From: aaron@atlantis.uucp
Subject: [KQ] Maleiu[TGMOAB 7.x]: Recuperation Is Hell
Reply-To: aaron%atlantis@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca
Organization: Atlantis Communications, Edmonton, AB, Canada
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 05:48:25 GMT


Maleiu started to drift back to awareness.  He wasn't in the Shunned Center
anymore.  He was inside what felt like a home.

"Cripes, what happened to him?"  "He looks worse than you did, Nirvan."  "Is
this the place with the--yes, I see him."  Soft hands on his leg, and an easing
of pain.  "Jacinthe, get some water.  No, just a sponge--I don't think he's
conscious, but he's definitely lost a lot of blood."  Blessed wetness trickled
down his throat, and he opened his mouth for more.  "No, he seems to be barely
conscious.  Get a cup, then--it'll be faster."  More water, and he opened his
eyes.

He was in a small house, lying on a pallet.  Above him stood two women, one
young and holding a cup to his lips, and another older.  The older one said,
"You lost a lot of blood.  Your wound is healed, and you'll probably want to
get more water into your system to replace what you lost.  Apart from that,
it's probably just fatigue and shock."

"I told you Maleiu was tough," a familiar voice from beside him said.  He
tried to turn his head, but didn't quite manage it.  Where did he know the
voice from...?

"Nirvan?" he asked.

"Yup, the big fella's okay," Nirvan said.  "The other two that came out with
you are in much better shape, although the woman's still a bit strange about
clothes.  Kron and the rest of them came out some other way--they just
appeared in the middle of the Buff'.  I didn't see the lizard man, though."

"They took another route out--something magical."  His throat was >very< dry,
and Jacinthe brought him another cup of water.  "We just couldn't make it to
join them in time," he said, not mentioning his aversion to the magical form
of exit.  He tried to sit up, instantly regretting it as the room spun and
tossed him back onto the bed.

"Oh--where are my manners?  The lovely lady with the water cup is Jacinthe,
and the priestess is Delmara.  This is Maleiu, jungle warrior extraordinaire."

Delmara smiled, "You should probably rest a little while longer, and maybe have
something to eat before going anywhere.  Your friends can wait for you.  Oh,
and Queriche says hi, and wanted to give us a message for someone named Thk.
Will you pass it on if you see him?  Queriche said to tell him that he's ready
for a rematch anytime, and that he shouldn't cheat this time."

Maleiu suddenly thought of what Captain had said, that Thk had plunged into a
chasm with a foe; and what Nirvan had said, that Thk hadn't been with the ones
that had escaped through 'Raelf's exit.  His throat grew dryer again.  "I'll
tell him," he managed.  Then he settled back for a little rest while Jacinthe
whipped up something to eat.  He was on the verge of sleep again when he heard
a scream and then an uproar coming from outside.

"What the hell?" Nirvan muttered.

"Hey, someone's attacking Kron!" a voice yelled.  Maleiu tried to sit up again,
and again failed.

"Take it easy," Delmara said.  "He's got plenty of friends with him--you
wouldn't be much help to him in this state anyway."  Maleiu lay back in
helplessness.  It hurt him to be unable to help.

The uproar continued for a few minutes, and then someone yelled, "We need a
healer, fast!"

"That's my cue," Delmara said, her face grim.  "Take care of him," she said to
Jacinthe, as she ran out into the Buff'...

--
---Alfvaen(Still looking for "October's Baby")
"Well the end of the tunnel, it never came up
 'Til I came to the end of the line."  --John Hiatt
Current Album--Prince:Parade
Current Read--John Crowley:Engine Summer
-- 
---Alfvaen(Still looking for "October's Baby")
"Well the end of the tunnel, it never came up
 'Til I came to the end of the line."  --John Hiatt
Current Album--Prince:Parade