(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

In the morning I left the hut with a bit of gruel in my belly. Mebbeth was a
fine healer, but a cook she wasn’t. Still, I couldn’t complain, but the
Gatehouse served better.
The floorboards creaked beneath my boots as I thumped down them briskly,
the cool morning air prickling at my scars. A familiar hunched figure was just
walking past.
"Nodd!" I cried out. He turned around.
"Someone comes ta speaks ta Nodd, speaks ta Nodd, aye..." He suddenly
broke into a fit of hacking coughs, then nodded to himself.
"I spoke to your sister, Amarysse..."
A smile broke on his face, "Ye did? Nodd's so happy, he is! How's Nodd's
sister? Tell him of Amarysse, tell Nodd, please!" His excitement set off a long
series of hacking coughs. When he could finally speak again, he asked: "Is
Nodd's sister still pretty, so pretty?"
I winced inside. I couldn't lie to him; he'd be rushing to see her soon enough,
"Yes, she is. She's a... prostitute... now, in the Hive. She is doing well, and is
worried for you."
That smile never faltered, "Nodd's so pleased ta know, ta know his sister is
all right!" He looked as if he was going to cry for a moment, then swallowed
hard. "Anythin' more, anythin' more she said fer Nodd ta hears?"
Morte grunted as I untied the pouch from my belt, "Yes, she wanted you to
have these copper commons. She will also visit you, as soon as she can find
the time."
Nodd's head stopped nodding abruptly and his jaw dropped as I handed him
the one hundred coins. Beneath the dirt-brown hood, his eyes gleamed with
joy. "Such wonderful news, it is, good, wonderful news, aye! Nodd thanks
ye, and thanks ye again, and thanks ye a thousand times more, aye!"
"Fare well, Nodd. See your sister soon." I walked off smiling.
"You're such a sap, chief."
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