15, The plan

The next day, Ayya started working on their plan. She had requested to work somewhere outside, away from people, and she had given the chief a list of items that she needed.

“Leather gloves, apron, two wooden ladles, chopping board, two sheep’s or goat’s stomachs, tendons, big piece of meat, material to build a tripod, firewood and a bone needle. What type of list is this?” Kahane asked Ayya.

“If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it as safely as possible,” Ayya told him as they watched an area on the outskirts of the village being prepared. Ayya had her supplies in a satchel in her hand and the riders were all standing close by. They would make sure Ayya could work uninterrupted and that none strayed too close to the poisonous concoction. As the last things had been brought, Ayya got started by setting things up on the wooden table she had been provided to work on. She also lit the fire and over it placed a sheep’s stomach that had been made into a cooking vessel. She filled it with water and went back to the table. From her satchel, she took a small wooden box containing a knife made entirely out of steel. This was standard equipment when handling poisonous herbs, as the knife could be cleaned thoroughly enough to rid it of any lingering poison. She put on the thin leather gloves and took out small wooden pliers and the leather pouch with the wolf’s bane. It had been securely tied off and sealed with wax. Ayya looked over everything, making sure she had what she needed. Then she broke the wax seal and used the pliers to retrieve the herbs inside. She put the herbs on the cutting board and retied the pouch and sealed it back up with wax. She then placed it and the wax back in her satchel. The herbs were finely chopped and then Ayya looked up to see how far away the water was from boiling. She saw Kahane and Sinhera standing to the side, watching her. Ayya had told them it was fine for them to stand to the side and watch over her, but that they couldn’t get too close. The water was on the verge of boiling. Ayya scraped the herbs into the water. She walked back to the table and used magic to heat the knife, making sure it was clean and levitating it back to its box as not to contaminate it again. The cutting board and pliers she carried over to the fire and tossed them in. Carefully, not to let the outside touch her skin, she took off the gloves and tossed them onto the fire as well. As the water started boiling, Ayya moved the tripod away from the fire to let the herbs soak and the water cool. This was the first part of this plan that she was nervous about. She didn’t want someone to spill the liquid. In this concentration, the poison could have an effect even if it came in contact with the skin. 

“No one is allowed to go near the tripod,” Ayya told the riders. They nodded, and she saw they took their job seriously. She walked over to Sinhera and Kahane.

“How long will we need to wait?” Kahane asked.

“Until the water is completely cooled. We don’t want the meat to cook when we add it,” Ayya answered. “Let’s give it at least two hours to be on the safe side.” 

“Okay, that works out good. My father is gathering the village people to ask for volunteers. We should head over there,” he said. It looked like most villagers were gathered in the square outside the village hall. Ayya found she recognised most of them. The chief was standing on the steps leading up to the hall and he had a serious expression on his face as he saw Ayya and invited her to join him. 

“Friends, as you know, Lady Ayya and the riders have been helping us in trying to find a solution to our wolf problem. They think they have found a way to get rid of the wolves, but it requires that we go into the woods and place something there. If it works, we will need to do it all over again one or two more times,” the chief explained to his people. “Lady Ayya has offered that only she and her riders will go, but I feel like we should not let them take all the risk when we reap all the benefits. That said, I will not force anyone to go. I only ask for volunteers for this mission, and for future once.” The villagers started to murmur amongst themselves. Ayya spotted a movement to the left and focused her attention there. It was Jakobi, one of the warriors she had healed. He and Mirio had made a full recovery under Ayya’s watchful eyes. Jakobi was making his way to the front, followed by Mirio.

“I offer my help to lady Ayya,” Jakobi said as he walked past the front line of villagers.

“As do I,” Mirio said, joining his friend. Ayya had to smile at them.

“It’s very kind for you to offer. But you need to focus on recovering,” she told them.

“With all due respect, my lady, we are both fully recovered thanks to you. If it hadn’t been for you, we both know we wouldn’t be here today. There is no way we are letting you go into the woods without us,” Mirio said, and Jakobi nodded. Ayya looked at their determined faces and then conceded.

“Thank you,” she told them both. A moment later, fifteen other villagers had also volunteered. Ayya was moved by their offer to help and they ended up making a plan who would go on which trip, as all fifteen and riders would make the group too large to be able to have a chance at being undetected. Mirio and Jakobi insisted on joining each of the trips, as did Sinhera. Once the rotation was planned, Ayya and Sinhera left to take care of the last steps of Ayya’s plan. They left Kahane behind to plan the delivery. They would head out as soon as Ayya was ready. Ayya used the wooden ladle to stir the infusion that now had cooled completely. She gently added the meat, making sure not to come in contact with the poison. She focused her magic and bound the infusion into the meat. As she watched, the liquid soaked into the meat and left the cooking vessel dry. On the wooden table she lay the second stomach, that had been transformed into a large pouch, and made sure it was opened wide. She then levitated the meat into it and tied it shut. It was now safe to transport. The last step was to burn the cooking vessel and tripod. Three riders were left to stand guard over the fire. They had instructions to feed it more wood two times and then let it die out. 

“We are ready to get going,” Ayya said as she and Sinhera came walking with the pouch. 

“Let’s get going then,” Jakobi said, he held out the rains to Estrela to her. Ayya looked at him and smiled.

“Did she give you any trouble?” she asked as she secured the pouch to the saddle.

“A little, but once she realised she was going to get saddled alongside some of your other horses, she settled down.”

“Good girl,” Ayya said, scratching Estrela behind the ears. Ayya liked the fact that Estrela didn’t let just anyone handle her. She mounted alongside the others and they set off in a fast trot towards the woods. Ayya found herself securely in the middle of the others. She tried to object but was shut down by Sinhera, Jakobi and Minio.