In the Second Age, there were no mortal leaders who could summon magic. Only at the time of the greatest discontent, did there appear a woman.
From the innocence of youth to the mightiest of all people, she rose, through her own intellect and the fortunes of portentous chance, to become a savior of Aerolan, and of Narhtrae
She became a great leader and sorceress who would protect man from his own self-destruction and from the vagaries of the gods.
She had no need, when she first came to know what she possessed, to use these powers and hesitated more than once to bring forth even the least of what she could, for fear of becoming a destroyer herself.
Her moral code stood foremost in her mind. She, having been raised simply and honestly in a quiet village, did not consider a search for, or possession of, power something to seek after, simply because of her belief. Even had she known of the possibilities she would not have sought these things.
So it was, with ignorant simplicity, she came upon these possibilities and though she sought truth, she wouldn't have known had her friends, and the people, not needed her.
The story then is about the young Anisah and the great climactic moment when she discovered who she was and what she was to be . . .
"Geth'n, I'm tired. Can't we stop for the night?" Anisah said wearily; her companion was walking resolutely ahead of her into the dusky evening. She couldn’t believe how taciturn Geth'n had become in the last few days of their travels in search for Pet'r.
She was anxious about Pet'r too; no, more than anxious, concerned for him, but she was having great difficulty keeping pace with Geth'n now. She wasn't certain what was happening to him nor herself, but something seemed different, she could feel it.
Something that went beyond the closeness she felt for Geth'n and for Pet'r who was far away, but somehow near; but this intense emotional sense from Geth'n was surprising even her.
Geth'n slowed, turned to look back at her, and frowned a bit.
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry I’ve been ignoring you today, but something isn't right somehow and I don't quite understand what I'm feeling."
He looked at her with a sadness in his eyes, then turned and looked to the north as though searching in the dark for what disturbed him.
She walked to his side, reached and held his arm in hers.
"Come, you need to rest. It should help you think more clearly," she gently pulled him toward the forest's edge; he resisted for only a moment.
As he turned from his searching gaze, back at her again, he smiled and said, "Once again, Anisah, you know what is needed. I might not agree with you but I don't doubt what you are saying is true.
We've been traveling quickly, I admit, but I'm greatly concerned about Pet'r. My biggest problem is I don't know why, nor how, I am feeling this."
They sat down in the shade of some large trees, on a small knoll overlooking the road. They didn't speak for several minutes; each lost in thought.
Anisah was looking about at the scene before her. The land here was beautiful as though untouched by gods and men for long ages. There was a small prairie stretching toward the mountains in the west; long rolling flower-dotted plains undulated toward those great hills as far as you could see both to the south and the north.
To the north though she noticed some perceptible change in the land, there seemed only stunted, grotesque images of plants, flowers were stunted and colorless for as far as she could see in that direction.
What she saw did not coincide with the rest of the land. She was wondering why when Geth'n interrupted her thoughts.
"What could have happened to Pet'r? This isn't like him at all. I have this terrible feeling something is wrong, and I can't seem to think clearly about what we should do," Geth'n was talking aloud, more to himself than to her.
She was feeling the same anxiety since they left Tariny and she too was beginning to think the worst. The opportunity to relax a bit she hoped would drive away some of the fear and some of the more fierce images that had come to her about Pet'r. She missed him, more now she thought he might be in danger; that impression alone gave her a strange sense of loneliness she couldn't account for.
Geth'n stood up as if to go, then sat down again, slumping to the ground as though exhausted.
"I don't know what to do. I believe we must continue on this road to Voravia's. I also sense there is a great danger for us to do so, but an equally strong imperative exists to arrive at her castle and find access to it as quickly as possible.
I now believe Pet'r has been captured and has been imprisoned there," Geth'n said, almost in entreaty, turning to look northward again, a wistful look of sadness on his face.
"Then I think we must go now," she answered, offering her own consent to the prospect of facing this danger.
Over the few weeks she had known Geth'n, she had learned to trust him implicitly. She felt there was a power within him not even he knew about; she sensed this as part of her desire to help him think these things through, a reaching out that seemed to come naturally to her.
Anisah had noticed, during the last days of their stay in Tariny, that she could feel what others were feeling both in their bodies, and more strangely, in their thoughts.
She was now beginning to realize she could touch the joys and, unfortunately, the pain of these others just by being near them. She wasn't certain why, but she knew this change was one she had expected since she left Caliste and she felt it enlarging her own soul as each day passed.
"Do you think there is something wrong here in this place?" Geth'n asked suddenly, not loudly but quietly and with searching eyes.
Anisah broke from her reverie and turned to him, looking in the direction he was.
Before she could answer, a horse whinnied loudly just over the rise behind them. Anisah stood quickly, turning in the direction from which the animal called out.
Then the pain overwhelmed her, sweeping over her in great waves, almost suffocating her as it passed through her thoughts. She turned and ran up the slope. Geth'n running by her side was shouting something she couldn't hear because of her sense of urgency.
She just ran.
Then Geth'n ran past her and reached the top of the embankment first; he searched the woods for some sign of the horse they had heard.
Anisah rushed by him quickly and was following her innate senses leading her toward the source of the pain.
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and gently pulled to her knees on the ground sloping into the trees just beyond where they now sat.
"Anisah," Geth'n was breathing hard and speaking in a hoarse whisper from near her left ear, "stay down. This might be a trap. Think. Have some common sense, this could be an ambush."
"Oh, the gods!" Anisah almost squeaked the pain was so intense. She held her hands over her ears to try to stop the screaming inside then she crumpled, sagging on her knees in the grass. Geth'n looked around again from his kneeling position and listened intently.
Both jumped when they heard the horse's snort come through the nearby trees. Anisah felt Geth'n pulling her down into a prone position. She sank softly into the tall grass without complaint, waiting.
She lay there quietly feeling the warmth of the earth beneath her and the smell of the grasses brushing against her face, but still feeling she felt the nausea and pain sweeping by her.
Someone needs my help. Someone is injured nearby.
"You have to be more careful, Anisah, this is dangerous country; you must remember to take fewer chances," Geth'n was hissing at her from behind, "but now, we need to get off this open ground. Run to those trees there."
Anisah looked to where Geth'n was pointing and shook her head.
"No. We have to go into the trees in front of us. Someone there is badly hurt. We have to help," she answered, jumped up and began running toward the trees she had chosen.
She didn't know whether Geth'n was following or not, but her own urgency pushed her toward her goal.
/> She burst into the shade of the trees, dodging through trees and bushes that tore at her clothing. As quickly as she could push through each obstruction, she ran on and finally out into a clearing on the other side.
An open stretch of land lay to the left and right where an old road passed through this part of the forest. Anisah stopped.
Geth'n ran into her, pushing her even further into the sun drenched path. Small dust clouds, caused by their scurrying feet, settled slowly around them.
"Well, I guess we aren't going to be ambushed," Geth'n spoke brusquely. Anisah looked around at him and frowned.
To their right, they saw several horses standing and grazing, their reins dropped to the ground. There were no riders to be seen.
"Maybe they've gone into the woods and don't want to be disturbed," Geth'n whispered in her ear, "maybe we should just leave."
"No, something is wrong. I know it. I can feel it, Geth'n," she spoke calmly, but forcefully. "We need to determine what has happened."
She began to walk toward the horses when she came upon the body of one of the soldiers; then she saw another.
"What has happened here? How terrible this is," Anisah gasped and began to run from one body to another wanting to help them, but she was too late.
"There seems to have been a battle between good and evil here," Geth'n offered. He stood leaning on a staff he now carried with him at all times. "I fear evil has won the day. But for what purpose?"
One of the fallen, lying down the embankment, moaned loudly. They both turned toward the sound, identified which body made the sound and rushed to his side.
"Lord, Lord . . ," he coughed blood from his shattered lungs, "Rab'k." He gasped with a gruesome gurgling sound and his head fell backward in death.
"Who is he talking about?" Anisah asked Geth'n, lowering the poor man to the ground and closing his eyes.
"Lord Rab'k. Pet'r and I met him once long ago on the road to Varspree. He did us no harm, but he exhibited no mercy toward a band of thieves who had attempted to kill us. He was a huge man and bold in his strength," Geth'n answered, "Could he be the one that did this?"
They both look around but saw no movement and sensed no danger here.
"What madness is this? We aren't at war. Why have these men been slaughtered? I sense this has much to do with the Ahar'n and is a warning to us of what is to become of the world if we can not find a way to save it," Geth'n spoke, as he looked at the bodies lying all about, "But I fear there are no answers here."
At that moment, they heard another muffled moan from beyond the underbrush on the far side of the road.
"There's someone still alive," Anisah gasped harshly, almost choking with anxiety.
Geth'n ran across the road, pushing ahead of Anisah, flailing at the undergrowth with his staff to clear the way better. She followed still scratched and pulled by the underbrush. They scrambled down the embankment looking for the source of moaning.
Anisah stopped.
"Oh," she drew in her breath.
Lying on the ground, grotesquely twisted by his fall and with no strength to straighten himself, was another soldier.
Someone had sliced his back open with a sword. His right side hung open; his blood dried and crusted in the wound though still oozing from the deep cuts.
She couldn't tell whether he still breathed or not. She knelt beside the dying man not knowing what to do.
"Geth'n, do you have the water with you?" Anisah looked up into the sun, squinted against the sudden light, but saw Geth'n handing her the water.
She began to wash the man's face; he moaned, opened his eyes and looked at her, smiled and fell unconscious again.
"Please get my bag for me," Anisah was pointing to her carryall bag she had dropped when they had fallen before. "I need my potions."
Geth'n turned, found the bag, walked to it and brought it back to Anisah who was holding the soldier's head in her lap. The man was mumbling, but Geth'n couldn't hear what he was saying.
"His name is Jond'r. He's actually mentioned the name Rab'k several times but no more. He's in terrible shape, Geth'n. I'm not at all certain he's going to live. I gave him a potion to help, I believe, but I won't know for a while.
He probably won't regain consciousness tonight, or maybe, never," Anisah talked quietly, watching the man's face contort from the pain and the dreams he was obviously having. Tears were streaming down her face when she looked up at Geth'n.
"Did he tell you anything else besides his name?" Geth'n asked, curious about this man and how he survived. Looking at the man from above, he couldn't see the wounds across the man's back, but he could tell from the victim's pallor he had lost great deal of blood. The ground where the man was lying was dark and the flies were already buzzing at the feast. This man was a strong man to have survived.
The attack had come from behind and must surely have slashed opened his back and maybe there were cuts across his neck and face; it was hard to tell.
"Not really. He just mumbles a few words now and then," Anisah answered. "We need to find him a place for shelter, if we can move him.”
She cleaned the man's face. Then pulled him tightly to her and looked over as far as she could see, though afraid of what she might find.
She discovered there was a great cut across the right side of the man's head and that his ear was sliced but not cut off. Raising his head a bit more, she peered over the left shoulder and saw the deep gash cut upward across his back. She couldn't see any further down but she knew this man was near death and would not survive if they didn't get him to shelter as soon as possible.
"Geth'n, I can't help him here. We have to take him to a town, or someplace, to care for his wounds." Anisah almost implored Geth'n to do something, sitting there with her smock stained with this man's blood and more dribbling through her fingers and around her arms the longer she sat. "I can do nothing just sitting here holding him."
"Do we have time, Anisah? If he's going to die anyway, can we afford to take the time in trying?" Geth'n asked.
He wasn't trying to be cruel, but just practical. From what he could tell this man had no chance to live. The wounds had to be terribly deep and few ever survived that. "There are probably other men looking for these soldiers. I'm worried we're going to get too involved if we stay here much longer."
"We are involved, Geth'n. I, and I believe we, cannot leave this man to perish. I know I cannot. Maybe, if I do my job well, he will have gained consciousness by tomorrow. I will feel better and maybe we can learn something about what happened. But I just can't desert him -- he's alive," Anisah pleaded.
"I understand, but he's really in no condition to go anywhere. There's only you and me to try and move him, and I don't think we can do it." Geth'n added.
Anisah could tell Geth'n was having a hard time being so practical and stoical about all this, and she knew he was worried about Pet'r. She couldn't, however, bring herself to agree to just leave this man -- it was beyond imagining.
"We have to try. Please, Geth'n, we have to try," she answered.
"All right. Then let's see if we can get him to the next town. I admit I cannot, with good conscience, leave him to die out here. I believe you probably have the magic necessary to save his life, despite giving him some of that vile stuff you carry around. Let's try to do what we can. Our mission will just be delayed a day," Geth'n suggested, knowing Anisah was not going to leave the man and inwardly agreeing with her.
Anisah grinned at him.
"Thank you," she spoke softly.
"Now we need to turn him so I can look at his back. We probably need to get something to lie on the ground before we roll him. Could you get that blanket from the back of his horse and put it here?" she added, pointing to the area just in front of her.
Geth'n walked over and retrieved the blanket and spread it as she had asked. Geth'n held him while she slipped from under the man's head and moved the blanket into the spot where she was sitting.
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He then positioned himself to hold the man steady as Anisah raised her arms and began to roll the man onto his stomach and straighten him so she could inspect the wound entirely.
Jond'r grunted with the pain of movement. But Geth'n was able to lower the man's left side and straightened the rest of his body.
Anisah gasped when she saw the gaping wound. It ran the length of Jond'r's back from his lower left side, across his back, and gashed deeply into his right shoulder. Blood oozed from the wound along its length.
"Oh, Geth'n. How are we going to move this poor man without killing him?" Anisah was crying but trying to maintain her composure.
She began to use the edge of her dress and the little water they had to wash the blood away so she could see the area more clearly. Each portion of the wound revealed a greater horror for her. She had never seen such as this and she was dizzied by it.
The man was no boy. He appeared, from several of the scars on his shoulders, to have been involved in fights before, a veteran perhaps of many battles. She stopped her cleaning for a moment; looked upward toward the sky with her eyes closed tightly, trying not to cry anymore. She didn't have the luxury.
"Can I help?" Geth'n asked, reaching and holding her shoulders gently. His touch help. Geth'n was a special person and helped her reassert her confidence.
"We do need more water. Maybe one of the other horses has a water bag strapped to it. Would you look?" Anisah asked, "or if there isn't any, shouldn't there be a stream in this thicket here?" she nodded toward the woods with her head, not really raising it because she was concentrating on getting as much of the wound cleaned as possible.
She didn't notice when Geth'n trotted back toward the horses nor when he got back until he said something to her.
"Anisah?" he asked. She looked up at him; actually shocked he was there. "I found two more bags of water, but I'm going to need to go look for more. Will you be all right?"
"Yes. Thank you," she added as he sat the water bags next to her, took their empty one, and left. She only knew he was gone because his shadow no longer blocked the hot sun that bore down on her and her patient.
Her patient. A first and new beginning. I am going to save this man's life.
She used most of the water to clean the wound and was soon satisfied she was as thorough as she could be without causing the bleeding to start again. But she jumped nervously when Geth'n's shadow fell over her again.
"I did find some water down there. We have this one full now and I'll take these others and get more. I scouted around a bit. I don't think anyone will be coming by soon. It's nearly dark, and I doubt many travel this road anymore." Geth'n said. He gathered the two bags, turned down the hill and disappeared into the trees again.
Anisah stood, reached beneath her dress and took her underskirt off. She spread it out on the ground and began to tear long strips from the cloth.
She then bandaged Jond'r's head trying to conserve the material she had for the larger wounds. Then she had to wait for Geth'n.
When he returned, he laid the bags to the side and walked to her. "You'll need to replace that somewhere,” he said as he came to her side, pointing at the pile of cloth. “What do you want me to do now?"
Anisah ignored his statement about her clothing.
"You need to raise his body at the shoulders so I can run these under and around," she answered, motioning with one of the strips in her left hand.
Geth'n slid his hand beneath the man's chest then gently raised him, trying to not bend or move the wounded area.
Anisah shoved her left hand, holding the lead edge of the wrapping, under as far as she could and, reaching across, grabbed the other end with her right. She brought the strip across and tugging on it, tried to close the wound some, and tied a knot with the longer piece.
She repeated this procedure, wrapping the strip around and around the body, each time pulling it as snug as she thought safe.
During the process, she applied herbs and ointments from her bag directly into the wound so it closed with the materials trapped inside. She had to tie several strips together as she continued, but when she had finished, Jond'r's torso was swathed in bandages that seemed to have help close the wound without causing any more bleeding.
Anisah was still on her knees beside her patient, watching him and wondering how well she did. Suddenly she felt exhausted and slumped back, sitting heavily onto the ground.
Geth'n was shaking from the strain of holding the man off the ground. He lowered Jond'r slowly, laid him evenly on the blanket and pulled another over the top to keep him warm.
"I have done what I can. I still believe we need to take him to better shelter," Anisah finally spoke though still numbed by what she had done.
"Well, not today. The shadows are too long; night will be on us within the hour. We have to stay here until tomorrow," Geth'n said.
"You did well, Anisah. If he doesn't make it, it will not be because of your effort. You do have a healing touch, maybe one of these days you can actually go back to Tariny and attend that College."
She smiled. "Thank you, Geth'n. I believe I will. But we shall see," she sighed.
"We can't build a fire; there is too much danger of it drawing attention. The other horses had blankets and will be our only shelter for tonight," he informed her.
She took one of the blankets, wrapped up in it and lay down near her patient. Geth'n lay opposite her, rolled softly up next to her and they both were soon asleep.
The last thing Anisah remembered, as the stars peeped through the great treetops above, was the feeling of having done what she had always known she should be doing and knowing she had done well.
Jond'r woke her several times during the night moaning, but soon quieted each time. She made certain his blanket covered him, thankful the weather was good. And it was warm.
Then she would fall asleep again, dreaming about the girl in the meadow with the whirling globe. Each time she awoke, she marveled at how vivid the images seemed to be now and wondered why.
Once, Geth'n woke her, thrashing about. She moved back from him as best she could because he was flailing wildly. His blanket had wrapped around him and he was trying to break free, but his kicking only wrapped the blankets around him even tighter.
Finally Anisah was able to run to him without being kicked, "Geth'n, wake up. You're dreaming. You’re caught in your blanket."
He stopped wrestling with the blanket, looked around in a stupor, caught a glimpse of her in the moonlight, and grinned so broadly she couldn't help laughing.
"Are you going to keep me up all night?" she asked. "Here, let me help you get unraveled. Neither of us is going to get any sleep if you continue this.”
“ Now lay back down and sleep; I'm going to check on Jond'r again and then I'll lay here with you," she told him as she helped him disentangle himself
"I feel I haven't slept at all," he said, his speech not quite clear, "maybe we can get an early start." He lay back down, moved a few times to adjust to the ground, and instantly fell asleep again.
Anisah smiled, shook her head in amusement, walked over to Jond'r and gently inspected his bandages. She made certain he was covered, wrapped her own blanket around herself, lay down between the two men and quickly fell asleep herself.
She dreamed again the dream of old.
She saw herself sitting among the children, letting them play with the Ahar'n that touched each. As it touched them, there was healing, and the children danced and played.
Suddenly a dark force entered her dream. The children began to scream and run away. She looked everywhere for the source but couldn't find it; then the pain shot through her body and her soul.
She couldn't breathe; she struggled to find the Ahar'n but it was lost in the evil that was overwhelming her.
Anisah woke and bolted upright, looking from side to side in her dismay. She was wringing wet from the fear of her dream; she was frightened, reached an
d jostled Geth'n awake.
Geth'n woke quickly, jumped immediately to their defense holding his staff at ready, looked around the area and saw nothing. He turned to look at Anisah and saw the fear in her eyes even in the darkness.
"It's all right, Anisah. There's nothing,” Geth’n said. He saw no reason to chastise his companion for her actions. He too was experiencing certain urgency in his own dreams. Dreams similar to the one he remembered from the days before he left Peetle.
The two sat for the rest of the night, warm air moving the forest about them as they talked, each telling the other of their dreams.
Jond'r occasionally moaned. Anisah would check on him, wash his face with water and return to talk to Geth'n.
They had no more rest that night, and the dawn met them with the first light creeping slowly over the forest and into their small nook.
"We have to move him today and take him to safety," Geth’n advised, pointing at Jond'r.
"Are you certain? I'm afraid he can't ride safely," Anisah said.
Geth'n could see her sense of concern for her patient, her brow wrinkling as she looked at him.
"You're right. We have to discover some other way to transport him to move him to safety. I sense there is great danger in this forest; there is something, or someone, here that unsettles me, and maybe you too. What about our dreams last night?" Geth'n responded, a worried look on his face as he once again nervously surveyed the area around them.
"I don't know how to answer your question. I know my dream was altered from all the other times it came to me. In this one there was death and destruction, something horrible was happening and I couldn't stop it by myself," Anisah answered.
She looked at Geth'n, sadness filling her face, and she knew somehow he sensed her fear. He looked away, scanning the area again. He too was beginning to feel, and his dream was confirming that feeling, he and Anisah were on a journey that was intended to not only save their friend, Pet'r, but to save something of even greater value. The consequence of loss for the latter could mean the doom of mankind.
He shook these images from his thoughts, looked around again, turned to Anisah, reached out and drawing her close, hugged her gently.
"We have come this far; we can but know now we have been chosen somehow to follow the paths we take. Only a fortnight ago, we were young and innocent, off on each our own journeys. Now we've strayed far from those original intents and don't understand fully why this is happening to us. Why did Pet'r go on his journey? Was it really curiosity, or was there another purpose? I don't know. Yet . . ," Geth’n spoke gently to her.
Anisah stood, and knowing their destinies now were intertwined, hugged and held tightly to her friend. She also knew what he was saying was true; she knew that absolutely.
"I think we should have a bite to eat before we go anywhere. We should discuss the wisest way to help our new companion," Geth'n added, "he certainly needs that and we should do what we can."
Anisah released her hug, without a word, turned to her bag of supplies and began to pull out some of the food. The bag was almost empty, but plentiful enough for what she thought they needed for the next few days.
After she spread the food out, Geth'n came and sat with her while they talked about their dilemma.
"We really must go on and find out what has happened to Pet'r. I believe something serious has happened to him, or he would have arrived in Tariny days ago,” Geth’n started.
"I believe that too and my heart aches because he might be in danger, but we also have committed ourselves to helping this man now,” Anisah added, pointing toward Jond'r lying peacefully in the shadows of the trees.
Jond'r's wounds seemed better though Anisah's inspection earlier had shown they were still very inflamed. The bleeding had stopped. And she felt the healing was going well.
"Maybe we should take him back to the town we came through yesterday. I've tried to recall whether I felt any apprehension about being there and I can't remember I did," Geth’n said.
"We weren't there long, but a number of those on the road nodded a friendly greeting to us. The only strange thing about the town was that, after we left, there were no more people traveling the road. Could there be some hidden boundary there?"
"Voravia?" Anisah added, knowing immediately her question answered the question, "but what about Pet'r, how can we not continue our search? We will lose another day if we go back."
"Yes, that ultimately is our biggest problem. We now have two who need our help," Geth'n said, looking at her.
As she started to comment, he interrupted.
"And no, I don't think we should go our separate ways. You are stronger now than ever before but as yet no match for any group who might attack you on the road, so I think you should not continue alone to find Pet'r. You are the one who needs to be with Jond'r, not me," Geth'n injected those thoughts quickly.
"So you think I should take Jond'r back to the village. And what then? Am I to follow where I think you are going, or do I have to find you and Pet'r alone?" Anisah asked.
"Nothing is easy for us now, we have come to that point where we have to make a good decision."
"As much as I hate to say this, I believe both of us have to return Jond'r to the village," Geth’n said, after sitting for a while thinking through their dilemma.
"Let's assume Pet'r is not as yet in great danger. I have not felt anything from him that would indicate he feels he is, and I know he would want us to help this man," Anisah agreed. She ached to know the real answers about Pet'r, but she also felt she knew him well enough to make that statement about him.
"Oh, Geth'n. I miss Pet'r and am so afraid for him, but I too have not sensed he has come to any harm. This man, this stranger, is here, helpless, and we know he needs our help. As much as I am worried about Pet'r, I think you're right."
"Let's not waste any more time then. I believe we can transport Jond'r to safety without too much pain or harm to his wounds. There must be some way for us to arrange for his care until we return," Geth'n added, rising from his seat, "let's get ready as quickly as we can." He walked away toward the horses.
"I'll see to Jond'r and prepare him for the trip as best I can," Anisah added, as she began to gather her medicines and herbs into her bag.
She walked to Jond'r. She took more of the bands of cloth from the skirting material, wrapped them around his body, pulling tightly but not pressing too strongly.
She then wrapped his arms to his side for the extra support that afforded. She knew the move was going to be terribly hard on Jond'r and was making every effort to reduce any harm done.
She looked up and saw Geth'n walking back. She reached under Jond'r's head to wrap more bindings around his head where the wounds had crossed and cut through.
Geth'n bent down to help her.
"What ya doing there?" Someone shouted from behind them. Anisah almost dropped the soldier's head. Geth'n stood and spun around, his staff raised.
An old man with a great shock of hair and one eye that squinted through the afternoon haze at them, stood, bow drawn, the arrow pointed straight at Geth'n's heart.
"Are ya gonna rob that poor soldier? Is that what your about?" his voice crackled with age, but Geth'n could tell there was strength in the man and didn't move.
Anisah was the first to answer, still kneeling, holding the soldier closely. "No, we are trying to help him. Are you here to rob us?" She returned defiantly.
"No, I don't think so, Missy. I live just through those trees there, not far. I noticed the birds circling," he squinted and looked above the trees where several of the birds were flocking to feed. "So I came over to see what was about."
The old man lowered his bow slowly still watching Geth'n closely as he did.
"Missy, you two came bustin' through those bushes so quickly last night I thought you must be bandits robbing the bodies of these poor souls. And I wasn't gonna let that happen to this one, especially since I think he's still breathin'
."
"He is. But we have to do something and soon," Anisah responded before the old man had finished, "we've talked long enough. Can you help us?"
Geth'n lowered his hand on his staff, the old man tensed a bit, but Geth'n moved the staff from one hand to the other and reached down to touch Anisah on the shoulder to let her know where he was.
"We must get him to more shelter. Will you help, sir?" Anisah pleaded.
The old man smiled a crooked smile and answered her softly, "I surely can, Missy. I was gonna do what I could myself, but you two scared me off before I could start. I was gonna take this one to my cabin. I'm afraid the others above," he motioned with his bow hand, waving it about now, relaxed, "are either dead or they're gonna be soon.”
“So this one is the only one we can try to save. Have ya got the healing powers, Missy?" he cocked his head a little to one side; still squinting, his face twisted in a grimace from the effort.
"Yes, I do. We know those above indeed have died, so let's save this one, if we're able," she answered.
Geth'n turned to look into her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I can help but we must get him to safety and more water so I can clean his wounds better," she added.
"We'll need the horses," Geth'n offered, silent until that moment. His attention was locked on the old man, trying to decide what he had to do to get them out of danger.
Now he felt the danger had passed, he began to relax.
"I'll get a couple from above" he added, nodded to the old man, turned and pushed his way back through the undergrowth, following the path he had plowed with his staff, and disappeared into the woods beyond.
"And who are you, sir?" Anisah asked, trying to turn the soldier so he could lay straight on the ground. She shaded his pale face from the sun and, using one of the rags, applied some water to his face. He moaned slightly from the gentle shock of the cooler water but remained unconscious.
"Borny'a, Missy. Name's Borny'a. And yours might be?" he asked now standing over them, providing shade so Anisah could attend to the cleaning without worrying about the sun.
"Anisah. And my companion is Geth'n. We've come here to find a friend and only chanced on this terrible thing,” she answered while ministering gently. Geth'n arrived at that moment with the horses.
"We need to lift him onto the horse, but gently," Geth’n suggested, "but I think the movement will do more harm than good."
"I believe I got an answer," Borny'a suggested. He turned and walked toward the underbrush, "come on, boy. Let's cut some of these saplings and make a carriage."
Geth'n ran to help the old man who had picked up the soldier's sword as he walked toward the brush.
"This seems to be a good blade. Let's see." Borny'a took a swing and severed three or four saplings with ease.
"You take those and strip the branches. I'll bring a few more,” he told Geth'n, raised the sword and sliced through the defenseless growth.
Geth'n did as instructed and was waiting for the old man to arrive with the more saplings. "Glad to meet you young people today, this was goin' to be real hard for an old man like me. But come on, let's make a traveling bed for our wounded boy."
He began to shape the saplings and intertwine them into a narrow lattice form leaving the outer poles longer than the others. He pulled out a twist of leather hanging from his belt, tied the cross sections of the travois tightly. Finally he stood and admired his handiwork.
"Let's go get our fellow and take him to my cabin now. You grab the other end,” Borny'a added, picking up one end, waited for Geth'n to follow. They strode over to the wounded man's side and placed the carriage beside him.
"Now, Missy. We should put this fellow on this as gentle as possible. Geth'n, you take the blanket off that horse, “ he said, nodding his head in the direction of the horses,” and spread it over this bed we've made."
Geth'n walked over to one the horses, removed the saddle and blanket, walked back and spread the blanket over the travois.
"So we've come to the hardest part, at least for this young fellow. We gotta move him." Borny'a added, "and, Missy, whilst Geth'n here and me hold this in the air you should lead that other horse up behind Geth'n there and run a tie down from pole to pole and tie it over the horse real tight."
Anisah lowered the man's head gently from her lap. She started to stand but her legs had stiffened from her cramped position, but she rose, with difficulty, and went to the horse.
Geth'n and Borny'a held the wounded man by his shoulders and by his knees, nodded to time their lift, raised the man from the ground and placed him as gently as they could on the carriage bed.
The man groaned loudly with the effort and his eyes opened briefly, staring into the sunlight, but he fell into unconsciousness again. Geth'n and Borny'a raised the travois onto their shoulders.
Anisah walked to one of the horses, led it between the poles and stopped just behind Borny'a. She took a length of rope that was tied to the saddle, laced it around one of the poles then threw the other end over the saddle, and walked around the horse.
Pulling on the rope from the other side she raised the opposite bar to the height she thought right, looped the line around the saddle horn several times, then around the pole several more and tied it tightly.
Borny'a stepped out from under his end of the travois, retrieved another of the horses, walked it to the front of the travois. With Borny'a and Geth'n holding each pole, Anisah coaxed the animal to back between the poles and tied that end off.
Geth'n stepped out from under the rig, stood back, and admired the handiwork of the other two.
"Well done,” he said, "let's not tarry. We need to get him to a place where he can rest and heal."
Anisah busied herself collecting the injured man's belongings after the last lashing of the carriage, retrieved the water they had remaining, and trussed all into a great pack and heaved it over another horse and tied it in place.
All this reminded her of what seemed a long ago time when she had escaped Old Sumt’r, and she smiled thinking how strange that episode in her life was, and how much stranger it all was now.
They left the place of death behind. They decided burying the other men served no purpose and such an act might reveal their presence.
The danger they sensed was enough to justify not performing an act they felt in their hearts they should. But they left, pushing those thoughts from their minds.
SOLACE