Secret Garden

[CyledyrWyllt]

Betony Rue nods at Spartan's words, but it is unclear if she does so out of agreement, or simply as an acknowledgement. Replacing the fruit she had almost offered him, she selects a different variety from her little horde of hedge bounty and soon holds a delicate purple flower over the Summer King's face. Snipping off the end with her hooked fingers, a rich, pungent odor assails the bloodbrute's nostrils as the ogress draws out a single drop of nectar from the blossom.

"Open your mouth."

Spartan feels the narcotic effect of the honeysuckle-like flower as soon as Betony Rue places the sweet drop on his tongue. The ogre quickly loses all feeling in his fingers and toes and begins to feel disconnected from his body, as if he is simply a spectator watching what happens to himself from a distance. While she waits for the dreamsuckle to take full effect, Betony Rue pulls a length of muslin from a nearby shed and begins mashing together a variety of other ingredients with a large mortar and pestle. Among the many fruits and herbs used, Rick recognizes the flower that Arch had once identified as a Jean Grey. Once she has reduced all of the ingredients into a soft, moist mass, the ogress pours the result onto the gauzy fabric and kneads it until she impregnates the cloth with the entire sickly-sweet mixture. Once Spartan seems to be fully anesthetized, Betony Rue produces a sharp blade from her apron and begins the long, slow process of separating Spartan's armor-like outer layer of skin from the soft, pink flesh beneath.

[CyledyrWyllt]

After meticulously removing Spartan's armored epidermis, the Witch of the Bitter Wind begins to wrap the delirious ogre with the poultice she had prepared. After wrapping the shroud-like fabric tightly around his entire body, Betony Rue pauses once every square inch of the Summer King is covered. She gives Rick a warning look as she gathers her tools and steps away from the large stone table.

"Do not be alarmed... and do nothing to interfere."

Moira gently places a shapely hand upon the Autumn King's shoulder and leans closer to him. He notices that the shadows of the overhanging branches dance in her dark hair like sunlight on water and she seems wrapped in the seductive scent of jasmine and red wine.

"You might want to step back."

Soon, thin tendrils of smoke begin to waft from Spartan's mummified form. After a few moments, pale yellow flames begin to crawl into existence along the length of muslin wrapping the ogre. The flames quickly spread to envelop him and grow in color and intensity as the unmistakable aroma of roasting flesh fills the air.

[CyledyrWyllt]

The flames change hue as they burn away the damp fabric covering the Summer King. Deepening from golden yellow to bright scarlet, most of the poultice is consumed and has turned to ash by the time the ravenous pyre has deepened into a dark violet with tiny licks of lavender fire flickering around the edges. At this point, Spartan's body can be seen writhing in a strange mixture of pain and pleasure while his mind is lost in a world of intoxicating delirium. The raw flesh from Betony Rue's surgery has apparently been cauterized but now begins to char and burn. Muscle and sinew blackens as the ogre's meaty flesh continues to cook. Soon, the strange fire burns with such white-hot intensity that the others in the garden can no longer watch the horrifying spectacle and must avert their eyes for fear of being blinded. However, just as Rick feels the cold, gnawing certainty that he has just stood by and watched Betony Rue cremate the Summer King before his very eyes, the flames begin to die down and he sees the unbelievable. Spartan lies naked on the stone table, no longer encased in his armored mien. His flesh appears pink and healthy as his skin is regrown where the flames once fed upon it. There are a few scars where the lingering flames appear to be dying out before finishing the healing process, but overall the bloodbrute appears whole and otherwise healthy. Spartan stirs as the effects of the dreamsuckle begin to subside. He finds that his body still tingles all over and soon finds it very difficult to resist the urge to scratch every square inch of his skin. It itches like you wouldn't believe. Betony Rue approaches him and examines her handiwork dispassionately, paying no attention to his nakedness, yet flinching when she speaks.

"How do you feel?"

Although most of Spartan's wounds have been healed, he has suffered 1 Aggravated wound that must heal naturally.

[Lesingnon]

Don't be alarmed, far easier said then done when you watched the Summer King get turned into a polychromatic torch. But he was a King himself, and you didn't become Dread Lord due to an inability to control your fear. He does, however, take Moira's advice and steps back. Certainly glad for the precaution as the fires flare and force him to turn away as he blinks spots from his eyes.

Only to almost immediately avert them again once the flames die down. Betony Rue may have, for all intents and purposes, been a doctor. But he was not. The thought of offering Spartan something to cover up with briefly crosses his mind, but only briefly. The ogre probably weighed near twice as much as he did. Short of slicing his shirt into pieces and fashioning a loincloth his clothing wouldn't help all that much.

And he liked this shirt.

He does take a step forward, though, partially to slip away from the heady aromas surrounding Moira. Though also, in part, to ensure he could better hear Spartan's response to Moira. He wouldn't exactly be surprised if the Summer King couldn't speak all that loudly after that particular ordeal.

[CyledyrWyllt]

Betony Rue scrutinizes the Summer King's fiery scars. She flinches as she addresses him.

"These scars are not from my handiwork... they look very old. They might take a very long time to heal. But I will consider it repaid in full when you find Peter Milford and bring him to justice. Will you see that it is done?"

Moira steps forward and brushes her mouth almost intimately close to Rick's ear.

"I cannot stop thinking of the mirror in which I was held. I wonder if perhaps it would be possible for Skin and Bones to use such a power upon himself... to create a sanctuary instead of a prison?"

[CyledyrWyllt]

Betony Rue appears to register Spartan's complete nakedness for the first time. She somewhat reluctantly removes her shawl and offers it to her fellow ogre.