11, I don't belive

The discussion continued as Kahane told them about the attempts that had been made and the tragic outcome of the last hunt. Ayya listened as Sinhera and the riders asked questions. The discussion was coming to an end when the chief turned to Ayya.

“Do you think you can help us?” he asked.

Ayya glanced over at Sinhera, who inclined her head slightly.

“We will,” she told the chief. “We will stay as long as you need us,” she added.

“Thank you, your grace,” the chief said.

“Please, if we are to work together, call me Ayya,” Ayya smiled.

“It would be an honour,” he smiled back.

“You wanted to see the injured men?” he asked.

“Yes, I just need to get some things from my room,” Ayya said, standing up.

“Kahane will go with you, and I will prepare them for your arrival,” the chief said, and Ayya nodded.

Ayya walked out of the village hall with Sinhera and the riders. Kahane was walking slightly to her side.

“I’ll only be a moment,” Ayya told him as they got to the inn. He nodded and sat down at a table to wait.

Ayya grabbed some herbs she thought she would need and her mortar, then Sinhera and Ayya joined the others downstairs again.

“Ready to leave?” Kahane asked her.

“Yes, could you lead us to where the wounded men are please?” Ayya asked.

He guided them to what looked to be a barn; the inside had been turned into a makeshift hospital. Bunks were set up and were separated by bed linens. Two women were moving between the men on the bunks and a third were talking to the village chief.

“Ayya, let me introduce Keristi. She is the town’s healer,” the chief introduced Ayya to the woman he was talking to.

“Your grace,” the woman said.

“Please, it’s just Ayya. How are the men doing?” Ayya asked.

“Most of them have minor injuries or broken bones. We can handle those. But Jakobi has two big bite wounds to his shoulder and arm and Mirio has deep slashes across his back and a bite wound to his leg. We are doing the best we can, but the pain-relieving herbs we have aren’t helping and both men have showed symptoms of infection,” Keristi told them.

“I would like to see if I can help,” Ayya said. She didn’t want to step on the toes of the woman that clearly was in charge of the wounded.

“We would be grateful for anything you can do,” Keristi nodded, giving Ayya a faint smile.

The healer led Ayya and Sinhera to the man called Jakobi. He was in bad shape; he was in a restless sleep with clear signs of pain shadowing his face and his skin was pale and sticky with sweat.

Ayya tried to wake him, but he just looked at her with glassy eyes and went back to sleep. Ayya felt a stitch of panic. She remembered that look. Her parents had had the same eyes just before they passed away.

She reminded herself that things were different now. The cause of the man’s condition was not the same as her parents. She could actually help him. Ayya took a deep breath and unraveled his bandages with the help of Keristi.

The wounds were angry red, and it was clear they were infected as pus was oozing from them. Ayya focused on not throwing up from the sweet smell of the wounds.

“Could I get some fresh bandages?” she asked the healer. Keristi nodded and went to get it.

Ayya took out her mortar as the chief and Kahane watched. Sinhera handed Ayya the bag of herbs she had been holding, and Ayya took out the ones she needed. She started crushing the herbs, adding her magic to it to enhance and combine their inherent properties.

The magic was subtle and if you didn’t know what to listen for, you would miss the slight sissling that it admitted. Ayya saw Kahane looking at her with scepticism written all over his face.  

“So, you don’t believe in magic,” she said to him. He startled a little.

“No,” he then said.

“Kahane!” his father scolded.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. As long as it won’t pose a problem for me or my men to work with you,” Ayya said.

“No, I don’t mind working with you. I would just prefer that you don’t go through the pretence with magic around me,” he told her.

“Kahane!” his father looked mortified.

Ayya laughed as she looked at Sinhera. Sinhera was giving Kahane a dark look, but didn’t say anything.

“I can’t make that promise, I’m afraid,” Ayya said as she reached for a bowl that stood at the foot of the bed.

“Do you need me to gather some water for you?” Keristi asked as she returned with fresh bandages.

“There is no need, but thank you,” Ayya smiled.

She used her magic to fill the bowl with water, something she usually would never do. Then she heated the water using her fire magic to almost bring it to a boil. All the while, she watched Kahane as he looked at the water.

As if she didn’t just rub his nose in it, Ayya went on with her task of adding a small amount of water to the herbs to make them form a paste, adding some honey. She took out a couple of more herbs and added them to the almost boiling water and used her magic to help infuse the water with the herbs.

As the herbs steeped in the water, she took the paste and smeared it all over the man’s wounds. Keristi then helped her put bandages over the paste. Ayya then handed her the wood bowl with the tea.

“Filter this and give it to him, about half a mug every four hours. It will help with the pain. It will be good for overnight for both men. I will make a new batch in the morning,” Ayya told her.

“Thank you,” she said and handed the bowl to one of her assistances.

Ayya was then taken to Mirio. He was lying on his stomach on the bunk. He was conscious and was grabbing on to the frame of the bunk and clenching his teeth. Ayya knelt by him so that she could look him in the eyes.

“Hello, Mirio. I’m Ayya. I’m here to help you. I need you to drink something for me. It will take away most of the pain,” she told him, and took the mug of tea that Keristi was holding out to her.

“You’re an aari,” Mirio panted.

“I am. Here, it’s not hot, try to drink it all,” Ayya said, holding the cup to his mouth and helped him drink the tea.

“May I look at your injuries?” she asked after handing the empty mug back. He nodded.

Ayya and Keristi unwrapped the bandages, and the infection was as clear in his wounds as they had been in his friend’s. The slashes on his back had been sewn closed.

“We need to take out the stitches, or the infection will fester behind them,” Ayya told the healer. She nodded and a moment later she returned with a small knife.

“It’s clean and sharp,” Keristi told Ayya. Ayya took it and tried to be as swift and yet gentle as she could while cutting the stitches open.

Mirio let out moans as the wounds opened up and pus seeped out. Keristi cleaned the wounds as Ayya prepared a new batch of the herbal paste. They covered the wounds and bandaged him back up.

“How does it feel?” Ayya asked him when they were done.

“A little better. The thing you put on cooled the heat down, and I think the pain is slowly going away,” he told her.

“I’m happy to hear that. I’m going to let you get some sleep and I’ll be back to check on you in the morning,” she smiled.

“Thank you, your grace,” he said.

“Just call me Ayya,” she told him and stood up.

The group walked to the door.

“That’s all I can do for now. They have a long way to go before they are healed, but I hope we can get them there,” Ayya told the chief.

“Thank you. We are grateful for your help. And I’m sorry that your welcoming hasn’t been as friendly as you could hope for. I hope you won’t hold my son’s belief against the village. We are truly grateful for your presence,” he said.

“Don’t worry about that. Everyone is entitled to their own believes. I may not have handled it in the best way,” Ayya smiled at him.

“Not at all. I’m grateful someone can get his stubborn ass to rethink his view,” the chief chuckled, and Ayya laughed.

She really liked the chief. She had nothing against his son, either. Ayya wouldn’t have made such a big deal about him not believing in magic if it weren’t because he seemed stubbornly against the idea and that they actually needed to be able to work together.

“I think we will withdraw for the evening, and we can start fresh in the morning,” Ayya said.

“That is a good idea. The innkeeper will provide your breakfast for you. Please come to the town hall when you have eaten,” the chief said. “Would you like someone to take you back?” he asked.

“No, I think we will find our way,” Sinhera said, and Ayya nodded.

“Then I bid you good night,” the chief said with a small bow.

Ayya and Sinhera led the way back. They hadn’t made it far when someone called out to Ayya. She turned around and saw Kahane walking towards them.

“Do you want me to make sure he leaves you alone?” Sinhera asked.

“Come on, Sinhera. Don’t be so grumpy. He didn’t do anything wrong.” Ayya smiled at her friend.

“Fine,” Sinhera huffed. It reminded Ayya about how Tenac used to say the same thing. She shook her head with a smile.