Stillborn 2 - The Fire Within: Chapter 12

 

12.

The symptoms appeared fast after Angwar stopped receiving the required daily dose of bluedust fungus. He was lying in a quiet room inside the protective walls of the temple, strapped tightly to the bed in order to control the expected spasms. Daarli Skyforge was preparing all the herbs required for the treatment while Aladra and Aniceth were following the situation in the background. The experienced cleric had all the equipment on a large wooden table in front of her, the whiteroot powder together with a large cup of golden, translucent berries.

She took a smaller cup and poured some of the light grey powder into it, then she took a small bunch of berries and crushed them into the same cup. Mixing the ingredients together, she created a small amount of milky liquid. She picked up the cup and entered the room where Angwar was already beginning to sweat as a result of the intense pain shooting through his body. He had missed his dose twice already, which was quickly affecting his central nervous system.

”Drink this,” Daarli urged him, and Angwar obeyed without questions. He knew - like everybody else in that room - that it would be a rough ride with only two possible outcomes. All available help would be accepted, and greatly appreciated.

Daarli returned to her silent audience.

”Now we wait. I will have to check on him every couple of hours and give him more medicine, but that's about all I can do,” she explained more to Aniceth than Aladra, who was already well aware of all phases included in this treatment.

”How long do you think it will take before we can see expect results?” Aniceth asked, worried about his friend's fate, but also out of plain curiosity; he had always lived with the assumption that there was no cure for the addiction built by this fungus.

”Two or three days if he won't die before that,” Aladra answered coldly before Daarli had a chance to speak. ”You should know, Arathan. After all, it is a poison created by your own kin.”

Aniceth felt a sting in his heart, but decided to ignore the accusation. Angwar had already explained his history to the entire family. If that was not enough, there was not much he could add to it, and arguing over it would be foolish and pointless. His Arathan blood was not pure, and blaming him for all the bad things the Arathans had ever done seemed rather silly.

The atmosphere was very uncomfortable and hostile, but Aniceth refused to leave his friend. Finally Aladra had had enough of the unbearable situation, and without bothering to excuse herself she left the room. A quiet sigh of relief escaped from both lips as the door closed behind the high cleric. Daarli had no reason to have any better attitude toward Aniceth than Angwar's mother, but for some reason she seemed to understand the bond between this strange Arathan and the Darfin a lot better than anyone else so far. She knew how highly Angwar thought of this man, and she had every reason to believe that Aniceth shared these feelings, which was impossible to even think of by most Darfins.

”I will bring you a mattress here if you want to stay by your friend,” Daarli suggested, and appreciation lighted the Arathan's peculiar eyes.

”Thank you, Daarli,” he replied briefly. ”I would like that.”

 

* * *

 

Wide trails of sweat were running on Angwar's face as he struggled against the tight grasp of the fungus. He was slumbering restlessly, his heart rate was dangerously high and he was suffering from an extremely high fever. The medicine Daarli was giving him kept the pain at bay, but the abstinence symptoms were still harsh. The fungus did not want to leave its victim easily, especially after such a long exposure. Angwar was hallucinating while he was awake, and when he finally fell asleep, the dreams of pure madness and horror tore him awake after few minutes, thus his body was not allowed a single moment of rest.

Aniceth stood by his friend through the long first night, deep sorrow and concern in his red eyes. Everything what he had heard from the Darfins promised an ill fate for him if Angwar would die. This suffering man in front of him was his one and only friend, the only man who had offered him a glimpse of a better life. Nothing more than a faint promise, but still better than the hopeless darkness that would have been his share if he had remained in the Dark Kingdom.

Crossing his arms, Aniceth closed his eyes and whispered. ”Whoever is the Immortal who hears this prayer, reach out your hand for this man and help him to make it through this tribulation, for he has not deserved to die like this.”

After a brief silence, he opened his eyes and saw Angwar's rapidly moving chest under the blanket. His body was fighting furiously, but would it be enough? There was nothing he could do but wait and hope for the best. The frustrating situation was gnawing him inside, but he forced himself to breathe deeply and relax his aching muscles.

Aniceth watched as Angwar shivered uncontrollably at first before he began to sweat, which was accompanied by constant nightmares, then he turned cold again. His difficulty to breathe at times brought a very concerned look on Daarli's face, which was quickly noticed by Aniceth.

”How is he doing?” he asked softly while sitting down on the mattress.

”His body is struggling hard against the fungus,” Daarli replied silently, ”but I fear for the worst.”

Aniceth closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to push away the rising desperation. Angwar would make it through. He had to make it through. After everything they had experienced together it was the only possible result that would do him any justice.

Daarli was feeding Angwar more medicine, but the fungus refused to be defeated. From everything that was said, Aniceth knew there was still about two days left before the winner of this battle could be announced.

The day crawled by one minute at a time, slowly piling up to hours that rolled down into the bliss of oblivion. Angwar's condition was very unstable; at times it looked as if he was about to win, but then his condition collapsed, ruthlessly crushing all the blooming hope. Daarli rushed in and out of the room as her pressing duties prevented her from staying by the patient throughout the day. There was nothing more she could have done anyway. At least four hours had to pass in between doses, and there was absolutely no other treatment available. As horrible as it seemed, the rest was completely up to Angwar himself.

When the day turned to dusk, Daarli was there again. Dark circles around her eyes were telling the harsh truth about her condition. She was in dire need of rest, and Aniceth could not ignore her weary semblance.

”If you could prepare one mixture ready for me, I can see that Angwar gets it on time, and perhaps you could get some sleep in the meantime,” Aniceth offered, for he felt bad for the woman who had overworked herself beyond comprehension to make sure that his friend would recover. He had been in and out of sleep throughout the whole day, and despite of being tired, he was in far better condition than Daarli at the moment.”

The healer smiled mildly. ”It is becoming that obvious, is it not?” She said and walked over to the desk near the bed and urged Aniceth to follow by a gesture of her hand. ”I will do as you suggest, for I my mind is foggy and my hand is becoming clumsy; such qualities are certainly not serving the patient's best interests very well.”

While Daarli was preparing the new cup of medicine, she explained to in great detail what Aniceth should do when the time was right. Once she was ready, she took the cup by the shuddering Darfin and used a spoon to slowly scoop the liquid into his mouth. Aniceth was also instructed to take care of the water. Every hour Daarli poured some water into Angwar's mouth as the fever was consuming a lot of fluid. Without the constant water, the tenacious Darfin would surely die. Aniceth swore to do everything just like she had shown, and the healer prepared a new cup of medicine, so that it would be ready when the time comes again in four hours.

”Thank you, Aniceth. If anything happens here while I'm gone, call for the temple servant and she will fetch me,” she explained. ”I will come back before dawn.”

”Rest well,” Aniceth whispered as Daarli left the room, glad to be of help.

 

* * *

 

Aniceth did as he was told and spent most of the night alone with Angwar. Daarli returned before sunrise, looking a whole lot better, even though she had not slept for more than five or six hours, but it was enough to make a difference.

”Is everything good in here?” she asked first thing after opening the door.

”He is stable. I have been giving the medicine precisely on time,” Aniceth assured.

Daarli walked up to the bed and checked the patient by herself, then she turned to Aniceth with a small smile on her lips.

”I believe the fever has gone down a bit,” she said with a hopeful voice. ”Perhaps there is a chance.” Then she turned back to the desk and began to work with renewed vigor.

Aniceth felt relieved. This was the first sign of at least somewhat better since the beginning of the treatment. He closed his eyes for a moment, silently expressing his gratitude toward the nameless Immortal who had heard his plea.

”Aniceth?” a weak voice called, instantly drawing him back to reality.

”I am here, Angwar,” Aniceth said and looked at the Darfin whose face was pale and worn. The jaded eyes and the cracked, dry lips made him look years older. His weak and sickly body was still shivering in the aftermath of the exhausting struggle, but the relentless Darfin seemed to be the winner of the exhausting fight.

”I am so tired,” he whispered weakly, trying to focus his eyes on Aniceth's face, but everything seemed blurry to him.

”You should not speak yet,” Aniceth warned, ”but soon you will be strong again like a true Darfin should, and by all the Immortals, a true Darfin you are.”

A faint smile appeared on Angwar's lips before he slipped back asleep. Aniceth squeezed the Darfin's arm firmly as a sign of encouragement before he left his friend to rest.

Feeling more confident about Angwar's health, Aniceth headed out of the temple for a moment. He was going to eat something at his quarter in the Frostfire manor, but he was determined to return to the temple before noon. Daarli accompanied him after giving some water to the patient, so she could be absent for an hour. A brief moment spent out of that room was very welcome for both of them.

 

* * *

 

Angwar opened his eyes just a few minutes after Aniceth and Daarli had left. He tried to lick his dry lips, but the rough and parched tongue brought no relief. Every bone in his body was aching and every muscle felt worn like he had ran through the entire Everdeep in just one day. His eyes were hurting and overly sensitive to the light. Hearing the strong, but irregular pulse, and the rushing of blood in his veins, Angwar tried to raise his head up, but he was too weak. Something seemed wrong, out of place.

The words he had heard through his slumber - had they actually been said, or was it something his imagination had made up? Daarli had mentioned something about him getting better, but the odd feeling he was having did not promise anything good, and now they both were gone.

Angwar tried to calm down and breathe deeper, but his wildly bouncing heart made it very difficult. He felt tingling numbness crawling up to his arms and legs, like thousand little beetles running on his burning skin. All his desperate attempts to call for help ended in a rasping cough. Angwar cursed his dry and painful throat, but he was not the type of a man who gives up. Holding on to the wooden ledges of the bed, he pushed himself to a half-sitting position, then he tried to stand up, but that was too much for his tormented body. Angwar fell down to the floor, but in his mind he continued falling through a hole that had appeared beneath him, and he had a peculiar feeling that he could never reach the ground again after slipping away. He tried to fight back with all strength that he still had left, but there was no way to stop the fall, and finally he gave up as everything turned black.