Rowan saw Owen's dazed look, his eyes staring blankly into the distance, so he added more dry wood to the fire to make it burn stronger and finish the medicine faster.
He thought to himself, if this high fever and comatose state continued, this big snake would be cooked. What if he burned up so much he became stupid? Then Rowan would have to raise a big idiot.
Cooking for a while longer, the bitter, pungent smell of medicine began to spread throughout the wind-tight cave. Rowan saw the medicinal liquid in the stone pot had concentrated, the water reduced by half and about to evaporate completely, so he hurriedly extinguished the fire.
He used a stone bowl to ladle out just enough for one bowl of shimmering dark brown medicine; just looking at the color made it seem bitter. He placed it aside on a stone slab to cool down.
