Marrow Hole (pages 05-06)

Transcript

… Gareth was perturbed by her calm, to-the-point demeanor. Her words weren’t encouraging, either.

“Do not lose hope,” she continued, smiling wryly. At least, Gareth thought it was a smile. “No one else would even attempt such procedures. I am not just your best option. I am your only option.”

Gareth firmly knew this. He would not have traversed this wretched system of caves, crossed unseen bottomless pits, or asked for directions at multiple unmapped goblin hoves – sad excuses for villages – for anything but his last resort.

“But there is another matter,” the old medic added. “I’m not in possession of a human heart.”

Gnome, Gareth thought, and then he sighed. “Do you need a human heart?”

“I may not know until I open you up.” She made a clipping motion with two clawed fingers. “You may need some flaw or hole repaired, or you may need a new valve. Or the whole heart may be bad.” She paused, as if finished speaking, but then seemed to consider something else. “Oh, and there is yet another problem, too.”

Despite her urges to the contrary, Gareth was losing hope.

“Gnome, human, whatever… you are not a goblin,” the medic said flippantly, folding her hands in her lap and … [cont.]

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