Clam Chowder [Cooking]

Clam Chowder

   Dhao woke at the same moment when a strong flinch passed through his whole body. His half-asleep mind was severely confused at why he was by the fire and not in his bed, but after a moment he remembered the events that took place last night. He attempted to quickly get up to check on Wardac, but his plans were delayed as his side was sore from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. With a deep groan, Dhao stretched himself thoroughly before he got his stiff joints properly moving again, which allowed him to head to Wardac’s location.

   The injured Runner was still asleep. Judging by the looks of it, he hadn’t moved since the moment he was placed down here on the cozy bed. Dhao checked Wardac’s vitals - his breathing was labored and fever was still up. This meant Wardac wasn’t out of the woods quite yet. However, when Dhao assessed his temperature, Wardac weakly opened an eye and tried to glance towards the other.

“H.. hi… where… am I?”

   Dhao’s ears immediately perked up at the weak whisper. The wave of relief brought a small smile on his lips as he responded.

“Don’t worry, friend, you’re safe. Here, have some water.”

   Dhao knew it was critical for Wardac to hydrate, so he decided to use the moment to make sure he gets to pour down some water on Wardac’s throat before he probably passed out again. He was gentle and careful, but despite that, Wardac still managed to choke at some point and they were forced to stop while he was coughing, jolts of pain piercing his wounds at every cough.

“I’m trying to heal you, can you tell me what happened to you?”

   Dhao inquired after Wardac had stopped coughing. Wardac attempted to mumble something in response but the fever had grasped his mind once again, which meant the poor guy passed out once again, leaving Dhao to do some thinking.

   This fever and overall condition of Wardac wasn’t normal. Dhao didn’t see the signs of blood poisoning, so this must’ve been something else. In order to figure it out, Dhao was forced to return to his hoard of trusty books to try finding an answer from there. He had to help Wardac somehow, as fate had brought him to his doorstep and Dhao was not the type of Vayron to leave a creature in need without aid. He grabbed some cookies from the kitchen for a quick sugary snack before he began selecting some books. Having picked out about seven of them, he brought them by the fireplace, adjusted some pillows to lie on, grabbed a large jar with energizing herbal infusion in it and got back to work.

   Hours passed as Dhao leafed through the pages, which contained various information on infections while also occasionally checking on Wardac. The Runner was holding on, but staying in a state like this would turn his chances of survival critical soon enough. Not having found reliable answers in the first three books, Dhao changed his tactics and attempted to utilize some of his magic to diagnose Wardac’s mysterious illness. He wasn’t a healer, but his magic helped him to confirm that it wasn’t an infection indeed - there was something else coursing through Wardac’s veins that made him sick. But what exactly, Dhao couldn’t figure out. He stopped his flow of mana and sat down for a moment, scratching the back of his head in an attempt to come up with a fresh idea. If only he knew a spell which could cure anything, his life would be so much easier.

   This thought sparked an idea.

   What if he could prepare a concoction or a lotion or an elixir that can cure most common ailments? Maybe Wardac contacted something venomous or poisonous and that had made him sick? It wasn’t much, but this was the theoretical direction which was logical to follow, and Dhao just had to hope it wasn’t an advanced ancient curse or extremely rare poison.

   He dove back in the middle of his book collection, frantically looking for anything that could contain such secrets until his gaze stopped on the worn green tome resting on his desk. This one proved to be extremely useful for making the bandages, perhaps it had an answer to Dhao’s current question. He grabbed it, went by the fire to read and continued flipping through the seemingly unorganised pages. Fortunately it didn’t take long when he found something promising - a strange mixture which boastingly promised to cure almost anything. Dhao knew the author was exaggerating, but there had to be a drop of truth in it somewhere. Dhao briefly read it through, trying to make sense of both the ingredients and preparation method. He then started to search for the required stuff at his home, peeking at drawers and cupboards he hadn’t touched in ages. Some dusty glass jars hidden behind others held the last ingredient he needed, and once he placed the others back in their spots, his way to the crafting table took him past his resting chamber. Dhao instinctively looked at Wardac, who now seemed to have a rather intensive fever dream. Oh, how Dhao would’ve loved to ease his situation by sticking some herbs in Wardac’s cheek to alleviate the fever, but he couldn’t risk doing anything as fighting blindly with this mysterious disease could actually make the situation a lot worse.

   Dhao hunched over the workbench and started making the preparations. He followed the instructions closely, even though they were slightly scrambled all over the pages. This author’s chaotic style was already familiar to him, so the Puller could work and study the notes simultaneously. Despite that, he accidentally managed to burn several stalks of wheat and nearly dropped some lavender straight onto the burning candles on the corners of his workplace, but eventually the determination led to success.

   Dhao took a moment to assess the weird concoction he just cooked up. It made absolutely no sense to him how this foul-smelling mixture of seemingly random things could actually be beneficial in some way. Maybe this was an elaborate prank left by the author for future generations to discover? Who knew, but at the moment, Dhao had to try it out on himself before bringing it anywhere near Wardac. He acquired a spoon, and with a face clearly reflecting the regret of choices in his life which led him to this very moment, he collected a sample of the chowder. Forcing down gag reflexes, he quickly managed to pour down the slimy substance from his throat, after which he held his breath for a brief moment to let the initial taste dissipate in his mouth.

   He had to admit it wasn’t half as bad as he had feared. It definitely wasn’t among things he’d eat voluntarily every day, but strangely enough, the chow had its own mildly charming exotic taste. Deciding to give this mixture a chance, Dhao grabbed a small vial with health potion in it when heading back to Wardac. The potion could also accelerate the illness, but Dhao had faith in the old master’s teachings in the book, so he gently started to nudge Wardac’s head.

“Hey, buddy, wake up. I can make you better now, but you need to help me to help you, yea?”

   Wardac slowly emerged from his vivid dreams, barely understanding what was happening. He felt a cool paw on his face, before something was stuck between his jaws and a herbal concoction trickled on his tongue. He instinctively began to swallow it, and felt the hidden energy in it. Only after a couple of strained swallowing, Wardac felt the life returning to his body. He was able to properly open his eyes, then lift his head so Dhao could pour the remainder of the potion right down his throat. Dhao was also relieved to see the health potion doing its work, but the process didn’t end here.

“You’ll also need to eat this.”

   As Wardac had managed to carefully sit upright, a bowl with funky smelling stuff was handed to him. He was really confused, but seeing the worried expression on Dhao’s face made him agree with the task. Ignoring the soreness and pain, Wardac consumed the chowder while Dhao sat in front of him in silence. The patient couldn’t quite figure out what the ‘food’ was made of, but whether he imagined it or not, he started to feel better in general - the swirling sensation in his head grew smaller and the throbbing pain in his tummy started to give up on tormenting him. But most importantly, the medicine seemed to have washed away the feeling of being on fire. Wardac handed Dhao the bowl back once he was done, politely licking his lips clean and giving it a moment to work its magic. It was only now Wardac noticed the bandages around his forelimb and body, but his attention was pulled away from them.

“How are you feeling?”

   Dhao inquired with sincere concern, but to his relief, Wardac was now an entirely different Vayron than just a couple minutes ago as he was giving Dhao a genuinely happy smile.

“I feel alive again. Thank you so much, my friend.”