It felt like he had closed his eyes just for a second, but then his throbbing shoulder woke him up again. Noah struggled to get up and pulled out the flask with the medicine. Its unpleasant sweetness made him want to vomit. Just when was the pain going to stop? Should he ask the girl about this? She had helped Gregor…

There was a light knock on the door.

“Come in.” Noah’s voice sounded hoarse. He felt unusually cranky at the moment but tried to calm himself down.

The door opened and Lorelei stepped in, followed by the mountain-like figure of Duncan.

“I just wanted to tell you, my lord, that Sir Gregor is soundly asleep.” Her tone possessed cheerfulness that he hadn’t heard before.

“I am glad to hear that, my lady. You were of great help,” uttered Noah, his head spinning. Maybe he should ask her? She seemed knowledgeable enough.

Before he could do anything, Lorelei’s expression suddenly darkened. He could see her little nose sniffing the air a few times. She then came a bit closer to him and sniffed again.

“The same smell… No, it’s much stronger!” He could hear her muttering. “Why didn’t I… back then...?”

Suddenly she sprang up and ran out before either Noah or Duncan could stop her. The two men looked puzzled at each other. Fortunately, she immediately ran back, clutching a big old book in her hand. She came before Noah, her face pale.

“Your highness,” her stern tone shook him, “have you taken any other medicines lately, besides the drops I gave you?”

“Why should it matter?” Noah snapped and was immediately startled by his own rudeness. He tried to correct himself. “I have received a tincture for the pain in my shoulder.”

“You should throw it away immediately!” She almost screamed in his face, her panic evident.

“What? Why?” Noah was getting confused. His ears were ringing and his vision was starting to blur again.

“Does the tincture have a bitter-sweet taste? Does it make your pain go away for a while, but then it comes back even stronger? Do you have trouble sleeping? Do you wake up sweaty and nauseous? Do you feel dizzy and disorientated? Does your body feel weak even after rest?”

“Y-yes, but how do you know…?”

She pushed the book into his hands. On the opened page there was a picture of a flower with thin black petals. He furrowed his brow.

“What is this?”

“A black poppy.” Her voice was grim. “It grows in the east. It is a poisonous plant that could lead to addiction if consumed. Some even smoke it as a narcotic and it turns them into mindless animals. The people of Shreeba use it in very small doses as a painkiller. Just now I gave sir Gregor a small amount of diluted extract to numb him.”

“Smoking? Narcotic?” Now was Duncan’s turn to get pale. “Girl, you don’t mean the ‘cursed pearls’?” Obviously, he knew of it.

“I do,” she nodded. “In large doses, the black poppy extract could even be fatal. Especially if the person taking it is weakened. From what I could smell on the duke, the contents of his ‘medicine’ is an almost pure extract. My lord, please, believe me. Someone is trying to harm you!”

Noah’s thoughts were totally jumbled up. Black poppy? Poison? He clenched his teeth, trying to concentrate. So that’s how it was. He held his hand, interrupting Lorelei’s pleas, and stood up.

“Call the men on deck, Duncan. And bring the physician. You come with me, wife.”

After saying that he darted out.

The fresh salty air ruffled his hair and brought a bit of relief to his pounding head. Soon enough his men assembled and Duncan pushed forth the very frightened physician. Noah stared at him and chuckled evilly. He pulled the flask from his breast-pocket and held it in front of the man’s face.

“Do you know what this is, physician?” His words were like ice daggers.

“Of course, my lord. This is the tonic I gave you for your pain.” Seeing that no reaction came from Noah, he became bolder. “Is there a problem, my lord? If it does not work, I could mix it stronger…”

“What is inside?”

“W-well, it contains several rare herbs and spices that…”

“And does black poppy happen to be amongst these herbs?”

A murmur rose from the crowd. Some people looked confused but others had a dawn of realization, their faces turning grim.

“I don’t know how your highness came to that conclusion…”

“Yes or no.”

“It might contain some trace amounts of…”

“My lady, what do you think? Are there any traces of black poppy in this tincture?” Noah looked at Lorelei who stood beside him.

She bit her lips and shook her head.

“That tincture does not contain trace amounts. It contains at least ten times the normal dose.”

“Ten times.” The young man clicked his tongue, accompanied by the surprised exclamations of the soldiers. “Tell me physician, what would such amount do to a person?”

“T-that…” The man stuttered, his eyes darting around in desperation. “My lord, you are mistaken! Even if there is some black poppy inside, it is the perfect amount to relieve your lordship’s pain! It is a healthy tincture. No harm could…”

“Enough!” Noah raised his voice making the man take a step back. “It seems that your knowledge is a bit lacking, physician. Let’s hear the truth.” He turned to Lorelei and his strained face softened slightly. “My lady, would you care to enlighten us instead?”

“I…” Lorelei hesitated for a second but Noah gave her an encouraging nod. “In such quantities, black poppy would lead to severe addiction at best. If taken long enough your highness would become completely dependent and unable to function without regular intake. However, if the physical condition of the person taking it is weakened for some reason, such high amounts are very likely to be lethal.”

Shouts of shock erupted from the crowd. Instantly, the air was filled with immense bloodlust. Noah laughed but it was a listless, hollow sound that caused anyone who heard it to feel as if ants were crawling over their bodies.

“So amusing, don’t you think? It turns out that your ‘healthy tincture’ would either turn me into a mindless vegetable or kill me.” There was murder in Noah’s words.

“This is impossible, my lord! A lie!” The physician fiddled with the hem of his shirt and looked around in panic. Seeing Lorelei half hiding behind Noah’s broad back, he pointed a finger at her. “Your highness, she is trying to slander an honest man. What could someone like her even know? Playing a physician. Toying with peoples’ lives. I call for justice, my lord! All I did is try to relieve your pain! She is just a jealous little slut that tries to sow discord! There is no way she could discern what amount…”

“For an honest man seeking justice you are digging your own grave by insulting my wife, physician.” Right now, the evil grin on Noah’s face was getting wider and for a moment, with his black mask and dark smile, he really looked like a beast. “A while ago I personally witnessed what my wife can and can’t do. I must say, her performance was very convincing, much more than yours at the very least. Besides, for an honest man you are sweating quite a lot, master physician. Now, stop the charade and tell me, who paid you to poison me?”

“Mercy, my lord!” The physician fell on his knees. “It must be a mistake. Believe me! Why would I ever even dream of harming you?!”

Noah bent down, grabbing the man’s shirt. He forced him to look straight into his eyes. Then he very slowly asked:

“Are you paid by the second prince, physician?”

The man in his hands flinched and his face lost all its color. This sealed his fate. With one sudden move Noah hurled him over the rails. There was a short cry, a splash, and then silence. The ship sailed undisturbed further.

Duncan approached his lord and his face was grim.

“If he was one of Lionel’s men, won’t that be a problem? Killing him without a trial…”

“I am the trial, Duncan,” said Noah softly, looking at the clear blue sky, stretching out to the horizon. “Besides, you know that during a sea-storm some unfortunate accidents are bound to happen.”

He patted the old knight’s shoulder with a deep sigh.

“I am really sorry, dear friend. I was… careless. It seems I’ll have to leave this whole mess in your hands for a while. Forgive me.”

“Say what?” Duncan blinked confused.

But Noah didn’t hear him. He was short of breath and his ears rang like church bells. The world spun violently and suddenly turned black. Before anyone could react, his lifeless body crashed on the deck.