One of the fighter's dragged me by the neck and said "Stop playing with that colorless and save Lady Killroy!" he demanded. I was taken to her. She was unconscious. It was bad. Sir Killtoy was sobbing. I looked at him. "Would you like me to try to save her. It might not be too late, but you have to accept that this is not guaranteed." "Do it!" he shouted. I took out another dagger and sterilized it. I cut into her windpipe and stuck a straw in the hole. Her chest was not rising. I glared at her and said "C'mon! Breathe!" There was no response. I laid her on the floor and did chest compressions. I told the fighters to hold the straw still. "I'm not giving up on you, my lady! You have to live!" After 30 compressions, I blew some air down the straw. Her chest was still not rising. That puzzled me. "Why is her chest not moving? We're blowing air directly into her lungs. Nothing should be blocking her from breathing..." I mumbled out loud. Sir Killroy snapped to attention. "Her corset! My mother always complains the corsets she gets are way too tight!" he exclaimed. "We have to get it off right now!" I said.
He lifted her body and reached under her dress. The knight ripped the strings making the corset tight. He ripped it off and tossed it away. I gently put her on the ground and began chest compressions again. It took a few cycles but she began to breathe. I sat back and sighed in exhaustion. "Will she live?" I was asked by Sir Gurion. I looked at Sir Killroy. He was looking at me desperately. "There is no guarentee. If it was a poison or an allergy attack that caused the throat to swell, all we can wait is for it to pass and open again. I'm concerned for her brain. She had been without air for some time. It might be shocking how depleted her faculties will be if she wakes up." I said honestly. There were some blood on my clothes. Lady Killroy had some broken ribs from the compressions. I wandered back to the bishop and saw the siblings of the cloth were indeed taking care to keep his straw in place. I asked if it seemed his throat was still swelled. We had to slowly open his mouth and look in there. I was not a doctor. The physician came on the scene 10 minutes later. He quickly checked them.
Poison was confirmed. I asked what we could do to get the swelling down. He said "There are poultices that are known to reduce swelling. This is an ingenious way of maintaining the airflow. Were you trained as a physician?" I shook my head. "No. This was an emergency procedure that I picked up in the field." He prepared the poultice and applied it to them. Bishop White woke up as we were applying the poultice on him. He began freaking out. We had to hold him down forcefully. "My Grace, you must calm down. Until your throat opens, you need to breathe through the straw." Lady Killroy began convulsing. I noticed something was in the straw. I yanked it out and looked in it. There was mucus and some blood, but there was something else. Tapping one side, I saw there was a tiny ball of pepper. "Huh? Who is eating near the damn straw!?" I demanded lifting up the pepper for people to see. It set Sir Killroy off. He drew his blade. "The assassin is still here! Step forward so I can cut you down you scoundrel. I will tear you limb from limb." We replaced the old straw with a clean one.
