The Hand That Mocked Them

Kivvien approched the figure, hopping out of the way of a rt that scurried underfoot. This was disgusting, undignified, unprofessional, just horrific. He could not imagine a single use for this madman who allowed his lab to degrade to this degree. Every experiment, every sample, everything that was done in a place like this would be tainted and unuseable.

Yet, he had come all this way. It would be dishonorable of Kivvien to come this far and not follow through on the very barest minimum.

He reached the old man and looked him over, listing off his various symptoms as reported by Hironymus in his head until he reached his final conclusion. It appeared to be a form of spell paralysis, not stasis as he had thought before.

"Hironymus," he said, "Clear the area around the stove and light it. I need a gallon of water, lidded and brought to a boil."

"We...er, we don't have a stove, sir, just a fireplace and a few lanterns." He gestured toward the area they had just come from. "It should work, though. You can fix him?"

Kivvien sighed. "Just boil some water. I'll do what I can."

Hieronymus dipped his head and hurried off to light the fire and boil the water. The gallon would be heavy--very heavy--but he had to do as Kivvien said.

Kivvien moved to gather the rest of the supplies he would need. Various herbs and tools which could be used to make a salve that could conduct the spell he needed to wake the man.

He headed outside to the well and pumped out the rusty water, dragging a small amount in a bucket to the cauldron over the fire, which he poured in and then went back for more.

Kivvien soon had everything he needed, miraculously, gathered and a space on a table cleared in which to prepare the ingredients.

Hieronymus returned when the water had been filled. "All set, sir. How...er, how long before he's restored?"

"It may take a few hours for the salve to settle properly before it can be applied, but he will be awake again before tomorrow."

"You're serious?" His eyes lit up. "In such a small amount of time?"

"If I am correct, yes."

"Oh, thank you!" He hugged Kivvien's legs, unable to resist. "Thank you, sir. I'm in your debt."

Kivvien stiffened.

"Do try to clean this place while I work," he said to get the thing off of him.

"I--" Hieronymus looked around. It did look horrible, now that he thought about it. Embarrassing. He let go immediately. "I'm sorry. Right away, sir." He set about looking around for something he could pick up without getting in trouble.

Kivvien returned to his work, chopping, grinding, combining ingredients with a spell or two in between to ensure they bound together correctly.