Fog Bound

Chapter 6

The past couple weeks were spent resting and recovering from their latest venture. Both Laius and Verri had lost a considerable amount of weight during their stay in Crater Deep and had been taking it easy around the guild.

During Laius's recovery, he found himself bored as they lazed around and he made an effort to do basic chores around the house and organize the quests neatly on the quest board. There was still a considerable number that needed to be tended to even after they had gone through the effort of discarding older requests or ones related to the fog.

Laius stepped over Bounty several times in an awkward dance as he fixed minor things around the house. Even light bumps or taps couldn't wake her from her near comatose state. Poor Rove, on the other hand... They had discovered that he was too large to fit into the guild so he was now their trusty guard dog who rested outside the door. Not that he seemed to mind.

Over the past few days, Laius kept up with the happenings around town and that William had been introducing the townsfolk to the dire wolves and proving their trustworthiness and loyalty, though Phillin wasn't entirely convinced he heard...

However, Will had stopped by earlier that morning and asked the two if they would be willing to assist him with a demonstration. Laius, who grew desperate for some action, wanted to accept but he had told him that it was a maybe since he wasn't entirely sure that Verri was recovering properly from their rescue trip.

Laius quietly stepped up the stairs to not make too much noise as Verri rested. He knelt beside her. "Verri...?" He gently tapped her shoulder and spoke softly. "Will stopped by asking if we could help him in a demonstration today. Are you feeling well enough to do something like that?"

Verri immediately snapped, "Don't touch me! Go by yourself, I don't want to get out of bed." She huffed, rolling over.

Laius drew his hand away from her in the same manner as if he was about to be bitten by a wild animal. His expression changed to one of concern and a hint of sadness as she rejected this idea.

The next moment it seemed she had started crying. "I'm sorry I yelled, that was mean." She had started acting like this not long after they got back. She even seemed to be getting worse every morning but steadily improved during the day. She constantly complained about being tired and not wanting to be on her feet and had gained her weight back rather quickly as she ate more than usual.

"Just... go without me. I'm not feeling well today." Verri confessed, dragging the blanket up to cover her shoulders.

His expression then changed to one of surprise at her sudden shift in mood. Should he comfort her and risk upsetting her again. "No, no! It's fine! I can just tell Will that it's a no-go from us. I'd rather stay here while you're not feeling well. Besides, he's dealt with a bunch of wolves without us before. I'm sure he's got this." He hid a sigh from her. He couldn't help but feel that they've grown apart ever since they returned and wondered if their injuries played any sort of role in it.

He tried thinking of the right thing to say. "Do you think, perhaps, that maybe we should get you to a doctor...? Just a suggestion. In the nicest way possible. If you want." He spoke as if he was walking on eggshells and didn't want to push the idea on her. "I'm just worried that the injuries that occurred at the cliffside were worse than we thought it was..."

Verri was silent for a while before muttering softly. "Okay, as long as they can help me feel better I'm okay with it..." she seemed pretty meek now and refused to even look at him. "I... I just don't know what is wrong with me and it makes me upset..." she seemed to shed a few more tears before wiping her face.

"I know they can make you feel better." Laius gave her a small smile although she refused to look at him. "We'll find out what's wrong with you, okay?" He leaned over and brushed her hair out of the way, placing a kiss on her cheek. "There's a doctor just down the street. You know, just like everything else is. I can carry you there for a change." He gave her a thumbs up and a wink.