A mother begs Wraithvine with impassioned letters to cure herself and her children of a debilitating disease. When ze arrives, it turns out that they are suffering from seasonal allergies… -- Deathshead419
The date on the letter was only five days ago. Wraithvine was shocked. The runners in the Order of Couriers really lived up to their name. They had to have a few linked Circles in the Everdark. They couldn't possibly jaunt through the centre of the world.
Could they?
Wraithvine never had a chance to find out, before. Ze read the letter as another Courier turned up with a second one. These were being sent off daily. "It seems I'd best hurry to the sender," ze said. There was a plague that only her family suffered from, replete with a list of symptoms of each one struck down. Ze said, "Do you... courier people?"
"We can," allowed Drazz't, the latest Courier. "Usually, they're a lot smaller." He outlined the dimensions of a baby. "For you, it would be fast but uncomfortable. You won't like it."
"It sounds urgent," said Wraithvine. "I can be uncomfortable for five days."
The Couriers grinned and chorused, "Bet we can get you there in four."
They were fast, and it was uncomfortable. Wraithvine got a break once an hour to uncurl from being cargo, unless ze was meditating. Most of what ze saw was the tunnels and caverns of the Everdark as they retreated from the relay Courier's relentless pace.
They did have fast-transit circles, but they were in areas where sunsiders like Wraithvine were Unwelcome People. Therefore the Couriers had to take hir through the alternate route. The courier that took Wraithvine on the relay knew some shortcuts that were truly terrifying.
Ze would have to wander through some of the Everdark at some point. Primarily to find where the problems were before ze dared trying to interfere[1]. That would be an adventure for another time. Hir fault for not even thinking about the underground for this long.
Four days in total, and Wraithvine emerged squinting into the sunlight at the little farm that was stricken by the mystery disease. Wraithvine gave the Courier for the last leg a charm that would summon hir if they had a great need. It would go to the Courier's administration arm to be duly considered.
It might be centuries before the Couriers called hir to their cause.
Wraithvine walked past an enormous field of cluster-flowering grass to get to the door. Ze could hear a cacophony of coughs and sneezes within when ze knocked. The mother opened the door with an arm around her face. Her eyes were red, her eyelids swollen so badly that she was nearly blinded by them.
Wraithvine automatically protected hirself from disease before ze made it to the door. "Who has it the worst?" ze asked. The first clue was that the worst sufferer was the eldest. Disease generally hit the youngest worst, since their immunity was less resilient than the older children.
The second clue was that spellwork to cure disease didn't help.
Suspicious, Wraithvine evoked the element of air to cleanse the air of the house. The sneezing and coughing stopped cold. Ze then dashed outside for a single flowering stalk. Dactylis Glomerata. One of the chief atmospheric allergens for many people. Ze brought the flower inside and said, "Are you growing this in the fields outside?"
Immediate sneezing, wrapped around a gasping, "Yes."
Wraithvine incinerated the blooms and got to work on crafting some charms to protect the family from the pollen. "Why were you growing that grass?" ze asked as hir fingers kept working.
"Animal feed," said Hannah, the mother. "We made our living selling it for wintering cows."
"You may have to switch to rye, oats, or wheat," said Wraithvine. "This grass' pollen has been causing the illness in your family."
"The lord of the land won't let us," she said. "He needs Cocksfoot and ordered us to do it."
Wraithvine mentally rolled up hir sleeves. "Have no fear. I'll see to that soon enough."
[1] It's shocking how few reform processes do this.
[Photo by sebastian alvarado rojas on Unsplash]
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