Day 16.
Issac slept in today. By the time he was finished getting ready to leave it was nearing lunch. With no response from Quin's room he did his usual lock picking and let himself in. He already assumed that Quin was asleep but the more he thought about it the less it made sense.
Quin was a deep sleeper. He was laid back so sleeping in wasn't that big a deal. But when it came to the courses he was always awake early enough for breakfast.
Yesterday Issac thought that Quin went to sleep early. So why was he still sleeping this late? Even for him it was a bit much. He checked the room and sure enough Quin was still in bed. Issac was hungry so he ignored the weirdness and went straight to the bathroom to grab some water.
As soon as the water splashed his face Quin quickly sat up: "Oh jeez."
Quin fell back down as quickly as he was up. He closed his eyes again.
Issac: "Hey don't just go back to sleep."
"I'm not."
"It's lunch. You missed breakfast."
"Yup. It happens."
Issac set down the cup and sat by the window: "Hurry and get up. We got things to do and I'm not about to starve waiting for you."
Issac slightly opened the curtains to check outside. Quin grumbled: "Oi."
"Are you still laying there?"
Quin pulled the blanket over his head: "You go. I'm going to sleep more."
Issac was shocked: "Sleep? Over food? Didn't you go to bed early yesterday?"
"Yeah well I couldn't sleep well."
"Well what about the courses? When exactly do you plan on getting up?"
Quin had enough of his endless questions: "You know what. Maybe we should take a break from the courses."
Issac was officially suspicious of Quin: "And do what exactly?"
"We have already made a lot of progress. We can afford a small vacation."
"Right… Well I'm not waiting so I'm going to eat."
"That's fine." After that Quin didn't respond anymore. Issac left to eat. After eating he explored the town a bit. Even without participating he could check the areas for possible tasks.
A few hours later Issac checked on Quin again. He was still in bed. Issac immediately questioned him again: "Are you sick or something?"
Quin sighed: "Something like that. Could you lower your voice?"
"So what? Does your gadget not heal sickness or something?"
"Actually it does help with that but this is different."
"How so?"
"What we have here is a but a simple headache and it's making it very difficult for me to rest properly"
"One headache and you want to take a few days off? Is there something else I should be ready for?"
"You're not exactly helping." Quin thought. He then responded with: "I just don't think I'll have much energy for a while. I'm clumsy enough as is. It's better not to add any more fuel."
"Is that so?"
"You can do what you want. I'm not going anywhere."
"Whatever." Issac left for his own room. What was he even talking about? A headache so he's out for a few days. Doesn't he plan on eating? Issac thought about their slowing pace the past days. Was that leading up to this? It did feel like his brain was slowly scrambling lately. And yesterday.
Issac joked about it at the time but he actually had a very clear view of Quins tumble. He didn't trip over himself. He paused for a split second. His foot barely left the ground before his legs gave out. At the time Quin got up so quickly that Issac thought he saw wrong. Was there something wrong with his head?
The more Issac thought about the more confused he got. Isn't this something you would see a hospital doctor for? If so, why doesn't the gadget work? Issac got dinner alone and tried to piece together what was going on with Quin.
____
Day 17.
Quin was worse than yesterday. At least he was trying to respond before. Now whenever Issac talked to him he'd give short replies. Plus his attitude seemed more negative than before. Which he was annoying but that's probably normal with sick people fighting a headache.
Issac was also mostly annoyed at the lack of information: "If your gadget doesn't work, shouldn't you see a doctor or something?"
"Not a hospital problem."
"So medicine won't help?"
Quin didn't respond. This kept happening. Yet another annoyance for Issac. Every so often Quin would randomly stop responding and pass out. When this happened Issac didn't bother to wait until he woke. Instead he left him alone to wander the town. It was all they've been doing the last two weeks and Issac had nothing better to do.
In an attempt to distract himself he ended up scoring enough points for the both of them. Once he got a feel for the task layouts it was a lot easier for him to locate possible locations, but he inevitably grew bored and called it a day. He ate dinner out and returned to the inn to sleep early.
____
It was almost midnight and Quin had gotten up for a drink of water. His head still hurt but at the moment he was mostly dizzy. By this point just opening his eyes gave him extreme discomfort. Lucky for him he was somewhat used to feeling his way around. He wasn't as well balanced as usual but at least he didn't have to force his eyes open.
He got his water and made his way back to bed. His lack of energy must have caught up with him as his legs gave out before he could make it there. Quin tried to get up but was far too tired and decided there was nothing wrong with laying there for a moment. Just then the doorknob rattled as Issac made his way in. Without thinking he quickly ran over: "Hey you good?"
"Never better. Why do you see something I don't?"
Issac pulled him up by his arm: "Don't get snippy."
"Forgive me partner, I'm a little out of sorts today."
"More like every day. I thought you said it was just a headache."
"I did, why?"
"Because you're heating up like crazy."
"Oh crap really?"
Issac moved him back to the bed and felt his forehead: "Nah there's no way. You must have picked something up."
"Oh. Well if that's the case then I would recommend the gadget."
"That easy huh?"
"My aching won't disappear but if I'm sick I could be fixed by tomorrow."
"Yeah. You'll have to explain that once you're up."
"Yeah sure…"
He passed out again.
"Moron." Issac figured out that if the headache wasn't related to the fever then it must've been the other way around. He hadn't been eating and his energy had plummeted. His body no longer had the energy to fend off any attacks.
Quin never considered this an option and simply slept through his fever. Either he didn't notice his lack of meals or he was really in too much pain to care.
Issac used the gadget on Quin and went back to his own room to rest. He didn't sleep for long as he got up to check in on Quin again after a few hours. He really was getting better. But he still looked tense. His pain was probably making it difficult for him to sleep all that soundly.
This whole situation was kind of a mess. If Quin had given him a heads up he wouldn't have to be so lost on information. He obviously knows more about his own condition than what he's stated. Perhaps that proved that Quin really was keeping secrets.
Whatever the case, Issac didn't like not knowing. So instead of waiting for whatever this was to pass he decided to say screw it and keep Quin healthy enough to heal on his own. After that Issac would check in on Quins' condition every few hours.
After going out for breakfast he would come back with something easy to eat for Quin. Quin was still dazed and confused but went along with it. He'd eat a few bites then go back to sleep.
Helping the enemy for a second time. Issac wanted to punch him for making him go through the trouble. All this effort and for what. If Quin didn't give him every little detail after getting better Issac decided that beating it out of him was a valid option.
As though he could sense the hostility radiating from Issacs corner of the room Quin woke up. He didn't do anything and just laid there with his eyes open.
"What? Are you hungry or something?"
Quin turned his head towards the voice: "Cal?"
Issac got up and walked towards the night stand: "Never heard of them. Here take this." Issac shoved a piece of bread into his mouth: "Eat that and go back to sleep."
Quin quietly did as he was told. Issac went back to sit down and read: "You're almost more tolerable when you're only half conscious."
_____
By that evening Quin had mostly healed. When he woke again Issac brought them dinner. After eating Issac spoke: "Your fever is now completely gone. You're now all better aside from your main problem. Keep eating and sleeping when I tell you to while this is going on so you don't get sick again."
"Yes sir. Doctor sir."
Issac scoffed: "Well if you're back to joking again then you're bound to be better soon. Now sleep or I'll knock you out."
Quin already had enough head pain and put himself to sleep. Issac marked his job as almost done and went to his own room to get a good night's sleep.
______
Day 19.
The next morning Issac checked on Quin before leaving to grab breakfast. When he got back Quin was no longer in bed. Instead he was sitting in the window seat with the window open. The curtains were mostly drawn to keep the light out. For the small bit that did shine through he used his hood to block his eyes. Light was obviously still a problem. Perhaps it was his eyes causing more pain than his head.
Issac never stopped contemplating the causes for Quin's pain. When he said it wasn't a doctor problem did he mean that it was related to his weird powers? If so then why? Was it some sort of side effect? Though he wouldn't admit it, Issac was definitely curious. He would probably continue to think about it until he could properly get the truth out of Quin.