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= [ORP] Kel's Bells Tavern in Egremont

Hikenai
"Darling, you do help! Just by being your sweet self." Hikenai hugged Neonea close and kissed the top of the child's head. She gave a sad little smile at Conrad and Kelster, touched that Neonea was so concerned about their cousin, wanting to help. Hikenai repositioned Neonea so that she was sitting sideways on her lap, and she looked down into the child's face.

"What do you think, Neo?"
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Wife to Kelster Wallace, Baroness of Hawkshead, Viscountess of Whitehaven
Neonea
I tilted my head back and looked up at Hikenai as she smoothed back my hair. I smiled at her, curling against her and finding comfort. For a moment I was silent, finding myself slightly shy. I turned my blue eyes to Conrad, pursing my lips, and looking back up at Hikenai. This time I said, it, I said it with less conviction.

"I know how to make poison go away..My p...I got taught."
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I sing in joy of my new baby brother and sister!
--Conrad_sw
He was deep in thought, after hearing Hikenai mention a physic she was employing at her apothecary shop and how he might help him deal with that poison, until he heard little Neonea claim that she knew how to help with that. Before he managed to say anything, to explain the nature of the poison and what he was looking for, to help them help him in a way, Neonea repeated: "I know how to make poison go away..My p...I got taught."

His jaw dropped slightly and his eyes widened, not in disbelief but mainly in surprise that a girl at Neonea's age could possibly know how to deal with poisons. He remained quiet though, hoping to hear more, before explaining anything further.
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Neonea
No one spoke, but that didn't push the feel of Conrad's eyes on me. I looked up at him, and smiled weakly. The weakness came from being shy, whether from being unsure that I knew what I was talking about. I remembered everything papa had taught me like he had taught me just yesterday. My eyes fell to the table, a sad glimmer in them. He didn't just teach me yesterday though, but a long long time ago. I looked back up at Conrad, and shrugged.

"What happened?"

It was simple, but without detail. I just wanted to know what happened when she got sick, how the poison acted, but I was unsure how to word it.
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I sing in joy of my new baby brother and sister!
--Conrad_sw
"What happened?" The girl's question made him realise how he was staring at her. She might have been asking about what had happened to his sister, how she had been poisoned, what were the symptoms of the poison or what attempts he and others had already made to cure it. But, he misinterpreted her words, believing that she was questioning his reaction instead.

"Erm, nothing...", he mumbled a little shyly, his face blushing a little too, "I just find it amazing to meet a girl like you who knows how to cure poisons when there have been plenty of dedicated healers and doctors who have sacrificed months upon months looking for a cure to this vile thing only to return empty handed, young lady." He wasn't angry at her. There wasn't the slightest hint of anger in the tone of his voice. He would indeed be amazed if Neonea had a way to cure that poison, for that he was certain. For he was one of those healers he just mentioned who had been looking for a cure and found nothing so far.

"It's not a common poison.", he continued, speaking slowly and making long pauses between each of his sentences, "It renders the body unconscious without killing it. The skin becomes cold and pale, as if it were a marble statue. You must try hard to hear the victim's heartbeat, their breath, or feel their pulse, because these signs are way too weak to be noticed easily. It's very easy to mistake them for dead. And that's if the victim was healthy before being poisoned. In the case of existing injury or ailment, the poison is far more potent and can kill within minutes, because the body is already weak. The biggest problem that we are dealing with, however, is that these symptoms remain even for a long time after the poison itself is gone from the victim's body. There are people who were involved in the same fight where my sister was injured, who were poisoned like she was, but they remain unconscious even now, five months later, because their wounds were too light for the poison to kill them. They are still struggling between life and death, and we are still struggling to bring them back into consciousness."
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Neonea
I tried not to show it, but my lips twitched and on the inside I bit down on the sides of them, as if that would somehow stop them forming a frown. My feelings were a little hurt by his words at first, yet I took it with a grain of salt. I didn't want to tell them that my papa, Cyzirus, was a master with poisons, and he more often than not knew how to pull up cures for them, just in case. But I did not tell them that. I didn't want to bring him up, it made me sad too.

I was busy convincing myself I would not let his upset get to me when he started speaking about the poison, and I sat in Hikenai's lap, appreciating the long pauses he used between his sentences, but not so much the look as he wondered if I really understood poisons or not. In truth, I wasn't sure I knew how to cure this poison, when I had piped up, it was because I knew how to cure a lot of poisons. I didn't say that though. I rubbed my hands together gently and thought about it.

"Ol'right. Well. 'First you have to know the poison to cure it'." My words ran off my little lips as if coming from someplace else, which was true- it did. I remembered that from when I was told.

I looked up at him, a small wisdom in my eyes forming as my brain worked. I'd heard of a lot of poisons, some were made from animals, others from plants others from combinations. My face lit up, and I understood.
"Do you know how it was made?" Cause I think I did.
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I sing in joy of my new baby brother and sister!
Hikenai
The firmness in Neonea's voice took Hikenai by surprise. Daily, additional revelations from Neo had indicated to Kel and Hikenai the exceptional intelligence their little daughter possessed, yet Hikenai had not been aware of the expertise Neo undoubtedly possessed regarding herbs and the employment of them in healing....She briefly recalled the stable man, Martin, having remarked on an observance he had made of Neo's knowledge in dealing with the animals and various ailments, but knowing the calming effect Neonea had shown to have with the animals, with Miss Fortune and her foal, Hikenai had thought he meant something of that nature. Now, listening to Neonea speak with sure assurance, and make inquires of this nature,
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Ol'right. Well. 'First you have to know the poison to cure it.......Do you know how it was made?"
--Conrad_sw
He was surprised more than he could ever imagine. Well, it wasn't the first time, but that's something he would never admit anyway. There was always something that would surprise him more than anything else before. Still, he was surprised enough when Neonea stated firmly: "Ol'right. Well. 'First you have to know the poison to cure it'." and when she asked him: "Do you know how it was made?" It was that moment when he realised that she was talking like an adult. And he felt that he had to treat her like one, even if he had to explain things a lot to help her understand. Because no matter how intelligent Neonea appeared to him, she was still a little child and some things needed to be made very very simple.

"Well", he began to speak, in order to answer her question, "there is no way to be absolutely certain about what I'm going to tell you. I was totally focused on taking care of my sister that day and, later, when I was asked to further help with the cure, I was never allowed to visit any of the victims. Not that they could talk to me, but at least I might have been able to find the source of the poison, the way it was used or some evidence about its composition. In addition, even though the culprits were found and arrested, they killed themselves before they revealed anything about the poison. Thusly, I was completely in the dark, when I began my search." He paused for a while, in an effort to remember as much information and many details as possible.

"I also asked the healers at Wigtown's infirmary if they had noticed anything strange; in the herbal tea, the meals and the medication they had been making during that day and the few days that followed it, till the culprits were caught. During those few minutes the victims remained conscious, after the poison had entered their body, none of them complained about the taste of the tea or food. So, the healers assumed that the poison was added to the ointments used to treat the soldiers' wounds. As for myself, I'm more suspicious of the herbal tea, because it was the first thing that was given to the injured that day before anything else." He paused again, trying to remember if he had found anything about the poison's ingredients.

"However", he continued after a while, "there is very little I can tell about its composition. If it was added to the healing ointment, then it could be anything. But if my suspicions are true and it's the herbal tea to blame, I think the poison is possibly of herbal origin too. But, I'm afraid I don't know anything else about it." He took a deep breath, as soon as he stopped talking, as if trying to cleanse his mind from all those bad memories of that day, to help himself remember things as clearly as possible, since he hadn't interacted with any of the victims since his sister's death.
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Neonea
Summer-sky eyes remained pinned on Conrad as he spoke, absorbing every single word he said. Sometimes, I wasn't entirely understanding of the words he used, but I took them in anyway as I listened to him speak. When he was finished, my mouth was agape, not in surprise, but in a deep thought that left my mind whirling. I shifted in my mothers lap, a little frustrated over the story. Not the way he told it, but the way he thought maybe the poison was made. Frowning, I lowered my eyes to the table, unhappy at the thought that someone who was meant to be a healer was in fact, someone who was mean, who intended to kill. I could easily recall a time that I knew nothing of bad people, and I still hoped somewhere in my heart that there were no bad people, that these things were only nightmares. But even with these thoughts, my eyes fixed on my hands, and I could nearly see the blood that had been washed away nearly a year ago.

I didn't know everything about healing, or even poisons, but my papa had taught me enough incase. I was observant as any one, because I was so interested in everything, and I learned everything I could. Even at my age I was wise beyond my years for somethings, but not all, and generally I kept it humble. My wisdom for things generally left me completely oblivious to others.

"Sometimes- sometimes people- they put the poisons on the sharp points of weapons. Like the arrow-heads, you know? They dip them into the poison they made"

I made a gesture, using my finger as a sharp edge, and then I tucked my hand to the opposite side of my chest, where my fingers touched my ribs, but my elbow pointed out towards Conrad, mimicking the shape of a bowl, and I placed my finger into the center.

"If they use the sticky stuff from a tree, but I don't know what it's called though, it will dry on the sharp edges of the weapons."

I lifted my finger up. "There's a spider, but it's not from here. But people get them all the time because they travel on ship. It can put the body to sleep. It makes people look..um..D-dead. But they must of used a...a..." I looked at Hikenai, "What's the leaves called when they're broken down? An urb?" I was asking about herbs, a word that had in that moment escaped my mind. I shook my head. "The spider spit won't um..hurt her bad...just make her sleep for a very long time. That might of put her to sleep..but she wouldn't of..." I didn't keep talking, because the expression in my face said that I might of agreed with Conrad. That someone aided in his sisters death, and I didn't want to say it out loud again.
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I sing in joy of my new baby brother and sister!
--Conrad_sw
"Sometimes- sometimes people- they put the poisons on the sharp points of weapons. Like the arrow-heads, you know? They dip them into the poison they made", he heard Neonea say and he nodded his head in agreement. "Indeed", he said in return, "I heard it's a rather common practice of poisoning someone, apart from pouring poison in people's food or drinks." He let a deep sigh before continuing.

"However", he continued and looked straight into Neonea's eyes, "that's not how my sister was poisoned. For that I'm certain, because I know who the mastermind behind her death is. And because both she and I have been hit by arrows before, belonging to archers in service of that same mastermind. If his archers applied poisons on their arrows, then both Jasmine and I would have been dead about a year ago. But I'm still alive."

He felt that he had sounded way too serious, as if he had been scolding the little girl for no reason. He sighed again and let his lips form a smile, the rough look on his face softening a little. "Please, tell me more about that spider and its poison. Do you have any ideas about what could counter it? I have tried various mixtures of healing herbs, those kinds that strengthen both the body and the mind. I also added honey to soften the bitter taste of the tea made from such herbs. But I didn't hear of anyone waking up or, at least, giving a sign that their condition was improving, even though a little. I must have been doing something wrong..."

He had been very familiar with treating injuries. He also had some experience in curing diseases. But he had never faced a poison before and, being self-taught in the healing arts, he lacked the knowledge needed to successfully deal with that vile poison that took his sister away from him. He hoped, however, that Neonea might, at least, have a clue about a possible cure. Although, he was impressed by her knowledge, he still had a bit of a hard time trusting that knowledge of hers. But doing something was much better than doing nothing and just waiting for the inevitable. He had decided not to lose hope long before he had set out from Scotland looking for the cure. He was confident that he would eventually find what he was looking for, no matter how far he would have to go to find it. It was his way of avenging Jasmine's death.
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Raven Bennett, played by Hikenai



To Lady Roberta Condoin de Peche







Dearest Roberta (Boo),

I have just been informed that my cousin Tika, in Ireland, is extremely ill. She believes it is the result of the plague that took Ros, were she lived. She tells me her husband is also ill. Neither are expected to live, and if they do, they will be too weak to care for their twin children, Dónal Ion & Ceilí Fíona.

She has asked me to get the babies as she doesn't want them going to an orphanage and the only other relative there has already taken in another's children. I have my own to care for, but I was hoping that you would be willing to care for them in my stead. I have not heard that the political situation is good in Ireland. I can only hope you and your husband, Chris, would agree.

Please write to me and let me know your decision.

Love,

Tansy




Raven tentatively approached the table where the Wallaces' seemed to be having such a somber discussion with their kinsman. She lay the missive down next to Hikenai.

M'lady, this came for Lady de Peche. I paid the messenger ma'am. Now, if ye wish, I will be clearin' away the dishes....

Lady Hik shook her head 'no' however, and whispered her thanks to Raven, indicated she could return to her work at the bar, and placed the sealed missive in her bag. Raven could only wonder, as she arched her eyebrow at the bartender, what news had befallen the family, for they appeared stunned, and very worried. Even little Neonea, sat gravely upon her mother's lap, not her usual chirpy, happy little self at all.
Neonea
I recoiled against the safety of Hikenai when Conrad first started talking back to me. He seemed snappy, annoyed. I hadn't meant for that, and I was sorry I opened my mouth the minute I had done it. I fought not to drop my head and run back into the kitchen, away from them. But I listened to what he said, and I looked more shocked. My little heart-shaped face turned to face Hikenai, my eyes were begging for an answer. He knew who poisoned his sister? Who would do that? But I didn't asked. Instead, I looked back at Conrad after he fell silent for a moment. When I looked back up at him, he was smiling at me. I was a little confused until he started speaking to me.

"It's not from here. It's from another land- the spider. I don't remember what it's called..." I thought really hard about it for a moment. Cyzirus had told me it looked like a fruit of some kind he had brought it back to me from one of his travels. He said that the spider looked like it, that when it bit..

I looked up at Conrad, "If it was rubbed on, it would have made her skin get rashy and itchy. If she drank it, it would have made her very sick before she couldn't move." I wasn't sure how to explain the next part, and the confused look filled my face, changed my expression. Part of me didn't want to say the next part either. I looked at my hands, which hand folded together on the table top. When Cyzirus had explained it to me, it was beyond my understanding. I didn't understand what it meant. "If she couldn't move, then it feels like you're under water..you can't breathe. You have to have a spider to make it better. Only that spider can make it better."
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I sing in joy of my new baby brother and sister!
Kelster
Sitting listening to his daughter talk to his cousin Conrad, Kelster was amazed at how much she seemed to know at such a young age about poison's.

"If she couldn't move, then it feels like you're under water..you can't breathe. You have to have a spider to make it better. Only that spider can make it better."

He had heard of spiders from the far south of the world that if they bit you , you would become very ill. A poison to cure a poison he thought to himself. How could this be?
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Baron of Ravenglass. Baronet of Egremont.Count of Westmorland CMC.
Hikenai
Hikenai sat absolutely still, listening with amazement to Neonea! All these months, and Neo had not expressed much interest in the Lady de Bevill apothecary shop, nor any of the herbs to be found there, nor even in the medicinal herb garden, tucked back in the kitchen garden at the castle. Suddenly, though, the child had revealed a vast knowledge of signs and symptoms, and sounded so astute in her judgement, that anyone regarding Hikenai would have noticed her reaction to Neonea. Hikenai's expression was one of absolute surprise, and incredible pride in her little daughter.
Neonea said,
Quote:
"If it was rubbed on, it would have made her skin get rashy and itchy. If she drank it, it would have made her very sick before she couldn't move....If she couldn't move, then it feels like you're under water..you can't breathe. You have to have a spider to make it better. Only that spider can make it better."


"Those spiders...um.... we could recover some from the ships in port, perhaps...But how could we test the effect of the venom? How would we even know it was the approximate spider venom?" Hikenai had no experience with such things, and her herbal remedies were very simple, basic ones. What Neonea was talking about, and what Conrad, and even Kelster seemed aware of as well...using the venom from a spider to induce a deathlike state-----was far beyond anything Hikenai knew, or had experience with in her years as an herbalist.
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Wife to Kelster Wallace, Baroness of Hawkshead, Viscountess of Whitehaven
--Conrad_sw
"Hmm, a poison to cure another poison...?", he thought to himself. That was something he would never think of on his own. He was curious to know how it would work. As he was about to ask Neonea if she knew anything more -- she was after all only a six-year-old girl and he didn't expect her to give him many details, even though he was already impressed enough with the amount of information he had been given so far, even if that information was nothing more than a few puzzle pieces scattered in a vast board -- he heard Hikenai say: "Those spiders...um.... we could recover some from the ships in port, perhaps...But how could we test the effect of the venom? How would we even know it was the approximate spider venom?"

That was something that troubled him too. How would he know which spider was the right one? Neonea didn't seem to remember the name of the exact species, but could she distinguish the right one, if a spider was presented to her? And who in their right mind would agree to have themselves poisoned just to try the spider's venom out? He was at a loss...
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