"It turned out Genkaku really was ill, and when he finally got over the fever, it was like he was a normal human... All the abilities he'd had as one of the magic folk were completely gone. If he hadn't been such a pain in the butt to begin with, I might have felt sorry for him. But, by that time, there were other problems." Ember rested his head on his knees and continued. "A lot of the magic folk were showing signs of beginning to come down with the same thing. Except for the ones who had been in Vane at the time we'd opened the box. You see, we'd been in the Frontier then, and the Breath of Zophar spread from one of them to the next so quickly..."
The moans of sick people filled the room from every corner. Sharra and several other priests and priestesses of Althena were going from bed to bed, trying to offer comfort wherever they could, but there was not much they could do. It seemed as though whatever power Althena was giving them would not reach to the root of the problem, and some of the people who were weak to begin with weren't surviving the illness.
Ember could tell that the helplessness was wearing on Sharra, and even Chiron wasn't cracking his usual jokes. In fact, he had a thoughtful frown on his face, but Ember was too distracted to ask why. Ione, the person he loved more than anything, had finally been stricken with the illness and was now bedridden. After cajoling the location of the Blue Dragon out of Ember, Blaine had ridden off to seek his advice. He'd been gone three days now, and Ember was beginning to lose hope.
There was a commotion out in the hall, and the door to the sickroom burst open. "He's... back. Hah... Hah..." a skinny boy dressed in the clothing of the Plains tribe gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Sir Blaine is back, and the Blue Dragon is out there, too. They've got crates of stuff with them. Blaine says it's a medicine that will cure everybody. He needs all the help he can to get it in here quickly."
That was all Ember needed to hear. He sprinted out the door with Chiron, Sharra, and the others of Althena's priesthood right behind him. Once outside, they found Marius crouched in the clearing with Blaine still sitting on his back, one hand bracing a large crate full of smaller ones. Blaine waved with his free hand. "I'll throw them down to you, Ember. The rest of you guys form a chain so we can get it to them faster."
It didn't take more than a couple of minutes, and Blaine jumped down with the last of the boxes, calling out his thanks to the Blue Dragon over his shoulder as he ran. Marius gave an amused snort, looking in the direction that Blaine had gone. Then, he turned his gaze on Ember. Now, his expression was far from amused. "We will talk here shortly, boy. For now, stay where you are, and try not to get in any further trouble," his voice rumbled.
Then, Marius looked around and, satisfied that no one other than Ember was watching, changed, his form becoming that of a flying blue cat with a brown stripe on its forehead.
"...B... but Ione..." Ember started.
"That is precisely why I want you to stay put. Do not stir your feet from that spot," Marius warned before flying towards the sickroom.
Ember stared after him, confused and a little resentful. After a few minutes, he grumbled, "He's still treating me like a kid. I'm not that young anymore... Blast, what did I do wrong?"
"You did everything. And you did nothing," Chiron said, coming out of the doorway.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Just came from out of the sickroom in time to hear you. Heh, if you don't want to be heard, you shouldn't voice those type of thoughts aloud." Chiron mouth twitched briefly into a smile before his expression became serious again. "Look, I didn't come here to lecture you about actions, consequences, and responsibilities. You might need it, but hey... I'm not really a guy people like hearing that kind of stuff from. I just came out to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? You're leaving? Where? Why?" Ember asked, surprised.
"Have you noticed something missing around here lately? Or should I say, someone?"
Ember thought for a moment and then it dawned on him. "Genkaku! He ran off again. We've got to go after him!"
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on, there. You've got more important things you need to take care of here. Besides, I stand a lot better chance of picking up on his trail without anybody tagging along. And I don't mean Blaine's kind of trail, either. The magic wasn't all he was. Genkaku, I mean..." Chiron rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "I don't think his vengeance is any idle threat, but you probably won't have to worry about it any time soon. He's a long term plotter, and they don't usually go for the quickest ways of getting things done, 'cause they want to be sure of getting it done right. I'll try to get a fix on him before then... Make sure he doesn't do anything, that sort of stuff."
"...Be careful, Chiron," Ember said.
"He, he... Sure I will. Look, tell Sharra not to pine for me in my absence. She deserves somebody better," Chiron said with a cocky grin and a wave as he started off.
"I thought that was just some joke of his, but you know... Sharra seemed really sad that he was gone, and even after all this time, I don't think she's been seeing anybody at all. She really did like him, despite the fact that they were fighting all the time," Ember said thoughtfully. "Chiron was right about having my hands full. Marius gave me a long-winded lecture. I understood his point about the rashness of some of my actions, but some of the other things he said... I had no clue what he was trying to tell me at all. I never really pondered the rest of what he said before. But if that guy... If that other Ember is my son... Gee. Why didn't Marius just come out and say it? That Ione was..."
"He probably thought you already knew. You're not the only dragon to fall in love with a human, but... Well, I really shouldn't go there, because he wouldn't want me to talk about it," Marina said. "So, what happened after that?"
"There's not a lot left to say, but it all happened pretty fast. Pretty much everybody recovered once they got some of Marius's medicine into them. A few showed some lingering signs of fatigue, and Ione didn't seem changed at all. Was that because she was...?" Ember looked in Marina's direction, not seeming to be able to bring himself to say it aloud.
"Probably, yes. Knowing Marius, he advised her that he couldn't give her a double dose and protect them both. It would have to be one or the other."
"Well, she must have chosen to protect him. Any... mother would do that for her child," Ember said. He looked like he was about ready to cry, but he continued, "She changed. Her physical appearance... The batwings. Well, I didn't know what to do or say. She was mad; she said she blamed me for not getting the medicine there soon enough. That she wanted me to leave. And so, I... I left. I shouldn't have. That Zophar's Breath thing may have changed her on the outside, but she was still Ione. I should have stayed and helped work her through it. Then, she wouldn't be doing... My son wouldn't be doing..."
"We're not sure what they're doing right now, are we? But, we cannot change the past," Marina said. "I know that's not very comforting, but the truth is that if we add the entire weight of the past onto our present, we can't see the obstacles right in front of us and may end up wrecking our future. The bright side may not seem very bright, but I want you to focus on it."
"I guess so..." Ember was quiet for a moment and said, "He could have killed me. My son. But he didn't. Only knocked me down and tied me up, so I guess... Maybe he doesn't totally hate me? ...Oh. I just thought of something."
"Yes?"
"I know you told me to look on the bright side, but this is important. I already told you that I don't know where Chiron is. I've been all over the continent, so I would've at least heard if he'd been spotted. He went looking for Genkaku because of the vengeance threat. He is Ione's brother, so... Is it possible they're working together on this vengeance? I don't know why they'd need the dragon items for that, though. It's not like it'd take that much to go after any of the people involved in the whole box thing. I mean, just look at how Raven's kidnapping paralyzed the whole guild."
"Vengeance takes many forms. It may be that they have come to see someone else as the one ultimately responsible. Or it may be that they are not in league at all," Marina replied. "I will keep it all in mind as we go to retrieve the shield."
She stood, then glanced at the sword Ember still carried on his back. "You're lucky that they didn't notice that you had that."
"Yeah. I won't relinquish it to any but the Dragonmaster. I don't know how I'm supposed to go about choosing one when I'm stuck managing the great magic porcupine, though."
"Well, don't rush your choice. The world may need one, but they need the right one, and that's deserving of a little deep thought. I'm going to turn in for the night. I want to be up bright and early to see your friend, Lark, and Chris off. Not too much of a stretch since my group's not leaving much later."
"Hey... Where are you going to sleep?"
"I imagine my people haven't let their night gardens die down. Those are always peaceful places to take a nap when it's not a festival night. Sleeping under the stars... It's been a while, and I've missed it. Good night, Ember."
"Sure..." Ember looked out the window at the night sky and sighed. He didn't know how he was going to get to sleep now. "A son... My son..."
Marina closed the door softly behind her. Ember hadn't known about his son. Marius had. And she was certain that he knew about his own son, as well. She was a bit surprised that Marius had found another person to care about after what had happened before. It might have been a lengthy time from a human standpoint, but not from a dragon's. "But his son doesn't know about him, otherwise, he would know why they were after him... What to do?"