Chapter 5

True Dedication

The sour expression on Shani's face spoke volumes. Thaler was well aware that she didn't trust him at all, and carrying a knife didn't improve that. Shani's sullen silence was not only depressing, it also caused his thoughts to circle around the fact that he wasn't healing. Small wonder, travelling all the way to Kovir, but he didn't have to be a medic to know this wasn't good. Nor was the fact that the pain had transformed into a throbbing ache deep within him when he didn't move and a raging fire when he did. He hadn't told Shani any of this, of course, whenever she had asked him how he felt, knowing full well how dangerous that was. 'Why do you fear them? They just need help.'

Her words shook him out of his reverie. 'Finally. I already wondered when that one would come.' She glared at him. Thaler sighed. 'I know a warrior when I see one. And at least two of those were exactly that, Shani. Our situation is precarious enough. I'm not walking to the scaffold like a sheep, and neither are you.'

Entering the inn, he found the group of people at once. He approached carefully, pulling himself up to his full height, which would still be dwarfed by at least two of the men before him if they got to their feet. 'Shani here is a medic. She doesn't speak your language, so you'll have to talk to me.' He saw two new faces that hadn't been at the mayor's, one of them another elf. 'Name's Thaler. I know in a case of emergency I don't stand a ploughing chance, but try anything stupid and I'll give you a fight you'll remember.'

The words weren't understandable for Shani, but the snarl in his voice was unmistakeable, it seemed. 'Leave them alone,' she hissed.

He ignored her. 'Shani insists that we see your patient.'

Hirad stared at them. 'Gods in the ground, you sure you don't need help yourselves? You being hunted or anything?'

Thaler glowered at him. 'How's that your fucking problem?'

'I'll tell you what our fucking problem is.' The Unknown spoke in a low voice, but it held authority. 'Someone's dying, and I'm tempted not to believe that you can offer any help.'

Thaler folded his arms. 'Then don't. See if I care.'

Ilkar raised his hands. 'Whoa. Unknown, drop it. Seriously, you're as bad as Hirad sometimes. Look, we're not used to having to beg. Truth is, we cannot pay you. We can only appeal to your kindness. Our friend is dying.'

Thaler ignored him and kept staring at The Unknown. 'I like to know who I'm talking to. Who're you? Unknown isn't a name, even for a Balaian.'

'My name is Sol. I'd prefer if you don't use it. You may call me The Unknown Warrior.'

Thaler opened his mouth and closed it. He looked at Shani. 'Out of their mind, the whole lot of them.'

'Have you any idea what lockjaw does to a man? I don't care if they're mental, I'll try and help him.'

Thaler flexed his fingers. 'I know what ploughing lockjaw is, thanks. I didn't even know that there was a way to cure it. Frankly, I think we should stay clear of these people. They're in as dire a need for money as we are, I daresay. They cannot even pay you.'

Shani threw him a look of utter contempt. 'You know what? When I'm done with their man, I'm done with you too. I'm walking.' She looked pointedly away from him and gestured to Hirad to lead the way. She glared at Thaler. 'Tell them I need curare, or valerian if that can't be found. Then you're welcome to fuck off, to use your language.' She followed Hirad and a very tall blond man out of the room.

Ϡ

Will didn't look sick, Shani decided and gave voice to her thoughts, knowing full well they couldn't understand her. She proceeded to palpate his neck and back, finding tension. The room was uncomfortably warm, but Shani assumed he liked it that way and said nothing. A soft knock on the door interrupted her. Knowing that calling was pointless because no one could understand her, she opened the door, revealing Thaler. 'Go fuck a mule.'

He was unimpressed. 'Curare or valerian, you say? There.' He extended two pouches with a healthy amount of the respective herbs. 'Valerian I understand, but curare? Isn't that poisonous?'

'Well, I wouldn't expect you to know.' Shani turned her back on him again and the door closed behind her.

'In case it interests you,' she heard his voice in her back, 'a mage helped him. Your guy was close to death a few days back. Garvain, the mage, said it'll come back, though, and I believe him. The herbs are from him. I promised him I'd find the coin to pay him, but he refused.'

'The valerian would calm him, and he'll need that. But curare can sedate him.' Silence followed that. 'What?' she asked, glowering at Thaler.

'I just wondered if we should find something to relax his muscles. Or are you going to call me a simpleton for asking that?'

Shani smiled, despite herself. 'No. But both herbs do that, as well. You're perfectly right of course. Would you … would you please tell them he has to take what I give him?'

Thaler leaned back against the door and ran his hands over his face. 'If he's got lockjaw, all you must do in order to kill him is wait,' he said in a strained voice. He did tell them, though. At least, that was what she thought. Not that she could understand a word of what he said to them.

'I'm really screwed,' she said in an undertone.

'Should I translate that, too?'

'No need. Thaler … Are you all right?' His face had turned sheet white. Thraun had rushed past her and grabbed his arm before he could slide to the floor. Shani stepped close to him and laid a hand on his forehead. She blanched, feeling the intense heat emanating from him.

'You fool,' she whispered.

Ϡ

Watching Shani looking after her two patients was one of the most impressive things Ilkar had ever seen. He wasn't certain he liked that Thaler person any more than he liked Will, but Shani cared. Shani also cared about the complete stranger whose life was in her hands. He had tried to talk Will into trusting her, had tried to tell Thraun the same, but Will insisted he didn't need something for his nerves, thus refusing the valerian. He also knew that curare was poisonous and wouldn't take that, either. The inevitable outcome was the disease coming back with a vengeance not two weeks after Garvain had treated him. The only thing keeping him alive was the pendant, but if he didn't accept Shani's help soon, the pain was likely to drive him mad.

Shani's lilting language sounded in his back. The elf turned around and listened, trying and failing to make sense of the gibberish. There were tears in her eyes, the desperation obvious. Ilkar decided this had to end. Thaler was confined to bed with a horrible infection that might yet claim his life, so there was no one to translate for them. Ilkar made up his mind. He shook his head at her and she fell silent. Gently, he took Shani's hand and squeezed. 'Thaler?' he asked. Shani shook her head. Ilkar looked at her. 'I need to see Thaler. With you.' Shani answered, talking very deliberately, but he didn't understand a word. 'That is exactly the problem.' Ilkar indicated the pouch hanging on her belt where she kept her herbs and held out his hand. With a slight frown, she gave it to him. Ilkar pointed upstairs, holding up the pouch. 'Thaler,' he insisted. Ilkar very much doubted she understood what he intended, but she relented and led the way.

Thaler sat up when they entered, and there was a short exchange between the two. His voice was strained and quiet. The tone between them was the usual forced calm on Shani's part and what sounded like cynicism on Thaler's, despite his weakness. Ilkar waited patiently until they were done. 'So, there's still life out there besides Shani,' Thaler said at last. 'Good to know.'

Ilkar smiled. 'She's isolating you for your own safety. Another infection added to yours, however slight, would kill you.'

Thaler huffed. 'Are you sure you sure you need me to translate? You echo her perfectly already.' He shook his head. 'Don't answer that. What is it?'

'Will refuses to take the herbs. He says he doesn't need something for his nerves and fears being poisoned.'

'I thought Shani wanted to treat him with curare outright?'

Ilkar shrugged. 'I haven't the faintest idea, and I cannot ask her. Someone needs to tell Will why he has to take something he believes can't do him any good. And Shani can't. I really am sorry to bother you, but we need your help.' Thaler relayed Ilkar's words to Shani before listening to her answer.

'The valerian isn't to calm him, and it's too late for that anyway. It could have stopped the symptoms to return full force, she thinks. Now he must take the curare. It will paralyse him. She will dose it so his muscles can't cramp but he can still breathe. You will have to trust her.' He paused and licked his lips. 'These were her words, now I'll give you a piece of my mind. You're all completely gormless. Your man will die without help. Just trust her, let her do her thing. No one can make him worse, but Shani is an excellent medic. Let her fucking help him.'

'She's that good, then?' Ilkar asked.

Thaler shrugged. 'I'm alive, aren't I? By rights I should have died before we left Temeria.'

'If she's that good, why are you sick?' Thaler made to get to his feet, but Shani held him down, talking rapidly.

Thaler growled but stayed put. 'Simple. At home, they'd have killed her, and I wouldn't have managed to get out of there on my own. Waiting until I'm fully healed wasn't an option either. While she's here, I have a chance. I might still die, I'm not dumb enough to think I'm safe. But the one sure thing is that Shani's safe here.' He swallowed. 'If that is all, I would ask you to leave. Get your man to take whatever Shani tries to feed him. She hates my guts but I trust her to keep me alive as best she can. To your guy she's dedicated. Don't let that go to waste.'

Ϡ

Shani felt scared and isolated. Thaler slept most of the time, and even when he was awake, talking to him was painful – even more so than usually. Will had become a more worrying patient. Finding the dosage that would sedate but not kill him was difficult. What she needed, she knew, was someone who could tell her if all the leaves she had came from the same plant, thus having the exact same amount of the active substance. She needed, in other words, an alchemist or a witcher. Neither was available to her.

Thaler on the other hand was a different matter. She wanted to slap and kick him for insuring her he was fine when he must have been in constant agony, getting worse day by day. She couldn't have cured him completely on the journey, but that he was in such danger now wasn't necessary either.

The truth was, Shani wasn't entirely certain that even one of her patients would make it. Every time she talked to either of them and didn't receive a reaction at once, her heart skipped a beat. Not being able to talk to Will's friends didn't make it any easier.

The worst part was that after his breakdown, while his fever had been fiercest, Thaler had said things she was sure weren't meant for her ears. Vows to avenge someone, a promise of violence to some unknown fiend she wasn't sure was real. It had scared her more than anything. The pictures had apparently stopped plaguing him, but Shani would never forget the rage on his sweaty face.

After a week, she dared to hope they would both live. She had been worried about lasting damage to Will's spine, but the mage had stopped that from happening. He would take much longer to fully recover, but after another week she announced him healed. Thaler had finally decided that it was wiser to be honest about his condition and told her that the wound still stung if he moved suddenly, but other than that he was good. She felt like she could let go of a breath she'd been holding for weeks. Now all she had to do was break it to him that she had to be elsewhere.

Thaler was being Thaler and spent his evenings with the townspeople, blending in as though he was one of them. No one would have noticed he didn't belong there, that he was, in fact, deeply entangled in the Northern Kingdoms' politics. She began to think he had thoroughly enjoyed himself in his guise as a fence. Whether he just liked the company or whether he hoped to gain something from these people eluded her. She approached and cleared her throat.

'Look, your little nurse's come to check if your dick's in good working order.' Thaler glowered at the drunken man in front of him. Though Stonewash had a large percentage of Balaians in it, this evening he was sitting with original locals.

'She's a medic, not a nurse. And I highly doubt that.'

Oblivious to the subtle threat in Thaler's tone, the other man went on. 'You wouldn't mind, though, I bet.'

Thaler rose. 'Shut the fuck up. One more word and you can collect your front teeth from the ground.' He turned to face Shani. 'I apologise.'

She blinked. 'You don't have to. Thaler … You and Will are good, you don't need me anymore. And I can't stay here.'

Thaler jerked a thumb behind himself. 'Because of the company I keep?' He leaned in closer, continuing in a whisper. 'You want to know where you've landed, these are the people you've got to ask. Sad, but true.'

Shani's lips twitched. She had her answer. 'Not because of them. I spent too much time amongst soldiers to be upset by that. But I want to go to Oxenfurt. See if there's a place for me at the university.'

For a moment, Thaler hesitated, then he nodded. 'You should be safe in Redania, even if I'm not. I wouldn't know why you shouldn't go.'

'You'll be all right?'

'I'll manage.'

Ϡ

Erienne had her eyes closed, her face was blank. Ilkar shook her gently. 'Careful.'

She blinked at him. 'Thank you.' A shiver ran through Erienne's body. 'No success.'

'If you keep going at this rate, you'll kill yourself.'

The Dordovan smiled. 'I rely on you to stop that from happening. Got another pendant for that, perhaps?'

'Sorry, only the one.'

Erienne leaned closer. 'I'd like to know what that thing does, Ilkar. Before you tell me no, I've seen one like this before. Held it in my hands. But I couldn't figure out how the hell it worked and had it returned to its rightful owner.'

Ilkar stared at her. 'You had one? That's impossible.'

Erienne offered a smug grin. 'Is it? It keeps the bearer alive. The owner, I always thought. The point is, this thing is still working, even if we, the mages, aren't. Perhaps if we figure out how that's possible we can access the mana here, too.'

What Erienne said was, of course, plausible. Ilkar rubbed a hand over his face. 'It's Julatsan lore, Erienne. How can I betray that?'

She shook her head. 'I would do the same thing for you without hesitation. None of that has any meaning here, there's no Dordover, no Julatsa, no anything in this dratted world. Why do you act as if I'm a spy?'

Ilkar blinked and laughed. 'You're right.' He took a deep breath. 'It's forbidden, you know that. The creation of these pendants.'

'One of the all but forgotten secrets. Every college has them. Except Xetesk, of course, who kept to their sinister practices for the world to see and without prohibiting them.'

'Mostly,' Ilkar said, trying to keep this fair.

Erienne nodded. 'Well, all right, mostly. Anyway, why would something meant to preserve life be forbidden?'

Ilkar offered a shrewd smile. 'It can do more than that. You understand the concept of what would be called blood magic, don't you?'

'Drawing from blood rather than mana? Has been tried, proved impossible.'

Ilkar nodded. 'In the process they noticed something else: The energy of blood can be tapped, but what you take from it goes to waste. It is a very effective means to kill someone. Silently. Just drain their life away.'

Erienne looked stunned. 'But that … how?'

Ilkar shrugged. 'Normally these things aren't selective whose energy they draw from, nor do they stop after a time. If I know the signature of someone's mind, I can make an item like this drain them dry. Not this one, though. It's primed so it can only take from me, and it can feed that energy to the bearer. And it only works within a certain range, but that's a given.'

'What's the point, if it takes your energy and feeds it back to you?'

Ilkar grinned. 'It's feeding Will right now. But it wasn't altruism that had me make it. It takes a portion of my energy while I don't need it and stores it. If I were injured, it would help me survive, but of course it wouldn't work perpetually. If someone else wears it and I'm healthy, it does.'

Erienne frowned. 'That's huge, what you're doing for him. Does he know?'

Ilkar smiled. 'No. And I don't want him to as long as he wears it. But when he doesn't need it any more, perhaps we can actually find out how to tap into the mana here. It needs that to function, even if it is blood it leeches.'

'What is this thing called, anyway?'

'This sort, a safeguard.'

Erienne looked at the elf. 'Honest answer now. Is this the reason why Will is even alive?' Ilkar nodded. 'And can it potentially kill you?'

Ilkar took a deep breath. 'In itself, no. The safeguard cannot drain me. But it can weaken me, and while Will is feeding from my energy I am vulnerable. Which is another reason why we're stuck here while he has it.'

Erienne reached out and squeezed Ilkar's arm. 'All that for someone you don't really trust. Thank you Ilkar. On his behalf, even if he doesn't know what you're doing for him.'