Chapter 4

Weeks had passed and they were lost. Ree'al pointed out that you aren't actually lost if you don't care where you're going. That argument did not sit well with Lormia.

"Mia," Ree'al said. "As long as it's north or west why do we care?"

"Don't call me Mia," she snapped. She stood for a moment then she crumpled to the ground, crying.

"I apologize if I inadvertently called you a pet name," Ree'al said thinking that Mia could have been what Janarus had called her.

After she cried herself out, she spoke through sniffles, "My friends call me Mia. When you said my name I realized that you are my friend, maybe my only friend. That is so very depressing."

"That may be the worst insult I've ever had," Ree'al said thoughtfully. "On the other hand, thank you. I've grown fond of traveling with you too."

"We're just leaves tossed by the wind," Lormia said sadly.

"Gods! Now you've gone metaphorical."

"Shut up and help me up," she said holding out a hand to him.

Once up she looked him in the eye. "Call me Mia," she said. "And may the Gods have pity on me."

"You look like a Mia," Ree'al said cautiously.

"Screw you."

Her finger held to his face and her flashing eyes stopped his reply somewhere between his throat and his lips. He made a strange croaking sound. A tactical withdraw was called for so he turned and started up yet another slope.

Up a hill and down a hill, repeated and repeated, it became Ree'al and Mia's sole focus until two days later, when Ree'al suddenly stopped.

"Why are you stopping?" Mia asked him.

"Mia, do you remember your promise to me?"

"What now?" She sighed.

"That you will accept no challenges," Ree'al said. "That promise."

"Yes. Why? What did you see?"

"A tent. Actually I still see it, a red and white tent; the colors of the Valnessa."

"What do we do?"

"You do nothing. Even if I'm dead, you walk on."

When Lormia said nothing, Ree'al turned to face her. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Ree'al."

"No, Lormia. Don't say anything. It has been my pleasure to, shall we say, be corrected by you."

"You were not as bad a drunk as I thought you were," she replied.

"Thanks. What do you say? Shall we go make new friends?"

"Let's," she answered and took his arm as they walked down the hill.

A Sulvaran was sitting by the tent as Ree'al and Mia approached.

"It seems you've found a nice cross road at which to pitch your tent, "Ree'al addressed the man, "Have you been here long?"

The man stood. He was short and wide, powerful looking but an unusual build for a swordsman.

"So Ree'al appears," he said. "I challenge you."

"And I challenge you." A tall thin man stepped out of the tent.

"The woman is not part of this," Ree'al looking between the men.

"Agreed," the tall man said. The short man nodded his consent.

"What news from Sulvara?" Ree'al asked.

"None you need to know," the short man said as he knelt. "Bad breeding," Ree'al said in a stage whisper. "They can't help being rude."

She approached Ree'al. "Flow like water, move like the wind, and strike like an eagle," she said.

"You're being metaphorical again. I don't know if that's good or bad."

"Shut up," she said and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Step back Lormia," he gently said. He took three deep breaths and knelt, his swords in front of him.

The tall Sulvaran remained standing by the tent as the man in front undressed. Ree'al took off his boots and stocking first, then his jacket and shirt. When Ree'al had his pants around his shins, the tall Sulvaran pulled his swords and charged at him. These were not men of honor, these were assassins!

Ree'al made no attempt to kick his pants off, there just wasn't time. Without firm footing the tall man's rush knocked him off his feet again.

Instead of trying to stand again he took a huge swing with his ginja, forcing the man back and using the ginja's momentum to help him rise.

The short man was swinging from the side but Ree'al easily deflected the blow and jabbed his Tanja in the man's chest. Ree'al jumped back but slipped on his pants and could not completely dodge a strike from the tall man. The sword cut deeply into Ree'al's chest, completely severing the left pectoral muscle, exposing his ribs.

The tall man stepped back but the wound was not critical as he had hoped. Ree'al took the respite to kick off his pants. With firm footing, Ree'al soon ended the fight. Once his opponent was down, he heard fighting behind him.

He turned just in time to see Lormia cut a man's head completely from his body. The man had raised his tanja to block but her blow pushed it aside as if it were a blade of grass.

"See," Ree'al said as he slumped then fell on his back. "I told you that if you practiced you'd be able to make power."

"Ree'al!" she ran to him. "Let me look at the wound." It was bad. Not life threatening, but it would leave him a cripple. "Do you hurt anywhere else," she asked calmly.

"Except where you're standing on my hand, no."

"Sorry," she said as she moved her foot. "What do I do?" He smiled and started to answer but Lormia rapped him hard on his head with her knuckles. "Be serious."

"Get a clean cloth; press it against the wound to slow down bleeding. No major blood vessels were severed, so I shouldn't bleed to death. Help me over to the tent.

Once there he said, "Tear down that damn Valnessa flag. Throw it in front of the tent so you can step on it each time you walk in or out."

"Ree'al, how do I help you?"

"Get my medical kit," he said. Once he had it in his right hand he told her what to do. "You've stitched skin together before, haven't you?"

She nodded.

"Here's a needle. This will be the same except that muscles tear more easily than skin, so be gentle. You'll need lots of water to wash the blood off as you go. And you must use the string in my kit that's soaking in oil. It will dissolve in my body. But first take the blue bottle and pour a small amount in your hand. A little more. Good. Rub that on one half of the muscle and the same amount on the other half. It will make the muscle relax so that you can pull it together."

"Oh Gods that hurts!" he gasped out as she finished. "Ok. Now run off to the river and get lots of water. I'll guard the tent while you're gone," he smiled at his own poor joke. When she came back he took her hand.

"Lormia, before you stitch up the skin, take half of the black powder from the black bottle. Sprinkle it throughout the wound even on the cut skin. Then quickly stitch the skin."

"If I'm not in what for me is my normal mind," he smiled. "Be careful. I could strike out at you at any time. You should have more than enough time to stitch the skin before the powder takes affect but better to leave the wound open than to get into a fight with me."

"Why? What does the black powder do?"

"The black mushroom dust will keep the wound infection free, but there are side effects." He smiled at her. "It causes incredible pain. The pain lasts for days. The good news is that one forgets the worst of the pain. But if you try to stick a needle in me once the pain starts, I'll do my best to stop you."

"That would be bad."

"Yes it would," he laughed.

"Don't you have pain medicines with you?" Lormia asked. "Even my people have them."

"No. Suffering is supposed to be good for the soul and no medicine will ameliorate the pain from the mushroom."

"Your people are stupid."

"One last thing," he said. "It will be messy, another side effect is that I'll be running from both ends and there is nothing you can do to help me through the night. Save yourself, or at least your nose and some trouble. Leave me alone in the tent. You can't help."

"Now that's really stupid."

As she started to sew the muscle back together he spoke to her through clenched teeth, "Was that your first kill?"

"Yes."

"Mia, don't feel bad about it. You did what you needed to do you saved my life and yours."

"Oh no. I don't feel bad, I feel free. I'm worried for you but all my problems have been blown away like snow from a rock."

Ree'al's body had all the pain and blood loss that it could take. He passed out.

"What would your witless come-back have been, my prince?" She kissed his forehead then began to sew quickly and efficiently.

Ree'al woke to stabbing pain, but the pain was tolerable. Every part of his body hurt, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Lormia was on a pallet next to him. The tent smelled of vomit, urine, and human waste, but Ree'al was too weak to care. He was thirsty and that he could take care of. An unguarded groan escaped him as he reach for the water bag. Lormia was instantly awake.

"Ree'al, are you alright?"

"No. I've never hurt this bad in my life, at least not that I can remember. I just want some water."