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Last Chance Odyssey

Chapter 1: Black Rot Syndrome

By Véronique Racine Published 2 years ago 25 min read
6

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. For a time they moved in, found nesting grounds and started reproducing. For a short time, they began to thrive again.

But the poachers came from distant lands and started hunting them down mercilessly. The dragons were sought after for their horns, their firesacs, their gem-like scales, but what mostly brought in the hunters were their reproductive glands, said to be an aphrodisiac like no other, curing all diseases and giving incredible stamina.

Dragons were so incredibly useful in the preparation of potions that their rapid dwindling was a source of concern for Healers in the Valley. The Kingdom of GuldFarden had been struck down by various plagues in the past decades and coming of the dragons had been seen like the sign that everything would get better, go back to normal, a sign that the gods were on their side again.

The Gods on their side again...

Deirdre would have laughed bitterly at the mere idea had she not been busy harvesting the fungus off a special blade of grass while watching Danny saunter about in the dead leaves.

At one, he was already more adventurous than most, completely unafraid of the woods. This was his element, where he could find and express his true nature.

The Gods were never on anyone's side. They took what they wanted when they wanted it. No one could escape their capricious nature.

Thus was life.

She finished her work, holding her breath as this harvest was delicate and could not suffer any contamination.

Once it was in the woven reed basket, swathed by beeswax for preservation, was she able to relax. Was she getting too old for this? There was sweat on her forehead, this was embarrassing to say the least.

But it was more than sweat, and now that her work was done, she felt goosebumps appearing all over her body.

How many times had she felt this, thinking of Liam, knowing he was always in danger, how many times had he beaten the odds? Because she was never wrong, her sixth sense always foretold of disaster.

For her, for people she saw or touched, the feeling was always the same.

Paralyzing fear that knotted her stomach in two, cold sweats, goosebumps.

Something wicked was coming their way.

She wasn't very surprised to see that Danny had stopped playing and was staring at the forest with the same intensity she was.

He had inherited her strengths, with all the troubles these brought as well.

" Here, now! " she ordered in a whisper and the child ran to her with relief.

She knew what to do, she was his mother, she had all the solutions...

Nothing could be farther from the truth but hopefully Danny would not discover this in the next few moments.

She rummaged through her pockets. Knives and machete would not do her much good against what was coming her way; she could hear the hoof beats now, the horses' ragged breathing.

Coming closer, closer... and looking for her.

Her eyes rove around the terrain, the fear gnawing at her, but subdued by the need for survival.

She swung Danny over her shoulder in her coarsely woven shawl and started climbing the nearest available tree.

She set him down on one of the large branches, in the thick moss outgrowth, and put a finger to her lips. The boy immediately piped down, understanding instinctively that their lives depended on his silence and courage.

This time she found what she was looking for in her pouches, and started mixing them in her mouth; nothing else to use.

She climbed down; best to leave her son in relative safety and lead the party away.

She didn't know what they wanted but her instinct was never wrong.

They rode and death rode with them.

One breath: Calm her racing heart: Close her eyes: Steady her hands around the hilt of her best knife: She was not ready but every heartbeat brought the inevitable confrontation closer.

They rode out, five men, dressed in chainmail and armor, complete with bulky headgear, which would complicate things for her.

Armed with such weapons that they could have been hunting wild boars, ogres, a band of thieves... why had they been sent against a modestly known Healer?

She heard them barking orders, out on the hunt, looking for every little sign. Where Danny had trampled the grass and brush, where she had cut off resinous bark, they noticed everything and disembarked to track them.

The leader remained on his horse, surveying the operation, watching for signs of his prey.

She recognized the royal insignia and knew they came on behalf of the Queen... But that was not reassuring in any way, considering the horrifying decisions that madwoman took every day, afflicted by her pregnancy and the loss of her husband, the King.

The horseman spread out, which was exactly what she was waiting for. She couldn't hope to defeat them if they stood united. She had a tiny chance if she picked them out one by one. In any case, she did not want to fight. All she wanted was to create enough of a diversion to recuperate her son and escape.

The soldiers were trained killers and the danger was real. She was used to deal with thieves and brigands, that was the greatest risk of the forest, in her opinion. Animals showed respect but humans were unstoppable in their destruction.

She closed her eyes a tiny instant, needing to calm the fluttering of her heart. This felt like the end, her end, the final destination of her life.

At a crossroads, if she chose the wrong fork, her lifeless body would be the result of her poor decision.

But the knot in her stomach told her that even if she chose the right fork, her path would be full of difficulties.

Life or death, what did it matter, she had to act now.

The soldier got off his horse, seeing a heap of clothes, half-hidden by a prickly mass of brambles. He approached cautiously as those thorns were murder and he didn't know what to expect from his enemy.

He heard movement and turned around swiftly, weapon ready for use: he received a wad of spit on his face, that turned to yellowish green smoke on contact.

Before he could attack his enemy or even think of parrying with his sword, he was choking. He dropped on his knees, clutching at his neck, turning gray, his eyes rolling in his sockets and fell like a rock without a single sound, other than the clinking of his bulky armor.

One down, too many to go.

This one had been easy but she knew it would not be the same for the others. She was out of breath from the tension.. but she wasn't beaten or done yet.

The soldiers had dispersed, gone down from their horses to search the area. Only the leader remained seated, surveying the area, standing right under the tree where she had hidden Danny.

As she glanced from behind a boulder, slinking to her next target, she saw her baby's blond hair peeking out of the vegetation, surely attracted by the subdued whinnies of the leader's horse.

Danny loved horses, he could look at them in the eyes, even the wildest ones, and feel no fear.

But reassuring her, he quickly went back to his hiding place, out of view and hopefully safe.

She stayed hidden herself, best to let her 'prey' come to her, play the patience game, she knew a lot about patience after all.

It took nerves of steel to be a Healer, hear everyone's whinings and provide solutions that most did not deserve, wanting a quick fix to problems instead of fixing the chakra to find the root of the illness.

Before one of the soldiers could approach her position, they found the one she had defeated and this caused quite a panic. They dragged him in front of the leader and he observed him with obvious displeasure.

" Deirdre of the House of Ashton, this is Captain Bruce of the House of Brighton, protector of the Queen, mandated by her to retrieve all healers of the Kingdom. Come out now, we will not harm you. Why have you attacked my man? Why have you committed such an outrage against your Queen? "

No answer, only the wind stirring the spring leaves, whispering warnings only she could hear.

He was telling the truth. Mandated by the Queen, but to what avail?

She stayed in her hideout, feeling more than ever that something would go wrong in the next few moments. Crossroads, forks, decisions leading to doom... What to do, she felt paralyzed.

" Show yourself, your Queen has asked for your presence in her court! This is a great honor, Healer! Show yourself now! "

The men were scattering again at the leader's behest and Deirdre almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe she could still save this.

She slinked in the brush, silent like a cat, apart from the loud staccato of her heart but hopefully no one but her could hear that awful ruckus.

The men had separated again, more wary than before because of their fallen comrade. They had thought they would face a lone woman, an easy target... and they had had quite a surprise.

This time the soldier whistled for the others to come to his aid when he saw the heap of clothes on the forest ground. He looked back and received the wad of spit in his face, right below the helmet.

He fell like the other, choking without a sound but before she could escape back into the forest, the two other soldiers caught up with her and threw her on the ground, removing her weapon and nearly knocking her out as they tried to subdue her.

She recovered her wit; they were dragging her to their commander, blood flowing from her nose.

The men were jubilating at their capture, as though this was something to be proud of. The Commander looked pretty confident himself now that they had their capture.

But she wasn't completely out of tricks yet.

She jumped back on her feet and spat in both their faces, finishing the potent mixture she had prepared.

The two guards fell at her feet and the Captain of Guards looked properly horrified. He almost seemed as though he wanted to run off in front of this furious, uncontrollable banshee, but then a coo attracted his attention.

Danny, reacting to the change of power, feeling that things were going their way, and wanting to return to his mother's arms again.

He was quick-witted, that much was certain. She didn't even have the time to pick up one of the swords - that she could barely wield, being too heavy for her - that he had jumped up on the branch and jumped back down, snatching the child, the only true weapon he could use against her.

" Stop there, witch! Or he dies! " he spat out fiercely.

"They're not dead! " Deirdre said, not able to keep her attention focused solely on her enemy. Her son was so small, almost choked to death by the soldier's brutal embrace.

"Your men aren't dead, just asleep, they will wake tomorrow, nothing is lost, let my son go! "

"You were summoned by your Queen, Healer! he said scornfully. And this is how you treat her agents!

"Forgive me my Lord, many thieves wear such armors and make such claims, one is never safe in these woods. I beg you, do not hurt my son. "

" My men are safe, you swear on your son's life? "

"Verify yourself, Lord, their hearts beat, they draw breath... I was only protecting my son, forgive me my Lord. "

He had no intention of getting off his horse to check, but he did release the chokehold he had on Danny's arm and throat, leaving red welts on the boy's skin.

"Mount a horse, witch. Your Queen has summoned you. If my men do not return... you will be held responsible for your crime. "

" Give me my son, please, my Lord, " Deirdre pleaded.

" So you can run away? He stays with me. Mount a horse and follow me or you will find him on the trail somewhere. And he won't be in any shape to ever wake up. "

" Coming, my Lord, " Deirdre had to grind back her pride but it was not very hard, considering the terror she felt for her son.

Danny didn't seem to be afraid ; released from the man' s grip, he had gone straight for the horse's mane and was now talking in the animal's ears, oblivious to the danger he was in.

She had to trust him, perhaps his instinct was better than hers... or even more simply there was no other choice.

She recuperated her bag and basket under the Captain's critical stare, and finally mounted one of the horses and galloped away, following the man back towards the capital .

Deirdre rarely went to the capital city, filthy town as it was. Most diseases she had to treat came from the filth running rampant in these streets.

Danny was burying his face in the horse's mane, careful not to stare out; the 'vibes' were that potent.

Infesting the Kingdom with its vileness, and the Palace was the nexus of evil. It was almost unbearable to ride towards it to know that her destiny and that of her child were linked to that awful place.

Something was wrong. Deirdre could feel it the second she dismounted. Death in the air... But what was she expecting? If she, modest Healer working in the Dark forest, had been called in to the palace, something was certainly afoot.

She looked at the Captain but he kept her son in his arms, carrying him like a ridiculous trophy, ensuring her submissiveness.

Not that she could have tried anything anyway. Nowhere to hide, no one sympathetic to her in this deathtrap. But it irked her to be deprived of her son, and this was the man's petty revenge for her humiliating him by defeating his men.

They were brought in to an antechamber that smelled of stale charcoal smoke, perfume and blood. The mixture was nauseating, and all the Healers that had been assembled seemed to be affected by it.

" Have any one of you found a solution? " Captain Brighton asked the assembly, holding Danny a little more tightly as the boy was getting nervous with the strange atmosphere.

Just by looking at their faces their expressions, Deirdre could tell the whole story. Someone on the verge of death... no doubt the most important someone in the kingdom. And they were all stalling, hoping this important person would die from what was afflicting her without them being held responsible for it.

But the return of the Captain with a new Healer spelled bad news for them.

" There is nothing to do, sire, " one of them said meekly."

" That is what you all say? None of you have looked in your grimoires? None of you have some magic for me? " Brighton said scornfully.

" Her affliction runs too deep, there is nothing to do. We have all prayed all the time you have been away. Prayer is her only hope. "

" If none of you find a solution for her, if none of you save your Queen, I will put each and everyone of you to death. " The Captain promised and it was not an empty threat.

" You cannot do that, sire! We tried to help in good faith, there is nothing- "

" Let me see the Queen, " Deirdre said. She was the only one who could do it, the others had already stated that they were stumped by her ailment.

How to save face? She didn't have anything to prove to those Healers, she didn't have to help them. But if Brighton could feel they were lying, it was more than obvious to her.

All she wanted was to save her son... but could she really sacrifice all the others?

She was led to a bedroom that reeked of stale death and horror. She could feel the servants' nervosity, but it wasn't only at the thought of their master being on the brink of death.

Although from her pallor, soon the Queen would have been irrecuperable.

The Queen's surgeon had applied the worst treatment possible for her condition, bleeding her out of what little blood was left in her body and applying bloodsuckers to cleanse the evil out of her.

Deirdre gave him a hostile stare.

" Take that away, leave the poor woman what little blood she has left! "

" Get out of here, witch! " the surgeon said with arrogant spite.

Deirdre turned to Brighton. " If I can't act, I can't save her. "

"Let her do her work, "Brighton ordered.

Deirdre emptied the contents of her bag on the nearest table and started assembling the ingredients, muttering under her breath, and removing the leeches as she thought the servants were not doing a quick enough job. Time was of the essence for the Queen reeked of death.

In the bowl she crumbled herbs rapidly, measuring by instinct as she had no time to dose it perfectly.

Danny was falling alseep in the soldier's arms; a wonder to her, but maybe he had more faith in her abilities than she did.

The Queen gagged when she drank the fuming potion and the Captain almost panicked when she changed color, going from gray and white to more greenish, turning to black. What was affecting her was potent , deep-rooted into her soul.

The fumes were a good thing, she had a good chance of being cleansed, at least enough to survive what had happened to her. A bad miscarriage?

The vibes were strange. the baby, was it alive or not? Deirdre wasn't sure.

"What's happening to her? Brighton demanded. What did you do to her? "

The tone. Deirdre looked at him sharply. Such fear, such care. This reeked of more than feudal adoration.

"Her body is rejecting death, now. She will be all right. The other Healers couldn help her, they needed this. I am the only one who knows where to find it. " Deirdre showed him the fungus she had harvested just before the attack.

Brighton seemed suspicious, but the Queen already had a more rosy color.

"She lost a lot of blood from childbirth, Deirdre said. She will be bedridden for days. What happened to the child? It might help her heal if it were with her, for comfort. "

"Let her heal on her own, "Brighton said, and there was some shame, nervous energy there.

What were they hiding from her?

The surgeon was allowed to come in and checked over his patient, wanting to find some flaw. The Queen's bleeding had stopped, she was obviously on the mend.

"Let her rest now, Deirdre ordered. She needs to sleep and cleanse the poison out of her body. "

"We should leave her, "Brighton said.

"And pray, "the surgeon added, to have the last word.

Finally Brighton gave her back her son and Deirdre almost collapsed with relief, not realizing fully, until that moment, how tense she had been.

"This Healer managed a feat you did not dare try, Brighton said with obvious spite. The Queen is on the mend, thank the Lords of the Skies and Night for this miracle. "

The Healers glanced at Deirdre, some hostile, as they all wished the Queen's death, but some showing their appreciation, for they had just escpaed torture because of her talents.

Waiting was never easy, especially since the vibes were not right yet. Danny awoke and started wanting food, and to eveyrone's surprise, Brighton ordered they be fed.

He was really worried, something about him... Deirdre would have liked to ask the other Healers. Some had better understanding of human energies than her. She felt danger and death, but interpreting human emotions, what brought danger, what brought death, what precipitated chaos, was not her forte.

She could only react to the end result, never prevent it.

A moan came from the Queen's chambers and Brighton jumped to his feet, as he had been kneeling in front of the Gods' effigies.

After a few minutes spent in the Queen's presence, he ordered the Healers to come in. Most looked gray at the thought and Deirdre gripped Danny a little tighter.

This would be another crossroads, she felt it.

The Queen had been propped up on cushions, the white linen somehow overshadowed by her disposition. The darkness in her stare was potent to all the Healers present.

She was short-breathed from loss of blood but obviously used to giving orders: "What can you do? "she demanded.

Not a word of thanks to those who had made her escape from the clutches of death.

The servants brought forth a bundle swathed in black, and some Healers choked on their breaths. One woman even passed out. It wasn't melodrama. Deirdre caught a glimpse of the baby inside the cloth and her breath cauhgt in her throat as well.

"What is wrong with him, what can you do, save him! "The Queen ordered.

Brighton put an appeasing hand on her shoulder. "You are the best Healers of the kingdom. Save him. "

None of the Healers said a word, glancing furtively at each other.

"If you don't do something right now, if you don't look at your potions and move your damn asses, I start picking you off until one of you starts HEALING! " Brighton threatened. He was dead serious.

Deirdre caught his stare, looking at Danny again. He knew exactly who to pressure and who would crack first.

She pushed past the other Healers to take a better look at the baby, now set near the Queen.

It was as bad as she thought it was. The infant was discolored, but past the initial shock, she recognized signs that left her near speechless.

The Captain's interest... this boy, wretched creature that he was, was not the King's.

And his conception in adultery was probably part of the reason behind his terrible affliction.

"He has the Black Rot Syndrome, she declared. He is condemned. "

The Queen gasped in pain and sorrow at the news.

"Do something! "Brighton ordered, his eyes red with pain and rage.

He knew he was responsible for his illegitimate son's demise, he felt it in a way, his mind was troubled by the gods... and he would not abandon. He would do anything, including imposing death on everyone else, to get what he wanted.

"Black Rot is unforgivable, "another Healer said, his voice quavering.

"He should be disposed of, before he contaminates us all, "another said, which was the consensus of all, due to the danger of contagion.

But when the woman gasped in pain and collapsed on the floor, the Captain's knife sticking out of her throat, they all piped down.

"Feed the child if you want him to live, my Queen, " Deirdre said, only the truth, but how would the Queen react?

"Only you can. Your blood runs in his veins, you are immune to the Black Rot he carries. If you do not feed him, he dies in the next hours, "she added.

"That's right, you are safe, my Queen, " another Healer confirmed, which prompted the Queen to bring the baby to her.

She obviously had no idea what to do and would have preferred some privacy, but the servants spread tapestries to hide the sight but keep her in the conversation.

"What can you do? For the baby? " Brighton demanded.

Deirdre sighed . " Technically truthfully, with what I have here, there is nothing to do. If well fed, he will survive a few weeks, three months at the most, before his flesh rots off. "

Brighton's pain was much too evident; he could hardly control himself. " Can you save him yes or no? "

"Only one thing can purge the Black Rot, only one animal's purity can defeat that plague and the sin from whence it was created, " Deirdre said, meaning her words to bite. Although it was counterproductive to make him angry, she wanted him to know that she was not duped.

Black Rot could only infect so young a body if the energies of its conception were rotten and diseased.

"What? the Queen demanded from beyond the drapes. What can cure him? "

" But it's extinct now, here in the Valley. The Kingdom was cleansed of them in the past years, none remain. "

"You mean? " another Healer gasped at the implications.

"What? Brighton panicked. What? "

"The upper tooth of a baby dragon, the Healer said, following Deirdre's reasoning. To pierce the shell, the teeth is made of bone like diamond, the purest charm and remedy in this dark world. Far purer than the mane of a unicorn. It can cure any illness, any woe. "

"Truly? "Brighton asked.

"But the tooth must be harvested off a live baby dragon, or it loses all potency. There has not been a dragon nest in the Kingdom since you let the poachers from the East hunt them down. " Deirdre reminded.

In a way she thought what was happening to the Queen and her bastard offspring was right. All the jewel scales thus harvested had gone to make jewelry she wore every day as monarch. Perhaps that was another reason why her child was thus afflicted.

"And it could save him? " Brighton demanded.

"Nothing is more potent, " the other Healer confirmed.

"Where can we find these dragons now? "

"Scarcer by the day, almost extinct, some say they have seen nests in the North, maybe three weeks' march from here. The season should be almost upon us... Hatching. But could one be found? " Deirdre shrugged eloquently enough. It was a fool's errand.

"You will save my son! "the Queen ordered.

She was done feeding him and now held him in her arms, trying hard not to cry. Look threatening and queenly, not human.

"Admitting we tried, there is no telling if your son would survive the time we came back, Deirdre said, practical. He will not survive many weeks like this. "

" You will try or I will! "the Queen coughed and Brighton came to her side, beckoning Deirdre forward.

The Queen was crying, overcome by emotion, but she noticed the baby Deirdre was holding immediately, with envy and greed and jealousy.

"Your son? " she asked.

"Yes my Queen, " Deirdre answered, subdued.

Another crossroads? The hair on her arms was standing on end and she was shivering, fearing what would come next.

Inevitable.

" Let me hold him, " the Queen said.

As the order wasn't being carried out quickly enough to the Captain's taste, he ripped Danny from his mother's grasp; all she could do was gasp in fear. Powerless had never been potent an emotion as in that moment.

The Queen held Danny and the boy looked at her without fear whatsoever; in fact she looked away first.

"He is wonderful boy, she said in a weeping sigh. So hale and healthy. "

"Yes my Queen, " Deirdre confirmed, aching to reach out to him.

The Queen was too weak to hold him for long and so Danny struggled out of her grasp and crawled on the bed to go see the baby before the adults could warn him away.

He let out a coo of surprise and delight and, making his mother and every Healer present gasp, kissed the baby's discolored forehead.

"Gods, no! "the Healer closest to Deirdre cried out while she had trouble not to pass out.

But what happened next stunned everyone to silence. The royal baby coughed and some black smoke wafted out of his skin. Dany laughed in delight and the baby let out a peep, the first real sign of life he had given since his traumatic birth.

"Your son is a Healer, " the man next to Deirdre told her.

" I know, " she whispered. But to that point?

The Queen looked bemused by what had happened, not understanding at all what had changed or what was this magic.

"His heart is so pure, " the Healer said in awe.

All Deirdre felt like doing was crying; some point of no return was passed and there was no coming back now.

"He lives? Your son saved my boy? "the Queen demanded.

"No, your son is not cured, the other Healer answered. He was given a reprieve through her son's purity. He is healed for now, but Black Rot will return, unless the infant dragon tooth is found and given to him. "

"But now there's time, Brighton understood. Enough time. "

Danny had lain down to sleep next to the baby, looking as though he had found a long-lost friend, making Deirdre doubt her harsh judgment of the child. He was not responsible for his parents' fault, and that was what Danny had immediately sensed.

"You have time, you will save my son. Find that dragon tooth, " the Queen ordered, looking at Deirdre.

"My Queen, I am not a soldier or a fighter. There are brigands, there- "

"You hardly need protection, Brighton snorted. But I will put together the best soldiers and lead it myself. "

" Bring back the cure... Your son's life hangs in the same balance as mine. My boy lives, your boy lives. Otherwise... "

The crossroads. No turning back now.

Her fate was etched along a perilous path...

THE END

Fantasy
6

About the Creator

Véronique Racine

I am a hobby writer who adores science fiction and intelligent characters and storylines!

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Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

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  • Valerie Racine2 years ago

    Great and awesome beginning; too bad we will never know the end!

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