Chapter 81: Too late

Sorix: 

Goblins sprawled where they fell. The air reeking of death. At one point, the huts were even aflame, for they are half-ruined, and there are ashes everywhere. I place a hand on Givontair's shoulder. His hands are balled into fists. His eyes blazing. 

"If I knew sooner," he mumbles. I give his shoulder a light squeeze. 

"Maybe there are survivors?" I suggest. He looks at me, and shakes his head. 

"I can't smell a single living goblin. What about you? Can you sense a heartbeat in this ruin?" He asks me. I focus, and try my best. Yet, there is nothing around us. Nothing but the scavengers, who have come to feast on the corpses. 

"The animals are going to spread the sickness," I say. He nods. I close my eyes, and then summon some skeletons. We must burn everything, and clear the air. The animals which have eaten from the goblins, must also die. It is a waste, but there is nothing else we can do. 

"An outbreak could still happen," Givontair says, as he watches as my skeletons hunt. "There is no telling how many animals left before we came in here." 

"I am sure you can handle even that, but the black book must be a priority," he scrunches up his nose at that. "Giv, you do know that this outbreak practically screams the Dread's name. This is his territory. No one is getting sick, without his say so." 

"People get sick all the time," Givontair retorts. I can understand that he doesn't want to believe me.

It is not every day that someone faces the Dread's power. We stay at the entrance of the settlement in silence. The cries of wolves and foxes fill the air. The vultures are harder to get. Yet, with the mana net I have over the settlement, they too, fall. 

When the sun rises again, silence reigns over the goblin settlement. Givontair gets his hands together, for a prayer, and closes his eyes. I wonder to whom is he praying? To Harika? She doesn't like dragons. Not even ones who are healers. 

When he opens his eyes, I take a hold of his hand, and tug him back in the direction of the village. 

"Come on. Erik probably needs your help," I say, and he lets me tug him back the way we came. With a flick of my wrist, I send the first sparks at the goblin outpost. I don't look back, when I feel the heat of flames at my back. I don't believe that Givontair would have been capable of setting the settlement aflame. His guilt would have made his transformation impossible. 

We are both tired, but we do go to the makeshift clinic. Erik is in his element, mixing calamine. It is good, that he remembers the recipe. Givontair goes to the nearest bed, and pulls the covers off the woman who is laying on it. He examines her, and then, when she opens her eyes, he smiles at her. 

"Was calamine applied to your skin?" He asks her. She nods, but her eyes are hazy. Givontair pulls the blanket back over her. Then, he goes to the front of the room, and taps Erik on the shoulders. 

"Do you need help?" Givontair asks the boy. Erik yawns, but his hands don't slow. 

You are reading story The Dread Scrolls at novel35.com

"I can handle it. Did you save the goblins?" Erik asks. Giv sighs. 

"No, we were too late," Giv bows his head. Erik's eyes widen. Huh, is this the first time that the boy was faced with something his guardian couldn't do? 

"But this has never happened before?" Erik more asks, than says. Givontair sighs, and busies himself with mixing some calamine in a bowl. I watch him, as he adds the oils, transfixed at how he doesn't need to use the scale, which Erik is using. 

"It happens to the best of us," Givontair says. "This is not the first time, when I am too late. Just because I failed goblins, doesn't make it any easier." 

Erik's eyes are still wide, as he watches as Givontair puts the lid on the bow, and begins to shake it. 

"But you are, well, you," I chuckle at the hero worship that the boy has for Givontair. 

"Look, kiddo, just because Givontair has a big mana pool, it doesn't mean he can bring the dead back to life. Even I can't do something like that. Not in a way, where everyone will be happy," I tell Erik. He looks at me next. 

"Is the sickness going to spread in the entire country?" Erik asks. Givontair bites his lower lip. 

"It might. There is no telling, if we got all the animals, which fed on the dead goblins. Goblin pox is not deadly for animals, but they can be carriers of the sickness," Givontair seems almost as if he is going to add something else, but he stops in his tracks. Yet, Erik seems to have noticed that. 

"Did you both kill all the animals in the settlement?" The boy asks, as he places his bowl of calamine down. He looks first at me, and then at Giv. 

"It had to be done," Givontair says. Erik gulps. 

"You won't...? I mean, the people in here are healing well!" I blink at what Erik is implying. I place a hand on his head, and pat him three times. He seems to frown at that, but doesn't brush my hand off. 

"We left you in charge of these people. Giv is going to help you, but you are the head healer this time, Erik," I say with what I hope to be a reassuring smile. He doesn't look all that convinced. 

"No, Erik. We are not going to kill these people. Once I get some rest, I will make them some mana baths," Givontair says. He yawns, and leans on to me. I wrap an arm around his middle. "You should get some rest too. You are a growing boy. We don't want for your growth to be stunted." 

"Just let me finish with the last three patients, and I will go to sleep," Erik says. Givontair yawns again. I begin to lead him out. Now, we just need to get to the inn, and then we can rest.   

You can find story with these keywords: The Dread Scrolls, Read The Dread Scrolls, The Dread Scrolls novel, The Dread Scrolls book, The Dread Scrolls story, The Dread Scrolls full, The Dread Scrolls Latest Chapter