by Wolfe Locke
She grimaced. “Doesn’t look great. I didn’t want to get too close.”
Zander looked down. His pants were torn, and the three matching wounds made by the Harpy’s claws were crusted with dried blood. He tried to move his leg and winced.
“Yeah, you’re right. Doesn’t seem good. We should try to find a Healer’s Den as soon as we can.” Zander explained, “Otherwise, we won’t be able to make it out of the city.”
“A Healer’s Den?” She asked.
Zander blinked. “It’s a store where they sell healing potions, medicine, that kind of thing. Is there one here?”
She paused. “No. I don’t think so. Or at least, there didn’t used to be.”
“That’s all right. I can walk. We can look for one on the way back. How’s Rocktooth? Did he manage to reattach his arm?”
“No,” she said. “He tried, but whatever he was doing didn’t work. You might want to talk to him.”
Zander looked over. The golem was sitting slumped on the ground, looking defeated. He was holding his arm in his lap.
“Rocktooth!” he said. “What happened?”
It’s not working, this stupid arm won’t work again. There was a chance, but it didn’t take..
“What did you try?” Zander asked.
Everything. I know how to reattach a severed limb. It’s not working. I think it’s too damaged. And the Harpy didn’t help. Golems and Harpies are natural enemies, so maybe when she cut into the stone of my arm she made it incompatible with the rest of body. Poisened it. Corrupted it.
“Oh. I didn’t know that about golems and Harpies.” Zander admitted.
That makes sense. Why would an elf know such things about their trusted guardian from the Nether?
Rocktooth sounded defeated. And for a moment, Zander had to look away feeling guilty.
“Don’t worry, Rocktooth. We’ll find a way to get it back on.”
I don’t think there is a way. I may just need to regenerate back in the Nether, but you two need me now more than ever with all of your shenanigans.
“Hey,” Celeste said, standing up. “We should get out of here. There’s a big group of Draugr coming.”
Zander looked. Just as she’d said, a cluster of the undead creatures were staggering down the street toward them. They didn’t seem to have noticed them yet, but it was only a matter of time.
“All right,” he said, getting to his feet with difficulty. “Let’s move on. Come on, Rocktooth.”
With one last look at his missing arm, the golem got up and followed them down the street. His face was gloomy, and he didn’t talk much as they made their way out of downtown Atlanta. Zander was weak from the Harpy’s attack and, much to his displeasure, he had to lean on Celeste as they walked. She was gracious, but he knew he had to heal as quickly as possible. This was just embarrassing.
“Where are we going?” she said awkwardly, trying to hold him upright.
“Back to my village,” he said. “Slowly, and we’ll stop if we see anything worth gathering along the way.”
“Cool.” She responded, not really thinking it was worth the risk anymore.
“I think you’ll like my village. And the forest around it. I’m excited to show you.” Zander smiled at her.
Rocktooth made a grumbling noise behind them, and they both turned.
It’s okay. Just missing my arm. That I gave for you, freely. Defending your lives.
“Got it,” Celeste said, looking unsure of what to say. “Thank you for talking to me. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“Hey!” Zander said excitedly. “Great! A Healer’s Den!”
She looked. “Oh. It’s an old pharmacy.”
“Like I said, a Healer’s Den. We can get some good stuff here, I bet. I can sell it later. And hopefully we’ll find something that’ll heal my leg, too.”
“Anything we can get for Rocktooth?” She asked.
He shook his head. “No. Summons work differently. They’re made of magic. Normal medicine doesn’t work on them.”
She looked at the golem sadly. “Okay, we’ll surely find something for him, then.”
Thanks for the good old junior college effort. They left Rocktooth in the parking lot and made their way into the store.
Notification: Now Entering “The Ancient Ruins – Johnson Brother’s Pharmacy”
Details: The ancient humans had their own healing magic. Medicine. Using the technology they developed, they were able to create from science and the earth combinations of ingredients to cure almost every manner of ill and injury.
The place was a mess—broken windows everywhere, shelves overturned, pill bottles and boxes of bandages all over the floor. Celeste held up a centuries-old candy bar from a case next to the register.
“Hey Zander. Do you think I should eat this?” Celeste asked.
He shrugged. “If you want to. If it’s not frozen, though, it might be full of bugs.”
“I was joking,” she said, looking offended. “No way am I eating this. Gross!”
Zander started pulling bottles off the shelves at random and stuffing them in his bag. Celeste watched him for a minute, looking puzzled.
“Why are you getting so many Tums?” she said. “Do elves have digestive problems or something?”
“What are Tums?” He asked.
“Do you know what these do?” Celeste questioned.
“No,” he admitted. “When I go to a Healer’s Den, I usually just grab whatever I can get. The Elders in the village sort out their purpose later. It’s all valuable, so it doesn’t matter to me. Except for the ones called tums. The Elders enjoy them.”
“Okay,” she said. “Let me take over. I can get you an assortment of goods. And I can find something that’ll make your leg better, too.”
“Yeah?” he responded. Celeste was full of surprises.
“You forget, this is from my time. I’ve been to pharmacies—sorry, ‘Healer’s Dens’—just like this before. I know what everything does. Just sit back and relax. Maybe sit down. That wound looks bad and it could get nasty.”
Zander didn’t want to admit it, but he was relieved to hear that he didn’t need to search through the store. His leg was killing him, and it had gotten worse on their walk here. He needed to rest.
He sat cross-legged on the floor as Celeste tore through the Den like a whirlwind, picking out items with an expert eye and throwing them into a bag to store in Zander’s [Spatial Ring].
“Okay,” she said, coming back over with her bag open. “Take a look. I got a lot, and I can walk you through what all of this stuff does. I got antiseptics, bandages, vitamins, and some pills that ease pain. Mild to extra-strength. AND tums, orange and mixed berry.”
He looked through the mess of bottles at the bottom of the sack. “What’s an antiseptic?”
“It keeps wounds from getting infected. Oh, speaking of—” Her voiced trailed off.
She handed him a soft tube of squishy gel, a pack of wet wipes, and a variety of bandages in various sizes.
“This is for your leg,” she said. “Use the wipes to clean it, then apply the gel. You can bandage it as you see fit. I don’t know what’s normal for elves. Try to keep a good pressure though.”
He did as she said. Once he’d cleaned the blood from the Harpy’s scratches, the edges of the wounds started closing on their own. Celeste looked startled.
“Elves heal fast,” he explained, opening a thick bandage and slapping it on his leg. “This should be fully back to normal by the end of the day. It would have started healing earlier, but I think there was something in the Harpy’s claws that kept it open. So whatever you gave me to clean it—good thinking.”
She smiled, looking pleased. “Did I get a good assortment of stuff?”
He rummaged through the bottles. “Yeah. This is all great. We can get a lot in trade for all of this. Really decent work, Celeste. I’ll go through the rest of it and make an account tonight, try to estimate our potential earnings.”
He got to his feet and tested his leg. It felt better. He’d be able to walk on his own for the rest of the day—maybe with a limp, but unsupported. Definitely an improvement.
“I’m going to look through the shelves one last time,” he said. “See if there’s something you want to get. Either for yourself to keep or to sell.”
Chapter Twelve: Supplies
* * *
The two of them parted ways for a moment, and Zander wandered the aisles of the Healer’s Den alone. He hadn’t wanted to tell her, but the Elders in the village also paid handsomely for the mysterious V capsule the humans had made. He was struck, as always, by how wild and decadent the human world had been before the Apocalypse. This place had every type of medicine he could imagine—and many he’d never heard of—all packaged neatly in little plastic bottles. In some ways, it felt like an unbelievable land of luxury.
And yet—the elves made all their medicine with their own hands, often directly from plants or minerals. They might not have the same variety of options, but they knew exactly what each potion did and where it came from. Could Celeste say the same?
He wasn’t sure which way was better, and he was still mulling it over when she returned to the front of the store, arms full of knick-knacks and other tiny treasures and baubles he was sure would be a hit back at the village.
“Oh,” he said with interest. “More of the small sculptures. Can I see closer?”
“They’re only okay,” she said shyly, suddenly feel self-conscious. “Just key chains, mostly. But if you think they’d be useful.”
He picked one up. It was surprisingly beautiful: a blue globe with graphic red and yellow continents on it. She also had a series of Atlanta landmarks, and some stuffed dogs and cats. One of the cat sculptures appeared to be wearing two discs connected by a metal bar over its eyes.
“I think these would sell,” he said. “This is an interesting oddity.”
“Really?” Celeste smiled.
“Yeah. Elves love miniature sculptures like this. The other demi-humans too—at least those that are left, that is. Little things that they can carry with them. People keep them for good luck, and they bring them along when they go looting or out on raids.”
“Oh,” Celeste said, looking pleased. “Well good, then. I’ll add these to the pile to take with us.”
She dumped them into the satchel on top of the bottles of medicine. It was almost full after everything they’d gathered that day.
“I’ll put this stuff in storage later,” Zander said. “But this was great, Celeste. Good work. With all the goods from today and yesterday, I should be able to buy my next round of training. Maybe two rounds, even. Or we can use the leftover money to buy you something you want. Whatever works. We can figure it out. I won't be selfish, this is a team effort.”
He felt like he was babbling, and the look on Celeste’s face confirmed it.
“Yeah,” she said. “We’ll work it out. I’m just glad we could get you what you were looking for. And I’m happy that I was able to be helpful.”
They smiled at each other. Zander couldn’t think of anything to say. Luckily, Rocktooth saved him.
Better come out here, he said. More Draugr are coming. Something’s got them all excited, it’s not you guys thankfully, but we will need to be careful. I think we should try to get out of the city tonight.
Celeste stood there, looking at the golem blankly, and Zander remembered that she couldn’t hear the golem speak unless the golem allowed it. Rocktooth is really going to need to get over that.
“Rocktooth says we should get out of here,” Zander said. “Draugr are on the move. He thinks the city is going to be extra dangerous tonight.”
They could hear the sound of footsteps outside, coming toward them at high speed. Zander swallowed.
“Can you move fast?” Celeste said. “With your leg, I mean. Or do we need to stay and fight?”
He grimaced. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don't think we'd win if we stayed.”
No. This isn't one we can fight our way out of. I can carry you. Swallow your pride. We need to get out of here now.
“All right, Rocktooth’s going to carry me I guess. Let’s go.” Zander said as Rocktooth picked him up and carted him away in one hand.
They sprinted outside. When Celeste saw what was coming, she gasped. An army of undead creatures were sprinting toward them, mouths wide open and gnashing the air. Their arms groped blindly in front of them, and while it appeared the Draugr were heading their way, it wasn't quite the case. The horde never veered towards them in attack.
“What’s going on?” she said as Zander climbed up the golem’s arm and onto his back. “Why are they swarming like this?”
He shrugged. “It happens. Draugr aren’t fully cognizant of what’s around them. Sometimes they behave more like sharks or bees. One probably smelled something and took off running, and the rest followed it. I make it a point to not be this close usually, I don't know much more.”
“That's so creepy.” Celeste commented as she watched the Draugr descend on the Healer's Den they'd just been in.
“So Zander, you can keep up right? If Rocktooth runs and carries you?”
“I don’t know how fast he is. But yeah, I think we can keep ahead of those things. They’re pretty fixated, and we will be long gone when the Draugr finish with it.”
They ran north at high speed, away from the center of town. None of the Draugr bothered to follow them. It wasn't long before all the Draugr that reached the Healer’s Den started ransacking it, wildly breaking windows and overturning shelves. What exactly had attracted them remained unclear. Celeste raised her eyebrows at Zander quizzically as they ran.
“Draugr,” Zander explained. "They don't always need a reason to do what they do. Let's just be thankful it wasn't us they were after."
Chapter Thirteen: The Swarm
* * *
Once the Draugr were out of sight behind them, they slowed to a comfortable walk and Zander descended from Rocktooth’s back. He tested his leg. It was already almost healed. He’d be able to run again by that night. The next morning, at the very latest.
Celeste noticed what he was doing. “I need some of those elf abilities. That’s pretty impressive.”
“I can show you some healing magic when we get back to my village,” Zander offered. “It’s not that hard. You’re pretty powerful, so I think you’d be good at it.”
“Yeah?” she said. “I’d like that. Don’t forget!”
“Of course not.” Zander responded.
Rocktooth rolled his eyes. All right, you two. Eyes on the road.
Soon, they were making their way out of the city, and skyscrapers were quickly replaced with falling-down stand-alone houses. Celeste looked at them and sighed.
“This used to be a pretty nice neighborhood in my time,” she said. “I always kind of dreamed of living here. Tree-lined streets. Fancy homes. Not anymore, I guess.”
The trees were still there, but they were running wild now, and the pavement was cracked and pitted so that it would be almost impossible to drive a car up the street. Even on foot, it wasn’t easy. At one point, Celeste narrowly avoided falling into a large sinkhole in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Careful,” Zander said. “This place is more dangerous than it seems.”
I sense something. Something ancient. Whether it is hostile to us or not, I am unsure.
“Can you tell what it might be, Rocktooth?” Zander asked.
No, but it’s coming our way. It hasn’t noticed us yet. Let’s hope we don’t run into it.
“That’s ominous,” Celeste said, shivering. “Well, for all of our sakes, I hope so too.”
“Sometimes monsters like to nest in the old houses,” Zander explained. “It reminds them of home—wherever they used to live back when they were still human.”
“That’s kind of sad, actually.” Celeste admitted.
He shrugged. Atlanta’s monsters had caus
ed him enough trouble that he had a hard time feeling sorry for them.
“You sometimes see them acting out versions of their old daily routines, if their new form is close enough to human that it allows them to do that. Trying to pour out cereal from empty boxes, sitting in front of a TV that’s not on, that kind of thing.” He explained.
She looked distressed, and he wondered if he should have told her that. Well, it was too late now.
Whatever the thing is in the distance, it’s getting closer. We should be prepared to fight.
Zander looked around. He still didn’t see or hear anything, but he trusted his golem’s superior senses. Luckily, it was still early enough in the day that they’d be out of this suburb by nightfall—even if they ended up needing to fight something off. That was a good thing. This place always gave him the creeps.
“Be ready to transform, we both need to step up,” he whispered. “With only one arm Rocktooth’s not as strong as he normally is. We’ll need to be twice as good if we’re going to win this battle.”
“We don’t know that we’re going to have to fight yet,” Celeste said hopefully. “Maybe the monster will simply pass us by.”