Chapter Twenty-Two #12
Maxi felt a blush creep over her cheeks at the girl’s rationality.
She felt ashamed for stewing over not seeing her husband for a few days.
At the same time, she grew worried that her presence might become a burden to Riftan.
Had she not given him one more thing to worry about when the war was already weighing down on him?
“There you are, my lady.”
An unexpected voice snapped Maxi out of her thoughts. She turned to find Ruth trudging out of the thick forest.
“Ruth…wh-what brings you here?” she asked.
The mage sighed. “The rune I spent an entire night formulating for Sir Hebaron’s injury failed to work. He seems to be in much pain, so I’m here to collect a remedy to help ease it.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Ruth gave an undignified yawn and plopped down onto a tree stump.
Maxi’s face tensed with concern. “H-His condition is not grave, is it?”
“His life is not in danger,” Ruth said flatly. Then he sighed again as he added, “But the wound is worsening from infection, and it seems the pain is only growing greater.”
Maxi worriedly bit her lip. “Th-Then shouldn’t we treat the wound properly…instead of only relying on magic?”
“I’ve been applying salve regularly, but it’s not much help.
” Ruth roughly ran a hand through his hair.
“The bigger problem is that the curse is lowering the morale of the allied forces. Everyone is afraid they might end up like Sir Hebaron. Duke Aren has also proposed postponing a full-scale war until we can find a way to break the curse.”
“I…a-agree with him…on that. If…the monsters are a-able to freely cast such a curse, even the Remdragon Knights…w-won’t be safe,” Maxi fretted.
“I understand your concern, but dragging this war on would only put us at a disadvantage,” Ruth said gravely.
“Our enemy is capable of limitless regeneration, while we are not. Not to mention the rift growing within the coalition army. It would be best for us to strike first before the solidarity of the forces weakens further.” He heaved a sigh and shrugged.
“But you need not worry, since my opinion is being utterly ignored. It’s likely that small skirmishes will continue for the foreseeable future.
At this rate, I fear that we will have to spend winter here. ”
Maxi’s face was not the only one that darkened at Ruth’s words. Idsilla, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, looked worried as well. Sensing the heaviness in the air, Ruth quickly changed the subject.
“I’m afraid I’ve stayed too long. Sir Hebaron will rip out all the hair on my head if I don’t hurry back with the remedy,” he said hastily. “I heard that you have an efficient concoction. Would you be able to spare me some of it?”
Maxi nodded. “Of course. But first…would you mind if I also take a look at S-Sir Hebaron’s wound?”
“You, my lady?”
He regarded her with a look of surprise that Maxi found slightly irksome.
“I-I studied a lot while you were gone, you know! Things even you wouldn’t know, u-under a new mage staying in Anatol,” she said indignantly. “Who knows, Melric’s remedy might work better than magic….”
Ruth raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Well, it never hurts to try.”
After scowling at his apathetic response, Maxi asked Idsilla to take over watching the cauldron and went to gather her remedies and tools. As she was leaving the camp, Ulyseon leaped up from the small wood carving he was working on.
“My lady! Where are you going?” he asked.
Maxi held up her armful of tools. “I am…taking my remedies to Sir Hebaron.”
At her answer, Ulyseon’s gaze shifted to Ruth. “Is the curse not yet broken?”
Ruth shook his head as they trudged on. With Ruth and Ulyseon by her side, none of the soldiers attempted to approach her even though she could feel a few glances flicking over to them.
Relaxing somewhat, Maxi followed closely behind Ruth. They weaved through the cluster of densely packed tents before stopping in front of the Remdragon Knights’ barracks. Ruth was the first to enter. The moment he stepped into the tent, Maxi heard a gruff voice thunder from within.
“Look who’s finally back! I thought you were waiting for me to die!”
Maxi’s eyes widened as she entered the tent after Ruth. Hebaron lay on a cot with his brawny torso wrapped in bandages, fuming at the sorcerer. Surprised to see him so lively, Maxi stood blinking when the knight spotted her. His angry expression broke into a cheerful smile.
“And who’s this? I heard that you were here, my lady, but I must say that I’m still surprised to see you,” he bellowed. “Your courage never fails to amaze me.”
Maxi was too concerned to return his banter. “I-I heard that you were hurt. How…is your wound?”
She approached the cot, and Hebaron furrowed his thick brows. “Nobody here seems to give a damn about my honor! Did you really have to tell her ladyship that the unbeatable Sir Hebaron got himself injured?”
“I’m afraid your honor is already thoroughly tarnished,” Ruth retorted. “The men are already calling you the knight with the monster’s curse. I assure you, everyone at Eth Lene already knows about your situation.”
“Goddammit!”
The rage in his voice made Maxi recoil. Hebaron furiously yanked at his orange curls.
“There can be no greater humiliation!” he howled.
Ruth gritted his teeth. “If you wish to salvage your reputation, I suggest you cooperate by keeping your mouth shut during treatment. I find it hard to concentrate with you bellowing all the time.”
Hebaron glared at Ruth before turning his back on them as though truly upset by the sorcerer’s words. Maxi felt she should tread carefully, and she flicked her eyes between them before laying down the herbs and tools she had brought with her.
“I-I would like to take a look at your wound. Would you let me…undo the dressing?”
Ruth and Ulyseon helped Hebaron into a sitting position and unwound his bandages. Maxi stifled a groan when she saw the wound.
A lesion ran from his shoulder to his chest like a crimson centipede crawling over his skin. Inflamed flesh surrounded the wound, and dark blue veins spread out from it like the legs of an insect.
She swallowed hard. “H-How…”
“It was a whip,” Hebaron said in a sulky voice, “and I owe it to a lizardman with black scales. A peculiar creature.”
“Lizardmen have the highest intelligence of the dragon subspecies,” Ruth explained. “It is not uncommon for them to use advanced magic. It’s my guess that the monster that attacked Sir Hebaron is a superior specimen even among its own kind.”
Hebaron rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s depressing.”
Maxi was momentarily unsure of how to treat the ghastly wound.
In the end, she carefully applied the salve she had brought with her to the lesion.
Among the remedies Melric had taught her, it was the most efficient at relieving inflammation and pain.
It must have proved effective, as Hebaron’s face soon became markedly brighter.
“Great God, that worked like a charm!” he exclaimed. “I think I could fight right now if the call came.”
“I’ve only n-numbed the pain…. The wound is not yet healed,” Maxi warned him as sternly as she could. “You mustn’t overexert yourself…just because you don’t feel it.”
After giving him the most serious look she could muster, she deftly dressed his wound with clean bandages. She asked for a fire to be lit and used the flames to collect herb ashes in a linen pouch.
“Use this as a warm compress…on the wound for about twenty minutes,” she instructed. “The area is numb, so b-be careful not to burn him.”
Maxi patiently waited until the pouch was at the right temperature before handing it to Ruth. He looked down at it with a dubious expression before gingerly placing it on Hebaron’s shoulder.
Hebaron frowned as though he found the heat uncomfortable, but he soon fell asleep. Ruth explained in a whisper that the knight’s exhaustion must have been extreme after weeks of painful, sleepless nights.
“Thank you for your help, my lady,” he murmured. “I think we’ll be able to get some peace until I can break the curse.”
Maxi cast a worried glance at the sleeping knight. “I-It only relieves him of the pain temporarily.”
“That is more than enough. Please leave the rest to me. It is just a monster’s curse; it shouldn’t take long to find a way to undo it,” Ruth said, looking uncharacteristically determined.
Offering him an encouraging smile, Maxi quietly gathered her things and stepped out.
They had been in the tent for quite some time, and the sky had dimmed to a glowing shade of lilac. Maxi quickened her steps. She wanted to check on the injured men in the infirmary once more before retiring for the night.
She was almost out of the barracks when someone suddenly blocked her path. Startled, Maxi took a step back. A tall man with fierce eyes looked down at her.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he rasped. “Why’re you wandering about the barracks?”
“Stand back!” Ulyseon quickly hid Maxi behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword. “Her ladyship is not someone the likes of you can address so lightly.”
“And what do we have here?” Clearly unfazed, the man smirked and looked Ulyseon up and down. “Aren’t you the white lizard’s little puppy? What a shame. Here I was thinking two pretty lasses were in need of a pimp.”
Ulyseon’s face flushed crimson. In the blink of an eye, his sword was out of its sheath and poised at the man’s throat. He moved with such speed that Maxi could not believe her eyes.
The man appeared to be taken aback as well. He retreated a step, but Ulyseon swiftly closed the distance between them.
“I suppose you northern swine know nothing of decency,” Ulyseon growled menacingly, looking nothing like the guileless young man that Maxi knew. “If Sir Riftan had not commanded us to avoid trouble, I would cut off your head for tainting her ladyship’s ears with your vile snorting.”