Chapter 34
Race for a Cure
"Whew... that was not fun..." Having cleared the treeline, the party stopped to catch its breath at the base of a nearby hill. Plopping his quiver to the ground as he sat, Elric asked "Where to next?"
Climbing to the top of the rise, Shadoe surveyed the area. "Looks like we're about an hour's walk from the Gate of Kepura, the entrance to the desert. There's a small merchant's hut about halfway there, run by a Weirdling I know. Politically, he's neutral despite his race's general preference towards the Dark. I doubt he'd have a problem with us resting there for a while..." Looking quizzically at one of the group members, he leapt down again. "You okay, kid?"
All eyes turned to the Hylian, who had been taking up the rear, and they quickly saw that something was indeed wrong. A hazy look clouded his face, and he clearly seemed substantially weaker than when they fled the battlefield. "No... no, I'm... I'm... fine..." At that last word, the boy keeled over, flat onto his face.
"Link!" Rushing over, the others rolled him onto his back, and found a small patch of red staining his mithril shirt. Carefully pulling the tunic up, Lance exposed the sources of the marks: four shallow gashes adorning his side, each about a half inch wide. "Where'd he get these?"
"Oh no..." Fluttering closer to the wounds, Anri's glow illuminated a slight bluish tint around the outer edges of the cuts. "That color... he's been infected by Mant poison."
Shadow looked up, realization dawning. "He must have gotten clipped by Zera when he lost his balance during the fight... I thought he got off clean, but..."
"The mithril saved his hide, that much is certain..." Rand said, "If it were his old clothes, those swipes would be damn near fatal by now."
"Come on, guys." Lance said, lifting the ailing boy onto his back. "We've got to hurry to that Weirdling merchant. Shadow, we need Agility."
"Done." After the spell was cast, the group ran as fast as they could to the hut, their prior fatigue forgotten in the urgency of their situation.
Luckily for them, the impish creature was more than happy to accommodate. "Ah! Customers!" He greeted happily as they entered, "I haven't had guests in ages!"
"Save it, L'ebroy," Shadow snapped, cutting off the shopkeeper before he could say another word. "The boy's been poisoned. Mants."
The look on L'ebroy's face shifted instantly at the word 'Mant', his bulbous black eyes radiating the seriousness of the issue now at hand. "Bring him inside. Hurry." Once Lance put his young friend down, he took a better look at the merchant who was about to treat him. For the most part, he looked like a short, thin humanoid with brownish skin, except the head was proportionally too large for the body. His eyes were like sparkling coals, black as night and currently examining the cuts on Link's side. "Good, it's not too bad so far. I can cure this, no problem... if I got the ingredients that is. Now let's see here..." After shuffling through some papers in one of the cabinets, L'ebroy pulled out the recipe they were after and began perusing his supplies. "Lessee lessee lessee..." As he found ingredients, he tossed them over his shoulder, leaving the startled team members to catch them as they fell. "Alrighty, two Octorok shells... Blue ChuChu jelly... powdered Moblin tusk, fine grained..." After a few more moments, he cursed in a dialect that none of them recognized. "Where's the Chykka egg?"
Tikal, who had just barely managed to catch the bag of tusk powder, blinked. "What's wrong? Are you missing something?"
"I need an egg of a Chykka to blend the parts together properly... I thought I had one left in stock, but it seems I was mistaken..."
Elric asked "Well, then where can we get one?"
Shadow had to resist laughing at that. "You obviously don't know what you're suggesting. Have you ever seen a fully grown Chykka?" As expected, the elf shook his head no. "Imagine a cross between a dragonfly and a war wasp, then triple its size. They're vicious predators, and are even worse when they're protecting their young... If we need an egg, we already have a considerable fight on our hands."
"Bel'Tasur," the merchant said, not knowing the Darkman had a new name, "I think there've been some sightings of a Chykka nest somewhere in Skull Woods recently. If you hurry, you might just be able to secure an egg before the boy slips beyond any hope of recovery."
With a sigh, Lance picked up his shield off of the floor. "Looks like we're going back..."
"No." Shadow stopped him, determination evident in his voice. "If we are to save him, we need to move faster than we could possibly travel as a group. I know the area better than any of you. I'll go. Alone."
The group exchanged a glance before Lance nodded agreement. "Alright, go, but I want Sol to go with you. He can hang onto your cloak so not to hinder your progress."
The yellow fairy circled Shadow's head once before vanishing in the dark cloak. "Sure thing, Lance!" Several minutes later, the pair were back in the thick of the forest, searching for the nest. "So... are Chykkas really three times the size of normal war wasps?"
"Would I say so if they were otherwise?" The ebon warrior half-snapped, his weapon extending. "Now hush... I hear water... we're close..." Silently moving to the edge of a clearing, the pair found themselves at the bank of a stream, the flowing liquid a dark violet. Sol immediately made a face.
"Ew... that water's gross..."
"Poison..." Shadow whispered, eyes narrowed, "The water's full of it... the nest must be nearby..." Darting along the bank, Shadow followed the river against the current to a short waterfall, where a single tangled structure sat in the center of the frothing stream. "There it is..."
"Creepy..." Sol whispered, getting a better look at the nest. "Looks like it's made of tree bark... bones... and I can't tell what the other stuff is..."
Looking over the rise, the Darkman replied "The biomatter holding it together is from the Chykka. If I remember, it's also used to trap its prey." Gesturing to the water, he signaled for Sol to take a closer look. "The color's the same. The poison is coming from the ooze holding the nest together."
Nodding, the fairy rose to a higher altitude. "Hey! There's a good sized egg in the middle! I don't see anything around, so we can grab it and get outta here!"
However, as Sol darted out towards the egg, Shadow's sharp hearing picked up something he was hoping he wouldn't. "No! Wait!"
His warning came too late, as the humongous Chykka flew over the nest from beyond the falls. It's four thin wings buzzing, the massive insect cried out in rage as it saw the yellow light approaching its offspring, a sharp stinger extending from its abdomen. "Oops..."
Meanwhile, the others did their best to try making Link as comfortable as possible in his delirium. As Rand reentered the hut, Lance asked "Any sign of them?"
"Not a one..." The dwarf grumbled, "They've been in that God-forsaken place for almost an hour already..."
Placing a cool towel on Link's forehead, Tikal sighed. "The poison's spreading, and he's starting to get a fever... if they don't get back soon..."
"Tetra..." Link whispered hoarsely, "Tetra..."
The Hylian's voice instantly got the group's attention. "Is he waking up?" They all gathered around the bed expectantly, but the boy did not wake.
Anri floated closer, examining the expressions on their fallen friend's face. "I think he's dreaming... about a friend of his, maybe?"
Before any of them could comment on her speculation, a rattling noise erupted from the pile of tools they had taken from Link. "What's that?" Moving over to the boy's belongings, Tikal shifted through them until she found the source: the Pirate Charm. "Bring it over here."
As Lance took hold of the glowing green stone, Tetra's voice snapped out "You're not Link! Who is this!"
"My name is Lance," the blonde answered calmly, seemingly unphased by the outburst. "I'm a friend of Link's. To whom am I speaking?"
"Lance...?" Recognition lay in the Pirate's voice, the girl's temper cooling a bit. "You're one of his companions... Where is he? Is he alright!" Exchanging a brief look with Tikal, Lance sighed. "You have to tell me! I'm his girlfriend! Tetra!"
Anri fluttered to the stone, her red glow dim. "So you're who he was calling for... I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Link's been poisoned..."
"WHAT! How!"
"In our last battle, he took a hit from a monster's claw, and some venom got into his system..." Turning so that the stone was in eyeshot of Link, Lance continued "We've split up into two groups, one looking for the last antidote ingredient, the rest tending to him. We've been trying to keep him stable, but until the others get back..."
Tetra gasped, signalling that she could see her love's fallen form through the stone's magic. "Oh, Link..." Taking a deep breath, she cautiously asked "How long have they been gone...?"
A bang sounded from a nearby table, Rand having driven his fist into it in frustration. "Been damn near an hour so far... What in blazes is keepin' 'em?"
"Nothing." A voice growled from the door. There stood Shadow, armor stained with Chykka blood and some acid burns from stinger shots. Tossing the egg he carried to L'ebroy, he said "I got your damn egg. Get to work."
Smiling, Lance gave a small sigh of relief. "Looks like we might be in time. I'll have Link call you when he recovers."
"But... but..." Tetra's voice cut off as Lance released the stone, letting it rest in Link's hands. As he closed the unconscious boy's fingers around the object, its glow faded.
"Come on guys, let's see if we can help make that antidote."
End Chapter 34
