[coronatiger]

When I had dressed all of Wolfram’s wounds in bandages, I took a moment to change out of my wet dress. I put on the new sailor’s outfit that had arrived along with the hammocks. Despite being aware of my recent, inexplicable shyness, I allowed myself to succumb to it and asked Yana to hold up a blanket so I could change behind it. I claimed that Wolfram would be so uncomfortable if I undressed in front of him.

With dry clothes on, and the wet things – both mine and Wolfram’s – hung up to dry, I returned to my patient. I instructed Wolfram in some breathing exercises, for it was important that his body became calm and relaxed so the healing could begin.

Yana asked again, whispering in my ear, if it was foggy in the room. I placed my hand on hers and signed “No”. Then I took her head between my hands and tilted it up, down and to the sides, so I could examine her eyes. Yana’s pupils were dilated beyond what was normal even in the dim light of the sleeping alcove. I asked her to follow my finger as I moved it in front of her face, and she had trouble focusing on it. Just as I began to turn away after concluding my examination, I spotted something inside Yana’s pupils, something shadowy, but when I tried to look closer, Yana blinked and the shadows vanished. I turned my attention to Wolfram again, and while I worked with him, I thought both Yana and Hylda perked up. My effort to relax Wolfram clearly worked on the girls too.

Xipil came inside again and told us he suspected Ælios of having made a deal with Darvan to fix Nillet and Korro. Ælios was now eager that we should take the patients as well as the barrel away as soon as possible. We agreed that we should stay on the ship until after the dragons’ visit tonight and hoped that this would be agreeable to Ælios.

I realized I had a reason to get Grogg down below, at least for a while. He needed to have his plaster cast replaced. The river water hadn’t been kind to his first one. Xipil came with me to fetch him, and Hylda asked me to relay to her lover that she missed him. I felt that it was more to it than that. Hylda had most likely been just as traumatized by whatever had happened while we were gone as Yana and Ælios, and I felt a little guilty for only attending to Yana’s need for reassurement. I hoped Grogg could do for Hylda what I had done for my own sweetheart.

Grogg lay just above the stairs. He was sleeping the healing slumber, having poked himself in the neck with the needle. When I reached for the needle, Xipil expressed concern that Grogg might not like having his sleep disturbed, but I pointed out that I would be in the perfect position simply to put the needle back, should Grogg look angry.

It turned out Grogg was amenable to a little kind-hearted manipulation. “Hylda asked me to tell you that she wanted you to come below with us,” I said. Once Grogg had processed that, I continued without leaving a gap for him to speak or act. “She really misses you; you didn’t even say hello to her when we got back. You also need to have your cast replaced. We wouldn’t want you to harm yourself by accident before we can make a new cast. When your arm has healed up right, you can hold Hylda with both arms. I think she would like that. By the way, you should take this.” I held out the needle. “Shall we go?”

Grogg noticed immediately that Hylda also had lost her shadow. He pointed down at his own lack of shadow and speculated that their shadows might have eloped. I let the two of them talk and went to prepare the plaster. When I got back, Xipil helped me make a new cast for Grogg’s arm. I reminded Grogg that the plaster needed some time to dry and harden.

When the cast was complete, Xipil went out to the lab. I sat down next to Yana and put my arm around her. Someone knocked on the outer door and Xipil told them to enter. I recognized Nynos’s voice as he greeted Xipil. The two of them joined us in the alcove, making it quite cramped. Nynos asked what our plan was. Xipil said it was to survive the dragons and then get off the ship.

Nynos warned us again not to go outside Ælios’s rooms. If we did go outside, that would be taken as a declaration that we were in the process of leaving the ship. Nynos didn’t phrase it quite as blatantly, but he made sure his meaning got across to everyone. Wolfram asked where we were, and Nynos informed us we had sailed one hour south of Byblos. Believing that Nulius might require our aid if the dragons attacked, I suggested staying on the ship until the morning, although I understood that we had overstayed our welcome.

Wolfram asked if Xipil thought he could get Ælios to provide healing for him and Grogg, and Xipil promised to ask before turning back to Nynos. Xipil wanted to know what had happened earlier on the ship. Nynos explained that something magical happened to Byblos. The view of the city was distorted, as if some places seemed closer while others seemed to be pushed back. There also was a large disturbance on the plaza before the palace, where the Judgment Day ceremony was supposed to be. I couldn’t think what might have caused the commotion…

While the others were busy talking to Nynos, I slipped out to Ælios in the laboratory. I pulled down my neckline and showed him where the lightning had struck me, asking if he had some ointment or salve for such a burn wound. I felt a stab of discomfort as my belly knotted, but Ælios remained respectful in the face of my mostly-exposed bosom. He asked if I wanted a fast-acting remedy. “Yes, please!” This remedy was obviously magical, for Ælios asked me to come back when Nynos had gone.

In the alcove, Grogg had poked himself with the needle again. Nynos left after making sure everyone had acknowledged that if any of us left these rooms, we all had to leave the ship. I went back to Ælios. Xipil came, too.

Ælios put down his pen and retrieved a jar, one I recognized as containing magical clay tokens. I didn’t immediately understand what this had to do with healing me. Ælios also took out a small box of salve. He warned me that after applying it to my wound, it would hurt immensely for about an hour, but then it would be as if the wound had healed for a week. I trusted You to strengthen me to bear the pain and said it wouldn’t be a problem. Ælios gave me the box and said that one eighth it should suffice for me, but Grogg and Wolfram would need double that dose.

Then he explained why he had brought out our jar. Ælios offered to sell us two more such boxes of healing salve for the price of our clay tokens. I found it strange that Ælios had given away the first box for free, when he demanded such a hefty price for the next two. He had once offered us our weight in gold for those six clay tokens. He might have exaggerated, but it was clear that the tokens were valuable. Xipil and I thought this was a good deal, but Xipil believed Wolfram might have reservations and asked me to persuade him.

I went to Wolfram and explained the deal Ælios offered, and said that Xipil and I were in favor. Wolfram wanted to know how Ælios would use the clay tokens. Ælios responded that he wanted to use them for inspiration. He couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t activate them, should the need arise, but he had no plans to trap spirits in them, which was Wolfram’s main concern.

Wolfram said he wanted to examine the clay tokens. He put them on the floor in the alcove and transformed to his demon bear shape. A cloud of ashes immediately began to spread from him. Hylda gave no indication that she was leaving Grogg’s side. The ashes probably wouldn’t harm them, but my experience was that the fine dust found its way everywhere, and it would certainly ruin the white clothes we were wearing, so I pulled Yana out of there and closed the door.