As Within

Chapter Four

Not that Daud would ever confirm the rumours, but he had spent an entire winter at the Academy of Natural Philosophy. It was half on accident, and half entirely on purpose—which was, admittedly, a rather contradictory statement. In truth, he had been searching for answers to all his questions regarding the Black-Eyed Bastard—the Outsider, he corrected himself, the least he could do after he'd sacrificed himself to save Daud was to refer to him by name. Never should speak ill of the dead, he supposed.

Daud had heard of Anton Sokolov's fascination with the Great Leviathan, and he had hoped to find the answers he had been searching for within the Academy. He was, however, initiated into the Academy entirely by accident, stumbling across it late one night, and passing himself as curious student if only to get some refuge from the biting winds.

Even though he had turned up empty handed after spending an entire season there, Daud had picked up several things simply through exposure. Basic medical had been the most important one. He had used what he had learned on that front time and time again. Being an assassin, as it turned out, resulted in many, many, many injuries.

And now, his experience seemed to be coming in use again.

He didn't hesitate as he dove towards Emily, shoving all furniture out of the way as she began to convulse. "Call for Doctor Toksvig, then open the windows, she needs air," Daud ordered Corvo, still trying to determine what manner of poison Emily had ingested. Normally, he was the one who had done the poisoning. Now, he was the one who was trying to ensure that Emily didn't die. Had the situation not been so dire, he would have laughed at the absurdity.

Emily's convulsions started to slow, which would have been good under any other circumstances, Daud knew that it also meant he was running out of time. He sniffed the cup, crinkling his nose. "Cyanide," he said as Corvo threw open the windows, face set in stone only so he could manage his grief. "Low dosage. She'll make it through if she's tended to quickly. I need you to find out the name of the servant that brought her the tea."

"I—"

"Don't argue, just do it," he growled, picking up the teacup with his gloved hands, wrapping it up in Emily's handkerchief, before setting it aside. A part of him hated the fact that this was the most orderly his life had been since what was almost last year. Everything had been falling apart—Emily's sanity included—but following medical procedure under duress? That he could do. Even if he was most definitely drunk.

Why did everything had to be a fucking shit show?

Doctor Toksvig was a slight woman whose features were almost entirely hidden by her spectacles; the lenses were as large as Daud's fist, wrapped in copper wire. The first time he had met her, he had worried that if he breathed on her she would shatter. There was an unsurprising strength to her, though. She had a wit as sharp as razor wire, and her quips had—on more than one occasion—reduced both Corvo and Daud to startled sputters.

She did not hesitate as she settled down alongside Emily, pushing her grey-blonde hair back underneath her white skullcap. "Daud," she said calmly, beginning to prepare an antidote, recognising the poisoning almost as quickly as Daud had, "I must say that I am surprised."

"I don't know what you mean," he said, watching as she tapped the syringe to rid of any caught pockets of air.

"Usually, poisoning isn't your weapon of choice," she said wryly. She glanced at the open windows, not seeming to notice Corvo wringing his hands in the corner. "Though it seems you knew what to do."

"I assure you, it wasn't me."

"Ah, that's what they all say," she murmured, injecting the antidote into a vein in Emily's forearm. "Lord Protector, you can cease your worrying. Had Daud not done what he had—clearing the space, and the like—I suspect we would have wasted much time doing that, and Her Majesty's health would be in a far more precarious state. As it is, Her Majesty will recover, and I daresay with little side effects. I doubt that she will be needing much rest—though the last time I prescribed rest you ignored my orders, so I do not think it matters either way. Daud, I presume you know the source of the poison?"