Diavla slipped into meditation more easily this time. She reasoned that she must have been helped by either familiarity from recent practice, or the environment of the City Temple, or both. From meditation, she moved onward to listening to the spirits, becoming familiar with the area.

It was a strange mix. There was a little of everything, it seemed—all the Ideas she knew of, and more. No one of them seemed to dominate the area. The effect extended well past the Temple itself, but the kinds of spirits grew gradually less balanced a few buildings farther out.

Diavla also felt stronger, more focused than usual. She wondered whether she could actually continue sensing while carrying on a conversation or doing simple tasks. She decided to try.

Inside the Temple, there were a few bursts of activity, places where the spirits were called or drawn. Those would be the spirit-touched, the mages and devouts, using their skills. If she sent out a call for aid from the spirits, Diavla would be noticeable to them, as well. So, she refrained.

There was a slight stirring of spirits coming their way, and a moment later, a man stepped into the room with them. Interesting. Can I sense the spirit-touched even when they aren't calling spirits, now? Perhaps it is a lingering effect from their last call. The human had brown hair and blue eyes, and was only slightly taller than Diavla.

“Hello. My name is Adam. How (something) I help?”

“Hello,” Eubexa answered in fluent Western. “Thank you for (something).” She hesitated, so Diavla spoke up, trying to call on her limited Western without losing her grip on her spirit-sense.

“Hello. My Master is Tom Walker. I am Diavla. She is Eubexa. I speak a small Western, and Eubexa is …very good speak Western.”

“Fluent,” Eubexa supplied.

“Thank you. Our Master did buy Eubexa yesterday. Eubexa is sick. Our Master…give coin, ask how Eubexa sick, ask, how much is that, heal Eubexa.”

“For five silver, I can see and say what is wrong with Eubexa.” The Healer seemed to be simplifying his speech a bit, so that Diavla did not need a translation. “Ten silver if I need (something something).”

“One (something) will be fine,” Eubexa answered.

“Do all,” Diavla corrected. “Eubexa no want spend coin. Our Master say spend coin.”

“I see.” The human Healer nodded at Diavla in understanding. “First, (something) me see.”

Eubexa said something elaborate in Western. It sounded like she was listing her ailments and warning the doctor about contamination. Their conversation continued too rapidly for Diavla to follow, but it became clear that Eubexa needed to strip for the examination.

“Diavla, will you help me?” It clearly cost Eubexa something to ask, so when the sick elf proceeded to give very specific directions, Diavla did her best to follow them, even when Eubexa snapped at her for each mistake. I don't know how much of that is pain talking, Diavla reminded herself. Be patient with her. Perhaps five minutes later, Diavla removed Eubexa's human-style underwraps and stepped back.

The Healer was clearly shocked by Eubexa's appearance. Red welts covered much of her arms, legs, and torso. Her right foot was misshapen, and she had many scars, especially on her back. And of course, her face was terrible.

“Who did this?” the Healer almost growled. Eubexa calmly gave him a long answer. The Healer hissed air through his nose. “I see.”

“What did you say?” Diavla asked, quietly.

“I told him that my Master promised not to say as part of the deal to buy me. However, I may have dropped a hint or two.” Something in her face twitched; Diavla wondered if that was how it looked when Eubexa tried to smile.

The Healer asked several more questions, and Eubexa answered with barely any hesitation. Diavla could make out things like four years but not much else; she simply didn't have enough vocabulary yet.

“Diavla, I told him that you were a physicker back home and that you want to learn from him. He's asking me to translate some things for you. I'll do my best.”

What followed was a lesson on bandaging and washing that left more than a few things to be desired. Diavla frowned, but nodded along. Do humans not know basic hygiene? Surely, their Healers can see sickness, and know when things are not yet clean enough. They seem to understand enough not to spread disease, at least, but their version of physicker treatment seems…inadequate. They don't seem to know how to prevent new sickness from entering the body. Diavla resolved to come back another time to discuss the advantages of washing clothes in water that was actually boiling. For the moment, though, Adam was very busy.

She was fascinated as she watched him use magic. She stood mostly behind Adam, so that he wouldn't see her reactions. He was doing something called praying and it was sort of half meditation and half spirit-calling. It looked strange, but what was stranger was that it worked—not terribly well, but after a fashion. She could see several kinds of spirits converging on Adam, but not in great numbers.

She heard various bits of conversation in Western from other parts of the Temple, but couldn't translate much of it at all. After one conversation, Eubexa stiffened. “Diavla,” she murmured. “Some guards are asking where the elves are.” Less than a minute later, a guard stuck his head in the door. He got one look at Eubexa and cursed loudly. Adam yelled at the guard to get out, and after a few more words, the guard left.

“They're waiting until we're done. They don't want us leaving,” Eubexa muttered.

“Well…it is the world.” Eubexa nodded slightly in response.

Diavla could see Adam lose focus, and the spirits nearby went back to wandering. Adam prayed again, and some of the spirits returned, but not as many. Diavla stared, and shook her head. I have so much to learn.

Finally, Adam stepped back. He provided some fresh linens to bandage the worst of Eubexa's wounds. He asked Diavla to do it while he supervised, and seemed satisfied with her work. Eubexa translated some of his comments. “He's saying to use thistleroot on the bandages when possible, and sap from a local plant called aloe can go directly on the sores. I've seen it a couple of times.” Then, Adam gave his report.

“He says…that I have between three and six months left to live.” Eubexa translated with barely a hint of emotion. “He can possibly give me a few more weeks for…a gold!? Are you a fucking (something)?” The sick elf started to rant in Western, so Diavla got Adam's direct attention.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Eubexa pain. Now, say more. Eubexa, tell him to finish his report.” Eubexa subsided, then complied.

Adam gave Diavla a lesson in how to care for Eubexa, and what sorts of rough treatment would hurt her the most. “He's actually doing a good job of this,” Eubexa conceded. “I can repeat the details for you later…now, he's talking about my foot…Saa, I figured as much.” Eubexa listened for a minute. She summed it up by saying, “It's not worth it to work on my foot.”

“Eubexa.” Diavla was getting used to staring into those blue eyes in the ruined face. “Do you wish to be important to Tom?”

“Yes.”

“You serve as a translator. That is your primary value right now, would you agree?”

“Yes.”

“Then don't diminish your value by making me think we can't trust your translations. I will check.”

Eubexa took a deep breath and was quiet for several moments as they had a brief staring contest. Then she sighed, and looked away. “Fine. He says that he can fix my foot, but he has to re-break it, painfully rearrange it, pour a lot of Healing in, and then I won't be able to walk at all for a month. And he says that would cost eighty silver.”

“Can he do that now?”

“Diavla, please, no…”

“You do now, foot good?” Diavla asked the man directly.

“No, foot bad one month,” Adam answered very simply.

“I say bad. You do foot now?” Diavla couldn't follow the reply.

“He says he can,” Eubexa admitted.

“I know what Tom would say, and he gave me enough coin to cover it. Adam, please do foot, and please do…all.”

“Diavla, please, it's not worth it! Even if my foot were fixed I would still walk very slowly because of the disease, and he can't fix that!”

“It's Tom's money to spend. And mine.” Diavla set her mouth in a grim line. “And we are slaves, so, we do what Tom says.”

Eubexa stared at her a few moments, then bowed her head. “Yes, Head Slave.” Diavla felt a bit sick.

Now that the argument was over, Adam began treatment, explaining what he was doing as he worked. He fetched a small bottle, and poured three drops of something in a small cup of water. Eubexa drank it, obediently. “I'm going to sleep for an hour or two, he says. Ugh, that's vile.”

“Understood. Good luck, Eubexa.”

A minute passed, and then Eubexa started crying.

“Eubexa?”

“It…it doesn't hurt,” she sobbed, sounding completely undone. “It…it doesn't…it…” She sighed deeply and her eyes closed, tears tracking a wandering path between her scars. Diavla pressed one hand to her mouth as her own eyes grew wet. She shook with a couple of silent sobs before she got herself under control.

“Diavla?”

“Do,” she told him, her voice thick. “Do all. Help her all.”

Adam nodded slowly, then got up and left the room. A minute later, he was back, speaking rapidly to another Healer who had come along. Together, they started to work.

Diavla had lost her focus some time back, but with nothing to do except wait, she started meditating again. It took a fair while to still her soul enough, but eventually, she got there. Carefully, she listened for the spirits once more. What she saw was strange and new to her.

Diavla had never seen two Healers collaborate before; normally, one elven Healer would call all the spirits of Healing in the area, but with the inefficient way humans did it, there were plenty of spirits for both of them working at once. The newcomer took a small, sharp, thin knife, and cut into Eubexa's foot. Diavla was dreading the result, but her fear subsided as she watched. It took remarkable skill and a very steady hand, but the second Healer appeared to have both, as well as enough knowledge to cut in the right place.

Eubexa moaned and whimpered, but didn't wake. Diavla held her very gently, wary of hurting her further, but felt that Eubexa needed some simple elven contact to help her soul through the ordeal. Adam looked at Diavla approvingly, during a brief pause in his work.

It seemed to take forever, but was actually less than an hour before the Healers stopped, both exhausted. They actually called for a third Healer, briefly. This one, a young woman, made some sort of call to spirits of Cleanliness, not something Diavla would ever have attempted. Without calling to spirits herself, Diavla couldn't be sure, but she guessed that the third Healer was making sure that Eubexa's sickness did not take root in anyone else. She even ran her hands over the pieces of fabric.

Oh. Maybe they don't need to boil water, if they have the means to do that, instead.

Adam thanked the other two, who left. He picked up a slate and wrote runes for a couple of minutes. Then he got out a jar of something, and set it before Diavla. He explained how much to use and how often, to help Eubexa with pain. He warned that giving too much would give a different sickness, and Diavla promised to be careful. He also set out two pouches of different herbs, and gave more instructions in their use.

Finally, Adam picked up the slate again. He was totaling up numbers, then showed her. Diavla was able to read it without difficulty. Eighty silver for her foot. One gold for general Healing. Ten silver for seeing, five silver for cleaning, and forty-five silver for herbs. Two gold forty silver in all.

Diavla pulled out Tom's coin pouch and fished out the required amount, then added twenty more silver. Adam was grateful, and bowed to her. She returned the bow. Adam left, and Diavla was alone with a sleeping Eubexa.

As she thought about the elf's suffering, anger at her abusers flared up, and for a moment, her eyesight was blocked by a vivid image of fire. I want to burn something. Diavla shook her head. She was almost calling on the spirits, and needed to calm down. Looking at Eubexa's sleeping form, Diavla thought, I wish I could burn the sickness out of her. Frustration at her helplessness gnawed at her soul.

A minute later, a guard stuck his head in, then disappeared again. Diavla waited. Then she heard Elvish out in the hall, and hurried to see.

Varga, Kervan and Orvan were all being marched into the Temple, with four guards surrounding them. Varga spotted her. “Diavla! Are you all right?”

“Yes!” she called back. “What happened?” One of the guards walked over to Diavla, and she held up her hands in surrender. The guard looked wary, but not angry or menacing.

“These guards showed up at our rooms. Kervan tried to talk with them, but they just ordered us to come with them. Where are Tom and Eubexa? What's going on?”

“Eubexa's asleep after surgery, in the room behind me. I'm watching over her.” Diavla turned to the guard before her. “Eubexa in. Sick elf. I stay. Yes?” The guard told her something she couldn't follow. “I am very sorry. I speak very small Western. Say simple, please?”

The guards argued back and forth a minute, then the near guard turned back to Diavla with a grimace. “You…stay…here. You…no…go.”

“Yes. I understand. Thank you, guard sir.”

“Diavla, where's Tom?” Varga pressed.

“He went with guards to bring the crystals here, because they are dangerous. They won't say how. He might be here, or in the Keep.” Diavla grimaced. “Just do what they say. I'll watch Eubexa. I'm sure they'll tell us what's happening, soon.”

“Good luck, Diavla,” Kervan called. He looked tired and grumpy. The guards motioned, and the group proceeded deeper into the Temple.

Diavla backed up under the watchful eye of the guard who stayed behind, then stepped back into Eubexa's examination room. She sat on a stool, and thought.

What's going on? Bringing us all to the dungeon would be one thing, but bringing them here means they need Healing or other magic. It must have something to do with the crystals. A sickness? Disease? It's not just an injury, I don't think. They would have left that as our problem. So, they must be concerned about it spreading.

For the third time that morning, Diavla set out to meditate. At first, she was too worried and distracted, but the presence of the sleeping Eubexa was calming, and eventually, she managed it. She spent a few minutes just in meditation, checking that her soul was well-centered before going further. Once she was sure she was calm, she tapped into her spirit-sense.

There was a swirl in the spirits, elsewhere in the Temple, as if someone had just finished a call. Diavla wondered what she had missed seeing, but with nothing better to do, she kept watching. She was rewarded a minute or two later when the same spirits stirred again, and in the same place. Diavla listened as closely as she could to what the spirits were telling her.

What an odd mix, she mused. Whoever it was, they were calling on spirits of Healing, Protection, Curiosity, Combat, and… Diavla frowned. This isn't humans being sloppy. This is an elaborate casting. I can feel the pattern in it. I almost recognize it… Diavla's eyes widened.

They're testing for demonic possession!? What in the world and sky? They think there's a demon on the loose?

A powerful thought rose unbidden in her mind. I have to hide.