I trembled all over, shaking violently, tears coursing down my face and I collapsed with a splash into the stream. My breath whistled in and out of me in a damp wheeze as I gasped for air, clutching the center of my chest as a dark greenish pus leaked between my fingers. I was took terrified to look at myself and see what horrors had been done to me. Magicka lashed out of my hands, wildly arcing over the ground and through the air. My mind was a ruinous cavern, and there was no space between Derkeethus and I now. Thought and memory flowed freely in a confusing display of images and sound.
Sputtering as I lay face down on the edge of the water, Derkeethus knelt beside me and pulled me into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, Henny. I mean it. I am." His snout was buried in my hair, and my vision swam. The only thought I recognized as mine was a vague lament that I had just washed my armor. Now it was covered in muck again. I tried to be angry with my friend for betraying me so, and I even felt a pang of regret for not listening to him sooner, but I was so tired.
My body slowly went limp and he set me down awkwardly and I stared at the sky as the sun crawled towards the western horizon. Every inch of my flesh ached and burned as the dark substance continued to ooze out of me. The hand that had originally been pricked, too leaked that strange pus, until, at last, it ran red with clean blood. Sitting beside me, Derk sliced open his hand, gripping my bleeding one with his and he sat for a long time, chanting incoherently.
At length I felt a warmth spreading through me, a soft warmth. Like that of a fire on a cold evening. I was weak, and I thought about falling asleep with that comforting feeling. At least, maybe, I could have a respite from this madness filling my days. Derkeethus chuckled.
"You aren't dying. Look." My eyes rolled lazily over to look at the trebled form of the Argonian. He was holding my sword, and for a terrifying moment, I whimpered, worried he would complete whatever the briarheart had asked of him. He merely shook his head and repeated, "Look." I squinted, and on the tip of the etched blade the briarheart was speared like a morsel to be roasted. Thick viscous sap crept down the silver inlay.
I realized in that moment the heart's will had faded, and in its last, fitful pulse, I sighed in relief, smiling a little drunkenly.
"Come on, we have to get you somewhere...not in the middle of nowhere," he grunted, hefting me across his shoulders and staggering over towards the road. He tried to whistle, instead settling for a raspy kind of hiss. Nael came running, and in smelling the blood and sap oozing out of me, took off for the hills. "So much for a horse. I'm sure she'll find the nearest town."
Setting me down, I tried to stand, but only stumbled and fell to my knees. Derk came back and made to carry me again, but I shook my head. "You can't save me all the time," I rasped. Fondness filtered through my head, and I wasn't sure of its source or at whom it was directed. Gritting my teeth, I stood on shaking legs, and managed a step down the road. Then another.
I glared ahead at the cobbles as I managed one step at a time, and after a while, I didn't resist when the Argonian took my arm and threw it over his shoulder. Evening drew about us as we slowly walked up the road. Every step was a lesson in agony, but I continued anyway, knowing that our mission still needed to be completed. Hrefna was still out there somewhere, hopefully biting the hands of those who fed, and likely mistreated, her.
Derk barked short laughter in my ear at the image in my head, though his amusement was tainted by a wash of worry for the child. As I looked up at the sides of the gully surrounding us, I felt suddenly very small and alone trudging across this landscape. The idea that I could die out in this place had not left me just yet, and given my condition and the increasing exhaustion I felt on behalf of Derkeethus it was not unlikely.
A cold, dry breeze blew through the rocks in a breathless moan. The sky's color gradually darkened. At least I wasn't truly alone. I smiled at my friend as we progressed up the road, knowing the fondness came from my end this time.
Up ahead a gate loomed, and when we passed under it, a village stretched before us. "We made it," I nearly sobbed. It was almost over. We were almost done.
Derkeethus let go of me for a moment, and I stood wavering, the last remnants of magicka seeping out of my hand and into the air. I took an experimental step down the street, and in spite of the weakness in my legs, made it several steps before he had to support me once more.
Overhead the stars came out and the light in the houses flickered to life. People heading to the inn passed us and gazed curiously, but did not do anything to aid or impede our progress. Some whispered and pointed, others scowled and turned away. Inhaling deeply, I wheezed and coughed fitfully, feeling considerable fluid in my lungs.
The last few steps to the inn were true agony, and in the end, I was crawling on my hands and knees. "I can carry you," Derk offered as he grabbed my leg just above the knee.
"No," I panted. My hands left smears of blood across the stones, but I grimly made my way towards the lowest step. The door opened and I heard a feminine voice gasp in surprise.
"Derkeethus! Gwaihen!"
Looking up wearily, I saw Tormir illuminated by the lantern light of the inn. For a moment, I wondered if I really had perished. This was like a dream. She shouldn't have actually been here, even if Hrollod could be trusted. Yet here she was. My eyes welled at the thought of coming home, until I remembered where I really was.
"What happened to you?" she demanded, helping me up in spite of my protests. When I didn't answer, she glared over my shoulder at the Argonian.
"It's complicated, Tormir. We need rest, and she needs a healer," he replied.
"But the apothecary is closed."
"Then wake them up," I ground out through my teeth.
"Where is Hrollod?" my friend asked.
"He hasn't arrived yet, but he sent me ahead to look for you. I'm to send word to him immediately. He's on assignment in Whiterun at the moment," she explained. "We've...agreed to let go of the past," she added cryptically, leading us inside. The air was warm and smoky, like all inns were, and I was brought to a bed. My eyes shut of their own accord, and before I drifted off into an exhausted slumber, I listened to the voices in the room for a moment.
"This is worse than it looks. No healer here could possibly fix this," Derkeethus murmured. "Give me your message and I'll take it to Hrollod myself."
"Don't be ridiculous, you're dead on your feet! You'll never make it without falling off your horse."
"It doesn't matter. Hrollod needs to come now and I can get to him faster than any messenger of the Empire. Plus I have my own errand to attend to."
When I realized he would be leaving me, I protested weakly, peering at him through barely opened eyelids. "Don't worry, I'll be back. If you'll allow me to ride Nael, I'll return before a week is out," he said softly, squeezing my hand. I nodded, only slightly moving my head. His footsteps retreated from the room, along with the lighter steps of the woman.
As my mind and body finally shut down for a while, for the first time in many days I was alone without anything to influence me. Even Derkeethus was managing to keep his thoughts to himself in spite of the gaping hole in our respective consciousnesses.
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