Chapter 4: Chapter < 4 >
"Dragon fever!?" Craig and Andre shouted at the same time. They now understood why the old man said no one was able to save A'ina.
Dragon fever was a life threatening condition brought on from damage to a person's soul. It was the ultimate sickness, said to have been named after a condition suffered by actual dragons.
There were many stories surrounding the history of dragons. Dragon fever was said to be an illness that could kill dragons. It was brought about when a dragon exerted its power way beyond its limits and caused damage to its soul. The dragon would undoubtedly die soon after. Unless...
"Unless you have all seven lotus flowers on you right now, there's nothing I can do for her. Only the rainbow medicine can help her." The old man stated.
Craig lowered his head and pondered deeply. The more he thought, the more perplexed his expression became. The rainbow medicine was supposedly made from all seven lotus flowers combined to form a potent remedy. The problem however, lied in finding all seven of them.
They were justified to be so helpless, after all, even if one could find the first five lotus flowers, being; white, pink, yellow, red and purple. That would only be five out of seven and even then it wasn't so easy to find a purple lotus.
Then there was the elusive blue lotus that was so rare, no one even bothered to search for it. Few have only stumbled upon them by luck. If a man said to a woman that she was his blue lotus then undoubtedly no other woman could catch his attention.
Finally there was the black lotus. If dragons were only legends then black lotuses would be legends among legends. In fact, many people believed more in the existence of dragons than black lotuses.
As for this, rainbow medicine, it also came from the story of the dragon fever. It was said in the olden times there was a young man who had a pet dragon which he had raised from an egg. He was an adventurer who travelled the world along with his dragon. In battles no one was a match for him. Until one day he encountered an opponent who also had a pet dragon. The opponent's dragon was so powerful that the young man's dragon could only defeat it by damaging its own soul.
When the man asked the dragon how he could save its life, the dragon gave him the recipe for the rainbow medicine and told him it was the only way possible.
The young man searched the entire world until he found all seven lotuses and returned to save the dragon. Alas, by the time he returned the dragon had already died.
It wasn't until several years later that a princess had suddenly came down with the same illness, dragon fever. Dragon fever was already a known condition, however no one had ever been able to cure it. At that time it was known as the 'death illness'. All doctors hired by the king stated that it was impossible to save the woman's life. Out of desperation the king put out a reward that if anyone could save his daughter's life they'd have her hand in marriage.
Coincidentally the young man happened to hear about the plight of the princess. As he had no use for the medicine and his dragon was already gone he decided to use the medicine on the woman. It actually ended up saving the woman's life. Afterward, the young man also shared the recipe for the rainbow medicine with the world and from then on the death illness became known as dragon fever.
This was how dragon fever and the rainbow medicine was passed down through history.
Craig also knew the story of dragon fever which was why he was so perplexed. He was about to speak when Maeli suddenly started coughing.
Cough. Cough. Cough.
She then tilted her head over the edge of the bed and vomited out a black and white substance. When she was done throwing up, she laid back down and took in several deep breaths with her eyes closed. She was regaining her orientation. The poison had made her dizzy and left her in a weakened state.
Craig and the others quietly observed her for a moment.
When she was done catching herself, she slowly sat up and looked around the room. When her gaze landed on Craig she froze for a moment. Then with a guilty expression she apologised. "I'm sorry." She was apologising for holding a dagger to his neck earlier when he was clearly sincerely helping her. She had already realized everything from the moment she woke up.
She knew that she was given an antidote for the poison and her life had been saved.
Craig nodded to show that he accepted her apology.
Maeli then looked at the old man and asked. "Are you the doctor?"
"I am." He replied. He was really a man of few words.
She bowed her head slightly and said. "Thank you for saving my life."
The old man nodded. His expression remained as plain as ever.
Maeli then looked at A'ina beside her and upon seeing her condition she quickly asked. "What happened to Milady?" Due to her being unconscious, she was unaware that A'ina had hurt herself to defeat Morak. She wasn't aware of how dire the situation was as yet. She immediately assumed that she was also poisoned as well.
"Is she really one of your people's princesses?" The old man asked before replying to her question.
Maeli seemed startled by the question at first, because she was usually on guard against humans. However, seeing as the doctor had saved her life she quickly calmed down. "Please don't let too many people know this." She requested before replying. "She is the fifth princess, princess A'ina. I am her personal attendant, my name is Maeli. Not many people know the identity of the fifth princess since she's always in the elf kingdom." Then after a short pause she stated awkwardly. "Usually under house arrest. She's the most rebellious of the princesses, always getting into trouble, which is how we ended up here." Then she let out a sigh and asked. "Doctor, was milady also poisoned? She doesn't look to good right now."
"She is suffering from dragon fever." The old man replied right away.
"Ah?" In shock, Maeli instantly jumped up form the bed. She looked at everyone in the room with a nervous expression on her face. "Dragon fever? Are you sure you aren't mistaken?" She was so nervous that she was trembling uncontrollably. It was obvious how terrified she was of the idea that the princess had dragon fever.
Both Craig and Andre was surprised that she was already able to stand after just recovering. However this was understandable, after all, elves were much more resilient than humans and they also had innate magic to aid them.
"There's no mistake." The old man replied. He didn't warn Maeli about her condition or ask her to rest as if he knew she would recover this quickly. Or, maybe he just didn't care, who knows.
Maeli's nervous expression turned into anger. "Did that bastard orc do this!? If milady dies, I'll wipe out their entire race." Savage fury had overtaken Maeli as she thought about A'ina's death. It was evident that she meant a lot to her.
The old man shook his head. "Little lady it's pointless to wallow in anger right now. You must think of a way to help your princess or take her back to the elf kingdom to get help. If she were to die here then it would be a serious problem."
Maeli slowly suppressed her anger and looked at the old man. "Doctor is there nothing you can do to help milady?" Maeli begged. Of course, even she knew there was nothing that could be done about dragon fever. The only cure known was a myth, a story, a legend.
"Lotus flowers do have a slight effect on those who've came down with dragon fever before. However they can only slow the effects down a bit and cannot come close to curing it. Without the blue and black lotus it will be impossible to save her." The old man explained. "If she can't be saved, it's pointless to prolong her suffering."
"I've heard that in the elf kingdom is a place filled with lotus flowers called the lotus pond, is that true, miss Maeli?" Andre suddenly asked. There was an odd glint in his eyes as if he was filled with expectation toward her answer.
Maeli didn't immediately reply. She remained silent for some time as she looked at the princess with a difficult expression. She thought hard for a while before finally speaking. "Yes, the lotus pond exists." She said, somewhat unwillingly. It was clear that if not for the current circumstances, she would never reveal such Information. "I've never been there as it is in forbidden territory, however I've heard rumours that there are lots of lotuses there including even the blue lotus. There was also a rumour that many years ago the queen was visiting the pond when she saw a black lotus. Although these are only rumours it might be our only chance to save milady. However..." She suddenly came to a pause with another difficult expression.
"It being a forbidden area is a problem?" Craig asked upon seeing the difficult expression on her face.
Maeli shook her head sideways.
"Is there another problem?" The old man asked.
"Milady had actually lied to his majesty and decided to sneak out along with a military unit. By the time I realised what she was up to it was already too late. I could only end up tagging along with her. If the king found out, her punishment this time..." Maeli shook her head when she reached that point.
"In order words, the king can't find out that she snuck out and got into trouble?" Craig asked after hearing Maeli's explanation.
Maeli nodded.
"She has dragon fever. What is sneaking out compared the ultimate life threatening illness?" Andre asked, trying to figure out Maeli's line of reasoning.
Maeli shook her head and sighed. "The third princess was also a troublemaker in her younger days. One time, she got an injury that threatened her life. When she came back, the king locked her in a cell and ordered that no one treat her injury. If it wasn't for the queen secretly treating her she would have died. When the king found out what the queen had done he wanted to banish the third princess. I'm not too certain why he didn't, however she was still severely punished."
Craig was surprised by Maeli's story. He didn't know that the elves were so strict with rules that even royalty faced such severe punishment. He now had a new understanding of the elven kingdom. "Are you saying that the king might let his daughter die even if he knew she had dragon fever, simply because she snuck out? " He asked.
Maeli nodded. "Milady has angered his majesty a too many times. I'm afraid this time around a scenario like what happened to third princess might be repeated and milady won't be so lucky as her elder sister." She explained.
Craig held his chin in thought and said. "I understand what you mean now."
"As long as your doctor can prolong milady's condition, we should have enough time to go to the lotus pond and see if we can find all seven flowers." She explained as she switched her gaze from Craig to the old man. "We should make it back in time to save her, assuming you have enough medicine to sustain her condition." She said to him.
The old man thought for moment before replying. "I should be able to make five potent batches and six mild ones with my inventory. In my opinion she'd last a week without medicine. With the eleven batches of medicine I can't promise anything more than a week and five days." He explained.
Maeli lowered her head in thought. "Twelve days... That's a really tight window. It will take us five days to get to the elf kingdom border on horseback, which means it will also take us five days to get back here. Since I don't know the exact location of the lotus pond, we'll have two days to search for it and hopefully find what we need." After saying all this she suddenly looked at Craig and asked somewhat hesitantly. "Um, so... are you willing to help save milady?" She still felt some guilt for what she had done. She suddenly felt that Craig wouldn't be willing to help her.
"Sure I'll help you." Craig replied with a hidden smile.
Maeli was relieved that he didn't hold a grudge because of her actions.
"On one condition." Craig suddenly added.
"Ah?" Maeli wasn't expecting that he'd have demands. "What's your condition?" She asked.
"On the condition that you agree to marry me." Craig replied.
Maeli was surprised by this and her expression turned awkward. "What? This... I... you're a human, I..." It was so sudden she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing how flustered Maeli had become, Craig felt joy on the inside. This was his way of getting back at her for holding a knife to his neck. It wasn't a fair revenge but it was satisfactory nonetheless. "Look at you, I'm just messing with you." He said as he laughed.
Maeli couldn't help but get a little angry after being teased in such a way. If the situation was different she'd have knocked the daylights out of Craig already.
Craig however, wasn't done yet, he suddenly said. "That wouldn't match the dragon fever story, would it? I'm supposed to marry the princess if I can save her life. So that's my condition. I'll ask her when she wakes up."
Maeli who was angry a moment ago suddenly laughed and said. "Fine, you can ask her yourself when she's cured." The quick change in her temper was unbelievable. Of course, she was only joking because she assumed Craig was still spouting nonsense. What she didn't know was that he was actually planning to go through with his words. He had to get back at these elves for the way they treated him.
"Brat, there's no time to waste, you all must immediately set off if you want to have a chance at saving her life." The old man said to Craig as he shifted his gaze over to Maeli. "You should get rid of that green cloak and keep your appearance hidden whilst you travel with him." He said to her as he grabbed a black cloak from a wall hook and tossed it over.
"I'm a grown man could you please stop calling me brat already?" Craig complained embarrassingly.
The old man shot him a sharp gaze but his expression was still as plain as ever. "When you stop causing trouble I'll address you accordingly, though I'll surely die before that happens." He lamented. "Now all of you leave so I can Concentrate on the task at hand. Remember you only have twelve days, anything more than that and she may already be dead." He reminded with a warning. "I'll also experiment with other medicines if you don't make it back on time." He added.
With that chilling reminder Craig gestured to Maeli and Andre to follow him outside. "Let's go. Andre, get two horses prepped for us as fast as possible."
"You mean three, I'm coming with you guys. The lotus pond has always been one of my dreams you know. I must see it with my own eyes." Andre replied.
Craig shook his head. "It's better that you stay with doc in case he needs your assistance. It would be much safer and easier if it was only the two of us."
Andre scoffed coldly. "Because I'm fat you think I'm slow and will slow you down." He remarked grudgingly.
Craig laughed and replied. "You are fat and slow, but jokes aside this situation is a serious one. We must act efficiently."
Andre sighed with heavy nod. "Yeah, I know."
"Don't worry, I'll bring you back a souvenir." Craig promised as he tapped Andre's shoulder.
The trio then left the building to make preparations for their journey.
***
Back in the valley where the battle between Craig and the orcs took place; a group of six orcs arrived on scene.
A well built orc wearing silver armour was leading the group. He suddenly signaled for the others to stop by rasing his hand. Then he signaled with a forward chop and one of his companions dashed forward without hesitation.
He rushed over to the four orcs lying on the ground and checked each of their pulses. Then he looked back at the silver armoured orc and shook his head. This verified that they were dead.
"Did whoever it was kill Lord Morak as well?" The silver armoured orc muttered with a pensive look.
A weak voice suddenly came from the right near a tree stump. "Took you all long enough."
Looking over the group of six saw a part of morak's golden armour and an arm raised into view. They quickly rushed over and two of them began checking his condition.
"It's bad sir." One of the two said after a while. "He needs immediate medical attention or he'll soon die. He's lost too much blood."
"Who did this?" The silver armoured orc asked with a grave expression.
"Elves!" Morak replied weakly through gritted teeth as anger seethed through his body.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ladrakeus_Allen
Ladrakeus_Allen Wow, you're still here... So glad to have you along for the ride... And so this disclaimer will be your lifeline.... The Mc will need to go on this quest as it is necessary to his development, there are things I cannot say but trust me, you won't regret nearly dying with him, and nearly dying again, and again and even one last time... But that last time though... Well, read if you would like to know, I can't just spoon feed you now can I?
Cheers :)
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone