Plight

Never had a land like Balick fallen so silently. It was mid-August, and the kingdom of Balick had begun fall harvest. The days were cold. A mighty chill in the air too deep in your bones. It was like the chilling air touched marrow deep, and every nerve was embracing the icy air. The numb wasn't different. Touches went sharply through your fingers and everywhere wished to wake up, slowed down by the chill. It became more a lesson, and the kingdom, full of snow and frost, knew it. The North was cold, as the North had the open sea to be their plain. In the water, the boats show through the fog, listing day or night, until the need to part was drawing them to the sea. The mighty waves often freezing whatever it touches. The South wasn't as cold to the North. This was the place in the kingdom to know since it was connected to the castle closest. The town of Lamish was one large enough town. Frost was still there belonging to the land and seen covering everything high and low green or grey. It masked the ground and glazed the window shutters ice showing on all the walls. This town was not far from the castle. It was the proud landmark tiny in the distance and seemed to be looking over them. Fog and frost were the only things separating them, but it was kings. The needs of the lands were to bring what they made to the rest of the kingdom, so each family was trying to gather everything at the end of the harvest season. Harvest in fall was known to be tough, and the days weren't long at this time. Producing plenty of work for everyone, so they all worked hard on what they did day after day like in the neighboring towns. The work was different in the West. There was a mountain stretching in the distance seen from Lamish, and it was intimidating. The mines of the west were known by Lamish but none that lived there saw them, it was worked by men that lived in the town built at the bottom of the mountain making a deep cavern and tunnel system which provided stone and metal to the kingdom. As Lamish was to work on food they filled their time with harvest. Keef and his family worked the land they lived on and had usually planned the farms collection of produce to gather in what they had, making harvest time the most active for them. It was customary to store all they gathered together in the town. The stores were counted and shipped or sold to the kingdom as each of the towns needed. They worked for what the land yielded but need to be supplied by the others. It was now night, and Keef, an average height man with dark brown shoulder lenght hair, was outside while his family stayed closer to Barn his brother. He was ill and struggling to survive, too ill to leave the bed. Keef was now outside the farmhouse standing alone. While there was silence all around in the distance, he could see plenty in the distance. Across from him was his usual sight. It was another farm. Outside, he could see some of the cattle standing outside in the wind. They were eating this night, nothing there to excite them. He stood staring at the tall barrel of water chilling in the morning air, inside cold but not frozen. It reflected the sky above, and in the reflection, he could almost count the stars in the sky. Then he heard a grunt from inside the house, and he paused. Concerned for his brother, with the concern showing on his face. It was sullen and darker a pale color whiter than the frost beneath his feet, his blood barely present. Keef looked around. In front of him was a barrel of clean water, and in his hands was the bowl. The bowl which he had gotten to help refresh his brother. "Why was it still empty? " He wasnt able to answer, but then he couldn't think now. He just looked down at the bowl in his hands, remembering all the time he spent with his brother Barn, that it was the way it was. As so much had just happened in a short time that it drained him just thinking about it. Then he heard another grunt, and he started shifting forward now, somehow newly able to do it. "I hope my brother isn't getting worse." He thought to himself, and he moved to finally fill up the bowl from the barrel, still wishing his brother Barn had hope of feeling better.  Spilling some as he lifted it out of the barrel, he turned to enter the house. As much as he knew, this illness Barn had gotten was strange, and that's exactly what the doctor who was there now had said. Keef knew much less of medicinal practices, and he wasn't able to argue with the doctor, nor did he want to. Keef walked to the room that held the doctor and Barn. Crossing passed his brother and sister. Entering the room from the dark was warmer, and its warmth was easy to notice. The heat filled the farmhouse from a fireplace close, facing the middle of the room. He set the water on the shelf next to the bed that Barn was laying in and crossed the room to the chair meant for visitors. His sister and brother were already seated, waiting patiently for the doctor to know what was wrong. Barn was now asleep, and the doctor wasn't providing much news. He was studying the infection, and he seemed to be openly baffled more than aware of this strange green color that covered most of Barn's chest and neck. He was covered with green and grey, but the grey barely showed. The color wasn't all there was his skin was dryer and seemed to be hot even peeling in some small places. He knew it wasn't bruises. They never looked like this, and though this could be poison, likely, it may not be the answer because poisons, though similar, were different, but he couldn't quite tell. As much as he knew of poison, there was too much missing from his knowledge about them. He simply wasn't an expert. If he, truly, dealt with them more he might have known. He would soon see if Barn was cured by the medicine he brought. It was possible, as the doctor knew, poisons had antidotes that worked fast and best. He thought he had an antidote for it. He just hadn't seen this kind of reaction before. Now Barn just lay there, never-ending sweat dripping from his face. His brown hair was matted in clumps from the sweat that clung to his neck, and dirt had smeared over his face. He was smaller in the bed than he usually was, though a large enough man, and he was usually fit. He normally was a healthy, attractive man. To talk to him took bravery, and he had plenty who had tried. In his past, the woman of the kingdom had often looked at him with desire, but now he was sick, and this illness drained him. He was half his normal size. His shoulders slumped. His back was frail. He was thinner all in a few short hours. He was defeated, beaten, and fast. It brought fury on some level. Though he couldn't express it, he still held the resentment. Keef and his siblings had never known him less than strong, and as the strength of their family, he was, in their eyes, the pillar that rarely toppled. As the oldest brother Barn was compared to his father, both in habit and appearence, he wasn't different from his father too much, and since his father had passed years before it wad he was who was needed to run the house and be in charge of all the things his father had done. Barn never failed. His father had taught him much in the short time they spent together. In fact, he worked things out so well that he made the labors of the house easy enough to do, remembering what his father taught him, so much so that it was barely a chore. Since his youth, he was brought up working in the town, Barn learned to work and often worked out all the issues that needed proper handling usually before the week was through. Some issues like broken structures and the harvest haul to town were things he handled often he and Jarv traveled the two hours to the castle every week. If it was needed, he could do it. Most of the town believed him to be the best. While Barn handled the majority of the families problems, Keef was his impatient assistant, often following the orders Barn gave him with a slower eye the family thought as laziness. While they worked, he needed more than one "Grace of Word"  before each task was finished, though it caused his siblings problems to say them, and they complained tirelessly even though he got the jobs done. It was hard to see Barn down. Now there Keef sat restlessly, troubled by the sickness that's befallen his older brother. "This wasnt easy," He thought " My brother could die, and i can't stop it" he remembered back in the morning before the illness began, he and Barn were cleaning the peppers they had Havested. Everything was fine he even looked strong. He always was fit as an ox. No problem seemed to be about to happen. Keef decided, "He would have told us if he knew, but how could he know?" He wondered in erragance and believed it. Was it truly impossible to have had a warning? No, as he walked away everything seemed fine. It was so sudden that maybe there was no answer to what happened, but if there had been a warning Keef wondered if they could have prepared for it. Fear and anger now rest in his eyes. Shock having left him for bitterness, he had the rest of the night for these thoughts. To be as scared as they were, was tiring he knew his brother was too strong. How did this happen? He would wait up all night for the answers, as it was barely dark now the night would be long. There was enough surprise when Barn fell ill that morning. When he walked away, He was first noticed by Phinrea, Barn's younger sister, a short woman with long pig tails, and two braids in front of her eyes. She worked the pigs and in the house and while she took out the produce for harvest; Barn, normally sturdy and well-balanced, was struggling to stand as he carried the peppers to the back of the house where they were stored. Phinrea stepped outside and started toward the pig pen when she saw him. Dropping the leftovers, Phinrea rushed to him and cried to her family of the trouble, urging them to help bring him inside. She struggled under the weight of her brother getting him through the door and slipped as she set him down in the chair they had in the kitchen to the back of the house. The others were much stronger and had little trouble when they started to help as far as she could tell he wasn't able to move for himself. Now, standing around Barn, they began to check what was wrong. Barn, still dizzy, had no words and could barely mumble. This worried them. After his strength left him, he was hardly moving, and he began to sweat. They needed to move him now. Standing him up wasn't easy, but once they got him to his feet, they tried to walk him to the bedroom. It wasn't far from the kitchen, but it seemed to be an hour before they got him there. As he undressed, he struggled more, and with much difficulty, Keef saw his chest through their movements on his chest. The skin had turned green, along with much of his neck. His skin was dried, and grey was filling up his veins, which began to throb. Afraid to touch him now everyone stepped back. Barn coughed weakly, and everyone stepped back again he settled into bed and passed out. Phinrea then sent the youngest of the siblings, Jarv, to get the doctor. Jarv was the youngest, willing to work enough on such a large size farm. He worked quietly and made progress as good as any man, though barely twenty-one. Gathering the food was important, but knowing how much you had was made was mandatory to everyone in town, making the counting of the food gathered most important. Each farm was to bring the load size to the castle so the kingdom could be supplied. Being the youngest and a hard worker, Jarv went with Barn in the past to bring the count to the castle for the collection and was aware of the doctor's house right across the street. The doctor's house was large and stood just outside the castle's inner walls. It was easily the seen, and with its darker walls and solid hard-wood door, the whole house covered plenty of space. As a two story, he could fit 15 people on each floor and had rooms for himself and his nurse. There were four windows on the first floor and two windows on the second. Though it was filled with so many beds, not every one of them was used. The house was ready for the town due to the labor of the nurses and the doctor, who worked readily for hours. There were four nurses who were there for the patients. All living inside the house and worked without leaving. Almost every body who was brought there was fixed with all their work, and there was someone new there commonly enough that the house was never empty. The doctor even made house calls often. The space was there if the other any of the towns needed it, too. It stood out as the best place for recovery. As Lamish was close to the castle, it was easier for its people to reach the doctors house than the other towns. This was the place where people were brought for healing if they were truly sick and needed immediate care, and it was trusted to be the best. As Javr approached, he could see the doctor through the window. At this time, he had only fourteen patients inside, all with mild injuries. He was talking to one about an accident. Javr was able to overhear a little of what was being said, " Then the branch broke, and i wasn't able to catch Barren as he was falling to the ground." He was able to hear someone he recognized as Falk saying it. Falk and Barren work in the orchard with twenty-three other people they work one to two weeks of the month, trimming the trees of limbs and fruit. The doctor Yuil moved to examine Barren now and asked how high he had fallen from, "Was it many feet to the ground before you landed, what hurts? Where is the injury? May I check it out?" Barren clutched his side, and Dr. Yuil measured his hip. There were about four inches of bruising and some swelling noticably under Barren's hand where he showed his injury. Dr. Yuil reached for the hip where he was shown, and Barren winced under the light pressure. It was broken, that was certain, but he would recover. A few weeks in bed, and he'll be fine. Falk was no worse, and a sprained shoulder with a twisted wrist is what he complained about. Jarv, now inside, had seen him massaging while he spoke with a mumbled word to himself rather than to the doctor. He wasn't worried about himself, and that was his argument, so the doctor left him alone. Since his brother was on his mind, Jarv wanted to speak, though it seemed unreasonable to interrupt. He just new that it was urgent because Barn looked bad before he had left. Jarv hurried to explain the problem. " Barn is entirely too sick." "There is this strange infection on his chest." "Hurry, please, we have to get to my home." He told Yuil his sentence fast like a group of blended words with the speed he spoke. "He was sick too fast... Barn fell down and couldn't walk on his own. " He said faster "Come". "Please." The doctor now hurrying to finish up and gathering his medical bag was asking for news. " What exactly does this look like? Is there anything you can tell me?" Jarv explained about the weakness Barn felt and the green on his chest in as few words as he could, believing in the need for speed, and began to hurry outside rushing the doctor. Dr.Yuil grabbed his bag and filled it with some packets of powder and viles. Then he grabbed some bandages and returned to the front of the house. Jarv outside now poked his head inside and said, "Please, we must go now. He's very sick, and I fear the worst." They both rushed out passing a small group of women in darkened gowns. One woman looked up and watched them till they faded from sight. She was young, and her face was hidden by a large hat each of the women wore. Then they entered a nearby building and closed the door behind them she stayed outside a bit longer to watch the doctor leave. Along the way to the house, the doctor was silent. Jarv, full of concern, was motivated to keep moving, paying attention to his feet halfway and keeping them quiet, wanting to speak, not knowing what to say. In two hours, they arrived, and Dr. Yuil crossed the house to the bedroom, where Barn still lay. Silently passing Keef and Phinrea, he kneeled by the bed to start the examination. First, noticing the green, he looked for the probable bite. Finding none. " Strange." He spoke to himself then continued to himself a little quieter. "No swelling or bites," the cause must be something else. "What did you eat?" He tried to ask Barn. "Did you eat anything new or rotten? Barn couldn't answer, so he tried again. "Did you touch anything under the house or in the roots of a tree? Anything small with anything on it, sticky or wet?" Barn fell asleep, so the doctor tried to wake him. He then asked again, "What did you eat?"Have you been in the shadows much? Under the house, " Barn stirred, disorganized, and tried to think back for a second and then answered, "No, i haven't. Not since last week." Dr. Yuil then checked his chest. Well, time has passed, but they could be related. The green now covers most of his chest and neck. It showed veins, through the green filled with dark grey and coursed, spreading everywhere within the pale green skin. In the infected area, the skin was dry, though sweat covered his body, and he shook uncontrollably as he lay under the covers. This illness looked tough. He reached into his bag to pull the packets out. The packets were homemade poison antidote. He looked at Keef and asked for some fresh water. Keef stood and left the room. He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and went outside. Dr. Yuil leaned forward and checked Barn's back. The infection seemed to spread, and now it wasn't only in his neck and chest it was growing under his armpit across his ribs. It suddenly glowed a fierce red and yellow and heated under Dr. Yuil's fingers. Barn groaned loudly as it burned and shook violently. He groaned a second time and then passed out on the bed. A few seconds later, Keef entered the room and set down the water. Dr. Yuil opened a packet as Keef sat down then said it needed to be heated, looking tired and concerned, but studying his brother bravely from the chair, anger kinda looked like it took over. He got up and started to the living room with the fireplace. Inside the packet was a powder grey and yellow in color as fine as a sugar. Dr. Yuil looked at the powder as he followed, wishing the fire would boil the water faster, then poured the entire packet in the bowl and sturred gently. Now, he needed to wake Barn back up so he could drink the antidote. Grabbing his hand, the doctor began to say his name and shook him urgently. " Barn, you must wake up... The medicine is here." He said rapidly. Waiting for he heat to be ready. After some time, he said, "Here, drink this." Force is his tone. Still half asleep and struggling with the weakness, Barn sipped what was in front of him. Barely getting it down dripping some on his chin. Then he lay back and fell asleep quickly as the infection was tiring since that morning. Worried Phinrea asked what he just took. The doctor answered. "Just a poison antidote I've made. It should slow the process. Now, think back. Was he showing any early signs?" She tried to remember and said finally,"None, he was fine." Then she sat down. Dr. Yuil said "My house has a book on this kind of thing, and I'd like to get it. I'll be back in time with it and some answers." Then the doctor began to leave. Dr. Yuil collected his things and left in a rush, so fast he nearly dropped his bag. As he was walking home, he kept puzzling the infection. It was spreading fast, and in fact, he would be better for some time. How would he feel in the hours to come? All he could do was wait as he hoped the book was in formative. There was plenty inside the book explaining the conditions of each poison and what to do about them. Since that morning, he had been slowly absorbing the poison, and the doctor could have been too late. Along the walk, he considered what was happening and still couldn't think of the cause or even what poison it might be. He had never seen it's like before, so he hoped he had the right answer, without much knowledge about he could have given the wrong antidote and that would make things worse, not better. Barn could die, so he needed to check. He would soon know. The book must know what it is. So he continued his walk back, believing he had done fine. Barn would be better soon.