Knights of the Nine - Beginning of the End

Chapter 19: Recovery (Part 1)

The highway grew smaller and smaller, crossroads were ahead. Left or right, no signs on what way to Borden. Derek, Yennefer, and Ciri were riding down the trail. Derek wounded heavily, Ciri comforting him, and Yen leading and being the over watch. The three rounded to the crossroads and stopped.

"What way to Borden, Derek?" Yen hollered back.

Derek's face was pale, like he had an encounter with a deadly disease.

"Point, Derek." Ciri said looking into his pale face.

Derek lifted his right arm and pointed it right. Yen and the others took off again.

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After an hour riding down the beaten small path, Yen spotted a crew of people. It was men and Elves. The men had rounded the nonhumans up into a circle and had them ready to be executed. Yennefer pulled her horse over and motioned for Ciri to keep moving. Yen jumped off her steed and walked to the soldier.

"Sorry, miss. This is private business, King Aldir has ordered we do not discuss this certain subject with anyone." The soldier said standing straight with his spear resting on his boot.

"Not to pry but what've these Elves done?" Yen asked taking a step back.

"Well... I guess that doesn't exceed it. We're hunting down the Sili'otia - Elven army or such - 'cause they've been harassing shipments from settlement to settlement. King Aldir has ordered us to hunt them all down."

"They helped me before, so I am sorry... but-" Yennefer shot a ball of fire into the guards face and then summoned a small fire storm.

She shielded the Elves with a cast of magic and finished killing the soldiers. After a moment of fire and blood, she removed the spell and let the Elves free. A green haired Elf came up.

"I thank you, Lady Yennefer. I-"

"You helped me before, I am simply repaying the favour. We're even now." Yen interrupted with a smile.

The elf thanked Yen and went their separate ways.

Ciri and Derek were already at Borden and at the headquarters. Derek couldn't move, guards were surrounding him. Derek tried to tell them off but they wouldn't ear. Ciri came back and pushed her way through the crowd. She ordered them to move out while she pulled the body of armour and swords into the building.

It was damp, like no one had lit a fire, or even a candle, in years. Ciri quickly rested Derek on the table and lit a match. She held onto Derek's leg and tightened a cloth, blood spurted out. Ciri nodded at Derek and he nodded back.

"Ahh!" Derek moaned while Ciri injected the match into the wound. More muffled moans and cries followed.

It was time for the alcohol. She took a glass of half full whiskey and poured some on a new cloth. She pushed it on as she forced the leg bone back into place. Derek's cries and moans turned into yelps of pain. In a moment the pain from the bone was no gone and the pain of the claw and bite wounds just remained.

Ciri removed the whiskey cloth and rubbed it with more whiskey. She gently wiped on the wounds and cleaned them up.

"Canna-... Ciri, get some... cannabis to numb the pain." Derek moaned.

"From where?"

"The garden behind the second exit,... to the left."

Ciri ran to the garden and harvested the cannabis plant and formed it into small chunks. Ciri separated them and crunched them into Derek's pipe. She lit it with another match and handed it to Derek.

Derek sat up and smoked some. The high came slowly but that was to be expected from the cannabis plant. Derek laid back and rubbed his temples and shut his eyes.

"Ciri, honeysuckle. Other side of the cannabis plants."

Ciri went to get honeysuckle. She returned with three plants and gave them to Derek. She kept cooling and cleaning away the blood which spilled out after each wipe with the cloth. Ciri untied the cloth that was tightened around Derek's thigh and threw it into a basin of water. She rinsed it as clean as possible and left it to dry for a bit. She drank some whiskey and handed it to Derek. Derek drank and chewed on some honeysuckle.

Derek laid back again, the high now kicing in full effect. Ciri drank the remaining whiskey down and sat on the chair beside the table.

"Gonna leave the wound open like that?" A male voice came from the bedroom. "Ought to close it before it gets infected again."

"Coën?" Ciri asked into the darkness of the room.

"Yeah, good to see you again, Ciri. Allow me to sew up the wound."

"Please do, I haven't the slightest clue where you keep the materials for sewing." Ciri smiled to the guarding Knight.

Coën went over into the kitchen and returned with a handful of linings and a needle. He set up his station near the wounded leg of Derek. Derek was passed out from the high so the middle aged Knight could work without disruption.

"What the hell happened here? These are like the wounds in the studies and such. A... dragon bite mark and along with a claw scratch. Also you managed to snap the bone back in place, congrats." Coën chuckled as Derek's leg twitched ever so softly.

"You didn't hear? I thought all of Condor knew of the dragon. Well, Derek killed it but not after getting some damage done by the beast herself."

Coën nodded. "Once he's up from the high you're gonna have to break the news to him."

"What news?" Ciri frowned.

"He's gonna need a month or two to recover. It's best he stays here and doesn't walk at all for a couple of weeks."

Ciri knew Derek wasn't going to agree with it but he was going to have to.

Once the sewing was complete, Coën stoked the fire and cooked up some broccoli and cabbage stew. Ciri and the Knight ate and waited for Derek to come back from the high.