Chapter 71: Reluctance

Elias: 

After Givontair gets me out of the chains, I spring from the stone slab. He doesn't look so good. I guess, I would be the same, if the Plague Lord infected me. I help Givontair lean on the stone slab, and look around. 

"Is there any way I can help?" I ask him. He shakes his head. 

"Get away from me. Go back to the town, and come back with Sorix. Tell him to catch an animal on the way here," I am not convinced that Givontair is going to hold for as long as it takes Sorix to come in here. I like the idea that he will perform another necromantic ritual even less. Yet, I know that I have no choice in the matter.

With one final look at the dragon shifter, I run off. Brolbukh is not far from the ritual site. Ajax obviously wanted for Givontair to find me tonight. I knock on the gates, and am let inside by the guards. 

"Hey, is the healer coming back?" One of them asks. 

"He is hurt. Please — don't ask questions," I can see that the guard is a bit peeved, at the dismissal. Not that I have time to placate him. I run off, in the direction of the inn. I find Sorix nursing a drink in the bar area of the inn. He looks like he is deep in thought. 

"Sorix," I call out to him. He turns to look at me.

"Oh, you are back," I go to him, and tell him about everything that happened. His eyebrows rise at my explanation. 

"A Plague Lord? In the Dread's territory?" He sounds like he doesn't want to believe me. I tilt my head to the side. 

"Well, isn't a Plague Lord a necromancer?" I ask him. He hums. 

"Yes, but one who is cursed by the Dread. For one to have come in here, then they must have been powerful. Otherwise, the mana of the Dread would have crushed them," I don't understand how a deity can manifest their mana in the realm of the living, and I don't really care. Instead, I take a hold of his arm, and tug him from his chair. 

"Come on! Giv needs us," he doesn't take more prompting. Sorix catches a rabbit on the way. A wonderful animal, as white as freshly fallen snow. It squeaks in his hold, and tries to get away. I feel pity for the little guy. Yet, I know there is no other way. One thing bothers me, though. How can the life of a rabbit be enough to heal a dragon?

"Sorix, how come you didn't try to catch something bigger?" I ask him. He sighs. 

"What is with non-necromancers thinking that some lives are worth more than others? Everything with a soul is equal. I could have gotten an ant, and the ritual would have still accepted it," the rabbit gives out another squeak, as we finally reach the ritual site. Givontair's eyes are closed. If his chest didn't rise and fall, I'd think he is dead. 

Sorix rushes to Givontair's site, and snaps the neck of the rabbit. It is so quick, that the animal can't so much as whimper. He places the rabbit on Givontair's lap, and then takes out his dagger. Without slowing down even for a second, he stabs the rabbit, and then stabs Givontair's wound. 

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There is something black coming out of Givontair, and going towards the rabbit. I don't need to be an expert, to know it is the poison. Givontair groans, as he wakes. He looks down at the rotting rabbit in his hands, and then back at Sorix.

"You came for me," Givontair tries to sit up, but sways to the side. Sorix steadies him, and removes the rabbit. I create a fireball in my hands, and then throw it at the rabbit. It is reduced to ashes in seconds. Giv looks at me next. 

"Ajax is wounded as well," Givontair says, as he takes in a deep breath. "He doesn't have that much of a head start. If you go after him now, then you can catch him." 

"I am not leaving you alone," Sorix says, as he helps Givontair get comfortable. "You nearly died. Let Ajax die from the sickness. Your hands will be clean." 

"No, they won't be," Givontair looks ready to tug at his hair. Sorix must have seen this too, because he takes a hold of the dragon's hands. "I was the one who poisoned him." 

"You did what you had to," Sorix says. Givontair doesn't look convinced. 

"What are the odds that Ajax can survive the poison?" I ask, the two turn to me. 

"Didn't you see what happened to the rabbit?" Sorix asks. I nod, but add.

"Ajax is a dragon. If there is anyone who can survive something like this, it is him. Maybe he will end up crippled, but he will live," Givontair has a strange look in his eyes. He almost looks relieved at my words. I understand that he doesn't want to be the one who kills Ajax. The problem is, that it has to be either him, Sorix, or Nathaniel. No one else can do so. 

"Come on, we are going back," Sorix picks up Givontair in a princess carry, and begins to walk back in the direction of the Uruk settlement. 

I look at Sorix's back for a while, and then in the direction that Ajax ran into. I make a couple of steps towards it. If the elder dragon hasn't gotten the poison out of himself yet, then he might not do so at all. Even my fireballs can do some damage. 

"Elias, come with us," Sorix's tone is commanding. "If I don't want to face the dragon, even when he is weakened, then you should hold back as well." 

"We might never get another chance like this one," I say. 

"You got captured once. Remember, Ajax can shapeshift," Givontair says. I rub the back of my head. Yes, the dragon did get a hold of me through trickery. Do I miss my family so much, that I fall for smoke and mirrors? I follow Sorix back to Brolbukh. If Ajax survives, then we will need to be together, for the next time he tries to kill Giv. 

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