Doctor Mary Wheeler

[lum]

Race : Human-like

Gender : Female

Age : 28

Hair : scotch blonde.

Eye color : dark green

Alignment : confidential/unknown

Deity : confidential/unknown


About :
Doctor Mary Wheeler is a woman who recently has moved to the region, more specifically to Baldur’s Gate. Her specialism is healthcare, and more particularly treatment of diseases, venom and various poisons. Currently she is looking for a practice area to resume her research and the rest of her career. She lacks the posture of a stern cleric or cool soldier, but appears attentive, precise and purposeful. Her smile isn’t as distant as a professional. She pays attention to her appearance without exaggerating. When treating a patient she may come across as dedicated, and when she feels like she is on to something, her speech and movements may become hurried, enthusiastic, yet still deliberate and motorically as optimal as possible.

Behind closed doors and after consultation services, she invests a lot of time in personal research. A consultation room is then swapped for a laboratory or library environment. Inside said lab, provided you are aware and gained access, the air can be thick with an eerie silence, broken only by the occasional hum of peculiar machinery and the faint crackling of flames under beakers filled with ominous liquids. There was a mixture of advanced technology and archaic equipment which assumed an atmosphere of both innovation and fanaticism. Shelves are lined with dusty books and vintage scientific instruments. Cryptic diagrams and sketches are all over the place.

It would require a thorough knowledge to read these chambers with test tubes bubbling and smoking, emitting strange odors that permeated the air in order to learn what she (or someone else?) was up to. To the uninitiated it may have come across as a testament to a scientist's obsession who pushed boundaries of science and morality, creating an unsettling fusion of brilliance and insanity, a place where laws of nature were bent and twisted.


Rumor :
Ever since Mary’s arrival a woman (or women?) has been sighted who looks just like Mary, almost as two drops of water. Almost, as said woman has a different type of hair, mostly dark with a vibrant copper or red tone, which was so unlike the scotch blonde Mary. Said female poses a different nonverbal bodily behaviour and expresses an emotional content that clashes with Mary’s.

Mary at work at her consulting room.



Another Mary at some lab?



Some other Mary on the streets?



Who the hell…?



The facility.



The other facility...




Ominous theme music...

[lum]

The Arrival

The house was amazing in structure, and it came with a tiled roof. Inside there was a central hearth for cooking and warming, and from there it stretched out in three directions, providing her with extra rooms. One for sleeping, one for consultations, and one for research aka storage. The downside perhaps was that the availability of light inside was limited. Windows were scarce and small, and a lot of the lighting would have to be provided by candles, rushlights and magical light spheres. Security wouldn’t be much of a concern this way though, also since the home featured a sturdy heavy frontdoor, and wooden shutters that could be locked from the inside. The furniture that came with the rent was practical, modest but solid. The bed looked hard but there were enough ways to bypass that.

Just outside the window of the bedroom beyond a simple moat sat a tiny garden that was miraculously enough oriented towards the sun. She had already plans to see to an herbaceous diversity in even such limited space. Vertical gardening would provide her with a diverse array of herbs and plants known for their medicinal properties. Each level would be transformed into a specific section. Plants that aid in digestion, a selection of calming herbs, and yet another for those with antiseptic properties. Maybe there was even space for a small pond, providing her with a source of cultivating water-loving plants or for preparing herbal infusions. Perhaps she could also dedicate the other side to some lunar-liking vegetation, or some plants which bloomed or released fragrance in the evening.

She’d have to get a mobile workstation as soon as possible too, and tools so she could resume her studies and research. And, and…

“Miss Mary?”

The scotch-blonde woman returned from her pensive little world. “Ah yes. I’ll take it, mister Finch.”

“Good, I’m glad. Finally some decent renter.”

She blinked. “What was wrong with the former ones?”

The landlord scratched his bald head. “Eh… cannot tell. Matter of privacy and all that stuff?” He nodded as if to convince himself this was the best way to avoid a further explanation.

“Well, as long as no past of former renters catches up with this place and turns to me instead…”

Finch widened his eyes and then vigorously shook his head. “Oh, no no no, I’m actually quite certain that won happen. Eh… lets agree you only have to pay one month upfront instead of three? Provided you accept the key today.”

“Hm, very well. And I’ll leave the rent at the bank as requested at the end of every month. Question though. Where can I reach you in case of questions?”

“Q-questions, miss? Why would you have questions? The place looks alright to you, yes? I never had any problems really with the accommodation.”

“Well, it looks like many long-lasting materials have been used, so…”

“Thank you, miss Mary, you are most kind, miss Mary! Have a good day, miss Mary!” And with that mister Finch rushed off.

Mary watched him go, one eyebrow arching higher than the other. “Oo-kay then… time to move in and decorate.”

[lum]

A spare room

Stuff was dragged inside by a couple of local workers and soon the place was a chaotic maze of crates and boxes stacked haphazardly from floor to ceiling. The air was tinged with the scent of old wood, dried herbs and an extensive wardrobe. Some of the boxes were chained meticulously, others had the text ‘Fragile, please handle with care’ all over them. Labels of various colors -and- handwriting styles indicated the contents of each, and provided a glimpse into the organized chaos of the ongoing process.

The place had been first like a blank canvas, but which now started to get painted as Mary began putting things in their presumed spot. As she worked, dust motes danced in the air, catching the occasional glint of light filtering through the small few windows. Faint outlines of frames that belonged to the former renter were covered with new frames, some tapestries she brought in and colorful sketches of plants and their assumed function. The floor and walls already echoed less as she slowly but gradually transformed the house into a more familiar and comfortable living space.

There was an annoying floor creak though at the area where she planned to set up her consultation room. Strange since this was the only spot in the home with a wooden floor. At first glance the surface looked ordinary and unassuming, but when she kneeled and took a closer look, there was this subtle seam that was divergent from the rest.

“What is this…” She murmured to herself as she tried to pry it open with a thin knife. With a crack the wood popped open.

It proved to be a cunningly disguised trapdoor which offered access to a hidden realm below. There was a narrow creaking ladder descending into the depths of some kind of secret basement. The air below was cool, carrying the faint scent of earth. A strategically placed torch cast shadows that danced across the walls. When she beheld the newly discovered area, she learned that it was a space frozen in time. Relics of a long lost past, a few old trunks and furniture draped in dusty sheets. Every step she took became part of a record of her passage. The dust was so thick that her footprints stood out as darker impressions against a light gray background. The soft texture on top of the stone even muffled the sound of her shoes.

At the far end of the place was a wall lined with shelves, on them rows with goblets containing remnants of things that couldn’t be determined right away. A bit further there was an iron barred door and beyond the metal a darkness black enough to conceal an entire subterranean world, safely tucked away from prying eyes.

“Right…” As she looked around and scratched her blonde hair she murmured. “What am I supposed to do with this I wonder now…”

Some candles here and there would be nice she figured...

[lum]

Doctor’s Office

Outside at the streetside she had planted some vegetation too. The lower part of the front door was adorned with growing intricate vines that seem to shimmer with a gentle glow in the morninglight. The air inside was infused with the soothing aroma of medical herbs and magical essences which enchanted the atmosphere as if to promote relaxation. Shelves were lined with jars containing magical potions and ingredients sourcing from the flora of the surrounding nature. Her little apothecary was far far from complete, but the most common and easily treated diseases she could tackle right now. A scrying orb to gain insights into people’s well-being or a wand to detect mystical imbalances in their energy would come in handy, but then she would actually have to feel spoiled.

All this was just a fresh start. After completing her basic studies at Elturel and Waterdeep she had collected enough knowledge to start a practice of her own, also in order to grow. More different patients meant more experiences, it was that simple. Seamlessly blending medicine with magic was still out of her league, but one day she would get there. She rubbed her neck at the discomfort in her upper neck region.

“Please… not again.” She sighed visibly fatigued. “I better get to bed before this get worse again.”

Mary was used to these random headaches. They were also partially the reason why she had picked this line of work. After all these years though she still hadn’t figured out which factors triggered the process. Stress and lack of sleep had already been excluded, as well as certain food or dehydration. No, it was something much more underlying. But not threatening in any way either. The pain was often the same, starting at the same area, and always expanded to her head. So far the only cure had been sleeping. That is to say… a full day or sometimes two.

She moved to sit down in her new office and took out her journal. The cover had been weathered by the hands of time. What once had been vibrant with color was now faded to a muted sepia tone. Pressed between certain pages were delicate remnants of the past, silent witnesses as evidence for emotions and experiences that would otherwise have been poured with too many words on those pages. Some captured moments of historical significance, like the progress of patients, or echoes of a life that was now past.

“Hm… nothing new there. It still happens between eleven and forty-nine days after the last one. Twenty-eight days to be exact. Just like… hmm…?”

Mary flipped through the pages. “Just like… seven months ago. Eh… right. Hmm…” She jotted down this as a small comment below her new registration. “There.”

The blonde woman got up and stretched her arms as she yawned. Tomorrow she would hopefully open her office. That is if the upcoming pain had settled in the background once more.

After a nice tea with honey she fell in a deep sleep, dreaming of a magical sky surrounding her bed…