September in Salus

September 7th

  The first things Caelum saw when he woke up were dim lights and a white ceiling. He heard voices nearby and blinked, trying to focus on the room. The infirmary. There was a row of beds to his left and across from him. The blinds had been drawn over the large windows, giving the room a sleepy, calm feeling. The voices sounded muffled.

"I've put some dolus on the burns, and I'll give him more when he wakes up. Josh, I think he just overdrew his magical energy. He's going to be fine."

"Do you think-" That was Dr. Nichols' voice. It suddenly broke off. "He's awake."

Dr. Nichols and the other man- Dr. Ken- hurried to Caelum's side. "Caelum," Dr. Ken said. "How do you feel?"

Caelum didn't feel well at all. As he realized where he was and started to feel conscious again, he was in pain. The prickling of pain he'd felt after the dragon fight had intensified. He was dressed in a papery hospital gown, and it brushed against his torso with every slight movement, irritating the burns further. It must've shown on his face, because before he'd said a word, Dr. Ken said, "Here, you can have some of this."

"What is it?" Caelum took the offered bottle, his hand shaking. Even the slight movement felt unbearably painful. The liquid inside shone in the glass bottle.

"Painkiller. You can only have one sip every hour or so, but it'll help a lot."

"Okay." Caelum drank, and almost instantly he could feel the magical concoction numbing the pain of the burns.

"Better?"

"Yeah." Caelum handed the bottle back to him.

Dr. Nichols sat down on the edge of Caelum's bed. "Caelum," he said. "What happened?"

Caelum shook his head. "Not now. I don't want to talk now."

"Caelum, please. I know you're in pain, but this is very important. We haven't had an accident like this on a quest since..." He let the thought trail off, but Caelum knew what he was going to say. Not since Will Montgomery. "Anyway, I'm going to have the Council come, and you can tell us what happened."

"No!" Caelum gave Dr. Nichols a pleading look. "Please."

Dr. Nichols looked away. "Fine. You can rest, but this afternoon you need to tell us."

"Just watch the chip," Caelum said. He was starting to feel drowsy. He wasn't sure if it was a result of the painkiller or his overdrawn magic, but he felt himself slipping back into sleep.

"The chip was damaged in the fire," Dr. Nichols said. "We can't get footage off it. Caelum?"

Caelum thought he replied, but he was quickly falling asleep. Dr. Nichols stood up. "This afternoon, Caelum."

***

"...And I came back." Caelum finished and sat back against his pillows. He was feeling much better, but he hadn't shaken his fatigue yet, and the burns still hurt. The Council members gave him blank looks as he finished his story.

"Who killed the dragon?" Mr. Sharp had been making notes as Caelum talked. He pointed the pencil at Caelum. "Did you do it, but you were in shock and didn't realize what you were doing?"

"No. It was someone else."

"But who? It was no one from Salus."

Silence fell. Fear was starting to creep over the council members' faces. They gave each other quick glances before looking back at Caelum. Finally, Dr. Nichols said, "You're positive there was another person? What did they look like?"