As much as Caedyrn wished to get started on the dead giant, his attention was required elsewhere first. The young champion had to be dealt with immediately, the findwale helped soothe the pain, but his affliction was something altogether different in nature. No amount of medical experience and knowledge would be capable of dealing with the strange inky black substance roiling under the skin. There were even signs that it was spreading, its progress was slow, but it was still able moving across the body and infecting other points.

At the moment the former arena champion lay in a coma, his body combating the foreign threat, however the diagnosis was not good. It was unlikely that he would make it to the Capital, let alone Temrenos where he could undergo treatment, and even then, it would be treatment for something not understood. There was a way to help the boy, but the cost would be high, not only for the Scholar, but for the boy himself. For now, he had to be placed under watch while Maatilani retrieved the necessary items to deal with this situation, instead the Scholar turned his attention to that which he could deal with immediately.

“HOLD HIM DOWN! STRAP HIM DOWN NOW!” Mera’s childish voice was tinged with a hint of fear and anxiety. Timeaus lay on the wagon bed, he was being held down by at least three people, with his arms and legs being secured using leather straps to the metal rods in the floor.

Mera was hard at work pressing a heated iron rod into the bloody stump that was Timeaus’s left arm, what was left of it. Even with the many restraints he struggled against his bonds until finally he seemed to have exhausted himself, his body going still, the heavy breathing escaping his lips the sign he was still alive. The situation showed that Mera had come into her own, her experience with crafting poisonous gadgets had proven useful in battle, and now she illustrated her quick thinking in stabilizing her uncle’s condition.

“Teacher!” The little girl was just a bit flustered; she had been unaware of the Scholar’s presence nearby. In response the older man just ruffled her hair, receiving a vicious, yet slightly adorable glare in response. “Don’t worry about it, I never expect any form of respect out of you. I know you well enough you crazy monster… Now step aside, let a master show you how its done.” That last line appeared to spark the competitive spirit within the girl, also having the added effect of easing her mind from the traumatic reality around them. In this way she was able to focus on healing the wounded side by side with her teacher, wiping away the nervousness that could have resulted in a mishap.

It took some time to deal with the wounded, many of whom had to be treated wherever there was room as the medical wagon was not enough. However, with both Mera and the Scholar working together, alongside numerous aides, they were able to prevent many deaths. Yet during the course of this battle, they had suffered tremendously, even if the enemy suffered far more grievous wounds. Of the forty strong fighting force at their disposal around half were killed, the majority of which fell to the giant. The remainder were lost during the missile exchange and defense of the uphill path.

The Scholar left it to Malakos to organize the funeral pyre for the deceased and to begin preparing for their departure. It would take around a day or two at the most to get everything settled, at which point they would depart through the Naulos pass and arrive at the capital in around a week and a half. Then there was still the time schedule to keep with the ship to retrieve the convoy from Shadowmoon cove in around two weeks. They would be cutting it very close, which would leave very little time within the capital, perhaps a day or two, but not much more. However, now that all the other tasks that had to be taken care of were, the Scholar switched his attention to the space outside the camp.

Upon arriving at the location of the corpse the Scholar noticed that the size had decreased, namely the volume, strangely enough much of the blood, and fluid had disappeared, as if sucked dry. While the corpse itself had shriveled inwards, there was still some flesh and muscles, but it was rapidly mummifying. The Scholar placed his hand upon his chin, as if contemplating the reasons, yet he quickly roused himself and rushed towards the body.

The Scholar started with the chest cavity, using his scalpel to slice open the chest cavity, followed by bronze pins to hold the skin flaps in place while he dug his hands into what was left of the internal organs. A particular point of curiosity rested with the skeletal frame of the subject, witnesses described a giant, what could only be a fully grown adult male within the late twenty to early thirties range. Yet the bones spoke differently, the lack of wisdom teeth could be explained as having been lost in battle. However, the distinct lack of bone thickening and bone loss, they were pristine and unblemished by age, all of which pointed to a different reality, that this ‘man’ had yet to reach adulthood at all.

Muscles, Heart, Lungs, all the internal organs and major blood vessels had shriveled up and withered. It was as if someone had sucked away the moisture and baked the body in the sun. It was a mass of irregularities, filled with signs of disease and devastation. Everything was wrong, something that should not have existed, let alone been able to operate like a normal human. The Scholar understood there had to be something else, something that could if not explain provide a clue as to pinpoint the cause.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, tracing remains of the liquid flow the scholar traced his hands along the inner chest cavity. He followed the lines back to the spine, specifically the area at the base of the neck. Resting between the bones like a tumor was a finger sized crystal, small tendrils of purple emerged from its body, looking as if it had replaced the bone. Every so often it would hum, a dim flash of red would momentarily illuminate the darkness.

The Scholar’s eyes widened in surprise, realization dawned upon his face, followed close by equal parts concern and rage. Calming himself, the Scholar removed a bone chisel from his pack and immediately got to work removing the purple crystal from its home. Without the host the crystal had no power to resist, and it wasn’t long before it had been carefully secured, its light going dormant.

It was at this time, just as the Scholar was finishing his grisly task, caked in whatever fleshy human bits that Maatilani arrived to inform him of the completion of her task. The revulsion on her face was clear, although struggled to keep it from showing. “No need to hold yourself back Maati, I am fully aware of my appearance. Let’s go, I’ll wipe down along the way and change into a fresh pair of clothes. Can’t be meeting old friends looking like I crawled out of a sewer.” A light chuckle escaped Maatilani’s lips, the joke hitting the way it was meant to. However, Maatilani made sure to keep her distance, at least for the time being.