Solo A debt owed

Paying for medical care with honest hard work

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Not found on any map, Endrykas is a large migrating tent city wherein the horseclans of Cyphrus gather to trade and exchange information. [Lore]

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A debt owed

Postby Samuel Longwell on September 24th, 2017, 10:19 am

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The River Flower
35th Fall 517


Samuel was still sore, but the pain had mostly subsided from his run in with the Yukmen. Teaching had been harder when he couldn't spar with his students, but the large man had done the best he could. But today he wasn't working at the Warstorm Pavillion, drilling young Drykas in bow and blade. Instead, he had a debt to settle. Samuel stepped out from his tent, his neck clicking as he stretched. He yawned, shaking his head to clear the fog from his mind. Grabbing his brush, Samuel walked over to his great Tiaden Dan. With careful strokes, the large man got to work grooming the powerful warhorse. Muscles rippled under Dan's black coat. Samuel knew the great beast didn't have the speed of a strider but he sure was in a whole other weight class compared to the graceful mounts that set the Drykas apart.

Once Dan was clean, Samuel lifted the saddle up and strapped it on tightly. Once he was confident that it was secure, he pulled himself up onto his mount's back with a wince. He still didn't have his full range of motion back, but once he was in the saddle he was fine. He patted his mount's side, a whispered word and a gentle squeeze set the Tiaden walking. He stifled another yawn, rubbing his eyes as he swayed in the saddle. He nodded respectfully to people he recognised as he passed through the tent city. It wasn't long before he came in sight of the reason he was up so early. The River Flower.

The large white tent had the trademark swirls of Rak'keli painted on the sides, denoting the healing that went on within the four walls. In payment for the treatment he had received, he had been asked to do some work for the healers. Samuel wasn't entirely sure what he would be doing, but there was a debt to be paid. He dismounted, tying Dan to a post. The Tiaden snuffled at his pocket, provoking a smile from the large man. He dug out a piece of dried apple and fed it to his horse, patting his mount as he stepped inside the tent.


Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.
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Samuel Longwell
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A debt owed

Postby Samuel Longwell on September 24th, 2017, 10:48 am

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Samuel smiled at the doctor who had treated him last time he had been there, signing a greeting as he entered. She simply stuck her thumb over her shoulder, focusing on the patient in front of her. Samuel's gaze traced the line from her thumb, then stepped towards the man she had pointed at.

"You must be here to help out?" The Drykas asked, signing a polite greeting. Samuel nodded, signing his agreement as he studied the man. If he remembered correctly this was the man that treated Hansel when Samuel and Fiametta dragged him to the tent.

"Yes, I'm Samuel," he replied simply, "what do you need me to do? I don't have much knowledge of healing, but I do what you think is best." He shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

"I am Nehrar." The doctor passed Samuel a bottle of alcohol and a cloth, then signed clean. "In that case we will have you clean those tables down. We cannot do medicine where there is dirt." Danger, unclean. He shooed Samuel off, turning back to the young Drykas family he had been talking to before the large man had arrived.

Samuel pursed his lips, then turned and walked over to the nearest table. He hadn't expected to be on cleaning duty, but he supposed that it needed to be done by someone. The doctors' time was better spent with their patients. He poured a small amount of alcohol onto the cloth, then methodically began to scrub the table. Occasionally he would have to pause on a particular area, to remove a stubborn spot of blood. He rubbed hard, till the red disappeared under the cloth's abrasive cleaning.

It isn't so different to brushing a horse, Samuel thought as he moved onto the next table. Before a ride the horse must be cleaned, before medicine is performed the table must be cleaned. He found the process relaxing, he could just switch off and let his mind wander.


Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.
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Samuel Longwell
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A debt owed

Postby Samuel Longwell on September 27th, 2017, 10:02 am

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The next table was far more dirty. Covered in streaks of mud and caked in blood, it was going to take much longer than the previous table. But Samuel made no complaints, soaking his cloth in some more alcohol and getting to work once more.

He was attacking a particularly solid chunk of blood when Nehrar came and tapped him on the shoulder. Samuel turned, nodding respectfully to the Drykas.

"Once you're done with this table, come over to me. I need your help." Nehrar went back to the family, signing reassurance to the parents. Samuel noticed that the young boy was crying, but whether it was from pain or fear he could not tell.

The next few chimes were spent in repetitive monotony. The cloth scrubbing against dark wood, the smell of the alcohol burning Samuel's nose, and the faint sound of the Drykas boy's whimpers. Once he was done, Samuel straightened up, arching his back and clicking his neck. Now he needed to see what Nehrar wanted him to do next.

He wandered over, signing a greeting to the four Drykas. Nehrar beckoned him to follow, stepping a short distance away from the family to explain what Samuel needed to do.

"I need to extract the boy's tooth," Nehrar explained, signing rot, much pain, "but the parents don't want to leave him while I perform the extraction. Therefore I need you to make sure they don't interfere if he calls out. They could make it much worse."

Samuel nodded, signing his understanding. The two walked back over to the family, then Nehrar got to work. The young boy lay down on a table. He had been given a herbal concoction to numb the pain, which Nehrar said would be necessary for the procedure to take place. His small hands shook, whimpering as he stared up at the doctor.

"Say aaah," Nehrar said softly, "and it may help to close your eyes." The boy did as he said, eyes squeezed shut. Nehrar picked up his tool and took a step closer, light shining off the metal jaws.


Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.
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Samuel Longwell
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A debt owed

Postby Samuel Longwell on October 5th, 2017, 2:27 pm

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The boy's mother sniffled, clearly worried for her child. As Samuel examined the couple, something dawned on him. The father had no windmarks. Only the mother was Drykas. He glanced back to the boy, seeing the telltale tatoo as Nehrar put the pliers into the boy's mouth. A half Drykas accepted by a strider then, Samuel thought, wondering how often it happened.

His thoughts wandering, he almost let the mother slip by him when the boy screamed. She dashed forward, trying to reach here child and comfort him, but Samuel managed to grab her and hold her back.

"Don't," Samuel said, "You could make it worse." She tried to pull away, but he did not loosen his grip.

The moment that he had given Nehrar was enough, with another heave the tooth was wrenched from the boy's mouth. The doctor nodded at Samuel, who released the mother. She ran to her sobbing child, quickly moving to comfort him.

"Go and finish the tables." Nehrar said, signing talk later to Samuel, then turned back to care for the boy.

The large man walked back​ to his previous job, alcohol infused cloth in hand. Once more he started to methodically wipe the surface. It wasn't long before the doctor came over to speak to him. The boy had calmed down, the shock of the extraction fading and so the family could leave.

"Look at this." Nehrar held out a small wooden bowl with the tooth in it. Samuel glanced down, inspecting the tooth. It was black and mishapen, with an unpleasant odour that made him turn his head away. "If we hadn't removed it then the infection would have spread to his other teeth. Some pain now to prevent more pain later."

Samuel grimaced, but signed his understanding. He understood such reasoning. Several knights he knew had had limbs amputated, for similar reasons. He shivered, remembering a particularly gruesome surgery he had seen performed immediately after a battle with bandits. He continued to wipe the table, aware that Nehrar was watching him. It seemed like the Drykas wanted to say something else, but simply turned away and walked back to the entrance of the tent.


Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.
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Samuel Longwell
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A debt owed

Postby Samuel Longwell on October 12th, 2017, 3:44 pm

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The effort of scrubbing soon started to tire Samuel's muscles. He raised his eyebrows and rubbed his arm, surprised that his body was starting to flag. Surely this wasn't as tiring as much of the training he got up to regularly? He thought back to when he was building shelters in Syliras, and realised that it was probably the fact that the type of effort was different to what he was used to. He had tired more quickly than the farmers when he had been working out in the fields, it probably shouldn't have surprised him that he tired quickly doing something else that was new to him.

Once the tables were clean, he stretched and let out a sigh. He walked over to Nehrar, who was dipping needles in a pot of water over a fire. The warrior watched as the doctor made sure each was clean before setting them aside to dry.

"Heat kills disease," the Drykas said, "we do this after we use the needles to sew up a wound." He signed copy, pointing at the needles yet to be cleaned.

Samuel did as he was told, picking up the next needle and dipped it into the bubbling water. He waited a moment, then drew it out and wiped it with a cloth nearby before putting it back into the water. After a few ticks, he set it aside with the needles Nehrar had cleaned. The doctor nodded approvingly, then turned back to his own needles.

Several chimes passed in silence, the two men focused on the work in front of them. When the needles were done, Samuel took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Is this why a bad wound is touched with hot metal?" He signed much blood, stop. "Er... I do not know the word in Pavi."

Nehrar shook his head. "You mean cauterisation, burning the flesh stops it bleeding. But we clean the needles like this for the same reason you should boil your water before drinking it." He signed clean. "Right, we're all done here. Off you go." Farewell.

Samuel bowed his head respectfully and returned the farewell with his hands. His debt was paid.


Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.
User avatar
Samuel Longwell
Warrior
 
Posts: 408
Words: 219143
Joined roleplay: May 19th, 2016, 2:40 pm
Location: Syliras
Race: Human
Character sheet
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Medals: 2
Overlored (1) Donor (1)


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