A Cure for Death - Part 1

Written in collaboration with Julie Kyed.

 

Rala heard her father's screams echo out from the darkness. The sound was horrible and alien to her ears, for she had never heard her father emote such pain before. It sent a chill up her spine and she found herself frozen to the spot.

"Rala, do something!" Her little brother Erris was tugging frantically on her tunic, eyes wide. Unrooting herself, Rala crouched down and thrust her hand into the crawlspace, reaching blindedly for her father. Finally her fingers felt cloth. She gripped it tightly and pulled backwards. Her father wasn't a very large man, but she found herself straining to drag him out of the hole.

From the blackness, her father's head and shoulders appeared, his face contorted in pain. Rala took hold of his right shoulder, her brother grabbing the left, and together they were able to lift him out into the middle of the room.

"What happened?" The owner of the inn had barged into the room now but was stopped short when he saw the man on the floor writhing in pain. He removed a knife from his belt and approached him. "Stand back, children," he commanded then muttered, "Damn thing must have bit him."

Using the knife he stripped the pant leg off the bleeding limb, revealing the ravaged flesh beneath. It was swollen, and dark purple veins seemed to spread from the wound like dead tree branches.   Blood was seeping heavily from the wound, and the sight of it made Rala's stomach churn and her head light. She quickly looked down at her feet, away from her father, afraid she was about to pass out.

Meanwhile, the innkeeper was tying a tourniquet above the wound, just below her father's knee. He looked around and pointed at Rala. "Girl, we need Doctor Foreglade. You know where he lives?" Rala gave a short nod. He raised his voice slightly. "Then go, quickly."

Rala didn’t know how she managed to navigate herself to Foreglade’s house in the dark of night, but suddenly she found herself pounding desperately on his front door. Doctor Foreglade was a friend of Rala’s father, but she had never, in fact, spoken to him. His reputation of being rather unorthodox in his methods had made her wary of him, but all that was put aside as he finally opened the door and regarded her in curious anticipation.

“What is this commotion, child? Do you know what time it is?”

Foreglade was an old and rather frail looking man with whisky white hair and a short cropped beard. Still, there was something about his presence that gave him an air of authority and his searing blue eyes revealed incredible intelligence.

“Please you must help me. It’s my father, he has been bitten. Please you must do something!”

The urgency in Rala’s voice seemed to have no effect on Foreglade. There was something calculating in the way he looked at her, like he was assessing her somehow. Finally he folded his hands behind his back and spoke in a calm and practical manner:

“Very well, child. I shall fetch my equipment and remedies and see what I can do for your father.”

*****

"Th-that's cold..." Rala's father gave Foreglade a weak smile as the healer used a brush to paint runic symbols with a bright yellow liquid around the infected wound while whispering an incantation.  Finally, Foreglade took a small rag from his breast pocket and wiped the brush clean as he stood up.  His long, dark grey robes and sharp, thin facial structure reminded Rala eerily of drawings she'd seen of the figure Death.

The innkeeper gave Rala's father, who had now fallen asleep, a sickened look. "Will he be alright?"

Foreglade nodded. "Yes, he should be fine. The kamorous lizard's venom can be quite lethal, so you're lucky I got here in time." He gave the innkeeper a stern look. "Next time have a professional take care of your infestation problem."

The innkeeper shrugged apologetically. "He said he needed the money, so I figured I'd let him take care of it for me. Poor bastard..."

 Foreglade's attention turned toward Rala. "I shall have to transport your father to my office for a few days to ensure he recovers completely. I'm sure you understand."

Still shaken from the sight of her father's blood, Rala uttered shortly, "Yes."

The healer retrieved a second inkwell from a pocket beneath his robes, this one containing a blue fluid. He dipped his ivory brush into the liquid and scribed a symbol onto the forehead of Rala's father. From behind Rala, she heard her brother gasp as their sleeping father began to slowly rise, stopping just at waist height.

Foreglade walked towards the door, their father floating gently in tow. "Come children, I'm sure your father will want to see you when he awakes."

*****

Rala sat impatiently in the mage's den, straining her ears to hear her father and Foreglade's conversation.

"-afraid to say your leg has reached its... expiration date."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I was able to prevent the venom from spreading to the rest of your body, but your leg was too far gone when I got there."

"I see."

"I'm not sure you do Gregor. We're going to have to... remove it."

"That-that can't happen. How am I supposed to work with one leg? I have a family to provide for!" Even from the other room Rala could tell by her father's voice that he was becoming hysterical. She looked around to her brother. He must have been listening too, for he was shaking slightly and his face had become more pale than usual.

There was silence in the other room, then Foreglade spoke softly, barely audible from Rala's position. "Gregor, I know times have been difficult financially for your family since Krysta died.”

Foreglade paused for a moment. Rala felt as though his sharp gaze was somehow searing through the wall and even though she knew she was safely hidden she couldn’t help but feeling that Foreglade was aware of her presence and that his next words were, in some manner, directed at her:

 “Which is why I'm going to make you an offer."

“An offer?”

Rala thought she heard hope in her father’s voice masked behind a wall of wariness. She sensed movement and guessed that Foreglade had started pacing the room.

“Your child, the eldest, how old is she?”

“Rala? She is fifteen summers, though small for her age.”

Her father sounded surprised with the sudden change of subject, but Foreglade pressed on:

“I see. But she has a good head on her I take it?

“Very. She always had wits about her, but-”

“Listen, Gregor, I am no longer a young man, and my field of practice is growing scarce with members. I have wanted to take on an apprentice for some time now; however, my reputation has made it rather difficult to acquire one. Let me have your daughter and I shall do whatever is in my power to safe your leg, free of charge.”

Rala’s father took a long pause before answering:

“Do you truly believe you can save it?”

“There may be a way. It is a very complicated procedure, however, and I need you to understand, Gregor, that it will involve some risk.”

“And what about Rala? What will it mean for her?”

“Naturally, she would have to take up residence with me. The process of becoming a healer is lengthy and difficult and it requires dedication.”

“But I still get to see her right? She is my only daughter.”

“I would not advise it. I shall want to be her sole influence and too many… distractions will only spoil her focus.”

“But you can’t! She is my daughter, I need her.”

Rala’s father sounded desperate and it somehow woke a reckless courage in her. She abandoned her hiding place and burst into the room. She ignored her father’s startled expression and looked at Foreglade unflinching. He only returned her gaze as if he expected her.

“I’ll do it. I’ll be your apprentice, but then you have to save his leg.”

Rala’s father made to interject, but Rala cut him off:

“Father, we don't have a choice.”

She took his hand reassuringly

“I have to do this.”