"Look where it got me, though. I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't created a homunculus."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Certainly. I'm helping you with this demon issue!"
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Of course, if we succeed it could be rather beneficial for us both." The more Kivvien considered it the less he liked this. There had to be a way to cover up this man's involvement. It would be bad enough to have to share the glory and reward with someone of already high esteem, but a man like this would be unbearable. Kivvien could lose everything.
"Precisely! This could be the best thing that ever happened to me."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Kivvien wondered if he could kill the old man inconspicuously after they were seen together in town.
"There are some things that may be useful for transmitting the virus that we should get while we're here. Perhaps one of us should stop at the apothecary for some rainrot and ored soil." Both were perishable, had the old man had some, it wouldn't be in any state to use after his long rest. It was also true that either could be useful.
"I believe I already have a supply of both," he replied. "Though I'm afraid they may not be in good shape....I'll go to the apothecary."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Then I will go to the hospital in the meantime. Do pick up anything else you think would be useful, we needn't waste time on return trips. Would you like to meet at the edge of town, or at your cottage?"
"The edge of town will do. Under the old sign post."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Until then." Kivvien eyed the fork in the road and turned down the street marked with a sign for the hospital. It was best that he was the one going to the hospital, those were typically well marked for strangers to be able to find them.
(historical accuracy doesn't matter. they didn't have bird people either)
The hospital was a squat two-story building that could be smelled from a mile away. Disinfectant mixed with bile and rot made for a nauseating stink, and many villagers traveling or living near the hospital walked around with lavender-soaked rugs over their faces. The doctors themselves dressed in the traditional beaked masks and long white coats.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Symptoms?" the doctor rasped, turning their head to look at him through the glass eyespace of the mask.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
