Page 77 of Earthbound

‘Atrophying?’ Yeeran’s whole body broke out in goosebumps.

‘You know what it is.’ Furi had interpreted Yeeran’s expression.

There was only one thing that had caused such symptoms in the Elven Lands. Yeeran had got to know the disease intimately when caring for Lettle.

‘The wasting pox.’

Rayan swore.

‘W-what is that? Is that what Lettle had?’ Furi had paled.

‘Yes,’ Yeeran said heavily.

‘I need to know how it spreads,’ Jay said urgently, their hands shaking. ‘Is it airborne?’

‘No.’ Jay’s relief was short-lived as Yeeran continued, ‘It spreads through direct contact with the infected skin, but it’s extremely fast spreading and very contagious.’

Yeeran and Furi locked eyes. Neither of them spoke the obvious, but Furi’s hands shook as she pulled Miller closer.

‘They must have given the rats the disease then released them on Mosima. A cruel thing,’ Rayan said as he tugged at the roots of his outgrown hair.

Jay withdrew a needle from their bag. ‘I’m going to give Miller some painkillers. While I do that, tell me everything you know about this disease.’

‘It ravaged Crescent when I was a child,’ Rayan said, his voice distant as though walking the roads of his memories. ‘It eats at your muscles, spreading from limb to limb. It’s fast-acting, immobilising your body until your organs begin to shut down. By the time you know you’ve caught it, it’ll be too late; you’ll have already spread it to ten more people.’

‘How long does it take for symptoms to appear?’ Jay asked. The cat quietened as the drugs took effect.

‘A few hours,’ Rayan said. ‘The first way of knowing you’re infected is a purple rash along the left side of your neck; it’ll trace its way along the artery closest to your heart.’

Furi’s hand went to her neck. The skin there was unblemished, but she covered it self-consciously.

Jay stepped away from their patient and carefully removed their gloves, disposing of them in a pouch they then sealed tightly. ‘And what is the recovery timeline?’

Yeeran couldn’t look at Furi as Rayan said, ‘Most don’t recover.’

Furi abruptly laughed. Then looked shocked that she had.

‘But some do,’ Yeeran said earnestly. ‘For some people it strikes in one area, like Lettle. It took around three weeks for her to recover fully as we couldn’t afford the cure—’

Furi interrupted her. ‘There’s a cure?’

‘Yes,’ both Rayan and Yeeran said at once.

Jay looked immediately relieved, but Furi asked, ‘Why did that “yes” sound like a no?’

The elves exchanged a look.

‘Because it’s hard to procure,’ Yeeran said. ‘It requires the petals of the hister flower to be brewed in alcohol for weeks. The fermentation leeches the plant’s toxins before it is consumed.’

Furi looked like she might laugh again.

‘Hister flowers, do they grow in Mosima?’ Jay asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ Rayan said. ‘I haven’t seen any…and the royal horticulturist…is no longer with us.’

At the mention of Norey, everyone stilled. He had been a key part of the rebellion to bring down the Jani dynasty. Until Lettle killed him.

‘Can you draw the plant?’ Jay removed paper and pen from their satchel. ‘There are a few people I can ask. We might have another name for it here.’