Promeithious

I have arrived.

The trip has taken three full days, one day more than I had hoped. Twice the wooden wheels of our stage came crashing down to hard upon the rubble and rocks as we climbed up the dry mountain ranges. The stage had only one spare wheel. It had been hot waiting in the Sun the day before while the driver mended the splintered wood. A few of the other passengers complained of headaches, dehydration. I tried to not let on that I was a healer in case they came to me for aid. I feared I would need all my supplies. As I began to look about the town this evening, I knew my fears were not unfounded.

There is only one child who remains unaffected by the illness and three children in one family (d'Oofa) who appear to be in the early stages. The rest of the children are in comas or dead. I passed the cemetery just out of town before we arrived and I could see the fresh, short graves that marked their burial spot. There were some longer ones, just freshly dug amongst them which made me ask if the illness has found its way to the Adults. There was only a sadness and a shaking of heads after I asked this question.

It seems the first stages of the illness as I have witnessed in the youngest of the d'Oofa children is a mild rise in mischievous behaviour. Food fights, stealing of eggs, letting the dogs of their leashes, stealing and hiding the mining tools. The start of the next stage sees a rise in more aggressive behaviour and outwardly shown through constant pinching, punching and pulling as well as severe cases of torturing of animals.

I have not been able to diagnose the cause except hypothesise that there could be some correlation to the recent opening of the South-west mine. The first child became inflicted three days before the south-west cave was breached. Its possible the breach could have occurred before the Miners became aware of the natural cave which is the case 80% of the time, so I am told by the chief miner.

I am spending tomorrow with the d'Oofa children. That should be fun.

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I folded the note, placing it to the left of my books on the table to my side. I watched as my assistant ushered my next patient into the room and showed her to the adjacent seat. She stepped back out closing the door behind her and leaving me alone with Mistress Nails and her ailment.

"Mistress Nails. Where are you not feeling well?"

I listened to her reply, my mind wandering back to the note which had been written at least ten days previously. It begged my urgent assistance. I focused back on Mistress Nails:

"dizzy, chest aching, hungry but not hungry, grunge feeling in the stomach..."

"You are pregnant Mistress Nails."

"No."

"Yes, Mistress Nails. You've also put on a little bit of weight since I last saw you."

"But I can't have another. I've already got eight."

"And now you'll have nine. You need to rest more Mistress Nails. Let your older children take charge for a while.

After the consult was over and Mistress Nails had a potion to help her with the sickness, I returned to the Note. I unfolded it slowly this time, carefully examining the fold and the contents of each quarter page. I may have missed something, a hidden message perhaps?

"Come Please. Children, ill. Your help needed. Urgent." The paper was thick, the script was large and carefully written. How could I not respond to such a cry for help, they needed a healer, they wanted me.

The seal was that of a clan of Dwarf miners located in the deep mines of the rocky mountains of West Sargaso.

I packed.

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