The Healer lifts her eyes ceilingward for a moment. "- Not really, no. Waiting for him to wake up so we can get some fluids into him." 

Vanyel has not-especially-fond memories of a previous sojourn at Healers' - being ill with pneumonia, because he was an idiot, and how the Healing-trainee watching him was constantly waking him up and making him drink when all he wanted to do was sleep. 

"He's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up." 

"I know - I've had reaction-headaches before. I'm not about to refuse to give him painkillers or anything just because he's a prisoner." 

"That's...good. Er, there might also be an issue getting him to eat or drink even when he's awake? He's under some kind of compulsion not to take any volitional actions except ones Carissa specifically allows him to do. ...Is there any way to give him water before he wakes up? It can't be good for his recovery..." 

Gemma gives him an odd look. "Shavri was brainstorming some ideas, but she had to go help Randi with something. We can manage it if he wakes up even a little, he doesn't have to be lucid, but right now he's just too deeply out to swallow without it going down his lungs. Which are already kind of messed up - apparently the Void does that?" 

Vanyel grimaces. Tries to think. 

"...Would Fetching help? I don't think I've actually tried to Fetch liquids before but I can't see why it wouldn't work - and I've got Healing-Sight..." 

Gemma gives him a startled look. "- Maybe? Is your control that good? Seems risky, if you Fetched it to the wrong place..." 

"I can try it on myself first?" 

:Van. Please: 

:What? It'll be fine - I've had so much practice on Fetching...: 

Carissa is left alone. 

The entire day passes with no one else coming in. Her room has a window; she can see when dusk arrives. 

She does no things. She mostly cannot do things. She could probably cry but she wants to maintain at least a tiny bit of self-respect. 

She prays for guidance from the Star-Eyed. She does not expect this to work.

Consciousness returns in dribbles. 

Leareth feels worse than he can ever remember feeling before. This is the first fact that he's aware of. It would be hard not to be aware of it; it's very loud. 

- orient - where - 

He's somewhere dark. The dim flicker through his closed eyelids hints at candlelight. 

He can't move.

He can't even use his Othersenses. 

- what - 

He was captured. He remembers that. And then - rescuers - Carissa trying something - the Void - Gating - 

- confused fragments of memories that he can't wrap his head around, but...

Vkandis. The barrier. A brush of a vast alien presence. Being recognized for what he was. 

The 'rescuers' weren't his people. He can't imagine that Vkandis would have let his people cross the barrier to leave Iftel. And he remembers Tayledras faces. 

Leareth is not thinking very clearly at all, and spends most of the next ten minutes having a confused and very low-energy panic attack. 

Well, he's definitely awake! He isn't shielding at all - either the set-command against magic prevents that, or he's just out of energy for it - and his utter terror is hard to miss. 

Gemma waits for a while to see if he's going to calm down, and then sighs and sticks her head out of the shielded room. :Melody? Where are you?: 

:Eating supper - why?: 

:Our patient's awake. Can you come over here and adjust the set-commands so he can at least talk to us?: 

:What? ...Oh, that's not me. I already tried to modify it, though I guess I'd better come check now that he's conscious and I'll be able to see better what I'm doing. But he's also under the other mind control spell. I think we need Carissa - or maybe Moondance, but I don't know if her saying to us that she'd delegate it actually made that happen: 

She sighs and sets down her spoon. :I'll be right over: 

Moondance has been trading off with Starwind all day on guarding their prisoner, which seemed pointless given his unconsciousness but Gemma wasn't going to argue. He's there now, at least. 

"Hey?" Gemma says. "Mind checking if you can give our prisoner instructions? Tell him he's allowed to open his eyes, and talk - see if that works?" 

Moondance had also noticed that Leareth is awake. He's pretty on edge about it. 

"You may open your eyes and speak," he tries telling Leareth, in stilted Valdemaran. 

This does not work. 

...Leareth does recognize the accent. A not-especially-needed but very unpleasant confirmation that, wherever he is, he's in the custody of the Tayledras. And thus their Goddess. 

Great, it's not working at all and he's freaking out even more than before. 

Gemma waves to the trainee sitting across from her. "Go find Starwind or someone - definitely a mage - have them escort the other prisoner over here to sort this out." 

And a couple of minutes later, Starwind knocks and then opens the door to Carissa's room, which is by now totally dark, no one's been in to light candles. 

"You need to come with me," he says. 

Carissa is unable to move because magic, and unable to understand him because her translation spell has expired.

Oh, right, he had somehow forgotten about the language barrier. 

:You need to come with me and give the other prisoner different instructions for the compulsion: he explains in Mindspeech, and then goes to pick her up. 

I said I would only do that if the Star-Eyed Goddess wants me to, she thinks vaguely. I haven't had any word on that.