Adder's whirling thoughts do not evaporate with the rising sun. They only fester in his resentment, even as his companions begin to stir and wake with the gentle morning light. If there is one blessing, though, it's that their roadblock has lifted with the twilight. Adder looks out at the path as he packs. The evergreen has shifted to the right, freeing the way home. It shimmers ominously in the distance, wavering hypnotically like silk in the wind.
Not all is well, however, as Adder learns while waking Zarek. He groans, unresponsive, clutching his side. Immediately, Adder notes something is wrong as he reaches out to touch the man's shoulder. A putrid scent, sharp and cloying, makes him recoil.
"Zarek?"
He groans again, more pained this time. Adder's heart quickens, carefully pressing two fingers to Zarek's neck. A flutter of a pulse is present, but it's weak. Fading.
"Fern! I need you over here!"
Fern dashes over at the urgent call. "Oh, oh no. It's progressing much faster than I hoped."
"What's wrong with him?"
"The dark mark—its spread. It's nearly covering half his chest now. This is definitely a curse of some sort. I was hoping we'd avoided whatever the trigger might be."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Basil will know how to treat it. We need to make haste."
Adder nods, lifting Zarek into a secure hold. He groans in protest, face tense with pain.
"Zarek, can you hear me? Hold in there, we're almost back home. Eben, we need to go! He's deteriorating!"
Adder places Zarek in the caravan as gently as possible, joining him shortly afterwards. Eben follows quickly behind, stowing away the bedrolls before hopping on Fairy. "What's happening?"
Fern rides up to Eben's side, nervously stroking Daisy's fur. "He's going to die if we don't get back before sundown. This is much more of a severe case than I previously thought."
"Shit! Let's go then."
Adder jolts as the caravan starts forward abruptly. It shakes as Eben pushes Fairy to her limit, causing them to thunder down the path at break-neck speeds. The trees and underbrush mesh into one blur of green, swaying as Fairy brushes past them.
Adder looks down at Zarek. His face is pallid, eyes sunken in with spidery black veins creeping up his neck. Adder tries his best to monitor him through the day, carefully counting each beat of his heart. Much to Adder's dismay, though, Zarek's condition worsens with each minute they spend on the road. By the time they have traversed half of the journey, the snaking dark marks have begun to kiss Zarek's chin, staining tanned skin with an uncomfortable purple-pink.
Soon, the sun is uncomfortably low in the sky. Adder's anxiety grows as the call of the night bugs signals the impending dusk. Worse yet, Fairy is panting and sweating, exhausted by carrying her burdensome load for so long.
However, Eben isn't ready to give up yet. He glows with a golden aura as he infuses vitality into his steed. Adder tenses as Fairy takes on a glistening amethyst hue and streaks down the road with supernatural intensity, leaving Fern and Daisy in the dust.
Just as the sun has started to kiss the horizon, they arrive at the tall walls surrounding Adder's home. Fairy yelps as Eben yanks on the reins, causing her to skid to a halt, nearly tipping over the caravan.
"Adder, get him out!"
Quickly, Adder follows the command. He carries Zarek with haste to his home, finding a startled Helia at the entrance.
"Adder, Eben, you're back—"
"Did you bring the healer?"
"Yes, I got your letter. He's inside."
Adder brushes past her, finding both Edmund and Basil sitting at the short table. Basil's eyes go wide as he takes in the state of Zarek.
"Gods—you didn't say it was so bad!"
"We didn't know," Adder says, placing Zarek down by the fireplace.
Basil rushes over, already carrying an assortment of vials and bottles in his arms. He pushes a mortar and pestle into Edmund's hands.
"What am I meant to do with this?" he complains.
"Grind the fireflower while I remove the wrappings. We'll have to burn this curse out of him."
"Is he going to make it?" Adder asks.
"I don't know. I'm going to try my best."
Adder listens as Basil carefully tends to Zarek's wounds. As the wrappings are removed, he carefully takes the glistening red fireflower dust and mixes it with a glimmering blue potion. The result is a vibrant neon purple slurry which he immediately drips into the dark wound on Zarek's chest.
The reaction is immediate. Zarek opens his eyes with a gasp, crying out in pain. He thrashes, hands attempting to scratch away at the medicine.
"Stop! Edmund, hold him down!"
Edmund does as he's told for once, pushing Zarek to the ground. Basil leans over, eyes widening as he examines the gruesome sight of Zarek's wound. The black seems to consume the purple potion, expanding like a thunderstorm rolls over a forest.
"Is it me, or did it just get worse?" Edmund asks.
"It did. This isn't an ordinary curse."
Zarek groans, eyes fluttering rapidly. "Where am I?"
"You're in Nǣdre Tor. You've been grievously wounded. Do you remember the color of the sword that pierced you?"
"I'm going to die, aren't I?"
"No, you won't. I'm going to help you. Now focus!"
Zarek thrashes, eyes wild. "You're lying! They always lie!"
"He's delusional—"
"I remember a dead man with a sword nearby when we found him. The sword was red-hued," Eben chimes in.
"Then this is dark magic indeed, intended to corrupt the covenant between a man and God. Zarek, who is your God?"
Zarek gasps, chest heaving. "Ruse—a Ruse—"
"We aren't trying to deceive you, you're sick!"
"He's a priest for a new God, Epistemeus," says Adder.
"Listen to me, Zarek. This curse corrupts any magical essence it comes into contact with. You need to pray to your lord and tell him he is hurting you the more he tries to help you heal. Do you understand? You have to fight this off without any magic"
Zarek has a moment of clarity, breathing deep and closing his eyes. Suddenly, the creeping black vines on his skin pause their growth.
"Yes! Good, you did it!"
Zarek relaxes, falling back into unconsciousness.
"Now what?" Eben asks.
Basil reaches over to a rolled up case, pulling out a fine bone needle. "I'm going to patch him up best I can without magic. The first week will tell us if he's strong enough to make it."
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
"You can help Edmund grind some herbs. For the rest of you, feel free to settle in. It's going to be a long night."
Adder nods. He looks around, feeling a little anxious as he notices Merlyn isn't here. However, he feels her little heartbeat in the stone floor, fast and bird-like. Following the sensation, he heads down the hallway. He finds her in the study, sleeping in a bookshelf.
Adder gently lifts her into his arms. She's sleep warm, hair fluffed up into a million different directions. Adder smooths her bangs to the side, smiling as she nuzzles into the embrace further. However, the sensation of lightfootsteps sour his happy reunion: Helia is coming down the hall. Adder shuts his eyes, turning away from the door as she enters.
"Adder. I see you found our little bird."
"She was sleeping in a bookshelf. You couldn't be bothered to put her to bed properly?"
"She's been throwing fits. She doesn't sleep well alone."
Adder is silent, still fussing with Merlyn's hair. Helia comes closer, resting her hand on Adder's shoulder. "Why so quiet? Did something happen while you were out there?"
He grits his teeth, trying to control his anger. He moves away from her touch, pretending to focus on organizing his altar to Giakora. "I'm fine. I just need some time to adjust from being on the road, please."
"Here, I can put her to bed for you..."
"I said I'm fine, Helia. Leave me be."
"Gracious, what's got you in a mood?"
"I've been on the road for days, surely you understand my exhaustion."
"I understand you are giving me lip. I left my duties to tend to your responsibility, the child you brought into the world unplanned, and this is the thanks I get?"
"If it's such a burden to be here, leave."
"The nerve on you! You'd have me wandering in the dark?"
"Eben will escort you back."
"I will not be leaving. Especially when you're having some kind of fit. Adder, what's gotten into you?"
"Do you think I'm slow?" Adder growls quietly.
"What?"
"You know this man, don't you? He says he's been here before."
Helia fiddles with her headscarf nervously. "Yes. He was interested in joining our church. It was quite a long time ago that he came here."
"You didn't think to tell me you met my favorite author?"
"It has been nearly three decades since he came. He wasn't much but a footnote."
"A footnote?"
"Well, I, I didn't see the point in mentioning it when—"
Adder turns around, snarl embedded in his face. "He's found where the gorgons live. He's met them. Did you know?"
"I did."
"You knew! How long did I suffer in isolation, in this squalid town of humans who hate me!?"
"I'll remind you it was a human who raised you, child."
"Because you wanted to trap me here. Why? To keep me as your curiosity? A fallback against the monster hunting guild?"
"No! Adder, Sheppard would've never let you leave alive. I didn't want to give you false hope when you were stuck here."
"Sheppard is dead, he is reduced to the gravel under my scales. So why, why did you not say anything?"
Helia's face is flushed. Adder can smell the distress on her. It's like a knife to his gut, but his rage is unmitigated. "Speak, woman!"
"They wouldn't accept you! You know nothing of their culture, you, you could die just trying to cross the continent to get to them!"
"That's not your choice to make."
"It is when I raised you! You're my child! You're my son!"
Adder growls beastially, causing Helia to flinch back. "Adder—"
"Get out."
Her voice comes out raw, choked with emotion. "Adder, please. It's my job to protect you. You have to understand."
"Maybe in the past. However, you're not my keeper anymore. You cannot control me, especially if you intend to lie to me."
"You, you—"
"You've done your duty here. Now leave, Helia."
The room goes quiet, thick with tension. Adder scents something salty in the air—his stomach twists as he realizes its tears. Helia turns wordlessly, gasping into her hands as she makes haste to leave. As her quick footsteps recede, bouncing off cave walls, Adder shrinks into himself.
He opens his eyes to examine the study.
This is Helia's sanctuary, her space to explore the world through books and tomes. Adder had so many fond memories of it, of her reading to him. Reading to him about the world he never got to explore. Now her betrayal had tainted it: how was he supposed to look back on this place fondly, knowing that the novels that lined the walls had missing pages? How was he supposed to believe he knew who he was, when everything he's known has been thrown out the window?
Adder goes to his collection, to the books Helia got for him. Clawed fingers glide across the spines of the well-loved tomes. Adder wonders if any of them have also been mutilated, used as weapons when they should have made him stronger.
For a second, fueled by rage, Adder contemplates tossing the bookshelf to the ground in a fit of righteous anger. He pictures tearing the books apart, erasing all of them from his happy memories. If he was a lesser man, he might've done just that. But Adder is a monster, not a man, so he leaves instead. He coils up in his bed with Merlyn, awaiting Eben's return.