Removing a curse

*THUD**THUD**THUD*

Shallan opened the door, a little worse for wear, and still not feeling her best. The fight with the werewolf had knocked a little more than the stuffing out of her. "Yes?"

Dwight stood as upright as he could. "Milady, are you all right?"

Shallan grimaced. "Scars will heal. What I'm concerned about is the infection. I'm not entirely sure the apothecary's antidote worked, he recommended that I see your brother."

Dwight grimaced back. "Well, as much as I dislike saying it, that may be a desirable course of action. The hands of the paladin can be quite powerful, but with an illness such as this, I would not recommend waiting."

Shallan nodded. She had hoped the antidote would work, but she would rather not take the chance. "I think you're right. The hard part now would be to find him..." She glanced up at him quickly, "I understand if you'd rather not come along."

Dwight momentarily looked surprised, but composed himself. "I... didn't think you would want me along anyway."

She smiled up at him, "Why else would I invite you along on all our adventures?"

Dwight blushed, a stark contrast to his pallid complexion and manner of dress. "Er... um... I meant that this was a personal matter, nothing more."

Shallan shrugged, "I wouldn't mind you along, but if you are busy or would feel uncomfortable, I will understand."

Dwight stood at his full height. "No, not busy at all."

She stepped out into the hallway and locked her door behind her. Her movements were stiff, as the damage done by the werewolf had not yet healed completely. "I guess the best place to start looking for him would be with Mel or Fred." She started off, feeling much more comfortable with Dwight along.

"Hopefully, we shall find him tonight." The two headed directly for the guildhall; upon entry, they discovered Mel lazily reading over a few scraps of parchment. Dwight cleared his throat.

"Whuh...?" said Mel.

"Mel, I need to see the Armsmaster immediately. Do you know where I can find him?"

"uh... yeah. Uh..." He waved his hand in some unrelated direction for a moment, then woke up suddenly, and scrawled something on another loose scrap of parchment. "Take this up to the guard inside the main doors, I think he can help you." Then he slumped over the counter again.


Shallan grabbed the note, giving it a quick scan. She gave Dwight a slightly annoyed look, but thanked Mel. After finding the guard, she handed him the note.

The guard led them up a stairwell and down a long stone corridor. Dwight whispered through gritted teeth, "What was that look for?"

"Apparently there's a protocol for everything, even for bounty hunters..." She sighed, but seemed to be in a better mood as it seemed they were getting somewhere.

Dwight responded with a "Hmmm." The guard took them up two more flights of stairs, and rapped at a door at the top of the final flight. "Enter," a voice called from within.

Shallan nodded thanks to the guard and stepped into the room.

Darik's chamber was fairly large for one man. It resembled the dojang where Shallan had been once before, only smaller. Weapons of many varieties lined the walls, from common to exotic. Darik himself was seated on the floor at a low table, drinking a cup of tea. He did not rise, but finished his beverage and looked up at the two. "And what can I do for..." He broke off for a second, realizing who was in the room with him. "... For you?" he continued.

The urge to turn and check on Dwight was difficult to ignore, but Shallan did not step so far into the room to abandon him. She did take one measured step forward though. "I need help. On our last mission, we ran into a werewolf." Most of her wounds from that fight were still visible. "I visited the apothecary who tried some form of antidote, but I am unsure if it worked. I don't know where else to go, but the apothecary suggested you." This time she did glance back at Dwight, though it was more for her own need of strength. "Please, can you help?"

Dwight was stone-faced, staring directly at his brother.

Darik stood up and approached the pair. "Well, normally I am not needed to tend to wounds." A smirk grew on his face. "However, this IS a special case." He took Shallan's hand, then looked at Dwight. "And I suppose any friend of my dear brother's is a friend of mine." He turned again to Shallan. "I do need to see the wounds."

Shallan rolled up her one sleeve, and lifted the tail of her shirt to show the rough bandaging job she had done. "A claw across the stomach that my armor couldn't quite cover, and a bite to my arm..." Even after four days, it still hurt, but two of those days had been traveling back to Woodland. She had been in no condition to continue on with any rough traveling at that point.

Darik looked over the arm wound in detail, and glanced at the other. "I see. Well, it has been a few days, but I will try my hand. Please, come in." He directed Shallan toward the small bed against the far wall. "I need you to lie down and relax your mind in order for the treatment to work."

Dwight entered behind Shallan and stood inthe center of the room.

"It couldn't be helped. We were two days out, and once we got back, I was not in the best of shape." She lay down on the bed, a little uneasy at being asked to get so comfortable in a strange man's room.

Darik removed his left glove and moved to the side of the bed. "Now," he began as he held out his hands, "Concentrate on purging the disease from your body." He closed his eyes and placed both hands on Shallan's arm.

Shallan did as she was told, closing her eyes to concentrate. It felt odd, but if it helped, she would do as he asked.

After a moment Darik opened his eyes and looked down at Shallan, frowning. "No good," he muttered. Then he looked across the room. "Brother. I need your chi."

Dwight looked stunned. He began to stammer. "B-but... you know about... that I cannot..."

"It doesn't matter," replied Darik. "You have our father's blood. Come join me, I need your energy to heal her."

Shallan looked up at Dwight. She would not beg him and would leave the decision to help her up to him. Although, knowing him, she knew what to expect already.

Shallan's instincts were correct. Dwight uneasily joined Darik in the cleansing ritual, and by and by it was as though they were both well-practised in the procedure.

After several minutes, both men backed away. "How do you feel?" said Darik.

Shallan sat up stiffly, and looked down at her arm. "I don't feel any different. Should I?"

Darik had a serious look on his face. "Well, the woulds won't just disappear. We were trying to purge the illness from your body, to remove the werewolf's curse."

She stood, a little unsteadily, a small crack in her usually cool and collected manner. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to feel like. I guess I'll have to wait two more days and see what the full moon brings..." She paused then added quietly, "Thank you for what you've done."

Dwight drew a sharp breath. "Yes... thank you."

Darik once again had the smirk. "Please be careful in the future. You were fortunate that I had energies to expend. Another day and I may not have been able to help you." He turned toward another table with an unrolled map and several scrolls scattered about it. "Now, I hate to brush you off, but I have many things to attend to before I am able to call it a night."

Shallan left the room without another word, and began walking back to her room. She was more than a little distracted and wasn't aware if Dwight followed her or not. She was concentrating enough on trying to keep her hands from shaking.

The guard led her out of the fortress and to the gate.

As she walked, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Milady, how are you feeling?"

"I...don't know." She glanced up and around, looking to see who was watching. Satisfied they would not be overheard, she continued. "I'm afraid, Dwight. I do not wish to be..." She broke off and her gaze cut away. She didn't even want to think it, let alone say it.

Dwight grasped at words for a moment, unsure if anything he could say would be helpful. "Darik is... capable. I do not know if the ritual can cure such a disease, but I have never seen it fail before." He steadied himself and stood at hs full height once again. "And should it not work, I promise we wil find another way to help you."

"I hope so. I think...that I'd like to go back to my room now..." Usually she spent most of her free time at the Cleft Tombstone just simply watching the crowd. But at the moment, a crowd was the last thing she wanted to face.

"Understood. Do you require an escort?"

Shallan nodded, "I would feel more comfortable. Please."

"Agreed." Dwight smiled and offered his arm.

She gently tucked her hand under his proferred elbow, the contact giving away the slight trembling she was trying to calm. Of all the things to unsettle her, this had shaken her worse than she had meant it to.

The walk in the brisk evening air was a short one. It was quiet; other than a brief nod at a prior from the Order of the Fleet Fox, the two encountered nobody.

They arrived at the barracks and Shallan's room. It took her two tries to open the lock, but eventually the door swung open. "Thank you, Dwight. I know it's difficult for you to deal with your brother, but I appreciate what you did for me."

Dwight smiled and took her hand. "It was the least I could do. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"No, actually, I don't..."

Dwight looked puzzled. "Um... my quarters."

"Where are they? So far I've found you in the tavern, at Appolo's temple, and on the streets. And that's about it..."

Dwight looked thoughtful. "Why, you're right. I don't suppose you have seen my quarters. They are in the southeast barracks, in the center of the north side."

She nodded. "I will find you if I need you. Thank you again." She pulled his hand down gently, and standing on her tip-toes, kissed him lightly on the cheek. With an unsteady smile, she closed the door to her room.

Dwight stood stunned for a moment. He pondered on the number of times that evening that things had taken him by surprise. By his count, this was four.