Village (Part 2)

[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM – YEAR 271]

"As you wish, Ser!" Cedric said with a slight bow. After finishing his bow, he turned to leave, but Aquiles grabbed his arm, causing the man to look at him in confusion. Aquiles then spoke, "Would it be possible to take me to the wounded? I believe I may be able to help, at least a little."

"Are you a Maester?" Cedric asked, with a hint of incredulity in his voice, not believing there could be such a young Maester.

"No... But my father taught me many healing techniques for wounds. I believe I can be of use," Aquiles declared, his words oozing confidence. Cedric seemed reluctant, so Aquiles added, "It's not like you have a better option."

Cedric nodded, but his hesitation had not entirely faded, so he exclaimed with a slightly hesitant voice, "Very well, follow me." Then, he began to leave, and Aquiles followed him. Ser Rodrik also decided to follow them since he had nothing better to do. Cedric led them through the rugged alleys to one of the modest wooden and thatched houses.

Knocking on the door, a young and beautiful woman with blonde hair answered. Her name was Eliane, and when Cedric conveyed that they were there to help her husband, her eyes showed a mix of relief and hope. She immediately invited them in and began to guide them through the simple and modest house, leading them to one of the two rooms.

The room was modest, containing only a wooden bed with a straw mattress on top, which had now turned into a bed containing a man wrapped in blood-soaked blankets. Upon entering the room, Aquiles and the others were hit by a strong smell of blood and something putrid.

Approaching the bed, Aquiles knelt beside the man and removed the blanket that covered him, revealing a deep cut wound on his right arm, which was already mostly purple due to inflammation. The cut itself was no longer purple but black; the wound had rotted, and soon putrefaction would spread throughout the arm.

As he observed the state of the man's arm, a slight and fleeting gleam of sadness emerged in his eyes, and Ser Rodrik commented with melancholy: "What a pity, the arm will need to be amputated. The infection is already spreading, and the limb is starting to rot. If we don't act quickly, the infection could lead to his death."

Upon hearing Ser Rodrik's words, Eliane's face turned as pale as a ghost, the blood draining from her face. "A-amputate? Gods, no." Eliane spoke in a trembling tone, pacing in circles completely disoriented and afraid.

"Do you really need to amputate the arm? Can't you just clean the wound? Osmund is one of the best warriors we have," Cedric asked as he turned to Ser Rodrik.

"I'm sorry." Ser Rodrik's voice echoed through the room, laden with sorrow. "This is the only alternative left to us!" His gaze lowered towards the weakened man, looking at the man's arm with empathy. Ser Rodrik had always been a knight in service to House Stark, and thus, he could hardly imagine losing the arm that wielded his sword.

"In fact, I believe I can save his arm," Aquiles asserted, immediately causing Cedric and Eliane's previously desolate faces to light up with hope as they turned to him.

Ser Rodrik, however, shook his head. "The arm is overrun by putrefaction, I see no way to save it, and every passing moment only brings him closer to death. Amputation is the best choice!" Ser Rodrik expressed again, now with firmness.

Ignoring Ser Rodrik's verdict, Eliane clung with all her strength to the rope of hope that Aquiles threw her way and then asked hopefully, "Can you really save his arm?"

"I'm confident... Give me 10 minutes. I'll go to the forest to gather the necessary herbs to make the medicine. While I gather the herbs, boil some water and bring me a clean cloth!" Aquiles ordered, rising from the man's side and then he left the room in a hurried tone. Eliane and Cedric quickly began to obey Aquiles' instructions, and while Cedric lit the fire in the wood stove, Eliane fetched a round iron pot and some clean cloths. Ser Rodrik, though still suspicious, chose to simply wait in silence beside Osmund's bed.

While Osmund's wife and Cedric carried out the tasks indicated by Aquiles, he entered the forest quickly. After distancing himself considerably from the location and ensuring that no one was following him, he began to gather some leaves and tufts of grass, roots, and other types of vegetation, collecting as much as he could before returning to Eliane's dwelling. Upon reentering the house, he noticed that everything he had requested was already prepared. The water was boiling in an iron pot over the wood stove, and some clean cloths were folded on the simple brown wooden table.

"I'm eager to see how you'll save that arm!" Ser Rodrik's words echoed, carrying a tone of challenge and curiosity. His eyes followed Aquiles' movements attentively, not missing the slightest detail as he added the leaves, grass, and roots into the boiling water. When the leaves came into contact with the water, it began to boil rapidly, assuming a crystalline green hue.

After the water changed color, Aquiles took the clean cloth he had requested and soaked it with the liquid. Then, he waited for it to cool for a few minutes and returned to Eliane's husband's room with the warm towel dripping water on the floor without caring. Aquiles knelt beside Osmund's arm and began to wrap the cloth around the wound, leaving no gap that would allow Ser Rodrik and the others to see the wound or the redness of the arm. After completely wrapping the arm with cloth, Aquiles immediately used his skill {Gift of Healing} to heal it completely, without anyone noticing.

Looking disdainfully at what Aquiles had done, Ser Rodrik questioned, "Is that it?" His voice somewhat disappointed and skeptical about the treatment.

"Yes. Let's wait for a few minutes." Aquiles spoke and then sat on the floor, with how smelly that bed was, he wouldn't sit there at all, after all, Lord Stark had only given him this pair of clothes, and only did so because the bear had torn his apart.

"For how long should we wait?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"For 20 minutes... This remedy is quite strong, it shouldn't take long to completely heal the man's arm!" Aquiles spoke confidently as he leaned against the wall.

Ser Rodrik chuckled lightly in disbelief; now, he was absolutely sure that Aquiles was lying. He knew that in this world there was no such remedy that could heal such a wound so quickly. "Just 20 minutes? That's nonsense, no remedy takes effect so quickly!" Stated Ser Rodrik with a tone of certainty.

"Mine does." Affirmed Aquiles as he gave a slight smile. Ser Rodrik met Aquiles' eyes and retorted in a doubtful tone: "We'll see!"

Soon, about 20 minutes passed and Aquiles asked Ser Rodrik to unwrap the man's arm himself, and he did so. Upon finishing unwrapping, the eyes of Ser Rodrik, Cedric, and Eliane widened as if they were seeing the ghost of a relative. "How? This remedy healed him... And so quickly, what is this remedy?" Inquired Ser Rodrik looking at Aquiles in a new light.

"Just a few herbs and roots from the forest... Nothing special!" Replied Aquiles with a smile as he stood up. After getting up, Aquiles walked over to the man and moved his body trying to wake him up, but it had no effect, and this made his expression start to become a little fearful. "Is he dead?" Aquiles wondered in his mind with a hint of fear.

Moving his right ear close to the man's mouth, he could still hear his breathing, which made Aquiles sigh in relief, yet puzzled. "Did any of you give him anything before we arrived?" Aquiles inquired as he turned to Eliane, but she quickly shook her head negatively and looked towards Cedric.

As Aquiles' gaze fell upon the man, Cedric spoke, "He was complaining of pain, so I gave him poppy milk... That's probably why he's not waking up. He must still be under its effect!"

"Alright, then let him sleep until the effect of the poppy milk wears off!" Said Aquiles, beginning to walk out of the room towards the house's exit door with Ser Rodrik and Cedric. As they followed Aquiles, none of them seemed to believe what had just happened; the man on the brink of losing his arm was now completely healed.

"I don't know how to repay this debt... Thank you very much!" Said Eliane as Aquiles left the house. Aquiles gave a kind smile to the woman and then departed with Ser Rodrik and Cedric.