A Million Roads to Nowhere

No Time to Waste

Getting to the infirmary is a struggle, but they get there, and Patrick is laid out on a table, Signe holding his hand, and an unfamiliar woman stitching up the hole in his chest and the one in his side. Both are apparently from the same magic sword that ripped all the way through him. Patrick can't vividly remember that happening, but he has enough proof of it to accept it as fact.

Leif's healer, called Tove, has a Vaenian accent just like Aodhan's, low and warm and gravelly. Tove does everything gracefully, at ease in her workspace. Whenever she moves, the golden beads in her hair jingle as they knock together. She has the longest hair Patrick's ever seen, all of it bound in tiny braids that go all over her head. Her hair swishes around her, much like the way her skirt and shawl do.

Tove makes him drink a tea that tastes absolutely vile, then applies a cream to his wounds before stitching them up. The pain is numbed slightly, but he can still feel the needle sliding in and out of his skin. He's already in so much pain that it hardly matters, but he keeps hold of Signe's hand nonetheless. When he starts to drift off, she squeezes it and pulls him back to reality, a reality which sucks.

Clementine comes in just as Patrick's being helped into a clean pair of clothes. His chest has been wrapped up and the pressure of the bandages makes him feel less like he's falling apart. His hands are freezing and he tries his best to rub some warmth into them, but he has a hard time controlling his movements and can't get enough friction.

With Clementine staring at him, Patrick tries to look as if he has a sense of where he is, but he ends up looking bewildered. He feels like he should say something to her, though he has no idea what, and when he tries, all that comes out is a nonsensical grunt. His mouth feels like cotton.

"He's not tied to his body, is he?" Clementine questions, looking at him, but clearly not talking to him.

"No," Signe answers quietly. "I managed to get him in there and I made a weak bond, but I casted a lot of spells while fighting also, and I couldn't do the proper ritual."

"How long will this last?"

"It's... hard to tell."

"The shaman will have to tie him then. Unless you can?"

Tove looks up from buttoning up Patrick's shirt, frowning. "No, my lady. I am no magical healer."

"Well. He needs to get back to Chourmondeley. Can you take him there? I need to deal with the mage."

Signe hesitates before slowly nodding. "I think I have enough energy to make a portal back if I start through the one in the woods. I have to try."

"And take him with you?" Tove cuts in. "He is not in a state to be doing anything or going anywhere. He has to rest or his health will deteriorate. Is it possible you can bring your shaman back with you?"

Signe bites her lip. "I could try..."

"It would be less hassle to just take him with you," Clementine says. "Leif will be willing to send guards with you, if you need help."

"Just one," she agrees. "The more people there are, the harder it will be to get us out the other side."

"I will go tell him," Clementine says, poised to exit. She turns back and addresses Signe before she goes, "While you're there, tell Rozenn that Leif is allied, but working on my terms and tell her that I have Seamus."

"Yes."

Clementine nods once and leaves.

"He shouldn't be going anywhere," Tove protests, forcing another herbal drink into Patrick's shaky hands.