Pulse.
Slow, pulsing ache.
Slow, pulsing ache, in rhythm with the striking of that infernal hammer against the wall. Elias had enough of this annoyance, but there was little he could do. He had brought it upon himself, when he decided to change most everything about the place. What he hadn't asked for was the headache that had plagued him since Fiontann took him to the edge of the Barrows.
Elias still questioned why he had gone on that short trip, despite knowing it would be a terrible idea given his weakened state. What the man told him and how he had convinced the doctor was almost surreal, to defy his rational thought and step outside the comfortable box he had built for himself over the years. Now, over the past few days, he was doing so again, watching the men he had hired slowly turning his infirmary around.
The throbbing pain in the right temple continued, making itself well known with each strike of the hammer nearby. The doctor didn't have much to distract himself, except for the tea that had been brewed with the promise it would help his healing. The man had never liked Coriander and he still doubted the stranger who had brought the dry herb to him, speaking of a woman who read stones having suggested it. Elias shook his head at the thought, he didn't believe in such nonsense, but he was willing to try it after man had simply stated that it wouldn't kill him to try; this was true.
He hadn't spoken to the stranger for long, but learned that he had gotten the news of the doctor's ailment through Silver. The man having decided to visit the woman in the woods for advice, where she had suggested this herb, alongside a specific selection of fish, having everything washed - and a general change.
It was that last part, said by a stranger, that had pushed Elias' resolve to finally bring about that change.
The doctor watched as Aeruthuil stepped out of the former study carrying a case full of books, moving it effortlessly across the room where the new shelves were being made. Elias often found himself envious of the man, as well as others, as he watched him. The familiar sense of shame crept up on him, forcing his eyes away. Even if he wasn't weakened by illness, he wouldn't have been able to offer much help to rearrange his own infirmary. It was the very reason he had hired other able men to do such work for him, while he sat aside nursing his foul mood and just as awful cup of tea.
The lack of masculinity had often slithered into Elias' mind, though more so since moving to the north, where the land was full of all kinds of laborers, be it farmers, lumberjacks, field workers, blacksmiths, the occasional sellswords and much more.
The matter was easier to dismiss back in the white city, among the noblemen and scholars that had barely lifted a finger towards labor in their whole lives. Things here were different and a frail twig among the logs stood out.
It wasn't only by the appearance of others that Elias had found himself smaller among the men, but by a few chosen words spoken from the lips of women in the past. Words that managed to cut the man's pride deep, whether they had been spoken such with purpose or not. It had become a depressing thought that now found its way back into the young man's mind as he looked over to Aeruthuil and the workers, wondering what judgment they were casting each time they'd glance his way.
Elias sighed, shaking away the thought and finding relief when the men began to step out to have their midday meal. For now, he'd find some peace and quiet.
The infirmary was slowly being reshaped into a place of work alone. They had been right, it was about time that he separated work from home. The study had been emptied and now the tables and tools from the barbershop slowly filled the space. He had decided to stash all of the alchemical work and studies into one place, keep them out of his home.
Elias had read the story Bíld had sent him often and with Maddoct's suggestion about the quicksilver and the metal having effected his body, the doctor didn't wish to take any more chances. While he was not better, he was not worse either. No longer did he feel like he was knocking on death's door, but his body was still weak, the headache would not go away, his sleep pattern wasn't normal, his lack of desire for food had not changed and his memory was still aloof at times; where he could no longer remember the simplest tasks he was performing or the names of some he had met.
The work continued long into the evening and again the following day, the finishing touches slowly coming together and the last items being put in their new places.
Elias stood within the new barbershop, the building quiet after the workers had left for their midday meal, as they did the previous days too. Even in this silence, the headache still lingered, threatening to split the man's skull in twain.
It crossed his mind to do the job himself. As the man looked over the selection of odd tools found in the possession of any barber, the desire to take a blunt tool to his head was one he was forced to resist.
As he studied his tools, he thought of his brother. The headache the man had been suffering after the incident and how pressure had to be released that was building up behind the skull.
The doctor pondered on this possibility, but it was dismissed again, he would not be able to perform such a thing on himself and he knew no one that he'd trust with such an experimental operation. Even if it was the reason and a way found to drain the liquid, there was little chance he would survive. His brother had only lasted two months. The doctor cursed at himself, turning to flee from the barber room into another, distracting himself by studying the nigh-finished structure.
He wasn't certain what people would think of the changes, nor was he prepared to separate his work and home. The idea of locking the place and returning home felt alien, he started to feel nervous. What if someone needed him in the night?
Elias dismissed the thought, distracted by the confused feline that came to seek the man's attention. He bent down to pick the cat up, stroking over the soft fur and cradling the creature within his arms.
One last look was cast over the new arrangement, the man nodding in approval and the nervous thoughts slowly melting away as he held the cat close. "Come on." Elias said, grabbing the keys from the table as he passed to make way towards the front door, the man forming words previously unspoken in this context "We're going home."
