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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 9, 2009 8:42:20 GMT -5
Dalin said,"Great!" But his voice was still low, thinking back to what had happened earlier. He dashed into the inn. He stopped at the door, waiting for his mentor patiently, or with as much patience as her could muster, which was not a lot.
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Post by Firehead on Jul 9, 2009 8:59:57 GMT -5
"Great!" Dalin dashed by him, into the inn before Ben could do anything to stop him. Giving a sigh, Ben trudged after him, mentally telling himself that next time he wouldn't be so quick to open his mouth. Upon entering the inn, he found that Dalin had stopped to wait for him at the door. As Ben walked past him, he spoke under his breath, "Well, that was considerate of you." Looking toward the owner, who was standing behind the counter, he called, "One room, two meals. Meals now, breakfast later."
Choosing a table in the corner farthest from the door, he sat, facing the doorway out of sheer force of habit.
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 10, 2009 3:28:22 GMT -5
[OOC: *sighs* Fine,I'll do it.]
The innkeeper served them. "Paying now or later?"He asked them. Dalin felt his eyelids drooping. However, he was extremely hungry. He started wolfing down the food that was placed in front of him. "Can we pay later? Please! I'm too tired!" He said once he finished his food.
[OOC: I think you'd better do the innkeeper. You'll be the one answering anyway.]
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Post by Firehead on Jul 10, 2009 10:12:59 GMT -5
(OOC: O.K.)
The innkeeper brought their meals over, setting the plates down on the table in front of them. "Paying now or later?" he asked, as he went back to fetch their drinks. Ben waited for him to come back and watched Dalin attack his food. The kid looked dead beat.
The innkeeper returned with two beakers of fresh apple cider-- a rare treat, in Ben's mind. "Now." he replied, digging into his belt-pouch for the money, and laying it on the table. The innkeeper took it, examined it, bit it to see if it was real, then, satisfied, dropped it into his apron pocket and returned to his work behind the long counter.
Ben turned his attention to the food, devouring it in a short amount of time, but lingering over the cider. After all, in his mind, cider was to be enjoyed. Leaning back in his chair, he looked over to the innkeeper. "Which room is ours?" The innkeeper glanced toward them, then pointed to the stairs. "Third door on the left, at the top." he answered. Ben shifted his gaze to his sleepy-looking apprentice. "Go to bed."
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 10, 2009 10:20:44 GMT -5
"Thanks Ben!" He said and scrambled up the stairs, even tripping on one step. "Ow!" He said, but he continued moving up, too tired to say anything else. Upon reaching the room, he plonked[there such a word?] himself on the bed. Immediately he fell asleep,snoring, something he had never done since he was four.
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Post by Firehead on Jul 10, 2009 10:44:55 GMT -5
"Thank, Ben!" Dalin took off, scrambling up the stairs and, apparently, barking his shin on the way up. That kid was forever in a hurry. How was he going to get him to slow down? He sighed to himself, and took a sip of his cider. From upstairs he could just hear the sound of snoring. 'The kid can sure make a racket, wherever he is, too.' Well, he'd just have to wait until he felt good and tired before going up there and trying to get some sleep.
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 10, 2009 21:35:24 GMT -5
Cutebabys looked into the inn. He acted as if he was a traveler coming from the other way. Ben would probably be there for sometime longer, at the speed he was drinking. Gasping for breath, Cutebabys walked in. Still acting, he nodded at Ben. He put on an Gallican accent. Addressing the innkeeper, he said"Sir, is there any room available?" He lay some money on the table. "No need for food, I've already eaten." The innkeeper nodded, taking the money and directing him to a room. "Thanks." Cutebabys said. He wasn't usually this polite, but it wouldn't do if he was acting and he was being rough. No one would ease up with him. He went to bed, planning to wake up early in the morning, something which would be easy for him to do. He was like an alarm clock in himself, he would wake up at whatever time he wanted to, exactly.
[OOC: Can Ben not be suspicious at first? Then at breakfast, Cutebabys will put the Shadeplant in their food without them noticing. Then Ben will warn him 'cos he thinks the color of the food is a bit weird. And then Dalin gets super sick. Ben doesn't eat the food. And anyway, you haven't gone to bed so none of these can happen.]
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Post by Firehead on Jul 13, 2009 8:21:58 GMT -5
Ben had been seated in his corner alone for almost an hour when another man walked in and asked the innkeeper for a room. Ben studied the traveler, wondering to himself if this might be the same person who'd been following them. He walked about the same, but--odd-- he had a Gallican accent. He'd have to get some sleep-- his brain wasn't working as efficiently as it should. So decided, he drained the last of the cider from his beaker and headed for bed.
When Ben awoke the following morning, the first thing he did was instinctively glance over to where Dalin had been sleeping when he'd come up to see if he was still there. With that kid, you just never knew.
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 13, 2009 8:52:29 GMT -5
Dalin was still sleeping peacefully. He woke up with a start. What woke me up? He thought. He looked over to his mentor's bed. He was still sleeping. Dalin decide not to disturb him. He had had a tiring day. He crept out of bed, careful not to disturb him. He walked out of the inn, saying hi to the innkeeper. Then he walked back in, stomach growling.
[OOC:Meanwhile...] Cutebabys had woken up already. He looked at the innkeeper. The ranger wasn't up yet. The apprentice was eating. He decided to be the apprentice's friend. Or at least pretend to be. "Hey." he said to the apprentice. "How're ya doing?" His voice still had the Gallican accent.
"Hey." Dalin was gullible, although he was smart. He knew nothing better and started chatting with this 'friendly' man. His mentor had yet to teach him that one did not talk to strangers, especially befriend them. He was also very talkative. And when he talked, he didn't look at the surroundings. He would make a good ranger, after years of drilling and training.
Cutebabys smiled, nodding every few minutes, but under the table he was opened the bottle of Shadeplant. He slipped it in without anyone noticing.
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 13, 2009 8:54:28 GMT -5
Dalin finished talking. Cutebabys said bye, but he didn't walk too far away. He walked to somewhere where he would be unseen but could still watch him carefully. Dalin started eating the food ravenously. He started to gasp for air, choking and finding it difficult to breathe. "Help..." He managed to choke out.
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Post by Firehead on Jul 13, 2009 9:40:36 GMT -5
Ben sighed when he saw the bed was empty. He wasn't entirely sure whether to be glad that the kid had gotten up early or to be unhappy, because the kid might be gone. Well, he'd find out soon enough. He washed his face and hands in the available basin of water, before heading downstairs for breakfast. A quick look around the room showed him that Dalin was busy chatting with the man who'd come in last night.
The sight of the man talking with his apprentice took him back to his suspicions of last night. The innkeeper signaled that breakfast was being cooked at that moment, and would be ready for his guests in short order, but by this time, Ben was so lost in thought that he didn't notice. Taking his seat in the same corner as last night, he studied the man a moment, then turned his attention toward the door, and assumed a distant expression, as though his thoughts were thousands of miles away.
In fact, they were only fifteen miles away, back at the place where he'd first heard the mysterious footsteps. Rising suddenly, he walked outside as if needing to get some fresh air after the closed atmosphere of the inn. The reality was to get a look at the traveler's tracks. The easiest way to identify them were to backtrack himself and Dalin.
A full half-hour later, he returned, feeling that the sooner they were away from the inn, the better it would be for the both of them. He entered the main room to find that Dalin was busy eating breakfast. "Time to leave. Finish eating-- don't choke." He started to say more, but all of a sudden, Dalin began to gasp for air-- sounding as though he'd just run fifteen miles, and was trying to catch his breath.
For the first few nanoseconds, Ben thought that Dalin was only choking from something that had gone the wrong way, but then some instinct told him otherwise, and he became concerned. Moving quickly, he placed a hand on his shoulder to steady Dalin. "Slow down, Dalin. Breathe. Take your time breathing. I'd rather you don't hyperventilate."
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 15, 2009 2:36:54 GMT -5
Cutebabys had watched until Dalin started choking. Then he left him alone. It was time to report back to Evan. His job here was done.
Dalin breathed slowly. He felt better but his face was pale. He could breathe, but just barely. He felt like puking, but had no strength to do so. "Help..." He whispered pitifully. He would die in a few days without help.
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Post by Firehead on Jul 15, 2009 9:56:42 GMT -5
Dalin breathed slowly. His face was pale. He was breathing, but just barely. Ben glanced around, and spotted the innkeeper, standing behind his counter looking like a statue. ""Do something useful and get a healer, quick!" snapped Ben, irritated. The innkeeper jumped as Ben's voice cracked out like a whip, Vaulting the counter and dashing out the door.
He returned with his stableman. "He's had some experience as a healer." the innkeeper explained when he saw the incredulous look on Ben's face. Ben moved aside, giving the stableman room. He didn't think he wanted to know what kind of experience the man had had.
After a few minutes of examination, which to Ben felt more like an hour, the stableman reached his conclusions. "From the looks of things, yer boy's been poisoned. Not regular poisonin', like food poisonin', but like someone slipped a poison into his food when he wasn't lookin'."
Ben turned his gaze to the innkeeper, who had turned pale at the mention of poison being slipped into his guests' food, but brought it back to the stableman when he added, "It appears to be shadeplant-- I've treated a few cases like that, and the best cure for it seems to be jewelweed. I'm afraid I aint got none on hand at the moment, but I can tell ya where you can find it.
"The stuff grows in the forest, mostly, in moist areas, near ponds and slow-movin' streams and such. It's usually growin' in the summer, so you'll probably be able to find easy enough.. Grows about two feet high, had soft leaves about an inch-an-a-half long....shaped like that there leaf ya got 'round yer neck there, 'ceptin' it's rounded at the points!" the man scratched his head thoughtfully. "'Bout this time of year they've also got little, trumpet-shaped, orange flowers on 'em as well."
Ben listened intently, knowing that his apprentice's life depended on it. When the stableman finished, Ben turned to the innkeeper. "Get the boy upstairs into our room and keep an eye on him." he ordered. He headed out the door, not bothering to see if they followed his instructions, though they did, and to the letter.
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Post by Cutebabys on Jul 16, 2009 2:36:03 GMT -5
Dalin could hear people talking, but only catching a few words here and there. He groaned. He was running a fever and his whole body hurt. He felt himself being lifted and recognized the innkeeper. He didn't object. He felt weak, despite sleeping the whole night. He felt his bed under him. He tried opening his eyes but found that the room was too glaring. He could do nothing but lie there, too weak to move. Where's Ben? He wondered. Sighing, he thought, I should have been suspicious of the man. Bet its him who put the poison in. Next thing he knew, he blacked out.
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Post by Firehead on Jul 16, 2009 8:16:11 GMT -5
Ben strode swiftly along a small, narrow trail, not really paying any attention to the overgrown path. Half of his thoughts were on Dalin, back at the inn, and the other half was on the little stream he'd stopped at for a drink, almost an hour before catching up to Dalin the day before. He broke into a quick jog.
Two hours of first walking and then running, and then walking again, brought to the stream. Kneeling for a moment on the grassy bank, Ben looked carefully around, scanning the area more out of habit than because of any real need to do so. After a minute's examination, he rose, turning and picking his way quickly downstream.
Minutes, then a half-an-hour, then an hour stretched by painstakingly slow, and yet at the same time flitting past far to quickly. Ben was about to give up and turn back, when he spotted the a cluster of jewelweed sprouting up not much farther downstream--dozens of the tiny, trumpet-shaped, orange flowers bobbing merrily in the light breeze. His heart feeling somehow lighter, he pressed toward his goal.
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