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Essek had heard of magic exhaustion before. Of course he had. Any mage who had been properly trained knew exactly what it was. He did not, however, know that its effects were different for each magic practitioner who experienced it. For example, whenever Essek experienced it, he simply got very exhausted and would need to spend a day doing next to nothing in order to recover.
It was Caleb that helped Essek to make this discovery, though he certainly hadn't meant to.
Normally, though, discoveries were exciting. They were fun. This one, on the other hand, was anything but. Essek had made dozens, hundreds, of discoveries about magic and the way it influenced the world. Many of which had been with Caleb, as well. They had discovered all manner of artifacts within Aeor that had the potentiality to change the Dynasty's entire belief system. Essek was very thankful to have had Caleb at his side for all of that. He hoped to have Caleb at his side for many more discoveries in the future. If he made it through this, Essek wasn't sure he would ever be able to let the other wizard out of his sight again. They had so much left to discover together..
They had just made it back from Aeor when it happened.
Caleb had managed to teleport them out safely, but Essek could tell that the other wizard was dangerously exhausted. Caleb had taken a lot of hits in the battle as well, leaving his tattered brown coat looking even more worse for wear. The wizard himself didn't look much better. He was still as beautiful as ever, but he definitely looked pretty rough. His face was badly bruised, a bit of blood dripping from his nose. Essek wasn't sure exactly how that had happened, but he was glad to know that whoever had caused Caleb to bleed, was now most assuredly dead. Essek made his way over to Caleb, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Caleb, are you alright?"
Caleb nodded slightly, though Essek could tell that he was far from actually being okay. His face was dangerously pale- far paler than Essek had ever seen the human. Caleb was pale to begin with as well, which made the lack of color all the more concerning. What was worrying Essek the most, however, was the fact that Caleb was trembling. He was shivering violently despite the warm clothing he wore and if Essek looked close enough, he could almost see a tinge of blue to the wizard's lips.
"Caleb, shall I get Jester? You don't look well." Essek offered, wanting to do something, anything, to help.
This was when things took a turn. Instead of responding, Caleb collapsed face-first into the thick snow, his eyes closing before his face ever touched the ground.
"Caleb!" Essek shouted, kneeling down beside the human immediately. He carefully checked Caleb over for wounds, but could find nothing major that could have caused him to collapse. "Caleb, Caleb wake up. Jester!" He cried, ever so carefully pulling Caleb into his arms. He removed his heavy cloak quickly, wrapping it tightly around Caleb's trembling form. He patted the Zemnian's cheeks softly, trying desperately to get any sort of reaction out of the other man, but was instead shocked to find that Caleb's face felt as cold as the snow beneath them. Sure, Caleb had fallen face-first into it, but when Essek checked, the rest of Caleb's skin felt just as cold. Even his hands, which had always felt warm, even in the depths of Aeor. His chest, too, was alarmingly icy. From Essek's experience, that meant that this was very, very bad. Now that he was closer to Caleb, he could also see that the man's lips were most definitely blue. Was this hypothermia? Some sort of spell? Essek didn't know. All he knew was that Caleb needed help immediately.
Jester rushed over to them, checking Caleb over as well, her hands searching for wounds that Essek knew she wouldn't find. She cast a healing spell as well, though it didn't seem to have any effect on Caleb's condition. A second spell. A third spell. Still, terrifyingly, nothing. Caleb was still breathing, Essek could tell by the faint rise and fall of his chest. It was faint, but at least it was something. Essek knew they didn't have much time though. They needed to get Caleb out of the snow. Now.
He quickly cast Adjust Density and picked Caleb up, cradling him gently in his arms. He was beyond thankful at this moment for having prepared that particular spell. "Everyone join hands! We're going back to the outpost." Essek called, waiting for everyone to do as he'd asked before hurriedly casting Teleport.
Upon arriving back at the outpost, the guard immediately leapt up with their weapons drawn, only relaxing once they saw Essek. Essek paid them little mind, instead, he raced towards his personal chambers with Caleb held protectively in his arms. The other wizard was no longer shivering by the time they entered, which was deeply concerning. That was definitely not a good sign. Essek didn't understand though- how could Caleb have gotten this bad so quickly? Surely they should have noticed sooner that Caleb was becoming hypothermic- if that was indeed what was happening. Essek wasn't so sure it was though. He'd been taught to discern the early warning signs almost immediately after coming to the north and Caleb certainly hadn't shown any of the early signs. However, despite this realization, hypothermia was the closest thing to this that Essek had ever seen, so he would treat it as such.
He laid Caleb on the bed gently, bundling as many blankets around the man as possible. He didn't want to invade Caleb's privacy by removing any of his layers of clothing, though that was something that would likely need to be done at some point.
Jester, Caduceus, and Veth rushed into the room mere moments after him, all looking just as worried as Essek felt.
"Essek, what's wrong with him..?" Jester asked, tears shining brightly in her violet eyes.
Essek shook his head. "I don't know. He's cold, but I don't know what could have caused it. He didn't show any signs of being hypothermic until after we'd teleported, so I don't think that's it, but- I also don't know what else it could be."
"He used a lot of magic in the fight- you don't think this could be some sort of severe magical exhaustion do you?" Jester asked, turning away from Caleb now to face Essek fully.
Essek thought for a moment, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. Of course. Caleb was a fire wizard. It wasn't too much of a stretch to think that magic exhaustion would leave him feeling cold, but could magic exhaustion really cause a reaction this severe?
"How many spells did he use in the battle? Do any of you know?" Essek asked, beginning to lean into Jester's theory.
It was Veth who spoke up next. "I think he used all of them. I know he used Arcane Recovery too and I think he ended up using that spell as well." Veth began to tear up as she spoke, looking at Caleb with terror in her eyes. The terror of a mother looking at her injured child.
"Shit.. Oh, Caleb, you idiot.." Essek murmured, moving closer to the bed and trailing his fingers softly across Caleb's cheek. "What were you thinking..?" Caleb was still freezing cold to the touch, despite all of the blankets covering him.
"Jester, would you mind starting a fire? He's still so cold.." Essek stayed exactly where he was, contemplating what they should do next. They needed to get him warm as soon as possible.
Essek pondered for only a moment longer before crawling under the blankets with Caleb, pulling the other wizard tightly against his body. He hissed at the cold, but pushed through it. Caleb instantly cuddled closer to Essek in response, seemingly seeking out the warmth his embrace provided. This close, Essek could feel just how weak Caleb's breaths were, which was deeply concerning. Caleb was still alive, which was great, but if his condition didn't start to improve soon- Essek shuddered just at the thought. He wouldn't let that happen.
It had been quite a while now since Essek had felt this guilty for something that hadn't directly been his fault. He should have noticed sooner just how bad off Caleb was. He should have offered to take over some of the responsibility of casting to spare Caleb this suffering. Why hadn't he asked Caleb how he was doing sooner? Why had he let the other wizard end up like this? He held Caleb a little tighter, feeling terrible that he couldn't do more to help. With everyone else pretty much out of spells as well, though, there wasn't much any of them could do at the moment. Essek would have asked the clerics at the outpost to help, but he didn't trust them with Caleb. He was sure they were lovely people, but he just couldn't risk Caleb getting worse. With everything he had done, and with the investigation going on back in the Dynasty, Essek wasn't sure that they wouldn't use Caleb to get information out of him. He wasn't really worried about the consequences that would have for himself though, necessarily. He was far more worried about Caleb.
Essek fell asleep a few hours into his vigil, simply too exhausted to stay awake any longer. Beau and Caduceus had been the only ones awake when he'd dozed off, so at least Caleb had someone there to watch over him. Essek's sleep was far from peaceful, however. He continuously dreamed of the moment Caleb collapsed in the snow, though each time he reached Caleb, some new horror greeted him. From rolling Caleb over to find him bleeding profusely to getting to Caleb only to find that he was already gone. Essek didn't usually dream, but the stress brought with it all manner of nightmares. After trancing for four hours, Essek awoke, immediately checking on Caleb. Caleb was still doing rather poorly, but he was beginning to shiver a little, which was definitely an encouraging sign. The human's breathing was still slow and shallow, his pulse still weak and irregular, but at least he was still holding on. Essek just hoped his strength would hold.
A few minutes after Essek awoke, Beauregard finally dozed off as well. She didn't say so, but Essek knew it was because, now that Essek was awake, she didn't have to worry about Caleb being alone. Essek gently brushed his fingers through Caleb's hair, his eyes never once leaving Caleb's face. He must have lost track of time, as the next thing he knew, the sun was coming up. Caleb was beginning to shiver harder now as well, which was very encouraging to see. The more he shivered, the more he nuzzled into Essek, his hands clutching tightly at the drow's clothing.
"It's okay, Caleb. I've got you." Essek murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Caleb's forehead. He was still extremely cold, though he seemed to be ever so slightly warmer. Maybe.
"E-Ess'k..?"
Essek was beyond relieved to hear Caleb's voice, even as weak and shaky as it was. "Hey.. I'm right here, Caleb."
"'m cold... why's it cold..?" Caleb curled a bit closer to Essek as he spoke.
Essek held him a bit tighter in response, wanting to offer the other wizard as much comfort as possible. "We believe it's a form of magic exhaustion, likely made worse by being in Aeor. I'm so sorry I didn't notice sooner. How are you feeling..?"
"'s not your fault.. 'm 'kay..." Caleb's speech was slurring a bit, but he was at least somewhat conscious, so Essek would count it as an improvement.
"Alright, Cay. Get some more rest, okay? I'll do my best to keep you warm, I promise. We'll have you feeling better in no time."
Caleb nodded, his eyes beginning to slip closed again. "Danke.."
Essek pressed another kiss to Caleb's forehead. "You're welcome, Caleb."
The two clerics were the first to wake, followed by Beau and Veth, and then by Yasha and Fjord. Unfortunately, Caduceus and Jester were still unable to do much to help Caleb's condition. This was when Essek came up with an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was definitely worth a shot. He delicately tied a bit of platinum cord around Caleb's wrist, tying the other end to his own.
"What are you doing?" Veth asked, practically glaring at him.
Essek was honestly afraid that she was about to aim her crossbow at him. "I'm going to try something. It might help him, but I'm not sure. It won't harm him though, I promise."
She continued to glare at him even as he finished casting the spell, the platinum cord vanishing as it was consumed by the spell. Caleb's condition immediately improved. His eyes fluttered open slightly and his breathing grew a little stronger. He leaned back a little, smiling as he saw that Essek was the one who held him.
"Hallo." Caleb murmured, his shivers beginning to die down a little.
"Hello, Caleb. How are you feeling?" Essek asked, his heart already feeling lighter now that Caleb was beginning to improve. The fire that had always burned so brightly within the other wizard was beginning to rekindle itself, it seemed. Where before it had been just a few embers flickering weakly amongst a pile of ashes, it was now a comfortable flame, only slightly larger than that of a candle flame, but was quickly growing and expanding back to its usual blazing size. Essek wasn't sure if it would last after the spell ended, but at least he had managed to make Caleb more comfortable for the time being.
"Much better. Where are we..?"
"I brought us back to Vurmas after you collapsed. I wasn't sure where else to take us where I knew we would be safe." It was also somewhere Essek was very familiar with. He carried a few items from Vurmas on his person as well, so it had just been the safest choice all around. "Caleb- why didn't you tell us that you weren't feeling well..?"
Caleb let out a long, drawn out sigh. "I wanted to make sure that you all made it out safely. I didn't want to spend another minute in there. I'm sorry for worrying you all, but I didn't want you to have to stay down there any longer."
Essek could understand the logic behind that line of thinking. That didn't mean he liked it though. "Alright, well next time, let us know. You really worried us, Caleb. We really thought we might lose you for a while there." Essek began absentmindedly carding his fingers through Caleb's hair again, drawing a contented sigh from the other wizard.
By the end of the hour, Caleb was doing much better. His condition continued to improve even after the conclusion of the Tether Essence spell as well, which made all of the Nein feel much more optimistic about the future of Caleb's recovery. After another thirty minutes of rest, Caleb stood up from the bed to go and find something to eat. Essek stood as well, taking a minute to stretch a bit. It was while he was doing this that Veth approached him. She stared at him for a moment in complete silence before hugging him rather tightly. Essek froze, not knowing how to respond. Veth released him after only a few seconds.
"Thank you for taking care of him." She said, looking up at him for a moment longer before heading in the same direction Caleb had gone just a minute earlier.
Essek stood there in shock for several minutes, processing what had happened. It wasn't until Beau came over and punched him lightly in the shoulder that he snapped out of it.
"Come on, man. Let's go get something to eat." Beau spoke to him with a light tone, similar to the way she had spoken to him before his treachery had been exposed.
Essek nodded, smiling softly to himself. It seemed he was finally regaining some manner of trust with the Nein. It was nice. Perhaps one day, he would know what it was like to be a true member of the Mighty Nein. Perhaps then he would finally know what it was like to have a family. A real family.