Chapter Twenty-Three #9
Ulyseon carefully lowered Maxi’s listless body to the ground when they reached his horse. She whimpered in pain as her rib and shoulder made contact with the earth. Ulyseon’s eyes were filled with worry as he gazed down at her, seemingly at a loss for what to do.
“Do you think you can still ride, my lady?”
Maxi limply shook her head. “M-My left a-arm…”
It took a moment for the squire to realize that her left shoulder was dislocated. Biting his lip, he gingerly lifted her on his back again.
“We’re going down on foot,” he said to Garrow. “Just take enough of the provisions.”
Garrow hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“If we can’t ride the horses, it’s better to abandon them. Don’t you remember what Sir Riftan said? It’s hard to erase horse tracks. The monsters would find us in no time.”
Unable to disagree, Garrow unhitched their luggage from the saddle and freed the horses. They then began their hurried descent. Slumped on Ulyseon’s back, Maxi had to fight past the scalding pain tearing through her body with every step.
This pain was even greater than when her father had broken her back.
It stabbed mercilessly at her shoulder, and her ribs ached.
Her knees were scraped, her buttocks were bruised from falling off her mount, and her limbs were limp with fatigue…
. Every part of her throbbed with pain, and shivers racked her body as though her veins flowed with ice water. Maxi whimpered as she trembled.
Ulyseon glanced back at her anxiously. “Damn it, maybe we should find a safe spot to rest….”
“Her condition might worsen if we waste any more time,” Garrow murmured. “We have to take her to a healer as soon as possible.”
“But she’s in so much pain….”
Maxi’s lips quivered. Although she wanted to tell them that she was all right, the only thing that escaped her lips was a low, strained rasp. The symptoms of mana depletion were rapidly growing worse; an icy chill had now set in her bones. Sensing her agony, Ulyseon’s steps grew more urgent.
“This won’t do. We should at least splint her shoulder to lessen the pain.” He motioned to Garrow with his chin. “Search for a cave.”
Ulyseon weaved through the trees with Maxi on his back. He bent down as much as he could to lessen the strain on her aching body.
Whenever her dangling arm swayed, the excruciating pain in her shoulder made her clench her jaw so tightly that she thought it might break. It occurred to her that fainting might be the less painful option, but the fear that she might never open her eyes again kept her fighting to remain conscious.
Ahead of them, Garrow raised his arm and shouted, “Over here!”
When they caught up to him, Maxi saw a small cave hidden between twisted trees. The squires quickly brought her inside.
Garrow laid his cloak on the ground, and Ulyseon gingerly lowered Maxi onto it as though she were a fragile vase.
Despite their efforts, Maxi still felt as though she were lying on a pile of burning coals.
Her whole body blazed with pain, but the sweat coursing down her skin was cold and clammy.
She bit down on the torn fabric against her nose, tyring not to moan in agony.
Ulyseon looked down in dismay. “Garrow, wh-what should we do? I think we’ll have to reattach her shoulder….”
“But neither of us knows how. It’s not something we can just try. If we mess up, we might end up breaking bones or causing her more pain. We should bind the arm for now to immobilize it as much as possible.”
Sitting on his knees next to her, Garrow tore a long strip from his cloak. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt, my lady. Please try to bear it.”
Fear washed over Maxi as she watched the squire reach for her arm. The pain was unbearable even when lying still. The thought of someone moving her arm filled her with dread. Even so, she knew there was no other way.
Garrow gently folded her arm across her chest and used the torn strip of cloth to secure it in place. Maxi bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. The pain was so excruciating that her breath caught in her throat. Seeing her reaction, Ulyseon looked down at her limp arm with worry.
“Hold on, my lady. There should be some restorative herbs here.”
Ulyseon shakily pulled out a pouch and rummaged through it for the dried restorative. Maxi watched him with bleary eyes, then tentatively removed the fabric she had been holding to her nose. Thankfully, the bleeding seemed to have stopped.
She wiped the blood from her face with the crumpled cloth.
Ulyseon found the herb and broke it into smaller pieces, feeding them to her one by one.
Although Maxi could not taste the restorative’s bitterness as she chewed and swallowed, she felt sick the moment it passed down her throat.
Gagging, Maxi regurgitated the unpleasant herb.
“My lady!”
Still retching, Maxi groaned as the vomiting intensified the pain in her aching ribs. Ulyseon was close to tears as he watched her writhe in pain.
“I-I’m sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t have given you the herbs….”
Garrow frowned, his brows pinched with worry. “This won’t do. I think we’ll have to risk being tracked and light a fire. She’s too cold. The mana depletion symptoms are getting worse.”
Ulyseon bolted to his feet. “I-I’ll do it!”
“No, you keep watch. Your eyes are better than mine.”