Clown Wyrm - 19. Chapter 19 - Dark Night

Mercury and Periwinkle followed Norjia and the Mechanic through the dark streets of Urliov Township.

“Do you know if there’s a hospital or medical station in this village?” Periwinkle asked. “Maybe we can get proper crutches and fresh medicine for you, Norjia.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” the Mechanic replied.

“There’s one on the southern edge of Urliov,” Norjia stated, and she pointed ahead. “If we turn left on that street, it should bring us close to the med center. Good thinking, Periwinkle.”

He blushed a little at the minor compliment. Periwinkle was very grateful that Norjia was an ally.

The soggy quartet arrived at the small hospital a short while later.

“Glad to be out of the rain,” Mercury whispered to Periwinkle. They sat, and Norjia and the Mechanic approached the front desk.

“Hello, friends,” the attendant behind the counter said to the two women, “and how can I help you this evening?” He was a handsome young man with a neat beard.

Norjia began with, “We don’t have any money.”

“But she’s badly injured,” the Mechanic added quickly, “and if you’ve got any medicine you could share with us, we’d be very appreciative. She’s also been using these branches as crutches, so if you’ve got a spare or used set that we might not need to pay for, that would also be helpful.”

The attendant said thoughtfully, “Well, we don’t normally give away large items like crutches, but let me see what we’ve got in the back, and here’s a first aid kit. Help yourself.” He headed through a door behind him as the Mechanic looked over the supplies, and Norjia took a seat in one of the chairs beside the clowns.

“How are you holding up?” Periwinkle asked her.

Norjia merely shrugged. She looked exhausted.

The Mechanic approached her wife and began to remove the pins that secured the bandage around her leg. “They have much better medicine than what I’ve been treating you with. I’m glad we came here.” She turned to the clowns. “Thanks again for thinking of this, Periwinkle.”

The bearded attendant returned with a pair of beat-up and repaired crutches. “The head medic said we could give you these.” He saw the brutal wound in Norjia’s thigh and added, “Would you like to use one of our private rooms to wash your leg before you reapply some medicine? And would you like me to pack a little more for when you change the bandage later?”

“That would be wonderful,” the Mechanic replied.

The man assisted Norjia with the crutches, which had been broken at some point, but they were held together by ropes, and even though the pair was not the best-looking set, they were strong and sturdy. The attendant led the two women into another room, leaving Mercury and Periwinkle alone.

“Maybe we can just stay in here all night,” Mercury said quietly. She leaned her head on Periwinkle’s shoulder, and he leaned his head on hers.

“I’m tired,” he replied.

“Me too.”

They were quiet for several minutes.

The attendant returned and sat behind his desk.

A few more minutes passed, and Norjia and the Mechanic joined the two clowns again. The four of them sat quietly together in the lobby. It was almost as if they each secretly hoped they could just remain in the warm medical center for the rest of the rainy night; if they managed not to disturb anyone, maybe they would be permitted to stay.

“Excuse me,” the attendant said, stepping up to them. “Is there something else I can help you with this evening?”

“No, no,” the Mechanic replied as she assisted her wife up on the crutches, “we’ll be on our way.”

“If you’re looking for a hot meal and shelter,” the man added, “there’s a new dhalthin center on the water. The Urliov River curves north and forms the town’s eastern border. The dhalthin is on the corner of Eighth Street and River Way.”

“Thanks.”

Back out in the drizzle, the four began to make their way toward the water.

“What kind of a center is that?” Mercury asked.

“Dhalthins are soup kitchens for displaced people,” Norjia replied. “I didn’t realize folks had opened one here.” She was feeling a little better with the superior medicine and the sturdy crutches.

It was a short walk to the water, and the group was only a few blocks away from Eighth Street. They found the center without any trouble, but what greeted them as they pulled open the door to the dhalthin center was heartbreaking. Many more people in need were there being fed. Families with little children, old men and women, scruffy teens, people from all walks of life were struggling.

“Well, hey there, folks,” called out a drag queen with a quirky accent. She stepped up to the four new arrivals. “I’m Cuppi Cakes. Ya’ll needing something to eat? We’ve got a fire burning at the far side of the room, if you want to warm and dry off first.” The queen focused on Norjia, who was still only wearing the sheer overshirt Periwinkle had given her and the ripped trousers with the bandage around her thigh, and she added, “Or can I offer any of you some fresh clothes?”

“All of that sounds great,” the Mechanic replied.

Mercury chimed in, “I think I’m gonna go stand by the fire. These’ll dry quickly.” She looked down at herself.

“I’m also probably good,” Periwinkle added, and the two clowns headed toward the warm hearth as Cuppi Cakes helped Norjia find clothes that fit.

Mercury and Periwinkle then noticed several more drag queens serving and caring for the other downtrodden inhabitants of Urliov Township. None of the queens were in ballgowns or full makeup and hair, but the two clowns were excited to see multiple gender-nonconforming people. The pair of them caught one of the helper’s eyes.

She approached and offered, “Either of you want a cuppa coffee?”

Periwinkle fawned at her. “Coffee sounds marvelous, thanks!”

“How d’you take it?”

Periwinkle gave the queen a flirty smile. “However I can get it,” he replied. “What’s your name?”

She booped him in the tip of his nose with a dainty fingertip, and he giggled as she said, “You can call me anything you like, cutie, but my name’s Polly Wog.”

Periwinkle snorted a laugh. “That’s a killer name!”

Mercury smirked at Periwinkle and looked at him sideways. “You always seem to pick up the hotties!”

“Ooh la la,” Polly Wog cooed at her, “flattery will get you everywhere! Can I make you a coffee as well, doll?”

Mercury grinned wide. “I’d love one.”

“How do you each take ’em,” Polly Wog asked, “creamy, sweet?”

“I’d love mine creamy and sweet!” Mercury replied.

“And I’d also like the same, please,” Periwinkle added, “thanks.”

Norjia’s voice rang out in what sounded like anger, and the two clowns turned toward her. She was seated, and she was looking up at one of the drag queens.

“What do you mean?!” she shouted.

“We just got the news earlier today.”

“What else can you tell us?” the Mechanic asked the drag queen.

Mercury and Periwinkle stepped up to hear the details with their coffees in hand.

“The fire was started by a lightning strike. It hit an empty rice silo and caused a dust explosion,” the queen explained.

“What’s a dust explosion?” Mercury asked.

“One of the investigators who was there let the people in the capital know what happened, and town criers brought the news to us here in Urliov and the other villages. The air within the silo was full of rice particulates, and when the outside was struck by lightning, they ignited and caused a fireball that blew off the top, and several nearby buildings caught fire as well.

“Why was it empty?” the Mechanic asked her.

“The exterior hatch had malfunctioned and wouldn’t close, which is also why the explosion was so bad. Air was able to flow in to fuel the fire, creating an enormous blast. The town suffered significant damage, including the heartbreaking losses of a library, a youth outreach center, and one of our dhalthin soup kitchens.”

Norjia was clearly distraught. “Dizriolith,” she said, focusing on her wife, “we need to go to Morlington!”

“I know,” the Mechanic replied. “We will.”

“Where is Morlington?” Mercury asked the wives.

“It’s a town on the southern leg of the King’s Road,” Norjia informed the clowns.

“But what’s there that’s so urgent?” Periwinkle asked.

Norjia gave the clowns a worried look. “My sister.”

Mercury and Periwinkle had completely forgotten about their fellow prisoner from when they first arrived in Armonia.

“Oh my Godzilla,” Mercury replied. “That’s right. You’ve got a drag queen sister!” Then she remembered, “I thought you two didn’t like each other.”

The Mechanic let out a knowing laugh that made Norjia smirk even through her stress. “I was just angry with her. Violatia has been a pain in my ass for our whole lives, but I love her like mad. She’s a troublemaker.”

The Mechanic put the back of her hand up to her mouth and said aside to Mercury and Periwinkle, “Violatia’s hilarious!”

Norjia rolled her eyes at her wife but added seriously, “We need to go see if she’s okay. She works at the dhalthin that burned down.”

The gravity of the situation became even more apparent to the two clowns.

“We’ll come with you,” Periwinkle stated.

“Going there will take us away from the capital.”

“That’s alright,” Mercury added. “We’re in this together. We’re with you. And besides, it’s not like Armonia City is going anywhere. Our reason will still be there waiting for us. Periwinkle’s right; we’re coming with you.”

“It’ll take you about two days,” the drag queen chimed in, “to reach Armonia City traveling along the western King’s Road, and once you get there, you’ll need to take the southern King’s Road for another three days to get to Morlington.”

“Five days…” Norjia breathed.

“That’s a long time to worry about your sister,” Periwinkle replied, “and with no supplies, how are we supposed to make it there?”

“Sorry,” Polly Wog interjected, stepping up to the quartet and her fellow drag queen, “but did I just hear one of you say Violatia is your sister?”

“She’s my sister,” Norjia replied. “Do you know her?”

Polly Wog blushed and brought a hand to the back of her neck in an embarrassed gesture. “Yeah, we dated briefly a while back, but it didn’t last. Turned out we didn’t have much in common outside of the bedroom, but she’s a doll. I hope she’s okay. Also, I’ll prep a few bags for you tonight with supplies for the journey, and there’s a beat-up old tent in the back that I can give you. We’d appreciate it if you brought it back, but it’s in rough shape, and it may not last much longer.”

“That’s very kind of you,” the Mechanic replied.

“Do you mind me asking,” Polly Wog added, “how’d you make it here with no supplies?”

“We were attacked,” Mercury stated. “This mad fucker captured us. He fucked up Norjia’s leg and got away with every single thing we had.” Mercury decided to leave off that they had lost Candi the horse. “That was about three days ago, and we made it to the nearest campsite the next night, and the folks there gave us a little food to get us here.”

Polly Wog took Norjia’s hand. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, and I can give you a little money to help you get to Morlington.”

The quartet were fed a hearty stew, and they spent the rest of the night at the drag queen-run dhalthin. Norjia was offered one of their few beds, and the others were relegated to the floor, but they were all able to get some rest. After a warm breakfast of the same stew as the night before, the travelers left Urliov Township and began the two-day journey to the capital.

They had not crossed paths with many other people for most of their journey through the dense forest along the King’s Road, but this section between Urliov Township and Armonia City was busier. There was a roving peddler making his way along with his cart of trinkets ahead of them. The four passed a few folks making their way in the opposite direction, and the journey was uneventful. The first day came and went, and the Mechanic redressed Norjia’s wound in the evening with the medicine they had received at the hospital. The second day passed much like the first, and late that afternoon, the trees to the north side of the King’s Road thinned out and revealed the extinct volcano and the city.

With the setting sun glistening on every pane of glass in the palace’s western-facing windows, the summit of the small mountain was like a sparkling diamond. The city stretched down the slopes from the castle, and the forest grew right up to the city’s edge.

“We’ll stay the night in Armonia City,” the Mechanic stated, “and tomorrow, we’ll continue on to Morlington.”