~Chapter 17~ "Who's Lena?" asks Raven, sounding a bit offended for some reason. I look back and forth skeptically between Thomas and Ridge, wondering the same thing as Raven. They've just produced a large sack full of gold--a month's wages for a knight. Whoever this Lena girl is, she must be very rich for her to just give away this amount of money to strangers. "She's a girl we met in the village earlier today," Thomas says in response. "She gave us the horses and the gold. Her father's a merchant passing through the village, and..." Thomas continues to prattle on about Lena. I glance over at Eliza, who looks confused and a little hurt, and finally cut Thomas off. "Alright, so... she's some village girl. At least we have enough money now to get supplies at the other villages, and to get more medical treatment," I say, thinking of my still-useless arm and the sickness that most of us seem to have caught, especially Edwin. "Edwin, I forgot to ask... did the nurses who helped us have any idea what the illness you have is?" He shakes his head sadly, and as if reminded of it, Amora lets out a violent cough. We all turn to the sound to see if she's okay. Even Ridge looks up from sharpening his knife, and Eliza seems to snap to attention as Edwin rushes over to Amora as quickly as he can. "Eat this," he says, handing her something small and round, all his normal sarcasm vanishing. Amora nods and swallows it quickly, smiling weakly afterwards. "I'm fine, really. We should head for the next village soon, so we can ask around to see if anyone's heard where the demon's gone to." She tries to sound upbeat, but it's clear that she isn't feeling her normal happy self, and no one else seems to be feeling any better about our situation. Eliza, who's been strangely quiet this entire time, stands up suddenly as if struck with an idea. She pulls out a few crescent-shaped bottles from her back, and Thomas straightens up, seeming to recognize them. "Maybe this would help," Eliza says, staring at the bottles as if examining them. "What's that?" Renn asks curiously, leaning forward from across the table. "A healing potion," replies Thomas, seeming to come to a realization, and soon enough everyone else seems to realize the same thing. "Do you think this could help cure the sickness? I've only ever used it for physical injuries," Eliza asks Edwin, who's still standing beside Amora. Edwin glances around, looking a little unsure. "I don't know, but I guess it couldn't hurt to try." "I've only got a few, though... we should use them sparingly," Eliza replies, looking hopeful. This is the closest thing we have to a solution to this problem, and we may not know if it works, but already everyone seems a little less stressed. Edwin and Eliza take charge of the conversation, and they decide to save the potions for later in case we can find a more permanent solution in the next town. Then we notice that it's getting dark and we head back to our campsite, preparing to leave in the morning. Before I turn in for the night, I pull Eliza aside. She's been a little off ever since the discussion in town, and I think I know why. "Are you alright? You seem a bit... sad," I say, wincing at my awkward delivery. I'm no good at this sort of thing, but I don't know how else to help. Eliza seems to pause for a moment to register what I said. "I-I'm fine," she says, sounding a little unsure of it herself. "Are you sure? Earlier you--" "I said I'm fine," she replies, cutting me off, a hint of anger in her voice this time. She steps away from me and walks quickly back to her tent, closing off the opening to prevent anyone from interacting with her. I stare at the tent she just disappeared inside, at a complete loss. Was it something I said? Maybe I'll try again later. I can't blame her, really--it's clear something's bothering her, and she doesn't owe me an explanation. With a heavy sigh, I turn to my own tent and pack up any belongings I'd taken out of my bag, then lie down and close my eyes, wishing for sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ gah sorry this took so long. m a n y periods of inactivity. Anyways, if you haven't, you should check out the other JOAL chapters! (Otherwise the story won't make any sense.) Here are the other cool humans who write the story. Thomas: Eliza: Amora: Ridge: Raven: Renn: Cory: moi Edwin: aight I'm out
