Tappit decided against sneaking behind Andante to frighten her back into the land of the living. she frowned at the towering structures and her hand rested upon the hilt of her weapon, he’d seen her quick reflexes and didn’t dare risk an accident on the business end of her sword. He moved over to join company of Duvaindes and took a place next to her along the wall, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. He felt ill.
Duvaindes rested her eyes as the spider’s toxins slowly coursed through her veins, somewhat aware at the recesses of her mind but in denial and too proud to mention her discomfort to anyone. Tappit slumped in a heap next to her, she opened one eye and side glanced.
“Why are you so sweaty, Tappit?” she wrinkled her nose, his forearm gave off a faint fetid odour of decomposition. The stagnant water had festered his wound, it had become septic and filled with pus beneath the damp bandages.
Nimhe’s poison had taken a foothold, Tappit was dying, his internal organs were well into the throws of shutting down.
Tappit opened his eyes and shrugged “Eh, must be the humidity in this place” Duva removed a glove from her hand and reached out and grabbed a hold of his “Let me heal you”Tappit turned his hand over and gripped hers tight “I’ll be ok, I don’t need to be healed” his words seeming to come from a far away foolish place, but the voice was his own. “I think I’m in over my head” he confessed with an apologetic chuckle.
Duvaindes let out a long sigh and considered “Hmm, well then, I’m going to see that you get out of here safely” she flashed the warmest smile he’d ever seen and he was thankful, he gripped her hand tighter “I don’t want to be a burden, let alone ask of you to babysit me” he released her hand and dared to brush a strand of her hair back behind her ear, she let out another sigh but allowed it without protest “You don’t have to ask, you don’t have an option…as weird as this may sound, you remind me of someone, someone I cared about, someone who died and now I have the chance to prevent that happening.” He was mildly surprised “Am I dying?”
She ignored his question and helped him up by the elbow “come on big guy, let’s get you back to the city” She gave Bruynzeel a grave look “Tappit and I are heading back to the city” she thief signed to him for discretion and perhaps to save Tappit’s feelings ‘he’s dying but I think he can be saved with the right attention” Bruynzeel nodded sympathetically, his reluctance to include the inexperienced bard on the journey was now confirmed but he tried to remain optimistic that he’d be ok, and he had a competent guide with Duvaindes.
The two left the company of the group moments later, Tappit ambling with an arm rested over Duvaindes shoulder for support. Duvaindes had also broken into a sweat taking on Tappit’s additional weight.
They’d gotten a fair distance before she needed to rest her legs and catch her breath, perhaps rest her eyes for a little while too. She fell into a deep slumber and dreamed of glory days gone by, days she pined for, days filled in the company of Ezio. She kept dreaming when Tappit hugged her close for comfort and to stave off the chills, she kept dreaming when his final breathes left him in a death rattle...even beyond her own death she kept on dreaming.
