Nyanka barged into the Broken Bell, barely clinging to life. Blood gushed from several wounds, including a bullet hole in her thigh. Despite the differences and animosity Narcissa felt towards the woman, she sprung to action. Her healers nature took hold and in that moment she did not care who her patient was, what mattered only in those moments was being able to save her and help.
Her deft hands swiftly packed and bandaged the worst of the wounds, as Benedikte called for her to take Nyanka upstairs. with his help the pair aided the woman up the stairs and into the bed so that Narcissa could work better. Narcissa knew she needed a knife, she had her Athame, but for it to be tainted in blood would mean it would need to be cleansed at best, and so she asked Benedikte for a knife. A short sword was offered to her instead. "The blade is too big." With a sigh she took out her ritual knife. She would deal with the consequences of her choice later, for now she had to act, and she had to act fast. She tore open the hole from the gunshot and exposed the bullet hole wedged firmly in the womans thigh. There was a brief wave of relief as Narcissa noticed that no major veins were severed, she could do this. Benedikte had brought up plenty of liquor, and so Narcissa handed a bottle to Nyanka saying, "Drink." As Nyanka drank, she wadded up some cotton cloth and handed it to her as she doused her hands, the knife and the wound itself with some whisky. "Bite on this, it's going to hurt." She warned as Benedikte came in to hold Nyankas hand to comfort her as best as he could for what was about to happen. The alcohol hit the wound and Narcissa plunged the knife in, wiggling it around until she found the bullet. A swift jerk dislodged it from the bone, and using the knife to keep the wound open, she dug her fingers in and pried the bullet out.
A horrible, gutteral, muffled wail of agony echoed upstairs in the Broken Bell as Narcissa pried the bullet from the former garda's thigh. Nyanka was handed another bottle to drink from as Narcissa cleaned and sutured the wound. Nyanka took a few deep breaths to steady herself before attempting to make herself vomit. "Why are you doing that?" Narcissa questioned her, as she did it again. "Stop that!" she said sternly trying to take the womans hand away.
"I have to get this vraja out of me." She coughed and spat out phlemgh tinged with red. Narcissa was concerned, but that was cut short by Benediktes questioning of her. Some sort of fiend, she heard a name, Zsofika, and heard that she had almost killed the man she loved. A nerve was struck and the cold rage returned. "She did what?!" Benedikte did not reply, his concern was more on who or what had attacked Nyanka. Shaking her head at another failed attempt to purge her stomach, Narcissa grabbed Nyanka's head and pushed it back. Her fingers pried open her mouth as she plunged several down the back of her throat attempting to cause enough to make her vomit. It did not. Narcissa was more focused on what she could do for Nyanka than what the two were speaking about. All that she heard and paid attention to was the name Zsofika, and horns. Some sort of Gundarakite devil worshipper she assumed. It did not matter to her as much as her patient.
"Benedikte, I need egg white and charcoal."
"The shops don't open until morning and I don't think Samvel has any."
"Get me some coal then." She ordered, the man nodding and heading out to fetch what asked. Narcissa set out a bottle of whisky and a vial of powdered herbs. "I'm going to mix an emetic plant into this to make you vomit." She said, adding the powdered bayberry and blessed thistle to the bottle as Benedikte came back with a lump of cool coal. Narcissa thanked him and broke the coal in two, grinding the halves against each other to create a fine powder into the bottle. Satisfied with the concoction, she corked the bottle and gave it a shake before telling Nyanka to drink it all in one go. Knowing what would come, she pulled Benedikte away from the path of projectile vomit that was soon to follow. And follow it did, the womam wretched and heaved, emptying her stomach, and to Narcissa's disgust she watched Ben kneel down and examin the vomit.
It turned out that the Gundarakite had forced her to drink some strange concoction that smelled of sulphur. That was what she was trying to purge, and Benedikte had recognized it as he had seen such a liquid before. He took out a vile causing the weakened woman to recoil. That was the thing she had drank. It reeked of sulphur and made her worry. She would take a sample and seek out a few people to see if they could provide any information about it. She had no idea how much the woman had absorbed from her stomach, nor what the substance was or did. But for now Narcissa could at least relax a little. Nyanka would make it. Although she had spoiled the last night she and Benedikte would have for a while, but it was her first duty to help ease suffering and heal people. She would set aside her dislike and contempt for the woman whose words had hurt her so, and make sure that she would make it through the next few dangerous hours as she lay passed out on the bed.
If only that would be the last traumatic thing she or her beloved Benedikte would deal with.