Chapter 4: Apothecaries Test (Part 8/9)

A chittering from Bugger sounded out in front of me, a fair way off. My eyes narrowed in surprise at this, distracting me somewhat from my unsettling fears. This was the first time that it had ventured to a place beyond my path. Up to now, it had always stayed behind me, being satisfied with following in my wake. With no other better option, I decided to take a chance and see if this panned out. Thankfully it took me less than a minute to traverse the distance it was from me. It was a close call several times, but I kept myself from falling over as I made it to the tree that Bugger had called out from. With the shadows growing deeper and my vision getting blurry, I had a hard time making out clearly what was in front of me. However, as I reached forward, I felt a sharp prick on my hand. "Huh?!" I shook my head and my vision cleared a bit. Directly in front of me was a small thicket of thorns surrounding the tree that Bugger was sprawling on. Gazing as carefully as I could with the up-close thorns barring my way, I was able to spot what looked suspiciously like the plant I was looking for. Taking a deep breath, I caught a whiff of cinnamon. "This is it!" I hissed out in wonder. Looking about and trying to find a way through the wall of thorns, I was a bit lost. I couldn't reach over it. I might be able to reach it with a long stick, but there's no way I could get to the necessary roots below ground. Still, I grabbed a nearby stick to slip under the hedge and leveraged it upward with the far end digging into the ground. It lifted! The thorny branches weren't secured to the ground at all points! With that discovery, I haphazardly built a plan in my progressively more sluggish mind. Digging out the rope I had from my pack, I visually gauged the lengths that I would need for my specific purpose in mind. Setting out to task, I created a small loop at one end of the rope and then threw that end over the top of the side of the thicket I was on. Next, I slipped one of the 2 long sticks in my hand under the hedge again and pushed upward. With the other stick, I was able to carefully snag the looped rope end. It almost appeared to snag a few times, but surprisingly it slipped past all of the grasping thorns threatening to hold it fast. It almost made me think that the rope could be enchanted to evade undesirable hitches. This next part was a bit difficult. My hands had begun to lose sensation a little and I worried about how that may affect my plan. I had to at least try. Grabbing the other end of the rope, I tied it around a rock and chucked it up and over one of the branches overhanging the thorn patch. Watching the parabola of its short flight left me feeling gratified. It smoothly arched over the hanging branch and then with the remaining momentum, it swung back towards me. With some fumbling, I was still able to catch the weighted rope end with the rock in hand as if came back down. *Phew* A relieved sigh escaped me as I was very glad it worked on the first try. In truth, I wasn't sure I could do that a second time. With both ends in hand, I now had little left to do. Soon, soon that terrible plant would be in my grasp, and I would ruthlessly rip it from the ground and consume its life saving roots. I felt a bit of derangement, as my mind was feverishly obsessed with this almost won prize. Even Bugger gave out a concerning sounding chitter. However, I shortly found that it wasn't about me he was concerned. The sound of clopping hooves sounded out in the surroundings. In the distance, a large glowing light rushing through the trees and brush, rapidly made its way towards me. I was more than a little apprehensive about this new development. I was already on the last leg of both my journey and my energy was nearly spent and I wanted no further complications; Especially with my current very compromised condition. Very quickly, the light stopped in front of me and dimmed enough for my vision to discern what had arrived. "Paladin Ekhart?!" I called out in surprised curiosity. His white and silver emblazoned armor from the council meet was very memorable to me. Along with the white horse he rode and his metallic like skin luster, I had to admit that he presented quite the hero-like image. "Greetings Andrew. I'm glad to see you are well." *snort* I had to disagree with that statement as my vision started to swim again. But he continued his speech unabated, despite my nonverbal commentary. "I had heard from the wall guards that you had not returned for some time since your departure. I set out to save you, after growing concerned that you may have perished in these dangerous lands." His words sounded gratifying, but his tone of voice oozed with the same fanaticism that I had recognized back during the council meeting. Still, I could not expect that a gruff rejection of his kindness would end well for me. I had met many religious individuals in my life, and the great majority of them had proven to have a good head on their shoulders, as well as being open to respectful discussion or debate. However, there were a select few people that I had been unfortunate to meet, that had a kind of zealotry in their demeanor that refused to hear of anything that disagreed with their religious view of the world. The same could be said for some that weren't even religious, but who had a fervent faith or stake in their political stance, that brooked no tolerance for thinking that questioned their ideologies. It almost made me gag and want to throttle them at the idiocy of it all. In my mind, this Paladin Ekhart was definitely someone who believed himself to hold a holy calling to save everyone from their ignorance. In my opinion, there is no single right path for everyone in this world. Many may converge at times, possibly for long periods of time, and there may even be a singular optimal end point, but everyone has their own unique path to walk. "Paladin Ekhart." I forced the words out as I struggled to stay upright. "I appreciate your desire and willingness to help me. However, I have been charged by Victoria to complete a task of utmost importance that would be inconvenienced by your well-intended help." The Paladin froze at my statement, seemingly unsure about how to progress. *Neighheheh* His horse interrupted the brief moment of silence. This however appeared to give the paladin a different idea. "You spoke of desiring a cure for your sister, correct?" He enquired. I didn't deny such. And so he continued. "I would like to invite you to join my sworn covenant as a faithful knight of the God Broam. If you join our brotherhood, with enough service provided to our lord, he would grant you a potion to cure that which ails your sister. All you need to do is partake of this." Pulling out a glowing white vial from his waist pouch, I was immediately caught up in the sight of it. I had originally been about to reject his offer, again with flowery polite words, that is if my muddled mind could scramble them together appropriately. However, this potion had something special about it. I was drawn to the glowing pearl like swirls within the vial, much like I was to the translation amulet. However, something felt off about the potion that he was offering me. Although it was a similar sensation to what I felt with the amulet, with a part of me reaching out to it, so too did it feel like something coming from it, was reaching out to me. This reaching feeling, I was getting from it, felt possessive and domineering, almost like a parasite excitedly looking at its next host. I almost wanted to consume it if only to see who might prove victorious between the two of us. I mean, this wasn't real life, so more chances could be taken. Taking the offered potion in hand, I held it up to better observe the beautiful changes in color and better feel the sensation of reaching. Paladin Ekhart's eyes glowed with a fervor and confidence as he watched me handle the special liquid. Because of those sensations I was feeling, I honestly wanted to take it. However, I feared to lose my apprenticeship with Victoria who had dealt honestly if not kindly with me. This Paladin was neither honest nor kind as he was taking advantage of my dire straits to strong arm me into acceptance. All that was barring me from completing my contract to Victoria, was a short thorn strewn path. It was so close to being within my grasp. And besides, the biggest concern is that I'd likely be working under and for the Paladin after this if I acceptable his deal. That was something I could not condone or lower myself to do. With great resignation at being caught in such a difficult position, I handed the vial back to him. Appearing greatly shocked at this and not expecting my rejection, he apparently wasn't ready to grasp the idea of the vial being returned. That and my hands which had become unstable shook a little. This led to the vial falling from my grasp and striking upon a rock that had been underfoot. Time seemed to slow as the seemingly precious liquid filled vial smashed apart and leaked across the ground. Shock emitted from the both of us at this sudden development. Then, the air stilled with an unnatural weight, bearing heavily down upon me from the shining figure straddling the majestic white horse. Anger and fury, greater than I had ever seen before in my life, radiated forth from his personage. "You!!" His finger pointed accusingly at me. "You shall pay dearly for this!" His face clouded and distorted with malevolent energies which denoted his singular desire to end my life right here in this moment. Even his hand shaking with rage had dropped to his sheathed sword as if readying to unsheathe it and strike me down. Something deep inside was restraining him from doing the deed, but it appeared to be losing its fight with his fury riddled mind. I don't know if it was divine providence or chance. However, the howl of wild animals in the distance, broke the spell of his losing battle over self-control. Something changed in his eyes at the sound. His shaking slowly calmed itself and after a short continued inner battle, he regained his regal bearing as a majestic Paladin upon a white stallion. It was as if nothing that had just transpired, remained upon his mind. I had hoped that his self-discipline, or whatever had been battling with his desire to end me had won. However, his next words laced with gleeful malice ended that thought. "The wolves are coming, and your blood is ripe for their harvest." With that, his horse made a tight circuit and they dashed off towards the city, leaving me alone to deal with the howls in the night growing louder and ever closer. I didn't waste a moment as he departed, not recognizing that blood had begun dripping from my nose. Grasping the rope that had now been set in place, I pulled tightly on it. A rush of weakness came over me at that exertion, but I single-mindedly persevered. In reaction to my effort, the rope circling around the base and sides of the thorn hedge hoisted it off the ground, with the vantage point of the branch above it. With complete abandon, I dove beneath the raised bundle of thorn branches with knife in one hand and the taut rope held in the other. I crashed to the ground within easy grabbing distance of the plant, and almost considered trying to rip it up by hand. However, as I did so, I felt the top part begin to come off while leaving the roots embedded in the ground. Extreme frustration warred with my growing symptoms and fear. Stabbing the knife hilt deep into the ground, near the center cluster of roots of the Cinnamomum Proditor, I then tore the knife to the side and ripped upward. The movement caused me to loosen my grip on the rope for a moment, allowing the raised thorn hedge to crash down on my back. "Aghhhh!" I cried out at the pain of what felt like over a hundred jagged needles digging into my back came over me. My body spasmed causing even greater damage.