A special guest appearance by Ioreth the Healer along with The Bright Young Healers and Nurses attending to Liriel
When Ioreth opened the door of the spacious study room of the Houses of Healing she was pleased to notice that the usually silent and serene study was abuzz with activity. Many of the new healer and apothecary apprentices gathered in the study to revise for their upcoming examinations. They were joined by some of the returning healers and nurses. Various medical books and manuscripts were divided between them, scraps of parchment and writing utensils scattered on the table. A few of the apprentices were so focused on the text they were reading that the noise from the room faded, others were copying passages from a book or a manuscript on pieces of parchment or in their journals. Some divided into small groups and quizzed each other on the subject they were revising.
Ioreth smiled watching all those bright young minds (for all of them looked so young to her) gathered together in the study to learn about the healing arts. The sense of community was tangible and she felt such profound joy and a sense of rightness in her bones seeing them all here in the study. The Houses of Healing were once again brimming with life and sound. She stood at the threshold of the study observing the new generation of apothecaries, healers and nurses and her heart was filled with pride and joy. These young women and men were her legacy. Her musings were interrupted by the cries from the reception area, so Ioreth quickly closed the door to the study and went to see how she could help.
As she was nearing the reception area a lad of twelve summers with curly blond hair almost crashed into her. She steadied the lad, placing her hands on his shoulders and looked at him properly. Recognising Gellir, Liriel’s shy and bookish firstborn son, she knew that there was only one reason for the boy to be here.
“Mistress Ioreth!” Gellir cried when he looked up and recognised her. “Please, you must come quick! My mother is having her baby! But it’s two weeks early!”
“Breathe Gellir, breathe,” the Matron healer told the lad. “Run to your mother and tell her I’m coming. I need to tell the nurses and my assistants to prepare the birthing room” Ioreth said thinking about the healers, nurses and apprentices in the room, deciding which of them she would call to assist in this particular childbirth. “Run along now, I’ll be with you shortly.”
Gellir nodded, turning on his heel and running back to his mother. He was truly a good lad, who would no doubt grow into a fine man and make some girl very happy. With a quirk of her lips, Ioreth swiftly opened the door to the study and entered closing the door behind her. The sound made the occupants lift their heads and they straightened up when they saw her, some of them greeting her cheerfully.
“Bryony, Heather” she called two of the nurses who hurriedly got out of their chairs. “Head to the birthing room and make sure the fires are lit and the room ready.” The two women nodded their heads and promptly left the study. Ioreth glanced around the room, noticing the excited and worried faces. Her eyes stopped on a young dark-haired young healer who was nervously biting her lip. The golden-haired nurse who was sitting next to her watched her friend with a worried frown on her face. The young healer was Nessa, who recently returned from Pelargir, and the nurse was Matilda. The two women had bonded quickly and made an efficient team when they had a chance to work together. Ioreth watched the two for a moment, then nodded coming to a decision.
“Nessa, Matilda” she called the two women and when they looked at her beckoned them to come over. “Today you will act as the midwife,” Ioreth told the young healer. “Matilda and I will assist you,” she said placing a reassuring hand on Nessa’s shoulder. “The patient is Liriel, the grocer, a chatty lass if I ever met one! This is her 6th pregnancy! Five healthy boys, she birthed into the world, big, happy and healthy babes.” Ioreth informed the two women who nodded, and some of the tension and worry left them. “Run along my dears, make sure that everything is ready in the birthing room and I’ll go help the poor woman get there. I hope this time it’s a girl. That household has too many boys and not enough girls to help the poor lass…”
After making sure that everything was in order Ioreth swiftly went to the reception to check on Liriel and help her get to the birthing room. As soon as laid eyes on the heavily pregnant grocer, her son’s comment about her labour starting two weeks early made sense. Liriel’s stomach was bigger than it was in her previous pregnancies and combined with the fact she was carrying low meant that the grocer’s household will soon welcome twin boys. Smiling she walked over to Liriel who was holding on to a chair, bent over from the pain. Gellir stood next to her, looking worried.
“Let’s get you to the birthing room dearie” she calmly told Liriel and took her by the hand. “Those two lads of yours are in a hurry to greet you,” she said with a smile and then turned to her son. “Gellir, darling, you should go home to your brothers. Your mother is in good hands here. If you need to inform your father tell one of the runners of the Houses of Healing. Say my name if you need to. Nice and easy now dearie” she said to Liriel. “We’re almost there…”
The Birthing Room
When the Houses of Healing were built, a large room in the form of a complete square from floor to ceiling was specially constructed close to the treatment rooms. The room, whose similarity to the treatment room could be seen in the rows of shelves and cabinets along an uncovered stone wall and in the large fireplace where a substantial cauldron hung, afforded a view of the gardens. The room’s storage space contained specific medical instruments and medicine, such as strong-smelling herbs, olive oil, sponges, wool bandages etc. The similarity of the rooms ended there, for the rest of the walls in the Birthing room were covered with richly decorated tapestries, among them the series called The Lady and the Unicorn.
In the corner of the room, nearest to the fireplace stood a bed and near it the birthing chair. Other stools and chairs were strategically arranged, and a roaring fire crackled in the fireplace. The cauldron filled with water was set over it. The smell of lavender and other calming herbs spread across the warm room. Basins and ewers filled with water in addition to the empty ones and clean white towels were prepared. As per tradition, the cupboard doors were opened and all knots untied. The young healer and the nurses finished their preparations just in time. The door to the Birthing room opened and Ioreth and Liriel entered.