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“I am getting fucking tired of this sad excuse for a paperweight, and his inability to give us a damn straight answer” John all but growls. Farther upstream, they make their way towards the direction of the castle. Or, the approximate direction Yorick eventually settles on as satisfactory. Playing 20 Questions with a dismembered head was neither of the travelers’ definitions of fun. From the bag, a muffled response was heard; “Perhaps you should ask better questions, Master!”John grumbles, trying with all his might to sound angry but instead sounds absolutely exhausted. It seems that his newfound ability to sleep left him in a bit of a morning fog.Arthur chuckles at the thought. “Well, it looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!”“Shut up, Arthur” John grumbles around a perplexed yawn. Ignoring how a disembodied voice with only two limbs and a pair of eyes to interact with the world could apparently yawn, Arthur began to wonder not for the first time how long this journey would take.With all the precautions they have been needing to take, especially since the frightful night they had, this few days trip has taken it’s toll. Avoiding people has become a bit more troublesome as they got closer to the land the lords of the castle owned. There were more dwellings and settlements scattered throughout the forest. Farmland was becoming a bit more commonplace and the ease with which to make camp unbothered was growing thinner as the threat of someone coming across them increased. Thus the long way around. Yorick stayed blessedly silent for the most part, but sat like a heavy burden in the bag. A lot has happened in the last few days with little ability to unpack it. Though it was not for lack of John trying.“Yorick seems to have very little to say about Horig, and we are left only with his vague threat that you would become his ‘apostle’ regardless-”“John, I would really rather put this behind us...”“But this being, it implied that he was not-”“But we’re out of the woods, John! We have added more than enough hours to our journey out of caution for it!”“I just think we should try to be smart about this, Arthur! We don’t even know what Horig is, not really. Let alone how much of a threat he poses in this world. Until we have more information, we Need to be careful!”“How Much More Careful Can We Be? We have that village miles behind us! His followers were slautered! On top of that, we have stayed well away from people and trees and any blasted fungi of any kind! There is no way he can get to us here!”On top of John keeping an eye out for any odd growths of fungi, floating lights, creepy non-children and disturbing clearings, it was needless to say that their time spent traversing the woods has been taxing. The night’s events had the tethered souls rattled.Arthur took a deep breath, seeming to clear himself of a lingering memory. “You have been keeping us extraordinarily safe, John. But weren’t you the one who said we can’t afford to let fear halt our progress? For now, we eat the elephant! Let’s just worry about getting to the castle in one piece.”Alexander squawks from his position on the nearest tree behind the travelers, and Arthur’s mouth tugs into an easy smile as he began making one sided conversation with the owl.It was not lost on John that the bird seemed to have a calming effect on Arthur, that it somehow eased and amused him enough to lift his spirits. Even if ever so slight, the difference might as well have been night and day to John. He held no such “sentiments” for the wide eyed creature that seemed to stare right through his soul… as if it knew all he’d ever seen and done....John decided that he did not like the bird, but he would tolerate it a little while longer if it meant Arthur would have something that made him slightly happy. Even if just for a short while.John had reason to be concerned for his human. The man had just come back to life a few days ago. John’s worst fears realized as he could do nothing while the life slipped from Arthur. For all his power, it truly meant nothing if he couldn’t protect the being he had come to care so much for. After all that had transpired, John distantly recognizes that he may be a tad bit paranoid. For how much the encounters with the Hag and Horig shook him, it seems Arthur would rather forget it happened entirely. “We have to move forward, rather than risk falling behind,” he had reasoned. With Arthur unwilling to talk about the subject any further and with a steely drive to travel to the castle as quickly as possible, John felt again as if he had failed his human. He can’t save Arthur from harm, he can’t offer answers(however difficult it is to get them) like the vanguard, and can’t comfort him the way an unintelligent but fluffy raptor can. However, if being over cautious is what he could do to keep his friend safe, then he would gladly be paranoid enough for the both of them and guide them away from any potential threat.As Arthur chatted idly with the winged creature, John began to take stock of their shared body once more. Even though they had found no indication of infection in the last few times checking their stitches, John began to notice a slight uptick in their body temperature. While it wasn’t a particularly cold day, John felt a lingering chill in his limbs that seemed to only increase as they walked on.“Arthur, I think we’re overheating”“John, we have been walking for hours. Its perfectly normal to have a flush from the increase in blood pressure. And besides, the breeze is definitely cool enough”, Arthur replies as a brush of wind sends a shutter through him. Arthur swiped at his nose before continuing, “We are fine for now, we’ll stop for water momentarily.”John conceded. Despite sharing a body for so long, there were many quirks that eluded John. But in all there time together, it did not seem that Arthur was prone to getting chilled easily. Especially after a long walk. However, if this is what it took for Arthur to take a break, he would wait.That was, until John felt something new begin to take hold.“Arthur! Something’s Wrong!”Arthur immediately halted. Looking about wildly in a blind panic, the man looked ready to bolt at the drop of a hat.“What is it John, What do you see!?!”“It isn’t what I see, there is a pressure behind our eyes! It is building and irritating and growing. I noticed it before but it’s making it hard for us to keep our eyes-”“HRASHOO”“….”“….”“Well… I guess that makes sense, it’s gone now...”“Honestly John!” Arthur let out with a hearty laugh and a liquid sniffle. “That is what you were worried about! You cannot tell me that you are so jumpy that a sneeze scared you that badly!”
“I don't understand how I am supposed to remember all of your body's strange reflexes! They are distracting and frankly annoying."
John also failed to see how making a loud sound through the mouth would help Arthur's body rid itself of an irritant in his nose. He often found himself asking nobody in particular why human bodies are so inefficient. But with everything they had gone through, the fear he felt was different.
"But yes. I suppose I am a bit… on edge. A lot has happened, Arthur and I worry...”
Arthur patted his left arm affectionately. Arthur teased but knew the looming fear of the other shoe dropping equally well. They had been through a lot together, without much chance of normalcy or reprieve.“Well, I doubt an errant bit of pollen is going to be the.. the en-” Arthur’s breath falters and gives a sudden gasp before a strong triplet of sneezes ripped through him and into their sleeve. Arthur had stumbled a bit with the unexpectedness of it, but quickly righted himself. John shuttered in disgust as the damp spot on his sleeve seeped onto his skin, while Arthur silently wished for his handkerchief.John grew quiet as he saw his vision blur with irritated tears and came to a sudden realization: John doesn't suffer from hay fever. Arthur coughs and clears his throat before finishing his thought, “the end of us John. We have faced much more challenging foes, I would say!” Although attempting to inject a bit of humor into his voice, the slight shiver that danced through his spine urged John to think otherwise.“John.. why are you so quiet all of a-- GAH!” he exclaimed in surprise as something cool pressed against his forehead. It took him all of a second to realize it was his own John’s hand planted under his slightly too long fringe. John’s quiet hum of disapproval spoke to a few things: Arthur had done something he considered stupid, he realized he himself had done something stupid, or he was hiding how concerned he truly was. In this case, it was all three.All John could think was 'How could he have missed this?'Sighing, Arthur gently pushed the hand off. “John, what is with you?”John barely bit back the very justified response of “YOU!” or the sarcastic “Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that you keep almost Dying every few minutes!!!” But John had to be smart about this. Sniffly and irritated, Arthur was very likely to argue and trudge on simply to spite him rather than take his own well-being into consideration. An unwell Arthur was a snappish Arthur, and John needed to avoid sparking any petty squabbles until he could convince Arthur to take care of himself.Eventually, John settled on a very even toned “I think we should set camp for the evening, Arthur. I don’t like the sound of you, nor how feverish you feel.”“John, it isn’t even nightfall! We would be wasting precious time, and for what? To sit around the forest for something as small as a fucking cold? I don’t think so. We don't-""So you admit you're sick then?""What? No, John. I am perfectly fine! And we have spent enough time here as it is! We have things to Do. We need to get to the castle, then to find someone with answers as to where to find the ‘blackstone’ and-"Another harsh sneeze cut Arthur's argument sort, leaving him sniffling and blinking.“Arthur, listen to me! There are things here that can and will try to kill you! You are at risk even at your best! Let’s not test our luck when you are not doing well. Don’t forget that you are still in recovery from the Hag-”“OK Fine, John! Let’s just find an empty area and continue in the morning…” Arthur said with gusto but visibly deflated, massaging his throat after the vocal expenditure.John, on the other hand, sounded stupefied.“…… you’re… actually listening to me?” The fact alone was boding in and of itself. Arthur always had at least some point to argue. Very rarely did he ever actually concede that easily. “Honestly? I am just too tired to argue right now, John..” Arthur admitted with a quiet sniffle.“Alright then. We’re still walking the stream, but the topography has changed from dense forest to a lighter woodsy area. The sun has moved quite a bit toward the west, bathing the area in a calming, orangey, glow. The sun light seems to peek from behind the sparser tree trunks and catch the particulates in the air with a soft but dazzling golden glow. We have passed many settlements that seem to have been farms at one point. If there are people living here, I do not see them. But from behind the tree line, the area looks well used. If the smell was anything to go by, then it may be a place for cattle and other livestock.”“I may actually be grateful to not smell much at the moment,” Arthur added with building congestion beginning to dull his consonants.“On the far side, I think I can see a hilly area with an odd rock formation. If we walk a bit further-- wait move your head to the--- yes! Ok there seems to be an opening to a wide and shallow cave. Are we choosing to try sneaking into the barn, or do we want to try for the cave?”Arthur hummed in thought, sniffling near constant now.“We tend to have bad luck with caves, John…. But the first village we went to turned out to be a bad idea… I want to continue avoiding people for now. Especially with the state I’m in, Christ! When did it get so fucking Cold?” Arthur hugged his arm around himself as best he could without brushing his stab wounds and shivered. John resisted a retort about the fucking fever and instead waited for Arthur to collect himself.“So, to the cave then?” he asked, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible.“To the cave, then.”“And bless you by the way.”“Wha- *gasps* HURASHUH! guhhh you cheeky bastard...”“Now who woke up on the wrong side of the bed?” John asked with a chuckle, to which Arthur only replied with another sneeze and the groan of someone who just wants to go to bed.
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The sun had barely moved as they weaved through the bumpier terrane and toward the cave entrance. John expertly guided the trio towards what they desperately hoped would be their home for the night, with the way that Arthurs legs wobbled here and there. “We’re coming up on the cave now. It inclines a bit here but it isn’t a far walk now. Take a large step up towards the left- good. Ok. We’ve made it out of the tree line and it looks like the stream is fed by this larger body of water. The river stretches on for miles, curving out of sight. The cave overlooks it just behind the river bed. It seems to have various openings in the walls, reminiscent to windows and a door”Arthur perked up at the observation. “Windows? Are you sure?”“I don’t know. If it was done purposefully, it is crude enough to look natural; as if the rock just formed this way. Aside from that, the wall looks to be of thick grey rock. If the openings were man-made, it must have taken no small amount of dedication.”“Well, let’s just hope that we can get a fire started at get some rest. What I wouldn’t do for some hot soup right now” Arthur said, trying to imagine the warm liquid thawing him from the inside out. The daydream did not last as another shiver racked his frame and he coughed dryly. “Is Alexander still following us?” Arthur asked hopefully.“No, I think he probably realized he couldn’t eat us and went off to find easier prey”“Hardy har-har, ”, Arthur replied while John tried and failed to suppress a laugh.“Is there anyone home or…?”“To your left there, we’re just at the entry way. This looks like it used to be as solid rock formation, hollowed out from its time eroded by the water’s rise and fall. Now that we are up close it is more obvious that someone chiseled this cave, working with the natural shapes to extend and have an easier means of entry. Through the last bit of daylight, I can see inside it extends back a few yards but also makes a crude T-junction. The ceiling is supported by thickly carved stone pillars. It is tall enough for you to stand at your full height. It looks like this place has long since been abandoned, Arthur. The stone floor is littered with dried leaves, twigs and dirt that fluttered through the door and window hole. But it does look like a sort of firepit was made in one of the far corners, and a few rough stone bowls. As if to cook and eat with… This was someone’s home at one point. It looks old. I believe there is another opening around the way, but I can’t see from here how deep it goes.”“Hmm, I wonder who lived was here” Arthur began before another shiver overtook him. “If it is safe then it will do for now. You said there was a fire pit and twigs?” John directed them over to their right so they can begin collection of the thankfully dry wood. They even found some feathers to use for kindling. All in all, enough to make a modest fire!The pair worked in relative quiet until, at last, the lighter sparked the kindling and bathed the cave into a calming amber glow. Arthur sighed with relief as he huddled close enough to absorb as much heat thrown from the fire.“I know you are enjoying the fire, Arthur, but you need to drink some water. You have lost a lot of fluid. And you are going to need water to kick this illness aside”“Uuuugh….. *sniff*……I know you’re right, but this is the warmest I have felt in the last few hours. I just want to sit here a bit longer.” John knew very little about the needs of a human body, except for some major key observations: 1. Food is a necessary fuel and without it, the human will weaken 2. Water makes up most of the human body, and one will dry up without it, and 3. A lack of warmth will pull the entire body out of normal functioning order. John knew that Arthur has done without all of these many times before, but has suffered the price each time. He knew that Arthur needed water above all else, and maybe find a bit of food. He chided himself for hesitating at Arthurs request, but how could he pull him from such a simple comfort?“Fine, a few more minutes. Then we need to see about boiling some water”Arthur melted at the suggestion of hot water. “Ohhh that sounds lovely. If only we had some tea here. My throat is getting a bit scratchy”“I can tell, friend. It’s getting harder to understand you as the evening goes on”“Master is correct! You sound like an exceptionally vocal frog, it is quite impressive!” came the nearly forgotten voice from the bag.“Thadks, Yorick” Arthur replied, voice again dripping in sarcasm… or not. “God, I miss my handkerchief” Arthur lamented, further grieving the loss of the cotton square with every sniffle.“You just Had to give it to the banker, hmm?”“It was the right thing to do, John. I honestly had every intention of replacing it bu—but I j-just…” Arthur spluttered to a stop, before eventually snapping forward with an echoing:“HUH-SHUH!”“Jesus Chris, Arthur! Do you plan to alert every creature where we are!?!”“Shut up, John, it’s not as if I can help it!”“Well you could at least Try! We don’t know what lives out here, and the cave echoed your sneeze like a fucking dinner bell!”“Well I don’t know what you expect me to do about it! Just not sneeze? I am very sure I can manage that, being an involuntary reflex and all. I may as well tell my stomach to stop growling so much!”“ghhhhhhh, I am not saying ‘Don’t Sneeze’ Arthur! I am just saying-SHIT DUCK!”With a strangled cry, Arthur went down to avoid something that zoomed just overhead. It may have just missed him from the way he felt the air tousle his hair. “JOHN, what the fuck are we fighting!?!”“Oh, actually-”“Hoo-HOot”Arthur slowly blinked twice before his brain put two and two together. At this, all Arthur could do was laugh. He rolled over from his crouched position on the dirty floor and onto his backside, laughing until he was pretty sure he was either hysterical or delirious from the fever (because nothing could be this funny, right?) John seemed to chuckle from embarrassment, more than anything else.“Sorry, it is just the owl. It flew through the entrance of the cave and dropped something at us. He's perched on a hole-like ledge near the ceiling. It looks to be a nest of sorts” John clarified, seemingly intrigued by the owl’s odd place of residence.By this point, Arthur had calmed slightly and brushed tears of mirth from their eyes. “Hello Alexander, you gave us quite the fright!”“Arthur, it seems to be looking at us expectantly. Tilting its head”“Hmm… you said it dropped something John?”“Yes, reach just ahead of you. It’s an odd heap of white fuzz, but it remains unmoving. It looks to be a large rabbit!”“What!” Arthur looked to the owl in question. “Did you catch this for us?”“Now that we look again, Alexander is eating his own smaller prey. Ripping into it with gusto that can only be rivaled by your own eating habits”“A famished creature after my own heart it seems. I’m Definitely going to cook this though, maybe make some broth?” Arthur sighed at the prospect, his dream of hot soup so close to realization.“Thank you, Alexander!” Alexander squawks then continues to rip chunks of meat from his meal.Taking the bowls, the human and his passenger leave the fire to make their way to the river bed. Dusk was just about to overtake them, but the last glimmers of sunset glittered along the ripples in the relatively shallow water. John would normally ask to take a moment to savor the view, but with how Arthur shivered and his own hand seemed to tremble, now was not the time. There would be other sunsets.Having scooped two bowls of water from the river, their first goal was met, and they trudged their way back toward the cave.Despite his shivering, Arthur seemed to perk up at a sudden thought. “You know, I think that was the first time I’ve heard you use his name”“Who?” John repliedArthur chucked, “Pun intended? Just kidding. I mean Alexander”“Oh. Well, it seemed wrong not to.. after all, it seemed to try and help you” John replied in a very put on sagely voiceArthur grinned. “You’re growing soft in your old age, you can’t fool me. Just admit you like the bird, John.”“I will not, I tolerate it at best”“Of course you do” Arthur chuckled, which quickly turned into a sudden tickly coughing fit that nearly sloshed their hard earned water out of their bowls.“Just breathe Arthur, take a minute and breathe”, John tried to comfort and ground his friend. Again, powerless to do anything more than talk Arthur through his discomfort until he calms himself down. Eventually, that is just what happens.Breathing heavy, Arthur emerged from the fit with gasping breaths. “I’m alright, John” Trying to breathe deeply, he continues quickly. “Just gotta *inhale* catch my breathe!”“Alright, lets get back to the fire and boil the water. It sounds like you need it”“No kidding, my throat is killing me” Arthur said in such a way that John could now see Yorick’s comparison clear as day. John snickered at the realization because it was all he could do not to outright laugh, especially when Arthur demanded to know “What is so funny now?” in that stuffy and croaky voice of his. Arthur had somewhat caught on that this was simply amusement at his expense, but John so very rarely laughed. If it was something as inconsequential as the quality of his voice then he could play along for a minute.“I’b sorry, is it somethig I said?”At this, John attempted to collect himself to spare him what sounded like it would be the most important message he had ever delivered. “It’s just that*giggle*, you..*snort* you sound like fucking Lorick!” And with that, it seems like the wall of restraint he tried to maintain crashed as he laughed loudly and in earnest. Arthur gasped with feigned offense. “The Canna? Well I d'never! Just kick a b'man while he’s down would you, the hubanity of it all!” Arthur attempted to sniff in mock distain, which just resulted in another sneeze and a sting of curses from the ill man. But also an uptick in laughter from John at the silliness of it all. Arthur sighed. He felt rotten, but at least John wasn’t so jumpy now.“Alright, let’s see about this rabbit soup. I’ve heard good things!”
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After a meager dinner of boiled rabbit and broth, Arthur was not faring much better. A headache pulsed against his sinuses, and nausea thudded in his stomach. The sound of Yorick’s chattering wasn’t helping much in either regard. Yorick finally being released from the bag shared his opinions and observations uninhibited. Were any of them relevant to their goal? No. Was anyone really interested? Absolutely not. Did that mean it was any easier to get him to answer their questions? Again, unfortunately not.“Does Anything besides the owl live in this fucking cave, Yorick?” John attempted once more.“I do not believe so, my King!”“What The Fuck Do You MEAN ‘I don’t believe so’ Yorick! It is a Simple Yes or No Question!!!” John’s fuming certainly did not help the headache in any way, either. Arthur distantly wondered if he could feel any part of the malady that ailed him… besides predicting when he needed to sneeze, apparently.“I have answered your questions, Master.”“NO THE FUCK YOU HAVEN’T!”Ok, Arthur has had enough of this for now.“Boys, if you can’t play nice then Yorick needs to go back in the bag!”The resulting short silence and subdued apologies were enough to have made Arthur chuckle, if he were in a better mood.“Yorick. Just answer yes or no to John. Please?”“I will try, Master! ”Arthur sighed in relief. “And John. If you yell at Yorick again, I swear I will wipe my nose on your hand. I can’t deal with the noise right now”John jutted his arm as far away from Arthur’s face as possible. “You wouldn’t Dare!”“Try me”, came Arthur’s monotoned reply. All the more threatening by the urgent sniffling.John seemed to consider this in quiet horror before lowering his hand to the ground, still giving Arthur an awkward bit of distance.“Fine. Yorick. Is there anything threatening to Arthur that you can see in this cave?” John asked in a much quieter tone.Likewise, it seemed Yorick is keeping to his part of the deal. “No, My King”“Ok. Do you know anything about Horig?”“Yes!”Arthur already did not like where this was going. “Johnnnn, we’ve asked him this before”“Yes, I know. But I want to be sure we get an answer this time. I just need to ask the right way.”Arthur sniffled. “Fine, but I am making good on my threat if you lose your temper again”John groaned in disgust before continuing. “Yorick, did the entity Horig’s threat bear any weight?”“Perhaps”Feeling John attempting to keep himself at bay, Arthur elected to intervene. “Yoriick”, Arthur warned. The fatherly tone drawled out as if second nature. Perhaps it would always be second nature to him, in the way Faroe would always be a part of him. The thought stirred something in his gut that was a much deeper and yet more tender sensation than the nausea that previously plagued him. The comforting thoughts of his daughter almost overtaking him in warmth entirely.Yorick seemed to take pause. “…Yes, to some degree”The unexpected answer shook Arthur out of the glowing feeling of reminiscing. The Hell?“W-wait a minute! What do you mean yes?”“I mean ‘Yes’, Master”“No-nahnanahna No, what does that mean for Me, Yorick?”“It means ‘Yes’”“So, so what? We didn’t escape Horig?”“You did escape him, yes!” Yorick supplied helpfully.Arthur spluttered at the almost incomprehensible conversation, as he drew short, panicked breaths before dissolving into another coughing fit.John for his part decided that question/answer period could wait until Arthur could draw in a normal breath. Withdrawing his hand from its protective distance, John placed his hand on Arthur’s sternum and slowly began to tap a slow but constant rhythm. “Arthur, just breathe. Listen to the sound of my voice and breathe.”The grounding method had served them well in quite a few situations in the past and seemed to be mostly successful now. Arthur takes a full breath and confirms that he is in fact “Ok.” Apparently tired of the constant sniffling, he elects to rip a segment of his sleeve to use as a makeshift handkerchief. Blowing his nose, Arthur slumps with relief at the lessened sinus pressure before tossing the limp rag to the side. John decides that is his que to take over questioning.“Yorick, tell us what Horig meant when he said that Arthur ‘already carries what he desires’? What does he desire?”Yorick sat for a long moment in what seemed like contemplation before finally replying.“Death, Master. Horig The Unclean desires Death”The pair silently stared in Yorick’s direction, unsure of how to proceed. Arthur reels from the information, but with the feverish ache in his joints, he believes he has an idea of where Yorick is leading.... He just hoped he was wrong. Arthur takes a breathe, steeling himself to ask.“…..ummm… what is it, that I carry that Horig desires?”“You carry the ability to spread his word and his desire, Master”“What is his ‘Word’ Yorick?” Arthur pressed hurriedly. He was beginning to feel dizzy.“His word is ‘Pestilence’, Master”At those words, the human lost his small dinner and the warmth of the fire in quick succession.“Arthur, the fire went out!”“….I’m sorry, I didn’t think I would hit the pit”, Arthur had assumed the fire was well out of the splash zone. But then again, he was rather dizzy. “Huuuuugh, I really don’t feel well”“No, Arthur! It was blown out!”The tone of John’s voice finally sobered him enough to realize something frightening. “By what? There wasn’t even a breeze then,” he hissed. The cold thud of dread sinking into the pit his soup had once occupied.“Quiet, I can’t see anything! Let me listen”They all wait in tense silence for what felt like forever. The only sounds Arthur heard was the sound of his own heart and shallow breathing. The minutes stretched long enough that Arthur almost suggested they re-light the fire. That is, until they heard the wet thudding to their far left… heading toward the secondary cave. More importantly, heading toward Them.“Arthur, our eyes adjusted to the moonlight. I think I can make it out! It is… Enormous! It is a mass of writhing black tentacles, dripping with ooze. It moves in a way that is, not of this world! Each of it’s legs seem to ungulate and engorge to take its weight in turn. It is a Monstrosity.”Arthur does his best to keep his breathing quiet. The creature’s path seems to be nearing their cave’s entrance.“Arthur, whatever you do, do not run! It doesn’t seem to notice our presence as it ‘walks’ toward our cave. I, don’t believe it has eyes. Just mouths. I believe I recognize this creature, from the book at from Armitage’s book! The Dark Young….It drags the remains of what looks to be a cow behind it, toward the far cave we didn’t explore. We just need to lay low, and quiet”Alright, they could do this! They just needed to wait out this monster until it passed them by. They could do *hHUH*…this….“Arthur… it stopped…” Shit, Arthur thought.“It seems to be sniffing the air. Arthur, for your own fucking survival don’t you dare sneeze!”An unfair ask, maybe. But John had no idea what else to do. Arthur couldn’t sneeze quietly to save his life, and the night air was absolutely silent where it should be alive with the cacophony of its nocturnal inhabitance. As the ticklish pressure grew deep behind their eyes and the creature edged past the carved threshold, John knew there was no way Arthur was going to hold this one back.John made the quickest decision he could and pinched Arthur’s nostrils shut. Clearly surprised, Arthur seemed to catch on because at the last possible second, his right hand clamped over his mouth before giving a reasonably stifled hiccup. While far from done, Arthur squinted his eyes open just enough for John to see the jelly-like creature walking the cave wall. If John had a stomach, it would have hit the floor. Apparently holding off for as long as possible, Arthur was gearing for another sneeze. John squeezes their nose for dear life and waited for the inevitable. Another imperceptible hiccup, but now they had nowhere to run as the darkling made its way ever closer.“Arthur, the dark young is in our cave and growing much closer, taking in the room by touch and sound alone. It still hasn’t noticed us, but it has just stepped on your handkerchief! We might need to make a run for it. Don’t move until I say!”Arthur said nothing, but unclamped his mouth to give a thumb’s up in understanding.“Ok…. On three….one………twooo……..”“SKREEECH”“Hold on! Alexander is screeching and flying out of the cave. He seems to have taken attention off of us. The tentacles writhe in the general direction Alexander flew out of, *gasp* it’s making it’s way out of the cave! Its following back to the forest, Arthur!”Even after all the close calls they have had in their time together, the relief of simply surviving is something he will never get used to.Sighing, John shared the news. “It's gone, Arthur. We're safe for the time being”“Can'd you let go of b'my d'nose then?”“What? OH right, sorry” John quickly dropped his hand and wiped it against their pants.“That’s..h-Hih..UH-shuH! nnghh” Arthur groans into his hand. “At least it didn’t echo this time.” John, attempting for levity, reached over and patted Arthur’s shoulder.It was when their vision swam and they were suddenly sideways that John begin to descend into panic once again.
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“Arthur! Arthur, answer me God Dammit!”John manages to snap open their eyelids and attempts to rouse Arthur. The other foot had dropped, and now they were completely vulnerable. “ARTHUR! Wake The Fuck UP!” John roars as he attempts to right themselves from Arthur’s position on his side. His struggles were rewarded with a slight wobble. The awkward slump in which Arthur fell had effectively pinned John’s hand.“He can not hear you, my king” Yorick interjected.“I FUCKING KNOW HE CAN’T!” John took a breath and attempted to calm himself. It was useless to waste time in a panic. With a forced calm, he attempted to assess the situation.If it weren’t for the barely 4-day old stab wounds, John would have used his leg to propel themselves into a different position. However, this position would also be rough on his wounds as well. Even through the breast plate, Arthur’s diaphragm contracted against John’s hand with the unsteady rhythm of his quick breathing. Along with the harsh shivering, it was clear that whatever unconsciousness Arthur found himself in was not restful.“My breastplate has stabilized the wound from the impact, my king!”Small blessings, he supposed. Hopefully they would get away with not having to replace any more stitches. With a sigh, John decided that the best course of action was to at least push Arthur onto his back. From there, he could decide what to do. “Arthur, I am shifting us to a better position. Laying like this is putting too much pressure on your stomach.” John heard what Yorick had said, but he needed Arthur to know everything was under control. That John will take care of them, and that it will be ok. Perhaps, more so to remind himself, than anything. “Ok, on Three. One… twoo…. Three!”Kicking out his leg from under Arthur’s, John pushed the ground with his leg and the back of his hand. The force combined with the leverage eventually allowed Arther to flop less than gracefully onto his back. With this out of the way, John needed to know what was wrong with Arthur. “Ok, Arthur, you did good! Now, I am going to check your temperature.” With a shaking and slightly numb hand, John brought his palm up to Arthur’s forehead and found that it was scorchingly hot. John snatched his hand back with a pained hiss. “Jesus, Arthur!” A horrifying question entered John’s mind; How high was too high? John chided himself. Focus! You have to be calm now, for him!“It’s going to be ok, Arthur. Your fever went up, but its going to be fine!”“A fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit is deadly to a human, my king! Several viruses are more than capable of thriving in such temperatures, and is more than ideal for-”“YORICK! That is Not helping!” John internally apologized to Arthur for his many obtuse moments in the past. This was maddening.Think, John! He is too hot, how are we going to fix this? It was then that John recalled the remaining bowl of river water… long gone cold… Ok.. Get the water and use the other sleeve as a makeshift rag. Easy! “Arthur, I’ve got a plan to cool you down. But I’ll need to move us again.” With that he begins to drag themselves across the dirt covered stone floor to the farther end of the fire pit. “Excellent maneuvering, my king! We only slightly smeared the vomit with Master’s leg!” “Shut up, Yorick!”With the hard part done, John manipulates Arthur’s head to rest on their bag. The last thing they need is to strain his neck on top of all this. With John’s hand easily within reach of the bowl, he rips a sizable chunk of their right sleeve. “It seems we have a very bad track record with shirts, my friend. And another ‘handkerchief’ has departed from us; stuck to the darkling I believe. It seems that this is why we can’t have nice things.” John tries to feign a chuckle but the silence of his partner, the sound is closer to a huff of air.“Yes, Master’s shirts just do not survive the fact that he is stabbed more often than most of his species.”John desperately wanted to throttle the head… though he doubted it would have the intended effect. Especially now that Yorick once again lacked a neck.Dunking the cotton sleeve into the cold water, John shuttered as the water touched his overwarm wrist. After squeezing the extra water out of the fabric, John ran the damp but chilly cloth over Arthur’s forehead and neck. Arthur seemed to flinch at the contact and his shivering only seemed to grow stronger…. John began to wonder if he was doing something wrong. He touched his skin to Arthur’s and felt the same dry heat. The water mostly evaporated in some parts. What if this is not enough?“Yorick, what am I supposed to do? How do I help him?”“You are doing what you can, my king. The fever rages, but the water does offer relief.”John slightly relaxed at this. He was doing right, he was helping! A bit more confident, John made another pass with the wet cloth over the hotter areas of his neck and face.“Yorick, will the talisman help him to heal from this?”“No, my king. The talisman restores the consciousness to the body, but that is all.” Yorick explained.John took a breath. One step at a time. He re-wet the now slightly warm cloth and laid it as flat to Arthur’s forehead as possible. He trembled under the cold dripping from his brow into his hair and down his neck. That seemed to be all John could do for now. Planting his hand on Arthur’s chest, John resumed the now familiarly slow but steady rhythm as he collected himself.“Then you will just have to get better, Arthur. I’ll take care of us… It will be fine…” And if John’s words shook, nobody who could hear him commented on it.
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He was floating. He saw nothing, but that was normal now. The Dark was a welcome friend, and he, it’s honored guest.He was floating, as if he was at sea. Familiarity surrounded him. Odd sounds of distant laughter seemed to rise and fall at the mercy of an unknowable tide. The giggles twinkled in the unmoving darkness and just out of reach, before fading into nothing. The absence left a hollowness that he could not describe, even if he still possessed the capacity to construct words.He was floating, and he was nameless. Thoughts were abstract, and fleeting, slippery in the less than nimble grasp of his mind. He reached and reached until finally, the minute he had the glimpse of some fundamental truth, it was gone before understanding had the chance to take hold. He was floating, and that was all there was. He was floating, and nothing could reach him here. Why did that fill him with such sadness?He was floating, but he was far from weightless.He was floating, but he was far from free. Numb limbs refused their owner’s commands. Was he their owner? Was he their captor, or were they his? Who was he to tell something else what to do…..? Who was he?He was floating, but he was nowhere near rest. Where was he? He couldn’t understand. Over and over again, a name reached to escape his lips, but died before he could hope to utter it.He was floating……… and he was so very afraid. There was nothing here for him. Was he truly here at all?He was floating, but he was being submerged. What might have been his skin burned as the rush of water enveloped him, cradling him almost lovingly. There was nothing for him up there… but for how long was there someone waiting for him below…?He was floating, but he couldn’t breathe. His lungs cried for air. Or was that himself… or was it the child? Maybe it was both… maybe it was neither. Perhaps it was always meant to be this way…. or maybe it didn’t matter. Regardless…..They were floating, and the sea boiled.
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The moon was high in the night sky, and the stars shown brighter than anything John had seen. More clear and brilliant than Arkam, Addison…. And certainly more than New York. The night was not truly dark, despite the lack of fire light. As beautiful as it was, the angle of the moonlight cast odd shadows through the irregularly shaped window holes of the cave. The moon rays almost too bright for his eyes, which felt quite itchy and overwarm no matter how many times he blinked. John eventually settled on re-wetting the cloth and draping it over his closed eyes and groaned with relief. While their acquaintance was but a brief few hours, John found he now longed for sleep more than ever before.The next few hours went on like clockwork. Arthur shivered and uttered fragments of desperate words. John gently shushed him as he continued to dunk the cloth and reapply thin layers of cool water to his fevered friend’s upper body. When Arthur had first began muttering to himself, John was elated; believing his friend to finally be rousing. It was only when he didn’t stop muttering, not even pausing when John excitedly (and perhaps tearfully) greeted him, that John began to fear that Arthur was not truly with him. Arthur gained no awareness in his tone as John repeatedly called his name. Slowly the mutters turned to moans, which turned to sobbing as Arthur shifted in the throws of his dream. John’s attempts to wake him proved fruitless. Arthur was lost in himself and the horrors his overheated brain plagued upon him.John fell into the now familiar routine of murmuring comforting phrases, that very well could be lies at this point. Anything to get him to sleep through the night. This was not the first time John had to lay awake while a nightmare-rattled Arthur thrashed and called out in his sleep. John always felt like an intruder in those moments. This was no different in that regard.It was not long before John could be reasonably sure what Arthur was dreaming about, and he didn’t envy him. He wished Arthur at least this one ounce of privacy, the ability to keep his deeper most turmoil and share his struggles when he was ready. However, like this, it all was laid painfully bare. Eventually, Arthur found the word he was looking for. Or, well, the name. The only name. The one he was now on this 13th century mission for. The carrot and the stick. His reason. And he cried for her, until exhaustion pulled him under once more…“He has fallen back into sleep, my king.”Yorick’s disposition to the situation seemed to be a bit more solemn than it had previously. The usually upbeat tone of his chattering cooled as the night went on. An observation that befuddled John, but ultimately spurred him to ask what he needed to.“Will this kill him, Yorick?”“It is hard to say. Perhaps not. I know a great number of things, my king! But I cannot see into the future…”John felt like the vanguard was shaping up to be much less useful than Arthur previously hoped.John groaned as the cold of the rag on his eyes gave way to a lukewarm damp weight. John resoaked their rag and once again dabbed it over their neck and face.Yorick was an annoyance…. But……“How do you feel about this world, Yorick?”Despite the annoyance Yorick brought, John found that he was grateful for his company. At least there was someone there that could hear him. With Arthur out cold, he felt so incredibly alone. He had not been alone, properly alone, since the dark world and he did not think he could face the weight of it again. He was not ready to be, and he welcomed any distraction from it.“How do you mean?”For crying out loud…..“I mean what do you…erm, how do you see yourself here? In this world. What… do you see in it?”“I see a great many things, my king. I see our travels, I see the souls I seek out, I see their lives as they pass through their eyes, and I see-”“Yes, yes, I know all that! I just mean to ask if you found any reason for being here? Any, sentimentality? Is there anything that you hold dear, in this plane of existence?”Yorick sat with that request for a moment.“I seek knowledge. I hold stories, my king. I am the recounter of all that has happened through those who live. That is the purpose of my existence. To serve you and provide you with my knowledge. But if I were to say I held sentimentality for any one thing, it would be rocks.”John did not know what he expected, but it was certainly not that.“Rocks?” He said in what was almost a laugh.“Yes! Rocks can do nothing but tell stories. What they are made from, their journey as to what they have faced and been shaped from, where they have been and what they were made for. Rocks are filled with stories, and their natures revealed with their very existence are quite diverse and marvelous to witness, my king.”“That is very interesting, Yorick!” John says in the most syrupy sweet tone he can muster.John did not find this perspective all that interesting, but he could pretend to see the appeal for now. John could barely contain his relief of have someone talking to him, distracting him from his partner’s wincing at the cold cloth, from counting Arthur’s hitching breaths as he shivers through the only treatment he could provide, and from the growing sense of dread as their skin’s refusal to cool in the past several hours. He would take anything at this point.“Thank you, my king!”John prepared to ask another question (perhaps about any poems Yorick may have stored in the pulp that was once a brain) when he heard movement by the cave entrance.“My King, someone approaches!”
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The light crunch of grit onto the stone entryway, a foot treaded lightly as to not make much of a disturbance.John was known for many things, his quick thinking, his quick temper, his quickness to jump into action….So how was it that his mind felt so slow in this moment?A head hooded in shadow, popped around the corner of the doorway… studying the prone figure inside.There was not one thing he could think of to get themselves out of their current situation. How could he defend themselves with an arm and a leg? He can’t run! Should he pretend to be asleep? What would the right move be? John needed Arthur awake! “Arthur, for fucks sake I need you to Wake UP!”“He still cannot hear you, my king!”The figure shrunk back a bit as the grating voice echoed a bit. “Hello?” came a hushed greeting.Fuuuuuuck, this was not good. A strange man, in a cave, with a decaying severed head…. Regardless of what century they were in, the ramifications of being seen in such a way were no doubt dire.“Greetings!”“YORICK!” But there was very little he could do about that now. Especially since the hooded figure had decided to cross the threshold of the doorway and light the small lantern that was hidden in their long cloak. A beam of light swept in their direction, landing first on Arthur but made a quick jump to the head laying by his feet. The figure froze and took a shaky step back, clearly thinking the obvious.“Have no fear, there is little that can harm you here!” Yorick piped up.The mysterious figure, who seemed to loom tall and imposingly dark in their hooded cloak gave an undignified shriek. The jump of surprise sent them fumbling and juggling the thin light stick between their hands before it fell to the ground.Re-affirming their grip on their light source, they pointed the stick at Yorick with both hands… as if holding a weapon.“What are you? Were you the one I heard earlier? Who did this to you?”“Yori-”“I am a Vanguard, a seeker of knowledge. The man who slumbers freed me. He is the one who gave me a mouth!” Yorick supplied helpfully. As if to demonstrate truth of the final statement, he gave a few extra clicks with his jaw.“riiiiiight,” the figure drawled. Though, seemingly a bit less frightened, they shifted their light back to Arthur and the rather pitiful excuse for a sick-bay. John screwed his eyes shut as the light stabbed through his sensitive retinas.“Is anyone here hurt? Sir? Are you alright?”“Yorick, tell it-”“Oh yes! Hurt and taken ill. He cannot hear you, Master has been stabbed and generously hosts a vivacious pathogen in his body!”“…….You’re a morbid little one, aren’t you?”“Why, thank you!”“You are welcome. Now, what are we dealing with? Do you know his symptoms?”“YORICK, for Fucks Sake-”“Master has an internal temperature a bit higher than is advisable for humans. But this is the ideal living conditions for the swarm of beings now living-”“Symptoms, little guy! Otherwise I can’t help him. The fever is a good start though!”They, want to help them?The figure finally closed the distance and crouched beside Arthur, and pulled out a pair of what looked to be plastic gloves before placing one wrist on his forehead and a pair of fingers on his jugular.Their hands were gentle but purposeful as they felt around Arthur’s face and neck.“Yorick, tell them he has had a fever so high he fainted, that he was coughing and-”“Pulse is erratic, fever roughly 103 degrees Fahrenheit, lymph nodes are swollen to hell.” The visitor began rattling off the signs of the illness while they analyzed Arthur’s body. Prying John’s eyes open, they shown the light into them. John reacted without thinking, using his arm to slap the cruel stick and all its pain away from assaulting him. Fuck, he gave away his position, they knew someone was still home in Arthur’s head. Startled, the guest jumped back. As they did, John finally caught a glimpse of the cloaked individual’s face in the stray beam of moonlight… and recognized the face that stared back at him.“Sir, are you with me? I am here to help,” she assured with her hands raised in a placating manner.…….It was Lilly….“I know you are sick. I just want to help you feel better, my friend. Would you let me help you?” The stranger who couldn’t possibly be Lilly attempted and waited.For all the caution John wanted to have, all he felt was relief and a great joy that overwhelmed him. Someone was here to save Arthur! Someone was coming to their aid. No, not just someone! Lilly! He would finally be able to say everything he had been wishing he could explain to her, to tell her how much she gave him, and to tell her how grateful he was to her. How he …John halted that line of thought. There was no way this could be Lily. Lily was in Massachusetts, in the 1930’s. He needed to keep his head on straight. Maybe he would get the chance someday to share his feelings with her, but today was not that day. But all that meant nothing if he didn’t help her to help Arthur.John gave a thumbs up, and the kind smile that broke out across Not-Lilly’s face was a sight John would treasure in his heart forever. Even if it wasn’t her, he did that! He put that smile there.“Thank you, sir! Ok, I see some bandages peaking through your shirt. Your friend says you have been injured. Do you mind if I take a look?”“Yes, whatever you have to do!” John replied, but confirmed with another thumbs up.“My King said, ‘whatever you have to do!’”That gave the woman pause. “Said?” John held his nonexistent breath.“Yes, he speaks to you but cannot be heard as he is now” Yorick elaborated.“Yorick, what do you-”“And you can understand him?”“Yes!”“Oookay. Well, I am talking to a decapitated head who can read my patient’s mind, and somehow this is still not the weirdest thing to happen today. Think you can translate?”“That I can!”“Great!!! Ok, sir-”“John..” “John!”“… John! Lovely to meet you, John! My name is Eliza. You are in a bit of a pickle, but I want to help with that. I am checking your wounds to see if that might be causing some of your troubles.”The pang John felt at the name came as no surprise, but he scolds himself for expecting something else. He knew this could not possibly be her, but still felt disappointment wash over him at the confirmation. As promised, Eliza lifted the breastplate and loosened the bandages with no issues before taking a peek. Whatever her thoughts, her face did not betray them. With the same calm demeanor, she then deftly re-wrapping the wounds.“From what I can tell, your wounds could use more TLC but overall look ok. I suspect you may have a viral infection of some kind. But I need to run tests before I know the best way to treat you, and I don’t have what I need to help you out here. I live in the cave next door! I have more supplies there, and a warm place for you. I would be able to treat you better over there. Would you come with me?”Cave next door? The one the darkling was heading towards…. Would he regret this choice? But what would she gain from going through all this? To play this rouse with him when he was very obviously in no position to stop her from killing him. He looked into her eyes, the very same warmth in them as when she had first said ‘Good morning, John’…. No, not her, this was not Lily! Even so, what other choice did they have?“Ok, I trust you” “He says ‘Ok, I trust you.’” Yorick translated.“Thank you, John. And thank you.. What should I call you, big guy?”“I am not big, as I am but a head. However, I am called Yorick!”“Wonderful, thank you Yorick! Ok, let’s get moving. Weird things happen at night here… it is not a good time to be out and about.”Eliza grabbed their bag and apologetically stuffed Yorick inside. John wondered at how easily she came to accept this situation but decided to put a pin in it for now. Through trial and error, the pair found that they could shuffle Arthur between Eliza supporting the right side of his weight while John attempted “steps” that were more similar to carefully planned one legged hops. The height difference led to a few issues as Arthur offered no assistance in keeping any sort of posture, and opted to flop with each step as he draped over the poor woman. “You know, one of you could have warned me that your right side would be completely dead-weight,” Eliza grunted with the awkwardness of Arthur’s less than cooperative gangliness. John was sure they would have made quite the sight for anyone who was there to witness. Hopefully they’ll be able to laugh about this later.Eventually they made it out of their cave and toward the more concealed entrance of another. Or, what looks like it was once an entrance… but was now overflowing with what seemed to be avalanche of large stones. John began to regret his decision, until Eliza pulled out an oddly normal-looking piece of shale and pressed it to the doorway. One moment the passage was filled to the brim with boulders and pebbles alike. The next, it was as if the rocks melted into nothingness through the cave floor.“The Cave has been revealed! The way is clear for entry!”A distant roar could be heard, suspiciously close to the barns they had passed.“Shhh, Yorick. You’ll get us in trouble” she quietly scolded the head before nodding at John, signaling him to start hopping inside with her. “Just wait until I’ve closed the doorway, then we can talk more.” Reaching back, she tapped the rock against the doorway once more and a swift tumble of rocks fell… from.. somewhere… to cover the entrance. Behind them, a wall of solid cobblestone stood; as if it had always been there. Nobody could get in… but nobody could get out….. Staring fearfully into the sudden void, John began questioning his choice in earnest.He was about to attempt a break for it when a soft light whooshed into existence through the hall. The stones in the ceiling seemed to come to life as they lit up the previously abyssally black cave.“Ok! We’re safe to talk but let’s get you to a bed, John.”Arthur’s head has flopped forward again, but it seemed to be a more intricately cut cave. The hallway had a more oppressive rectangular shape that seemed about 7 feet tall and wide enough for about 2 people to walk uninhibited. That did not mean they were graceful though. By this point, Arthur had nearly fallen over twice.“Sorry, sorry. I gotcha! We’re almost there, just have to take a left and we’ll have made it to the medbay.”“Medbay? What is this place?” John was quickly regretting his choice to be here as he saw what was held in the doorways they passed.The hallway stretched on a ways, and had several doors on each side.One room contained nothing but books and a wobbly looking desk. Perhaps a library of sorts? The next room was a kitchen like set up decorated with herbs hanging to dry and root vegetables strewn around the countertops. A room on the right had all sorts of angry looking tubes and whistles coming from inside. The room at the far end of the hall was far more sinister. The small doorway directly ahead of them was open and revealed an alter, which stood in front of a stone slab in the center of the room. Its rusted mud color off-putting, and made John feel queasy just looking at it. The table was littered with what looked to be random trinkets but before John could get a proper look, Eliza turned them left into a room a few doors away from the dreadful space.“My King asks, ‘What is this place?’” Yorick relayed the question to Eliza in a cheery tone.“John, Yorick! My name is John!”Before Eliza had a chance to answer, Yorick quickly corrected himself. “Apologies! John, asks ‘What is this place?’”Shifting her grip to better hold Arthur up, Eliza replies.“Well, John. I believe this tunnel used to belong to some sort of religious group. I am not really from around here, so I can’t say who?”With another flop of Arthur’s head, John was able to see the room they were moving toward. Reminiscent of the hospital room in three ways; an odd benchlike bed in the center of the room, the odd sterile smell of strong cleaning agents, and a cupboard of what John assumed was medical supplies.“Ok, I can tell you more after I get you into bed. How does that sound?” Eliza suggested as she huffed. Arthur was not a heavy man, by any means, but dead-weight was still dead-weight.Finally reaching the bed, Eliza and John backed Arthur up onto it until they could ease him up onto the admittedly soft surface. John honestly did not realize how heavy his limbs felt until now. The shakiness seemed to come back with a vengeance as he felt his hands vibrate. Eliza arranged him flat on his back and grabbed a pillow from a shelf below the bed. Easing it under his head, Eliza took a step back and a moment to catch her breath. “Whooo boy” she exhaled with both hands on her hips. Taking a deep inhale, she stretched and decided it was time to get to work. With a tight spin, Eliza removed her cloak as she began walking in the opposite direction of the bed. “Ok, so you wanted to know what this place is. Again, not really sure but it is the place I am calling home for now. Something bad happened here, that is for sure… and when I arrived it was deserted.” She hung her cloak on a coat rack toward the entrance and placed Yorick on one of the rungs via his chain. “Well… ok, not deserted but definitely not in use. Whatever cult was here left a lot of things behind. I believe they disbanded. But nobody will bother us here. Nobody else has been here in a year.”In the opposite corner of the room there appeared to be a working sink, which she used then to wash her hands thoroughly. “I came here by accident… I really have no clue how yet. But I came here with absolutely nothing and nobody. I found a place to call home until I could find a way back, and those are all the basics!”“Now, I would really like to begin with a plan of action. Normally, I would begin by treating your symptoms while I test for what kind bug you picked up out here. The illnesses that get spread around here can get nasty, and I would like to nip it in the bud as fast as possible. Bu your case is a tad bit more complicated.” She began pulling on another pair of gloves and what looked to be a box of pills, bottles with some solutions within, bandages and something else that looked to be a small slab of frosted glass..“I know that you have a fever, and definitely want to get a proper read of that soon. I also know we need to redress those wounds. We don’t want you to have another infection on top of this. But this is where things get tricky. I suspect you have had a stroke, John. Most likely from your wound. I believe that explains your unilateral paralysis, and your inability to speak. I…. really don’t know how our friend Yorick over there ties in with all this… But this kind of brain damage can be bad and needs to be treated immediately in order to prevent more damage to other areas of the brain. Is there anything else that I should know?”John thought for a moment. He distantly knew what a stroke was, but did not know what the treatment could be. If he told her about Arthur and his predicament, would this help or put them in an even more compromising situation?He looked into Eliza’s eyes. In the yellow glow of the ceiling lights, it was obvious that this was not his Lily. She was much younger than Lily, with freckles that rimmed her cheeks and the olive tone of someone who spent time outdoors. Where Lily’s were a deep forest green, Eliza’s were a warm chestnut brown. Their manner of speaking, their mannerisms….It was not Lily. But her smile and the softness of her eyes, they connected the two women, bringing out the similarities between them in a way that nagged at John’s heart in a way he couldn’t explain. In spite of all the weirdness he has seen here, the dread and the general weirdness of it all… he trusted her…“Yorick, please tell her everything I am about to say. To the letter……”With a breath, John began their story.“Arthur has not had a stroke.”
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The beginning seemed like a good place to start. “Entity from another plane of existence” seemed to be a safe self-description for a first conversation. John summarized how his and Arthur’s destinies became intertwined, the kind of man Arthur is, and what he means to him.John is careful that the details he shares are his own, and of his own journey to being home with Arthur. Arthur’s demons are his to do as he wished with and not for John to share. He describes his role in Arthur’s body now and how he presents is most certainly not a stroke. He explained their sudden(mysterious) arrival to the 13th century, their run in with Horig and his mushroom ring, the rapidness of this illness, and their run in with a being of darkness.John knew there were certain cards he needed to keep to his chest for the moment, and kept his explanations sincere but concise. But letting someone see him, who he is now, felt… good.When he finally finished, John looked up and followed Eliza’s gaze down to his own hand. He had been absently fiddling with Arthur’s for who knows how long, but now couldn’t convince himself to let go.Eliza sat with the information for a long moment, face blank as she processed… Which didn’t take long as she seemed to make a decision. “Alright, I believe there are more conversations to be had. But since you are not having a stroke, I think the best course of action is to take care of that fever!” She sat up straighter with a look of resolve and focus as she gathered the supplies.“The day I was dropped here, I happened to be carrying my backpack. I had very few items with me, just enough to get me through the day around campus. I was having a rough day then, so I still had some good old-fashioned Tylenol in my bag. That should help with the fever. Then I want to get some testing out of the way. Finally, we’ll see to re-dressing the wound.”She pulled out a different glass device. “We’ll be taking his temperature with this. It is similar to a normal thermometer. It reads temperature, and I have the conversion to Fahrenheit. We stick this end under his tongue and wait for the for the light.”“The light? What kind of thermometer is this?” Yorick helpfully intervened.“An accurate one! It reads the information of whoever holds it and translates that into a series of lights, which can be broken up and interpreted”“Thanks, bud! The first two sequences indicate the body weight and temperature. Still haven’t cracked the other codes yet. But I have used it many times, it is perfectly safe!” She says as she slides the glass rod under Arthur’s tongue and held it in place.They all sat in silence as they waited for the light.John decided that if he had a voice(sort of) then he was going to break the silence for all their sakes. “So, I take it you are a nurse?”Eliza startled at Yorick’s voice, almost like broken out of a trance. Still focusing on the rod, Eliza chuckled before shaking her head. “Nope, no I was not! Though, I guess you learn a thing or two when you come from a family of them.”“Oh?”“Yup, Nurses from my great-grandmother down until me. I guess I kinda broke the mold when I decided to go into pharmacological research.”“What is that?”“Hmmmmmm…. It’s research done into what chemicals could make people feel better, which ones make you feel worse and why so that we can have better tools to help people live better.”“Huh! That is impressive.”“….. I suppose….. We have made quite a few advancements in the last 100 years. The 1930’s was a completely different set of rules than the 2020's. It is quite exciting when you think about it, how much has changed. I just wanted to be a part of the change in how we help people.”There was a story here, John knew it. “Your family must be proud?”Eliza looked to the side before replying. “……not exactly……Nursing was kind of a family thing.” Eliza gave a wry smile and chuckled. “And tradition was a Big deal with my family.”“Really?” The prospect of family, not something John dwelled upon too often. Having a people to which you belonged and would love you unconditionally. He now had that with Arthur… but only Arthur. It seemed like a distant dream. One he may not be able to have, but would more than gladly live vicariously through someone else’s descriptions. “Yeah! Holidays, music, plays, trips. Especially the Boston area. It was all really silly, but it was kinda our thing I guess. It even went as far as naming! Funny thing is, my mom wanted me to have the legacy name: Lily.”John’s daydreaming came to an abrupt end… Had he heard that correctly?Oblivious, Eliza continued. “My dad fought tooth and nail against it though. Never was sure why, but I guess he wanted me to make my own choices, rather than be stuck trying to fill out someone-else’s shadow. So, I was named ‘Elizabeth’!” She finished with a theatrical emphasis to her name, as if announcing a prized fighter to the ring and laughed a bit.“Like my name, I guess you could say I was born to break the mold, but not so far as to end up in a much different field.” The silence stretched, and Eliza began to tap nervously on her knee.“……..Soooo, disembodied alien from the 1930’s, aye?”The light finally went off and a complicated series of primary colors were now filling John’s line of vision. ‘It’s like that damned lantern all over again!’ He thought as he screwed his eyes shut.“Got it! OH right, sorry John!” Suddenly, the hellish lightshow was gone. John opened their eyes again and regretted it. The afterglow effect was almost worse, and his already fever-bright eyes felt even more strained. He heard the scribbling of a pen against paper in the far right of the room and some quiet mutterings as Eliza apparently worked out some mental math.“Ok, so it seems like his temperature is roughly 103. Definitely not ideal but we can work with that! I want to get some meds in him to help bring it down, then I want to take a quick nasal swab to test for the kind of infection he has. Afterwards, I want to take a look at that wound. First thing is first, let’s wake up Sleeping Beauty, shall we?”With that, Eliza nudged Arthur’s shoulder.“Mr. Lester, I need you to wake up now! It’s time for you to take you medication.”Calling to him did seem to start him mumbling once more. Eliza tried again, but now shook his shoulders firmly while calling his name.With a gasp, Arthur was awake and slapping foreign hands away from himself. Eliza immediately stepped back and tried to explain. John over everything tried to reassure Arthur that everything was ok! Yorick dutifully recited everything John said until everything was a cacophony of noise and voices.“John! I don’t- where—JOHN!”Ok, this was getting them nowhere.“Eliza, let me try to calm him down! Yorick, stop repeating everything I say until I tell you!” Eliza gave a nod and Yorick emphatically agreed.“John, why is—and where are we? Why do I-” Arthur’s trail of questions was halted by a particularly harsh coughing fit. Arthur sat up to an upright position in an attempt to breathe easier.John sighed and brought his hand up to his chest, tapping an all to familiar rhythm and gently rolling out the comforting platitudes until Arthur came back up for air.“Arthur, everything is alright. We are in a medical bay of sorts. You are sicker than we thought and passed out in the night.”“Ok, ok.. who, who was touching me? How did we even get here?”“That was Eliza. She is helping us. A person, like us… I think she was brough through time as well! She has some medicine for us to take and reduce your fever.”Arthur tried to process the information as best he could. It was clear thinking was a strain at the moment. But he did come to one conclusion.“So you just Let some random person take my sleeping body!?!”“…WHAT!”“I was out for one night, ONE night, and the two of you have somehow managed to get us kidnapped by another eldritch monster!?!”“Arthur, that isn’-”“Master, kidnapping is an inaccurate term for what is happening here.”“And for the record, I am not a monster. Also, John and Yor-”“Oh, I will get to you in a minute Yorick! And as for you, this is a private conversation, and you will bloody wait your turn!” Arthur all but growled with an accusing finger pointed in the general direction of the offending voices.Arthur paused for a moment in thought.“AND HOW THE FUCK DOES SHE KNOW ABOUT YOU!?!”“Arthur, there is a lot to talk about, but right now is not the time! You need to take some medication to lower your fever, it is too high!”“I am not taking pills from some random character, John!”“Arthuuuur!” John growled a bit.“John, you are asking me to take unknown drugs from a strange person! This is not smart, and the answer is ‘No’!”“Arthur, you have reason to be scared. But I need you to trust me right now. I hear you; I do. But your fever is getting worse as we speak. You don’t know how long I spent trying to get it down… So please, trust me when I say I know what I am saying. I have got us!”Arthur opened and closed his mouth a total of three times, clearly wanting to argue with this. But ultimately held out a shivering hand to where he presumed this ‘Eliza’ was. “I trust you, John.” Arthur said quietly as two pills were placed on his palm. Tossing them in his mouth, a cup of water was also nudged into his hand, and he drained the cup as best he could.“Thank you, Arthur.”“Don’t mention it..” Arthur said, but the tension in his voice still failed to leave. He has pushed his back to the wall and did not seem eager to lay back down again.John sighed and decided to begin describing their whereabouts. “We are in the medical wing of a long cave. The room is rectangular, and reminiscent of a hospital room. The walls are a solid grey stone similar to those of the cave we made shelter in. We are in a sparse but soft bed at the far end of the room. It is plain to look at, but the room has a side table, a writing desk, a cabinet that seems to hold most of the medical supplies she owns. Eliza’s gaze is on you, and she’s furrowing her brow… as if contemplating the best move forward from here. She’s turned around and is taking the chair from writing desk. She’s pulling it up next to the sick-bed. She is facing you again and has sat down.”A small sigh escapes the woman before begins to speak. “Mr. Lester, I promise that no harm will come to you here. I have lived here for a year, and it is perfectly safe. I found you in the cave next door. You have an infection, but I am going to help you kick it to the curb! To do that though, I need to know what it is that we are dealing with.”“She has pulled out what looks to be…. A cotton swab on a stick?”“A q-tip?” Arthur asks incredulously. “You’re saying you’re going to try healing me with a q-tip?”“She has given you the look of someone who is trying to be kind but also quickly losing their patience, Arthur. You could try to be less snappish!”Arthur supposed that did come out a bit condescending, in all honestly. But nothing she was saying made any sense! “…No, Mr. Lester. The ‘q-tip’ will not heal you… But, it will help me collect a sample of the pathogen through your mucosal membranes. I will work to identify the agent and test for potential target proteins! Once identified, I’ll synthesize a medication to kill it and heal you.”“She is looking at us expectantly, as if waiting for a reply.”“Do you have any questions, Mr. Lester?”Arthur’s mind ran with questions, but particularly rough coughing fit made him reconsider his first line of questioning.“What would you have to do?”Eliza seemed to relax at this. “I’ll need to stick this into your nostrils and swab the walls. I suspect you to have a respiratory infection, and the nose is the most reliable place to get a decent sample size for testing.”“…Eugh”, John voiced, and Arthur did not disagree. That… did not sound pleasant. Arthur wrinkled his nose at the idea, but it did make sense. Sort of…“Fine. If it gets us one step further to health, then I suppose we should get it over with.”“Alright! Love the energy, Mr. Lester! Are you ready?”“I suppose…”“Ok, on three. One, two, three!”With that, the uncomfortable experience was just about as bad as Arthur was expecting. He expected the need to sneeze, but the sudden urge to cough was monstrous. As quick as it began, the instrument of his suffering was removed and placed into a tubelike container. What she did with it was anyone’s guess as Arthur coughed and sneezed with a vengeance into his right hand.“Was*hack* d-did koff!- fuHaA-PCHOO!” He spluttered as he tried to speak.“Ow, the dad sneeze really has a grip on you, doesn't it?”“Wha-H’TCHUH?” came Arthur’s confused reply.“Salud, my friend!”“Yorick, please translate to Eliza.”“Yes, my ki—John!”“Did you get what you needed? I can’t see…” John informed. Arthur hacking almost overshadowed Yorick’s relay, as if to prove his point.“I’ve got it guys, you are all set. I think I have.. There we go! Alright, Arthur I have tissues and a trashcan. Use as many as you like. John, can you take care of him while I start working on this?” She holds up the now glowing vial in her gloved hand, while Arthur honks into a Kleenex.“We’ll be just fine here”, John assures.“Good, take care of him you two!” Eliza calls as she exits into the hallway and to the right.After a moment, Arthur had himself cleaned up a bit and cleared his throat. “Well… that was horrible.”“Sounded like it, trashcan’s directly to your right on top of the chair.”Arthur was admittedly tired, but there was too much he did not know to even consider sleeping. They were in another unfamiliar cave, in another vulnerable circumstance with another person he did not know.“Ok, what do we know about what we are doing here? What is this place? Who Is that? And what did you tell her?”“From what Eliza told me, she's a researcher that was brought here from the future like we were. About 100 years in the future, actually. But she doesn’t know how. She thinks this place was a kind of cultist temple, but she doesn’t know what they worshiped. She seems to have found some odd devices here that she repurposed for first aid. One room had an alter, and a well used stone slab. That, and the mechanism to open the cave entrance does give her theory some credence in that regard. It was, otherworldly to say the least.”“How is that?” Arthur asked, nervous energy pitching.“There was a wall of rocks blocking the entrance. She has a flat chunk of flaky rock somewhere on her. When she touched it to the entrance, and obstruction disappeared long enough for us to enter. Then it closed behind us.”Changing tunnels did not sit well with Arthur. This did not sit well with him at all.“Ughhh, not this shit again…. Is there anything else about this place you noticed, John? A way out maybe? I will Not be cut open again, or so help me….”John thought hard for a moment. “I didn’t see any exits, but I also didn’t get to see all the rooms. Hmmm, there was a room filled with ancient looking texts. If nothing else, we could read up about what this cult was doing, and see what we could use while we’re here. Also see if there is any information about the owner of the castle.”“John, we really do not have that much time. We don’t know when Prince Warin is to be expected or if we want to risk spending time here. Who knows what ‘Eliza’ could be planning… She could be a member of this cult for all we know!” “No, Arthur. She isn’t.”“What makes you so sure?”“I am not, not entirely. But I trust her.” At Arthur’s unconvinced hum, John guessed it was time to just come out with.“Do you remember Lily?”“What, yes of course! Why are you bringing her up now?”“I think that Eliza is Lily’s great-granddaughter…”“Her granddaughter!?!” “Yes, that is what I just said Arthur!”“Ok ok ok, I heard you! Just… why do you think they’re related?” Arthur busied himself with trying to pull the sheets over his shaking frame.“They are the spitting image, Arthur! And we got to talking while you were out-”“Yes, I still have questions as to how you were able to manage that.” He finally managed to pull the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders.“I’ll get to that!!! Yorick translated for me, as he was doing earlier. She got to talking about her family. How they were all nurses starting with her great-grandmother, and how they had a legacy name… Lily….”“Well…. That doesn’t definitively prove they were related, John. A generational career is not uncommon, and really neither is the name Lily. And it isn’t uncommon for people to look alike. There were plenty of times I thought I saw… I thought I saw Faroe in crowds o-or playing at the playground… But I was just seeing what my heart wanted me to see, John. It’s just what the mind does with grief.”They both took pause a heavy pause as Arthur pulled the blanket tighter around himself.“But for consideration’s sake, let’s just say she was ‘your’ Lily’s grandchild. What does that mean for us? Doesn’t that all seem a little too close to home to be a coincidence….?”John saw where this was going… The possibility that someone could and would use loved ones to get them to do their bidding was no longer a far away fear… It was already a reality with Faroe… what if this was a warning?“I admit, that does not bode well for any of us… but realistically, what do you think we should do? Escape? Flee into the night? How long would you even be able to stay upright, Arthur? You passed out, out of nowhere and I couldn’t bring you out of it! You could die if that happens again!”Arthur huffed an indignant sound before hacking out another string of coughs. Already feeling a bit lightheaded, Arthur had to agree. “Ok, I see your point. But we have no way to help get her back home, John. The best thing we can do is rest up and leave when I am recovered enough to make it to Castle Kerringford. If we leave her alone, maybe no attention will be drawn to her. I mean, according to her she has been living here for a whole year with no problem. And has this whole set up, so it-”“She did not say she had no problems, Arthur…”“….Ok. I don’t imagine it would be easy by any means, but-”“Arthur, I know you were out for most of this, but do you not realize how quickly she came to just accept our situation? I told her about me, about how we share a body… Heck, she barely reacted to Yorick all things considered…. It sounds like she’s almost, used to the otherworldly occurrences and creatures.”“This is leading me to further suspect her being a part of this cult, John… Whatever is going on here, we pretend we suspect nothing, and leave when I am not about to keel over.”“For the record, I still don’t believe she is a cultist… She looks like someone who is just trying to do what they can with the hand they were dealt… But I have to agree, we can’t risk her getting mixed up in our shit.”With that, Eliza came in with two cups of steaming liquid and a skip in her step.“Guyyys! I have great news!”Practically buzzing, she almost spilled the mugs’ contents on herself.“Oof, hot! But tea first! Yep, holding it right in front of you. Careful, it’s hot!”John guided the mug into Arthur’s hand, who practically basked in the warmth it gave.“Thank you” he sighed as he closed his eyes in relief.“No problem, Mr. Lester! Ok, so I know what’s wrong with you!!! Or, well. What kind of bug you have! Which means I have some ideas on how to start treatment!”“She has walked over to take a seat in the chair by your bed, grinning from ear-to-ear Arthur. Oh, she’s stopped. Now she’s furrowing her brow, now she looks surprised, she’s rubbing the back of her neck— she’s let go of her neck, ok now she’s biting her lip as she holds her elbows-”“Um, Yorick.. Please don’t relay John’s description’s of what I am doing... it’s.. um… making me a bit self-conscious.” She interrupts with a nervous chuckle.“Understood!”Oh. Well, Arthur had some sympathy for that. “Sorry about that, Yorick can be a bit… obtuse.”It had been a while since he had much of a window into how others perceived him. But being put under a microscope, is not a fun experience. “My whole perception of the world is through description now-a-days… and-”“And I am really not used to people being able to hear me so I-” Yorick’s translation was again, cut short.“No, no it’s fine! ” Waving a dismissive hand, Eliza gave a bit more volume to her reply than seemed strictly necessary. “Really, no harm done!”“She’s shook her head, and the grin is back in place.”“But anyway, I have a few ideas already and should be able to start testing for potential targets tonight. Great news, right! Do you have any questions?”“Eliza’s taking a sip of her coffee as she waits for us to reply”Arthur stops huddling with his cup at the description.“Coffee? You have coffee?”“Hm? Oh, yes I do! Almost out though.” “But, you gave me tea?”“Yup!”“….Can I have coffee instead?”“No, caffeine is bad for wound healing.”“I really doubt it would cause that much of an issue…” Arthur mumbled as he took a sip, then not even a second later blanched.“What on earth is this!?!”“She has raised a single eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.”“Raspberry leaf tea, Mr. Lester. Maybe not my best blend, that is what I could forage for out here. Apparently black tea isn't even native to England. It isn't a thing here in 'The Lord's Year of 12,35', " she elaborated, enunciating the date in what was apparently her best attempt at an English accent."Or at least, that's date the farmer told me. Apparently they didn't start importing the stuff until centuries from now. Unexpected but what can ya do?" Eliza gave a shrug and continued. "Anyway, it's supposed to be rich in zinc and antioxidants, which are both things that should help you out.”“Arthur, just drink the fucking tea.. It can’t be that bad.”“It Is ‘that bad’, John! I've seen this movie before. Why is it so bitter?”“Ummm, maybe because honey is kinda hard to come by in this century. Unless you want to die from be anaphylactic shock, that is…”“Is that a threat?”“For Fuck’s Sake Arthur!!!”“hmmmmm....You know what, I can have all of the hard earned coffee that I want. And do you know why? Because I don’t have several stab wounds, nor an infection. Thus, I don’t have to worry about the probability of increasing my blood pressure leading to blood clots or hemorrhaging. Let alone dehydration from the fever! So until you have a normal body temperature, you will have water or your herbal tea and deal with it like an adult.”They sat in awkward silence for what felt like forever. Arthur quietly sipped the tea again.“She’s looked down and has put her forehead into her hand. Christ, Arthur. I know the fever has you a little confused but think. What could she gain by trying to poison us?”“Mr. Lester…I am trying to help you. That's it. There is nothing funky with the tea. I need the coffee, literally my last bit of instant, so I can stay awake to test the the weak points of the pathogen, then the efficiency and dosage of the medication. The plan was to come in here to share some good news with you, but I also need to be frank with you. Time is not on our side here. From what I have seen of this thing, it is aggressive and extremely contagious. If I don’t treat you, I do not see a good outcome.”“She has looked up at you, and into our eyes…”“In trying to help you, Mr. Lester, I have put myself in real danger. This illness you picked up is not one from either of our times… it’s… not something I have ever seen before. It has the hardware of a fungi but, a genomic structure similar to bacterium? It is weird. On top of all that, it seems to communicate with the other parts of itself and have a rudimentary sense of awareness…”She cleared her throat, brushing her short hair off her forehead.“The spores you inhaled got caught in your respiratory system. They germinated and began taking root there. It explains your cold-like symptoms, fever and inflammatory response. If left untreated, it will spread and begin invading your circulatory system or migrating to your brain…”“Arthur….”Contagious….. “So anyone that I’ve come in contact with.. they..?”“Yes, Mr. Lester. The short answer is ‘yes’.” Eliza replies around a titanic sigh. “Suffice it to say… our goals align. Is that enough for you to stop thinking I’m trying to kill you?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The silence that fell over the room was deafening.John has not said another word, but Arthur could feel a profound sadness filling his eyes and threaten to spill over.Arthur had very little idea what to say next… and blinks in the shock that leaves his mind buzzing like an untuned radio.Arthur reminds himself that he is still talking to a living person, and apologizes before wiping John’s tears. “I am so sorry.. we didn’t know…”“It was my choice, Mr. Lester. And I chose to help.”She took in a shaky breath before adding some bravado to her voice. “And I still choose to help. Besides, I survived ‘Rona, so there is No way I’m dying from this shit parasite. And neither. Are. You.”Arthur blinked. “Who is ‘Rona’?”“Oh. It wasn’t a person, it was a virus. A global pandemic… Our hospitals couldn’t handle the sheer amount of people, the scale of it all...”Eliza stopped for a moment and cleared her throat. “I worked as a nurse’s assistant in those days. People were scared, and the world just seemed to shut down… with the sheer tidal waves of sick people, the resources to care for them was spread so thin…. So many people died isolated and alone, waiting for help that would come too late. Yes, there were those that recovered, the lucky ones that people like my mom and doctors tried so very hard to save. And succeeded…But there were those who just died… no matter what measures you took, no matter how hard you fought together with them for every breath…" She paused and took a slow breath, as if reminding herself to."You may call it selfish, that is fair, and it is true. I have heard it all before, but I just couldn’t do it… I couldn’t see wave after wave of people coming to us for help while we could offer nothing but assist the ones who were able to say goodbye to their loved ones through videocall.”She sniffed and shifted in her chair, if the creaking was anything to go by. Arthur began to wonder, why is John so quiet? “Sorry, I actually have no idea why I’m telling you all this.”Out of all the references she made, he understood. It was unfortunately all too familiar. “No, I understand. A bit too well, actually. I wasn’t heading in the direction of medicine by any means. But when I was young, the Purple Death was running rampant through the world. It was nightmarish, killing countless… Completely healthy people gone, ravaged and drowned in their own fluids….. and there was nothing anyone could do.” Arthur closed his eyes against the memory, for all the good that would do. “It was helplessness in the truest sense.” It was a dark time that he hadn’t drudged up in a very long time, hadn’t wanted to in all honesty.The pause stretched between them.“I am sorry, that is horrible.”“It was… it truly was.”“Well, I guess between us we have two pandemics under our belt.”Arthur again opened his eyes to the ever-present darkness and replied. “Yes, I suppose we do.”"Then I think we have a good chance of making it out of this one. If we work together, that is." The playfully accusatory tone was not lost on the man. Arthur coughed into his hand before continuing. “Actually, I also want to apologize for.. well.. all of this..” Arthur gestured vaguely to himself and the tea that now sat on the side table. “You just, wanted to help and… I have not been the best patient. John and I have had a long road, and it hasn’t been the easiest.” It is not a great explanation, but it is all he can bring himself to divulge.Eliza’s seemed to consider her words, and her tone dramatically softened. “I get it. And I don’t blame you for being jumpy. It is obvious that you have been through a lot, and I don’t suspect trust is easy for you to dole out at this point.”Arthur couldn’t argue there. It hasn’t been easy, but he did once before. In New York. He had let people in… but where had that gotten his friends? Where had that gotten Oscar, Noel? Where would it get Eliza?From the weight of despair clinging to the back of his mind and how his eyes brimmed with another wave of sorrow, Arthur could tell John was thinking something very similar.“I.. uh… are you…?” Arthur isn’t sure if he wants to finish the sentence.John had yet to speak up, but from what Arthur could tell, Eliza hesitated. “I tested myself.. and yes; I did test positive, but I am ok.” Her reassurances did not stop the tears from flowing faster than Arthur’s hand could wipe away.Sighing, Eliza grabbed the tissues and placed them closer.“Mr. Lester, John? May I take your hand?”John’s hand shot out and gripped hers like a lifeline while Arthur dabbed their eyes.“Listen, you two. We are all going to be fine. I am positive I can crack this by afternoon! Plus, I am not displaying any symptoms yet. And according to John, you didn’t show any signs of illness until at least 12 hours after being exposed to the mushroom ring, Mr. Lester.”“Also, my exposure was not as direct as yours. So, I’m thinking I have some time before I get as bad as you. After all, I’m not the one who started huffing a bunch of magic mushrooms in the forest.” she added with a grin in her voice.Arthur sniffled and huffed a laugh. “To be fair, it seemed harmless at the time.”“I am sure it did” Eliza replied with a giggle. “We’re going to be fine. Of that, my friends, I am sure.” She patted John’s hand before releasing it and sat up a bit straighter.“And, eventually I would like to dress that wound with proper bandages, Mr. Lester.”Feeling at the tightness of his hastily stitched stomach, Arthur supposed it was for their best interest to have the wound somewhat clean. Maybe put some practice into trusting people again, huh?“That would be much appreciated, Eliza. If you don’t mind, that is.” Arthur’s voice was still ragged, but finally free of the weight of John’s tears as his eyes finally dried.“Sure thing! Let’s get the wrapping party started, then.”Eliza washed her hands before gathering the bandages and two clanking bottles of glass liquid before washing. Popping on a pair of what sounded to be rubber gloves, listed every step of the cleaning and re-wrapping. When she was done rinsing with the saline solution, it was time to disinfect with iodine and finally apply the hydrocolloid patch. As Eliza wrapped his torso with another bandage to keep the whole thing together, Arthur was beginning to grow concerned about the unusual silence in his head; and it seemed he wasn’t the only one.“John, you seem awfully quiet, and you have had a question about almost every gizmo I’ve pulled out. Everything ok?”There was a pause as John either meticulously parsed the words together in his head or elected to ignore them. It seemed this time it was the former as a gruff reply relayed through Yorick.“I am fine… and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyway…”Arthur suddenly knew where this was going, and really did not think they could handle another revelation at the moment.“John-”“John, I have been chased by the giant spaghetti monster from hell, the bat lady from the lagoon a ways back. I barely escaped a mob of people trying to burn me as a witch and I have found a talking head who can recite the words of the voice from within a time-traveling man’s head. That is all just counting tonight…. Honestly, I dare you to try and surprise me at this point.”Arthur raised an eyebrow as he scooted to lean back against the wall. How much trouble has she managed to get herself into? Then he thought of the state she had found himself in. He was in no place to judge at the moment.“What I think John means to say is, it can wait until tomorrow...”Eliza made a hum of disagreement. “Is that true, John?”“…Yes” came the oddly subdued reply while Yorick helpfully kept it insistently light.“Aaaalright, I’ll take your word for it! Mr. Lester, I think I have you all set up! Time’s a wastin’ so I need to get back to work, but you guys do know you can walk around? You aren’t prisoners or whatever. I do recommend taking a nap, but as long as you and John take it easy, it should be fine. If you feel woozy, sit down and call me. You got all that John?”“Mhm...”“Oookeedoke, then! Just don’t snoop around my bedroom. That’s personal!”“Which one is-”“The only room that has a door, Mr. Lester! Second to last door on the left.”“Right”“Oh and if you pop into my lab, knock first. And don’t touch anything in there. Also, don’t touch anything in the ‘alter room’. It has a weird vibe, and stuff just kinda appears there. I still don’t know what half the things in there do yet. But some of it has been helpful in getting a clear picture of microbes I’m working with and even comparing their genes. Some literally just hold data, but it all just seems random....”“The walls between worlds are thin here, Master. The fabric between realities has been worn and punctured. The hole makes it possible for smaller objects to slip through.” Yorick finally entered the conversation, with a very late observation.“Yooriiick” John finally spoke up with a low growl.Arthur sighed and let the back of his head give a soft thunk against the wall. For once, could they just end up someplace normal?“Can anything dangerous get to us in here, Yorick? Anything powerful?”“If properly motivated, yes. But it would take, a very long time. And it would be incredibly loud. The rip is rather small.”Arthur slid his hand down his face in frustration and slight relief. Jesus fucking Christ…. at least they weren’t in any imminent danger.“Huh, I like this guy! Where did you guys find ‘im?” Her voice growing more distant as she stalks over to where Yorick hung on the coat rack.“I was an honored quest in The Hag’s Womb, and gave a place for her children to emerge.”“Heh! You just have the most ominous things to share, huh? I can never really tell where you’re heading. He just spouts out the most cryptic and vaguely creepy shit from time to time. Kinda like a mini-Alexa!”Again, Arthur felt a bit lost. “Who?” If this was how John felt every time Arthur made references from his world, then he would have to give him his most sincere apologies. This was bewildering to say the least, and alienating was only beginning to cover itEliza continued in what seemed to be a moment of enlightenment. “Wait a minute! Yorick, you said you were a ‘seeker of knowledge’ right?”“That is correct!”“Well then! How does that work? How much do you know? Do you archive all that knowledge or-”“Eliza, wait-” Arthur began.“I am a vanguard. I hold a place in the dark world and this one. I see through many eyes and contain all knowledge I have ever learned.”“Excellent! Yorick, how would you feel about being my research assistant for the night?”“Eliza, listen! Yorick isn’t easy to talk to, he only answers what you ask him directly and he doesn’t give straight answers!”There was another pause, and Arthur could imagine Eliza giving him a considering look before turning back to the head in question. “Doesn’t sound too different from using google, then! Mind if I borrow the little guy?”“Arthurrr…”Electing to ignore the unfamiliar reference, Arthur tried again. “I don’t know if he will be all too helpful”“How do we know if we don’t try? And I don’t know if you guys haven’t noticed, but I am pretty handy with finding work arounds. And if it turns out he can’t help me with our predicament, then at the very least I’ll have someone to chat with while you two rest! What d’ya say?”Arthur blinked dumbly, most of his energy sapped from the long conversation and the sudden dearth of adrenaline. The topic was beginning to evade his focus… he needed another opinion on this… “John, you said Yorick could corrupt people… what do you think?”“I don’t like the idea… and I still don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. But if it gives us a fighting chance against this sickness, then I think it is worth a shot.”“Awesome!” With a fist pump to the air, she unhooked Yorick from his place on the rack before carrying with the air of someone John could only liken to holding a delicate handbag.“…. Provided we take some precautions.”Eliza audibly slumped when Yorick dutifully relayed John’s message. “Ahhh, ok. What are the ground rules?”“He may offer things, things that are well out of your grasp. Do not accept his offers. Do not make any deals with him, under any circumstances!”Eliza hummed before she replied, as if considering the information given to her through a different lens. “Sounds reasonable….. anything else I should be on the lookout for, John?”Arthur listened closely. I knew John had an innate distrust of Yorick, and thus far Arthur gathered a few reasons to be. Especially with how willing he was to tell the Hag everything about them had John not brokered a deal out of desperation. But Arthur still felt this stemmed further, and it was a gamble how much of anything John remembered as his time being The King.“mmmmmmmm… don’t let him around any of your untested objects. But, I think that’s it for now.”“Noted. And with that, I am off! Take it easy and call out if you need anything, I’ll come in and check on you in about half an hour to check on your fever. Now, Yorick! Do you know any songs?” And with that, she was out the door and heading toward what was presumably her lab.The pair sat in the silence that followed.“Ok. Now what?”A heavily congested snoring shattered the silence as it emanated from the still slumped figure against the wall. Realizing that was the only answer the now sleeping man could give at the moment, the voice in his head sighed.Bringing up his hand, John felt Arthur’s overwarm forehead. It still radiated a largely uncomfortable warmth, but it had lessened from its previously raging heat. “Small blessings, my friend.” It was his fault that Eliza was infected. It was his inability to take care of Arthur that led them here… He couldn’t help, he had failed Arthur time and time again and somehow managed drawn others into the line of fire as well… He couldn’t lose Lily again, couldn’t face another reminder of her ripped away from him. Life is loss… but how are we supposed to keep it from winning?But if Arthur was turning a corner, then perhaps this wasn’t a mistake after all. Maybe things would turn out for the better. Maybe things would be ok.. Maybe there is a way?Another snore interrupted his thoughts… This position could not be very comfortable.Smoothing his hair back, John pulled Arthur into a more horizontal position on the pillow. Arthur stirred, only barely managing to slur his name in question before John quietly shushed him.“It’s alright. Just get some rest, Arthur…”