Journey of the Messenger Cycle 1 Part 4d
Berri, the shaman-girl, had stitched the worst of the wounds Osran had received. Not that it had been an easy task, nor without pain. Luckily her companions were well equipped, steel needles and fine thread had been used. If Osran had still been with the band and had received similar wounds it was unlikely she would have been given such attention. However, Berri had been patient and skilled and she had very carefully forced the needle through Osran’s tough skin.
Then, much to Osran’s surprise, she had been sent to the shelter and told to rest. The rain had awoken her late in the night, thrumming down in pounding sheets. It was too dark to see anything, but Osran had smelled Berri, near the entrance to the shelter, sound asleep. Of Ijah there was no strong scents, she must have been outside, likely keeping watch. The rain pounded down from the sky and despite the pain of her broken ribs and swollen shoulder Osran was lulled back to sleep.
When she woke again it was day, Ijah was now in the shelter, sleeping. Berri could be heard outside talking to the horse. From within the shelter it was hard to tell if it was still raining, but certainly, by the sounds, water was dripping from tree branches. Carefully she crawled out from under her blanket, wincing at the pain from her broken ribs, and went outside.
The sky was overcast and while most of the water she had heard was in fact water dripping from the plants and any other surface where it had been able to accumulate, there was still a fine misty drizzle coming down. Periodic gusts of wind blew water from the trees. There were sounds of birds singing in the distance and three crows were near the water, stalking the swollen banks of the brook for tasty morsels.
Berri spotted her, “You should be resting.”
Osran shook her head, “Already sleep. Not need more.”
Judging by the look she gave Osran, Berri was not convinced, “Go pee, or whatever you need to do, then let me take a look at your wounds.”
Osran did as she was instructed and allowed Berri to inspect her face afterwards. The girl seemed surprised, “Your wounds are not even puffy, no sign of infection. That’s amazing.”
“Heal good. Ribs are sore breathing.”
“I bet.”
“Food?”
Berri looked to the sky, “Seems like the worst of the storm has passed, I’ll get something cooking.”
By the time the food was ready Ijah had woken and was looking around the camp’s perimeter. She joined the two of them near the small fire to eat. The meal passed in relative silence, the gurgling of the engorged brook and the sounds of dripping water accompanied the sporadic bird song. From nearby the crows occasionally croaked or gave a cackle and moved towards the three of them as the meal came to an end.
Ijah asked, “Osran’s wounds look alright, you did a good job sewing her up. When do you think we can travel?”
“She’s as tough as her skin. Hard to get a needle through, especially near the bony nubs. Are those nubs little horns? I think Horse is okay, still a bit nervous. Thanks for bringing him back.”
Ijah cocked her head to one side, “You’re welcome. Are you going to answer my question?”
Berri looked confused for a moment, “Oh, ah… I don’t know. She seems to be healing really well. Horse could take most of her gear… likely the day after tomorrow. Just to be sure.”
Ijah looked dissatisfied with the answer. Although Osran had not followed half of what Berri said, the girl spoke too quickly most of the time. She had understood the last bit, or at least the gist of it. “Okay now. Can go.”
Ijah looked at her, then back to Berri, who shook her head. “Alright. We’ll rest today and if Osran is still feeling good tomorrow, we’ll head out.”
The rest of the day passed without incident. Osran, with Berri’s help, searched along the edge of the brook for the troll bodies. Quite a ways downstream they did find two of them, as well a head and an extra arm. Osran gathered teeth, claws, a couple of larger bones and numerous small bones. Berri was curious why they were gathering the troll parts.
“Good totem. Strong Power. All wear, all power.”
“I see. So you’re making crafts?”
“Crafts?”
“You’re going to make things with bones?”
“Yes. Make things.”
“Can I help?”
“Help. No. You cook. I make. Ijah protect.”
“I see you have our day planned out for us. Fair enough. What next?”
“Next, find knife in running water.”
Berri carried the bundle of troll parts and together they slowly searched the brook for Osran’s missing knife. They did find it, a few paces from where the fight had taken place, partially covered with small stones and silty sand. After retrieving the knife they returned to the shelter. While Ijah and Berri went through the equipment, making sure the water had not ruined any of their supplies, Osran sat near the fire and slowly worked at removing the flesh from the bones. Throughout the day the three crows stayed in the area, Osran threw them scraps of flesh which they greedily gobbled.
Ijah spent a good part of the day being empty headed, sitting at a point uphill, overlooking the camp. Osran wondered if Ijah was waiting for a bear. Berri made plenty of food. Despite the pain of broken ribs and a very tender shoulder, Osran found the day to be very pleasant. Towards sunset most of the cloud cover had passed and the evening took on a golden glow, the land smelled fresh and the insects returned to harass her companions.
They were up early the next day though they did not do the usual exercises and training. Mostly at Osran’s insistence they decided to carry on with their travels, while Berri was unsure if that was the best idea, Ijah seemed happy with the decision. Osran still found it odd that many decisions were discussed among the three of them and that Ijah did not seem to mind when Berri did not always agree with her. More oddly, the other two had insisted that her extra supplies should go on the horse.
They moved along at a leisurely pace, for most of the morning Berri kept checking on her to make sure she was alright. Twice more than ten times the girl asked her and again, though Osran’s annoyance must have been apparent in her toothy growl. Thankfully Berri did not ask again until the days travels were done. That night they made camp near the narrow falls where the brook fell to a widening valley between the southern stretches of the Madden Hills. From their vantage they could see plenty of cultivated land, a number of villages and a fairly large town. Osran thought it looked like excellent raiding territory.
She wondered if they would be doing some raiding. It did not seem like there was much need to do so. The land was bountiful and they had plenty, not to mention the horse looked pretty tasty as far as Osran was concerned.
As Berri prepared food, Ijah took the time to look Osran over, making her do a number of slow stretches and gentle twists to test the range of her mobility. There was some pain, but nothing she could not handle. Besides, with her two companions being as considerate as they were she felt certain she would heal properly without complications, given another few days of similar treatment. Osran was very aware that this contrasted with how she would have been treated within her band, had similar circumstances happened. Many of her band, even among the other gatherers, would have tested her and if she was unable to meet the challenge she would have been killed or left to the sands.
Part of her was inclined to view her present treatment as a product of the weakness and excess of the softskins. Yet she knew that her companions were not weak, certainly not Ijah. There was a plenitude of food and other resources, literally at hand, everywhere they went, though neither of them seemed inclined to horde or control the bounty available to them. Instead they used what was needed, without theft or murder and moved on. It was obvious there was a shared goal, they had an objective extraneous to mere survival.
A murder of crows wheeled overhead then descended down into the valley below. A few clouds caught the light of the setting sun, showing shades of red and orange. A warm breeze moved across the greenlands from the southeast. Osran was moved by the beauty she beheld. Hopeful about the future, perhaps for the first time in her life, she sat quietly and enjoyed the moment.
A while later Berri brought her a bowl of food and sat down beside her. They ate in companionable silence gazing at the distant horizons.
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