Lastspell Falls [A Skyrim Fanfiction}

Revelations

There isn't much we can do for the children, besides make them comfortable. Hilde is trying to feed blue mountain flowers to everyone, and I've got a pot on with fresh water, steeping blisterwort and wheat to try and make a rudimentary tonic. Skorm isn't well either, in a worse condition than Jorell, and Skjoren is sitting between them, staring into space as he holds both of their hands. I think it's finally settling in to his mind that his stupid little stunt might kill them.

I'm furious, but it's not a draconic fury – it's entirely Brighid. She keeps chipping in, suggesting ways to make him pay, but I keep trying to shake her out of my head.

The little girl, Laela, whose mother has been crying since she passed out, is the closest to not waking up. Hilde is with her the most, but healing magics don't exactly fix poisons unless the poison can be drawn out of the body first.

"How long did he say he'd be?" Brand asks. I almost leap out of my skin, looking up in alarm. Wasn't he also affected?

"You were on the ground in pain not ten minutes ago," I tell him, "Are you okay?"

"Let's say I'm a devout man and leave it at that," he says, his voice dark. Freia is clinging to him still, her thumb jammed into her mouth as she stares around with wide, frightened eyes. I sigh, looking back down at the poor attempt of a brew I'm making.

"He didn't say how long he'd be," I tell Brand. It's been at least thirty minutes, but I know that finding his way in the dark is going to slow—

The door flies open as Hadvar charges in, carrying a bundle of cloth with a number of red flowers visible within. It takes me a moment to realise its his shirt, turned into a makeshift carry-bag. He goes straight to Hilde, who redirects him to a nearby table that she sweeps clear. I look at Brand, whose jaw looks set as he watches Hadvar carefully.

"Is there another track up to the forest?" I ask Brand. He breaks the staring lock with Hadvar, looking at me and shrugging.

"Lots of tracks if you're sure-footed." He brushes past me, to where Hilde is spreading the flowers out on the table, wrenching the flower heads off the stems and passing them to Kaleb, Thelessa, Hadvar, and Brand when he joins them. I stand back, watching as they take them to the people visibly suffering the poison's effects. Kaleb, I notice, goes straight over to the mother and helps her feed the petals then the bud to the young child.

They move fast, which is probably helped by the fact that most people seem happy to have something of an antidote. I want to join them, but it looks like they have everyone pretty well covered. I glance down at the tonic I was mixing up, which might not be needed anymore – I feel like I didn't do anything to help, despite being one of the few who could have.

"It isn't going to work immediately, but it'll halt the poison's effects," Hilde says as I join her by the table, once everyone seems to have been given something. There's still a handful of flowers, but she seems satisfied that she's taken care of everyone. "I'd keep an eye on symptoms for you and your partner, too; not sure how he did it but I saw him eating the stew. He just doesn't seem affected by it."

Like Brand. I look over to where Hadvar is reassuring Andrinius, smiling with obvious relief as he slaps the legionnaire lightly on the shoulder, standing and moving on to the next person. He hasn't replaced his shirt yet, and I realise I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes off his chest. He just sprinted, what, at least a kilometre in under thirty minutes, and he hasn't even broken a sweat.

You've never seen Ondolemar with his shirt off.

I groan, throwing my head back as she resurfaces. What, now she's trying to pull some "forbidden fruit" bullshit? I have to remind myself Hadvar is seeing someone, and turn my attention back to Hilde.