Lucky Rabbit

Eventually, Augustus allowed himself to be led back out of the darkness. Pandy had returned to her rabbit-shape quite a while ago, so he was carrying her in his arms, one hand absently stroking her ears as they emerged into the open air once again. Stars still twinkled overhead, but the moon was worryingly low on the horizon. Pandy needed to get back to Thaniel, and the chancellor needed to get some rest, preferably in the infirmary, but he insisted they make one more stop first.

“Where are the people they infected?” Augustus asked the knight, who was still shadowing them.

“Over here,” they said, pointing toward a building whose windows were too brightly lit for such an early hour. As they approached, Pandy saw that those windows were grungy, and most were cracked, while a few were simply missing and no one had even boarded them over. Honestly, it looked a bit too much like the warehouse in which they had been briefly imprisoned, an impression which was confirmed when the knight knocked, then opened the door.

“This warehouse was abandoned after the river was diverted,” they said, helmet turning as they looked around. The light on their shoulder winked out as soon as they entered, presumably to conserve whatever fuel it ran on. “Since the victims need to be quarantined, we commandeered it until something better can be arranged.”

“You have healers and priests on the way?” Augustus asked.

“Yes, sir. Healer Sinnett has taken charge, and a priest should be here soon. We asked for a Light mage, but they’ve all been dispatched to nearby areas, following up on reports of a mysterious disease.”

“Slightly less mysterious now, I suspect,” Augustus said dryly. “Where’s Sinnett?”

“Here,” a gruff voice said. Augustus turned so Pandy could see a surprisingly refined-looking man approaching them. The voice sounded like it should belong to a grizzled veteran, but this was a middle-aged gentleman instead. He even had a broad mustache with upturned tips that must have required either magic or wax to achieve.

“I’ve tried all the usual medicines,” he growled, clearly frustrated. “I don’t expect an immediate recovery with something as strange as this, but while we’ve been able to alleviate some of the symptoms, I don’t see any sign that they’re actually getting better. We need a Water elementalist with a Nymbrasil, or any kind of Light elementalist.”

Augustus shook his head. “We’ll get them, but it may take a day or so. Have you heard anything about this ‘mysterious disease’ the priests and Light healers have been dealing with?”

Sinnett shrugged. “A few friends have mentioned it. No one seems too worried, since most of the victims recover. The only reason it’s being looked into is that it’s so contagious. Anyone who’s exposed to the patient more than a few times, or for any period greater than half an hour or so, catches the disease. Of course, no one has tried full containment protocols, such as we have here, so hopefully the knights and I are safe. I heard there’s a potion that can keep this illness from spreading, and if it turns out to be the same thing, I’ll probably focus on reproducing that.”

Frowning, Augustus said, “Most people recover? As in, a complete recovery? No lingering effects?” The healer nodded, and Augustus rubbed the bridge of his nose, muttering, “This can’t be the same thing, then. Why would they be so focused on spreading something that’s no more than an inconvenience?”

“Perhaps it’s a test?” Chancellor and doctor turned to look at the knight, who cleared their throat and said, “Maybe they’re just checking to make sure the process will work. For something worse later.”

The healer’s brows rose in what looked like surprised approval, but Augustus didn’t seem convinced. “That would make sense on a small scale. One or two groups, maybe. But even if they’ve bribed the guards, if it’s to the point where people are calling for help, then this is already bigger than that.” He shot a sharp glance at Sinnett. “How long have you been hearing about this highly contagious illness?”

“Hmm, two months? Maybe three? It probably started around the beginning of summer, but many illnesses pop up when the weather gets warm, and since only the elderly and infirm die of it, it would take a while for anyone to worry,” the healer said.

“Other than the families of the dead,” Augustus said grimly. “All right. We need to gather reports from every priest, mage, and elementalist who has experience with this. Sir Bailey, make sure it happens.”

The knight nodded, and Augustus turned to look at the other end of the building, where blankets had been piled up to create beds for those afflicted. In spite of the light, most of them lay on their sides, dirty cheeks flushed with fever, ribs rising and falling in rapid, rasping breaths. Four were sitting up, backs against the wall, much as they had below, but now surrounded by pillows and blankets, and with glasses of liquid within easy reach. Another two lay ominously still and silent. Only one blanket covered each of those, but that single square of fabric covered their faces as well as their bodies.

“What’s the prognosis?” the chancellor asked, and the doctor sighed.

“As I said, no response to medication. The symptoms match what I’ve heard from friends, so I’m hopeful most or all of them will be fine in a week or so, though they won’t enjoy the time between now and then.” Sinnett tilted his head toward the blanket-covered forms. “I’m told those two were actually bitten by these spiders. I sent a few soldiers down to gather some, since they say the place is swarming with them. Given a sample of the venom, I’ll have a better idea how to deal with it. The simple answer may be that we’ve been treating this as an illness when it’s actually poison. Though I’ve never heard of a contagious poison before.”

His tone expressed doubt, and Augustus nodded. “This has all the hallmarks of magic.” He lowered his voice, adding, “This goes no further, but I believe whoever’s doing this is using elemental magic on the spiders, enhancing their venom and giving it the ability to spread.”

He glanced at Sinnett. “By any chance, does the contagion seem to weaken, the more people it passes to?”

The healer frowned. “I … don’t know that that’s something anyone has thought to examine. That’s not how disease works, you know.”

“Maybe it does now,” Augustus said, then tucked Pandy more firmly under his arm and headed for the four people who were sitting up, none of them looking pleased about their situation.

As they drew closer, Pandy was able to count the individuals in the makeshift beds. Their blankets ran into each other, making it difficult to tell how many there were from a distance, and she was shocked to count forty-three supine and miserable people lying there. That, plus the four who still remained upright, and the two who would never rise again, made forty-nine. She turned her head, looking up at Augustus, whose eyes were too bright, with dark circles growing like bruises beneath them. Fifty, then.

“Sir, you really-” Sir Bailey started, only to stop as Augustus raised a hand and continued walking.

Two of the seated figures were unfamiliar, but one was clearly Empress Glory, while Pandy thought the exhausted-looking man next to her was probably Albert Christopher. As they approached, Pandy sent Minor Heals to both of them by name, and was pleased to see some energy return to their eyes. Albert Christopher was exactly as he’d seemed in the underground. A man of about fifty years, with a receding hairline and a strong jaw, he nodded as they drew closer. The Empress watched much more warily, and her fingers never strayed far from the rusted iron bar that lay on the ground beside her.

“You’re the one who got us out, aren’t you?” the Empress demanded as soon as they were near enough that she didn’t have to raise her voice.

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

…

Pandy’s vision was suddenly filled with words – the same ones, repeated over and over. She was so distracted by the sudden flood of notifications – for once completely without commentary by the System, possibly because there was no space for anything else – that she missed Augustus’s response, but not the Empress’s irritated response.

“Y’know what I mean,” she growled. Lifting a finger, she pointed from Sir Bailey to the door. “Tell ‘em to let us go. We went and got ‘em, against my better judgement, even, and now we’re locked up again.”

“With food, water, and medicine, Glory,” Albert said with surprising gentleness. Reaching over, he patted her hand. “They promised to let us go as soon as we’re well. I, for one, don’t want to bring illness into my home.”

To Pandy’s surprise, the Empress didn’t yank her hand away, but she did withdraw it after a second. “No worries there,” she muttered. “I don’t have any family.”

“Friends, then,” Augustus said, settling down on the floor across from them. Sir Bailey shifted unhappily at the sight, but stepped back, giving them room. “The gang leader told me they only took people who would be missed, so you’re not entirely alone.”

Empress Glory’s gaze slid away, and her fever-red cheeks darkened further. “I … guess that’s true. Doubt he’d come looking for me, but maybe. I still want out, though.” She met the chancellor’s eyes defiantly. “You’ve got no right to lock me up. No more than they did.”

Augustus sighed. “We do, actually. By law, those with contagious illnesses can be quarantined until a licensed healer determines they can no longer spread the disease. Right now, you’re highly contagious, and we’re not certain how bad this sickness really is. Until you recover, you have to remain in custody, though I’m certain we’ll find somewhere more comfortable for you to stay. We’ll also send messages to anyone you want, letting them know you’re safe, and will be home soon.”

The Empress’s head shot up. “Can they come visit?” She looked away again. “Not that they’d want to.”

“Highly contagious,” Augustus said again, and Pandy might have been the only one who picked up on the dry amusement in his voice. “Now, what can you tell me about what happened to you?”

Albert’s story was simple. He’d been on his way home after work a few days before, when someone knocked him upside the head. When he woke, he was in the warehouse, along with a number of others, though he wasn’t certain how many. They were given the bare minimum of food and water once each day, and after that, some men went through and took away anyone who’d fallen unconscious or died. It took a bit less than two days before Albert started feeling sick, and about then, Augustus and Pandy showed up.

“So those who were exposed second-hand were taken directly to the warehouse?” Augustus asked, and Empress Glory nodded.

“I’d been there a few more days, but I don’t get sick. No time for that foolishness,” she said. “The first day I was there, they brought in some spider-bit. Those lasted less than a day. Everyone tried to stay away from them, but you can’t, you know? Al here came a few days later, along with several others. Just chucked ‘em in through the door. One guy got a broken arm landing wrong.”

“Less than a day?” Augustus asked. “You’re certain?”

“Unless they messed up and skipped a day of feeding,” she returned tartly. “Hard to say, down there. But that’s what Noel and Bantha said.”

“Bantha?”

Glory’s eyes flickered toward a woman who lay nearby, tangled dark hair spilling across a pillow as she struggled to breathe. “The healer. Noel’s the old man. Well, not old, as it turns out. Doesn’t make him any less dead.” This time she looked toward one of the silent mounds, and something like sorrow broke through her tough facade.

“Noel was the man who’d been there a long time. How long?” Augustus said, but his voice was heavy as he, too, considered the shrouded figures.

“A week at least,” Glory said quietly. “He wasn’t all there anymore, you know? But he refused to let go. If he’d just gone unconscious, they’d have taken him, and he was afraid. Even after he heard ‘em talking about leaving us to be found, he was still afraid.”

She looked back at Augustus, then her gaze dropped to Pandy, and she almost smiled. “He used to sing, you know. He was terrible. I’d have lost my job for having a voice like that. And he knew some songs that almost made me blush. But when you heard him, you couldn’t help but feel like things weren’t too bad. So long as someone could sing like that, there was still hope.”

“I’m sorry,” Augustus said, and he meant it.

“Me, too,” Glory agreed. Meeting his eyes, she said, “All of us had somebody, huh?” He nodded, and she jerked her chin up. “When you find out who his people are, I wanna talk to them. Let them know … he never gave up.”

Augustus nodded and set a hand on the ground. Levering himself up to a standing position, he said, “I’ll make sure that happens.”

Rubbing the heel of her hand beneath her eyes, Empress Glory nodded back, and Augustus strode away. As he did, the continuous stream of notifications scrolling across Pandy’s vision faded, then vanished. What was that?