Whootness!! Act 1 is DONE! After ten chapters… well, strictly speaking thirteen… -cough- though I've noticed how short my chapters are compared to those of, say, Phreno-senpai's. Still I guess I'll stick to my plentiful-but-non-substantial-chapters… FEAR ME!! :D

I love writing action scenes, I REALLY DO:D But whether or not I write it well is… another unrelated matter… snicker… sigh. Thanks again to all reviewers, especially the awesome-ass reviews from Drom, Phreno and Borg (all three names have letters 'o' and 'r' in them! And Oread's name starts with 'o' and 'r'!! Hahaha… sugar is my friend).

All right, Disclaimer: We all get it. Blizzard owns all but Oread, Celadon, Anil, Amaranth, Isabel, Kashya's mother-hen-ness, Cain's thinks-he-is-wise-but-he-is-just-plain-obnoxious-ness, and the extra gore and gruesomeness… and soon, I'll own another few characters! Yayness for Ophelion!

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Chapter 10: Cure in the East

I did not take very long to come to; for when I opened my eyes again I was still lying on the ground beside the portal, Kashya and two friends of mine fussing over me, and in dull pain. Lights from the torches flickered as Rogues rushed about, casting shades of red over my vision.

'… Akara!' I caught the last part of the command that Kashya was shouting out, whom had not realised that I had woken up.

'Captain…' I strained my reluctant vocal chords, and my voice sounded weaker than I would have preferred.

Kashya snapped her orbs back to connect with mine. I saw relief, fear and guilt in them… or maybe I was deluded. 'Celadon! Stay still… I'll get you help in a moment…'

'Don't worry about me now.' I croaked. 'I'm in no immediate danger. A few Antidotes would keep me alive enough, just… Oread…' My lungs threatened to bombard me with pain, and I was silenced.

Kashya nodded, and then the guilt overtook her eyes. She opened her mouth, but the words come out after a few seconds' delay. 'And Andariel?' She finally asked.

'Done.' I replied, feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over me. I no longer felt as if I could drop back to unconsciousness any time soon; that would have to wait until I knew what was going to happen to Oread.

'Hey, Celadon,' Kashya looked at me with difficulty, before turning her head and biting her lower lip. I waited in silence for her to continue. 'I was wrong. I've misjudged Oread.' She shifted her gaze back toward me. 'You and our loyalty are in very good hands. I'm sending her to Akara. Anil will come and attend to you instead. Okay?'

Anil was quite a few years older than me, and had been Akara's apprentice for as long as I could remember. Pleased with Kashya's decisions, I smiled. Perhaps it was the relief, or maybe the poison was taking full effect, I did not know… but with that I slipped away into unconsciousness.

By the time I had regained my senses, it was already morning, judging by the yellow-white light that stabbed through my eyelids. Reluctant to stray away from my dreamless sleep, I opened my eyes to my present world of reality, where Oread was in danger, or worse.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness, and a pair of wide, soft-brown eyes greeted me. 'How are you feeling, Celadon?' Anil flashed one of her kind, big-sister smiles. I tried to smile back, but probably just grimaced. 'You're quick to come to; it's only been half a day or so since you returned.' Her voice was soft, soothing the dull aches of my head. With her help, I sat up on my bedding inside the huge tent for the Rogue Scouts. My head still ached, and I felt a little sick in my insides; but apart from those, and the dull stings from my wounds that were not as bad as I had expected, I felt fine. Tired, but I was pretty sure that I would live.

Anil handed me a bowl of thick liquid, of a dark purplish-crimson colour. 'How's my master?' I asked, half-wanting to stall her from ordering me to drink the medicine.

Anil sat beside me and sighed. After a moment, she jerked her head at me, her long ponytail, tied at the nape of her neck, flicked softly. Her eyes were told me that she was worried and exhausted, and I felt a little guilty for adding to her stress.

'Priestess Akara hasn't left her tent at all since they've sent Miss Oread to her.' She spoke softly, but I could still hear the fear in her voice. 'She's asked not to be disturbed until she says so herself.' She paused, and forced a sweet smile. 'But you don't have to worry; I'm everything will work out. Now drink that.' With tat, she walked out of the tent.

I remained still; the tent was empty; the Rogues have probably all gone to kill of the remainder of the lesser monsters. With the most powerful of them destroyed, they should no longer be any problem for our Rogues.

"Celadon, have you drunk the medicine yet?" Anil's voice came through the tent fabric behind me, snapping me out of my dazed state. I quickly raised the bowl to my lips and swallowed the contents. A strong herbal, bitter taste and smell filled my throat and my nose, and I hurried to swallow the remainder. I heard Anil walk off after I finished and uttered a gasp.

Anil seemed to have gone to announce the news of my safety, for within a minute, two friends of mine, Amaranth and Isabel, came cheering into the tent, before burying me in their hugs. I asked for them to help me go to Akara so I could see how Oread was doing; Isabel quickly excused herself, explaining that she only sneaked out from her sentry duty to see me, and must be gone as soon as possible.

So, with Amaranth supporting me, we inched along to Akara's tent. It seemed like I had more injuries than I had remembered sustaining.

The flaps of entrance to the inside of the tent were closed. We got close enough, but there were no sounds of magic or movement. "Priestess Akara?" Amaranth inquired.

"Come in, my child. Bring Celadon, too."

We entered. The tent was brighter than I remembered it from the time after we came back from the battle with the Smith. Akara sat beside a mat on the ground, and upon the mat, was my master.

She was unconscious; bandages were all over her, but particularly thick pads of gauze can be noted beneath the bandages around her left shoulder and the right side of her midsection, where her liver would lie beneath. Her blood-stained cream top and tights were ripped and torn for Akara to access the wounds. Oread was pale, her lips more violet than the usual healthy shade of dark pink. There were shadows around her eyes, and her rasping breath was slow and shallow, but it brought a sigh from me nonetheless.

I looked up and around the tent; a rack was smeared with blood, as well as the bottles upon it. There was also blood and crimson-stained pieces of gauze, towels, bandages, needles and thread on the floor.

"Take a seat." Amaranth and I sat down beside Akara.

Akara took the hood of her violet cloak off, and both of us were shocked by how old and ill she looked. She had gone paler, there were shadows beneath her eyes, and she trembled a little. Healing Oread must have drained her energy so much that it was taking a toll on her body. "Celadon, how are you feeling?"

"I'll live." I replied impatiently. "More importantly, how's my master?"

Akara sighed tiredly, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, a noticed that her blue-green eyes seemed to have lost the brightness of their colours a little. "I've given her enough Antidotes to neutralise the poison, and closed her wounds; she's in no immediate danger. If she remains still, they will heal in time. What concerns me now is the recovery." She looked at Oread, her face sad and defeated. "The poison I've gotten rid of, but it has already weakened her greatly. Her body has no strength left to heal and fight off infections. I can cure injuries, but infections and sickness are beyond my skill."

Silence filled the tent for seconds as we were lost in our own thoughts, then Amaranth's voice broke it. "What should we do, then?"

Rather than what I was thinking, "what can we do", she used the word "should". It was as if she believed that there was something that can be done, and that we would have it accomplished. Her opinions about Oread must have really changed after our most recent battle.

"I know of a certain town in the East." Akara spoke slowly. "Lut Gholein of the Eastern Deserts. I heard that there's a healer there, a former Paladin of Zakarum, a Holy Warrior of the Light, who now resides in Lut Gholein in hopes for a life in peace. However, that town is now plagued with monsters; great evil has seeped into the Deserts. It is very dangerous for you to go there, my child."

"I'll do it." I said in determination. I was going to do anything to keep my master alive; she could not just die like this. "Doesn't Warriv have some business there? He was preparing his caravan for it, wasn't he?"

"He has been postponing his journey, because of the news that it is now more dangerous than ever to travel there." Akara replied, now speaking more quickly. "Though if you offer your protection, I'm sure he'll allow you to join him on the journey there."

"I'll go ask him now." I got to my feet gingerly; Amaranth got up quickly to support me. "Thank you for your wisdom, Priestess Akara."

"My best wishes go with you, my child."

Warriv agreed, stating that he would do anything for my master and me now that we had done the Rogues such a favour. During the next few days, I drank potion after potion, as I watched my body heal and strengthen. All my concerns were for Oread, however, whose conditions were not improving; I wanted to recover as soon as possible so that I could ensure our safety on the way to the Eastern town.

A few days later, the caravan was loaded. With Kashya's help, I carefully placed Oread onto some sheets in the caravan. She looked flushed; I touched her forehead to find that a fever was burning. We must make haste, which was why, when Deckard Cain offered to come, I got a little irritated; he was one more fight-less person to protect.

"You saved my life; this is the most I can do – to offer you my knowledge and wisdom to aid you on your journey."

"Just as long as we're not hindered, Master Cain." I replied indifferently.

When we were about to leave, my Rogue friends gave me a group hug and many farewells and best-of-lucks. Kashya held my hands, tears glimmering in her dark grey eyes.

"Take care, Celadon. May the Gods bless you on your journey."

"Thank you, Captain Kashya. I'll return here when I can." I patted her hands, hinting for her to release me. "I hope the Monastery will be restored to its former grace when I do."

"Oh, and…" She gripped my hands even harder. "Please let Oread know that I am sorry." A tear escaped the pool that gathered on her bottom eyelid, and she bowed her head.

"No problem. I'm sure she doesn't blame you for being protective of your people." I smiled widely. "Farewell, then." With that, I escaped her grasp, and hopped into the caravan.

And so our journey to Lut Gholein began amidst the united farewelling of my people.

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Ophelion's notes time!!!

"Anil" is a shade of blue; "Amaranth" is a red; "Isabel", believe it or not, is a yellow. I told you I'm a sucker for colour shades.

So Act 1 is done! Wow… at this rate I'll need more than fifty chapters to finish this story… ahh…

Oh, and can you tell that I really dislike Cain?