Aleria moved through the crowded clinic like a wraith, her footsteps silent amidst the groans of the wounded and the murmured prayers of the hopeful. Every available space had been pressed into service - cots crammed side-by-side, benches lined with makeshift pallets, even the floor itself blanketed with rough-spun mats.
And still, it was not enough.
Her own narrow bed had been one of the first sacrificed, the thin mattress now occupied by the girl and her brother, who'd survived the warg attack. Though stable, the girl would need Aleria's attention soon.
They all would, Aleria realised with a weary inwardness. Too many injured, too few hands to aid them properly. The attack had been brutal in its swiftness and ferocity - the raiders striking with the element of surprise before melting back into the night, fleeing Bernard's retaliation.
Aleria's lips pressed into a tight line as her gaze swept over the rows upon rows of battered bodies. Those were the fortunate ones, at least. Those who still drew breath, no matter how laboured.
A dozen sheets, each stark white and crisply folded, lay in solemn repose amidst the chaos. Simple shrouds concealing the faces of the fallen, pulled respectfully up by the volunteers who'd carried them out to the courtyard, so that room could be made for the living.
Thankfully, the goblins that had fallen to her cursed blade had provided her with more than enough life force to fuel her spells through the night.
In the years since the war's end, she'd let that overflowing reservoir of stolen power dwindle down to merely her own mana. But tonight, she'd needed the spare energies, tainted as they were by the goblins' monstrous bodies.
Aleria only hoped that in the confusion and panic of battle nobody recognized her magics for what they were - that she was not in fact what she claimed to be.
Aleria placed a comforting hand on Haddy's shoulder as the younger woman tended to a man's burns - earned in the effort of dousing the fires that had erupted during the raid. Haddy flinched slightly at the unexpected contact, but relaxed when she glanced up and met Aleria's reassuring gaze.
Haddy and the volunteers had been a tremendous help, seeing to the smaller injuries so Aleria could save her focus and energy for the traumatic wounds. Still, Aleria could sense Haddy's growing weariness, the strain of hours spent wrapping bandages and applying salves taking its toll. A bead of sweat trickled down the woman's brow as she worked, her hands trembling ever so slightly.
"You're doing well, Haddy," Aleria murmured, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "But don't push yourself too far."
Haddy managed a weary smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Not plannin' on goin' anywhere, m'lady. Still got a fair few wounds to treat yet."
With a final squeeze of thanks to Haddy's shoulder, Aleria made her way towards the narrow staircase that wound up to the clinic's third floor and her chambers. Each step sent a dull ache radiating up her calves, a reminder of how long she'd been on her feet tending to the endless stream of injured.
The din from the makeshift wards faded as she climbed higher, the groans and whimpers giving way to silence save for the soft tread of her boots. Aleria exhaled a weary breath, rolling her shoulders in a futile effort to loosen the knot of tension that had taken up residence between her shoulder blades.
She would return to the lower floors soon enough, but first she needed to check on the girl and her brother.
She could already hear the faint sounds of pained whimpering as she neared the threshold. Steeling herself, Aleria slipped inside.
The girl lay atop the bed, her tiny frame swallowed up by the rumpled sheets and coarse wool blankets piled atop her. Even in the dim candlelight, Aleria could make out the sheen of sweat that bathed the child's brow, her eyes screwed shut as she writhed in discomfort.
Her brother perched vigil at her bedside, where he had been all night. He looked up as Aleria entered, his face drawn with fatigue and worry.
"She won't stop crying'," he said, his voice tremulous. "I tried everythin', but..."
Aleria met the boy's anxious gaze with a reassuring smile, though her heart clenched at the fear etched across his young features. "What's your name, child?"
"T-Tam, ma'am," he stammered, scrubbing at his reddened eyes with the back of his hand. "An' that's my sister, Lia."
Nodding, Aleria crossed the small room to stand beside the bed. She leaned over, gently brushing aside the sweat-dampened strands of hair that clung to Lia's forehead. The girl didn't stir at her touch, her breath coming in rapid pants.
Aleria pressed the back of her hand against Lia's brow, frowning at the feverish heat that radiated from her skin. When she had deposited the children in her quarters earlier that night, the clinic already overflowing with the more critically wounded, Lia's wounded leg had seemed a trifling concern by comparison.
Aleria had staunched the bleeding and hastily bandaged the ragged bite wound, intent on returning once the direst cases had been seen to. But in the chaos and frantic pace of triage, she had treated the situation like just another battlefield, prioritising those on the brink of death over lesser injuries.
A mistake, she realised now with a leaden weight settling in her gut. The warg's fangs must have been tainted, poisoned by the foul corruption that seeped through their unnatural hides. And in her haste, she had not properly cleansed and disinfected the jagged punctures before binding them.
Now, infection had set in, Lia's body consumed by fevered delirium as her small form fought against the vileness raging through her veins.
Aleria turned to Tam, her expression softening as she met the boy's frightened gaze. "Tam, I need you to run downstairs for me. Go through the treatment area until you reach the supply room at the end of the hall."
She paused, realising a crucial oversight. "Can you read?"
Tam shook his head mutely, his lower lip trembling.
Without wasting another moment, Aleria crossed to the small writing desk crammed against the far wall. She snatched up a scrap of parchment and a stub of charcoal, scribbling out the words 'Elf's Bloom' in a hasty but legible hand.
"I need you to find a jar with these words on the label," she instructed, pressing the parchment into Tam's hand and gently closing his fingers around it. "Can you do that for me?"
Tam's eyes widened at the weight of responsibility, but he gave a resolute nod. "Y-yes, ma'am."
"Good lad," Aleria said with an encouraging smile. "Don't delay now, your sister needs that medicine."
Tam didn't need to be told twice. Clutching the parchment tightly, he turned and dashed from the room, his footsteps fading rapidly down the corridor.
Aleria moved with swift purpose, retrieving a clean cloth from the washbasin nestled in the corner. She plunged it into the cool water, submerging it fully before withdrawing the sodden fabric and giving it a firm twist to wring out the excess.
Turning back to the bed, she perched on the edge of the mattress beside Lia. The little girl's face was flushed and beaded with sweat, her brow creased in a pained frown as she shifted restlessly atop the sheets.
With deft fingers, Aleria began to unwind the soiled bandages wrapped hastily around Lia's calf. The linen fell away in tattered strips, stained dark with dried and seeping blood.
Gingerly, Aleria used the damp cloth to dab at the oozing punctures, blotting away the fresh blood and grime. Lia whimpered at the contact, her eyelids fluttering, but did not fully rouse from her fevered delirium.
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