Cyrus and Morton woke the next morning sore and stiff from sleeping in the tree. On the bright side, it seemed the monster that had attacked the previous night had grown tired of waiting and had swum off in search of easier prey. Silently, the two men eased themselves back into the now hated swamp and resumed their journey. After the previous night, it was relatively uneventful. Cyrus let loose surprised grunt once when he thought something bit him through a chink in his armor, but other than that there was nothing else to break the monotony. The two reached the other side a few hours after dawn.
Finally free of the fetid waters, the two broke for a long awaited heavy brunch after missing dinner the night before. Cyrus had meticulously kept his pistol dry and shot a good number of fat birds, which went a long way in restoring both of their spirits. Morton even made small talk.
Cyrus was feeling better too. There was a slight ache in his side where he had been bit, but he didn't pay it much attention. He washed it quickly with some clean water from a small spring they came across and thought about it no more.
They were back in the forest, a welcome relief even with its shadow wolves and rat squirrels. The two let set themselves at an easy pace for the morning, both feeling that they earned it. Morton got chatty, and Cyrus kept up an amiable conversation with him for most of the morning.
But the ache in his side was spreading and growing worse and it started to bother Cyrus. The hours slipped by increasingly slowly, and by the time the two broke for lunch the pain was getting a bit distracting. Cyrus decided it must be hunger, but not even food helped.
"You all right there?" Morton asked. Cyrus didn't realize he'd been wincing as he stood.
"Fine," he brushed it off. "Just a bit stiff." Morton seemed to accept his excuse.
The two continued their walk for a few more hours. They had exhausted the conversation and resorted to a companionable silence. The soft grey light filtering through the trees was beginning to grow familiar and Morton made a game of throwing stones at any squirrel that should happen across their path. Then Cyrus felt a lancing cramp come from his side. He grunted as his hand flew to the bite mark.
"What's the matter?" Morton asked, concern etched in his voice.
"Nothing," Cyrus tried, but Morton wasn't having it.
"Come on now, let me see," he demanded. Cyrus frowned at him, but a phantom ache shot through and wincing, he obliged. Removing his armor, both men winced at the sight. The flesh around the bite had grown horribly discolored and felt hot to the touch.
"You just ignored that?" Morton asked in surprise.
"It wasn't that bad a while ago," Cyrus explained, but even he was worried.
"Come on, let's set you down," Morton advised, but Cyrus waved him off.
"No, no, it's okay," he tried to assure his friend. "It's just an infection. I'll treat it at a spring."
"Maybe – " Morton started.
"Really, it's fine. Come on, we're losing daylight," Cyrus avoided the obvious and moved off. Frowning, Morton followed him. The two walked for another twenty minutes when Cyrus felt another arc of pain, this one strong enough to cause him to stagger.
"Sit down," Morton told him. Cyrus sighed as he slumped against a tree. "It's poison, isn't it?" Morton guessed. Cyrus shook his head.
"No, it can't be," he denied. "It just got dirty in that wretched swamp. I'll be fine." The statement was disproved a moment later when Cyrus jerked again.
"I think we need to find Gwen," Morton finally told him.
"No!" Cyrus said swiftly. "We don't need her!"
Morton took a stand. "We may not, but you do, and I'm not just sitting by while you go and die on me," he admonished. Cyrus looked at him mournfully.
"I'm not going to die," he stubbornly told the bigger man. He attempted to stand back up again, but a wave of dizziness overtook him and Morton had to help lower him back down.
"No, you're not," Morton agreed. "Because I'm finding that girl and I'm bringing her back here."
"No, you're not! I absolutely forbid it!" Cyrus asserted, drawing himself up against the tree.
Morton looked at his commander a good minute before crouching down to look him in the eye. His voice, normally easy going, was deadly serious. "Don't be too proud to accept help when you need it," he carefully made his point.
Cyrus looked down.
"Perhaps it'd be best if you were higher up," Morton said, looking around. There was a tree not too far away that looked sturdy and easy to climb. Helping Cyrus up and supporting the man across, the two of them combined managed to get the sick man up at least high enough to avoid most predators in the tree, but the effort left Cyrus sweating and panting.
"You're worse than you're letting on, aren't you?" Morton asked. Cyrus got his breath and shook his head.
Hopping down from the tree, Morton began walking ahead and to the left. "I'll be back shortly. She can't have gotten too far," he assured his commander. Cyrus just nodded. Morton assumed it was because of his wounded pride and shrugged inwardly.
Gwen might have gotten farther if she hadn't reached the lake. A small clearing, open and rather inviting, was lodged in the middle of the forest and the clear, clean water enticed Gwen to calling it a day early.
First thing's first, she told herself, and promptly took a bath. Then she washed her clothes. And then she put them on and felt fantastic.
Gwen rolled up her pants and let her feet dangle in the pool, laying back to look at the sky. Although it was pretty uniform, if she relaxed she could make out shapes and patterns. It was very calming, and after a few minutes she cast a quick perimeter spell and let herself doze, half asleep and half awake.
She stayed in this state for a few hours, almost meditating, until a cry shocked her out of her trance. Jerking awake, she saw Morton hopping on one leg and clutching his foot a few meters away.
"Morton?" she asked surprised.
Morton looked up and quickly put his foot back on the ground, attempting to regain his lost dignity. Gwen stood up and faced the large man.
"Gwen," Morton gave a stiff but low bow.
"Where's Cyrus?" Gwen asked. She could tell that something was wrong.
Morton stood back up. "That's actually why I'm here," he admitted. "He's in a bad way. Do you think – " he left off.
"Of course," Gwen said. She put her flats back on and snapped her fingers, dismissing the spell. Striding over to Morton, she gestured for him to walk with her. However, as she got close, she couldn't help but make a face as she caught the smell of the man. She tried to shake it off, but really, it was overwhelming. Morton seemed confused for a minute, then embarrassed as he realized what was causing the reaction.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"No, it's okay," Gwen smiled, but didn't get too close to the man. "So, what's wrong?"
"We were fording that swamp a few miles back," Morton started, "when something bit Cyrus. I believe he's been poisoned. You can fix that, right?'
"How bad is it?" Gwen asked.
"He was in pretty bad shape when I left," Morton admitted.
"It'll probably take a while," Gwen mused. "Drawing poison is never easy." Morton looked a bit concerned. "But it can be done," she hurried to assure him. "We better get there quickly though," she added. Both of them picked up the pace.
"And Gwen, about before," Morton started, but Gwen cut him off with a dismissing wave of her hand.
"Oh, don't worry about it," she brushed it off. Morton gave her a grateful smile and let it be.
The light was beginning to dim when the two finally reached where Morton had left his partner. Sometime in the day, Cyrus had gotten out of the tree and now lay at its base, but whether he fell or climbed down neither could tell.
Cyrus had grown progressively worse in the hours after Morton left. He was pale and shaking, and seemed to be asleep. However, when Gwen got closer, she could see the man was hyperventilating slightly.
"Hey, Cyrus," she said softly, kneeling down beside the man. "I heard you weren't feeling well."
Cyrus opened his eyes slightly at the sound of her voice. They were dim and clouded with fever. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and Gwen immediately felt bad for the man. Gently, she removed his hand, which had been clutching his side, and looked under his armor. Both she and Morton gasped. Lines of black were shooting out from the puncture marks, and Cyrus's entire side had gone red and swollen.
"Was he this bad when you left?" Gwen asked.
"No," Morton answered worriedly. Suddenly, Cyrus doubled over in pain, crying out softly. The episode ended quickly though, and the man slumped back, exhausted.
"This is going to be a while," Gwen mused. "Why don't you make camp?" she asked Morton, who didn't really know what to do with himself in this situation. He nodded and hurried off. Gwen turned back to Cyrus. "I'm going to put you to sleep now," she told him. Cyrus looked like he understood and nodded his head. Gwen put her hand on one of his temples and spoke the soft spell of sleep, and Cyrus's eyes shut although his breathing was far from easy. Gwen got to work drawing out the poison.
The sun had set by the time she finished drawing out the last of it. The spell for poison was long and energy consuming and left her drained. She also had to heal Cyrus a bit as the poison had begun to eat at his flesh. When all was said and done, she was exhausted, but Cyrus had fallen into a deep and easy sleep. After reassuring Morton that Cyrus was fine now and that he would wake up in the morning, Gwen slowly ate some of the roast bird Morton had prepared and was grateful when Morton said he would take first watch. Nodding sleepily, she stretched out and quickly fell asleep.
Gwen had been on her shift for two hours when Cyrus woke up. Both of them looked exhausted, but Cyrus looked the worse for wear. The fire had got low, and the night was strangely quiet.
The two stared at each other for some time. Finally, Cyrus broke the silence. "I was wrong," he admitted. Gwen gave him a small smile. She knew he'd never really apologize.
"It's okay," she told him. Cyrus looked down at his side.
"Thank you for healing me," he said.
"Don't mention it," Gwen told him. "You'd better get back to sleep. You look horrible." Cyrus gave her a small smile and rolled back over.
