"Starting," he called back to the group.
The Ancient Desiccant lay flat, cracked leather armor, iron helm, and a broken sword gripped in one desiccated hand. Harry threw the pack square on its stomach. Dust puffed up. Harry turned and sprinted back, sliding into place beside the others.
The creature sprang out of its coffin and charged, broken sword held low. Jo's arrow took it in the chest before it made it halfway across the room. The shot burst into a spray of crackling sparks but only backed it up a step before it continued the attack.
Jo exhaled hard. “I was afraid of that.” She turned away to drop the bow and grab her spear.
“Yeah,” Harry said. “It’s immune.”
Stan gave a quick grunt. “Worth a try.”
By then the Ancient Desiccant was on them.
Harry and Toby braced, spears high. The creature swept its sword arm up and knocked both shafts aside. It slid under them on its knees, skidding across stone, and went straight for Jo as she was turning back.
Stan stepped in front of it to block, shield up, and they crashed together.
The creature grabbed the rim of Stan’s shield with its free hand and yanked down while swinging the broken sword at his head.
Stan ducked under the blow.
Toby scrambled back and jabbed his spear into its side. The point punched the leather but didn’t break through. Still, it shoved the creature sideways.
It let the motion take it, twisting onto its hip, one leg sweeping out and knocking Stan off his feet. He fell hard, landing next to it.
Harry had dropped his spear and switched to his mace. He stepped in and hammered the side of its helmet. The strike rang through the room, a clean shot, but the Desiccant barely reacted.
Stan scrambled backward, but the creature lunged and clamped its jaws onto his lower leg, teeth grinding into flesh.
Stan bellowed and slammed his shield into the side of its head, but it held tight.
Harry dropped his mace, drew his dagger, straddled its back, and drove the blade into its neck.
Stan tried to bring the shield down again, but Harry was crowding the creature’s head, so he kicked at its chest with his free leg, shouting “Get off” with each strike.
Jo had her spear now. She and Toby stabbed at its body trying to drive it back.
It dropped its sword and grabbed at Stan’s legs with both hands, locking on and wrenching at the wound, its head snapping side to side. Blood slicked its mouth and ran down Stan’s leg, smearing on the stone floor.
Harry poured on speed and strength and jerked the dagger out the front of its throat. He wrapped his free arm around the top of its head trying to pull it back but failed. He stabbed the dagger in again, sawing it back and forth to the spine. Finally he’d cut through enough that the creature went still, eyes dulling, winking out.
“Hold on, Stan!” He tried again to pull the top of the skull back to loosen its grip, but it was locked on. Finally he had to use his dagger to pry the jaws open.
Stan lay on his back with both hands clamped over the wound, grimacing. “Ow, ow, ow.”
Harry slowed as the smell of blood hit him, a sharp wave that pushed at his control. He forced a slow breath, held his fangs in check, and dropped beside Stan.
“Stan, be still. Move your hands.”
Jo knelt on the other side. “What do you need?”
“Med kit, now,” Harry said. “And a length of rope or cloth. Hurry.”
Cedric was already coming with the a kit. He set it down and knelt next to Harry.
Harry bent over Stan's left leg to examine below the knee. He had to cut the pant leg and pull it away from the wound. The bite had torn the side open, a ragged crescent of crushed tissue from shin around to calf where the jaws had clamped down. Dark blood seeped steadily, no spurting. "It didn't get the artery." He held out a hand. "Bandage."
Cedric placed a folded strip of cloth into his palm, and Harry pressed it tight against the gash.
“Stan, does your status say anything about disease?”
Stan clenched his jaw. “Made one save. Failed another.”
“That’s it? Nothing about fever or rot?”
Stan shook his head, hands gripping his thigh above the wound.
Harry looked to Cedric. “Keep pressure on it. I’m going to talk to System.”
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System, are Necrotic Fever or Corpse Rot fatal?
:: System: Affirmative. Both are fatal without treatment. Corpse Rot is the more dangerous of the two.
Explain Corpse Rot.
:: [Corpse Rot]: Wound will begin to necrotize within one hour, spreading quickly. Once spread to vital organs, instantly fatal. Without treatment the limb will need immediate amputation.
The other one, tell me about Necrotic Fever.
:: [Necrotic Fever]: Rapid onset of high fever, chills, and sweating. The wound will become hot to the touch and inflamed. Often fatal within three to five days without treatment.
These powders we have, can we make a treatment?
:: System: You have the necessary compounds to treat Necrotic Fever. It will not provide an immediate cure but will control the symptoms and ensure survival.
And Corpse Rot?
:: System: The only known treatment for Corpse Rot is divine, magical or alchemical healing.
How long has it been since he was bit?
:: System: Elapsed time since initial bite: 6 minutes, 23 seconds.
As rapidly as he could, Harry explained the situation to Stan. If it was Corpse Rot, they would have to remove the leg at once. The smart choice would be to take it now. If it was Necrotic Fever instead, they could treat it.
“No,” Stan growled. “Not taking me leg. Still using it, ain’t I.”
“Stan,” Jo said as she knelt beside him, a hand on his shoulder, “it’s your leg or your life.”
Stan looked from her to Harry. “We can wait till rot shows, yeah?”
System, how much time between first signs of necrosis and spreading?
:: System: Tissue around wound will turn black or gray. At first signs of change you have three to five minutes to remove limb. Color change is followed by a putrid smell coming from the wound. By that point it is too late for amputation.
Harry explained the situation.
Stan sucked in a sharp breath. “We wait.”
Toby looked up, voice tight. “What do we do?”
System, how long?
:: System: 8 minutes, 42 seconds.
“First, let’s prepare in case it’s the fever,” Harry said. “Does anyone know how to make the treatment?”
Cedric nodded once. “I know the combination for a general fever remedy.”
“Hold on.” Harry checked with System, getting a full list of powders and how to mix them. They needed a fire, so he stepped out into the crypt room and gathered anything he could find that might burn from the floor and tore pieces of cloth from the clothes on the desiccants. He handed these to Jo and Toby, who set to work making the poultice.
Once they were working, Harry returned to Stan and Cedric. “If we’re going to wait, we won’t have much time.” They both nodded.
System?
:: System: 14 minutes, 18 seconds.
Harry turned to Cedric. “It’ll be up to you.”
Cedric set a hand on the hilt of his sword. “I understand, Sir Harold.” He looked to Stan. “It would be helpful if we put you in a position where I can get a clean strike.”
“Wouldn’t wanna foul a clean strike,” Stan muttered. “What’re ya thinking?”
Cedric scanned the room. “The stairs, I think. Sit you up high and extend the leg. Harry, can you get your pack with the stones to go under his foot?”
“Yeah. Let’s get you to the stairs first,” Harry said.
He and Cedric helped Stan to the bottom step, settling him with his leg stretched out.
From where he had dumped his gear earlier, Harry picked up the whiskey flask from his medical kit and handed it to Stan. “Bottoms up.”
Stan took it with both hands. “If I’d known there was whiskey in it, I’d'a got bit sooner.”
Harry went out into the crypt, retrieved his pack and on the way back paused beside Jo and Toby, who had a large tin cup boiling over a small fire. “Build up the fire.”
Jo looked up, a question on her lips, but only nodded.
As Harry moved back toward Stan and Cedric, he heard Jo explaining quietly to Toby. “If we chop the leg, we’ll have to burn the wound.”
How long?
:: System: 25 minutes, 6 seconds.
Stan sat on the stairs with the flask in hand. Cedric knelt next to his leg, keeping the bandage pressed tight.
Harry wedged the stone-filled bag under Stan’s foot, just below the wound. He took someone else’s pack and propped it under Stan’s thigh. He met Cedric’s eye; Cedric gave a short nod. Ready.
“How are you doing, Stan?” Harry asked.
Stan raised the flask in a toast. “Smooth as a harlot’s backside,” and held it out to Harry.
“You drink that,” Harry said.
“Don’t like to drink alone,” Stan muttered. “Sir Cedric here says he don’t wanna ruin ‘is aim… which, come to think, I’m good with.”
Harry took the flask, tipped it toward his mouth without drinking, and passed it back.
Stan eyed him but shrugged and took another pull.
Harry reached for the bandage Cedric held. “I got it.”
Cedric nodded and stood, feet set wide, hand on his sword hilt.
Harry inspected the wound and bent close to sniff. The iron and copper smell of fresh blood hit him hard. This close he could feel Stan’s heartbeat. His fangs slid halfway out before he forced them back.
Oops. That was a bad idea.
He glanced up; Stan didn’t seem to notice.
Just one lick? No, bad Harry!
“Looks okay so far,” Harry said.
“What’s okay then?” Stan was starting to slur his words. “Issit good?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Okay means it’s alright.”
Stan nodded and took another drink.
System?
:: System: 29 minutes, 36 seconds.
“Now we wait,” Harry said.
***
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