Ashan 1, 718
Daybreak
Gangui sat alone in the command tent. Everything was organized and placed efficiently. There was a flask of mead on his lap and a wooden cup in his right hand. Heat emanated off his body as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He didn’t feel normal, attributing his weakened state on the change of season and the return of the blazing sun.
The honey in the mead would make him better. Honey was made from bees and he found it useful in the wild back in his childhood. It always cured his sickness back then.
Suddenly his whole body spasmed. His throat seemed to buckle on itself. Wheezing from the stomach, he squealed in a high pitch, “Ooooaaaiii-“
Weakness dropped down his whole body in a mighty wave. The chair wobbled as he collapsed onto the floor. Waves of pain pulsated throughout his body.
His body lost control as screams got stifled in his blown up throat, “Oiiiiiiiiii—“ mead bubbled up and out of his mouth, “nnnnnnn—“ finally the spasm let up and he vomited a single spray of vile, “kuah—“
Clamoring back on his chair, the once proud warrior wiped his face with a handkerchief. He was dying. The vibrating pain was felt all over his body long after his ability to control his muscles returned.
He heard a noise coming from outside, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He steeled his nerves. It was his duty to be chevallier in the face of impending doom. Such was the task burdened upon the shoulders of a great leader in a time of great struggle.
He spotted a familiar Tunawa walk into sight at the entrance to the tent. She looked concerned but didn’t say anything, she just narrowed her gaze and scanned Gangui. His eyes were bloodshot and his demeanor was disheveled. Completely out of character when compared to the room around him.
“Describe your feeling, Gangui.” Niv finally spoke up as she scratched her chin in pondering. She clearly had idea’s about what could be causing his illness but needed more information.
“Niv!” Gangui chuckled in full earnesty, “I haven’t seen you since before Saun took his long slumber and you don’t even say hello?”
Niv was a brave and noble Tunawa even if others didn’t think so. He would let the steely virtues of strength run through his blood and respond magnanimously to despite his impending death. Maybe what Etzos needed was a martyr…
“Oh sorry I forgot, but I was worried. I was told dat you sick and wanted to see for myself. So tell me what you feel?” Niv explained her rudeness and gave a quick bow to hopefully make up for it.
“Who told you this?” Gangui shook his head, “The last thing we need is for people to know I am sick. Niv who knows this fact?” His eyes widened revealing the bags and the bloodshot state of his vision. His voice wavered a bit and his body slumped after an attempt to sit up.
“It doesn’t matter you silly, just tell me what dey problem is already!” Niv stomped her foot down and gave a growl that might have been intimidating if she wasn’t so tiny.
A smile came up under his moustache, “Niv, how we missed you here,” He put drank another draught of mead in complete dismissal of his own sickness. He took a knee next to her. A ball of sweat splashed next to Niv, almost touching her. It had dripped off his brow. “I’ve been sapped of all my energy. I am hot very hot, but I’ve been drinking mead to get the positive attributes of honey in my body,”
“But Honey is what bee’s make!” Niv noticeably trembled just thinking about the dreadful insects, she was not a fan in the slightest. “Lissira’s little demons!” She hissed.
She walked over the the sweat that hit the ground and wiped it up with her palm and much to Gangui’s surprise, licked it off her hand. She looked up and let the man’s sweat swish around in her tiny mouth for a moment before giving a grim nod.
“I taste poison.” she whispered.
“Poison?” Gangui shook his head, the chain coif rattling, “No one has poisoned me? Impossible. How?” He looked away from Niv, “Who…”
“I don’t know who or how but your sweat doesn’t taste like it should.” She looked up to meet his gaze. “Can you give me some of your Sap..er..blood.”
The warrior looked at the little tunawa with an estranged expression, “What… What do you want with my blood? Niv, the only people I know who use blood are cultist and also in the rituals of the nomads. Also… how much blood,” he gave out one curt chuckle, a maniacal one, “This is crazy Niv… even for me.”
“I just want to taste it to be better knowing of whether your poisoned or not.--”
“Absolutely not! The last thing I need is you getting poisoned as well, Niv.”
“I’m a tunawa..we don’t get poisoned..you not know dis?” She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes at him. “We’re used as deh slave so often because we grow antidotes to poisons after we eat dem. One of my favorite foods is poison mushrooms. C’mon Gangui.”
“I don’t know all those details, I just know slavery is evil,” Gangui commented before rolling up the chainmail sleeve and producing a iron dagger from his belt. Grimacing he put the blade on his forearm and peered towards Niv like a man who had just seen a Diri for the first time. Nonverbally he waited for her guidance with a unsettling stare.
“I just told you dem! Listen!” Niv stopped her foot again. “You give me a drop of your blood, I drink it den I grow antidote so you don’t stay sick! Simple.”
Gangui looked at her with one twitching eye, the shoved the dagger handle first towards Niv, “Alright you do it then, where do you need the blood from?” He held out his bare arm without regard if Niv had actually received the dagger that was as long as she was tall.
“I don’t know how you humans work, were is a good place to get a bit of blood? Doesn’t anywhere work?” Niv shrugged before the knife was dropped in front of her. He tunawa paused and blinked at the tool that Gangui had offered her. “Uh what do you expect me to do wid dis?”
He held out a finger and sighed, “Just, take what you need Niv...” he shook his head in regret for some reason.
“Um..okay.” Niv hesitantly bend down and wrapped her arms around the hilt of the dagger and clumsily lifted the it off the ground, nearly falling backwards in the process. She teetered over to the man’s offered digit and did her best to align the sharp end with the tip of Gangui’s finger. When she was sure she got it, she thrust forward.
The dagger pierced Gangui’s flesh with more ferocity than either of them were ready for and sliced the end of his index finger open. Blood shot out at Niv and covered her tiny face to obscure her vision of the horror in fron to her. The dagger fell to the ground and blood kept spilling out until Gangui’s hand was nearly covered in blood.
Flipping over on his side Gangui squealed in pain as the red liquid began to leak on everything. Holding his hand with the other, the spasms kicked in again. His body curled up and he began to twitch, as the pulsating pain commenced again.
“Oiiiiiii—” his throat muscles squeezed on his voice box, “nnnnn—“ he vomited again as his stomach pushed mead through his pipes, “Kkh—“ he coughed the honey liquor sprayed everywhere along with his blood.
The scene was one of disgust and horror. The men guarding the tent heard his plea and rushed in to help Niv.
Gangui was dying….
Daybreak
Gangui sat alone in the command tent. Everything was organized and placed efficiently. There was a flask of mead on his lap and a wooden cup in his right hand. Heat emanated off his body as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He didn’t feel normal, attributing his weakened state on the change of season and the return of the blazing sun.
The honey in the mead would make him better. Honey was made from bees and he found it useful in the wild back in his childhood. It always cured his sickness back then.
Suddenly his whole body spasmed. His throat seemed to buckle on itself. Wheezing from the stomach, he squealed in a high pitch, “Ooooaaaiii-“
Weakness dropped down his whole body in a mighty wave. The chair wobbled as he collapsed onto the floor. Waves of pain pulsated throughout his body.
His body lost control as screams got stifled in his blown up throat, “Oiiiiiiiiii—“ mead bubbled up and out of his mouth, “nnnnnnn—“ finally the spasm let up and he vomited a single spray of vile, “kuah—“
Clamoring back on his chair, the once proud warrior wiped his face with a handkerchief. He was dying. The vibrating pain was felt all over his body long after his ability to control his muscles returned.
He heard a noise coming from outside, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He steeled his nerves. It was his duty to be chevallier in the face of impending doom. Such was the task burdened upon the shoulders of a great leader in a time of great struggle.
He spotted a familiar Tunawa walk into sight at the entrance to the tent. She looked concerned but didn’t say anything, she just narrowed her gaze and scanned Gangui. His eyes were bloodshot and his demeanor was disheveled. Completely out of character when compared to the room around him.
“Describe your feeling, Gangui.” Niv finally spoke up as she scratched her chin in pondering. She clearly had idea’s about what could be causing his illness but needed more information.
“Niv!” Gangui chuckled in full earnesty, “I haven’t seen you since before Saun took his long slumber and you don’t even say hello?”
Niv was a brave and noble Tunawa even if others didn’t think so. He would let the steely virtues of strength run through his blood and respond magnanimously to despite his impending death. Maybe what Etzos needed was a martyr…
“Oh sorry I forgot, but I was worried. I was told dat you sick and wanted to see for myself. So tell me what you feel?” Niv explained her rudeness and gave a quick bow to hopefully make up for it.
“Who told you this?” Gangui shook his head, “The last thing we need is for people to know I am sick. Niv who knows this fact?” His eyes widened revealing the bags and the bloodshot state of his vision. His voice wavered a bit and his body slumped after an attempt to sit up.
“It doesn’t matter you silly, just tell me what dey problem is already!” Niv stomped her foot down and gave a growl that might have been intimidating if she wasn’t so tiny.
A smile came up under his moustache, “Niv, how we missed you here,” He put drank another draught of mead in complete dismissal of his own sickness. He took a knee next to her. A ball of sweat splashed next to Niv, almost touching her. It had dripped off his brow. “I’ve been sapped of all my energy. I am hot very hot, but I’ve been drinking mead to get the positive attributes of honey in my body,”
“But Honey is what bee’s make!” Niv noticeably trembled just thinking about the dreadful insects, she was not a fan in the slightest. “Lissira’s little demons!” She hissed.
She walked over the the sweat that hit the ground and wiped it up with her palm and much to Gangui’s surprise, licked it off her hand. She looked up and let the man’s sweat swish around in her tiny mouth for a moment before giving a grim nod.
“I taste poison.” she whispered.
“Poison?” Gangui shook his head, the chain coif rattling, “No one has poisoned me? Impossible. How?” He looked away from Niv, “Who…”
“I don’t know who or how but your sweat doesn’t taste like it should.” She looked up to meet his gaze. “Can you give me some of your Sap..er..blood.”
The warrior looked at the little tunawa with an estranged expression, “What… What do you want with my blood? Niv, the only people I know who use blood are cultist and also in the rituals of the nomads. Also… how much blood,” he gave out one curt chuckle, a maniacal one, “This is crazy Niv… even for me.”
“I just want to taste it to be better knowing of whether your poisoned or not.--”
“Absolutely not! The last thing I need is you getting poisoned as well, Niv.”
“I’m a tunawa..we don’t get poisoned..you not know dis?” She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes at him. “We’re used as deh slave so often because we grow antidotes to poisons after we eat dem. One of my favorite foods is poison mushrooms. C’mon Gangui.”
“I don’t know all those details, I just know slavery is evil,” Gangui commented before rolling up the chainmail sleeve and producing a iron dagger from his belt. Grimacing he put the blade on his forearm and peered towards Niv like a man who had just seen a Diri for the first time. Nonverbally he waited for her guidance with a unsettling stare.
“I just told you dem! Listen!” Niv stopped her foot again. “You give me a drop of your blood, I drink it den I grow antidote so you don’t stay sick! Simple.”
Gangui looked at her with one twitching eye, the shoved the dagger handle first towards Niv, “Alright you do it then, where do you need the blood from?” He held out his bare arm without regard if Niv had actually received the dagger that was as long as she was tall.
“I don’t know how you humans work, were is a good place to get a bit of blood? Doesn’t anywhere work?” Niv shrugged before the knife was dropped in front of her. He tunawa paused and blinked at the tool that Gangui had offered her. “Uh what do you expect me to do wid dis?”
He held out a finger and sighed, “Just, take what you need Niv...” he shook his head in regret for some reason.
“Um..okay.” Niv hesitantly bend down and wrapped her arms around the hilt of the dagger and clumsily lifted the it off the ground, nearly falling backwards in the process. She teetered over to the man’s offered digit and did her best to align the sharp end with the tip of Gangui’s finger. When she was sure she got it, she thrust forward.
The dagger pierced Gangui’s flesh with more ferocity than either of them were ready for and sliced the end of his index finger open. Blood shot out at Niv and covered her tiny face to obscure her vision of the horror in fron to her. The dagger fell to the ground and blood kept spilling out until Gangui’s hand was nearly covered in blood.
Flipping over on his side Gangui squealed in pain as the red liquid began to leak on everything. Holding his hand with the other, the spasms kicked in again. His body curled up and he began to twitch, as the pulsating pain commenced again.
“Oiiiiiii—” his throat muscles squeezed on his voice box, “nnnnn—“ he vomited again as his stomach pushed mead through his pipes, “Kkh—“ he coughed the honey liquor sprayed everywhere along with his blood.
The scene was one of disgust and horror. The men guarding the tent heard his plea and rushed in to help Niv.
Gangui was dying….