Sleepy still from a night of Mischeif and Ghost's antics throughout thier cart, Alia woke and began the morning ritual of making breakfast for her little family. She tossed Ghost a piece of uncooked meat, and smiled as Poe's nose began dancing in the air to the smell of food in the morning. His insatiable appetite had never failed to make her smile. She shook her head and grinned at Mischief who twined herself between Alia's legs and begged for treats trying to mimic Ghost's sounds.

"No I am mad at you for pouncing me all night, I didn't get much sleep you pina nanabo."

After feeding the family she informed Poe of her intentions for the day. "I wish to go to the doctor's and see if I can learn anything new from him. I hear he has an extensive knowledge of opiates."

Poe rubbed his eyes and whimpered. Pull his hat low to block the light he mumbled under his breath. He yawned and sat on the edge of the cart reaching for some food.
"Ok i will go with you. Just incase i do not know much about this guy."
He gripped his food and munched lightly on it and tried to hide from the light.
"stupid evil day star... why did you let me drink so much last night?"

"Because Nanabo, you said that such drink would improve your shot...you insisted that the drink had magical powers, granted that was after the night had been long gone and you were working on the wee hours of the morning."

They packed locked up the cart telling Mischief to find them if anyone disturbed their belongings. Sometimes the feline seemed to actually understand the nonsense Alia said to her.

Walking down the road and finding thier way to Friar Road, they stopped at a little shop with double doors and Alia pushed the door open. Inside she saw a small waiting room and a desk. She could smell the opium and tobacco in the air. The smoky smell heavy in the back of her sinuses. An astringent smell was trying desperately to overpower it and failing miserably.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting she called out "Hesta, is the doc in?"

She motioned to Poe to follow her inside.

As they walked along Poe grumbled lightly to himself. Ghost stayed and watched over the camp. He kept his hat low to block the light.
"Ug toft... you are just trying to teach me a lesson about drinking... It will not work I tell you."
He gestured dramatically.
"I will not be changed."
He winced as the light attacked his eyes and he curled back into himself. He rubbed his eyes to nurse his hangover. As she walked inside the building he tried to cast dark on the sun as it was paining him.

Ivan had taken his time to prepare himself for the day. The routine of exercise, washing and shaving was a comfort that reminded him of a simpler, more structured life. He hoped his unusually sharp look would mask the fact that he was quite intoxicated, still plateuing from his remedy dose, prescribed for the disturbing dreams of the night before. Being a long term and heavy smoker, Ivan could operate effectively under the influence or not, but it made him sometimes too thoughtful and introspective to deal with people.

One thing he did rather enjoy when working off a hazy feeling was to read, and the latest installment of "Lust Ensnared" had just graced the Kingsway Post once again with its presence. It would seem that Destiny Darling would be having a close encounter of the Black Richard kind.
Ivan smirked.



Ivan jerked out of a disengaged mild stupor and stood up. He poured a little water into the entropy engine on his desk, and replaced the small candle inside. He acted quickly, so as not to put off his visitor.

He opened the door to the waiting room and saw two wicks, the further one looking the worse for wear.

"Hello! How may I help you?"

Poe grumbled slightly as he stepped inside. He looked around the place a bit then looked over the human. He gave a bright smile and tipped his hat lightly.
"Why hello there my good sir. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Poe at your service."
He stood up straight and stepped back a bit letting his wife take over what he was shore would be a long long conversation about things he did not understand.

Alia dropped her eyes at the Doc's obvious haggard appearance. The starkness of his features and dialated eyes spoke of extended hours under the influence. She looked up, squared her shoulders and her demeanor took on an all to familiar determination.

"Hello sir, how are you today?" She smiled at the Doc, now looking him squarely in the eyes. "I am a healer. I use both magic and mundane means to perform many different kinds of treatment and I am always looking to learn more. I heard on the road that you have an extensive knowledge of opiates, and also are good at many forms of surgery, I came to see just how a human would do that without the use of magic and hope that you can teach me a thing or two. Any human that has as much success as you, without using magic, must be phenomenal at his work. If you don't mind me asking how and when did you learn to become a Doctor, and do you have any books for sale or any grimores on herbs I might peruse. I would be happy to compensate you for you time and effort...ahh but I ramble on...I just get so excited when there are new things to learn."

Having said all that in one sentence she took a deep breath after. Her face flushed and her ample chest heaved from the adrenaline rushing through her body.

"Forgive me sir I speak too long and too much at times." She cast her eyes down once more and looked up at him through long eyelashes. She reached behind her for Poe's hand and smiled when his finger's touched her own.

Ivan nodded at Poe.

"Been on the lash have we?" Ivan gestured to Poe. He felt a sense of empathy for the man. No one should be up and about with a hangover. Fortunately Ivan had just the remedy. He grabbed a small glass bottle of yellow pills and took out two.

"Here, you look like you might need something for that!"

The pill worked by binding with the alcohol in the blood and formed a precipitate which was excreted in the nasal cavity. It also relaxed the blood vessels in the head and reduced light sensitivity.
Ivan neglected to mention that he would have a runny nose all day, but it was the lesser evil.



Ivan blinked twice. He was not prepared for the barrage of questioning, and so he muddled together a response as best as he could with the faculties he had available. Ivan was certainly not used to flattery either, and he blushed just a little.

"Why thank you, uhh, hah, please sit down wont you? But I'm afraid I'll probably disappoint - after all I am only a human doctor, and I don't know if I'd say I was exactly successful."

Ivan sat heavily onto one of his waiting room seats.

"I was trained in the human medical corps., and was stationed in Mugroba. The vroo healers can't be spared in a fight, you see, otherwise they wouldn't train humans. Yes, if second rate healing is what you've come to see, there's plenty here."

Ivan made a wide, apologetic gesture.

"But, I am always happy to offer what help I can. Tell me, is there something specific you had in mind?"

It was only then that Ivan noticed.

"Wait...you two are from Mugroba, aren't you?"

Alia took a seat in a rather comfy if worn out chair and said "Hmmm yes thank you, sorry for overwhelming you."

"Heh I keep those hidden in our cart or he'd be alot more of what he calls "jovial" every night, I tend to make him suffer but I guess since he must sit and listen to this conversation in boredom he should at least be able to do it in a bit less pain, forgive his snoring if he happens to fall asleep as these chairs are rather comfy"



Alia smiled at Ivan's obvoius discomfort. "What do you mean unsuccessful? I have heard you have eased the discomfort of many and look what you just did for my Poe here, so dont discount yourself so easily."



"In Mugroba you say, we are from Thel Ka, lost out entire tribe. I now understand how you came to be trained, but what brings you here? And as for what I am looking for, any information you may have I don't, usually this entails books I haven't read or any techniques you have developed yourself. Most healer's allow me to peruse their library or sometimes even their personal notes. I look for any new techniques or innovative ways to heal."

Poe shock his head keeping a soft smile on his face.
"No thank you my friend. My love likes me to feel my hang overs she thinks it will make me stop drinking so much. Problem is we are both stubborn."
Poe leaned back on the wall his hands on his hips and a bright smile on his face. He watched his wife talk shop and kept himself busy day dreaming.

Wow, whipped.

"You're a braver man than I, then!"

Ivan smiled, then instead of replacing the pills he swallowed them dry, something he was used to doing. He realised suddenly that this sort of thing didn't look too good.

"Err, one of those mornings for me too, in a manner of speaking!"



"Your entire tribe...I am sorry to hear that. May I inquire as to what happened?"



Ivan enjoyed intellectual pursuit, and the unusual amount of interest this woman showed in his field encouraged his response.

"As you may have noticed, in Mugroba humans are treated somewhat better. The medical options for humanity in even this capital city are desperately lacking, so much so that even a medic like myself has an abundance of work.

Yes, please feel free to browse those books over there, let me know if any take your fancy! I'm afraid I cannot share any pre-mortem case notes however, as they must remain confidential.

As for techniques, well I may know a trick or two from battlefield surgery that may interest you. I'm eternally in the middle of writing them up however. I'm sure I was an unemployed novellist in my last life!"
Ivan rambled on.

"I believe they were poisoned, though I don't know by what, I have looked for the cause ever since. Their symptoms were extreme abdominal pain, and loosing all bodily function control, ending in death. It was horrible to watch, I could do nothing but ease their pain."



Alia sat up in the chair as a single tear fell down her cheek. She wiped it away and continued to speak. "Forgive me thoughts of my family weigh heavy upon my soul. You say that the human's here are not cared for as well as in Mugroba? I feel for them, and for you. I believe all life is precious, regardless of race or location. I am sure you do well at your job, I commend you for it."



"As it should be Doctor, and I appreciate the chance to view your books." She stood up from her chair and began to peruse the titles as she continued to talk to the Doc. Her smile reappeared as she saw a title she had not seen before, Dr. Wiesenhower's Proper Methods for Preparing a Wound for Surgery She of course knew most of the material in the book but it would be a good read nonetheless. "Oh may I borrow this one? I will return it before I leave town a few days in the least."



"Then Doctor I look forward to reading your works in the future. I have found human Doctors to be the most inventive in the ways they combat illness and major wounds. Though often they are lacing on the preventative side of medicine I think because they are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of humans in poor health already and the living conditions of most humans. You don't seem to look after one another to the degree we wicks do."

Poe leaned up on the wall putting his hands behind his head. His mind began to wander as the talk drifted from pleasantries. He yawned and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

Ivan's face remained sympathetic, but inside cogs were whirring. Gastrointestinal involvement, loss of control, systemic failure...Something neurological? But the response to painkillers indicates the brain was...this is like no poison I have encountered...
His diagnostic train of thought had hit a snag. He needed more information, but worried further inquiry would upset the healer.



"Please do! Though it can be somewhat authoritative at times, the methods are well tried and tested. I find he does not address the issue of anasthesia sufficiently in the chapter on irregular wounds, but then that's my particular area of expertise."



Ivan spread his arms into a big open shrug.

"Welcome to Anaxas. Just constantly putting out fires unfortunately. I have a few papers on the purification of painkillers derived from opiates, which are all in varying states of incompleteness. If you like I could compile them for you?"

he added,

"And I know it must be very painful for you to talk about it, but if you're willing, I would like to know more details about the demise of your tribe, I may be able to help you get to the bottom of the cause perhaps?"

"that would be much appreciated. You said opiates and anasthesia are your area of expertise, I would be most interested in the compilation of your notes then Doctor."



"It is but perhaps i can write you a detailed analysis of the events prior to and during and the autopsy I did on several members of the first to die while I was trying to find out the cause. Both Poe and I were spared so I am pretty sure that we were either immune or did something or neglected to do something the rest of my tribe experienced. I believe either the tribe found a new plant they thought to be similar to our spices, mushrooms sometimes are like that, and it was poisonous or someone deliberately poisoned them. I think I may have to travel back to that part of the world to find out. We were just entering the salt flats along the edge of the desert when it happened."

Alia smiled and was thankful this kind human doctor wished to help her find the cause. She had mostly moved on from that but still it would be nice to have the answers.

It really was a crime that he hadn't finished those notes, though things had been quite hectic at the surgery of late. Perhaps this was the push he needed. He was close to a breakthrough, he'd felt it for some time.
Ivan resolved to order up a few more test subjects.



"If you could, that would be tremendous. I thank you both for your visit, it is always good to see people of the desert, I have always found you to be most pleasant company. I hope to see you again soon, and I will have those notes for you when you do."

"Thank you doctor. Your time has been much appreciated and I hope your days are less hectic in the future as that would mean people are healthy and hale here in Vienda." She stood up and kicked Poe in the foot smiling at his snores. "Come on lazy, time to go." Turning back to the doctor she smiled and put out her hand to shake his. "Should you need any magical healing in your days to come, I will be down on Hollow Street. I am always open to help in anyway I can."

With that she dragged Poe along and left the little smoky room back into the harsh sunlight.