Shadow Dance...Chapter Eight

Shadow Dance...Chapter Eight

Birds rustled overhead as Namir and Nurn toiled with Jaconis’ unconscious body. Namir cursed his cousin’s ineptness with every breath as they worked hard to get him to the safety of the main camp. ‘How could he be stupid enough to carry dead carcasses with him while hunting?’ Namir wondered. “Although the forest is sparse, only a fool would forget that wolves live and hunt nearby,” he muttered quietly.

“What was that?” Nurn asked; the fatigue in voice was palpable and undisguised.

“Nothing.” Namir lied. “We should rest. Let’s put Jaconis down over there.” Together they delicately laid Jaconis’ makeshift litter down between two trees and nestled it amid the branches. They did their best not to move Jaconis overly much. Once they had this done, Namir stretched and asked Nurn, “You don‘t think a wolf did this, do you?”

Nurn slowly shook his head. “No. A wolf would not leave the body behind…they only kill when they are hungry.” He turned the matter over in his head again working over every little detail. “I don’t think it was a bandit either. Jaconis’ dagger was still on him and wasn’t drawn. His clothes were also on him and, aside from his blood, they were left undamaged.” Nurn paused as he relaxed his left shoulder and rubbed it gently with his right hand. “Both his clothes and his knife are too well made for a bandit to leave behind; even if the clothes did get a little bloody.” Nurn sat there massaging his other shoulder as he said this. Then he rubbed his eyes to war doff sleepiness. He knew that his endurance had been visibly taxed, but he also knew that they needed to get back tot eh camp as soon as possible.

“So…we can safely assume that whoever, or whatever, attacked Jaconis also attacked Aves…” Namir shook his head “and more than likely stole the carriage and horses.” He sighed deeply. “This makes no sense. Why would anyone leave witnesses behind? Why not kill them outright the first time. What’s more is why leave one of the original witnesses alive after a second encounter when they found Jaconis alone?”

Nurn sprang to his feet as his face lost all color. Fear rode stiffly behind his eyes as he faced Namir abruptly. “What if Jaconis’ attackers thought they had killed them?”

Namir looked at Nurn confused. “Ok, so they thought that they had killed them…but when they stumbled across Jaconis again wouldn’t they make sure he was dead this time?”

“I think they left him for dead. They were in a hurry.” Nurn said as he hurried back to the litter.

“Why? Why would they be in a hurry?” Namir matched his friend’s pace but was still confused about Nurn’s intent as well as his odd actions.

Nurn turned to Namir while he reached for the litter’s handles. He seemed to be completely refreshed. “Because Jaconis’ attackers knew that he would not survive a wound like that unattended. And since he survived then the girl that they had attacked might have survived as well.”

Comprehension slowly sank into Namir’s skull. “Aves.” He said slowly. “They went to find her before she could find help.” Namir lifted his end of the litter and they ran as fast as they could manage. Each of them hoped to reach the girls before the bandits did and knowing somewhere deep inside of them that they wouldn’t.

Namir’s breath burned in his chest as he ran trying in vain to keep up with Nurn’s impossible pace. As he ran Namir’s thoughts grew darker and bleaker with each stride. Scenes of vile actions and bloodshed filled Namir’s mind with grotesque images of horrors and fears mingled together. Although he was amazed at Nurn’s strength, Namir lost himself in the images that plagued him. It wasn’t until he heard Nurn’s voice bellowing at him to move that he realized his folly.

“Get up! I can’t pull both you and Jaconis all of the way back to camp no matter how strong I am!” His breath was hot and sweat poured from off of Nurn’s brow in rivulets.

As Namir’s mind pulled itself back from the horrors that plagued him, Namir noticed that he was sprawled out on the ground. From the amount of dirt caught in Namir’s boot and spread all over his pants it was evident that Nurn had dragged him for quite some time before he complained. Namir’s pants had been mercilessly torn and his arms had been gouged several times by passing branches and thorns. ‘How is it that Nurn hadn’t stopped,’ Namir wondered. He looked over to Nurn apologetically as Namir stood and lifted his end of the litter once more. No words passed between them for none were needed. As soon as Namir had his end of Jaconis’ liter in hand they set out again at the same pace Nurn had set before. This time they were both silent and focused on where they were heading. Namir felt his hope bleed away from him with every step as they closed the distance back to their camp rapidly.

As the two young men entered the clearing and strode into camp, Namir realized that their camp was exactly as his imagination had depicted it. There was blood strewn everywhere and nothing moved, not even the wind dared to stir the tree branches or the patches of grass that had managed to poke up through the freshly dried blood. The thick metallic stench of the blood filled their nostrils and weighed down the air around them. The forest was already humid enough, now the air was full of more than just water vapor and their clothes instantly matted and stuck to them.

Namir felt a part of him die as he thought, ‘I led them here. Me. Now they’re all dead.’ He looked over at Nurn, his big meaty hands hung limp at his sides and a look of pained disbelief covered his already weary face. ‘How could I have brought this on them?’ Namir wondered to himself. As the two of them looked around their violated encampment Namir realized that they dropped Jaconis’ litter when they came into the camp. Namir took a moment and looked down at his cousin’s body. He tired hard not to see Jaconis’ injuries as a product of his own hand, but failed. The blood soaked through the bandages that lightly covered Jaconis’ neck as Namir looked at him pitifully. ‘What have I done?’ Namir thought again before he too crumpled like the broken twigs and trampled grass all around him.

The movement was faint at first. There was a soft rustle of leaves against stone and then nothing. Nurn noticed it first, but he chose not to react to it. Instead he closed his eyes and prayed to Tumere, the goddess of the woodlands and vengeance…his goddess and the goddess of his people. “Grant me the strength to act and the peace of mind needed to fulfill my dark task.” His words fell from his mouth in whispered threads as he took care to allow only Tumere and himself know of his wishes. Then he waited quietly for the second movement of his prey as he crouched perfectly motionless as if he were still locked tightly in the grip of his prayer, although he did not have to wait long.

Mere moments later a second rustle of leaves and a slight movement of pebbles came from a rocky slope to Nurn’s left. This one was more persistent than the last one had been and told more about the location of whatever it was that had made it. Unlike the first noise, this one was closer and loud enough that Namir, still caught in his self-hatred, noticed it and turned to glare at its source. Namir slowly rose to his feet, a little unsure of how long he had lain beside Jaconis’ unconscious body and made his way towards the sound boldly. He wasn’t trying to hide his approach as he closed on where the noise had come. His face and demeanor were bleak and seemed to be cast from steel. It would be obvious to anyone that saw Namir that he was determined to end the disturbance one way or another.

As Namir stepped past the last clump of gore infused brush, Nurn reached up and placed his left hand onto Namir’s chest. Nurn easily held Namir back as he gave a quick hand signal to Namir. He then shoved him backwards to get Namir far enough back that Nurn could still operate in relative stealth, assuming that Namir understood that he should walk back the way he had come.

Namir was surprised by Nurn’s actions at first, but realization of Nurn’s plans seeped into his mind quick enough that he was able to pick up on Nurn’s intentions. Nurn wanted whatever it was roused, but he wanted to keep surprise on their side. Namir nodded his assent as he turned mostly away from the bush and started to relieve his bladder. As Namir did this he watched Nurn lift a good sized rock from the ground and meticulously clean the dirt and debris off of its surface. Namir noticed that Nurn was moving as if he was numb and devoid of all feeling. This bothered him and Namir couldn’t understand why. When Nurn was finished he deftly rose to his feet from his crouch and made his way soundlessly to the bushes. Once there he resumed a low crouch in the darkest part of the bushes shadow and waited for a sign that his prey was where he thought it was.

A third rustle came from the bush shortly after Nurn had steadied the rock. As Namir watched he saw a hand on the ground at the base of the bush. ‘Either the person doesn’t think we herd him or they are not that skilled.’ Namir mused to himself as he finished answering nature’s call. In the time that it took Namir to pull his breeches back into place Nurn had made his attack. The stone that Nurn had held when Namir had last looked was hefted at his target easily. It sailed straight into the thick branches of the bush breaking them as it passed. The stone’s arc ended very quickly with a dull hollow thud that was shortly followed by another thud just moments later as the person collapsed.

As soon as Namir saw Nurn’s rock fly from his hand he strode towards the fight as fast as he could. Namir was only a few paces away when he saw Nurn vault over the shrubbery. Nurn’s actions were a blur as he leapt over the bush and landed on the unconscious form of his target. Namir was amazed at Nurn’s speed as he strode towards him and by the time that Namir was where Nurn had been standing and Nurn was already raising his victim high above his head triumphantly. What happened next threw Namir into even more confusion than he already felt. There Nurn was standing triumphantly as he held his victim above his own head easily. He slowly turned to get a good look at his prey’s face when Nurn suddenly collapsed as if he had been struck by an arrow. It was all Namir could do to stay on his feet as he drank in Nurn’s actions.

Namir rushed to Nurn’s side as soon as his senses quit spinning. “What happe…” his voice, filled with anger and dread, caught in Namir’s throat as he saw Halin’s unconscious body cradled gently in Nurn’s arms. Blood was flowing freely from a gash on the left side of Halin’s face and his arms and legs dangled limply as if he were really a doll that someone had discarded.

“I didn’t know it was him.” Nurn’s voice faltered as if his tears were stronger than his will. “Help him…please Namir…please don’t let him die…tell me he isn’t dead.” The break in Nurn’s voice tore at Namir’s heart as his large friend continued talking. Tears mingled freely with Nurn’s sweat as he looked down at his brother. “I…I…I didn’t mean to…I…I didn’t…didn’t mean to do…to do this…” Nurn’s tears flowed unchecked as he held Halin’s limp body tightly against his chest bawling.

“Set him down,” Namir ordered to no avail. “NURN! I SAID SET HIM DOWN!” Namir’s voice rang through the woods violently like rumbling of distant thunder and Nurn did as he was told. Namir completely regained his senses as he loosened Halin’s clothing and elevated his head. Namir tore Halin’s sash off of him quickly and opened it careful not to get the inside of it dirty as he pressed it against the flowing wound. Hit then gathered a hand full of leaves and pressed them against the make shift binding to create enough force to stop the bleeding. “He needs water.”

“I’ll get it.” Nurn decided solemnly. Nurn stood for a moment then started to walk back towards their camp.

“No Nurn. The river isn’t too far away from here, get the water from there. It will be cleaner.” Namir instructed as he saw Nurn’s lifeless face look at him almost questioning. ‘This hasn’t been easy on him.’ Namir realized as his friend lumbered off towards the sounds of the river. Namir forced himself to watch Nurn’s actions until he had grabbed their wineskins and step out of his range of vision. ‘I am going to have to find some harabola root to give Nurn to help him relax tonight,’ Namir thought as he turned his attention back Halin.

Namir scoured his memories for the knowledge that he had learned from Saril seven years ago. He vaguely remembered Daffer carrying him to Saril’s home every morning so the inn could have a healer of its own. The long days spent learning the properties of root and ash seemed far away and useful the knowledge was even harder to recall. The hard labor he was given to learn the need of medicine and its uses was the easiest to learn. Even the day Saril and Namir had plotted to end his public tutelage and embark on one of their own devising proved far easier to bring back than the proper barks needed to close wounds quicker. After much delving, Namir was finally able to unlock these lost memories. So much had happened between then and now that begged for resolution, but Namir was able to sift through those burning coals enough to let the needed knowledge to come came flooding back in his mind. Namir’s hands moved deftly over Halin filled with a life of their own. It was as if they had never forgotten what he needed them to do. Time and again Namir caught himself longing to have Saril here to confer with about a sprig of moss or a cut of leaf. It wasn’t that Namir thought that Halin was in any danger in his own care, he just wished to have the companionship and experience that Saril would have been able to give him. “Thank you hebasii Saril,” Namir muttered quietly, more to himself than to anyone else, as he finished binding Halin’s many wounds. Namir had noticed that there were too many fresh wounds for Nurn to be the only cause of Halin’s suffering.

“Heb-a-see who?” Nurn asked from behind Namir as he stood there with three full skins of water. He had regained some of his old self as he stood silently behind Namir and watched him tend to Halin’s wounds. He noticed Namir crack open several different roots that lay nearby and finally collect some of the sap to spread across Halin’s chest and arms. That was when Nurn realized that he hadn’t been the only one to hurt Halin. With this realization came anger and a burning desire to know more about what had happened to Halin before they found him.

“Never mind.” Namir said tiredly as he fell back to his work. Namir had Nurn help him rinse out both of their sashes and replaced Halin’s blood soaked one with Namir’s. Namir then trickled water into Halin’s mouth and showed Nurn how to do this by wetting the cloth of Nurn’s sash and wring the water out of it slowly into Halin’s mouth. After he was certain that Nurn knew what to do he stood to leave.

“Where are you going?” Nurn reached out and held Namir in place by his shoulder.

“I must gather a few things.” Seeing Nurn’s questioning look Namir continued. “There are some herbs and roots that I saw near the river earlier. I might be able to make them into a tea or, if we are lucky, into a salve to help Halin.” He felt Nurn’s grasp slip off of his shoulder as he said this. Namir took Nurn’s receding hand and clasped wrists with him. “Halin is going to be alright, Nurn. I know you are worried, but he will live. I promise you this.” He released Nurn’s big arm then turned to go. After eh took a few steps he looked back over his shoulder and commented to Nurn as if he hadn’t needed to mention anything, “I think we should build a fire. Why don’t you build one while I am gone. Then we can move Halin and Jaconis near it so they can be warmed tonight. It might also be good to roast some of the game we found with Jaconis. I will be back soon.” Namir could see a familiar grin slowly spread over his face as he had mentioned the game Jaconis had caught. He enjoyed it for the few moments that it lasted before it was stolen away by worry for his brother.

“What of the others?” The concern in Nurn’s voice stopped Namir cold. It was if Namir had completely forgotten about the girls.

Namir turned towards Nurn again and weighed his words carefully before eh spoke them. “We’ll look for them when I get back. Right now I need you to care for Jaconis and your brother.” He said motioning towards Halin and Jaconis. ‘How am I going to tell him of my fears?’ Namir thought bitterly has he held his tears in check. ‘What words can I use to get him to believe that Aves and Hessa are dead?’

Nurn nodded his agreement to Namir as he turned and left. He watched Namir make his way toward the river and out of his site before he started to gathering wood for their fire. When he ran out of easily gathered wood, Nurn turned to the nearest bunch of trees. He selected one that looked like it had been dead for some time. Then, praying to Tumere, he ripped it from the ground as he muttered, “Give…me…strength…!” Nurn staggered backwards under the weight of the tree he held tightly to his chest, then he turned enough so that the tree could fall between the others without binding.

Nurn sat down on the fallen trunk and wiped the sweat and tears from face with the back of his hand. ‘We really need an axe.’ The thought of this made him smile. He saw Tipin standing there again, asking him if they had everything that they needed before he left and he had said yes. ‘What a fool I am…a stupid careless fool.’ Nurn thought as he started tearing the tree apart with his bare hands. He grabbed an exposed piece of wood here or a protruding branch there and with skill and the sheer force of his muscles he ripped the tree into manageable chunks of woods and bark. As Nurn bent to his task, he prayed to Tumere for aid and guidance.

Once Nurn had managed to fully dissect the tree he turned his attention to Jaconis and his brother. It was hard for Nurn to fight his desires and move Jaconis first. Unfortunately for his pride, Nurn had to admit to himself that Halin was in a more stable condition than Jaconis was and Jaconis had been all but neglected as he had attacked his brother. Nurn moved purposefully over to Jaconis and lifted him as gently as he could manage by letting the end of the litter that supported Jaconis’ legs to drag on the ground as he pulled it near where he was going to build the fire. After he had muscled Jaconis into as comfortable of a position as he could, Nurn went to Halin’s side and lifted him delicately afraid to cause any more injury to his little brother. Nurn attempted to float on the air itself as he carried Halin to the bed of tree branches and fronds that he had constructed for him. He then laid Halin down in his makeshift bed and he took great care to place him in the same position that Namir had left him in. Nurn then gingerly propped up Halin’s head on a pillow of grass, leaves and bark that he had made for him.

Not only did Nurn have a good-sized fire lit in a circle of stones by time Namir had made his way back from gathering his herbs and roots, but he also managed to get two birds and three rabbits cleaned and spitted. So Namir was greeted by the warmth of fire to dry what little herbs he was able to find as well as aroma laden air filled with the sweet scent of roasting meat. Nurn knelt besides Halin lost in prayer as Namir made himself comfortable next to Jaconis and started changing his bandages.

“The fire looks good…and the meat smells wonderful as well.” Namir smiled as Nurn opened his eyes somewhat surprised by his presence. The fact that Nurn didn’t flinch at the sound of his voice impressed him. It meant that Nurn had heard his approach, but had decided to let him get close with giving away his knowledge of Namir’s presence.

“I was busy while you were off picking flowers.” Grief was etched into Nurn’s face as he replied. Although Nurn’s tone bore the soft notes of sorrow in it, there was a hint of jest as well.

Namir placed his hand on Nurn’s shoulder reassuringly. “Fear not. Halin will live, that much I have promised you.” Seeing Nurn’s doubt he added, “His skull is uninjured and only a small patch of skin was cut free. He lost some of his hair lost with it, but it will grow back. The worst that will happen is that he will be left with a scar to lie to the ladies about.” Namir was doing his best to cheer his friend up, but was unsure if he was succeeding or not.

“Are you sure?” Although Nurn was troubled, Namir saw a slight smile find its way to Nurn’s lips and was heartened by it.

“Aye, but I do have some bad news as well.” Namir saw Nurn’s smile fade as he steeled himself against anything that he might have to hear. Namir paused to allow a little more tension to build before he continued. “I fear that Jaconis will fare just as well as, if not better than, Halin will.” Namir had to cut his response short because he could not longer contain his laughter and neither could Nurn. When the two of them had managed to regain some of their composure Namir decided to continue. Namir still chuckled softly to himself as he added, “we might not fair so well, however, unless you can get that meat finished and ready for us.”

Nurn laughed raucously again as he fell to the task of cooking the meat. Namir steadied himself as well after another bout of laughter and tended to both Jaconis and Halin as he waited impatiently for the food to cook.

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‘Which one was worse?’ Aves simply could not decide. ‘Would it be this bad if we had given up and died?’ She thought tiredly to herself. Her muscles were cramped from being in such close quarters for so long and her breath was barely coming in labored gasps. Hessa was close enough for her to reach out and touch her, but Aves knew better than to move that much. ‘He might come back.’ Aves’ mind raced. She tried sorting everything out again as she tried to let the night play over again in her mind. Unfortunately she was tired and almost too exhausted to think. Aves felt foiled by her own limits as she realized that the best she could do was remember his comment. “You two, there is a cave just past the tree line. Hide there and let me handle them. ” His voice was no more than a whisper, but both of them had heard him perfectly. He stood in the shadows an easy twenty paces from them, yet it seemed as if her were right next to them. The oddest part was the fact that he didn’t seem threatening at all. This, in itself was miraculous, because he held a very threatening blade. Its long metallic black length was serrated along its length and barbed at the tip. Aves had not seen many swords in her life, but she knew that each one was made with a purpose. His sword was made for pain and Aves was unsure what she should make of him. ‘Who is he?’ She wondered again as she shifted herself just enough to allow blood to move through her limbs.

Hessa shifted in the darkness as well. The cave was just large enough for the two of them to huddle into it with no extra space around them. Hessa had almost not made it into the cave at all as she waited for Aves to enter and get situated before she dared to enter it herself. Aves listened to Hessa’s breathing coming and going in a very rhythmic pattern that taunted Aves’ eyelids into closing. Aves fought the drowsiness that crept over her for a while, but her exertion mixed with her healing wounds sapped all of her strength. ‘Hessa just seems so relaxed and trusting about this man.’ This simple fact bothered Aves extremely. ‘Why did Hessa trust him so much? Why did she just nod and force me to go with her without questioning his plan?’ Aves’ brain swam with tiredness as these thoughts pummeled her mind.

Outside the noise of the fighting continued to send its deadly song through the rocky walls that surrounded the ladies. Cold steel on wood and flesh mingled with the grinding of stones and the thudding of corpses to create an ominous mixture of sounds. The worst part of this concert was that each movement was marked with the stench of blood and the screams of agony.

The silence that followed the close of the battle was as deafening as the screams had been. Once the clangor had died away there was nothing, almost as if everything that had been able to make a sound had died or simply vanished. No birds chirped, no insects filled the night with their song, not even the wind dared to disturb the evening with its ramblings. There simply was no sound at all. The world outside of their cave seemed to hold its breath as if in a moment of silence for the dead. Amidst this silence Aves found peace as she let the darkness seep into her conscious mind and allowed the peaceful oblivion of fatigue to consume her mercifully.

Aves slept through the soft sounds carried on the light breeze of something living coming once again into the clearing. The brief struggle between the brothers passed without her notice and even the noises of a desperate and worried man scavenging through the woods and uprooting did not disturb her as she slept. It wasn’t until someone tugged hard on Aves’ arm that she awoke.

“What is it? What do you want?” Aves snapped, her hoarse voice ached and caused her throat to itch and burn.

“We need to go.” Hessa whispered in her ear with a voice as hard and gravelly as Aves’ own.

“Why?” Aves let her words come out at their own speed without forcing them in the hope of sparing her throat some discomfort.

“Can’t you smell it?” Hessa finished pulling Aves out from the mouth of the cave.

“Fire!” Alarmed Aves tried to move away from the cave and fell as soon as she put her weight on her leading foot.

“Aye…but there is more. Someone is cooking with it.” Hessa’s words made Aves’ stomach grumble with hunger. Hessa turned to see if Aves was alright and helped her to her feet as she mentioned the food.

“Do you know who it is?” Aves’ fear was apparent.

“It is not them…and aside from that I don’t know.” Seeing Aves’ stern look, Hessa continued not allowing Aves to speak again. “The last two times I have seen him none were left to oppose him. I really don’t think that this time would be any different. Besides…whoever has the fire also has food…hopefully they have enough to feed us as well.” Hessa moved a little closer to Aves and braced against her in case Aves tried to move again on her own.

“After what happened I wouldn’t trust it.” Aves said slowly as she left Hessa get used to her weight. She gripped one of the nearby trees for assistance and slowly eased her weight against Hessa’s sturdy shoulders. “If you can help me…or wait long enough for my legs to wake up, we can go and see.”

Hessa nodded in agreement and helped Aves hobble towards the clearing. They were halfway from the edge of the clearing when Aves’ legs were awake enough to support her without any more help and a yard from it she found the strength needed to run.

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“…and then everything went black.” Halin’s voice rose indicating he was done as he bit into a leg of rabbit. He was leaning lightly against a stump and just finished recounting his tale. “What about you Jaconis? What happened to you?”

Clearing his throat Jaconis started to relate his own misadventure. “As you all may have guessed, I am not the best at setting snares.” He let them laugh before continuing. “However, this time it wasn’t my snare work that got me. Just as I had caught my second bird I heard a horse’s neigh. I thought that I might have stumbled upon the place the bandits had taken our carriage when I came across one of them. He was almost as tall as Nurn and at least twice my build.” Jaconis paused for dramatic effect. “Unfortunately he saw me before I saw him too clearly…” A brief noise interrupted his sentence followed closely by a shadowy figure that darted into their midst abruptly.

Nurn was on his feet before Namir could think and Nurn seemed ready for anything. As he saw the dark shape burst out from the trees he reacted before anyone else had a chance to move. Nurn leapt upon their assailant and easily forced it to the ground. Whoever this person was, it shrieked as Nurn collided with it. The force of Nurn’s motion forced the two of them to tumble back along the person’s path and into the thicket beyond.

“You two hide yourselves,” Namir shouted to Jaconis and Halin as he ran after the two figures so he wouldn’t lose sight of them. Namir hoped that Jaconis and Halin would be safe without either Nurn or himself to protect them until they could determine who their attacker was. Namir arrived just in time to see another person step from the shadows and swing a thickly gnarled branch at the back of Nurn’s head. There was something immediately familiar about the person with the branch, but Namir could not place what.

“STOP!” Namir yelled as loud as he could in the hope that he could surprise Nurn’s attacker. Everyone froze. As soon as Namir’s words die he saw the person behind Nurn dropped the branch and stepped backwards, her arms were extended showing that she wasn’t a threat.

Nurn heard the noise of the branch hit the ground and relaxed a little. ‘At least now I don’t have to worry about getting hit in the back of the head.’ He thought somewhat relieved as he looked down at the person he was laying on top of.

Namir moved closer in order to see everyone a little more clearly. The first thing that caught Namir’s attention, however, was not the lady who was going to attack Namir, but Nurn’s laughter. The next thing that Namir heard, once Nurn was a little quieter, was the muffled comment made by his captive.

“What is it with your family? Does everyone in your family get some sort of sadistic joy from jumping on top of me?” Aves’ voice came to Namir’s ears harsh and forced.

“No…I am sorry.” Nurn apologized as he tried to talk between laughs. Conversations with women were not one of Nurn’s strong points and now he had to try and get himself out of an embarrassing one. “I just thought…” Nurn started.

“You thought nothing! Can you please get off me now?!” Aves demanded.

Hessa smiled and giggled softly musing to herself at Aves’ plight. ‘Normally she wouldn’t want him to go.’ Hessa thought to herself completely amused at the way the situation had turned out. “Namir…please tell me that you have water.” Hessa said as she turned to face Namir and stepped out of the shadows behind Nurn. Hessa’s voice was as ragged and sore as her throat was.

Namir looked first at Aves then over to Hessa happily amazed. They were filthy, but they were alive. Their clothes and hair were matted with dirt a sweat. “Aye.” He managed to say. “I can be right back with some.” Before he left, Namir walked slowly up to Hessa and gave her a long hug. He could feel Hessa tense up as he touched her, but he didn’t care. Namir was just too pleased that they were both alive. He let go of Hessa gently and then turned back towards the clearing. “You both had best wait here so I can make sure that Jaconis and Halin know that we are all ok. I would hate to have a repeat of Nurn’s performance.” Namir smiled as he left them and wondered if Nurn and Aves would still be lying on the ground when he returned.

Namir was amused to find that they hadn’t moved as he ran back with a water skin clutched tightly in his hand. He went first to Aves and slowly poured some water into her mouth. It was difficult to reach around Nurn’s huge form, but Namir made do. As Aves finished, Namir whispered into Nurn’s ear, “You might want to let her up now…there’s no telling what might happen if the two of you get too comfortable in that position.” Namir smiled as Nurn’s face turned a bright red. After Namir made sure that Nurn was starting to stand, and that he had sustained no injuries from his and Aves’ tussle, he walked back over to Hessa and offered her some water. “Drink it slow.” He said calmly fully knowing that he didn’t need to tell her this.

“I know as much about healing as you, milord.” Hessa took the skin from Namir and drank from it slowly.

“Of course you do.” Namir said as he noticed Nurn and Aves back on their feet. The interesting thing that he saw was that they remained within close proximity to one another. “Let’s get back to the others. Just now I find myself very wearied of surprises.” He suggested as Hessa finished her drink. Namir heard them all mutter in agreement as the three of them followed him back into the warm embrace of the fire and their encampment.