I wish I’d asked Lord Tenderfoot more questions, or asked to take one of his books with me! But back in that dark basement everything had felt like such a chaotic rush.
Now it’s too late.
The answer to my first question becomes apparent as we approach the edge of the jungle, however, when a loud horn sounds ahead of us.
Birds fly up from the trees, adorned in features of a hundred brilliant colors. As they flutter into the air they look like gemstones flung from a giant’s palm. Diana gasps, and I realize that my mouth is hanging open too as I watch these feathered jewels fluttering up.
They’re birds of such different gorgeous hues, reflected by the hot, heavy sun in so many ways, that I realize I’ve never seen such beauty before.
The only animals in my home town of Barl were the mangy street dogs that I would throw scraps to – plus the ever-present plague of rats and pigeons trying to eke a meager living just like me.
I hate that I have more in common with a pigeon, while Diana has more in common with these birds of paradise.
The three Aurelians stop short. Out of the jungle come men – strange men!
As I’d thought, this answers my first question – Darok, Hadone and Forn do have a tribe.
The strangers are towering Aurelian men, who should appear as strong and healthy as the triad of warriors standing beside Diana and I.
Only they’re not – these new arrivals are not straight of back or strongly postured like my three saviors.
While the Aurelians coming from the jungle may be the same age as Forn, Hadon and Darok, they’re bent over. They walk out slowly, dragging their feet and coughing. My eyes go wide as I see that they’re clearly in ill health.
The nurse that still lives inside me immediately starts documenting the symptoms these Aurelians are exhibiting – the worst and perhaps most telling of which is that constant, hacking cough which slows the formerly strong men in their tracks.
“They’re all… They’re all sick,” says Diana slowly.
I’d noticed that Forn had been coughing when I’d first met him, but this is far worse. There’s something horribly wrong with the Aurelians of this tribe.
“Don’t go any closer,” I say, my voice tight and filled with warning. Diana stops in her tracks. The three Aurelians talk in urgent voices.
Minutes later, an Aurelian walks out of the jungle carrying an amulet that glimmers with a small Orb shard. It takes me a moment to realize it’s a child coming towards me – as he’s roughly my height.
This ‘boy has no tattoos on his body, and I wonder if it’s some coming-of-age ritual for the Aurelians to be adorned with that green-black ink.
The child doubles over with a racking cough. On the outside, he appears healthy enough. On the inside, though, something horrific is clearly happening to him. Red flakes of blood mar his perfectly white hand as he pulls it away from his lips, and my heart aches for this towering lad.
Bright, red blood. So, he doesn’t have the same green blood of these three Aurelians. What does that mean?
The child regains something of his strength, and forces himself to stand tall. I know he’s putting on a brave face, though. The child sets the amulet down on the ground before us, and Forn walks towards it.
“Stop!” I say firmly, and he looks back at me, cocking his head quizzically.
“Isn’t that the amulet Lord Tenderfoot talked about? The one that will let us talk to the Aurelians?” Diana looks at me in confusion, not understanding why I’d want Forn to stay put.
“It is – but that boy must be infected, and if it’s a virus causing the sickness, then we need to stay here overnight and let anything living on it die off. Dammit! I just wish I had my med-kit! I could have run diagnostics!”
Diana looks at me with wonder. “Are you a doctor?”
I snort. “Maybe in another life.”
If I had my med-kit, I would have be able to run diagnostic tests on the amulet and determine if it was covered in viral cells, or maybe some kind of bacteria. It would have been the first step towards potentially find a cure.
As frustrating as the lack of a med-kit is, I suddenly feel a sense of purpose and focus that overwhelms much of my earlier anxiety.
I suddenly feel as though I was meant to come to this jungle planet, and now it all makes sense – I was brought here to cure this tribe.
Maybe… Just maybe Lord Tenderfoot opening that portal wasn’t the ‘accident’ I’d thought it was. Maybe I was fated to be brought here. Maybe I am truly destined to belong with these three Aurelians, and it isn’t all just a big coincidence.
Then my medical training kids back in – the analytical, scientific reasoning.
Or, maybe I’m just looking for any explanation that will convince me this wasn’t all a big fluke.
Hadone looks me up and down, then takes a step towards the amulet. I rush to him, and grab his arm, looking up at him pleadingly. I shake my head, hoping that the gesture is universal. Hadone stares at me, his grey eyes flecked with green, and for a moment I think he’s going to ignore me and reach for the amulet.
I know he wants desperately to communicate with me, and I want to understand him as well – but we can’t take the risk.
Instead of continuing towards the amulet, Hadone leans forward and his lips press against mine.
I don’t know what to do. His huge lips pressing against mine ignite a desire deep within me. I suddenly shudder with need. I reluctantly push Hadone away from me, my eyes wide with indignation.
“I have a job to do, damnit!”
Hadone looks wounded, so I jerk my head over towards the sick members of his tribe. I can’t believe Hadone is thinking about anything but the safety
