Fever
Hi, this is my first seeker story. It is set after Richard gets bitten by the poisonous plant and is then send to Zedd by his father. The scene picks up right after Khalan finds Zedd naked talking to his chicken.
…He left his father's house in a hurry. Why was his father so secretive? Why didn't he want him in the house?
Richard couldn't think straight. He was feeling lousy. His skin was clammy and he was soaked in cold sweat. His vision started to become blurry. Up ahead he could see Zedd's cabin getting closer. Once again he shivered against the cold night air. His horse guided him up the hill towards the cabin as he no longer seemed to have the strength to do it on his own.
As he approached the cabin he saw Zedd standing outside with the mysterious woman by his side. What was going on? This was too much for Richard to comprehend. He finally lost all his strength. He looked at both of them questioning. "You…" he moaned towards the woman in white. He looked at both of them questioning and then his consciousness gave away. With a thud he fell off his horse onto the cold forest floor.
Zedd and Khalan, the woman in white, looked at each other and then ran over to kneel next to Richard. Khalan noticed his clammy skin and touched Richard's forehead with the back of her hand. "He is burning up, Zedd." She said. Zedd looked worried and answered: "Lets bring him inside, so we can check out what is going on with him."
Zedd stepped behind Richard and grabbed him under his armpits. He the dragged him inside taking most of his weight, while Khalan held onto Richard's legs to prevent any further damage.
Inside the cabin, Zedd moved to put Richard onto the cot by the wall. When he took another look at him, it seemed like his fever had increase just in the short time they needed to bring him inside. Richard was semi-conscious and moaning in unknown agony.
Khalan went over to the water basin by the kitchen area. She ripped a small piece of cloth off the bottom of her dress and then dipped it into the cold water. She then came back to the cot where Richard lay. She started to use the wet cloth to wipe the sweat of Richard's forehead.
Meanwhile Zedd was in the process of taking off Richard's shirt to get a better look at what might have caused his unconsciousness and fever. It was a difficult task as Richard was squirming under his hands and his head was moving back and forth between the left and right side of the pillow. After Zedd finally finished, he noticed the bite wound on Richard's hand. The wound was already getting infected with angry red streaks around the edges.
Zedd went back to his desk and started to put some herbs into a small bowl.
While Zedd was working on a possible antidote, Khalan wiped down Richard's upper body. He leaned into her touch but did not fully regain consciousness. He groaned when the cool cloth hit his hot feverish skin. Khalan watched him. He looked so young and innocent. She wished she had retained some of that kind of innocence.
After a few minutes Zedd came over to the cot holding a little bowl with a liquid. "Lift up his head." He ordered Khalan. She nodded and sat down on the cot by the side of Richard's upper body. She lifted Richard's upper body and placed herself behind him so that his back was leaning against her with his head drooping against her shoulder.
Zedd slowly guided the bowl he held towards Richard's lips. Out of reflex Richard parted them and Zedd started to dip the bowl trying to get the liquid potion into Richard's mouth. Richard did not drink though and the liquid dripped out of his mouth. Zedd tried it again it again. This time he slightly massaged Richard's throat to start his swallowing reflex. Slowly but surely he drank the entire potion.
After he finished Zedd put the bowl by the bedside table and then helped Khalan lower Richard back down onto the pillow. After a few minutes Richard finally seemed to calm down and succumb to sleep.
Khalan got up and went over to the kitchen area to talk to Zedd. "So what's wrong with him?" She asked. "He was bitten by a poisonous plant. Thankfully I had an antidote on hand. He would not have lasted much longer." He sighed. "Is he going to be alright?" Khalan wanted to know. Zedd nodded. "Yes, I believe so. He got here right on time. We will see within the next few hours if it worked or not." With that he left and went outside.
A little while later Richard was slowly waking up. He was disoriented at first. He looked around the room but nothing seemed familiar. There was a small fire burning in the fireplace, a candle on his bedside table illuminated the area. The mysterious woman was sitting in a chair next to his bed apparently asleep.
Richard tried to sit up. He groaned as his whole body ached. He raised his hand and looked at the bite wound. It was burning. He touched the wound slightly with his other hand and it was sensitive to the touch. Slowly he swung his legs over the edge of the bed opposite of Khalan. He was so thirsty. He just wanted to get some water and then go back to sleep. He was so tired. He finally sat up and had to close his eyes for a moment willing the room to stop spinning. When he opened them again the room finally seemed to stand still, even though his sight was becoming darkened at the edges. He slowly pushed himself up from the cot. His legs were wobbling and felt like rubber.
He made his way over to the table which held a cup of water. He reached for the cup with his good hand but it slipped through. All of the sudden Richard felt dizzy. He had to hold onto the table with one hand and put the other on his forehead to stop the pounding headache. He suddenly felt weak and his knees started to buckle without him having any control over them. Before he hit the floor though, he felt hands grab him from behind and he was slowly lowered to the floor.
When he finally willed his eyes to open again, Khalan was hovering above him. She looked worried. Her hand stroked through his wet hair. "Richard, you're with me now?" She asked, concern written all over her face. He looked confused but nodded slowly. She smiled. "Ok. You passed out for a minute. You shouldn't have gotten up yet. The poison weakened you. You need to rest." "I was thirsty." He replied. "And I did not want to wake you up." He smiled yet again. "Lets get you back to bed and I will get you something to drink, ok?" She made an attempt to help him up, but he was pure muscle and still to weak to be any real help. "Zedd!" she called out. Zedd came inside and saw Richard on the floor. "What happened?"
While Zedd helped Khalan pick Richard up, Khalan explained Richard's quest for water. When they finally had him back on the bed, Richard was only barely conscious. He groaned when they lowered him back onto the cot.
Khalan went to grab another cup of water. She then sat down next to him. She put her hand under his neck to help him lift up his head to drink. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I got you some water. Let me help you up." She said and he tried to lift up his head a bit. He realized that he would have never been able to lift it up by himself. He felt so weak with no strength left in his body.
Khalan put the cup up to his lips and he opened them. She slowly dipped the cup and he drank eagerly. It felt good to have the cool liquid glide down his throat. He tried to drink faster, but had to cough when some of the water went down to fast. Khalan moved the cup away and wiped off whatever water was drooling down Richard's chin. When she touched his forehead again, she noticed that Richard's fever was still rising. "Zedd." She said. "I don't think the potion worked. He is getting worse." Zedd looked at her and then sat down on the edge of Richard's cot. He touched Richard's forehead as well and was not pleased. He took another look at the hand and noticed that the wound was even redder than before. "Hmm." He mumbled. "There seems to be magic to be at work here." He picked up Richard's hand and placed it in Khalan's. "Hold his hand." He told her. "I will try a spell to get rid of the poison that way." "Horantatus…" He started speaking in the ancient language. All of the sudden the poisonous spirit made its way out of Richard's hand and dissolved. Richard's body arched off the bed when the poison was expelled. Khalan held him down with her hand on his forehead. "His fever is broken." She said and looked at Zedd. "Now bring me to the seeker."