Wary Druids and Tarry Fluids - The Druids: Part 3

Wary Druids and Tarry Fluids
The Druids: Part 3

“Maybe we’ve approached this matter wrong from the start.”

   Caelan broke the crushing silence while he was still attempting to remove the last bits of the disgusting ooze stuck in his fur. All raised their heads to hear out what Caelan had in mind, except for Auris who was silently staring at the black veins choking the life out of his beloved plants.

“Auris claims he’s never seen something like this before, so perhaps we should consider the possibility that someone else from the topside has accidentally contaminated this environment.”

“Yeah, okay, but with what? I ain’t seen anything like that on the surface.”

   Vericia sounded mildly annoyed as she’d hate to admit defeat in such a critical situation. Eli kept himself busy by pouring the leftover salt around the infected spot instead right on top of it, at least that made the cursed thing slow down a little. He managed to cover a rather small border between the healthy fauna and the infection as the pouch he received started to run empty. One of the Druids approached Auris and whispered something in his ear, to which Auris numbly shook his head in response.

“What if it behaves and looks different down here?”

   Eli uttered a thought that wandered through his head as he was shaking the last bits of salt out from the bag. Caelan managed to rip the last bit of the sticky stuff out from his leg fluff before he approached the veins again, this time with a different kind of determination.

“My thoughts exactly. So, ideas, anyone? What could even remotely resemble this?”

   Caelan had perked up as he was also trying to stuff back some stubborn enthusiasm in the fellow Vayrons’ hearts. Vericia felt the annoyance grow in her chest but decided to participate in the brainstorm while Eli closed his eyes to summon mental images of various diseases and pests he had either seen with his own eyes or learned from farmers.

“I have nothing. I wanna say it’s the Crop Choker but that appears as black spots on leaves, not as this oozing octopus that has lost count of its tentacles.”

   Vericia scoffed as she wasn’t even trying to hide her bad mood anymore. She was already considering simply setting this thing on fire together with its victims just because she craved violence to ease her anger. To her words, both Eli and Caelan were pleasantly surprised and seeing their reactions made Auris raise his ears back up a bit.

“We’re in luck if it was that and it’s really simple to test it. Uhmm… please excuse me for a moment, I need some privacy.”

   Caelan stood up and headed behind one large tree trunk to do something, leaving Vericia and Auris looking after him with puzzlement plastered on their faces. After a moment, there was the sound of water trickling. It lasted for a little while before it stopped, and one smiling Caelan reappeared. It was enough for Eli to see the scholar’s victorious smile to know he had confirmed this theory.

“Good news! It is the Crop Choker! And even better news is it’s actually rather easy to get rid of.”

   Vericia couldn’t help but snort, greatly amused at what Caelan just did.

“You can tell that just by watering it with piss?”

   Caelan cleared his throat awkwardly before he approached Auris. The Druid seemed to slowly come out of his depression as Caelan promised a cure, ready to listen to his instructions.

“Ahem… yes, that’s one way to detect it. Anyway, my point is we can eradicate it. Or, at least I hope this mutated variant reacts the same way…”

“We will have to try. Auris, do you happen to have some dried bone powder?”

   Eli interrupts as he notices Caelan starting to doubt himself again, and Auris’ attention shifts to the reserved guy.

“We should, we can also ask the Tranquil, they’re slightly better with non-plant-based elixirs.”

“Great! Then let’s get to business.”

   Vericia rocked back and forth before she heaved herself up, ready to take a trip back to the Tranquil, if needed. Caelan and Eli managed to recall the recipe for the concoction together, and fortunately the required ingredients existed in the Beneath. The Druids took the specific orders from Auris as they scattered away between the trees and bushes to make the necessary preparations or seek out the components. Once again, there was a glimmer of hope in Auris’ eyes.

   By the time Vericia returned from the Tranquil with the ingredients the Druids were lacking, the rest of them had already prepared the base of the mixture, where they could add the last missing bits. The cure remained powdery and even in the dim light sparkled like fresh snow in the Sunlight. Caelan took the container and left the small clearing to go back to the diseased region, everyone else tightly following him. The air crackled with anticipation when Caelan sat down, swiftly prayed to the Goddess of Devotion and Nurture before he sprinkled a bit of the shimmering dust on a test area.

   Everybody held their breath, waiting to see what happens next.

   Soon enough the covered veins started to bubble again, but this time they didn’t explode and instead, withered with visible speed.

   All the Druids cheered, with Auris being the loudest. Eli nodded approvingly with a pleased smile while Vericia couldn’t resist but to give Caelan a big warm bear hug. Good thing she accidentally didn’t squeeze the life out of him as he was holding the jar with the most precious continents to the Druids at the given moment. Having inhaled deeply to suck his nearly-departed soul back in his body, Caelan handed the jar to Auris before he rushed back to the clearing to prepare more of this dusty savior. Auris held the container, grinning and smiling like he was having a birthday, Yuletide and payday all at once while the siblings and other Haedians grabbed the cure with their paws and hands in order to quickly distribute it on the ground, infected trees and crystals. When they ran out of the first batch, Vericia and Eli rushed back to Caelan to get a refill while the Druids remained behind to keep an eye on the cure’s desired effect.

   When they got back with even more powder, Auris once again held the container as if it was his precious newborn child while others grabbed the cure to spread it around. When Eli and Vericia came to him for new portions, Auris moved the jar away from their paws and seeing the siblings’ confused faces he bestowed them his happiest smile.

“I’m sorry we were so hostile towards you when we met. I want you to know I’m eternally grateful to you for saving us and our beloved home.”

   Getting flattered by Auris’ appreciation, the Pullers continued on eliminating the nasty disease while Caelan kept tirelessly mixing more of this marvelous cure.