The Tower of Passion

"Oh - sorry, I... do you need a healer?" The voice spoke again, as the goblin turned to look at her.
"We're a bit bu- Wait, Tamlin it is you? Your ea- you were a- Wha-?" Annabelle shook her head as she looked at the woman, she looked exactly like Tamlin. It was Tamlin, the [Priestess of the Sun] she'd partied with before meeting Fiona. Tall, blonde hair to her shoulders. Taller now than she was, somehow - and she was a bunny? She had definitely been a cat. She'd groomed herself like a cat. It didn't matter.

"Yes - Yes Tamlin, heal our friend, please."
"Do you have a room?" The bunny-cat asked.
"Yeah - Follow"

They hurried not talking much. Annabelle was over the moon to have met the healer - one of the only competent people she had partied with prior to Fiona's group, confused about her change in appearance, and entirely willing to ignore anything at all as long as Fiona's leg could be mended. It was all wrong.

Fiona herself was getting delirious - she'd clearly downplayed how bad her pain was, there was no way they'd given everything to Penthi otherwise.

Her eyes closed in pain, barely aware of what was going on just her friend's face around her as they carried her. She was burning up, unsure what was happening. This felt like more than a broken leg - but it had only been half an hour, and she felt fine before they went through the mirror.

And then her vision was blurry and her body was on fire. 

"Wa..wa..water" She managed to get out, as she felt herself get placed onto a bed in a room. Her room? Someone put a flask to her mouth, and she swallowed the refreshing water quickly, before her head fell to its side, her blurry vision fading as she saw the forms of her friends around her, feeling a warm soothing feeling lulling her to sleep.

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"What's wrong with her - how she wasn't like this on the floor? What changed?" Annabelle shouted into the room, not expecting anyone to have an answer. Fiona had been in pain yes, but just a broken leg. She'd been talking she was fine, they left the floor and now... She'd had a fever almost as soon as they went through, she was pale sweating, and unresponsive.

"Can you heal her?" She asked Tamlin, who was bent over Fiona, her warm glowing energy spreading over the berserker's body.

"Yes... it will take time though. What happened? I've never heard of this".

"I... I should have foreseen this." Qae, uncharacteristic tremble in her voice. "It's... it's not uncommon, it just isn't well-known. It... it doesn't matter right now. She'll have an infection. It'll be strong." Qae looked over their sick friend, her leg was no longer bleeding but still bent. They had washed  Fiona off, but the [Cloth of the Refreshing Cleanse] was in her inventory and she'd just wanted through.

"Will she wake up soon? What's going on - please?" Annabelle had moved from shouting at the room to hovering around Tamlin, watching the priestess work. It was like a soft glow was hovering around Fiona, focused on her leg, but with two dim glowing lights above her eyes.

"No I... I've lulled her to sleep - she's safe, my ability will make sure she does not feel pain. And this would hurt." Tamlin said, calmly, intense focus in her eyes. 
"You might want to look away - it's... It can be unsettling."  Annabelle didn't, Liddy and Qae did. "I have to reset her leg before I can deal with anything else. The first break had started to heal with the little bit of healing done." Tamlin steeled herself as the orange glow intensified, little tendrils of fire wrapping around Fiona's feet and leg. They wrapped and twisted around the limb, anchoring themselves around the unconscious berserker's heel and calf, burning brighter and brighter before snapping in place, a loud crunch being heard as the foot was realigned.

Annabelle felt sick. Liddy retched. Tamlin kept her steely gaze.

"Right... Now to heal the break. Breaks." Looking back Annabelle could see the two swelling points, one fresh one slightly scarring due to Timmy's healing. At least the foot was the right way now, even if Fiona's muscles were hidden under the angry red swelling. Annabelle held her unconscious friend's hand, Liddy's joining hers. Ash was sitting next to them on the floor, tail between her legs whimpering nervously. A moment later Qae walked over and put her hand on Ash's shoulder supporting her.

They knew Fiona would be fine. Of course, she would be. But her shallow breathing, her delirious eyes as they carried over, the sudden violent appearance of the portal... They were worried. If they got hurt in fighting, sure but an accident? Annabelle had only just found Fiona again. It had only been a few days. She had to be okay, she hated seeing her friend like this.

As Tamlin's fire gathered around the swelling it seemed to be pulling fire out of the leg rather than putting anything into it, as Annabelle looked at the Priestess, she nodded towards the legs.

"It's swelling. Heat. Fire wouldn't help, but I can pull the heat out of her leg - helping cool it, and heal it faster." Her bunny ears flopped gently as she spoke. After half an hour of intense focus, pulling beads of flame out, killing the swelling Fiona's leg was healed just a faded scar left on her leg. But she was still unconscious. 

"I can help her fight the fever, her infection, but she decides when she wakes up." Tamlin said as she sat down, exhausted, one hand waving forward. The glow covering Fiona spun in a pattern following her limbs and her torso, all centered on her chest. Her bloodstream, roughly represented, Annabelle figured. Right.

"How long?" Liddy asked. 

Tamlin shook her head, clearly exhausted. "Up to her. Could be minutes, hours, or days. Don't think much longer though - it's strong, but we got it early. How did she get this sick anyway? I thought I saw you on floor five this morning - she seemed fine."
"I don't know I - Qaerlyz, did you say you knew?" Annabelle was in a shambles, thoughts going in all directions but Qaerlyz had said.

"Yes... I. I should have thought about it but she was so insistent on helping the centaur and assumed it would work a certain way. And I couldn't have been certain anyways."  Qae looked so conflicted, unsure of herself. Not at all like how Annabelle had seen the dragon queen so far.

"Tell us - could it help Tamlin heal her?"
"No, it won't make a difference but... It's because of the way the system works. How it 'levels' us up. We get our lovely announcements and everything on the floor, and we can use the abilities but everything gets ingrained into us permanently when we move through the portals. That's what permanently changes our bodies, that shimmering mirror reflects us and makes us stronger."

"And? Shouldn't she be stronger than - not sick?" Annabelle asked, desperate for some answer.
"She is. But it's not quite accurate that it makes us stronger - the mirror takes our bodies, and everything in it - and amplifies it, strengthens it." Qae frowned as she looked down at Fiona.

Liddy looked confused, and Ash just looked fraught with worry as she looked at her friend - her owner, Annabelle was fairly sure the fox woman truly thought of herself as owned by Fiona now. Annabelle pondered Qae's words for a moment before it clicked in her head.

"So...She had an infection, of some sort from the soil and dirt in her wound. And it leveled up?" Her eyes went wide - that was... That was weird. Terrifying. 
Qae nodded. "I've only heard of a few cases - but it does happen. It wouldn't have gotten a skill or anything like that but... It would be powerful, explaining how it suddenly went from unnoticeable to this bad. Anything in your being, your blood, or your body levels up when you do. I just hadn't heard of a case in a long time." The dragon smacked her lips, petting Ash on the shoulder again. "I will go fetch us all some refreshments - we will all want to stay here, I am sure, waiting for our leader's recovery," Qae announced to no one in particular, leaving without asking anything what they wanted. Or if anyone wanted anything. Annabelle thought the paladin looked shameful, as far as she could tell.

Annabelle looked at Tamlin, nearly asleep herself, eyes half shut muttering as the fire wandered over Fiona.
It wasn't time for questions yet, but it would be. Tamlin was great, but she had been a cat. And now she was a bunny. And it was the same girl. And they definitely weren't fake ears.

Annabelle needed to know what was going on.