Chapter 11: A Damsel Is Rescued

Damsel Trudi’s rescue was surprisingly straightforward. Pēteris and his Companions circled the expected village so as to approach from the same direction as Demon Devin and his gang. As anticipated, but not guaranteed, the three warriors arrived well before Devin and his captive and took up residence in the small inn.

Upstairs, the inn had two small rooms, each with two beds, a stool, and a washstand. Its custom was to rent bed or space, but not a whole room. The food was actually much better than typical, as was the wine and ale. Pēteris was able to offer a sufficient bonus and a guaranteed minimum stay to procure the sole use of the smaller of the two rooms.

With an uncertain time to wait, Robyn resumed her persona as a traveling healer, with Pēteris her apprentice and Miriam her guard and companion. She quickly endeared herself with the innkeeper by ridding the inn of bedbugs and other insect pests, and by increasing his trade when the village and surrounding farms knew of a healer’s presence.

Their early morning sparring, practice, and exercise in the inn’s courtyard, quickly became an expected norm, and the serving wench knew to have hot water for after-breakfast baths. Though there was an undercurrent of anticipated violence, after several days, the trio relaxed and enjoyed their first real and unhurried respite since their return to Chaos. Pēteris and Robyn had the additional bonus of helping the sick and injured rather than dealing out death and destruction.

During a typical morning, they would treat a broken bone or two, a bruised or crushed foot, several cuts, fevers, or persistent coughs. One early, dark morning, the serving wench, who had been summoned by the local midwife, wakened them. Her patient had delivered a healthy boy, but the afterbirth wouldn’t come, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

Knowing the lack of sanitation in this primitive world, Robyn was immediately concerned. Pēteris and Miriam gathered a large jug of previously boiled water, boiled and folded bandages, and a large jug of undiluted wine. During these preparations, Robyn was in the kitchen scrubbing with the same boiled water, now merely hot, and her strongest soap. Pēteris washed, then became Robyn’s donkey for the supplies, while Miriam carried Robyn’s medical chest and weapons.

Following the midwife, Miriam ensured that Robyn and Pēteris had no need to touch anything with their newly washed hands.

Entering a small dark cottage lit by a single candle, they found the new baby at his mother’s breast, and the husband anxiously wringing his hands. Having witnessed the birth of numerous farm animals, he knew what should have happened but hadn’t. “No afterbirth, Mum,” he told them, but the bleeding is slow.”

“Have you touched her down there?” Robyn asked.

“No, Mum,” he responded, “I know better than to mess where I shouldn’t.”

Miriam placed her burdens on the nearby kitchen table, then took a clean cloth from Pēteris and spread it alongside the medicine chest. She carefully took the supplies from Pēteris, arranging them on the cloth.

Robyn motioned towards Pēteris and told the family and midwife, “He is my apprentice, and we will need his help.” She had Miriam pour wine over the two healer’s hands and scrubbed furiously. She sent the husband outside to relieve the overcrowding and to prevent him becoming more disturbed by her planned actions.

Feeling ready as she could be, Robyn motioned the midwife to pull back the blanket and lift the shift of the panting, new mother. “Pēteris, when Miriam lifts her legs, slide one of the sterile cloths under her, then wash her with wine. It’s the only antiseptic we have. Then, Miriam, bring my mirror and candle, and while Pēteris spreads her legs, the good midwife and I will see what we will see.”

Using the mirror to reflect light, Robyn used both hands to open the birth canal and the two peered in and saw the poor woman’s cervix clamped on the afterbirth. The midwife hummed while Robyn told Miriam, “In my chest, there’s a pouch labeled ‘Relaxant.’ Put about a teaspoon in a cup of wine and let the poor woman drink.”

She turned to the woman and asked, “I never asked your name, how unkind of me. I’m the healer Robyn and these are my assistants.”

“I’m called Lily,” came a whisper. “Thank you for coming.”

“Well Lily, I think you will be just fine in a little while,” Robyn told her, “I see nothing that is really concerning – not like heavy bleeding or such, and your baby is eating well. Now we just wait.”

In the short while, Robyn spoke to the midwife, “You’ll think me crazy, but I’ve discovered one cause of childbirth fever. If you heed me, you can save some lives. There are tiny animals, smaller than we can see, and despite their small size, they can cause great harm. They can be killed by washing with hot soapy water and by strong wine. If you wash your hands, wounds, and anything that will contact open wounds or blood, you’ll kill most of these animals before they can enter the body and cause harm.”

The midwife looked at her, then she asked, “You boil the water to kill these little demons?”

Encouraged by the woman’s response, Robyn nodded. Shortly, Lily took a deep breath, heaved, and the afterbirth appeared. “Burn it,” the midwife told Robyn. Let’s kill any of those little beings around.

Together they washed Lily, and before they finished, the woman was asleep, her baby on a breast.

Pēteris and his Companions left the midwife to her usual activities and emerged to find it to be mid-morning. Famished, they hurried back to the inn for a huge breakfast of bacon, potatoes, honey-covered bread, and dark tea. They bathed, told the innkeeper that they would see patients later in the day, and retired to their room to sleep.

They were awakened from a deep slumber by the din of an arriving party and a loud, threatening voice protesting the lack of accommodations. Now, thoroughly awake, the three dressed, donned mail and weapons, and descended to see what had disturbed their sleep.