Worth a Try

"Eliana?" Devrim stared in shock at the young woman before him. Her eyes were neither blue nor green, and they seemed to be full of an emotion he could not quite name. Anticipation, perhaps?

Things began to fall into place. The earthen wall Gandr had summoned back at the gate was not only to protect himself, but also to hide the woman. The high-pitched yelp he had heard earlier was Eliana's surprise at being brought below the surface a second time.

Duchess Ashleigh had not misspoken when she said to go and meet 'them' as Devrim had assumed. There really were two people waiting for him.

It also explained why Gandr had started to eat without the Emperor and advisor. He wanted to make sure the young woman felt comfortable. Junayd had unfairly accused him for drinking from two cups. Gandr had never been gluttonous.

And both the newcomers were wearing fresh clothes. That was why the privacy screens had been brought in. It all made sense now.

Eliana curtsied deeply. "Your Majesty." She lowered her head and waited.

The woman's words pulled Devrim from his musings. "Eliana...I know that name. Or at least someone with that name," he muttered, snapping his fingers to try and jog his memory.

"You do, Your Majesty," Gandr confirmed. Even his magic could not hide the paleness of his face. He pulled at his collar, preparing to fill in the Emperor when Devrim cried out.

"Dania's sister was named Eliana! I remember now. Gandr, are you crazy?!" The grey-eyed man's outburst was not unexpected, but the halfling still flinched.

"I know it probably was not the wisest move..."

"Wise?! You know that Mairwen risked her life drawing the lizards away so that this woman could get to safety. So many things happened and were sacrificed so she could be as far away from here as possible and you....what did you do?!" Holding his head, Devrim tried to calm himself.

It was not Eliana's fault that the terrible things had happened. Bad people doing bad things had caused Renat to be turned into a wolf and nearly caused his children to be washed away by a flood. But the only consolation had been that Dania's sister had been able to escape. Now even that was gone.

"Get her out of here. Now." Devrim inhaled sharply. "I am sorry that you convinced him to bring you into a battle, but we are fighting for our lives. I will make sure you make it somewhere safe."

Eliana's eyes shone deep green. "I am here to help you, Your Majesty. Do not send me away until you hear what I have to say."

Junayd cleared his throat. "I am sorry, ma'am, but can you fight?"

The woman tucked her curly blonde hair behind her ear. "Not in the way you mean. But I can be of service. As you said, I am Dania's sister. I have seen and can understand her notes."

"Eliana has been contemplating them ever since Princess Mairwen left. Eliana is an Analyzer." Gandr added, hoping to at least explain some of his reasoning.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Junayd raised one bushy, white eyebrow.

"I see problems, and I find creative solutions. Sometimes the solutions sound a little strange, but they often work." Eliana took a deep breath. Although her demeanor was calm, the anxiousness in her eyes remained.

Gandr stepped in on her behalf. "As I said, Your Majesty, she can be very persuasive. I need you to hear what she has to say for yourself."

The Emperor paused. The halfling usually had good instincts. He could not dismiss them outright. He sighed. "Fine. I will hear you out. But mostly because I want to send you on your way with you having said your peace. Be quick about it though. Time is not a luxury we have."

Devrim motioned for the woman to sit. If they were going to do more than just send her on her way, he should at least be hospitable. The four found chairs, Junayd selecting the one closest to the food. It was not long before the plates were picked clean.

"I have been over Dania's observations at least a hundred times in my head. What she did, what went wrong, her safety measures...all of it." Eliana paused. "And after what Gandr told me about the creatures having been people before, I knew I needed to intervene. I am very sorry to hear that the prince was a victim in all of this. And you as well."

The woman dipped her head at Junayd. It did not take her intellect to know he was once human. He had obviously been turned just like Renat. Eliana's eyes glistened with tears.

"What I found was not good. The potion is very unstable. And it is likely to become more unstable over time. At least that is my humble opinion."

"Can you reverse the effects?" Devrim was filled with hope but only for a moment.

Eliana's forlorn expression said it all. "I wish I had the skills, but Dania is the scientist of the family. Likely, only she can undo what has happened, if it can be undone at all."

A somber feeling descended on the room. The thought of being unable to turn back those who had succumbed to the poison was more than any of them could bear.

"Then how exactly can you help?" The Emperor's words came out more terse than intended. But he was beginning to think he had wasted his time.

"I assume more than just this man and the prince were turned by those creatures." The woman glanced to the window where she could hear some less-than-human growling and a crash.

Devrim nodded.

"And those people. Are they behaving rationally?" The more Eliana spoke, the more in her element she became.

"Not always," the Emperor admitted.

"Their actions are becoming more erratic and they seem to be losing their mind? It is as I feared. Eventually they may lose their senses all together. The more they give into their urges, the less human they will become." Eliana was sure on this point.

She had noticed it with her reptilian guards, but had not been able to connect the puzzle until Gandr gave her the missing pieces with what had happened to the prince. Intense emotions seem to be the catalyst for the failure of the mind. The elixir seems to...feed?...on the emotions and take over.

"Just excellent..." Junayd could feel the tug in his body. It was like there was a constant fire in his belly ready to ignite. He was just better at containing it than any of his comrades.

"Don't lose hope! As I said, I came to help. I think I have a way to slow the progression of the poison or at least keep the insanity away for longer. It might even be able to bring back someone who has gone feral. But I need to test my theory." Eliana gave an apologetic wince.

The Emperor's face hardened. "You want to experiment on my soldiers?"

"Only those who volunteer, and I promised it would not involve anything beyond what happens naturally in the outside world. While I think a scientific mishap caused this, nature itself will help us fight against it." Eilana smoothed her white dress and folded her hands in her lap.

Closing his eyes, Devrim considered her proposition. If she could lessen the tension his men were facing and keep them in their right mind for longer, then that could change things drastically.

"How long do you need?" The grey-eyed man tapped his chin.

"I am not sure. If it works how I think it should, we will have results pretty quickly. If not...it will take more time."

"Time is something we don't have." Duchess Ashleigh entered the room. "I was getting a tally of our supplies when I discovered something dreadful. Usually when the flood waters come, it has already been cold and the pest control has been taken care of for us. Because the storm came so quickly, we have acquired some unwanted houseguests. Rats."

Devrim stood with his hand at his sword ready to fight off the vermin before he realized that his blade would not likely not fix the problem at all. "How bad is the damage?"

"They have ravaged the storehouse. I thought it was fully sealed off and we have had guards in front of it so no one could get in. We did not think about tinier creatures being a problem. The rodents have tainted all of the food. We have a meal's worth of food in the manor to feed everyone. Maybe two. Everything else...is gone."

"Add rats to our growing list of enemies," Devrim had no more room to be upset. Now was the time to plan. "Eliana, get to work. Junayd and Gandr can supervise. Send a servant to see if we can scrounge up any more food from the town. I will head up to the wall and see what Livie is doing. From there, I will have to make a decision about our next move."

Gandr raised his hand slightly. "If it is all the same to you, I would prefer Ashleigh go in my place. Like Eliana, I have had quite a lot of time to think on our journey. I have an idea that would put my special talents to use..."

Devrim nodded his assent. "Tell me more."