Injuries of the Mortal Kind

That - had not been a fun experience, and the fun was just beginning.

His spells exhausted, the burning inside and out still threatening to consume him, Dolan had managed to see enough to his own injuries to mark them for the Book, and make it as far as the Temple. Once the fire was out, he'd tried to heal himself enough to pursue, but - it became clear that that wasn't happening. So, he'd come here, promising himself that he'd get this taken care of and come back for it.

Now, though, he's slumped against one of the statues near the entrance, his remaining eye closing despite himself. _Try - to focus. Not much farther now._ The food in his backpack forgotten.

Late in the evening as it is, Zeke is nonetheless quite awake, and performing a few small duties in the temple of Daeus. His absenses mean that he is quite busy when he is able to be here, but he is not so occupied as to fail to notice the scent of fresh blood, and the wounded man near the entrance struggling to remain upright. He motions to the person he's talking to, and he makes his way quickly to Dolan whom he almost doesn't recognize. "Peasce on your nessst." He nods his head politely, and comes closer. "Do you require asssisstance in making it to a healing room?"

It's almost unnecessary to ask given Dolan's condition, but Zeke would never touch someone without their explicit consent.

Bleeding and burned, the scent of char, a garbage fire, fresh blood, and more clinging to him, Dolan lifts his head and turns it towards the sith-makar, the remaining flesh eye focusing on the bluescale. "Peace on your nest," he answers, half-absently. "Yeah, could use a hand." He draws a couple of shallow breaths, making no move to move from the pillar that holds him upright. "Demons. They got away. Got to - go after them."

Zeke's eyes nictate as he takes in the harsh battle-scents that surround Dolan and once he's been given permission he gently steps very close to the other man and slides his crystal arm around the other man's waist. Offering as much support as he can so that they can make it inside. The crystal arm never wavers, offering a solid base for the other man. "Demonssss?" Zeke almost hisses softly, shaking his head. "You will have to wait to chassse after them. Your woundsss mussst be ssseen to firssst."

"Fuck." The swear word is not, however, an expression of disagreement, as Dolan shifts much of his weight from the pillar to the sith-makar. The feeling is similar, from granite to crystal, and he seems content to allow Zeke to steer. "Need to - make this quick. They appear human. Lit a fire in an alley and started - stabbing people. Anybody who can sense evil can find 'em." He is clearly still quite focused on finding them. "They're not hiding it. Makari - rain off after them - on his own."

The blue-scale certainly knows where he is going at least. Leading the way slowly but surely toward the rooms where he can more easily see to Dolan's injuries. He moves at a pace that Dolan can easily keep up with, and doesn't try to go one step faster. "Thisss one will do thisss one'ss bessst, but your woundsss come firssst."

It's impressive the other man's focus, but Zeke has no intention of letting Dolan leave before he's been seen to. "They will be found. Do not worry about the one that chasssed after them. Sssurely he hasss a plan."

"Sure as fuck hope so." Dolan is leaning most of his weight on Zeke, and it is unclear if he has fully seen Zeke yet. Most of his attention seems to be on the demons and what needs to be done, and on staying on his feet. His steps stumble a couple of times, but at length the pair do make it to the healing rooms.

Getting the damaged breastplate off of him is not difficult, and outside of the crossbow at his hip, there is no sign of weapons to hinder the process. A haversack isn't hard to deal with, and can be set in one corner with a breastplate that will need replacement leather straps. The injuries beneath it are harder to deal with. Burns, such as one fighting a fire might sustain, in addition to deep and vital wounds.

Once Dolan's in the healing room, Zeke becomes all buisness, his attention solely focused on the task at hand. That of making sure that the other man is as fully restored as is possible. The cut that Dolan bears is close to vital portions of the human anatomy, and the burns while they are not life-threatening are nasty in their own right. If not properly attended to they will cause infection and worse they are on the man's hands and arms for the most part. Places that are often moved and will hurt for some time unless properly healed.

Zeke begins with a simple healing spell to stop the bleeding and close the most vital wound, but the spell does little for the burns due to the fact that they aren't as dangerous to the other man's health. To that end Zeke moves away to bring out some poultice and bandages. "Thisss one can heal the resssst of the damage in the morning, but for now thisss will keep your woundsss from fessstering, and help them heal. Did you punch the demon or sssome-thing?" There's a certain wry amusement in his tone now that the worst has been dealt with.

For the most part, Dolan's a reasonably cooperative patient, and behaves as one accustomed to being under the care of a healer. Judging by the clawmarks and acid burns across the right side of his face, and the missing eye, he most likely very much is. The healing helps - a little - but it's clear from his breathing and occasional pained reactions that he still hurts quite a bit, and the expert eye would be unsurprised if the marks of the fire lingered for some time. As it is, he should not hold anything until the healing is complete, as the burns on his hands are quite badly blistered, and there is some char in a few places.

When the punch is mentioned, though, he sits half-up, turning his head towards the door. "Shit. My sword. It's still in the alley." Patiently, Zeke wraps bandage around Dolan's fingers and up his arms to where the burns end. It's a lengthy process, and Zeke's claws are feather-light. The mark of someone who has done such a thing a thousand times before. "You mussst ressst, and will not be able to hold your ssword in thesssse handsss for at leassst until thisss one isss able to heal them tomorrow. Thisss one will sssend an acolyte to fetch it for you how-ever. Isss it ssspecial in sssome way?"

"It's enchanted." Salve or not, the process still hurts, and not being able to hold anything - and the news that healing will be tomorrow, not tonight - is even less happy-making for Dolan. "Greatsword. Dammit. Someone's got to go find those damned demons. Or at least warn the guard. They're hiding among the city folk. Made quite a mess of the street and almost set one of the market buildings on fire."

He lays back, staring then at the ceiling, head turned straight up, as it sinks in that he's going nowhere tonight. "Damn it. I'm useless again."

"Enchanted Greatsssword." Zeke repeats the words to make sure that he doesn't forget them and finishes wrapping the wounds in good time. "Thisss one will inform the scity guard for you; we will not sssimply allow them to run unchecked."

His voice is firm on this, but his expression softens when the man berates himself and he shakes his head. "You have done your besst thiss night, you can not help that you were ssso wounded that it hass taken you out of the fight for a time. Insstead ressst, and allow your-ssself to recover."

That does not appear to entirely mollify Dolan, but it's the best he's going to get, and it seems that he knows it, from the slump into the bed. "There's a lieutenant in the guard, name's Balderdan. He's your best bet to get someone to take you seriously, if he'll see you. Some of the others might not give a shit." He's still staring at the ceiling, and seems to quiet. "Look, can I ask a favor? Andie's going to either kick my ass or flip her shit when she finds out. Think someone can chill her out?" He has to mean the titian-haired Sunguard, larger than life and almost as loud, and relatively young.

"Balderdan." Zeke nods in affirmation of this name, knowing as well as Dolan that not all of the guardsmen are reliable sorts. It's good to know the name of one that is reliable. "Thisss one will look into it."

Cleaning up his supplies, he's almost surprised when Dolan speaks up again so readily. "Andie." He hesitates here and then shakes his head in faint amusement. "Thisss one can do thisss. Do you know where thisss one might find her?"

The fact that he's been away from the city so much lately means that it takes him a moment to really remember the Sunguard in particular.

"Andelena," Dolan supplies, his hands and arms relaxing as the painkiller in the poultice begins to take hold. "She ought to be home - shit, I can't even remember if she was supposed to be home tonight. Zein'll know." The name Zein is one Zeke should know, he's one of the seniors among the clergy. He's not moving much now, but neither is he sleepy, a sure sign that there's too much going on in his mind. "I don't even know what kind it was. It was hiding as a human," he says.

"Thisss one will posssibly need directionsss then. Thiss one will sseek out Zein firsst." The clergy should be informed of the demons anyways. Zeke doesn't move from the stool that he has been sitting on, knowing that his job as a healer is not quite done. There's more to healing than caring for the body, and he can tell from Dolan's words that his mind is ill at ease. "It will sssurely be found. Even if they look human, they can not hide their evil for long."

Dolan doesn't look over, remaining staring at the ceiling, his flesh eye a burned hole in his head with exhaustion, the gem that is where his eye socket is supposed to be lifeless amid the scars that cover his face. "I hope so. This is bad, and it was _fast_, too. I thought I was getting pretty good at hunting those damn things." His breathing is still fairly fast. "Go down Eluna's Way and make a left on Turnkey, next street is Coral Alley, it's on the corner on the second floor. The acolytes should know." Still, he doesn't move. "Yeah. Daeus showed me their evil. Too strong to be a human, but not enough to set the eye off."

Zeke mentally recounts the directions to himself until he's certain that he won't forget them and then nods again. "It sssoundss asss though you did the besst that you could do. Ssome-timesss the forcessss of evil are more than we are able to defeat. Sssome-timesss ssurvival isss the bessst that can be hoped for." His is the voice of experience.

Silence falls, while Dolan considers that piece of sage advice. He's still staring at the ceiling, breathing carefully, and finally closes the flesh and blood eye, turning his head towards Zeke. "Yeah. I guess. Just don't want anyone else put through that hell."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Zeke's voice is gentle, not offering any sort of pressure to speak on the other man.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Dolan demurs, shaking his head. He starts to lift a hand towards his face, then hisses and sets it back down. "Just - make sure people know and someone tracks these assholes down. Not to mention how the fuck they got into the city to start with," he says suddenly, worriedly. "I thought summoning in the city wasn't possible."

"It isss not. However if they looked like mortalsss, it isss posssible that they sssimply ssslipped into the scity." Zeke doesn't press for the information. To him it is clear that Dolan needs to talk, but it will not it seems - today - be him. "Evil will ussse any meansss to circumvent that which is done to prevent itsss presssence. Thisss one will do ass you have assked; do not worry about that. Isss there any-thing elsse that thisss one can do for you?"

"Fuck. Um - can you take out my eye?" Dolan's request is hesitant, but the need is clear - it is not equipped with a means of closing it as one does a flesh and blood eye, nor does it nictate. "It comes out in three stages. You'll need to grasp it by the rim and turn it clockwise slowly until you feel a click. Pull on it and it'll come out a little. Turn it against the clock until you feel another click, pull again, and then clockwise again, and the third time it will come free."

"That thisss one can do." Zeke offers gently. He moves toward the other man, waiting for Dolan to be ready before reaching out to gently grasp the eye. He does his best not to touch anything else, lest the man feel the all-too familiar sensation of claws so close to delicate things. He follows the directions perfectly, and blinks twice when it comes free easily enough. "Would you like it on the stand besside you?"

The claws so close to his skin is indeed disconcerting, a response that Dolan clearly hadn't expected, and he stiffens while this is being done. "Yeah, on the bedside is fine." The underside of it is a work of artifice in steel and bronze - tiny springs and latches make for a multifaceted lock that clearly is intended to keep the eye from being so readily removed. The socket that remains once it is removed is its match, the object clearly keyed to fit in a specific orientation in order to latch. "Just warn me if you're here, while it's out, remember I can't see you on that side."

"Of courssse." Zeke sets the artificial eye down and moves away. He couldn't help but notice Dolan's tension, having correctly gathered the source of it he thinks some distance would be best for the other man. "Thisss one ssshould attend to your requessstsss. Unlesss there isss any-thing elssse you want or need?"

"Nah. Just warn people as fast as you can." Dolan's still tense, and relaxes only a little. "Hope she doesn't freak at you."

"Asss you sssay." He shifts his tail back and forth. He doesn't comment on the possibily of being 'freaked out at'. It is not uncommon for those that are injured to have loved ones that are emotional at finding out the extent of the injuries sustained. He will be fine. "Peassssce for now, thisss one will return ass thiss one isss able."

It will be some time however. Given all that Dolan has requested of him. He leaves then, hoping that in his absence Dolan will be able to relax and get some much-needed rest.

-End