CHAPTER 4
Frodo awoke to an unpleasant rocking sensation that was threatening to make him lose the contents of his stomach. He forced open heavy eyelids to find a leather jerkin before his face and a bleak landscape slipping past beyond it. His leg was throbbing and, despite the blankets that cocooned him, he felt cold and could not stop himself shivering. He tried to pull himself closer to the heat coming from the chest that he was clutched against, uncomfortably registering the fact that the jerkin belonged to Boromir and in a moment of panic he raised his hand to feel for the ring against his chest. It lay against his skin, secure upon its strong silver chain, for the moment.
Boromir stumbled upon some uneven ground and Frodo gasped as the movement sent more intense tremors of pain through his chest and leg.
"Mr Boromir, I think Frodo is awake again, sir." Sam's voice came from some distance below his line of vision and Frodo let out a mental sigh of relief as it resulted in a total cessation of the man's forward motion. There was still some chance that the hobbit would retain the contents of his wayward stomach.
Frodo was set down on his back on terra firma but the sudden alteration to his body position had a dreadful effect. A tidal wave of intense vertigo made him moan and throw his hands out to steady himself as the world spun insanely about him, forcing him to clench his teeth and swallow hard as he fought the rising nausea that accompanied the sensation.
He tried closing his eyes but found that only made matters worse as his mind lost all reference points and insisted that he was falling through the earth beneath him. So he opened them again and he tried to force into stillness the glory of a sunset or a sunrise sky spinning dizzily above him. He could not be sure which it was in his feverish, semi drugged state, and for the moment he did not care as long as he could force it to remain still.
Somewhere during his struggle Aragorn's face added itself to the whirling image and, as the gyrations slowed, he could see concern drawn in every line. Once the world stopped its alarming antics Frodo became aware of voices and noticed that Aragorn's mouth was moving.
"Frodo. Frodo. What is wrong? Are you in pain? Can you hear me?"
Giving one last swallow the hobbit decided it was safe to open his mouth without the danger of throwing up. "Dizzy……….Better now," he managed to gasp.
The ranger noted, with relief, that his charge's eyes were no longer trying to roll back in his head and reached out to Frodo's neck, checking the pulse. It was racing but, already, he could feel it starting to slow a little. Sam appeared at his shoulder, with a water bottle and began to gently dab at his master's face with a damp cloth. Only moments before, Frodo had felt chilled to the bone but the cool dampness felt good on his, now burning, body. He closed his eyes, submitting to Sam's gentle touch and was only vaguely aware of Aragorn and Legolas in conversation a little way off.
The Ranger joined the other members of the fellowship, where they stood in an uneasy group; worried expressions on their faces. Merry stood with his arm around Pippin's shoulder, trying to comfort the younger hobbit. Boromir and Gimli had one eye on their friends and the other on their surroundings. With night falling once more there was a good chance that another party of orcs would find them for they had depended rather on speed than stealth to make their escape and whilst their trail was not clear it would not be difficult for a seasoned tracker to pick up.
Legolas was watching Sam and Frodo, a slight frown drawing his perfect brows together. As Aragorn joined them the elf placed a restraining hand on his arm.
"Aragorn. I think I begin to recognise some of Frodo's symptoms."
His friend's face lit up for at least if they knew the course of the poison they had some hope of a anticipating and treating the symptoms. "Have you seen it before?"
"Yes. If I am correct they have used the essence of the calencareb mushroom." When his information was met with a blank expression, he elaborated. "They grow in dark, damp places; in fact I saw them several times on our journey through Moria. That is probably where the orcs harvested them."
His mouth turned down slightly at the corners in the way it always did when talking about the elves greatest enemy, as though speaking the very name, "orc," carried a taste that offended him. "They boil it down to concentrate it. Then it is only a matter of dipping the arrows. It is one of the easiest poisons to create. Fortunately, it is also one of those easiest to fight if one catches it early enough."
Aragorn let out a sigh of relief. Legolas continued, "Has Frodo mentioned feeling sick, for that is one of the first symptoms?"
His friend's face fell. "No. He has not."
Merry piped up, "Knowing Frodo, he'd probably not mention it if he thought it would cause anyone extra worry. I have noticed a certain look, though. I've seen it before when he's feeling sick."
When Gimli glanced back at him questioningly, Merry smiled. "He had a little too much to drink at my coming of age party and Sam and I had to put him to bed." He grinned widely as he remembered more carefree days. "He was awfully ill the next morning."
Legolas tilted his head and shot Aragorn a wide smile and the Ranger sent back a warning glare. Having Frodo know of his past misadventures was one thing but, as the leader, he had to try and retain the respect of the group. Legolas merely ducked his head and snorted and Aragorn shook his head. He had often wondered why Frodo always limited himself to two glasses of wine. The hobbit was obviously observing the rule of "once bitten, twice shy". He drew Legolas with him, back to Frodo and Sam.
"Before we ask him about the nausea, what other symptoms are there and is there an antidote?"
"A lot depends on how long the calencareb was boiled, as its effects grow stronger the more it is reduced. This problem is exacerbated in Frodo's case by his small size. What would be merely unpleasant for you or me could kill him." He began to tick the symptoms off on his fingers. "Upset stomach, dizziness, fever and chills and in the worst cases, hallucinations…." He frowned, "There's another one but I can't remember it. Sorry."
Aragorn's face became grim. "And the antidote?"
"It is possible to ride out the effects by simply treating the symptoms but if we can find the carebnesta plant the leaves will make a tea that will counteract it much faster. The good news is that this is the ideal countryside for carebnesta, although it is a small plant and difficult to spot."
Sam was pulling the blankets more tightly around his master as Legolas and Aragorn approached. Legolas knelt down and rested a hand lightly on Frodo's cheek, noting the excessive heat. Frodo raised his eyelids at the touch and the elf waited while the pupils focused on his face.
"Good evening, Little One. How are you feeling now?"
"A little better, now that we have stopped. But should we stay here? Aragorn said we would not be safe until we reached Lorien."
"We can rest for a little while. Perhaps you would like something to eat. You must keep up your strength." He watched Frodo's face keenly, feeling a little guilty for doing this to his friend, and nodded when he saw it pale. "Perhaps not. Do you feel a little sick?"
The hobbit swallowed hard. "Yes. I don't think I could eat anything, Legolas. I'm sorry." The elf tucked a stray damp curl behind the hobbit's delicate pointed ear and rested his palm against the damp cheek.
"It's alright, Frodo. I think it is a symptom of the poison from the arrow. We may be able to help you in a little while. Just rest, for the moment." Legolas stood and Aragorn took his place.
"You need to take in some fluids, Frodo, or you will feel worse. I want you to try sipping a little water every few minutes. If you are sick, the water will not be too bad, coming back, but if you are not it will ease the fever. Legolas thinks there may be a plant, nearby, that will help you. We are going to search for it now." He beckoned Pippin and handed him the water canteen.
"Sam, you will be of more use to your master, searching for the carebnesta. We need a gardener's eyes. Pippin, you are to give Frodo small sips of water every few minutes and keep him wrapped up. He may become a little disorientated with the fever but you must keep him as warm and quiet as possible." He patted Frodo's shoulder gently. "Hold on, Frodo." Then he and Sam left.