[Mkguild] First Steps (13/?)

[Nathan Pfaunmiller]

And Gerard returns to the story!

_________________________

January 10, 708 CR

	It had been nearly two weeks, but Gerard was finally returning home.
Coe had been pleased with how the surgery had gone, but he had left it
up to Gerard as to how long he would stay in his immediate care.
Gerard had to think it through a bit, but he did finally decide to
stay with the healer for a while longer.  He had already lost about
half of his leg; he wanted to make sure that Coe had plenty of time to
make sure that he would not lose any more.  Now, however, the healer
was satisfied that everything had gone well, and there had been no
sign of further infection.  As soon as Coe had made this opinion
clear, Gerard had decided it was time to return home.

	Gerard was not entirely alone during his time with the healer,
thankfully.  His family visited him every day, and especially at the
coming of the new year, the family stayed together, despite the close
quarters in the room Gerard occupied, awaiting the coming of the new
year.  It had been a time of reflection for the stag; he thought about
all that lay before him.  Questions remained of how he would proceed,
but he knew now that he would trust Eli no matter what.

	Now, he was being helped into a wheeled chair that the healer was
providing for the journey home.  It belonged to the healer, and it
would be returned to Coe’s office after the journey.  For the
foreseeable future, until they made some other decision, Gerard would
make due with a crutch that was provided free of charge by one of the
local craftsmen.  He would probably look into a wooden leg in the near
future, but Coe recommended that he wait a little while longer to be
certain that the wound had completely healed.

	The return home was quiet for the first little while, but after some
time the nurse that was helping Gerard with the chair couldn’t bear
the silence any longer.

	“So, I hear you’re a warrior?”

	“I was,” Gerard replied.  He could almost see the awkward grimace on
the man’s face when he realized how awkward of a question he had just
asked.  Rather than have the man rush to apologize, Gerard continued.
“I don’t mind you asking; if I could still fight effectively on one
leg I would certainly try.  Perhaps I will be able to learn how to
fight again once I find a decent replacement.”

	“I certainly hope so, sir.  I’ve been on a few short patrols; just my
due for living here, really.  Not ever been much of a fighter, but
DeMule tells me that if I hadn’t decided to be a healer I could have
been good with a sword.  I try to be good enough to merit some
confidence in my ability.  If I’m ever in danger I plan to be ready to
fight back, but I certainly appreciate men like you who do the work I
can’t.”

	“And I appreciate men like you,” Gerard reciprocated.  “It seems to
work well enough to my eye; I do the fighting, and you stand by to
stitch me back together if I get myself torn to pieces.”

	The healer gave a slight chuckle.  “Well, sir, I honestly prefer it
when you keep yourself together.”  Gerard nodded silently, but said
nothing more.  After a few moments, the nurse continued.  “On the
subject of finding a serviceable leg, sir, what sort of thing are you
looking for?”

	“Honestly, I’ll be lucky to be able to afford a wooden leg strong
enough to support myself on.  I’ll figure out exactly what I can
expect once I can look over my options.  For now, I’ll learn how to
use a crutch.”  He tapped his fingers along the wooden shaft of the
tool.

	“Out of curiosity, sir, have you ever met Misha Brightleaf?”

	It was a name of enough notoriety that Gerard knew exactly who the
man was talking about.  Still, he shook his head.  “I know of him as
the leader of the Long Scouts, and I’ve been around long enough to
know that he is somewhat famous for being a rather aggressive fighter.
 I have not met him in person, however.  The way I hear it, he has
been occupied trying to rebuild his organization in the wake of the
Winter Assault.  Honestly, I doubt I would have been on his short list
before I lost a leg; I can only assume that meeting him now would
require quite a bit of coincidence.”

	“He is a busy man, no doubt, but he does take some time off for other
things.  The reason I ask actually has something to do with the Winter
Assault.  You may remember the old librarian, Cutter I believe was his
name.”

	“Honestly, I never spent much time in the library.  I can read, but
it held no temptation for me outside of its basic utility.”

	“Be that as it may, the old librarian was injured during the assault.
 Some say he held off an entire band of assassins single-handed.
Whatever the reason, his leg was injured in the combat, and he was
forced to walk slowly, and only with a staff.  He was a friend of
Misha’s, though, and Master Brightleaf taught him to use an
interesting form that he had discovered himself some time earlier.
It’s somewhat odd to look at; if you can imagine the old depictions of
centaurs, men whose lower halves are replaced by that of a horse, you
are about halfway to accurately imagining the figure that this form
gives them.  They retain their Cursed forms, but rather than being
humanoid or feral, they gain a four-legged lower body along with their
humanoid torso.  I believe they called it a taur form, after those
same centaur depictions.”

	“What does that have to do with me?” Gerard asked.  He was curious;
he had seen the form before, but had not heard the specifics.  Still,
he honestly didn’t know how this knowledge helped him.

	“What I hear is that Misha think that everyone affected by the Animal
Curse can change their form in this way.  When Master Cuter used it,
he found that his injury was either eliminated, or compensated for by
having two more legs.  I honestly do not remember which, but I’ve
heard that he can move quite quickly now, despite his leg injury.  He
rarely ever leaves that form, or so I’ve heard.”

	Gerard nodded thoughtfully.  “So, you propose that I attempt to use
this form myself?”

	“It couldn’t hurt.  Now, I’m not fool enough to hope that it somehow
grown back your leg, but you could hobble about on three legs easier
than you could on one, I’d wager.”

	Gerard nodded.  “Thank you for the suggestion.  I’ll look into it.”
He was thoughtful for a little while longer, but by then he could see
his house.  Amber had the children waiting at the door, and they all
smiled and waved at him, laughing merrily about how funny it was for
Dad to be in a rolling chair like he was.  The older children were
somewhat more restrained, as they realized more clearly what had
happened, but even they seemed to be able to find some humor in his
situation.  Gerard smiled; he would not begrudge them that.  He wanted
his family to be able to get through this with as few tears as
possible, and they were off to a good start.

	The family’s reunion was as happy as Gerard could have hope.  He
managed to kiss his wife and hug his children each in turn without
upsetting the chair, and soon after he managed to hobble into the
house on his crutch.  Apparently Amber had spent a good bit of time
making sure that everyone knew that playing with Daddy’s crutch was
forbidden, as all of the children seemed almost frightened of it,
keeping several feet away at all times.  Thankfully, this only applied
to the crutch, and they were more than happy to welcome him back with
plentiful hugs all around.  The nurse excused himself before very
long, and the family was finally able to spend some time together.

	Gerard made every moment last as long as he could.  He sat for
several hours in the small common room, watching his children play
with the simply toys that were all he could afford.  He tried to learn
from the contentment they showed; he would have to be content with
what he had, despite how little he had right now.  He laughed and
played along with his children as well as he could without falling out
of his chair, but only too soon evening had come, and his children
left for bed, but not before Gerard had kissed all of them goodnight.
He had missed his opportunity before leaving for his last patrol, and
he meant to be certain that he never did so again.

	He hobbled to his room, balancing his crutch in the corner.  Amber
had gone with them to their rooms to make certain that they all obeyed
her and went to bed, and it gave Gerard some time to think.  He
thought about the conversation with the nurse, about what the man had
suggested.  Standing there, he began to climb into his bed, but
decided against it for a few moments.  The nurse was right; it was
worth an attempt if nothing more.

	The stag closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.  He concentrated,
thinking of how he looked now.  It took some concentration to remind
himself that he only had the one leg below the knee, but he thought
through his form very carefully.  He had shifted to his feral form
often in the past, just to feel how different the form was.  This new
form would require some more effort, however.  He had never done it
before, and was uncertain if it would even be worth his time to try it
again after this first attempt.  He just had to be certain that he did
it right the first time.

	With a slow exhalation, he began to imagine his body shifting.  He
imagined having four – three – hooves on the ground, but he also
concentrated on keeping his arms, fingers, and human torso.  The image
in his mind was somewhat fuzzy, and he continued to try to clarify it,
using the few times he had seen the form in others to try to build his
own vision of the form for himself.  For some time, it seemed that his
efforts were vain, but then his mental image of his taur form
clarified itself in his mind.  The jump in clarity was so shocking
that it caused him to stumble back and open his eyes to grip the base
of his bed.  He breathed slowly, and then realized what he had done;
he had stumbled back several paces with only one leg!

	He turned swiftly, and was surprised and pleased to see that the body
of a feral buck was now extending behind him.  It responded oddly to
his efforts to move, but he could feel the similarities it had with
his feral form, and some concentration let him walk about the room on
three hooves, limping but definitely able to do so without falling.
It felt so different.  In a way, the distance between his head and his
good hind leg made it feel detached, but he was able to slowly
accommodate the odd gait, even though his left hind leg was missing.
He noted with some chagrin that he had utterly destroyed his breeches
when he changed.  At least he still owned a few more pairs; in the
future he would just have to take more care.

	He hobbled around the room, quite pleased to find that he could move
at a reasonable pace, even though the loss of one of his four legs
made it a chore.  He knew that he wouldn’t be able to fight like this,
at least not without other accommodations, but it would give him some
flexibility when it came to his daily life.  He might at least be able
to walk about the lower Keep in this form if nothing else.

	He was still marveling at how new it all was when Amber entered the
room.  She screamed when she saw him, and it took some time for him to
calm her down.  Once she understood what had happened, however, she
smiled at him, standing on their bed to hold him close.  Somehow, in
saying just four words, she made him certain that the effort was worth
it.

	“You look wonderful, handsome.”