The Golden Effect

The poisoned chalice

EDITED.

CHAPTER 10 - THE POISONED CHALICE.

Gaius tried to muffle his distress as he resorted to his physician state of mind; he couldn't allow his care for Merlynn to overcloud his judgement and make him forget about remedies and potions. He motioned toward his cot, "Lay her on the bed quickly. She's struggling to breathe. Gwen, fetch some water and a towel."

Arthur set her down on the bed and took his place immediately at her side. He could see her chest rise, then pause and shakily fall, and he heard her whimpers and muffled sobs and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. There was a thin layer of sweat covering her heated skin as he touched her forehead, and he grimaced. "Is she going to be all right?" he asked. "She's burning up."

Gwen was quick to return with a bucket filled to the brim with water and a towel. "You can cure her, can't you, Gaius?"

"I won't know if I can identify the poison," the physician replied, brows knotting together. "Pass me the goblet." As Gwen handed it to him, Arthur wet the towel and folded it over Merlynn's forehead. She barely even recognized it as she squirmed on top of the sheets. "Ah. There's something stuck on the inside."

Arthur was replaced by Gwen when he joined Gaius at the table; he scratched out a petal and held it up to the light. It was stained purple from the wine, but he could clearly see the shape and original color of the flower. "Why would a flower petal be inside the goblet?" he muttered to himself.

Gwen removed the wet towel to touch her forehead. "Her brow's on fire," she said shakily, and dampened the cloth once again to cool her skin. 

Merlynn whimpered, her eyes shifting beneath her eyelids frantically; in response, she began to hum, her fingers running across her cheek to comfort her.

"Keep her cool - it'll help control her fever," Gaius instructed. He pulled out a book and flipped through it, constantly checking the flower petal and Merlynn. She cried out all of a sudden, fists clenched weakly into the sheets. Arthur's attention was focused on her in almost an instant. He had never seen her look so weak, and he didn't like the feeling he got when he saw her so vulnerable. She was his friend. "Here we go. The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

Arthur peered over his shoulder and noticed a beast drawn beside the flower; it was a gruesome thing that resembled a large lizard with the back legs of a chicken. "That doesn't look particularly friendly," he grimaced.

"Oh, yes. That is a Cockatrice. It guards the Forest of Balor." The beast's painted face snarled at them through the parchment. "It's venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive."

He clenched his jaw, and shrugged. It was his duty as her friend to save her - he had grown to care for the bumbling servant. "Sounds like fun," he muttered thoughtfully.

"Arthur, it's too dangerous," Gaius insisted.

"If... If I don't get the antidote, what happens to Merlynn?" he asked him, gaze straying to the girl who writhed in agony.

He sighed. "The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death. She may hold out for four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually she will die," Gaius said as he lowered his eyes to his hand.

Arthur wouldn't let her die; he owed it to her to keep her safe. "I can't allow that to happen," he declared, running his hands through his hair. "She's saved my life too many times. I have to repay the favor at least once." I promise you, he aimed his thoughts toward her. You will not die. I will get that flower. I promise.