The Imperial, then, had fired this arrow with a clear intent to kill. Alec held back his urge to march over to the shooter and slay him where he stood, and instead fed Clemens an antidote potion.
“In which case, what can we do...?” asked Shiori, her voice trembling.
Until they removed the arrow, Clemens would continue to suffer and bleed. Even now, his blood stained his clothing and armor. Shiori had a pleading look in her eyes, praying that Linus—himself an archer—might know how to handle such an injury. But to her dismay, Linus only shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do anything. I’d only leave the arrowhead in there if I tried. The arm has to be cut open to remove the arrow, and that means we have to wait for Nils or Ellen. Until then...we just have to hope the medicine will suffice.”
But everyone already knew that there was only so much an antidote potion could do while the source of the poison remained in Clemens’s body. The arrow was also lodged inside him at an awkward angle, which made bandaging the wound extremely difficult. Even just applying a styptic to Clemens’s shoulder wasn’t as simple as it seemed, given that any excessive movement might cause the arrowhead to move.
“Rurii,” said Shiori, fighting to remain calm. “Can you put pressure on the wound until Nils and the others get here?”
The slime had arrived at some point during the proceedings, and it wobbled in the affirmative. The slime then reached out a cautious feeler to clean the wounded area of dirt and ice magic before pressing itself against the open wound.
“What about the poison?” asked Linus.
“Rurii says it will be fine as long as it doesn’t absorb any of it.”
“I see. Thanks, Rurii.”
With the bleeding now temporarily stopped, the adventurers took to giving Clemens more of an antidote potion. It wasn’t long before Ellen arrived on the scene, but for the adventurers with Clemens, it felt like an eternity.
“I’m sorry I took so long—now please, stand clear!” said Ellen, pushing Alec aside. She inspected Clemens’s wound, then gasped. “Oh no... He needs to be operated on immediately. But...”
Ellen scanned the battlefield, her expression suddenly hesitant. The physickers, herbalists, and medics were all rushing about. She knew that taking even one physicker from the battle could impact the outcome. And though she wanted nothing more than to make Clemens her priority, it would mean putting off the healing of several who could still be put to use in the fight against the dragon.
On one side were her friends, and on the other, her responsibility as a battlefield medic. Ellen felt hopelessly trapped between the two.
“It’s okay,” said Nils, giving his friend the push she needed. “The rest of us can share your load between us. Please, see to Clemens.”
Eir ruffled its leaves in agreement.
“You’re sure?” asked Ellen.
“We’re not knights,” replied Nils, smiling as he placed a sedative made from Eir’s root into her hands. “Your priorities are yours to decide. Once, you told me that you chose adventuring over the knight corps because you did not want to be bound by the orders of your superiors. You told me you wanted to save those you care about, remember?”
“Nils...”
“We do things our way. Just like the guild master said. So don’t worry. Do what you must.”
Ellen nodded, but Nils was already heading back out to the battlefield.
“Thank you,” she said. “Now, leave Clemens with me. The rest of you head back out there.”
But for a moment, Alec faltered. His heart told him to stay with his friend, but he forced himself to bury those feelings, at least somewhat. Clemens had been shot because of him, and so he would see things through on behalf of his friend.
“Got it,” he said. “Nadia, stay with him.”
It was no exaggeration to say that it would be an even harder fight with one of their best mages on the sidelines. Still, Alec knew it was best to keep the two of them together. Clemens, however, saw things otherwise.
“I’ll...be...fine...” he whispered, reaching up to stroke his lover’s neck. “Take...Nadia...with you...”
He had wanted to touch her cheek, but could raise his arm no higher.
“No more talking,” warned Ellen. “You must conserve your strength.”
But Clemens paid her no mind. With his eyes, he begged her to let him be until he said his piece. Alec bit his lip, knowing that his friend had already accepted that his life now hovered on the precipice of death.
“I won’t let...something so...minor...keep me down...”
His breathing was labored, but still he smiled. He was a man whose good looks had charmed countless ladies over the years, but now he smiled for one woman, and one woman alone.
“I will...make it...through this. So go...they need you...out there...Nadia. And I...later...in your...wedding dr...”
His words grew muddled as he went on, ending mid-sentence as his hand fell by his side. Alec lurched forward, suddenly panicked, but Ellen held him back.
“It’s all right, he’s just unconscious,” she said.
“Even poisoned, you insist on playing things cool. Ugh, you’re such a keeper I can barely stand it.”
So saying, Nadia took Clemens’s hand and placed a kiss upon it. It was perhaps the first time that Alec had ever seen her being vulnerable in front of others, but even then, she spoke powerfully, with great resolve.
“Fine. We’ll fight so hard it’ll be like you’re there too. So wait for us.”
Nadia put her fingers to the lips of her unconscious lover, then turned away and strode back to the battlefield. Alec, too, put a hand to his friend’s own. They had fought side by side since the day he’d become an adventurer. Clemens was a rival who had pushed him to new heights, and an irreplaceable friend. Alec said a silent prayer for him, then looked to Ellen.
“We’re counting on you,” he said.
“I’ve got it.”
“Shiori, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll help Ellen out,” said Linus.
Together with the support of a few medics, the archer helped to carry Clemens away. Ellen was both a physicker and a licensed doctor, and Linus was resolved to help however he could. As Alec and Shiori were about to head back, they noticed Zack standing before them. He looked down at Clemens without a word, and with his eyes he let Ellen know he was putting his hopes in her. Then he joined Alec and Shiori as they once more left for battle.
“They’re all waiting on your return,” Ellen said to Clemens. “So you have to fight. I’ll be right here with you.”
She knew that life-and-death battles were not waged only on the battlefield. Doctors like her had their own battles to wage, in which lives hung in the balance just the same. The medics and Linus brought Clemens into a tent, where one used earth magic to craft a makeshift operating table. The use of Shiori’s housekeeping magic had found its way to the medic troops too.
And I couldn’t be more thankful.
Once Ellen had sent Rurii back out to battle, she quickly prepared herself for the surgery ahead. She took her tools and medicines from her pouch, then widened the tear in Clemens’s clothing to expose more of the wounded area.
“Can you secure his arms and legs?” Ellen asked.
“Got it,” replied Linus.
The archer held Clemens’s arms, while two knights at the other end of the table held his legs. One of those knights had his legs in bandages, while the other had one arm in a sling. Compound fractures had kept them both from returning to the field, but they were intent to help out where they could.
“Thank you,” Ellen said. “Let’s get started.”
She injected the wound with a local anesthetic, then took the sedative Nils had given her in hand and examined it.
Just as I thought, it will only have a light effect.