(Page 1 of 3) Stormwatcher - The plague by fiona wallaceSUMMARY: About halfway through Book Two when plague hits the capital city of Taarhan. An excerpt is a bit difficult because it's a lot of new characters. Rordan is the King, Jaycet, Coffira and Keron His children, Aravir a mage Merrel the head healer and Caedun isThe healers who had families in Taarhan went home, while the rest moved into the soldier's barracks by the palace.
‘Try not to waste your energy,' Merrell told them. ‘All you can do for someone with plague is keep them comfortable and encourage them to drink. The more dehydrated they get, the more likely they are to die. And many of them will die.' She looked around at the strained faces. ‘It doesn't reflect on you. If we save a quarter of those who get ill, I'll be surprised. What you can do is remember that life will go on. People will still break bones, and need them setting. Women will still have babies, and want your reassurance. You will still be needed. The last thing,' she paused. ‘Some of you may become ill. I'm not going to lie to you about that. Should you feel unwell, speak to Alanda immediately. She knows what to do.'
An hour ago she had supervised the clearing of the hospital, and shut and locked its gates herself. It had all been so pointless; all that effort, all those hours of working and training. It was no more use than trying to stem the river with her bare hands. She had walked away without looking back.
It was growing dark and the guard stopped her at the palace gate. She stared at him.
‘What—'
‘Just to let you know, the baths are through there.' He pointed to what had been a small armoury. ‘Your orders, I think.' He grinned.
We're going to have to factor in the time needed for washing, she thought some while later, trudging across the courtyard in the dark. So many people who'll need to come in and out, it's not practical. She shook her head. So many things we won't have thought about.
Rordan was still in the treasury. He looked up as she came in.
‘The seventh quarter has five more cases of plague,' he said. ‘Four deaths so far; the stable lad, the boy, his mother and an old woman who lived in the house opposite. Sedeth's down there, to see whether we can close the area off. It doesn't look like we can. It's right in the middle of the ward.'
‘Is there anything I can do?'
‘Rest and sleep.' He cut off her protest. ‘I don't know when I'll next need you. It could be the middle of the night, and if I know you're rested I won't feel guilty. There's going to come a time when none of us can sleep.'
‘What about you?'
‘Sedeth and I will take it in turns to sleep. One of us will always be available.' He smiled. ‘I'm grateful to have him for a brother.'
Caedun wasn't there when she reached their rooms, but she awoke when he crawled into bed some hours later, his hair damp and smelling of soap. He wrapped himself around her and they lay without speaking for several minutes.
‘Are you all right?' she said.
‘Tired. Glad to be back.' He shivered. ‘You know, I've never much minded rats before. I've even met people who keep them as pets. But by this evening I was jumping out of my skin if anything rustled in those warehouses. The merchanters are down there trapping them and burning them alive. It has to be done, but they scream as they burn. It's indescribable, fires and this squealing that keeps starting and stopping...I shouldn't be telling you this.'
‘It's all right.
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