by T. K. Chapin
“Love you mother!” Kessler said.
“Have a good day at school. Be sure to come straight home. No sewers!”
“Yes, of course mother.” Running over to his father, Kessler embraced Illadari’s side.
“Have a good day son,” Illadari said with a smile. Kessler left out the door, joining his companion Yesef, to head to the school that was about a ten minute walk from their home. As the door shut, Illadari turned his attention to Tessla. “He’s a good boy.”
“He played in the sewers… we told him specifically not to do that!” Tessla said.
“True. But he also didn’t take any of the stuff he had found. He knows how valuable gold farthlings are; he could have added that to his allowance and got himself something pretty nice at Gimbol’s Sweets and Treats.”
Tessla glanced out the window as she thought of Kessler, “He really is a good boy.” Tessla smiled scooping her eggs onto her plate. As she took a seat at the table, she paused for a moment before eating. “Your appointment with Quin is at noon. I have placed a piece of gymer bread in your pouch, along with a waterskin for your lunch. That way you won’t have to waste any time coming home, and can proceed straight to Quin’s.”
Smiling at Tessla, Illadari set his fork down and placed his hand on top of hers. “Thank you. You are a delightful woman, did you know that?” he asked. “You take care of me and this house more than I could ever ask for and I appreciate it greatly, my love.” Leaning over, Illadari kissed her cheek.
“Thank you,” Tessla said blushing. “I love taking care of you and Kessler,” she said as she started to eat her breakfast. A knock came from the door. They both knew it was Ponio stopping by to have Illadari join him on the walk into work at the Halls of the Living.
Standing up, Illadari grabbed the pouch with his lunch and kissed Tessla. “I love you. I will see you later on this afternoon.”
“I love you too,” Tessla said beaming with joy. “Have a wonderful day in the Halls.”
Chapter 2
“We need to stop by the general store on our way into the Halls today,” Ponio said as Illadari shut the door behind him.
“Did Tilvo have a rough night again at the tavern?” Illadari asked with a hearty laugh.
“He sure did… He has more love for the hops than he does for common sense,” Ponio said. “And one of these nights, he’s going to end up dead and there won’t be anything we can do about it... I don’t understand why he even tries to pick fights with the adventurers… He must already know it’s a losing battle.”
“Well he used to be one. He most likely does it to prove to himself he still has the gusto in him.”
“Your point is a valid one,” Ponio replied. Sighing, he continued. “He is an old man… he really should just settle down and tend the needs of his darling Ester and the general store.” Ponio opened the door to Tilvo’s shop letting Illadari in first.
“Thank Omad!” Tilvo exclaimed. Immediately, Illadari and Ponio noticed Tilvo had something wrong with his leg as he began to hop across the floor up to the both of them. Glancing down at his leg, Illadari saw a large piece of crystalline glass protruding forth from a laceration. He’s lucky he didn’t bleed out already, Illadari thought to himself as he bent down on a knee.
“You must settle down,” Illadari said softly as he inspected at the wound.
Tilvo’s head hung a little low in shame as he shook his head, “I’m afraid you’re right. But the hops get in me and make me feel like I did in the old days, strong and mighty!” he said swinging his hands in the air. Standing up, Illadari placed his hand on Tilvo’s shoulder and looked narrowly at him.
“You know what’s right Tilvo,” Illadari said. Glancing over at Ponio, Illadari nodded, indicating to him that another major healing was needed.
“Another major healing? That’s the third time this week,” Ponio said pulling out the scroll he needed to heal Tilvo. Ponio reached down to Tilvo’s leg and quickly pulled the glass from his leg causing him to fall back onto the shop’s wooden floor. Tilvo moaned in agony as he laid on the floor grabbing his wounded leg. Illadari cringed thinking of the pain that was coursing through Tilvo’s body. Ponio motioned in the air with one hand while holding the parchment in the other, and casted a major healing onto Tilvo’s leg. His wounds began to mend, and once his leg was about healed fully Illadari helped him up off the floor.
“Let’s try to stay out of trouble for a bit Tilvo… I understand your cousin Oren pays for all your healing, but he can’t save you if you end up dead,” Illadari said.
“I will try to do my best High Priests,” Tilvo said bowing his head to both of them. Illadari suddenly grabbed his own chest as pain ripped through it. “Illadari?” Tilvo said worriedly.
Ponio placed his hand on Illadari’s back, as he tried to bear through the pain surging through his torso. “He’s okay… he’s been having chest pains off and on for a few weeks now,” Ponio said with a nod to Tilvo. Watching intently, Tilvo looked concerned as Illadari walked away from both of them, and tried to get his breathing under control.
“Has he spoken with Quin?” Tilvo asked curiously.
With a hand resting against the wall of the shop, Illadari got his breathing under control and said, “I am meeting with her today at noon.” Walking back over to the two of them, he continued, “Hopefully she can determine the issue that’s going on with me. While I have yet to die from the pain, it’s rather uncomfortable and inconvenient.”
Saying their goodbyes with Tilvo, Illadari and Ponio left the general shop and headed to the Halls to get ready for the day of work ahead of them. On leaving the general store, Ponio turned to Illadari. “How come you did not mention that you were meeting with Quin?”
“I just had found out this morning that Tessla arranged the visit for me,” Illadari paused for a moment. “I was going to tell you,” he said with a smile as they set foot onward to the Halls.
Upon arriving at the Halls, Oren stuck his head out of the Bishop Quarters and requested that Illadari come meet with him after they had finished setting up for the day. As the door slammed shut, Illadari’s eyes widened as he looked over at Ponio wondering what Oren was in need of.
“What do you think it’s about?” Ponio asked curiously as they setup in their healing stations in the alter room just off the main hallway of the Halls.
“I’m not sure…” Illadari said concerned as he set his pouch down next to his summoning rock. Dipping his hands into the cleansing water, he lowered his head in prayer.
Omad… Provide strength, power and healing to the weak and afflicted adventurers.
Walking over to the white stone wall, he grabbed half the medallions that hung on the hooks, which totaled six, and brought them over to his summoning rock. After hanging the medallions on the wall behind him, he sat down. “I’m not worried… well… maybe a tad,” Illadari said looking over at Ponio as Ponio grabbed the rest of the medallions.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ponio said.
“Well, wish me luck!” Illadari said standing up. Leaving the alter room, Illadari headed to the Bishop’s Quarter. Each step he took closer to the door caused Illadari to become more frightened. Did I do something wrong? Illadari wondered.
Chapter 3
After cleaning up from breakfast, Tessla ventured out into the town of Silvermeer to make her way to the general store, in search of supplies for their home. She had given Illadari the last of the gymer bread and needed more to go with the stew she planned to cook that evening for supper.
Upon entering the shop, she noticed her friend Liza browsing the sensual snake oils and quickly turned away to hide herself. I wonder if she and Sam are still having issues? Tessla thought as she looked over at Liza picking up a vial. Making her way to the shelf with the gymer bread quickly, Tessla was trying to be careful not to be spotted, as she feared Liza would be embarrassed browsing the snake oils.
While checking various loaves of gymer bread, Tessla heard her name
d from across the shop. “Tessla!” Liza shouted as she ran across the shop floor beaming with a smile. Wrapping her arms around Tessla tightly, her smile growed.
I guess she doesn’t care who knows about her intimacy issues? Tessla thought as she hugged her friend. “How are you doing?” Tessla asked glancing at the vial of boson berry snap.
“Things are…” Noticing Tessla saw the vial, she continued, “They are difficult right now honestly…” Her words trailed off but her eyes looked for encouragement in Tessla to continue on.
“I hope everything ends up good for you,” Tessla said with a smile trying to divert from continuing the conversation. “Sam still in the Guilted Gulf?” she asked hoping to push the conversation to a bit less awkward one.
“Yes…” Liza’s voice said with a heavy and saddened tone. “He’s home only a few days a month.” To Tessla’s surprise, she lifted the vial and placed it in Tessla’s face, “Have you and Illadari used this before?”
Overtaken with embarrassment for herself, Tessla quickly grabbed Liza’s hand and shoved it down as she looked around the shop at the other guests. “Stop it!” Tessla whispered loudly to Liza as she continued to glance around the shop. “We don’t use that and if we did, I wouldn’t be talking about it in public!”
“I’m sorry,” Liza said softly. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“It’s okay…” Tessla said. Whispering, she continued, “If you are going to shop for enhancement oils, I suggest you discuss this type of thing with your husband. Not your friends and absolutely not in public.” Squinting at Tessla’s hair, Liza’s eyes fixated on something. Grabbing her own head as she saw Liza looking at it, Tessla asked, “What? Something wrong with my hair?”
“It’s just strange,” Liza said. Grabbing a few strands of her hair, Liza pulled it over Tessla’s shoulder and showed her the strands of blonde. “See?” Liza asked.
“That is odd,” Tessla said. I used to have blonde hair… is it coming back through? she wondered. “I will have to keep an eye on it and see what happens… I’m sorry about the oil thing, I know you miss Sam. When’s he due to be back?”
“Tomorrow,” Liza smiled making eye contact with the vial of oil. “That’s kind of why I was picking this up…” she said excitedly.
“That’s so gross!” Tessla said smacking her playfully. “You did not need to say that!” she laughed.
Smiling, Liza said, “You and Illadari should join us for supper tomorrow evening. I know how much Illadari and Sam get along! They’d probably love to catch up.” Tessla laughed a little inside, she knew that Illadari couldn’t stand Sam and all the fishing stories he would tell. Illadari was always a gentleman and would allow him to rattle on for hours about his stories of the open seas.
“I’m sure they’ll love it,” Tessla said with a smile.
“I best be on my way,” Liza said giving Tessla a warm embrace. “It was nice seeing you, and I look forward to having the two of you over tomorrow!” Tessla politely smiled and nodded as she turned and continued with her search through the loaves of gymer bread. Strolling through the store, Tessla ended up with a few loaves of gymer bread, a couple black diamonds and a pinch of salt for the stew.
As she was fishing for gold pieces from her pouch to pay for the items at the counter, Tilvo asked, “How is life Tessla?”
“Oh you know, it’s been good,” Tessla smiled up at him as she handed him two pieces of gold.
“Good. Is Illadari doing okay? I saw him earlier and he didn’t look so good. He had this chest pain thing going on when he was in here,” Tilvo said.
Tessla thought to herself, he had another episode? This morning? Nodding to Tilvo she said, “He’s going to Quin today, so we are hoping she can figure it out.”
“He mentioned that. I hope she does figure it out because he’s a tremendous blessing to this entire town,” Tilvo said handing her back a few silver he owed her in change.
“Thank you for the supplies and the kind words,” Tessla said with a smile as she left the shop.
**
That afternoon, Tessla began to prepare the stew. She started with cutting and slicing of all the ingredients she was going to be using. Beef, cloves, onion, carrots, sage and parsley would all be going into the hearty stew for the Vivac family. Every few minutes, she’d go over to the window in the kitchen and push back the drape to see if Illadari was heading down the cobblestone street back to their house.
I hope his heart is okay… I could never handle raising Kessler on my own without him. I’d be a wreck, a mess, I’d surely shrivel up and die on this floor, I am sure of it. Kessler would end up as a beggar in the town square without a father. I could never let that happen. she thought to herself as she picked up the pace in cutting the carrots. What if that’s why he isn’t back yet? Maybe he’s getting something done to his heart? She began to panic while she diced the cloves.
Startling Tessla, the door swung open and it was Illadari. Quickly staggering over to the kitchen counter, he scooped water up out from the pail, wetting his tongue. After a few handfuls of water, he relaxed, but kept breathing heavily as he clenched onto the sides of the pail. Concerned, Tessla placed a hand on his back.
“Illadari?” she asked leaning in near his face. “What is wrong love?” she asked concerned.
“I sprinted from Quin’s office to here!” Illadari said sternly as he lifted himself off the pail and took a seat at the table. “I was running late to Quin’s and then I knew you were waiting for me… So I made haste getting here!”
Warmed by Illadari’s affection and concern for how she felt, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. “Don’t hurt yourself on my account love. Especially when it’s not needed,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” Illadari said with a nod.
“It’s okay. What did Quin say?” Tessla asked curiously as she sat down at the table across from Illadari.
“She said I need to take this Hilted Banes Leaf,” he said pulling a pouch of green colored leaves out from his robe pocket. “Twice a day. She said it’ll help heal the insides of my chest. She said there’s something in there that isn’t right and probably infected, so the Hilted Banes Leaf should attack it from the inside. She even said my episodes could stop almost immediately.”
Reaching across the table, Tessla grabbed Illadari’s hand. “I’m sorry you have to take that. I had a maid in the castle that had to take that every day, she let me sneak a taste one day and it was disgusting.”
“Oh joy… But it’s okay,” Illadari smiled. “Quin had me taste it also to see if I would have a reaction to it. My only reaction I had was disgust.” Illadari cleared his throat, with a disgusted face thinking about it, he said “If it helps, I’m okay with it… I suppose.”
Kissing his hand, Tessla said, “My maid was only on it for a year. So I’m sure you won’t be stuck taking it forever.” Standing up, Illadari nodded, acknowledging her words.
“I’m going back to the Halls,” Illadari said coming around the table, he kissed her cheek. Glancing over at the prepared ingredients, he smiled and said, “I can’t wait for stew.”
“It’s going to be delicious,” Tessla said smiling. Illadari left back to the Halls.
Chapter 4
Arriving at the Halls, Illadari promptly made his way into the alter room finding Ponio overwhelmed with resurrections of the adventurers. Illadari quickly made his way over to the cleansing water and dipped his hands as he prayed, Omad… Provide strength, power and healing to the weak and afflicted adventurers.
Getting behind the summoning rock, he reached over to the wall behind him, and grabbed a glowing medallion. Placing it onto the rock, he bowed his head and began to cast the prayer of resurrection.
This adventurer seeks his resurrection Omad, please grant him life reborn. How many lives does he have?
Opening his eyes, Illadari saw the number five bleed out of the medallion and onto the rock. Bowing his head again, he prayed.
Please use one of his five lives to bring him back, through your grace, he is reborn.
Illadari placed his hands out in front of him and focused his concentration onto the medallion, channeling the power from it to summon the adventurer that had fallen. After a few minutes, the channeling had stopped and a large light blinked filling the room. The light partially blinded Illadari and Ponio for a moment, just as each time the prayer is casted.
Blinking his eyes open, Illadari found a young man curled up in a ball with nothing on. Shielding his eyes, Illadari threw a gray robe from the stack between himself and Ponio to the man. Standing up as he put the robe on, the man came up to Illadari and embraced him with a hug.
“Thank you! Thank you!” he said excitedly.