Page 34 of Bloody Business

Rooster

Rooster was laid outon a guest bed.He'd been found in a nearby alley and he was a horrible shade of yellow-green.A red rash covered his mouth and throat, and he had trouble breathing.

“I believe he's been poisoned,” the doctor said.He was a tall, skinny goblin with a dour face and improbably long ears.

Julep silently agreed with the doctor.She's seen this before.She didn't want to steal his thunder though, so she kept it to herself to see if he knew the cause.No one liked a know-it-all.

“Do you know what it is?”Artur asked.

“I'm not sure...although it's obviously not arsenic or any of the more common poisons.”

Good enough.The doctor had given his opinion.“It's bleeding mushroom,” Julep said briskly.The tension was making her crabby.She liked Rooster.He was funny and he brought her small presents like interesting rocks or sticks that he claimed were medicinal.It was a running joke.“It will eventually crack his lips and he'll start to bleed.He needs some blue fern juice.”

The doctor curled his lip, revealing big yellow teeth.“And you know this how?”

“Because people are stupid and occasionally eat the pretty mushrooms in my old neighborhood.Everyone around there knew about fern juice to counteract it.There's even a childhood rhyme about it.”

“If even children knew about it, how did they get poisoned so often?”the goblin doctor snipped.No doubt he was sore about being uneducated about the mushroom.

Julep gave him an annoyed look.“It was usually new arrivals or people passing through.It’s a common mushroom, white with red gills, and it smells delicious.Even when you know not to mess with unknown mushrooms, it's tempting.

“But you don't seem to recognize it, so I'm thinking maybe it doesn't grow here?”

“Never heard of it,” the doctor grumbled.

She nodded.“I don't suppose you know of anything similar to blue fern?Unless that grows around here?I'm not familiar with the local plants.”

The doctor flicked his nails absent-mindedly, thinking.“It's not a common remedy here...”

Julep clamped her mouth shut to keep from commenting on the nail clicking.It was a horrible sound and grated on her nerves.

Artur spoke up.“I'll send someone to look into it.Where will we find the fern if that fails, Julep?I assume you could find it in your old neighborhood?”

“I could,” she said slowly.“It's spring, so the ferns will be unfurling.The locals might even have a stash already made.The fern juice is used for several ailments.

“The main thing is that it's three days to my village by sheep cart.He's going to be in a lot of danger if he has to wait two days.”

“A battle ram could make it in one.If we load Rooster into a light carriage with a fast team, he'll be that much closer to receiving the remedy.”

“I never learned to ride a battle ram,” she said cautiously.The big sheep had curled horns and could carry a man in armor into battle.They could also batter down doors and required special fencing and stone stables.Her village hadn't even had one.

“Not a problem, you can ride with me.”Artur called the servant and issued orders, and then told her to dress warm and to pack only the essentials.

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