Blackheart, Chapter 7, Part 2 of 2
(A very dialogue heavy chapter! Not used to writing like this, but I think I did a pretty good job. Here we see the monsters of Palethorn attempt to heal Tourthun.)
Alexander made his way through the camp, mind racing. So many people’s lives were at stake. Whatever happened with the dragon would...well, it would happen, and Alexander would have to deal with it. If the dragon couldn’t help, so be it. The knight would find a way. He would be strong, and brave, and stalwart. He would destroy the Blackheart, even if it meant his own demise. He couldn’t let the rest of the world turn into this.
The knight marched towards the center of the camp. Monsters of all kinds lined the tiny settlement, though no one was moving. This appeared to be one of the rare instances in between surface expeditions, when most of the people had little to occupy themselves with.
Moving past tents and shacks, Alexander reached the center. As always, dim light shone down from the surface. Tourthun was lying on his side, eyes closed. A group of kobolds were standing around the dragon, chattering. Wurie was at the edge of the crowd. Spotting Alexander, he glanced over at the knight and offered a nod.
“Hey, pretty busy day, huh?” The wolfman captain crossed his arms and smiled. Alexander shrugged.
“Good luck with the kid,” Wurie offered, a sly grin on his muzzle. Alexander grimaced. Even he was joking about this?!
Stepping into the crowd, Alexander scanned for any familiar faces. He stopped as his gaze fell on Senci.
“Aha, there you are.” The knight marched up to the small warrior and crossed his arms.
“So, how’s it going? Any word on Tourthun?”
Senci nodded, smiling. “They said they’ve been working on medicine. Some kind of incense or something.”
“Yes, that’s right!” One of the kobolds stepped up to the knight. He was fairly unremarkable, though he wore a messy robe, stained with what looked like liquid spills.
“I think we have the cause of his sickness figured out! You see-”
A loud groan made the group pause. Alexander turned to see Tourthun slowly open his eyes and look around, dazed.
“Mmm...uhh...hello?” Tourthun was looking back and forth, but his eyes were glazed and unfocused.
“Ah, Tourthun. How are you feeling?” The dragon turned his head to Alexander, eyes still seeming to look straight through him.
“Ah, father. You have returned? Please do not leave me like that. I was...frightened.”
All eyes fell on Alexander. From the captain to the kobolds, many of them snickered and grinned, trying to hold in laughter. A few however, appeared confused and worried.
Alexander was red in the face. What kind of fever makes dragons think you’re their father? If he stopped playing along, how would the dragon react? Why did Wurie feel the need to stand there and stare at the knight, grinning like a loon? This was embarrassing enough on its own!
The kobold with the messy robes from earlier tapped the knight on the leg and gestured for him to come closer.
Alexander leaned down and craned his neck as the lizard cupped a clawed hand over his ear. “I think the magic made his brain all mushy,” the kobold uttered in a nervous whisper.
“Uhh, I see that,” Alexander replied bluntly, “So what about it?”
“What is that noise? Did you bring friends over again?” Tourthun asked, the dragon appearing confused.
“Yes, just a moment,” Alexander answered. He turned back to the kobold and shrugged.
“Well,” the creature continued, still whispering, “From what the doctors have said, our theory is that the necrosis damaged more than his chest.”
Alexander’s eyes widened, horror and comprehension dawning on him.
“You mean…”
“That’s right,” the robed monster said, “His brain’s all jumbled up and half-gone. It’s why he’s acting so funny!”
“How do we fix it?” Alexander asked hurriedly.
The kobold gestured to the crowd. A group of kobolds carrying what looked like a giant bowl pushed through the crowd.
“We have gathered powerful healing incense. It’s normally for...tiny things, like us, but we thought that if we just use a lot more…”
Oh great, the knight thought, an experiment.
“...that it should work on him!” the kobold finished, excited.
Alexander crossed his arms. “So, how exactly does it work? Is it like the healing powder the shellbacks make?”
“Ah, not quite! This mixture is a fine smoke that the user must inhale! Once in the body, it begins repairing damaged organs and tissue.”
“So…”
“It should heal his brain!” The kobold finished. “Though...it clouds the mind for a time, and makes the user very sleepy.” Alexander nodded.
“Alright...Tourthun!” The knight called out to the dragon. “I’ve been looking for ways to soothe your ills, and a few friends have brought me this.”
“NO!” The dragon roared angrily. The reverb made Alexander’s head spin. The knight was taken aback, as was the rest of the crowd. What was driving him to such rage?
“Tourthun?”
“No more medicine! You promised!”
Ah, this again…
“It’s nothing like that!” Alexander hollored back. Tourthun’s snarl disappeared, the dragon looking embarrassed.
“O-oh! I...I am sorry! I just thought...forgive my insolence!” Tourthun pressed his head and his legs up against his body, taking up less space as his gaze fell downward.
“Uh, don’t worry about it. Look, it’s not something you eat. It’s...incense. All you have to do is breathe it in. It’ll ease your pain and clear up your maladies.”
Tourthun glanced up hopefully at the knight. “Truly? No medicine? It just works on its own?”
Alexander nodded. “That’s right.”
“Well...okay! I am sorry I doubted you. Forgive me.”
The kobolds finished moving the large bowl up to the dragon, coming to a stop right in front of Tourthun’s face. Another one of the lizards ran up to the bowl with a torch and lowered it inside, setting the herbs and plants alight.
“Okay. Deep breaths. Just sit back and relax, Tourthun.” The knight looked over at the crowd, everyone slowly backing up.
“Mister knight, get away!” One of the kobolds whispered. Alexander frowned.
“Why? What did you do?” The kobold shook its head and waved its hands nervously.
“No, nothing like that! It’s just...magic smoke! Enough for a dragon! It could put you to sleep for good! So much dosage for tiny things like us! Too much to take!”
Alexander nodded in realization. Enough incense to knock him on his ass, eh? Well, that was plenty good reason for staying back.
He backed up with the rest of the group, forming a large, open circle around the dragon.
Tourthun eyes began to droop. “Aah...oh, my head...mmm…” “Everything alright?” Alexander called to the dragon. Torthun let out a deep rumble.
“Hmm...yes, wonderful...this scent is...lovely. I...I think I will...rest...for a moment longer.” The dragon slowly lowered his neck, bringing his large head down to the floor beside the incense bowl. He closed his eyes and sighed, satisfied.
“Oh...and...father?”
“...Tourthun?” Alexander answered quietly.
“Thank you...for everything. I am...glad you are here.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
With that, the dragon ceased talking.
The knight wiped his forehead. It was already hotter in here with the large, open flame, and the thick scent of the medicine wasn’t helping. It smelled like...smokey wood and flowers. Even back here, the smell wafted to Alexander in an overpowering manner. Good thing he had listened to the kobolds!
“So...that’s it.” The kobold in the robes returned, looking up at Alexander. “Now we just let the magic do its work, and if our theory is correct, he’ll start recovering!”
“And you’re SURE this is safe?” Alexander questioned.
“Of course!” The robed figure answered quickly, “This is an old kobold secret. We used to use this to heal our people from scrapes with our masters’ enemies. Dragons have mighty scales that turn blades with ease, so the best method to attack them is magic! Thus, we and our masters would often be targeted with necrotic magic. We created this mixture long ago to prevent further losses once we got the wounded to safety, and to ensure our masters lived on.”
“I thought you said this was for ‘tiny people’, not dragons.”
“Aha! Well like I said, we USED to heal our masters with this. I don’t know if you noticed, but we’ve fallen out of favor with dragons in recent times. As the great ones grow older, they gain power, and we become less and less appealing as servants. We are small and weak. Then there was Greenbranch’s evangelizing, which made a lot of us very picky with who we vowed to serve. Without a complete lack of morals, the crueler dragons couldn’t rely on us, and a lot of good ones still see us as nasty little creatures.”
“And so this art has become an elusive one.” Alexander finished.
“Yes! Many of us haven’t used this ritual on someone other than each other in our whole lives, and even using it at all is rare, now! I mean, with the exile, we’ve been living in a peaceful, orderly city. Not many uses for combating dark magic.”
“You lot seem...brighter than the stories paint you as.” Alexander rubbed his chin. “A lot of stories of rabid beasts throwing themselves at travelers back home…and really, I didn’t expect one of you to know the tongue of man, let alone so many.”
The robed lizard perked up. “Ah! Well I’m flattered you think I’m...bright. To be honest, many of us are...less so inclined to learn. Though, living in Palethorn, with so much knowledge and the means to attain it in your hands, it’s only natural some of us benefited! Moving from caves to the city meant opportunities to learn where there had been none before. As for me, I’ve always been an herbalist, and if you know anything about herbalism, you know there’s a LOT of reading involved. Only natural someone of my profession knows a lot!”
“I understand you,” Alexander said, “I suppose there weren’t many schools and archives out in the wild…”
The kobold laughed. “That’s right! Many were illiterate before we came here. To a lot of us, philosophy was just a funny word Greenbranch said a lot.”
The little herbalist smiled. “Well! Everything’s all done here, I suppose! Once he awakens, we should know if it worked or not.”
“Right.” That last line worried Alexander. What if it DIDN’T work? What then? Would Tourthun be stuck in a cycle of mental regression, thinking the knight to be his father forever? Would he lose what was left, and become feral?
No. He couldn’t think like that. He would drive himself mad with worry.
He had to have hope.
Wurie walked over as the crowd of kobolds dispersed. A few lingered around, still gazing at the dragon in awe.
The wolfman looked at Alexander, wide-eyed.
“Well...that just happened.”
The knight rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh...yeah.”
“Phew...this is insanity, you know?” Alexander nearly burst out laughing at the wolfman.
“Now there’s an understatement. Can you believe this?”
Alexander turned back to look at Tourthun. The dragon was curled up on the floor, next to the incense, eyes closed.
“A giant, intimidating beast of legend...curled up on the floor, calling you father and whining as a child would.” The captain shook his head. “Say what you will...magic is a terrifying thing, if it can bring a behemoth like that to this sorry state.”
Alexander sighed. “I suppose. That must have been a trump card though, surely. If he recovers, they’ll have lost more than us!”
The wolfman frowned. “I wish I had your optimism, sir knight. I just...I think we’re up against too much here. That’s no reason to quit, but I...I just…” Wurie trailed off.
“...it’s just so much, you know?” The wolfman’s sorrow was plain in his voice, high and quivering. “Everyone’s counting on me to get them through this, but...I don’t think I have what it takes. I’m just a guard...and these people need a champion. I am not sufficient…”
Alexander put his hands on Wurie’s shoulders. The captain looked up, surprised. The knight locked eyes with the captain.
“We WILL get through this.” Alexander shook Wurie to emphasise his words. “You aren’t leading an army. You don’t have to take on the forces of hell by yourself. You need not carry every last man, woman and child to Geralthin in your arms. The people don’t need a leader that’s a hero…they just need someone to believe in. To give them hope. By being a leader they can trust, well...you’re plenty heroic already.”
Wurie blinked, mouth open. “I...I…”
The wolfman wrapped his arms around the knight. Alexander stood in silence as the captain took deep, quivering breaths, patting him on the back.
After a few moments, Wurie stood up straight and let go of the knight. The wolfman sighed and looked at Alexander, fire in his eyes, even as the fur on his face was matted and wet.
“Thank you, Alexander...I needed that.” The knight offered a nod and a smile.
“We’re not gods, Wurie. We are men. We are fallible, prone to stress and despair. Just remember...even glaciers will crumble eventually. Let your grievances be known to those who will listen. It is all that keeps us sane.”
“I...I will.” Wurie gazed at Alexander, something in his eyes different. He looked on Alexander with a deep, newfound respect. “Thank you, my friend.”
The knight patted him on the shoulder and grinned. “You’ll lead these people to safety, I’m certain...as for me, I’ve got work to do.”
Alexander waved to Senci, who ambled over and tugged at Wurie’s armor.
“He’s right!” The kobold exclaimed, excited as ever, “You’re doing great! Everyone here looks up to you!”
Wurie smiled. “Ah, Senci...thanks, ya rascal.” The captain patted the kobold on the head. “I bet your old teacher would be proud of you.” Senci bashfully glanced to the side, looking embarrassed, but happy.
“Senci, we’re gonna go on an expedition. Check out some possible paths to the Blackheart.”
Senci nodded. “You got it, sir knight! Seeya, Wurie!” Senci waved as he moved to follow the knight.
“Good luck!” Wurie yelled back.
“That was SO nice of you!” Senci exclaimed, walking alongside Alexander, “I’ve never seen him vulnerable like that, and you perked him right up! I always thought he was a big stick in the mud, but...he’s been bottling a lot of stuff up, apparently.”
Alexander shrugged. “In times like these, sometimes you just need someone to let you know you’re not alone.”
Senci stared at Alexander, grinning. “You remind me of master.”
“Hopefully I’ll meet him one day,” the knight returned, “He sounds like a right good man.”
“I bet you two would be like best friends!” Senci said excitedly, “You’d LOVE visiting our home back in Lannis. There’s a training room, and a library, and a game room! We talk, and read, and relax, and every Saturday, we have tea and cookies…”
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