Having managed to finally get some rest, though admittedly broken by more disturbing dreams, Francisco is out heeding the advice to see a doctor about the strange wound on his neck which refuses to heal. However, the advice he's been told to seek is that of Chiri, the rat doctor who he saw once before, resulting in… unpleasant circumstances.

The Kitsune finds himself outside the doctor's tent, and calls out for assistance. "Uh, hello in there?"

The Skreek proprietress of the tent idly polishes a bottle, flicking her tail back and forth. "Hello. C'mon in. Be withya in a sec."

The gray fox, clad as he always seems to be of late – in what looks like a black mage's cloak and carrying a dark wood staff – enters the tent and stands there waiting.

Chiri tucks the bottle away and finally turns around. "Ah … now, how can I … Oh!" Her muzzled face breaks into a grin. "Is that you, Mister Guy Fox?"

Francisco perks an ear at something unheard, and straightens up his posture a little more. "Guy Fox?" he asks. "I will have you know I my name is Francisco, Mage of the Sphere of Illusion, Collegiate of Esoterica." Better?

"OoooOOOooooh!" Chiri coos, her smirk growing even larger. "Aren't we a big boy. So what can I do for you today, sir mage?" Her tail twitches back and forth behind her.

The fox tries to give Chiri a harsh disapproving look, but it doesn't quite seem to work right. He sighs to himself.

"I'm guessing that something bit me," Francisco says, "as I've got this thing on the back of my neck that just won't go away."

For her part, the rat seems to bask in the glow of every dagger the fox glares at her. "Something bit you? Ew… well, have a seat on one of the cots, Mister Francisco Mage, and I'll have a look at it." She returns to her shelves and starts digging through several bottles, pulling some down as well as some cotton swabs and a needle and thread. "How long have you had it? Any signs of infection?"

Nodding, the Kitsune takes a seat. "A few weeks, maybe a month," he replies. "As for infection… not sure. But it just won't clear up."

"A month?" The Skreek moves behind Francisco and eyes the back of his neck. "Are you diabetic? Do you have any idea what bit you?" She uncorks a bottle and swirls one of the cotton swabs around in it. "Let me try cleaning it out first… Now just to warn you, this is gonna sting like a bugger."

Sting it does, and causes a yelp from the Kitsune. "Mind being a little more careful?" he asks, though his tone is not that of a question. "And no, I don't have any idea what it was that bit me."

Chiri continues to swab roughly at the wound. "Dagh, this is a mess. An infection like this could kill you." Her touch doesn't lighten in the slightest at Francisco's tone. "It's hard to be careful when your whole neck is crawling with nasties like this. I don't know what might have bitten you… but I'd hate to meet up with the ugly little bugger." She draws out the antiseptic-laden swab from the fox's neck and examines it.

Francisco says, "Fine, whatever. So, what can you do about it?"

"Did you walk here with this thing? What have you been doing, sleeping in garbage? I have never seen a wound so filthy in all my life." The rat shakes her head. "Best I can do is clean it out the rest of the way and sew it up. I'd highly recommend you go and check yourself into a higher hospital after this, or at least take some antibiotics and get some bed rest until that thing heals up."

"So that's all you can suggest? Seek a second opinion?" the fox asks. "You don't have any idea what it is?"

"It's a wound that you should have had seen to weeks ago, which is a heck of a lot more than you apparently knew about it, if you've been walking around with that festering thing for all this time." Chiri frowns. "I'm just a smalltime tent. I can clean it out and seal it shut, but if there's any lingering infection or poison, it could blossom out just as bad or worse. You need a place where someone can watch that thing on a daily basis."

Francisco adds, "And I must admit, I'm a little hesitant to take your drugs… after last time."

Chiri's frown curls back into a smirk, "Ah … you finally figured it out. Well, unlike last time, I've not had anyone slip me an iron to play a trick on you… especially since irons aren't worth diddly these days. You can get the pills someplace else. I could care less. I'll even let you sniff the bottles of alcohol and prod at the thread if you want. Just don't go croaking on my doorstep if you decide to go elsewhere."

The Kitsune's ears prick up a little. "Someone paid you to do that to me?" he asks.

"You think I'd waste perfectly good pills to do it for free?" Chiri shrugs and starts measuring out a length of greenish thread. "Some snaky guy. He never gave me his name or who he was working for. He just slipped me a few shekels and flashed me an iron, saying it'd be mine if I did something humiliating to you." She shrugs, "So you want this sewn shut or not?"

Francisco thinks over that for a moment. At the same time, he asks, "This 'snaky guy' – Can you describe him?"

Francisco thinks to himself, Shush for the moment. I'm still considering it.

Chiri scratches a spot on her head. "Nope. Can't say I can. It was dark. He was in robes, I think… and admittedly my eyes were more focused on that shekel than on his face." Her tail taps against the pressed dirt floor as she yanks the length of thread loose. "I figured he was a merchant in the Bazaar that lost business because of your exploding dolls." She grins. "And from what I heard in regards to the rumors, your business picked up a bit because of my little prank."

The Kitsune frowns at the rat. "That hardly helps," he replies. "As for my business, it would have done well enough without such aid." He pauses a moment, and gets up off the cot. "Talking of aid, I think that I'd still rather take my chances with the hospital."

"Suit yerself, Mister Mage." The rat shrugs and bundles up her supplies in her arms. "I suggest you do so tonight, if you can find a hospital open. It wasn't any prank when I said that you shouldn't even be walking with that type of ouchie. I've seen vermite bites cleaner than that thing." Back turned to the fox, she starts sticking the bottles back into their proper places.

Chiri suddenly goes rigid and places the bottles down carefully. "Hold on a moment. Before you go, I want to check one more thing on your neck. I won't even touch it. Skreek's honor."

The Kitsune is just on turning around to leave, but turns back to look at the rat. "Oh?"

Francisco sits down again to let the Skreek look.

Chiri holds her hands up. "I'm not sure, but I think I saw a bug stinger or something in it. I just want to double-check. Won't lay a hair on you." She wanders back over to the cot and peers her head around at the fox's back.

The Kitsune's eyes widen in disbelief. "B-b-bug stinger?" he stammers out.

The Skreek inhales sharply and then takes a step backwards to the counter. "Okay, my mistake. I thought it might be one of those bugs that has a stinger that looks like a hair. They're awfully hard to spot and take weeks to start getting nasty. Anyhow, I'm all done… scoot scoot!"

Francisco growls in frustration at the rat, getting up and striding towards the tent flap, banging the base of his staff against the ground as he goes. "You've no idea how much your sense of humor stinks. But I expect you'll soon know."

"Sure. Whatever you say. Bye now!" The rat keeps her position at the counter.

Time seems to slow. The staff metamorphoses, changing from a plain black wooden rod, to something … wicked-looking, with demonic faces engraved on it … but the blood-red ruby remains on the tip … until it shatters upon striking the ground.

Moans erupt from the air, as if several pained spirits were crying out, just outside Chiri's tent, unable to get through the tarpaulin walls.

The pieces of the ruby quickly dissolve into a dark red mist that rises from the floor in an unnatural way … slowly congealing into some sort of an apparition.

The rat shrinks against the countertop, her hand flying into the drawer and pulling out three daggers. "I knew it!" Her voice carries the tinge of a scream, a frightened creature trying to puff up in the face of an enemy. "Dagh filthy cannibal! Did the Bloody Shekel send you?" She balances a knife in either hand, trying to steady herself.

The apparition solidifies somewhat, though it is still obscured by a veil of red mist. Then, a cloven hoof steps out of the mist, planting itself on the floor. A hissing steam rises from where it plants its hoof on the ground. The same happens when the next hoof comes out.

Francisco is almost out the door when he turns around to look at the apparition. Uh… this isn't quite what I had in mind.

The Kitsune is half tempted to do something about it, and the other half tempted to get out of there quick. What is that, and what's it going to do to her?

The apparition, now out of the red mist, looks like a digitigrade goat-morph … for anyone who knows what a goat would look like. Its face looks completely bestial, and its eyes have odd, elongated pupils. It snorts, pawing the ground with its cloven hooves.

Chiri flings a dagger at the creature, as ineffectual as that will probably be. "Black wizard… stinking filth ridden corpse lover! No wonder… bah… "

How about getting it to just stop then? the fox wonders. I think it's got her frightened enough to have made the point.

The dagger imbeds itself in the bestial creature's chest … which prompts a roar from the hideous monster.

"HAH!" Chiri spits at the creature's feet. "Nobody takes down Lady Sawtooth without a fight!" Her hand readies another dagger.

The Kitsune shakes his head. No… how do I stop it?

Francisco sighs, and taps the staff on the ground as he calls out, "Return," hoping that will work.

The creature turns to look at the Kitsune with baleful eyes, and lets out a roar of protest. Then … it begins to dissolve into a blood-red mist again. There are scorch-marks in the shapes of cloven hoof-prints in the place where it stood … but the creature is gone. The mists form back into a ruby at the tip of the Kitsune's staff.

Gasping, Chiri pulls herself back up from the wall. Her yellow eyes fix upon Francisco.

Francisco fights off the urge to get out of there quickly, and instead stares back at Chiri. "I should point out now, that I don't really care for the attitude you've displayed for me in the past. In particular, accepting that 'iron' from that snake to do what you did to me. Perhaps we could try again with a description of him?"

"I hope Dagh gets constipation when he eats your soul," Chiri hisses, and then flings her second dagger at the fox.

The dagger zips through the air, and despite a reflexive attempt at a dodge by the Kitsune … the blade sinks into his gut with an audible sound. The pain is excruciating.

"Get out," the rat hisses. "Nobody tries to take down Lady Sawtooth and lives. If your next move isn't out of my tent as fast as you can manage, the second knife is gonna fly."

The fox turns, one hand clutching the dagger in his gut, and makes his way out of the tent as quickly as he can and away from it. Wincing at the pain, he taps the staff against the ground again, this time telling the staff, "Deal with her. I don't care what you do, just deal with her."

The ruby shatters, as before, turning into a blood red mist … as before.

The red mist resolves itself into the same apparition. Its bestial face twists … into a sharp-toothed smile.

"YeSssS, MaAssSstErrr… " groans the monster.

"COWARD!" The rat screams after the fox. "Just like a pathetic fox to let others do his work! Go ahead and let your pet kill me… You're good as dead already and you're too much of an idiot to realize it!"

The Kitsune carries on walking the other way, ignoring the Skreek.

The goat-thing steps toward the rat. Its fangs glisten. Its eyes glitter like red rubies. With each hoof-step, the ground sizzles at its unholy touch. Its mouth opens up, and dark green vapors seep out.

Shrieking at the top of her lungs, Chiri lets her third and final dagger fly at the Kitsune's back. "We'll meet Dagh together then, corpse excrement!" Her free hand grabs at a mass of gauze, dips it in the sink and holds it against her face.

The fox, since he is leaving the scene, cannot see just what happens … but he can hear the sound of the dagger striking something … and an enraged roar from the monster.

The unearthly bellows and shrieks fill the night, as the shadows swallow up the departing Kitsune. He's done it at last. He has played a "trick" on someone.

"Some trick," Francisco notes solemnly.