Jewell awoke to dazed confusion. It was night and she was laying on the ground in the back alley outside the Red Dragon Inn. Unfortunately, for the wannabe heroine, she only vaguely acknowledged that it was the back alley. Where she was, was of minor concern. Emptying her stomach of all its contents became her first priority followed with trying to stand.
It was a challenge, getting to her two feet. Her vision swam and her head pounded, the raised voices from inside the building being of little help. There was a dim awareness, past the understanding that her head hurt, that her arms, legs, and face were all in pain as well. She didn?t know why. She didn?t know that she had been in a fight earlier, an indistinct memory of being around Alex, Lain, and Lydia surfaced in her mind for only a moment, or that her body was much worse off than she was aware of.
The red sticky wetness that coated the back of her head and hair was ignored as, with one hand on the wall to steady her, she toddled towards the mouth of the alley and out. If she had been in her right mind and not feverish, disoriented, as she was she would have readily acknowledged that she was suffering from two ailments besides the bruising along her chest: a concussion to an unknown degree and exposure to an element opposite to her own. It was the former that was preventing her from understanding the latter.
She did not remember that she had suffered within the last year from this ailment to a lesser degree, had seen Amthy suffer from it seriously when they had encountered the fire elemental in the Inn. The blisters on her arms, the charred dress, and generally burnt skin wherever it was exposed would horrify her. She would recognize that this weakness, confusion, and flu-like symptoms were not simply from the blow to her head but from being exposed to fire, being burnt by it.
She did not know any of these things. All she could feel was the call of water, her element. She wandered through the city like one of the many lost souls; a cold sweat covering her skin in a sheen and her limbs trembling with each step she took. Her destination was the glade she was so fond of, her path wandering hither and thither to get there. When she did arrive there after minutes, maybe hours, of hazy drifting through the woods, she fell to the soft carpet of grass. She dipped a hand into the water, the cool liquid a source of rejuvenation as she drifted into feverish unconsciousness once more.
It was a challenge, getting to her two feet. Her vision swam and her head pounded, the raised voices from inside the building being of little help. There was a dim awareness, past the understanding that her head hurt, that her arms, legs, and face were all in pain as well. She didn?t know why. She didn?t know that she had been in a fight earlier, an indistinct memory of being around Alex, Lain, and Lydia surfaced in her mind for only a moment, or that her body was much worse off than she was aware of.
The red sticky wetness that coated the back of her head and hair was ignored as, with one hand on the wall to steady her, she toddled towards the mouth of the alley and out. If she had been in her right mind and not feverish, disoriented, as she was she would have readily acknowledged that she was suffering from two ailments besides the bruising along her chest: a concussion to an unknown degree and exposure to an element opposite to her own. It was the former that was preventing her from understanding the latter.
She did not remember that she had suffered within the last year from this ailment to a lesser degree, had seen Amthy suffer from it seriously when they had encountered the fire elemental in the Inn. The blisters on her arms, the charred dress, and generally burnt skin wherever it was exposed would horrify her. She would recognize that this weakness, confusion, and flu-like symptoms were not simply from the blow to her head but from being exposed to fire, being burnt by it.
She did not know any of these things. All she could feel was the call of water, her element. She wandered through the city like one of the many lost souls; a cold sweat covering her skin in a sheen and her limbs trembling with each step she took. Her destination was the glade she was so fond of, her path wandering hither and thither to get there. When she did arrive there after minutes, maybe hours, of hazy drifting through the woods, she fell to the soft carpet of grass. She dipped a hand into the water, the cool liquid a source of rejuvenation as she drifted into feverish unconsciousness once more.