Teddybear

"Oh no, any sort of stasis is not a simple fix. It will be quite labor intensive, but certainly something I'm capable of doing, or, rather, undoing."

"It sounds like a simple stasis, much alike to the one that afflicted the kingdom through the second century, though on a smaller scale. I cannot be sure, of course, ...

Kivvien nodded. It must be some sort of stasis then, a so-called 'sleeping curse' could be the cause. He wouldn't know for sure until he could run his own tests ...

"At the next inn we come across we need to dissect the demon properly and preserve it. It will likely set us back a day, but we mustn't let it ...

Another five days with this thing. "I see."

"How much further?" Kivvien asked.

Kivvien finished hooking up the mule and started the cart moving again. It shouldn't be too long now before they reached the madman's cottage, and Kivvien could make good on ...

Kivvien quickly set up to get moving again. He couldn't wait for this all to be over.

It was cold and damp when Kivvien awoke just as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Kivvien found a perch and went to sleep.

Eventually Kivvien pulled them off the road and set up camp.

The sun had begun to set as they walked.

Kivvien remained out of the cart, quietly seething to himself.

That wretched, horrible thing had taken his words, read his thoughts. The thing's hands had desecrated those sacred pages. Kivvien took a steadying breath.

Kivvien left the pitiful damned thing to cower and returned to the company of the silent, stupid mule. This was a horrific mistake.