Chapter Ten
It had been over nine years since Coran had seen the land of Ascalon. He remembered it as he left it… bright and green and filled with life. He had known about the Searing, he had some inkling as to what it was capable of… but to see the effects of its power was unsettling.
Devona didn't comment about Coran's strider, that had taken position in the center of the convoy, started slowing down, it's rider wide-eyed, trying to take in everything the scene had to offer… and effectively silenced anyone who might have wanted to with a scathing glare.
"We've seen better days…" Devona said wistfully, taking up position alongside him.
The prince didn't look down at her, his eyes continuing to soak in the desolation. "Obviously…" Then he squinted, and startled the entire convoy when he abruptly bellowed, "Hey! Don't drink that!"
Coran's strider then picked up into a sharp canter and veered off at a near right angle from the convoy. Devona started to follow, but on foot had no chance of keeping up with the large bird Coran was riding. Nonetheless, she and the rest of the convoy was able to discern what had garnered the prince's attention; two small children filling water skins at the banks of a murky pool of water formed by a natural dam in a slow moving creek.
Coran slid off the Strider and hovered over the pair of kids, a young boy and girl likely not even in double digit years of life, from his guess. "That water is filthy, children… there are minerals, poisons, and likely even a large handful of pathogens from where you pulled the water." He chided.
"But… there's nowhere else to drink. The wells have been dry for years…" The girl protested. "And my mommy's really hot."
Devona finally reached Coran's side as the prince dropped to his knee. "Well, I will show you how to get clean water from anywhere… even from places such as this. And perhaps I can see what I can do to help your mommy while I'm at it. Do you live up there?" He said, pointing downstream to where a depressingly slanting shack stood… using the term loosely.
"Uh huh." The girl nodded. "But… we're not even supposed to talk to strangers, much less lead them home."
Coran chuckled, "You've been taught well… but I think in this case, an exception to the rule can be made. I suspect if I even so much as entertained a thought to harm either of you, Captain Devona here would likely take parts of my body I'd much rather keep."
He held out his hands to the children, who each took one and began their trek towards the shack in the distance. Coran motioned with a gesture of his head for the convoy to follow, then added in order, "Devona, see if you can find a clean sterilized cloth… I suspect any of the Asurans will have several, and several pieces of charcoal. I will need them once we reach our destination."
* * * * *
"Now… this might seem a bit strange." Coran warned. He had been holding off this part of his examination until the end mostly because it might create an extremely awkward moment for a person not used to such medical procedure. "But I need to do this to make sure I am making the right diagnosis."
The older woman, weakened from fever, simply nodded. The prince breathed heavily, made sure his sterilized perma-elastic glove was in place, and heard her gasp in shock as his hand slid under her skirt and finished the task. It didn't take long, fortunately; as he quickly found the tell-tale swelling that he was looking for, and quickly pulled away.
Coran plucked the sheer rubbery material off his right hand, and gave it to one of the Medical Krewe assistants for proper disposal. He frowned, and declared, "Yes, madam, it appears you have contracted a parasite; Encephalam Titorous, to be precise. Normally, it's too weak to overcome the body's natural immune system, but it can be quite opportunistic if you became ill before, like the cold you told me you had last week."
"So… what can be done?" Mhenlo queried, immensely curious of the Prince's experience. "Prayers to the Gods themselves rarely yield results from natural illness."
"Mostly because the Gods prefer for nature to take its course." Coran explained. "However, there are things we as mere mortals can do to thwart pestilence and disease, or at worst, ease the pain of those suffering. However, in this case, I suspect it won't be needed. As I said, the Titorous parasite is not particularly virulent… I would say with near absolute certainty she contracted it drinking filth like this."
Coran grabbed up one of the full waterskins on the dinner table in the shack to make his point, then said, "A week or two with some properly cleaned drinking water, and she should make a full recovery. And now, let's show these young ones how to go about it, and we can be on our way."
To his Medical Krewe, he said, "You can go ahead and pack everything we took back up, there's nothing I will need from any of you at this point." As the Asura devoted themselves to the task, he began making other orders. "Okay… Mhenlo, you have the cloth I asked for earlier, right?"
The monk handed the object over, and he explained to the family, "You don't have to use this particular cloth. Any fine cloth like silk or quality linen will do if needed. As long as the cloth you use has been thoroughly washed, it should be good enough. I'll let you have this one, though, and you should use this as often as you can."
Devona noted that when he started giving the instructions to the family, that his manner of speech became simpler. How could she convince him to speak that way more often?
"Cynn, grab that pot from over the cooking fire, will you?" Coran continued expertly, "Aiden, begin another fire in there… there should be enough wood and kindling to get a good blaze going."
The prince then laid the cloth across the table, and on another section, began grinding the charcoal into a fine powder on one of the dinner plates provided. Once he was satisfied with the efforts, he poured the charcoal powder onto the cloth, and folded it over twice, tying the two far ends together in tight knots.
The cloth ends extended from one end of the circular pot to the other, and he pinned the two ends to the rim with a pair of clamped tongs normally used for holding meat over the cooking fire. "Now, this is where you want to be careful." He said to the pair of children, beckoning them to come to his side, waiting for them to kneel on the chairs to get a look at what he was instructing.
"You want to make sure the water goes onto the cloth without too much splashing." Coran said, slowly pouring the grimy contents of the waterskin out. "If the cloth becomes completely wet, you need to stop to let the water currently in there to go through, okay?"
It took several minutes for the waterskin to empty. "You can use about five waterskins on the cloth before you have to clean it and change the charcoal inside. But as you can see… we have the start of what will be very good drinking water."
Devona had to admit she was as curious as the children, a curiosity she apparently shared with several other adults. Even in the dim light it was very obvious that the normally sickeningly gray water was astonishingly clear… Devona honestly wasn't terribly sure what he meant... it looked good enough to drink now.
"In case you're curious, all we've really done so far is clean the impurities like tar or loose dirt out of the water. Nasty little bugs like the one making your mother sick are still living in here. That's what we need the fire for."
He took the pot over to the fire, and set it on the stand built for it. "Wait for the water to come to slow boil, then take it off the fire and let it cool. The heat will kill off all those nasty creatures, and the water will be safe to drink. Did you get all that?"
The children nodded, and Coran wrote down the same instructions off a pad of paper in the pocket of his vest. "Just in case, there here for you as well… and make sure your father takes a look at these when he gets home. I wish I could stay longer, but I am on some pressing business myself, so I'm afraid we'll have to make a quick departure."
The ill woman, sensing her guests were about to leave, forced the strength to sit up slightly, and ask, "Who are you… and where did you learn these things?"
Cynn's eyes flared wide. "Are you completely out of touch, woman? This is…"
"A mere man with far too much time on his hands to learn things that men should never know." Coran interrupted with a warm smile. "I'd get into detail, but we really must be on our way. Come now, everyone. The lady needs her rest."