"The lass is fine," Arngeirr answered, "She is recovering well, thanks to the timely actions of apothecary Blake and brother Zato.  Hopefully she will be no worse for wear"<br/><br/>The huge man sagged, sinking in his seat, seemingly deflated.  "I know this will sound callous and self-serving, but I must say, I have not been able to accomplish anything today.  And for a long time, I may not be able to access the library if it was contaminated by Valetni's chemicals.  Though certainly there are those here who  have it worse than I, I cannot help but lament my own predicament."<br/><br/>For the hundredth time today, the huge man took in a lungful of air and let it out in an explosive sigh.  "I say lass, have you sat here all this time?  I truly do apologize for burdening you with this...<i>wretched</i>thing, but I felt I had to attend to Mary.  Her wandering into the dangerous area is ultimately my fault."