Draco stood there for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. He found it hard to say why it had suddenly started beating faster. The effort he'd just made hadn't been too great, nor did he feel any fear of heights, and yet something had happened.
'Are you all right?' The boy who'd pulled him up seemed a bit worried and concerned.
'Yeah, I'm fine.' Draco gave a wry smile. 'It was just a little surprise, nothing to worry about.' He tried to turn the whole situation into a joke.
'It didn't look that funny. Are you sure you're all right?' The cadet wouldn't let it go.
'Probably.' Draco dropped his cheerful tone and spoke in a matter-of-fact manner. 'Once we get to the top, I'll just have to check that both my shoulders have a full range of motion,' he stated.
'We'd better get a move on, then.' Sheth stood on the ledge next to the dragon. The troll was holding a new rope secured to the goblin, who in turn was working even faster, as if he wanted to get back onto solid ground as soon as possible. 'I've checked the rocks ahead and secured our climbing rope, so I can belay Warren for this bit. You deserve a breather.' He gave the dragon a friendly pat on the shoulder and focused on the task at hand.
Draco didn't protest and, as the passage took shape, he moved forward, keeping his back pressed against the vertical wall the whole time. When they finally reached the end and stood on the second, large platform, the dragon noted with satisfaction that Warren had used the technique from earlier, and a veritable stone ladder led right to the very top. The reptile climbed to the very top with ease and stood on solid ground with some relief.
Some rather unpleasant sounds caught his attention. He looked around for their source, but the troll approached him and shook his head in a warning gesture.
'Warren's only just getting over the fall,' explained Sheth, trying to drown out the sound of retching with his words. 'It seems his willpower deserted him the moment he reached the top, and he's just thrown up the contents of his stomach.'
'I hope he recovers quickly…'
'Draco!' The boy who had been following the dragon emerged at the top of the cliff and immediately set off towards the reptile. 'Is everything all right?' His gaze betrayed a strong conviction that things were far from all right.
'Yes, yes.' Draco tried to brush him off whilst checking the mobility of his limbs, just as he'd said earlier. His shoulders were working as usual, so he couldn't see the slightest problem. 'No complaints.'
'Don't try to wriggle out of it.' The cadet lunged at the dragon and quickly closed the gap. The startled reptile didn't even react when the boy grabbed his left arm and yanked it upwards. 'It's not all right,' he assessed, biting his lip. 'It's very bad.'
The dragon looked down and realised what was going on. The skin from his wrist to the tips of his fingers on his left hand had been torn away to the raw flesh, and small shards of rock were embedded in the tissue. Blood was streaming down his hand, falling in heavy drops onto the ground. It looked awful, even by the reptile's standards.
'I've bloodied my whole sleeve,' Draco stated calmly, gently freeing himself from the cadet's grip. He then began dispassionately to pull out the sharp pebbles, knowing that if he didn't, the healing wound would be a real nuisance and a potential source of infection.
'We need to treat it properly,' said the boy who'd pointed it out, shuddering as he watched what the dragon was doing.
'Do you have anything with you, Eric?' Sheth looked deeply concerned, to say the least.
'No, I didn't take anything.' The cadet looked around somewhat nervously, watching as more people made their way up the ladder. 'Maybe someone took something…' He trailed off when he saw Cedric heading their way.
'What happened up there?' Retfield cut straight to the point.
'I don't know.' Draco shrugged. 'I was walking along the ledge, and then I fell. That's all. If you want to find out more, try asking Warren once he's able to speak.'
'Did anyone take any bandages or potions?' Eric cut in.
'Noah had something with him. What's happened to you?' Cedric turned his attention to the other boy.
'I'm fine, but Draco needs help.' The cadet pointed at the dragon, and only then did Retfield notice what the reptile had been doing impassively all along.
'By the gods…' Cedric swallowed hard, turned slightly pale, and the earlier hostility vanished from his face. 'When…?'
'I think it was when I was falling and tried to grab hold of something.' The dragon moved his hand, trying to see if he'd pulled out all the shards. Blood was streaming down his hand the whole time and dripping onto the ground, forming a puddle that was by no means small. 'Just a bandage, a few potions, and it'll be as good as new,' he stated nonchalantly. Whichever way you looked at it, the reptile had so far managed to heal far worse injuries, so he assumed there'd be no problem this time either. What's more, with a substantial sum to hand and alchemists keen to do business with him, he sensed he'd be able to deal with the problem even more quickly and easily.
'Noah!' Cedric called out to the parthir as loudly as common sense would allow.
'What's the matter?'
'You know a thing or two about medicines and medicinal plants, so try and help Draco.' It was strange to hear the younger Retfield suddenly speak of a dragon without any negative attitude. However, the reptile decided not to get used to it and assumed that everything would return to normal as soon as he'd managed to tend to his injured hand reasonably well. The only thing he didn't understand was the commotion that had arisen.
'It can't be that bad…' Parthir trailed off mid-sentence and pushed his way towards Draco, rummaging for something in the pouch on his belt at the same time. 'Why isn't anyone trying to staunch the bleeding?' he snapped, shooting a withering glare around the group. From the pouch strapped to his belt, he pulled out a clean piece of cloth and a large bandage. The dragon was just about to say it wasn't necessary and that he could manage on his own, but Noah's gaze made it clear there would be no discussion.
So the dragon gave in and calmly accepted the offered help. Parthir knew what he was doing, or so it seemed. He quickly examined the wound thoroughly and removed the small stones from it that Draco hadn't noticed, then rinsed the injured hand with water from his canteen and wrapped it in a proper dressing.
'Thanks for your help,' said the dragon when Noah had finished.
'Don't thank me just yet.' Parthir turned towards Cedric, who had been checking on Warren in the meantime. The goblin seemed to be slowly coming round, and even the sounds of his retching had stopped. 'We should get moving. I didn't bring anything with me apart from some basic dressings, but I remember there were a few herbs with coagulant properties growing near the spring.'
'That looks bad.' Retfield approached them and looked the dragon in the eye. 'Perhaps it would be better if you stepped back and let the healer deal with this?' he asked rather quietly.
'It's not that bad; I can't even feel it,' Draco dismissed the group leader's suggestion. Fortunately, he bit his tongue and didn't start listing all the times he'd wandered around Dagos with far more serious and painful injuries. 'After class, I'll find an alchemist or a healer…'
'You won't be looking,' Eric cut him off. 'Straight after class, I'll take you to the Tower of Water so someone can have a proper look at it. And don't even think about wriggling out of it.'
'Finally, someone's said something sensible.' Noah glared at everyone in turn, as if to make it clear he wasn't in the mood for any arguments. 'Will someone now explain to me why no one tried to stop the bleeding?' he snapped rather sharply.
'I tried to clean the wound…' the dragon began to explain.
'And no one helped you, and it didn't occur to you that it's better not to let yourself lose large amounts of blood?' It was hard to tell whether there was sarcasm in the parthir's voice, or perhaps genuine dismay.
'Well. . . You shouldn't, but that's. . .'
'Have you seen how much blood there is on the ground?'
Draco looked around and had to admit that a sizeable pool had indeed formed around him; some of it had already begun to dry, whilst the rest had seeped deeper into the gravel. The reptile had to admit that, by his standards, or by dragon standards in general, it wasn't quite that bad yet, but by human standards it didn't look good. Even setting that aside, his priority should be to staunch the bleeding, and only then to clean the wound under more suitable conditions.
'Well?' Parthir urged him.
'I can see that,' Draco finally admitted. 'I should have dealt with this first.'
'Hindsight, but it's good that you understand.' Noah seemed satisfied with the answer, and his earlier, somewhat aggressive tone had softened considerably. 'Let's get moving at last. I hope the spring and its immediate surroundings haven't been altered too much,' he said more quietly, as if speaking more to himself.
'Everyone's had a rest, so let's get going,' Cedric ordered, and they all began marching in the indicated direction.
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It took them a few minutes to make their way through the rubble, this time walking cautiously, on the lookout for unexpected drops or other hazards in the terrain. Throughout this time, Noah and Eric stayed close to the dragon, keeping an eye on him to make sure he was all right. Draco wasn't used to this sort of behaviour, so he felt a little uneasy.
Ahead lay a few trees and bushes, which parthir cleared from their path, whilst Zane once again disappeared somewhere ahead, presumably checking that there was no one in front of them. After a while, they emerged into a sizeable clearing, somewhat marshy and a bit unstable, but one might even say quite pleasing to the eye. The lush green of the tall grasses and mosses, the colourful flowers of various plants, and a little spring gushing from the cliff at a height of about two metres looked almost idyllic. Even the small stream, winding its way through a stony bed from the spring further along the gently sloping terrain towards the centre of the Crater, seemed perfectly at home there. It appeared as though the whole scene had been created according to a specific plan, which in this place was most likely the case.
Zane quickly joined Cedric and reported that he'd seen no signs of anyone's activity, so there were most likely neither defenders nor the reconnaissance team sent out at the very beginning in this spot. The decision was made to set up a small camp at the edge of the forest and wait for Adam's team to reach them.
'Just make sure no one gets the idea of drinking that water,' Noah warned quickly. 'I can see at least a few poisonous plants here, including at least two that poison the water around them.' He hastened to explain, seeing that not everyone had taken his first warning seriously enough. 'And you, come with me,' he said, pointing at the dragon. 'There are a few herbs here from which I can prepare a proper dressing.'
Draco merely nodded, having no desire whatsoever to argue. He also wanted to see what parthir would use. The dragon could list the basic medicinal properties of plants and their uses, but identifying them in their natural environment was far beyond the reptile's capabilities.
The two of them walked a short distance away, to a spot where the water formed a small pool at the base of the cliff. Several plants floated on the surface, including beautiful lilies with silvery-white flowers, over which a shimmering mist seemed to hover. Draco thought his aunt would have liked them.
'Don't touch anything,' Noah said as seriously as he could. 'Everything you see here is poisonous.'
'So… why did we come here, then?' The dragon looked warily at the still water.
'Poison isn't always harmful,' Parthir crouched right at the water's edge and began scanning the area. 'Or at least not in the right concentration.'
'Is that what you're looking for?'
'Partly.' The boy reached his hand between the broad, bright-green leaves floating on the surface and, after a moment, pulled out a thick, greenish rhizome dripping with an iridescent, sticky liquid that dissolved at the slightest contact with water. 'You see, Trisna lilies, whilst beautiful, are highly poisonous. If ingested, they cause stupor, paralysis and, in larger doses, death. They also poison the water in which they live to ward off animals that might eat them. At least, that's how the secretion from adult specimens works. Immature ones, like this one.' He pointed to the small, purplish leaves sprouting from the rhizome he was holding. 'They work slightly differently. The toxins they secrete have an irritant effect, but they also cause the blood to clot. Thanks to that, I'll be able to dress your wound properly.'
'I'm not sure if that explanation reassured me or made me even more anxious.' The dragon wasn't entirely convinced by what the parthir had to say, but then again, natural poisons weren't all that frightening to him, and even a magical flower shouldn't pose a problem.
'I know what I'm doing.' Noah grasped the rhizome with both hands and closed his eyes. The substance oozing from the plant suddenly began to lose its iridescent colour until the sticky liquid was completely transparent. 'Now you won't even feel a thing.' he said, taking a small container out of his bag. Almost reverently, he began to collect the dripping liquid until it was full. He carefully corked it and tossed the small jug to the dragon. The startled reptile caught the fragile object but shot a reproachful glance at the other cadet. Meanwhile, parthir put the rhizome back in its place, taking care not to disturb anything around it. 'Right, we're ready,' he said, standing up. 'Show me that hand.'
Draco decided not to question parthir's decision any further and to accept his help. He looked at the previous dressing and had to admit that he hadn't noticed when the bandage had become completely soaked with blood. It didn't look great, but it wasn't a disaster either. He knew full well that by cleaning the wound and changing the dressings regularly, his hand would heal in two or three days, and with the use of alchemical potions or a healer's intervention, it would be as good as new by the following morning at the latest.
Noah carefully untied the blood-soaked bandage and, taking care not to aggravate the wound, gently removed the material. His hand hadn't changed much, save perhaps for the visible clots that had formed in a few places. Parthir, just as before, rinsed the wound with water from his canteen, then pulled a small bottle from his bag. When he opened it, a pungent smell of strong alcohol wafted through the air.
'It'll sting,' Noah warned.
Draco didn't even flinch whilst the wound was being cleaned, which somewhat surprised his unwitting medic. After disinfecting the wound, parthir applied the lily-based liquid he'd obtained earlier to the hand, which, surprisingly, made the dragon feel as though he'd plunged his hand into a tank of cooling liquid in Matheo's workshop. Fortunately, the sudden and very unpleasant sensation lasted only a brief moment and fairly quickly gave way to a pleasant coolness. Noah then soaked a clean piece of cloth in the plant extract and applied it to the wound. As a final step, he secured the whole thing with a snow-white bandage.
'It should be fine now,' the parthir said solemnly. He seemed pleased with the result of his work. 'Just remember that this is only a temporary fix and you'll still need to visit the Tower of Water. Also, try not to use that hand, so as not to make the wound worse.'
'Can I wear gloves over it?' Draco wondered whether that might be a better solution, allowing him, on the one hand, to immobilise his metacarpals even further, and on the other, to hide the fact that he was injured from any potential opponent.
'Yes, but remember what I said,' Noah warned, wagging his finger at him. 'Now let's get back to the others and try to rest for a while. At least until Adam turns up.'