91st of Ash, 4622
It is a relatively quiet night, one with fridge breezes that skitter across the rocky coastline of Genteven & the once pale white moon glimmer rather dull for once in a blue moon. Jared was in his bed, breathing heavily & sweating profusely as his symptoms had worsened over the season, clutching his chest tightly as his muscles cramped.
His weakened heart struggles to circulate his radioether-filled blood around his body & his mind fades in and out of a murky haze that coated his vision in various lacklustre tones of muted greys, abyssal blacks & stark whites. Finally, a bout of delirium manifests in the thief’s mind as he recounts the arduous battle at the Waterworks against a common enemy with Hugo, Vinsue, Salen & his associates.
The cost of pushing one’s limits beyond their means comes at a price. Still, the amber-eyed magus knew that by training his skills in combat, particularly with his mastery over the shadows moving rather quickly for the sake of Hugo’s wellbeing. Even though he didn’t know the Entente that well himself, the fact that they spent just enough time at sea during The Call to Danger with Salen & Vinsue was more than enough for the thief to make a gambit on his well-being.
The thief couldn’t help but ponder to himself as he continued to toss and turn in his bed, the sheets drenched in his sweat and his vision becoming heavily obscured by the minute. Jared is, after all, a mortal, and debts always had to be paid no less. The amber-eyed Nightfallen couldn’t help but let out a weakened chuckle, wincing as his lungs felt like it was being squeezed tightly as if a hand had a firm grasp around them.
“Seems like only yesterday that I couldn’t care less for others, and here I am now… What happened to the cautious & calculating man you built yourself to be, Jared? Who am I kidding… That isn’t me, is it?”
Jared lifted his weakened arm into the air as if attempting to grab something that wasn’t there in reality. His thoughts merely portray a vision of what Jared sees himself as, or so he believes, the same image that Salen once saw during their time together back at Rene’s estate. A young man who was sitting by the pearly sand shores of Alistian in the dimmest of nights, waiting, watching as his stomach called for something. Alone yet accompanied by a cracked lantern whose light flickers weakly, its reach with its luminous nature dulls as it attempts to combat the darkness that covers the world within the hours of the silence.
Another scene comes to play; standing inside of the ivory tower, surrounded by various objects that have long been forgotten, headpieces of multiple faces from man to woman, child to old with different emotions from fear & weeping to elation & anger. Finally, however, a figure with a dove’s head stands at the centre of it all, holding a scroll that seems to unfurl itself endlessly as it rolls across the room before disappearing into the void. The figure’s voice seems ominous, hollow, almost alien as it speaks.
“The world does not weep & the hours' plans for when the time comes to an end. But, on the other hand, you have so much to do and live for in your short existence upon the soil you stand on now, but your time here has expired, and you must leave now.”
With a snap of its fingers, Jared immediately opens his eyes, breathing heavily as he tries to make sense of what just happened. Unfortunately, his body was still aching from the symptoms of his Mageblight & the delirium did not help. The thief couldn’t help but feel confused about what he had seen, but he could only chalk it up to the fact that his mind was unwell & that he needed to rest & supply an ampule amount of nutrients into his body to aid in its fast recovery.
"Come on, body… Budge…"
Jared tries his best to move his body so that he can at least eat and do some light cooking, but the sheer effort to force his body to do something puts a strain on his lingering injuries.
Barely able to get out of bed but collapsing onto the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut while it was in mid-performance. The amber-eyed Nightfallen couldn't help out let out a loud, gravelly grunt of pain as his body continued to disobey his will, but there was only so much a body could handle, and Jared was experiencing at this very moment.
He was still determined to at least get some food into his stomach and distract himself from the impending dread that loomed over his very shoulders, possibly death or some sort of spirit whispering incoherent words of madness.
The thief resorted to grabbing one of the many wooden poles he had lying around in his room as Jared made it a habit to have multiple copies of various tools he would use in his robbery attempts. Using it to help push his body up and acting as a crutch to aid in his mobility issues.
Slowly making his way over to the kitchen, the amber-eyed thief takes a moment to rest his left arm over the island counter, coughing up small amounts of radioether ether as his body tries to fend off the accumulated toxic substance his soul was not able to filter & break apart.
“Alright, let's make something light & simple… Just enough to keep the stomach filled for the next few hours.”
Taking a moment to hobble his way over to the cabinets slowly, the thief takes a moment to look at what is available. Various clay jars filled with powdered stocks & different preserved items such as fruit jams, pickled vegetables, and smoked & salted meats that he had made in the past for the upcoming season of Frost as the thief had a gut feeling that the cold would be fierce this year.
Jared was taking some of the vegetable stock powder jar & a few small pots filled with various dried herbs & spices such as rosemary, thyme, garlic & peppers and a variety of native plants that are common around the Northern Marches like Sneed, which was a small woody nut that was about 3-5mm in diameter with a slightly wrinkly texture similar to nutmeg but often had a licorice taste.
Another was Eblies, often growing in a cluster of 5-7 stems that produce kidney-shaped leaves with serrulated margins & reticulate veins. The plant was often used in the creation of Infusions & when used for cooking, the herb had hints of smoky or ashy quality.
Taking a moment to ponder what he should make, the Journeyman chef looked at the Hearth, noting that some small stones had been recently heated from the continuous fire. Then, with a spark of genius, Jared had the idea of making a simple soup using a rock-boiling method as he wished to preserve his stock of firewood since he would not be able to do anything too arduous during winter.
Placing all his ingredients in front of him, Jared couldn’t help but wince as the pain flared up again, forcing the thief to clutch his chest for a moment, breathing erratically as he tried to calm himself. Once the bout of pain subsides, the thief takes a moment to go over to the sink, quickly splashing some of the nearby containers that held some well water over his face before drinking a light amount & washing his hands before drying his face & hands off.
Making a stew was easy enough, even in his weakened state. All it took was cutting the salted meat into bite sizes pieces & slicing his fresh vegetables into small discs or cubes, depending on what was usually prepared for a particular root vegetable. Once all the foodstuffs were prepared as Jared expected, he took a moment to slowly fill a large soup pot with some well-water before tossing all of the vegetables & meat pieces in, allowing them to bob about on the liquid surface.
The most exciting part was transferring the heated rock from the hearth to the filled vessel. Taking a pair of metal tongs used to move burning logs about within the hearth, Jared needed to catch his breath for a moment as lifting small, blazing hot rocks with metal pieces of equipment was enough to make Jared fill winded, but this could be due to his body having a terrible day as there were times where he could move around without struggling.
In any case, Jared took a moment to let the roiling rock settle to the bottom of the pot, causing the water to roil & bubble vigorously as it spits hot liquid before quickly turning into a simmer. Jared would have to replace the rock as the heat transferred into the soup.
“No… To wait…”
Taking a moment to pull a nearby stool, Jared sits down & rests, letting the noise of water boiling & the scent of smoky meat linger in the air as he waits for his stew to cook through so that he can continue resting until his Mageblight subsides.
His weakened heart struggles to circulate his radioether-filled blood around his body & his mind fades in and out of a murky haze that coated his vision in various lacklustre tones of muted greys, abyssal blacks & stark whites. Finally, a bout of delirium manifests in the thief’s mind as he recounts the arduous battle at the Waterworks against a common enemy with Hugo, Vinsue, Salen & his associates.
The cost of pushing one’s limits beyond their means comes at a price. Still, the amber-eyed magus knew that by training his skills in combat, particularly with his mastery over the shadows moving rather quickly for the sake of Hugo’s wellbeing. Even though he didn’t know the Entente that well himself, the fact that they spent just enough time at sea during The Call to Danger with Salen & Vinsue was more than enough for the thief to make a gambit on his well-being.
The thief couldn’t help but ponder to himself as he continued to toss and turn in his bed, the sheets drenched in his sweat and his vision becoming heavily obscured by the minute. Jared is, after all, a mortal, and debts always had to be paid no less. The amber-eyed Nightfallen couldn’t help but let out a weakened chuckle, wincing as his lungs felt like it was being squeezed tightly as if a hand had a firm grasp around them.
“Seems like only yesterday that I couldn’t care less for others, and here I am now… What happened to the cautious & calculating man you built yourself to be, Jared? Who am I kidding… That isn’t me, is it?”
Jared lifted his weakened arm into the air as if attempting to grab something that wasn’t there in reality. His thoughts merely portray a vision of what Jared sees himself as, or so he believes, the same image that Salen once saw during their time together back at Rene’s estate. A young man who was sitting by the pearly sand shores of Alistian in the dimmest of nights, waiting, watching as his stomach called for something. Alone yet accompanied by a cracked lantern whose light flickers weakly, its reach with its luminous nature dulls as it attempts to combat the darkness that covers the world within the hours of the silence.
Another scene comes to play; standing inside of the ivory tower, surrounded by various objects that have long been forgotten, headpieces of multiple faces from man to woman, child to old with different emotions from fear & weeping to elation & anger. Finally, however, a figure with a dove’s head stands at the centre of it all, holding a scroll that seems to unfurl itself endlessly as it rolls across the room before disappearing into the void. The figure’s voice seems ominous, hollow, almost alien as it speaks.
“The world does not weep & the hours' plans for when the time comes to an end. But, on the other hand, you have so much to do and live for in your short existence upon the soil you stand on now, but your time here has expired, and you must leave now.”
With a snap of its fingers, Jared immediately opens his eyes, breathing heavily as he tries to make sense of what just happened. Unfortunately, his body was still aching from the symptoms of his Mageblight & the delirium did not help. The thief couldn’t help but feel confused about what he had seen, but he could only chalk it up to the fact that his mind was unwell & that he needed to rest & supply an ampule amount of nutrients into his body to aid in its fast recovery.
"Come on, body… Budge…"
Jared tries his best to move his body so that he can at least eat and do some light cooking, but the sheer effort to force his body to do something puts a strain on his lingering injuries.
Barely able to get out of bed but collapsing onto the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut while it was in mid-performance. The amber-eyed Nightfallen couldn't help out let out a loud, gravelly grunt of pain as his body continued to disobey his will, but there was only so much a body could handle, and Jared was experiencing at this very moment.
He was still determined to at least get some food into his stomach and distract himself from the impending dread that loomed over his very shoulders, possibly death or some sort of spirit whispering incoherent words of madness.
The thief resorted to grabbing one of the many wooden poles he had lying around in his room as Jared made it a habit to have multiple copies of various tools he would use in his robbery attempts. Using it to help push his body up and acting as a crutch to aid in his mobility issues.
Slowly making his way over to the kitchen, the amber-eyed thief takes a moment to rest his left arm over the island counter, coughing up small amounts of radioether ether as his body tries to fend off the accumulated toxic substance his soul was not able to filter & break apart.
“Alright, let's make something light & simple… Just enough to keep the stomach filled for the next few hours.”
Taking a moment to hobble his way over to the cabinets slowly, the thief takes a moment to look at what is available. Various clay jars filled with powdered stocks & different preserved items such as fruit jams, pickled vegetables, and smoked & salted meats that he had made in the past for the upcoming season of Frost as the thief had a gut feeling that the cold would be fierce this year.
Jared was taking some of the vegetable stock powder jar & a few small pots filled with various dried herbs & spices such as rosemary, thyme, garlic & peppers and a variety of native plants that are common around the Northern Marches like Sneed, which was a small woody nut that was about 3-5mm in diameter with a slightly wrinkly texture similar to nutmeg but often had a licorice taste.
Another was Eblies, often growing in a cluster of 5-7 stems that produce kidney-shaped leaves with serrulated margins & reticulate veins. The plant was often used in the creation of Infusions & when used for cooking, the herb had hints of smoky or ashy quality.
Taking a moment to ponder what he should make, the Journeyman chef looked at the Hearth, noting that some small stones had been recently heated from the continuous fire. Then, with a spark of genius, Jared had the idea of making a simple soup using a rock-boiling method as he wished to preserve his stock of firewood since he would not be able to do anything too arduous during winter.
Placing all his ingredients in front of him, Jared couldn’t help but wince as the pain flared up again, forcing the thief to clutch his chest for a moment, breathing erratically as he tried to calm himself. Once the bout of pain subsides, the thief takes a moment to go over to the sink, quickly splashing some of the nearby containers that held some well water over his face before drinking a light amount & washing his hands before drying his face & hands off.
Making a stew was easy enough, even in his weakened state. All it took was cutting the salted meat into bite sizes pieces & slicing his fresh vegetables into small discs or cubes, depending on what was usually prepared for a particular root vegetable. Once all the foodstuffs were prepared as Jared expected, he took a moment to slowly fill a large soup pot with some well-water before tossing all of the vegetables & meat pieces in, allowing them to bob about on the liquid surface.
The most exciting part was transferring the heated rock from the hearth to the filled vessel. Taking a pair of metal tongs used to move burning logs about within the hearth, Jared needed to catch his breath for a moment as lifting small, blazing hot rocks with metal pieces of equipment was enough to make Jared fill winded, but this could be due to his body having a terrible day as there were times where he could move around without struggling.
In any case, Jared took a moment to let the roiling rock settle to the bottom of the pot, causing the water to roil & bubble vigorously as it spits hot liquid before quickly turning into a simmer. Jared would have to replace the rock as the heat transferred into the soup.
“No… To wait…”
Taking a moment to pull a nearby stool, Jared sits down & rests, letting the noise of water boiling & the scent of smoky meat linger in the air as he waits for his stew to cook through so that he can continue resting until his Mageblight subsides.
