Arthur's Sons (Book 1)

The Beginning of the End (Part 2)

Arty pulled out several books before finding the one he needed for treating the druid, he quickly brought it to the table and flipped the pages till he found the one he needed.

"Right, it says here that the best way to draw out infection is a combination of turmeric, garlic and Epsom salts into a poultice. Then once the infection has passed use honey to keep the wound from getting reinfected and of course, keep the wound clean." Rowan nodded from where he was standing by the shelf looking for the first ingredient.

"I think the turmeric is on the middle shelf, right-hand side." Arty told him before pulling the kettle off the fire and placing it by the mortar and pestle. Rowan quickly retrieved it and handed it to his brother before collecting three cloves of garlic and going to the other shelf with all the elemental ingredients.

"I don't see Epsom salts here." Rowan called reading the labels.

"Oh, it's probably labelled Magnesium sulphate." Arty replied grinding the garlic cloves into a paste and adding the turmeric.

"Found it!" Rowan crowed before grabbing the bottle of white crystalline powder and handing it to his brother who nodded in thanks before carefully measuring out the correct amount and adding it to the mix along with some hot water; stirring it into a paste. At that moment Gaius entered to find them mixing ingredients and looking startled.

"Ah, there you are. I need you to pick some heather for me."

"Er, can I do it later? I was just going out." Arty replied grabbing some bandages and placing them in a small bag.

"What are you doing?" Gaius asks noticing the poultice.

"Er, one of the knights got a scratch during training and didn't get it treated so it got infected. You weren't here so I thought I'd make up a poultice for him." Arty lied smoothly, Gaius raised his brow in shock.

"I see, what did you use?" Gaius asked curiously. Arty told him the ingredients and the method of application he was going to use and Gaius nodded along impressed.

" Very good, I'm impressed but might I suggest you add a pinch of Sodium Bicarbonate for a better draw on the inflammation." Gaius suggested, Rowan went back to the shelf and retrieved the bottle giving it to his brother before turning to Gaius.

"I'll go get that heather for you. Do you want it fresh or from the market?"

"Fresh please." Gaius said placing a cloth bag in the boy's hand Rowan hurried out the door while Arty finished up the poultice and scrapped it into a clay pot before cleaning the mortar and putting back the used ingredients.

"I'll let you know how it goes." Arty waved as he left with the small bag over his shoulder and made his way to Morgana's chambers.

"What took you so long?" Morgana growled as Arty entered.

"Sorry. Gaius wanted to know who I was making a poultice for, don't worry I told him it was for a knight." Arty moved forward removing the old bandage and cleaning the wound thoroughly before placing a piece of gauze down and spreading the paste on it before placing it on the wound and re-bandaging it.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Morgana asks anxiously from behind him.

"Yes, Gaius even approved of the poultice." Arty responded with a sigh.

"I'll get you some more water." Morgana murmured before walking away

'Thank you, Tywysog Tân.' The boy's voice whispered in his mind.

'Tywysog Tân? Why do you call me that?' He asked confused, he'd never heard that name before nor the language.

'Among my people, that is your title.' The boy's voice responded weakly.