The Cripple

[Flights of Fantasy]

After two tendays of unnatural sleep that began shortly after being raised from the dead, Aska at last wakes up in the early morning on the 5th of Hammer within the walls of Candlekeep. Her memory from the last nine years of her life gone and her body weak from a lack of physical activity, she now begins the slow process of recovery. She can barely stand on her own and can only walk with the aid of a staff or a helping hand.

Throughout that first day, Aska continues to push herself until, with the aid of others, she is able to get outside of the infirmary late at night and settle down on the nearby bench. Guarded by Styx for a time, she talks with those that visit her as best as she can in Espruar, able to understand the common tongue but unable to speak it. The rest of the night is spent enjoying the fresh air after spending so long indoors.

As dawn approaches, she informs Styx that she will be seeking reverie and that he no longer needs to guard her. After he departs, she spends the next four or so hours on that bench as her thoughts drift to another place in her mind. Her amber eyes ever staring skyward, a smile can be seen on her face as the gentle rain runs down it.

[Flights of Fantasy]

The hours pass and Aska, to her own relief, comes out of her reverie just fine. Though her memories have still not returned, she feels much better after taking the rest. Using the sides of the building's wall for support, she makes her way back inside the infirmary to retrieve the things that had been kept for her:

Her travel pack which had been cleaned and mended and she presumes still carries all of the belongings she possessed before her death. A few of the contents she does recall as they are small keepsakes from her village she had possessed before its destruction. The rest prove to be a mystery to her as she has no memory of them. Strapped to the back of her pack are several staves with obvious magical enchantments and a single sword of mithral.

There is also a food basket with a tin box filled with some kind of candy drops, aged bread, a jar of jam, a bottle of cider, and a bottle of wine. The bread is now far too hard to be eaten, but she perks up upon realizing the rest of the contents are fine. Slipping her pack onto her shoulders and the basket onto the crook of her left arm, she takes a firm grip on the wooden staff. One step at a time, she begins to make her way back out the door with careful steps while leaning heavily on the staff. Her figure soon fades from sight of Candlekeep and she is not seen again.