Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:09 am
In the weeks since his return, Altias Bromn had not made his presence known to anyone. Not Lamai, not even Treadwell. He had, in fact, gone to great lengths to hide any signs of his return.
The governor, if he even still held such an office, could not bear the thought of anyone seeing him in such a state. His thin frame bloated and stretched beyond what one would think physically possible. Still his face looked as gaunt as ever, if not more so. Deep circles beneath his eyes looked even more haunting then they had when Lamai had saved him from nearly starving to death.
This was the second trip to the meeting house for him. Both undertaken in the deepest portion of the night, heavily cloaked, as to not be noticed by anyone daft enough to be out wandering at such an hour.
Careful steps would lead him up the stairs to the room that was once his cherished chamber. Now it held only memories of Lamai, Nathan and Alexander. Of Luke, poor dear child, and of Ashe. Whose voice had been silent these many months.
Within his chamber the governor carefully searched for those items he had come to retrieve. Bottles. Many bottles of herbs, bones, barks and seeds. A large leather bag held all that he could take without someone who knew him well beginning to notice that some had gone missing. Silently he replaced the taken bottles with some filled simply with leaves and mosses, to fill the empty spaces.
With careful steps Altias began his retreat from the room. The hardest part of the journey still to come, as he would try and make his way back to his rented room at the inn. WIthout as much thought as he should have given it, the governor snatched up his silver brush and mirror from his desk. Oh how wonderful it would feel to brush his hair properly once more. These items were quickly shoved in atop the herbs.
As Altias rushed from the steps of the meeting house, his mind was aflutter with the possibilities the herbs within the bag would offer. In response, the great weight in his belly began to shift, writhe, stretch. The pain brought him to his knees, tear filled eyes looking toward the sky, though no sound escaped him.
"Soon enough there will be an end to this. One of us will be finished soon. I pray only that I have the strength left to make sure it is you." Bitter words hissed venomously toward his mishapen belly, though loud enough only for himself and the foul creature within to understand.
With great effort, he hauled himself to his feet, once more trudging toward the inn. Whispering under his breath.
"It will end soon...it will end soon....it will end soon....it will end soon...."