Time crawled by with Solis resting and Landon still unconscious. Gritgut prowled the cell's perimeter, shaking the bars. He found them coated in a red fungi that generated a rash on even his thick skin, irritating the flesh to no end. Solis calmed the cursing prisoner before he got out of hand, wrapping the infected digits with clean cloth after coating them in a salve. The itching diminished rapidly, leaving only minor swelling. No sooner was the work done than Gritgut began pacing again.
Eventually Landon stirred and Solis snapped up from his reclining and knelt by the groggy human. "How do you feel, my friend?"
"Like I just went two rounds with a bugbear..."
"A power-mad inevitable and an unholy demilich would be more like it," Solis replied soberly.
"Ah, that would explain the numbness of my toes..."
Caution flashed across Solis' face as he quickly removed Landon's boots - he saw the evidence of preternatural decay. The lumillon hissed and scrounged through his side bag. "Where did I put that hil'fahlein? Surely a sprig of that mixed with the salve should clean what I cannot cure." Fatigue tinged his voice as he spoke, the strain of the healing touch evident with each word.
Nevertheless, Solis concocted a balm and carefully applied it on the cracked and seeping sores that covered Landon's toes. When he was sure he had tended to the rot extensively, the lumillon set to pouring as much of his latent power as he could into the mage's wounds. The foul stench lessened until the pungent environment and greasy salves masked the decay entirely. "That should do..." Exhaustion crept into Solis' face and he slumped against the wall.
"Thank you...I owe you my life, that vile rot would've added me to the shambling dead!" The mage answered, gratitude and anxiety evident in his voice.
Solis waved his reply, then handed Landon a bundle of wiry ruddy-brown twigs. "Cinnamon...for the smell." The lumillon managed a weak smile. Landon quickly stuffed the scratchy branches into his boots as he slid them on his feet.
Gritgut only watched in bafflement, knowing little of medicine or herbs. None of the stuff spoke of anything but magic to him. The towering oltreggan grumbled, "Mees no see how bush gunna 'elp 'im." He'd already forgotten about the bandages on his own fingers.
Solis peaked an amused eye at the brute and answered, "Oh, and I'm sure you'll be playing in the slickfol - slimefire as the sewer people call it - again? I'll let you go without next time...and I don't suck on your fingers if you do!"
The false ire bled away much of his endurance. "Now...I must tell you, they still...want you, dead. The trial will be...tonight."
"Me'z no goin ta trial! Me'z hates dis! Shiny sed me'z never go ta jell agin...yet me'z here! He sed - "
"He also told you to not fight the demilich, Ironhead." Gritgut rinkled his nose at Solis' quiet, though forceful, interjection.
"Me'z no ave'n irunhed! P'haps ye wanna take yer wurds bake b'fore me'z fix yer tung, lamp boy."
"Do not vex me with your trivial threats - you hairy-headed-over-grown-sledgehammer. I do not think your master would approve of you dueling me, especially as it would involve me incapacitating a being I only recently awoke. However, we should not raise arms against each other - it would only lead to bashing our wits and words into useless instruments. Instead, we should discover a way to use your might, his magic, and my music to escape."
The lumillon held his face stern, though his effort left him drawing in deep, winded breaths. Thankfully, Landon interjected before Gritgut could get too riled. "You're a bard?...wait, what is your name?" The human looked as though he were on the verge of elated discovery.
"...My name is...Solis...Emberheart."
"The Solis Emberheart! The master at the Hall of Lyr said I would do well to find you should I persist in delving into the writs of the Old Clergy; however, when I arrived in Crown, you had already disappeared. Some said you had left for the mountains of the Ice Skull League and their infamous draconian lore, while others spoke of you descending into the bowels of Tal Vorglath, in search of the High Clerics' vaults. By chance, I came across a wererat who spoke of a lumillon singer who had outfoxed his brethren in a battle of wits that left them trying to remember their names for the better part of week. I assumed it was you, and began my search."
"...Seems you found me. But who are you, and what do you desire from the foul knowledge of the Clerics?"
"I'm Landon Quinntar, a wandering sage of the Arcane Tower. I was - "
Solis shook his head. "No need...anyone of the Tower seeks one of two things: wonder or wealth. Both are detestable, and neither shall you find in this accursed catacomb - only deceit lies with the bones of the deceased priests..."
Landon's renewed strength fed his injured pride. He rose up to tower over the reclining lumillon. "Do not speak of all with such disdain, Loresinger! What do you know of the trials I have undergone to gain an understanding of those who enslaved the gods, and nearly damned my people and city? Perhaps your search for insight has blinded you to the plight of more gregarious folk!"
Solis' eyes opened at the accusation, his emerald irises glistening with mirth. "Your ire betrays you, Landon Quinntar, and it is misplaced. What is hidden remains such - for more than personal gain - all I have is what you see - what glory is that? And what knowledge I possess: merely anecdotes and anthologies that wouldn't fill a docket in a pauper's library during the High Clerics' time.
No, they sent you to me so that I might dissuade you from the straits you are in..."
Gritgut's thick fist slammed into the floor. Landon and Solis stared at the giant oltreggan, whose face openly displayed his frustration. "Me'z tired o' th' talk! How'z we'z gettin ou'a here?!"
Solis chuckled weakly. "He is right, we do not have long until the execution...and I will need to rest to regain my strength." He paused to sip from a flask, and commenced his assessment with a measure of returned strength. "Hmm, we know Gritgut's capabilities, and I know mine...but what of you, Landon Quinntar? What strengths rest within your soul?"
