Undead Fate

Chapter Five

INTO THE DUNGEONS

Medea supplied me with the available herbal medicines that they used for treating themselves. It was a wide variety of unfamiliar plants so it took me quite some time to familiarize myself with it.

How easy it would be if I had the vaccines or antibiotics at hand. However, abscess roots proved to be very helpful because it mainly managed Kili's fever.

As the third day approached, Kili entered the convalescence period of Measles, so his papules had subsided and started desquamating. Kili had been uncomfortable with the itchiness and I forbid him to scratch any of the rashes. Thankfully, I saw some Aloe Vera from the forest and used it to him.

"Medea!" I stood up startled when the shaman entered the hut. I had just finished rubbing the aloe gel on Kili's skin.

"It's the third sunrise, Isabella," Medea announced as if I didn't know and hadn't been dreading it. "How's the boy faring?"

I rubbed the tight knot bunching my shoulder muscles. "He is recovering. He doesn't have a fever anymore but still not safe to wander outside because it is during this time when the rashes are healing that it is most infectious. Give it until the next week and he will be fully healed."

Medea examined Kili and asked him some questions about his wellbeing. After she was convinced that the boy was indeed convalescing, she gave me an appreciative regard.

"I suppose you, Isabella Murray, are indeed an authentic healer. A very skillful healer, you are. It is wrong for us to ask for your help after our bad treatment of you when you arrived in our lands, but I am going to ask for it anyway.

Many of my people had died already. The neighboring villages are terrified to get our curse that's why we'd been isolated. As a matter of fact, our village will be burned into ashes in the next full moon." I gasped in horror, my hands covering her mouth. Medea looked at me with a small, sad smile before she continued.

"I beseech you to help my people, Isabella. In return, we will be forever indebted to you."

I took Medea's hand and covered it with m own before I answered the shaman with a solemnity that surprised even me. "I'll help you, Medea. I vowed to help people who are sick. You don't have to be indebted to me."

Medea had gathered her people at the center of the village and showed them the improvement in Kili's condition. She explained to them that I was able to cure the boy though he still needed more time to fully recover. I could see the doubt from their eyes but also saw their desperation to believe that they had a hope to be cured.

Medea proceeded in giving out my instructions for all the women to gather all the linens in the village and wash them clean in the lake, some of the women were ordered to gather more herbs to concoct, and the men were asked to clean the shacks and build more windows to let good air ventilate inside each hut.

The next two days were a blur of activities wherein I had checked up everyone and taught them what to do. I had isolated the villagers based on the stages of their disease to avoid cross-contamination. Kili was the first one to fully recover and this boosted everyone's morale and trust to the lady who was healing them. The villagers became cheerful and they were eating healthily again.

Even Medea had regained her healthy color and became friendlier towards me.

"Our village had never been this organized before," she said, coming up to stand beside me who was supervising the concoction of herbs.

I chuckled, "it does look livelier. Thank you for trusting me."

She shook her head. "I thank you for helping us."