h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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Omens of Oblivion: The Crisis

The night proved to be restless for anyone who had chosen to spend the night in the guild hall. Freya kept tossing and turning and moaning, time and time again, until most guild members had chosen to grab their pillow and blanket and head for the back door to spend the night outdoors.

The only ones remaining were Kurz and the ever vigilant Andreas. Kurz had made several attempts of cooling down Freya, whose temperature seemed to be going up, by applying cold, damp towels on her forehead, but she kept tossing and turning so much that they kept falling off. In frustration, the Orc turned to the porter:

'Do something!'

Andreas walked up to Freya's bed, pulled his gauntlet off, and placed his hand on her forehead. Oddly enough, this seemed to calm her down immediately. Getting up from where he had been kneeling next to the bed, Kurz exclaimed:

'You keep it up, mate - I'll be the look out tonight!'

Eventually the night passed, with Kurz keeping a constant eye on the front and back door of the guild hall, and Andreas switching hands every now and then, dipping his free hand into a bowl of water to cool it down. Just before dawn, Freya woke up, and Andreas hastily withdrew his hand.

Freya lay still, eyes staring emptily up at the ceiling, and Andreas quickly filled the mug with water, thinking she might be dehydrated. Supporting her head with one hand, he tried to make her drink. She obediently swallowed a few mouthfuls before closing her eyes again. Kurz had noticed what had happened and came padding on bare feet.

'How is she?'

'I'm not sure,' Andreas admitted 'she still feels awfully hot, but at least she seems restful, for now.'

After sunrise, and as the hours passed, Freya's temperature kept rising. She would be conscious only half the time and, when she was, she was delirious.

Vilena sent everyone out of sight while dressing Freya in those of her own clothes that were of the thinnest and lightest fabric, and Kurz and his brother Lum took turns wiping the sweat off Freya's forehead and applying cold, damp towels. When none of their efforts seemed to have any effect, Vilena sent for the chapel healer.

After having examined Freya, Gureryne turned a concerned look at Vilena.

'When I first saw her, I was sure it was Helljoint but... there seems to be something else too, something that I didn't see at the time, some kind of contamination.'

He looked unhappy.

'But I can't tell what it is. We can only pray to the Nine and hope that she has a strong constitution.'

Vilena was just about to tell him he had to do better than that, when there was a lot of commotion at the front door, and the sound of struggling. Vilena rushed down the stairs to check what was going on, when someone shouted:

'I am the Grand Master of the Blades, let me through, I MUST speak to her!'

Freya's mind picked up the words, reminding her of how the Emperor had said that she could help them, MUST help them, and then she drifted off into unconsciousness again.

Having managed to force his way past those trying to hinder him, Jauffre ran up the stairs two steps at the time, only to come face to face with Kurz, arms crossed, glaring fiercely at him.

'Stand aside, please - I don't wont to use force unless I have to. I must speak to Freya, at once!'

Kurz cast a look over his shoulder at Freya and then stood aside, stone faced.

Jauffre stepped forwards, then stopped at the sight of her seemingly lifeless body.

'Is she...?'

'Not yet,' replied Gureryne dryly.

Jauffre ordered one of the Blades that had accompanied him to stay behind and escort Freya to Cloud Ruler Temple in case she recovered within the next 24 hours, and then left.

Feeling the hostile gazes of every guild member on him, the young Blade was feeling more uncomfortable than ever before in his whole life.

Does Andreas have feelings for Freya, that he would spend such time and tender care upon her?

Why doesn't Jauffre seem to care enough to stay, so he can conduct Freya to the Cloud Ruler Temple himself?

Will Freya recover quickly enough to actually move forward in her quest, or will she require a trip to the ER?

Tune in again, same Fan time, same Fan channel!

B4weCthemakingsofaLoveTriangledevelop@theHealersplace

Thanks B4, that was just the type of cliffhanger questions I'd finish my fiction series at with!

[-B4-]