A Hero With/Out Time

Chapter 4: My change. (Part 4)

"Okay I understand last night but are you really sure you want to be here for this?" Taylor nudged my side as we stealthily approached the forest. The town guards and the Hero's party plus me. We didn't number more than thirty but the fighting potential we had vastly overcame the bandits.

I yawned, "I'm here as the Hero's attendant. It's not like I'll actually be a part of the fighting." The sun had barely begun to rise and coupled with last night's antics I was feeling the drain. If it wasn't for the steady stream of anxiety beating inside my chest I would have fallen asleep in a heartbeat.

Taylor nodded and moved up ahead to where the Hero and the others were. Really I was here to earn brownie points. I already knew the outcome of the battle, so all I needed to do was show my face.

Within a few minutes we had moved into position. The bandits' sentries were taken care of by Taylor and now the Hero and Ardent began to prepare their spell. From what I heard it was a mass subjugation spell made to knock out anyone under a certain power threshold. All I could do was watch from afar as the pretty display of soft lights entertained me. Although I understood the principles of mana, it was from an apothecary's point of view so the spell itself went straight over my head.

A sudden buzz filled the air and the hair on my skin rose uncomfortably. The same light I had seen all those deaths ago sprang into the air. As it reached its peak a blast of pressure descended downwards onto the forest throwing dirt, leaves and birds into the air.

"Charge!" Ronalt yelled from the front as the guards cheered after him. The Hero and the others quickly followed leaving me with a few of the remaining men. Our job was to pick off the stragglers and provide medical attention where needed.

The forest was thick and we advanced slowly after the Hero. Occasionally I would spy a bandit's unconscious body and we would move to apprehend them. The sounds of metal clashing against metal and flashes of light sprang up through the trees as screams filled the sound between them. Even not being in the forefront I could feel the tension in the air. If I didn't know the outcome already I might have broken from the atmosphere.

"Help!" one of the town's guards came running towards us while carrying another. The man on his shoulder was pale and an arrow stuck from his side. "Fen was shot, I think the arrow was poisoned."

He laid the man in front of us as one of the guards quickly saw to the wound, "Did you use the antidote?"

"Yes sir, but it had no effect," the guard was even younger than I was. "Please save him, he took the arrow for me."

They pulled off his armour revealing his chest. A dark purple spread from where the arrow had pierced his side. I sighed internally and moved forward.

"Step aside," I kneeled down to inspect the wound.

"Can you help?" the young guard was begging me with his eyes.

"I'll do what I can," I answered simply and opened my bag. Treating poisons was difficult. While there existed a cure all of sorts, they were incredibly expensive and hard to make. On the other hand, while there were many specific curatives, use the wrong one and it could make it worse.

I took the knife from my kit and used it to pry the arrow from his body. Blood poured down his side. That was the easy part, what came next I was never really comfortable with but it was the way I was taught. I planted my mouth on the wound and sucked out the venom. The guards around me were shocked but I ignored them as I tasted the poison. Finally I spat it out into a vial and took a single leaf in my bag, dropping it into vial as well. The dark colour began to fade and clear.