| Wonderfail |
|---|
| Byㅤ |
| Published on 14 Jun 2022 16:51 |
The moon's red light illuminated the path ahead for the Traveler, allowing them to see the rocky gravel as they limped down the way. On their journey to Xerophylla's city, they had been ambushed by creatures of the night. A vicious attack, they managed to survive, but not unscathed. They cradled their injured arm, trying to keep their mind off the worrying amount of blood dripping from their hand. The few bandages that they had at hand had already been soaked in blood, unravelling from their arm.
They came across a crossroads in the path, with a barely-there sign in the middle telling them the destinations of either way. The right led to a farm, probably already overrun by risen corpses. The left, however, pointed towards a "Dr. W." With no other option, the Traveler walked down the right path.
The house - presumably Dr. W's - was a poorly-made shack. Some parts of the roof and the fence around had begun to rot, leaving holes that even the Traveller could easily squeeze through. In the yard, the Traveller could make out some disturbed earth, although they couldn't tell if there was an accompanying hole from where they stood. The flickering light of a lantern was visible through one of the windows. The Traveller stepped over what remained of the house's gate and knocked on the door.
No answer.
'Well,' thought the Traveller, 'even if the doctor is dead, I'm sure there are supplies in there no one would mind me taking.'
The Traveller reached out to open the door but, before they could grab the doorknob, the door flung open. "My deepest apologies for having you wait."
Before the Traveller stood a small, balding man, wearing large spectacles that magnified his eyes. He wore a golden "W" pin on his dirtied purple suit. He glanced behind the Traveller before waving for them to come inside.
"Please, come in, come in. It is not safe to be outside, with all the… unfortunates out there."
Stepping into the man's home, the Traveller scanned the interior. The floor was strewn with broken and unfinished toys, with the largest quantity piled up next to a large workbench. Twenty small human-shaped automatons sat on the workbench, presumably in the process of being built. Beyond the workbench was a trapdoor. They heard a lock being put into place before the doctor spoke to them.
"I must apologise for the mess, I wasn't expecting any guests to be over. But, if I may ask, what brings you to my abode, wanderer?"
The Traveller turned to the doctor and unravelled the bandages on their arm, showcasing the bite on it.
"I was attacked by a group of undead. I managed to fell all of them, but not before one was able to bite a piece of my arm off. I had believed that you were a doctor capable of tending to my wounds, but-" He kicked a wooden duck on the floor. "I appear to have been mistaken."
The doctor looked worriedly at the bite and shook his head. "No, no! I admit I was not taught to be a doctor of the medical sort, but I can assure you that I am still more than capable of tending to you." He ran over to his workbench and pulled the chair to the centre of the room. "Come, sit down. Let me take a look."
The Traveller sat down and held out their arm, allowing the doctor to look at it.
"It's not that major of an injury."
"The amount of blood I have lost says otherwise."
"Oh, yes, I apologize again. I should be able to patch it up with ease."
The doctor opened a drawer on their workbench and pulled out several vials and wrapping cloth. He grabbed one of the vials, this one filled with a green liquid, and handed it to the Traveller.
"Here, take this. It will help with the pain."
The doctor worked in silence, applying liquids from his vials to the wound and bandaging it up. After a bit of this awkward silence, the Traveller asked a question.
"Is Dr. W your true name?"
The doctor looked up at them, confused. He widened his eyes as he realized what the Traveller was talking about. "Ah, the sign on the road. No, that is not my full name. It's Dr. Wunderhersteller, but the locals found it hard to write on the sign."
The Traveller nodded and looked down at the toys on the floor. Many of them seemed to resemble little girl dolls, or had pink paint on them.
"You're a toymaker. Many of these seem to be girls' toys. Were there no boys to sell to?"
"Ah, no, no. I had- erm, have a daughter. Isabel. I made most of my toys for her, although she didn't really take a liking to any of them."
"A daughter? Is she still around?"
The doctor laughed nervously, and nodded. "In a sense, I suppose. She, um, passed away prior to the night falling. And, well, she arose and tried to attack me."
Dr. Wunderhersteller gestured at a ruined automaton in the corner of the room. This one was the size of a man, and seemed far more complex than the toys and other mechanical creations thrown around the room. The machine's arms were missing and a large hole was present in its chest.
"I was lucky enough that my Auto-Companion was accompanying me and was able to fight her off, but not without being severely damaged itself."
"Where is she now?" the Traveler asked.
The doctor stopped what he was doing and averted his gaze. He hesitated for a couple of seconds before responding, "I am unsure."
The Traveler inspected the doctor's face before nodding, suspicious. The doctor chuckled nervously before focusing back on the wound. They continued in silence for a moment before the doctor suddenly jumped.
"What is the matter?"
"Ah," he responded, "I have an elixir that could help with the bloodless, i-in my basement. Could you accompany me so I can retrieve it?"
The Traveler grumbled before nodding, rising up from where they sat and following Wunderhersteller to the trapdoor. He opened up the trapdoor and began to go down the ladder before stopping. "Oh, I forgot, I have it locked. I'll grab the key and I'll meet you down there, yes?"
The Traveler squinted at the doctor with suspicion, which he returned with a nervous smile.
"Very well."
The doctor climbed back out the trapdoor and went to his workbench, rummaging through the drawers full of unused tools. The Traveler descended into the basement.
The walls of the basement were made up of old, mossy cobblestone, giving the whole room a distinctly damp smell. The basement was unlit, save for a small flickering candle that offered little in terms of visibility. The Traveler could make out another workbench on the far side of the room, although they couldn't see the contraptions on it aside from their general shape. There was a large cage along the wall to his left, and they could hear some heavy breathing from it. They approached the cage hesitantly, trying to get a better look at what was kept inside.
In the corner of the messy, shit-covered floor was the folded figure of a woman, her features obscured by her long, unkempt dark hair. her whole body moved with her rapid breathing. Her skin was a pale, translucent grey, her thin blood vessels visible through it. The Traveler's eyes trailed down to her legs, where a chunk of her calf was missing, revealing her yellow bones underneath. The corpse shakingly turned her head to look up at the Traveler. She was missing a majority of her teeth, and those that remained were unnaturally sharp. Skin flaked off her dry cheeks as she snarled at them.
She pounced at the Traveller, stopped from reaching them by a chain around her neck. The Traveler stepped back, surprised.
"What in… Doctor, what is-?"
Before the Traveler had a chance to finish their question, they felt a heavy object hit the back of their head, knocking them onto the floor and into unconsciousness.
The Traveler awoke, feeling the cold, wet floor underneath them. They groaned, rubbing the sore part of their head as they sat up. As their vision cleared, they saw the iron bars of a cage in front of them. A harsh scream from their right grabbed the Traveler's attention. The feminine creature sat there as close to the Traveler as the chains would permit her. They backed away from the creature, pressing up against the far wall of the cage. The doctor cleared his throat from the workbench.
"I apologize for this… situation, my friend, but… You see, my dear Isabel has been rather hungry as of late. I was afraid she might eat me! But, well, you came along and… I just couldn't resist the opportunity."
The Traveler sneered at the doctor, grabbing the bars of the cage and shaking them.
"Let me out, Wunderhersteller. You know this isn't right."
The doctor frowned, putting down his tools and turning to face the Traveler. "Know that, under any circumstances, I would have tended to you," he said defensively. "But, we all have our burdens to attend to, no?"