Author's note:
My dear readers, after defeating a little writer's block, here I am with the usual update. It isn't a very long instalment, but I will make up for that in two weeks time. Also, we are approaching the last part of this fic (if my calculations are correct, this story will end around chapter 81 and will be followed by a sequel). I hadn't planned to write such a huge piece of work, so I really have to thank all the people who have patiently followed me until now and who will keep on following me in the future. Speaking of which...
Before we start, I heartily thank all the readers who have recently commented on this story. A huge thank you goes to The Mikaelson Cupcake for their support. I'm glad you enjoy my battle scenes! Also, I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one who feels sick when they have to venture into Blackreach - dear Elspeth namely has the same problem. I hate that place so much that I wrote these last few chapters without playing the related quests - and that had something to do with my writer's block. Speaking of which, I heartily thank Scepta101 for their understanding towards this problem. Your words really did help me!
As for KSausage's comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the romance/action equilibrium in chapter 61. Sometimes my chapters are way too fluffy, so it's good to know that I succeeded in writing a balanced instalment. Also, I'm completely shocked by the fact that your country blocked this website because of their crusade against smut. Shouldn't they take care of that problem by dealing with other websites first?
I also have to thank Thantrose for their remark about one of my earlier chapters. I hadn't thought of the implication hidden behind the fact that Ancano's dagger "could do everything its owner wanted it to do"; therefore, thank you very much for pointing that out. It's great to read the comments of such observant readers!
Last but not least, a huge thank you goes to lazytomcatranch for their amazing amount of reviews. I get the feeling you don't really like Steinarius, but I hope that over the last few chapters your opinion of him has improved; also, I'm sorry to read that you think I'm a supporter of the Empire - actually, in all my playthroughs I always choose Ulfric's side (slaying Thalmor is one of the best thing in a gamer's life). Hopefully I'll manage to make up for that in the last arc of this story.
Now, back to business: Agda has killed a dragon, Steinarius has been hurt while getting her out of harm's way, the Elder Scroll is still hidden somewhere in Blackreach. What will happen in chapter 62? Take a look and find out!
Enjoy!
Agda couldn't believe her eyes. The huge dragon that had attacked her now laid dead at her feet, killed by a lethal combination of spells and Atronachs and runes. The young mage thought her opponent had also been weakened by its long confinement in Blackreach, as its attacks had been weirdly slow and ineffective; yet, that was no time to be picky about that victory.
As she examined the huge enemy she had just dispatched, Agda sighed in relief. A moment later, however, she realized that the whole of Blackreach was much more silent than usual. On top of that, she noticed that Steinarius was nowhere to be seen.
Scared by the absence of her lover, Agda abruptly turned her head in order to locate the Imperial. When she realized that he was lying on his stomach in a pool of blood, the woman felt a cold shiver run down her spine - and a second later, when she noticed the bolt coming out of his back, she let out a desperate scream and ran towards him. Right then Agda didn't care about prudence or safety: she only cared about her man and was keen on providing him with some relief.
When Agda knelt down beside him, Steinarius closed his eyes and cursed himself because of the few tears that were still running down his cheeks - after all, he didn't want to look weak in front of the woman he loved.
Crepusculus, you really are an idiot!, the usual voice from the back of his mind angrily whispered. We are dying, dying I say!, and all you care about is your reputation. Are you an idiot?
Steinarius was surprised by that cruel remark. The pain he was feeling was strong, probably too strong for him to survive that injury; now, however, Agda was by his side. The woman was the best healer he knew, had faced Ancano without any fear, had just killed a dragon with her own hands; as a consequence, she probably knew how to help him with his problem. Reassured by that fact, the Dragonborn slowly opened his eyes. When he noticed the fear on Agda's face, however, he realized that the voice in his head had been right.
He was dying for real and not even Agda had the means to save him.
When Steinarius looked at her, Agda fought the urge to burst into tears. There was pain in his eyes, a raw pain that the girl had never seen before. The girl could also see a lot of rage in those grey irises, and together with rage Agda saw terror and distress. As she noticed the tears on her lover's cheeks and the blood dripping from his mouth, the mage felt even worse: Steinarius had always been willing to protect her and even on that occasion he had been hurt while he was trying to defend her.
The bolt that has hit him was meant for me, Agda suddenly remembered - and that awareness made her feel guilty and sorry and desperate.
There was a tiny whimper and the mage realized that Steinarius was trying to say something. The fatigue on his face was enough to snap Agda out of her paralysis: laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, the mage lowered her face so that she could watch the Imperial in the eyes and softly caress his forehead.
"We'll get through this too, Stein", she whispered while gently shushing the Imperial. "I promise you we will".
Steinarius made to nod, but the pain in his chest had him produce a strangled whimper. When he became even paler than he already was, Agda understood that she had no time to lose: if she wanted her man to survive, she had to act quickly. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done: right then, the best healer of Skyrim felt as though she had forgotten how to use magic.
When she took care of her patients, Agda didn't see them as actual people with families and friends and feelings: terrible as it may sound, she only saw them as empty, defective bodies that needed to be fixed. It wasn't a matter of cruelty or lack of empathy: had she focused on the personal lives of all the husbands and wives and mothers and fathers and sons and daughters she had cured ever since joining the College, Agda would have never managed to fully focus on their problems and take the difficult decisions that needed to be made in order to save them. With Steinarius, however, everything was different. The Imperial wasn't just another hunter who had been mistakenly injured by a very clumsy companion: he was the man Agda loved, he was her best friend and companion, he was the prophesized savior of Skyrim. That's why, try as she might, the girl was currently unable to rely on her skills. Curing an unknown man was one thing - curing her own lover was something else entirely.
After taking a deep breath, Agda tried to forget her fears and finally focused on the task at hand. She had often seen injuries like Steinarius' and she knew that most of them had a tragic outcome.
As she analyzed the bolt protruding from her lover's back, the girl cursed. Not only was the weapon covered in blood - it had probably been dipped in poison too. Despite that discovery, Agda tried to keep her cool.
One problem at the time, the mage told herself after coming to terms with that news. At least Steinarius is still alive despite the bloodloss, she thought in order to reassure herself. I guess that's one of the good things about being a werewolf.
As soon as she managed to calm down and retrieve part of her usual coldness, Agda actually realized that she had one reason to hope for the better: after all, although at first the shock had prevented her from realizing it, Steinarius' conditions weren't as desperate as they looked. The damned bolt had passed through his back, sure, but the Dragonborn was still breathing - and that meant that the Imperial had been lucky enough to avoid any major damage to his vital organs. Agda didn't know how that had been possible and actually didn't feel the need to find a logical answer to that mystery; she only knew that, if the bolt hadn't pierced any of Steinarius' vital organs, then she simply needed to extract that weapon from his chest and knit his skin, bones, tissues and blood vessels together. It was a difficult procedure that was going to require her best skills, but the mage had already performed it in the past. As a consequence, she finally understood that she had a chance to help her lover survive that wound. To get Steinarius out of troubles, however, Agda needed to find a safe shelter where she could cure him without being attacked by Falmer and other creatures.
A sudden whisper snapped Agda out of her thoughts. Confronted with her blank expression, Steinarius had namely felt the need to apologise for getting hurt.
"Didn't... end... this...", the Imperial weakly murmured, a guilty expression on his pale face.
I didn't want it to end like this, he had probably meant to say - and when she noticed how terrified and frail and weak her man looked, Agda was overrun by tenderness.
"This is not the end, Stein", she whispered as she gently caressed his forehead. "I'll get you through this, I promise you I will".
After reassuring her man, Agda grabbed her dagger and proceeded with shortening the part of the bolt that was still protruding from Steinarius' back. In that way, she thought, moving him to the closest shelter would be much easier.
The Imperial groaned throughout the whole procedure and for a moment Agda feared the Falmer would hear those wails and attack them. Luckily enough, the dragon she had killed had probably scared most of the creatures dwelling in Blackreach, thus preventing them from roaming the area where Agda was currently trying to help Steinarius with his wound.
Once she had shortened the bolt coming out of her man's torso, Agda frowned. That procedure had cost her much more energy than she'd originally believed; as a consequence, the mage was starting to fear that her skills wouldn't be enough to carry the man to the closest shelter.
Sensing her distress, Steinarius made an effort to smile and gently touch her knee.
"Thanks. You ... good... at..."
Agda broke Steinarius off with a gesture. The way he was trying to reassure her despite his sufferance made her wish she could lay down next to him and shower him in kisses; yet, his many attempts at moving and talking risked to worsen his situation.
"It's my job, Stein", Agda softly replied while tousling the Imperial's hair. "That's why I'm good at it. Now, however, try to remain still and silent, alright?"
Steinarius made to nod, but the movement caused him to groan in pain. Agda, on the other hand, sighed: she was glad her man was conscious, but she was worried by his problems with keeping still.
After rapidly scanning the surrounding area in order to look for enemies, Agda cast a spell to numb the pain Steinarius was experiencing. A moment later, she tried to rely on her strength in order to help the Imperial to his feet. Steinarius groaned in distress, but Agda didn't give up on her plan: she wanted to take the Imperial to the old pumphouse they'd stumbled across a few days earlier - and to do that, she needed him to cooperate. Unfortunately, the mage had overestimated Steinarius' resistance: despite being a werewolf, after a few steps the man produced a strangled cry and fell limp in her arms. Forced to support his weight, Agda crumbled to her knees and hissed. She had hoped to save some magicka by getting Steinarius to her shelter without using any spell, but it looked as though she needed to change her plans.
The following hour felt like a lifetime to Agda. The girl had to use a spell to carry Steinarius' unconscious body through Blackreach, all while checking his vital signs and looking for enemies hidden in the shadows. Also, the girl got lost and couldn't find her way to the pumphouse she had originally meant to reach. When she got to an old, deserted farmhouse, however, the young mage couldn't believe her luck: the building was old and dusty, but it looked much healthier than the pumphouse she had chosen as her first shelter. Also, she had made it there without coming across any foul creature.
Unfortunately, Agda's enthusiasm was short-lived. Steinarius' conditions had got worse during their short journey and, when she finally shed his cuirass, the girl noticed that his chest was completely soaked in blood. Agda needed to cure him as soon as possible, but the effort of getting to the farmhouse had caused her to run out of magicka. Frowning, Agda decided to drink all the magic-related potions she had in her knapsack in the hope they could help her save Steinarius' life.
The Archmage of Winterhold cured her lover for what felt like years. Knitting his body together after freeing the bolt trapped inside his chest was very difficult and more than once Agda thought that Steinarius was about to die. After many hours, however, the girl finally extracted the weapon from her man's torso and cast one final spell to repair all the damages caused by that weapon. A moment later, Agda started sobbing like a baby.
The Archmage of Winterhold was terrified: terrified of losing her lover, terrified that her cures wouldn't work, terrified that she would die in that hopeless place and that no one would ever discover her fate. Also, the girl felt awfully guilty for the way Steinarius had been hurt - had she been more careful, the Imperial wouldn't have been shot at at all.
Fear and guilt and despair were Agda's companions for a very long time. The girl had risked her own life trying to cure Steinarius with the most powerful spells she knew and no adequate back-up, but that didn't make feel her better. Also, her guilt increased after she repeatedly had to venture into Blackreach in order to retrieve a few important ingredients that could make Steinarius feel better despite the poison that still running through his veins. Luckily enough, at the end of those lonesome trips Agda always managed to get back to the farmhouse and keep Steinarius safe; also, thanks to those little adventures she soon realized two important things. First, Agda had no idea where she'd actually ended up while looking for a safe shelter - and that meant that she couldn't easily reach the surface world and find help for her lover; second, the Falmer had discovered about the injured man trapped in Blackreach and were becoming bolder and bolder with their attacks and explorations.
In those conditions, Agda felt as though she had no chances to make it out of Blackreach with Steinarius. Yet, when her lover finally opened his eyes at the end of the longest week of her life, the girl immediately forgot about her sufferance and despair.
If Blackreach was to be her tomb, so be it - at least, she was with the man she loved.
Steinarius came to in a room he had never seen before. The man was wearing only his breeches and was partially covered by a fur that couldn't protect him from the cold. The smell of blood in the area was overwhelming and could only worsen his strong nausea.
When the Imperial growled in distress and closed his eyes again, Agda immediately approached him. She gently cleaned his sweated face wit a wet cloth, then she shushed him with kind and encouraging words. When she squeezed Steinarius' hand, the man exchanged the gesture - and a moment later, when she found herself mirrored in his grey eyes, the mage had to fight back the tears. She was running out of food and the Falmer were about to lay siege to her shelter, but at least her lover was feeling better.
"Agds..."
Steinarius' voice was weak and uncertain, whereas his vision was still blurry; yet, he perfectly remembered the way he'd been hurt while trying to protect Agda.
"Stein, I'm here", the girl whispered when she realized that the man was having problems locating her. He was still feverish and that probably confused his werewolf senses. "I'm not leaving you".
When the man nodded, he experienced a sharp pain in his chest. He tried to touch his wound, but he was too weak to fulfill that gesture. Also, moving his arm brought about another explosion of pain in the right side of his torso.
"Your collarbone is broken", Agda explained when the man grimaced. "The bolt entered your body through it - and luckily enough, the collision with the bone prevented it from piercing your organs. You had some problems with a punctured lung, sure, but I managed to stitch it back together. Yet, you'll need more cures if we get out of here".
Thanks to those words, Steinarius finally remembered about the reason why he'd ventured into Blackreach in the first place. Despite his difficulties at speaking, the man tried to ask Agda about the Elder Scroll.
"I still haven't found anything", the mage replied to his slurred sentences. "This place is a nightmare".
As Agda spoke, her eyes got full with tears. She was very pale, Steinarius noticed at that moment; also, her clothes were completely covered in blood. The sleeves of her dress were missing and the Imperial realized that Agda had probably used them as makeshift bandages for his chest. The thought caused his heart to swell with love and affection for the little tough woman that was currently sitting by his bedside.
"It doesn't... matter", the Dragonborn slowly said while trying to steady his voice. "We should... get out of here... and forget about this... madness".
The man was surprised when Agda shook her head. Escaping Blackreach was much more difficult than Steinarius thought.
"Stein, we've been trapped here for more than a week. The Falmer are laying siege to our shelter and I can't find my way back to the entrance of this cave. I... I don't know what to do!"
When he realized the terror in Agda's voice, Steinarius felt the need to hug her and comfort her.
"Soon I'll feel better", he told her with the firmest voice he could find at the moment. "Then we'll leave. Together".
Much to the Dragonborn's surprise, Agda shook her head again.
"Stein, the bolt that got you was poisoned. You remember what happened the last time you were poisoned by that vampire... I've been fighting off the effects of that substance, but I'm running out of alchemy ingredients. You aren't safe, Stein: not yet".
Only then did Steinarius realize how difficult their situation was. Confronted with the fear in Agda's voice, he understood that she was probably more terrified than he was. Willing to make her feel better, he squeezed her hand and tried to change topic of conversation.
"I'm not wearing my Talos amulet", he told her. "The one I wear when I fight".
Agda seemed surprised by that remark. Steinarius always kept that necklace hidden under his armor, but she didn't think it had any emotional value.
"It's over that table, together with your cuirass and boots. Why are you curious about it?"
Steinarius tried to shrug, but the movement caused him to hiss in pain.
"It was a gift from my Nord grandmother. I've been wearing it since I was a toddler".
Agda raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't think Imperial soldiers went to war with Talos amulets hidden under their armors".
Steinarius produced a low chuckle, then grimaced because of the pain.
"I stopped wearing it when I joined the army, actually. Back then I only wore my Stendarr amulet - a gift from my mother, you know. She was a priestess in Kvatch when she met my dad".
Agda frowned.
"An Imperial soldier wearing a Talos amulet and a werewolf wearing a Stendarr amulet, all combined in the body of the Dragonborn", she dramatically sighed. "You really are a walking contradiction, Crepusculus".
Steinarius was surprised by that remark, but miled as soon as he noticed the mischievous look in Agda's eyes. The Archmage chuckled at her own comment, then blushed red because of her lover's laughter.
The Imperial thought she was simply adorable.
"I am a contradiction indeed, Agds", he replied to her comment. "Yet, I think I won't be walking for a while".
Steinarius had meant for his comment to sound witty, but it only managed to wipe away the happiness that had briefly shone on Agda's face.
"I will get you out of here, Stein", the mage whispered, her hands clenched into fists and a look of determination in her brown eyes. "I may die trying, but I promise I will save you".
A few days after Agda's promise, Steinarius' conditions abruptly worsened. Until then the poison had been kept at bay by Agda's potions and by her spells, but now that the alchemist had run out of most of her ingredients, the warrior was feeling weaker and weaker. The Dragonborn now feared he wouldn't live to see the sky again.
"Agds, we need to talk".
Surprised by those words, the mage abandoned her place on the floor and sat down on Steinarius' bed. Despite the fire crackling in the corner, the air inside their shelter was cold and damp; yet, the Imperial was covered in sweat.
"We won't survive this, will we?"
Confronted with that direct question, Agda's eyes widened.
"Stein, what..."
"We won't survive this, Agds, and you know it as well as I do", Steinarius repeated.
His voice was determined but fleeble, whereas his grey eyes were particularly shiny. He was panting and Agda knew that, had she laid her hand upon his chest, she would have been shocked by the warmth radiating from his body and by the maddening rhythm of his heart. The effects of the poison had broken out only a few hours ago, but Steinarius was already experiencing the worst of it: he was drifting in and out of consciousness and there was nothing Agda could do to help him.
"We won't survive this, Agds", the man said while reaching for the girl's hand. "Not if we stick together. I'm too weak to move, you've run out of healing potions, we have no food left, there's a bunch of angry Falmer waiting for us to come out of here... it's just a matter of time before we die like rats trapped in a corner - and I don't want you to die because of me".
"Stein, you're exag..."
"I'm not exaggerating, Agds! For my sake, gather your things and get out of this damned hut!"
Steinarius immediately regretted losing his temper - and when Agda let go of his hands and started sobbing, he couldn't help but curse himself and his hateful personality.
"Agda, listen to me", the man said, his tone softer and gentler. "Please, honey. You know I didn't mean to snap at you - and you know that, if I could, I would stand up and hug you".
When Agda didn't say anything, Steinarius sighed. At least being confined in a hut surrounded by Falmer meant that Agda had no way to run away from him.
"Agda, try to be rational: I'm too weak to move, so I have to rely on you for everything. If you get out of here, sneak past the Falmer and find your way back to the surface world, then you will be able to call for help and to find the ingredients you need to cure me. I may die anyway, sure; but if you stay here and do nothing, I will die for sure".
Agda shook her head, but Steinarius didn't stop talking: at least, the stubborn mage was listening.
"There is something else, Agds: if I die, go to the Companions. Not the Blades, not the Greybeards, not the Empire: the Companions. They don't have the means to kill Alduin, but they're the only ones who can ruin his plans to end the world. It won't last forever, but they may hold him off for a couple of years, maybe more. After all, time has a different meaning for dragons".
When Agda didn't say anything, Steinarius sighed. It had been days since he'd last spoken so much and he now felt spent and dizzy. When the ceiling of the room seemed to collapse on him, the Dragonborn squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered as a new wave of pain washed over his body.
He deeply wished Agda would eventually forget her pride and listen to him.
That night Steinarius' situation rapidly worsened. Agda could only sit by his side and squeeze his hand whenever he whimpered in his sleep, which made her feel utterly useless and unhappy. Her lover had been right: she couldn't save him without leaving their shelter and looking for help in the outside world - but to look for help in the outside world, she had to abandon him while he was weak, unconscious and surrounded by angry Falmer. In a way, leaving him in that situation felt like sentencing him to death.
As Steinarius'heartbeat became slower and slower, however, Agda decided that she needed to act. Her man was going to die anyway and she didn't have the strength to sit by him and watch him fade after hours of agony; as a consequence, she decided to follow his advice and venture into Blackreach.
At least you'll be happy I listened to you, the girl thought as she packed her knapsack and gave a long look to the man she loved. Then, with one last kiss on his lips, Agda finally set off in the darkness.
Agda didn't know how long she walked through Blackreach. The Falmer around her shelter were less than usual, therefore getting past them with the aid of an invisibility spell was surprisingly easy. Yet, Agda soon remembered why she hated that foul place with all her mind and heart and soul. Not only was Blackreach full of enemies - it was also the worst place to get lost in.
During her adventure Agda encountered many places she had already visited, but couldn't come across any of the passages to the outside world. Sad and disappointed, she eventually decided to abandon her quest and return to Steinarius.
I've left him to die alone, the mage thought with a shiver - and as soon as that awareness hit her, Agda wished she hadn't listened to the Imperial's advice.
As soon as she turned on her heels, however, the Archmage realized that she couldn't remember the way back to the farmhouse. Cursing, she decided to roam around Blackreach in the hope she could find something that could help her orientation skills. When she came across a tall tower, the girl regained some of her hope: from the top of that tall building she could finally locate her destination.
As she pushed open the entrance to that place, Agda sighed. She had no idea she had just reached the Tower of Mzrak, the resting place of the Elder Scroll she had so desperately tried to find.
Steinarius suddenly awoke to a feeling of coldness and immediately realized that his room was overrun by darkness. When he noticed that all the candles were out and that Agda's heartbeat was nowhere to be heard, the Imperial sighed: that stubborn woman had finally listened to his advice and left him. On the one side, that fact made him happy because it meant that Agda had a chance to survive; on the other, it hurt him to think of all the things he would leave behind at the moment of his death. Also, it hurt to think that he would never see his loved one again - after all, Imperials like him didn't go to Sovngarde.
Over the following hours the poison seemed to become even stronger. Steinarius slowly lost contact with the world and soon began hallucinating, just like he'd done about one year before, after he'd been poisoned by that wicked vampire who had tried to kill Agda in the woods around Lake Ilinalta. One moment the man thought he was with his sweet mage back in Riverwood, making love to her in her little room inside the Sleeping Giant; another moment he believed he was in Karth, arguing with Delphine because of some crazy project; the next one instead he was in Whiterun, his late son in his arms and a faceless woman by his side.
Eventually, Steinarius felt the ground shake in the aftermath of a loud explosion. He seemed to hear the screeching wails produced by many Falmer and the strong crash produced by a heavy rock collapsing to the ground. The ground shook once again, then everything went silent.
This is it, Steinarius thought. My time of dying.
The last thing he expected in that moment was to feel a gentle caress on his cheeks and words of hope in his ears.
"I've got the Scroll, Stein", Agda whispered. "And I've got you too".
Agda struggled under the weight of her knapsack and Steinarius' limp body. She had retrieved the Elder Scroll by some miracle, then she had made it back to the Imperial's den. She had killed the angry Falmer outside by causing part of the cave roof to collapse, then she had used the potions she had retrieved in the Tower of Mzrak to improve Steinarius' health. Now that they had almost made it back to the surface world, however, the Imperial had lost consciousness once again.
"Do not die on me", Agda hissed, fatigue and despair well evident in her voice. "Do not die on me, Stein, otherwise I'll come find you in the Hunting Grounds - or wherever it is that you Imperials go after you die - and I will kill you again".
When Steinarius didn't reply, Agda understood that her lover was fighting hard for dear life.
There was a loud screech, then the elevator of the Tower of Mzrak finally came to a halt. When the doors got opened, Agda was blinded by the cold morning sun. There was white snow all around her and fresh gusts of healthy air and the blue sky above her; yet, the girl couldn't fully savor that rebirth: before rejoicing, she wanted to get Steinarius to a healer.
Half stumbling, half dragging the Imperial behind her, the young Archmage finally reached the foot of the hill. There was a road nearby and, much to her relief, Agda noticed two people walking on it.
"Help!", she screamed with all the force her lungs could master. "My man and I are injured! Help!"
Agda saw the two strangers exchange a worried look. They seemed farmers, whereas she probably looked like a maniac: she was covered in blood and dirt, she was wearing a sleeveless dress despite the cold, she was sporting a terrified and desperate expression; on top of that, she was dragging a consciousless warrior as though he was nothing more than a sack of potatos.
Despite her weird appearance, the two farmers eventually approached Agda. One of them was a man, the other was probably his wife. For a moment they looked at the girl with a mixture of suspicion and nervousness; when the mage eventually fell to her knees and burst into a desperate cry, however, they forgot those feelings and immediately ran to her side.
The woman was quick to cover Agda with her cloak and to soothe her with a hug, the man instead knelt by Steinarius' side and quickly checked his heartbeat. When he realized that the situation was serious, he took the Imperial in his strong arms and immediately walked back to the road.
"The name's Loreius", he quickly explained. "My wife and I were looking for herbs and other alchemy ingredients to help us raise our crop. We live in a farm not far from Whiterun and we have tied our carriage nearby. If it's okay for you, we can bring you to our house and fetch a healer for your man".
Agda tried to talk, but her sobs made it impossible to understand her words. After all the misadventures from the previous days, the girl couldn't believe her luck: Danice Pure-Spring was the best healer she knew - and with her help, Steinarius definitely had a chance to survive his injuries.