to have another decade of life in him, easily.
“I… won’t tell you.” Uquin said, frowning and raising his chin. The old man raised his eyebrows, then shook his head. “I won’t tell you until you --” Uquin continued, but was cut off by the sudden motion of a hand being held up, followed by the bright eyes of the old Healer. “I told you, leafling, I don’t care about the world’s little problems anymore. I don’t care if you’ve found my mushroom hut. This is a big forest, and I know every inch of it. All I’d need to do is lose track of you in the trees and you’ll be lost out here, forever. So do what I say, boy - and go home. I’m not taking apprentices.” As soon as this was said, Rialt turned away from Uquin, grumbling angrily, kicking open the slanted door of the mushroom hut to step inside. Uquin gaped at him, then stepped closer, watching as the man meticulously picked handfuls of mushrooms, shoving them carelessly into the many pockets of his tunic. “You can’t -- you can’t be like this! There are people out there who are sick and NEED a healer, and you’re… ignoring them?!” Uquin suddenly exclaimed, then sucked in a regretful breath when the man froze, then turned to look him over incredulously.
“And why not?” Rialt asked, calmly, shoving one last mushroom into his pocket. “Does being a healer mean giving up my own peace of mind for the rest of my life? I’ve birthed and healed more people than you’ve MET, boy - I don’t owe anything to anyone. To this war - to any village. Least of all to some full of himself LEAFLING who wants to become my apprentice so badly he’d infringe on my privacy!” Rialt spat, then shoved past Uquin, who stood blustering, confused by what he was hearing. A healer? Turning his back on those he could help - why? Peace of mind?
Apparently his words had infuriated the healer, because Rialt began to amble off away from the hut, carrying his pocketfuls of mushrooms - and Uquin had no choice but to trail after him, stumbling inexperienced in the thick, mushy grass of the jungle. “Mas-- Sir -- Elder! I don’t … I don’t want to be your apprentice! There’s a family, a family that is sick and I simply need the cure--”
“And let me just explain to you your problem.” Rialt shouted back, continuing to step into the forest, fully abandoning the path - he was doing just as he’d said, moving quickly through the unfamiliar and untamed brush of the jungle, trying to leave Uquin behind. Uquin had to grip at his bags to keep from tangling in the dense undergrowth, feet sliding into inches of mush, dead vegetation, and slimy insects as he followed. “There is ALWAYS a family. There’s ALWAYS someone who needs a Healer to help them - you can’t save everyone.” The man continued walking as he spoke, so bits of his words sounded quiet to Uquin, beyond his loud breathing as he fought to keep up, quickly tiring himself in the thick brush. “Eventually, kid, you’ll get tired of it too - you’ll only ever be the Healer of the village, and once you’re gone there’ll be another - and another. Everyone will take and take until you’ve got nothing left to give.”
Finally Rialt stopped, in another clearing, far off the trail - far enough that Uquin knew he’d be lost in this forest, perhaps forever, if he lost track of the man. The earthling tripped out of the brush with a gasp, briefly bending down to rest his hands on his knees, fighting to catch his breath - legs and arms scratched from the short romp through the trees that had left the older man unscathed, and unphased. Instead Rialt stared at Uquin, as if expecting some sort of answer. He didn’t say another word - he simply watched Uquin. The younger man gasped for breath, peering up at Rialt, his eyebrows furrowed in question, but when he finally realized he was supposed to answer he tossed about in his mind for something to say. “You’re the best healer in Jauhar- I was told this by many people in the village! By holding yourself here, and denying medicinal knowledge from a new generation of healers, you’re harming--”
Here, Rialt began to laugh - his head tossed back to the sky, his laugh like a dog’s bark, sharp and whiplike, agitating Uquin further. “That’s not MY fault. The young healers had all my scrolls and books - they had my knowledge, and they threw it away to come seek an apprenticeship in person, for namesake. It’s hardly my fault they got lost in the forest.”
“Because you tore up the mushroom paths!” Uquin shouted, offended and accusing. How could this man - he may have lured healers into a Menzuri nest due to removing those mushrooms! But Rialt shook his head, sneering at him. “This started long before I tore those blasted fungi apart. No, foolhardy prentices and healers have done this for years - waiting until the newest outbreak of plague. Then they come in the name of the village, trading their selflessness for my naivete. I won’t fall for it - I know you’re here for an apprenticeship, just like the others. And just like ALL The others, I’ll tell you the same thing-” Rialt stared at Uquin, and suddenly he stepped closer - crowding the young earthling, standing in his space until Uquin had no choice but to grimace and and back away from the man’s intimidating stare.
“You. Can’t Save. Everyone.”
“But the cure for this family…” Rialt made a loud noise of annoyance, pacing away from the earthling like an angry dog, tossing accusing looks over his shoulder as he walked in the small clearing. “Assuming I DID know whatever ailment this family had. Or how to fix it. Once you save them, then what?”
...What? Uquin opened his mouth to answer, but the question was just… it made no sense. “If I save them … then they’re alive.” He said, softly, his hand dropping to rest on the hilt of the sword that Ansa had loaned him.
“And these people are special, somehow?”
“Huh??” Uquin’s eyes snapped up - and this time when he realized Rialt was still staring, the man almost seemed sad. “Are these people special to you? Are they your best friends - your loved ones. Your family?”
“...”
Rialt watched Uquin as he averted his eyes. For a moment they stood, silently, then the old man sighed, running his hand through his long, wild hair. “They’re just a family. There’s always a family out there who needs your help.” Rialt repeated - but this time it sounded more like a mantra. Uquin turned his eyes to the old man, who had now turned away, his hand settled over his pockets, where he’d stuffed the mushrooms. The thought would’ve been funny, the way this sad old man was gripping mushrooms in his pockets - but the motion reminded Uquin of something.
“If you don’t care about healing, then why are you growing herbal fungi?” Uquin asked, his voice quiet - questioning. At first he wondered if Rialt heard. The man continued to gaze up towards the canopy of the jungle, his hand settled over his pocket. Then he turned to look at Uquin, snorting at his words. “Little leafling thinks he’s somehow figured me out? Don’t be naive, kid. I grow them out of habit. And to eat. And to have something to do.” Rialt cackled at his own words, but stepped close to Uquin again, suddenly looking at him - really looking. His eyes swept over Uquin’s figure, taking in his scratched legs and feet - his mud-caked legs, and haphazard hair. It seemed to amuse him, but his gaze almost seemed sad to Uquin. Which was better than the dismissiveness of before.
“Say you save this family. Good for you. But say you return empty handed - what killed this family?”
“ Poison - sickness. Whatever it is they--”
“No. Child, listen.” Rialt adjusted his stance, holding his hands up - open, towards Uquin. “You’re a healer. The town looks to you to heal their injured. You successfully birth children. You heal the sick. You sew the wounds, and solve the mysteries of the earth. Eventually it’ll happen - you reach into yourself, and find that there’s no cure. Or the birthing went perfectly, and the child is stillborn. Or the mother bleeds. You give the antidote, but it’s too late, or you give the antidote and your patient is simply too weak to heal anyway. Who KILLED these people?”
“To be a healer is to be respected. To be sought out. But to be a healer is to be a pariah. You’re responsible for your victories AND your failures. You save this family, but lost the other - you played favorites. Or you’re incompetent. And this will NEVER end. Not for you, not for me.” Rialt chuckled, sadly, patting the mushrooms in his pockets. “To be a healer is to spend your life fighting a losing battle against death, stealing more time away. And you always lose against death.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:42 am
Part IV: Buryheart
After dropping his apparent truth onto Uquin, Rialt at least had the kindness to sit still, chomping on mouthfulls of mushrooms and scrounged up worms as Uquin sat, reflecting on what he’d been told. Eventually the old man wandered away, but Uquin followed him - dropping his thoughts long enough to traipse through the dense undergrowth after him. Rialt had a schedule, it seemed - come to the mushroom hut in the morning to collect mushrooms, then take them to a small dark space under the torn up roots of a huge tree, crawling into the mulch on his belly planting them carefully in rows. Large mushrooms - glowing brightly, much more brightly than any mushroom Uquin had seen out in the rest of this forest, winked at him under these roots, huge and foreign. ‘He’s cultivating his own mushrooms - for food? Or medicine?’ Uquin wondered, but his thoughts were dull compared to the pounding of his head, as it tried to turn over what Rialt had told him in the morning. It was only day two - and as they wondered about, Rialt would occasionally stop and bark at Uquin to leave. But the boy was stubborn and followed him at the heel, so eventually the old man simply fell into annoyed grumbles.
He seemed to have taken pity on the prentice, however, because his steps slowed and as the day passed he stopped trying to lose Uquin altogether. This gave the boy more time to think.
All this time he’d come to think that becoming a healer would be… well. A blessing. He’d always enjoyed it, healing those who were injured. And he’d had his first taste of death at the battle - even if the mage, Biroki, had helped keep him from the real horror. His thoughts turned to the Alkidike woman he had healed, who had chosen to stand and go back into the field. Was this what Rialt meant? That he could fight to heal someone, and then something else happened? That he really had no control over anything? That he was doomed to be the quiet, ignored boy in the village - to grow to be the respected, but also detested healer? It seemed wrong - as a child he’d idolized healers. Not because they controlled death, but because of their selflessness. Their tired eyes, and smiles as they helped their villages with apparently little reward. It was a busy life - a stressful life. But even as a youngling Uquin had watched them attentively, and wanted to step into their place when the healers left his small town. But did this mean Uquin really had it in him to walk down this path for the rest of his life? Because as much as Uquin hated to admit it, Rialt had a point.
Being a healer, in his youth, the man had been the one that villagers thought of when they needed a miracle. And Uquin thought back to the dismissive jeers of some of the villagers - thinking of Rialt and snorting, saying the family of Ansa was as good as dead. ‘But that could be because he hasn’t lifted a finger to help in years.’ Uquin thought, trying to find some angle - some weakness in Rialt’s defenses.
Rialt somehow had a way of taking Uquin everywhere, and yet nowhere. Throughout the length of the day they circled back to the mushroom hut, an endless circle that Rialt seemed eager to circulate, until Uquin decided to leave. He pointedly avoided anywhere with food or water, and if hoping Uquin would tire and ask to be led out of the jungle. It wasn’t until the light of the canopy above began to dim that Rialt groaned and threw his hands into the air. “Are you going to follow me around forever?! There’s nothing HERE for you, I told you that!”
“You haven’t told me how to heal Ansa’s family.” Uquin said, stubbornly, his voice a harsh rasp. The jungle was hot, and he had sweat hard all day - his lips were dry, as was his throat, and he felt tired and angry. Too annoyed to play Rialt’s mind games, anymore. The man sneered at him, but then grunted, shaking his head. “If I tell you how to heal them, then they’ll all come to me for every one of their problems.”
Uquin looked up, quickly. Did he -- was Rialt… “ They… they won’t find you. I followed the mycelium roots here - if you tear those up, no one will be able to find the path out here.” Uquin watched the old man, finding himself smiling weakly when the man tossed his head and laughed that doglike laugh again. “Smart boy! Told you about the old mushroom road… I see.” He shook his head, chuckling, then sighed gruffly and slapped his hands against his knees, looking up at Uquin with a critical, but thoughtful eye. “You aren’t my apprentice. You never will be - I don’t take apprentices.”
“You’ve already taught me the most important lesson, haven’t you?” Uquin interrupted, and for a moment Rialt froze, staring at him. Then his lips broke into a grin and he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Heh- y’caught me, boy. That’s true. Take it to heart, did you?”
“You’re an ornery old man. I may not be able to save anyone, but at least I’ll try.” Uquin’s words were sharp, his patience worn too thin to be delicate - but to his luck Rialt simply snorted and made an appreciative motion with his large, emotional hands. “You’ll understand someday, even if you don’t understand now. Fine. Come, follow me.” Rialt turned away from Uquin and stepped behind a tree that -- honestly Uquin had thought was a thick tree trunk. Upon closer inspection, however, as he stepped closer he realized it was a large series of roots, twined together by nature - and that the old shifter had disappeared like a viper, wriggling carefully through the roots and into the tree itself.
Wide-eyed, Uquin carefully squeezed in after him - and found himself stumbling into a humongous, hollow tree. The inside had the large glowing mushrooms from Rialt’s secret garden planted in small patches of mulch throughout the height, vines and carefully implanted wooden structures leading in paths up meters and meters of the tall tree. Parts of it still lived - serving as the base for Rialt’s adjustments, but a huge amount seemed to have rotted away thanks to rain water, and had been arduously scraped away with what looked like magic. Rialt easily swung himself up onto a creaky ladder, climbing up a few levels of his home base and disappearing overhead. As Uquin climbed after him, he realized that Rialt had a fine series of gardens - with different colored soil, and bright cultivated plants that Uquin had never seen before.
The old man was standing by what looked to be a natural made basin, pouring a powder into it. As the prentice stepped closer, he realized it was a natural cauldron that had gathered water that dripped down the length of the tree - and the old healer explained that he was pouring a powder in that was counteracting poisons that the water had absorbed naturally as it traveled to this place. Uquin should be suspicious, but he was so thirsty that the moment Rialt offered the water, he all but dumped his head into it, drinking greedily and ignoring the throaty laugh of the old man.
Thankfully the water wasn’t poisoned - and after he ate offered mushrooms and beans and roots (Talean, imported and grown in soil Rialt proudly insisted he had carried all the way from Yera to here), the two sat together, talking about the mysterious symptoms of Ansa’s family.
“All the family hit, and yet the mother and baby were affected last?” Rialt asked, suspiciously, snorting at the recounting of the mystery illness. His eyes had lit up initially, claiming that the symptoms of the family sounded like Buryheart poisoning, only for that spark to be stamped out when Uquin said the family had caught it from one another.
“A transmissible poison? I’d still say Buryheart, but the infant is an oddity.”
“Buryheart? Is that a Jauhar poison?” Uquin asked around a mouthful of mushroom - which he was quickly realizing was his new favorite thing. Rialt raised his eyebrows at him, but Uquin shrugged his shoulders, innocently. He’d been without food for almost two full days, and he was ravenous. Luckily the old healer didn’t seem to mind Uquin guzzling his food. Maybe, deep down, Uquin wondered, Rialt didn’t mind having a guest.
“Yes - it’s a plant that grows here. It used to be very common, but the plant is incredibly dangerous - AND useful. Many healers overpicked it when I was a boy - so now it’s mostly grown in private gardens, or special apothecaries.”
“Ah-- a poison that’s also a cure for something? What for?” Uquin asked, understanding. There were plants in Tale that worked the same - though Jauhar was the queen of poisonous, terrifying ailments and conditions.
“As a cure it decreases inflammation and numbs pain. As a poison it causes all of that - sleep, tremors, blown eyes - the lot of it. How it affected an entire family is the only thing I can’t understand!” Rialt groaned and shook his head, slapping his hand against the ground. “I don’t miss these mysteries.”
Uquin grunted softly, admitting that it was… incredibly frustrating. A poison that sounded exactly like a plant - that had no way of being transferred to the entirety of a family. And the only thing he could think was… the mother. Uquin was quiet for a long moment, then suddenly looked up, gaping at Rialt. “Would Buryheart be transferred through skin to skin contact? Or breast milk?”
The old man looked up at him, frowning in thought. “Skin to skin - no, not unless you were rubbing it all over yourself. And you’d have to dilute the leaves for weeks to get enough liquid to accomplish it - breast milk though, maybe, if she’d been convinced to take it by mouth. But that doesn’t explain…What is THAT?”
Before Rialt could finish, Uquin quickly rolled from where he was sitting and pulled open his bag, digging through it - and pulling out the half-used jar that Ansa had packed in his bag. “A Panacea - at least, that’s what she said.”
“A cure-all? For what?” Rialt asked in disbelief, snorting back a laugh and reaching to take the jar, peering at it. He popped open the lid and took a sniff, then stared down into the bottle. “No… surely no one is THAT stupid.”
“What?? She said it was for poison - and pain.” A hopeful smile rose onto Uquin’s lips, and he knew from the way that Rialt was staring back at him that they’d found it. This simple tincture was the culprit - he just didn’t know how it had happened, specifically. But that didn’t matter - they had the concoction, now they just had to make the cure.
“You’re telling me that this family received a panacea - probably a crock one made from Buryheart, and somehow all of them took it? And were poisoned?”
“My guess is somebody in that war camp brought these to sell, but didn’t have any clue what they were doing. Buryheart lotion is sold to relieve pain from pulled muscles, magical ailments - so this returned soldier probably brought it home with him and shared it with the family. Everyone else took it as people got sick, and finally…”
Uquin sighed, closing his eyes. “Ansa got scared, trusted this was a panacea, and applied the lotion to herself and the baby to keep the infection at bay. It makes sense.” And yes, they really WERE that stupid.
“What’s the cure?”
“Easy.” Rialt responded, grinning.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 9:04 am
Part V: Cured
In the end, the antidote for the Buryheart poison was insultingly easy to make. The antidote was made from the freshly ground beans of a plant that grew above the canopy - taking the beans and pressing them into a paste, mixed together with a small amount of the Buryheart and ingested. After showing Uquin how to mix the antidote, Rialt filled a small satchel with them - many more than Uquin would ever need, but ‘enough that even a fledgling healer like you can’t mess it up.’
They waited through the last night, and by the time dawn struck upon the jungle Rialt had led the prentice all the way back to the large crystal that marked the path into the Dying Forest. The old man stood, hands on his hips, watching Uquin as he peered down the path, only an hour’s walk from the village, his eyes turning back to the old Healer - one that he was sure he would never see again, especially if Rialt had his way.
“You’re really going to live the rest of your life out here?” Uquin found himself asking, sighing softly when the old man barked out his strange laugh again and tossed his head back. “Been living out here since you were a youngling, kid. It doesn’t bother me at all.” The man said with a smirk, patting Uquin on the shoulder.
“But see - that’s what’s strange. You have all these medicines - and you’re loopy, but not like someone alone in a forest should be. Where ARE all those healers who went looking for you?” Uquin asked, brightly, tilting his head at the old man - and to his surprise, Rialt looked a bit taken aback. Then he burst into laughter, slapping his knee and shaking his head. “Well - I guess you’ll never get to find out my secrets after all, kid.” Rialt said, smirking. Then he stepped away from him, gesturing down the path, “Now go on. You have a role to play - and I’m looking forward to hearing what you decide.”
Before Uquin could ask more, the old man disappeared into the growth - and disappeared. Uquin stared, his mouth agape, and for the first time he realized that Rialt could have lost him in that forest easily, at any time.
Where were the healers - and how on earth did a hermit expect to hear ANY news about what Uquin, or anyone else, got up to? It was all so suspect, and yet - Uquin had his cure. Gripping the bag tightly, Uquin gazed into the jungle, then took a deep breath and walked down the path, away from it, and back to Tale.
The end of the entire fiasco was rather anticlimactic. Returning to Ansa’s house, he found that she had indeed fallen into a coma - and the elderly woman he had questioned had reported to the house to care for them. She watched him, surprised but also hopeful, as Uquin retrieved a mortar and pestle and crushed the beans, adding the few ingredients just as he’d been shown. ‘A poison to cure a poison’ he thought, remembering that Rialt had told him this mixture was a poison in itself - only the perfect combination to cure the poison already in their systems. Taking a deep breath, Uquin opened the mouth of the first family member - and applied the cure.
Within a day the infant woke, her small body able to purge the toxins more quickly and thoroughly. The children followed, and by the end of the second night the family had all awoken, yawning, and fallen back into a natural sleep.
When asked about Rialt, Uquin said the old man had been led him on a goose chase - and that he had inadvertently led him to where the beans grew. It was a weak excuse, but Rialt and Uquin had agreed that continuing to play the villain was what Rialt wanted - he didn’t want the village seeking him, even if Uquin had his suspicions about the truth of Rialt’s hermit life in the forest. And with all that said and done, Uquin was lauded - slapped on the back in success, cheered upon by the family, and embraced tearfully by Ansa, the young mother.
But the most important lesson Uquin had learned was that success wasn’t the end of it. This had turned out well, but Rialt had made it clear to him in every way that this role - of healer - would poison him with bitterness one day, surely. Just like the Buryheart - a cure, that became a poison. It was a strange and sappy lesson, and yet as he left the town and headed home Uquin realized it was perhaps the closest metaphor he could make to break the lesson down simply. One day he might become Rialt, whatever Rialt was in that jungle, but until then there were still lives to save - and when he grew tired there’d be more idealistic healers to take his place. And Uquin, for one, was content with this arrangement.
He’d face it head on.
[[ OOC: Excuse the sappiness, I'm writing this after not sleeping for two days. 8D
Also any critiques on this would be amazing, I'd love to see what people think so my next quest can be done better. Thank you! ]]
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 9:06 am
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:40 pm
Class Quest Result
Pass!
Uquin has passed and received a rank of Healer!
Congratulations Uquin!
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