Kapitel 608: Call a Doctor!
The city of Secluse glowed like a beacon in the darkness. The closer the group came to the edge of the desert, the more potent their hope became.
They might actually make it! Leaving the desert behind, the horses' hooves clattered on the hard-packed earth. Yet they did not stop. They couldn't.
When they finally reached the sprawling city's outskirts, Devrim paused only a moment to give orders.
"Nurlan, gather all the men and take stock of who is here and who is missing. Reyan, do a sweep to look for stragglers and see if any of the creatures are still following us. If they are, we need to warn the citizens immediately."
The Emperor looked down at the woman in his arms. She was growing delirious. Her skin felt like it was truly on fire.
"Brinn, you and Sav come with me." The Emperor motioned to the two ladies.
Devrim had a feeling that finding a doctor at the early hour of predawn would not be easy, and a woman was more likely to have someone assist them.
It made sense to bring Sav along as the healer would be able to tell the doctor exactly what she had already done.
With the orders in place. Three horses broke off from the rest taking the Emperor and his party into town.
Nurlan looked around. "Those who are able, make camp. We will not impose on an inn just now. Those who are injured..."
The general realized that their healer had just left with the Empress. While the move made sense, it did put him in a bind.
"Send them to me," Zan said, pushing his cloak back over his shoulders. "In another lifetime I spent some time training as a healer in addition to my Council duties. I'm a bit rusty, but I am better than nothing."
Nurlan also had some on the job training from different battles the general had been in. Together the two men would do what they could until more help arrived.
"Wounded, make your way to Chief Zan for examination and treatment. I also need some volunteers. If you and your horse are in good condition, I need you to see who is here before we send out a search party." Nurlan continued to direct people.
The General was always at his best when he had a battle to fight. And this was surely a battle. He pushed up the sleeves of his uniform and wiped the sweat from his brow.
There was work to do.
------
Brinn ran to the first door on the street and banged fervently.
Sav dismounted on the other side of the street to do the same. Surely with so much noise, someone was bound to come out and investigate.
Between the two ladies, Devrim waited anxiously to know which direction to go. Aurora's shivers were becoming more violent, and he feared any moment she might start convulsing.
He couldn't hold her if that happened. As it was, the Emperor was only still keeping her in his arms by the grace of the Maker.
But everyone had their limit. Even the grey-eyed hero.
Devrim stared at his fragile bride, barely paying attention as at last a sleepy husband came to one of the windows.
Unwilling to unlatch the door for strangers, the man leaned over the sill and barked directions as crisply as he could.
The three horses were off in a flash down the street. Thankfully the city had been well-planned on a grid, so the streets did not wind and the roads were broad.
The well-lit streets, which had been beacons to the people in the darkness, now helped the trio locate an unassuming sign to indicate a physician's clinic.
Brinn helped Devrim off his horse while Sav climbed the outside stairs to the second story. Unlike their previous experience, the door flew wide almost immediately and a blonde man came out in a clean coat draped over his nightshirt.
Rafa was used to people knocking on his door in the middle of the night. People always got the sickest when the sun was not awake, and over the years he had grown to be a very light sleeper.
At the first knock, the doctor was out of bed, and by the third, he had put on a coat and trousers to accompany his nightshirt. He was slightly surprised to see a beautiful young woman whom he didn't recognize nearly fall from the landing over the edge.
He caught her arm. "No need to add another injury to the night's tally," he said, very glad he had added a railing to the stairs just a few weeks before. Even though people summoned him, they always seemed surprised by his arrival.
"You aren't the patient?" Rafa hated to assume, but the flush cheeks of the woman seemed to be from hurrying to find him, not from fever.
Still startled, Sav pointed toward the street. Rafa looked at the three horses. A man and a woman were standing with a bundle being placed back in the man's arms.
The lather on the horses meant the people had traveled a great distance. But they had made it, and that was what counted.
"Let us waste no more time," he told Sav, hurrying past her.
The healer came to her senses just a moment later. Of all the people she had expected to come out of the door, a handsome young man had not been one of them. Sav thought perhaps he was the son of the doctor, but his actions quickly proved her wrong.
She followed him down the stairs, finding her voice along the way. "Patient fell into a canyon in the desert. Her leg has been set and the wound closed with field stitches."
The doctor unlocked the door to his clinic and ushered them inside. The office itself was very tidy and organized. Rafa spread a clean white cloth on a table and directed the grey-eyed man to place the patient on it.
The Emperor hesitated. "How old are you?"
The grey-eyed man was clearly in shock. He seemed dazed and confused by the events occurring.
"Was he injured as well?" Rafa asked Sav.
Sav shook her head.
Rafa eyed the man. He was certainly attached to the woman. "Do you have any medical training?"
"Lover boy? Ha, no." Brinn answered.
The doctor nodded. He had seen this many times before. A family member became so overwhelmed with worry that they did not think clearly. "Sir, I need you to put down the lady and go water the horses. I will take it from here."
"But..." Dervim tried.
Brinn wrested Aurora from his arms and placed her on the table. The Empress groaned.
"Get to work, I'll come get you soon." The elf shoved the Emperor out the door without another word.
Before she shut the door, Devrim pressed Aurora's bag into Brinn's hands. "Keep her safe."
"I will," Brinn said, hoping she could keep the promise. She closed the door and went back to observing the healer and the doctor, who were already at work.
After washing his hands, Rafa checked Aurora's head. If she had fallen into a canyon, perhaps there was a head wound in addition to the leg. If that were the case, it would need to be treated first.
"When did the fall happen?" Rafa felt her burning forehead.
"Before sunset. We rode all night to get to you." Sav offered.
Brinn let the healer take the lead. The two humans seemed to be communicating very well. Whether because of their similar ages or training, they were very much in sync.
"And how long has she been like this?" Rafa wet a cloth and cleaned the sand and dirt from Aurora's face. Then he placed a second cloth on the woman's head. She moaned softly but accepted the coolness on her brow without further protest.
Sav bit her lip. "Patient lost consciousness during the procedure of setting her broken leg and has not regained it. There have been mutterings, but nothing coherent as far as I know."
Sav had not been by the Empress's side on the entire journey, but she assumed that Devrim would have mentioned it if Aurora awoke.
The healer informed the doctor of the herbs she had used to keep down the fever as well as the treatment she had done to the leg when they had stopped in the oasis many hours earlier.
Rafa's face became tense. Sav noticed his shift in mood.
"What is it?" Sav paused.
"Hopefully nothing." Rafa began to untangle the woman from the blankets.
Aurora's shivering, which was constant, became much more intense.
At last, Rafa got to the woman's skirts. He was glad that the protective man was gone, or he might object to the doctor lifting the dress away to look at the wound.
The outer dressing, like the woman, was covered in sand.
When he removed the bandage, his fears were confirmed.
Sav gasped, "What happened!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein