Blood Feud Ch. 01

I relaxed and lied back down, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy as he pulled a roll of fresh cloth from his cloak and set it on the ground with the medicine.

"This is a healing salve I have prepared from krutsweed, silverberry, and a few other herbs." Argetlus said with a confident air of professionalism. "I recently ran out of my stronger medicines, but it should be enough to keep infection out of your wounds until you can see a well stocked city physician or healer."

"How long was I sleeping?" I murmured, staring at the pasty concoction.

He paused thoughtfully. "Something like... two days, if practicality pleases you. Two damned weeks, if honesty is what you prefer."

I said nothing, my face a blank mask. It dawned on me then just how far the Remulan man, a complete stranger, had gone to make sure that I was taken care of. Would I have ever done something so selfless and absurd for another person? I continued to silently ponder these thoughts as he picked up his branch and walked to the edge of the cavern.

"Anyway.. Make sure you dig in deep enough to get to the paste. You must apply it directly against your wounds. The liquid floating on top can be used to the cleanse the rest of your body. Just don't drink it. It will give you a stomach ache if you do..."

"Why did you take my clothes?"

The idle noise of rushing water outside the cavern only intensified the pause that followed.

"...To treat you."

I looked up sharply. "That's not what I meant. And you know it."

The mischievous glint was back in his hazy eyes.

"I don't—"

"Why didn't you leave them here? So I could don them when I awoke?"

For a moment he was solemn, but then the corners of his lips turned up into a sideways smile.

"You would have tried to run. Or fight.. more. Also why I couldn't leave your weapons here."

"That seems a poor excuse."

He perked an eyebrow, imitating a pose of innocence. There was something he definitely wasn't telling me, and I didn't like it.

"We can talk more after you are refreshed. I have also just finished preparing a small meal. I assume you are hungry?"

Before I could speak again, he ducked under the waterfall and descended the cliff with a flick of his dark cloak. I stared after him until I heard his footsteps down on the bank. I wondered at the perplexing dream I must have been flying through. I couldn't even remember the last time I had spoken so much. After the sound of Argetlus' movements left my range of hearing, the eerie thought crept in that I had just met a ghost. I looked down at the damp, yellow bandages binding my hip. After feeling around for a few frustrating minutes and pulling at the clinging fabric with my fingernails, I managed to free a string that made the rest unravel instantly. I grimaced at the stinging sensation it resulted in. Seeing the fleshy gap in my skin surrounded by ugly purple bruising was enough to convince me that I was no longer dreaming.