Desperate Remedies

The man stopped and threw his hands in the air in front of his face. He spat on the ground and groaned. He stuck his fingers in his mouth to pull out the spiderweb. The little girl by his side was looked up at him confused, then giggled.

“How’s the weather up there?” she said with a smile. She wore thick cargo pants and a heavy jean jacket with many concert patches sewn to it. Despite the hot sun beating down and thick layers she wore, she shivered.

“Sunny with a chance-” He spit on the ground again. “-spiders.” The man was not more than 20 years old. He wore a tank top and mesh pants that let the breeze pass through.

He was starting to sweat in the heat, but stayed in the sun so Maci could take in as much sunshine as possible. The doctors said sunshine and fresh air could help. That’s the only consistent recommendation they had gotten through the 10 different medical centers they visited. Measles, flu, cancer, Respiratory Syntactical Virus, etc. It started to feel like the doctors were picking an illness at random and testing for that. By the 10th visit, the nurse that read the chart had to consult with the several doctors for an extra hour just to get the consultation started. The list of previous tests and medical notes was so extensive that Freddy had to call ahead to make sure they read and prepared for their visit, otherwise there was a long delay in getting started with a new plan for Maci.

Freddy saw she was shivering again. “Last one to the next clearing washes the dishes tonight!”

Maci’s eyes lit up. She locked her gaze towards the distant clearing down the trail. From here the trail widened at bit, so she could run faster without worrying about stray branches. She saw Freddy was wiping his hands on his pants and took advantage.

“Go!” Maci yelled as loudly as her little voice would let her and took off sprinting down the trail.

The trees around the trail formed a tunnel and sunshine peeked through in large swaths. Leading to a giant splash of sunshine in the clearing at the end. Maci’s steps were quick, her shorter stride made a higher BPM of crunching leaves over the path. Freddy was caught off guard and stumbled a bit from the starting line. He was able to regain some ground with his longer strides, but the path was only 30 meters to the clearing. So, Maci was able to maintain her lead long enough to bask in the sunshine of victory and watch Freddy emerge from the end of the trail into the sunny clearing.

“Boom! I win!” Maci put her fists down then threw her palms up in an explosion, copying Freddy’s victory dance.

“The spiders slowed me down; I’ll win the next one!” Freddy watched her spin around in the throes of her win.

She spun one too many times and plopped on the ground laughing. She reached her arms up towards the sky laying on her back in the grass. Her sleeves fell down her arm a bit and reveal the dark black lines creeping towards her hands. They were on the back of her arm out of her line of sight, but Freddy saw them and frowned, clenching the fist on his side away from Maci. He scanned the clearing looking for a sign of the trail they needed to take. Through Maci’s recap of the race and tips she was suggesting to Freddy’s running form, he heard the hoot of an owl.

“Whoooo…” not loud, but distinct enough to stand out in broad day.

“I was pretty good though, right Maci? With your tips I could be as fast as you someday, maybe?” Freddy asked picking her up under the shoulders to stand her up.

“Yes, I thinks you could be faster. But, no. No faster than me, Maci.” She had her finger on her chin pondering the idea.

They walked together towards the sound. Freddy held her hand and felt her icy skin. He started to frown but picked his head up.

“We’re almost there. This will be different than the other places we visited.”

“I likes the outside. Do you thinks fairies live there? Those are mine favorites trees.” Maci pointed to a big weeping willow that stood next to a small pond and had a log cabin connected to the trunk.

The cabin was the same brown as the tree trunk, but seemed to sparkle from where they were. Light reflected off the pond, showing a replica weeping willow and cabin on the face of the water. As Freddy and Maci walked closer, they could see gemstones of red, blue, green, purple embedded in the logs that formed the cabin. They sparkled with the light reflecting from the pond and what little light peeked through the massive branches of the weeping willow.

“Let’s ask inside. This is our spot, so hopefully the fairies will come to greet us.” Freddy craned his neck to see if anyone was inside. Then, Maci pulled his hand and pointed at the right side of the cabin. A tall woman with long wavy hair came walking from around the side of the cabin. She had on a black knit cap down low on her head with gemstones attached vertically forming a line from between her eyes. Her hair seemed to glow silver against her all-black clothing.

“Hi Hi! I’m Maci!” Maci started to skip forward towards the woman. Freddy eyed the woman cautiously and kept a hold on Maci’s hand. Maci frowned at Freddy when her skipping was slowed, he grinned and skipped a few steps the rest of the way.

The woman remained silent as they approached. Her footsteps did not make any sound. She paused at the front of the cabin and watched the pair approach. They stopped 2 meters apart. Freddy and the woman locked eyes. Freddy was looking for her intention and desperately hoping this strange woman they traveled so far to find would be able to help. He knew he was in a potentially dangerous situation, so he stood between this woman and Maci, while trying not to seem too worried. Maci knew him better and could sense his apprehension. She trusted him and kept quiet once Freddy stood in front of the woman.

“Hmmmm.” The woman hummed musically as she gazed into Freddy’s eyes. She saw his fragile hope, his determination of effort to help Maci and his hidden violence that boiled from the frustration of his situation. His eyes trembled, asking the woman for help. His body stood solid, protecting the little girl that stood up to his waist.

The woman shifted her gaze to the little girl. Maci stood behind Freddy bouncing back and forth on her feet looking curiously back at the woman. The woman saw that her body was exhausted. The young mind of the girl kept her up and moving, but there were intermittent shivers and winces in her eyes that betrayed her fatigue.

“What’s those?” Maci pointed at the woman’s gemstones in her cap. With her arm raised up the woman could see the black lines staining her skin under the sleeve. The woman’s eyes widened for a flash, then she returned to her stoic expression. Freddy noticed her reaction and turned back to Maci.

“It’s rude to point. Let’s ask her nicely.”

“She doesn’t looks like a fairy.”

“Apologies, ma’am. I am Freddy and this is curious little one is Maci. We have a situation we’re hoping you can help with and a few questions.” Freddy reached out his hand.

“Hello Freddy. Hello Maci. I believe I have heard of your situation. Dr. Paloni at the state medical center consulted with me recently. You can call me Erina.” she looked at them both individually and gazed into Freddy’s eyes an extra moment shaking his hand.

Erina put a finger on the first gem that sat between her eyes. “This is a ruby, this is an emerald, and this is an amethyst.” she placed a finger on each gem as she named them and bent her head down, so she was closer to Maci’s level. Maci’s eyes shined watching each of the gemstones be bestowed with a name.

“Please come inside and we can discuss.” She led them inside the cabin. They sat at a table just inside the door. They could see an orange tinted room with a fireplace, although no fire was lit. The table was what looked like a mix of a kitchen and a pantry, there were jars of leaves, liquids, and other ingredients all-around of shelves that surrounded the room. Erina cleared off the table for them to sit and placed what looked like dough and a fine powder onto a corner of the counter that still had space.

“Sorry, I don’t often have guests, I did not expect you to arrive so quickly. Would you like a cup of water? I do not have much to offer for pleasantries.” Erina bustled around clearing up the table and a spot on the countertop. She poured a cup of water from an iron pitcher and offered two others to Freddy and Maci.

Freddy waved his hand to decline, so Maci took both cups back to the table. She spilled some water down her chin trying to drink the water and look around the room at the same time.

“Since you’ve heard from the medical center, I believe we can get right to it.” Freddy’s voice became stern. “What can you do to help?”

Maci set her cup down at Freddy’s change in tone and looked expectantly at Erina.

“May I see your arm Maci?” Erina finished her water and sat in a chair next to Maci to look at the girl’s arm.

Maci pulled up the sleeve and rotated her arm showing all sides. She gasped when she noticed the black lines extending down the back of her arm. She pulled her arm back, wrapped both arms around herself and started to shiver. Erina pulled back a bit and sat up in her chair watching her reaction. Freddy put his hand on Maci’s shoulder.

“Maci. You’re strong.” He moved his chair around to be able to look in her eyes. He saw her fear of an unknown assailant that drained her body of energy. He kept his expression confident and smiled slightly. He took out a hand warmer from his pocket and rubbed her hands between his hands with the hand warmer. The little packet heated up with the friction and he gave it over for Maci to hold. She smiled a resistant smile at the ritual they had done 100 times before. Then held her arms out to Erina her hands still clutching the hand warmer.

Erina delicately reached out to touch her arms.

“Does this hurt at all?” she lightly touched a black line with her finger.

Maci shook her head.

“It does seem like the more they spread the less energy she has. The shivers get more frequent and violent.” Freddy chimed in patting Maci on the head as her current shiver spell subsided.

“But, Maci is still fastest! You lost Freddy!” Maci jumped off the chair and put her hands on her hips with a big grin.

“True, even with less energy Maci is quite the thunderbolt.” Freddy smiled wider seeing Maci’s youthful confidence return.

“Hmm. I researched a bit based on what Dr. Paloni said. I think I know what we’re dealing with.”

She walked into the orange tinted room and grabbed a book off the shelf above the fireplace. Erina became surrounded in an orange aura when she entered the room. Freddy and Maci waited in at the table, unsure whether to follow. Erina flipped through the book and and stopped. Her eyes ran over the page, then she closed the book, keeping one finger to bookmark the page and walked over to Freddy.

“Stand boy.” Erina’s tone had become commanding and her eyes cold.

Freddy stood up, Maci looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes. He patted her on the head and stood to put himself between Erina and Maci. Watching Erina’s eyes Freddy knew something had changed.

Erina pierced Freddy’s mind through his eyes with her gaze. Her gaze was curious and demanding outside, but now it was aggressive and difficult to hold. Freddy wanted to look away and avoid her piercing eyes, but he needed to be strong for Maci. Erina grabbed his wrist quicker than her could see. It felt like a vice grip, he instinctively tried to pull away, but her grip didn’t budge. He instead grabbed the wrist of the hand that held his with equal violence.

“What are you doing?” he said quietly to not frighten Maci, but fiercely enough to let Erina know that things would escalate. His eyes showed the fire that adrenaline lit in his mind.

“Good.” Erina released his wrist, the intensity of her gaze lessened but was still cold and serious. Freddy released her wrist.

She lifted the book and opened it to the page she had bookmarked with her finger.

“This is what we’re dealing with, and why conventional doctors have been no help.” Erina showed the book to Freddy.

Misc. Afflictions

• Void Fever - similar to the traditional fever, symptoms include cold spells, lack of energy, headache. This affliction is mainly identified by the black lines or splotches that spread through the surface of the skin. The black coloring tends to spread covering the entire body at which point the afflicted will be lost to the Void.
• Traditional remedies can soothe the symptoms temporarily, however there is no traditional remedy to stop the spread and eventual loss of the afflicted. The only known remedy to halt the affliction fully is the Emperor’s Elixir. This elixir contains the following: World Tree sap (4 barrels), sun-tanned penguin feathers* (1 full size penguin) and the ashes of a powerful city**(66 kilograms). Once boiled in water from the deepest depths, this elixir will be potent for 24 hours.

*The feathers must be fresh from a still living penguin and tanned for a full day.

**The ashes must be of a city that holds power within the era the elixir would be used in and fall by the party utilizing the elixir.

“Freddy, I have World Tree sap and deepest water. The penguin we can get. But the ashes…” She looked at Freddy meaningfully.

“The phrasing of this book is very specific. Since it says ‘party’. So, Maci would not need to do it herself. Is this a path you are willing to go down?”

Freddy looked at the book again. ‘the ashes of a powerful city’. He looked at Maci, she was too short to see the book. She could sense the gravity of the conversation, so she remained quiet, blue eyes locked on Freddy for answers. She held the hand warmer in one hand, the black lines spiraled down her fingers now. Freddy broke her gaze and looked to the fireplace where he saw his next steps tinted in orange.