Emily lowered Alex to the ground next to the tiny fire she’d built, they had not traveled far before she’d noticed their makeshift bandages were already seeping blood.
So, stopping off on the side of the road, she built a fire and stole two of Alex’s knives. Pulling them out of the burning coals now she inspected the wounds. They were jagged and nasty but bleeding considerably less now.
“Do it already, do you like keeping me in suspense.”
Glancing up at Alex, Emily wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. The guy was still grunting through the pain, refusing to let it show. He had not uttered a single complaint, all that remained was a grim determination.
The sound of flesh sizzling shut could be heard as she pressed the blades to either side of his wounds.
He gasped but did very little otherwise.
Nodding Emily held it until she was sure the flesh had fused properly and then removed it.
Alex had not stopped sweating since the fight so Emily handed him the waterskin.
“Listen we still have quite a ways to go, so a five-minute break and we are moving.”
Alex swallowed and nodded but didn’t say a word.
Emily was at her limits as to what to do though, she knew the basics on how to patch a body up, but that was usually only till she could get the injury to someone more skilled in the art of medicine.
Rummaging through her pack Emily tried to find something more to wrap the wound with. While she was looking her hand bumped against the little glass vial of clear liquid she had picked up from the illusionist.
Pulling it out she held it up to the light.
It was as clear as mountain spring water and yet the consistency was slightly more. She sloshed it about in the vial, coating the glass walls in the clear syrupy concoction.
“Mages spinal fluid, it won’t help,” Alex muttered.
Glancing down she saw that Alex had been observing her and must have seen her inspecting the vial.
“Oh? Why did he have it? What would anyone need spinal fluid for?”
Genuine curiosity entered her voice. In her world, there were countless uses for spinal fluid, both legal and illegal, but what someone would want with the stuff, especially just corked in a little vial, was beyond Emily.
“It’s a bridge stimulant, probably as a last resort, luckily he didn’t get a chance to use it.”
Emily cocked her head, which just left her with more questions but by the sudden effort on Alex’s face, he was trying to get up.
Seeing this she put the vial away and moved to help him stand.
“We need to keep moving, I have at most a couple of hours before I’m unable to move, so let's make use of it.”
Emily wanted to say he didn’t look like he could go another couple of minutes, let alone hours but didn’t say anything.
They left the small area on the side of the road, only taking time to kick out the fire and keep moving.
Trudging through the undergrowth, and on a neatly carved path were worlds different. Emily couldn’t believe how nonchalantly she had abandoned the road before. She almost wanted to give it a couple of pats in thanks for making the journey so much easier.
However, even with this advantage, Alex began to flag after the first hour of travel. Throwing his arm over her shoulder allowed them to get through the next hour unscathed, but as time was going on. Emily was having to shoulder more and more of Alex's weight.
They had found him a stick to prevent putting too much pressure on the leg and the fact he was managing to keep going with what amounted to a new hole in his leg was impressive, but it looked like the human body still had limitations in this world.
Just under the halfway mark, Alex’s head began to bob and he required more and more of Emily’s help to remain on the path.
If she was in this situation with anyone else, she would have abandoned them in a heartbeat, but seeing as though he had saved her life, and she had no other real option Emily stayed put. Keeping him on track as they got to the three-hour mark, though she would be lying if she said the thought hadn’t crossed her mind a couple of times.
They had gotten about halfway but as the fourth hour approached Emily found their progress slowing to a crawl. She was now having to just about carry the guy, as he was barely able to remain standing, and to make matters worse they had about two hours of sunlight left.
Repositioning Alex behind her she picked the guy up piggyback style. She couldn’t afford to tap into her power seeing as they would need it if something big came knocking.
So she dragged the man along the path, taking breathers when she needed them and trying to progress at a steady pace.
The daylight hours slipped by as the evening approached, this was going to be her third night in this world, and every time she had been in desperate straights, she was starting to see a pattern.
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Surveying the area, Emily tried to find a spot where they could hunker down and rest. It being a forest there was plenty of open space but not a single one that looked even remotely safe from the elements.
If the cold didn’t get them then whatever nocturnal creatures were out here would.
By now Alex was completely out of it and Emily was exhausted, the chill sapping what little strength she did have.
Emily had taken out the broach and was moving it between her hands in the hopes of preventing frostbite.
Alex’s skin was burning up as the beginnings of a fever took hold.
Snow had begun to fall with the arrival of the night, joined by the sounds of nightlife awakening. Birds crowed from treetops and things scurried through the undergrowth.
All the while Emily continued forward, keeping an eye on either side of the road for dangers.
Every breath came out in plumbs that rose into the sky, Alex's weight was just becoming too much when a pinprick of light woke Emily from her mindless march.
Blinking away the sleepyness she spotted what looked like a shack in the distance. It was buttressed up against the path and the only thing Emily could think of was the way point they had almost made it.
With renewed energy, Emily focused on getting them to the small structure. The closer they got the more she realized that she had been thinking too much of the waypoint. Alex had made it sound like a place where people gathered en mass but by the looks of it, the hut in front of them could at most house ten people if she was being generous. It was probably vacant most of the time and would at most keep the cold out.
However, with the light leaking out of the window, it could only mean there were other humans nearby.
That danger would normally have Emily thinking twice but she didn’t have the luxury at the moment, so she continued at her current pace.
As the hut came into view she got more detail, it was a square double-story structure but the interesting thing about it was that the whole first level looked to be made of stone. The second level was wood and that was where the light was coming from. The glow within flickered on the ceiling as shadows moved about inside the room.
The building reminded Emily of a house built on stone stilts.
Either way, she needed to get them inside and the road led up to a wooden door sitting flush with the stone of the first level.
Arriving in front of it she banged on the door and tried wiggling the handle.
The door was made of dense wood and did not give when she applied force, it was barred from the other side.
Grunting she pressed her ear against the door and listened. At first, she couldn’t hear anything but then the sound of something dropping against the floor and a gasp followed.
“Oi, I have injured out here. Let me in!”
Emily's voice stretched out too loudly into the night, and while she waited, no response came.
The journey here had been exhausting and Emily had officially lost her patience.
“Hey, fuckers! I said I have an injured person! Now you can either let me in or I break this door down, you have ten seconds to decide.”
Emily began counting down loudly from ten, keeping an eye on the dark woods behind her that had begun to shift. Movement in the shadows caused Emily's eyes to dart around, pulling her gift to her palms.
“5…6…”
There was a sound of a frozen bush nearby snapping as something pushed its way through.
“7…screw it!”
Emily placed her hand against the lock and was about to blow it when the door swung open behind her.
A woman's voice called out to her.
“Inside quickly, the wards only work if the door is closed!”
Emily piled with Alex in tow, almost tripping as she immediately hit a staircase. Pulling them up, she had just enough time to slam the door shut with her heel before something impacted against it.
An older woman dressed in traveler's clothes pushed past them and turned a mechanism on the door, locking it.
From this side, Emily could see tiny symbols glowing to life on the door and fading again.
The space was cramped, with only enough room for the staircase.
Once the door was locked the woman turned to look at her.
“Apologies, but we had to be careful who we let in. My name’s Kathryn, now your friend looks to be in a bad state follow me to the fire.”
Emily nodded, the climb was not long but there was a wooden trap door shut over the opening to the next floor.
Kathryn hissed.
“Gotan, open the door, they are safe, it's just a slip of a girl and her friend. He unconscious.”
A moment later a nasely voice came through the wood.
“Look, Ms. Kathryn, I told you not to go down there. I can’t let you up here, who knows what they’ll do.”
A look of terror appeared on Kathryn's face.
“Mr. Gotan this isn’t funny, Shelly baby, are you alright?”
A child's voice pierced the wood.
“Mommy? Let mommy in mister, please.”
There were hushed tones on the other side of the door, and Kathryn looked more desperate by the second.
“I’m sorry Kathryn, but you will all just need to stay down there tonight, it's safe at least, nothings going to happen to your girl.”
Emily was done waiting and shifted past Kathryn.
“Are there wards on this door too?” she asked.
At first, Kathryn didn’t seem to know what Emily meant but then looked up at the wood and shook her head.
Placing her hand against where she thought the latch for the trapdoor would be and called the vitality she’d gathered earlier.
By now Emily had about eleven blood bolts in the bank, spending one to ensure Alex spent the night by the fire was a no-brainer.
The bolt exploded flush against the lock causing a loud bang as the trapdoor slammed open, clacking against the floorboards. The sudden detonation caused a high-pitched scream to fill the air as Emily walked the remaining ways up the stairs.
Inside she saw two individuals, one was the little girl who Emily assumed was Kathryn’s daughter by the similarities and the other was a middle-aged man.
Gotan was a slightly overweight man with a terrified expression on his face and a receding hairline.
The room was simple with a single table off to one corner and a large metal stove that currently had a fire flickering inside it.
Emily walked in, keeping an eye on the group in case they attacked, though there were no apparent weapons that she could see. Placing Alex next to the stove which was radiating heat.
Kathryn rushed in from behind them and pulled the crying girl into her arms.
Emily stepped away from Alex and began to walk towards the man, who saw her approaching and backed into the corner with hands outstretched.
“Now hang on, great Mage, I meant no disrespect. It was simply survival-”
When Emily got in range she didn’t let him finish and back-handed him across the face. His wail joined with the little girl's sobs and he tried to shrink away. Emily was exhausted and quite frankly done playing nice for the day. Reaching down she grabbed the man by the neck, slamming him against the wall.
“I don’t give a shit what your intentions were, you got in my way.”
Using her other hand she began to push the man's head aside, exposing his throat to her.
“Please wait! I'm begging you, don’t kill him!”
Emily froze and turned to look at Kathryn. The shaking woman clutched her crying child to her chest. Emily found herself at least partly amused.
“Even after what he just did to you?”
The woman swallowed but still nodded. Emily's eyes flickered down to the little girl whose face was pressed into Kathryn’s stomach.
“You’re vouching for him?” she asked Kathryn.
“Yes, please don’t hurt him or anyone while you are here.”
Emily mulled it over and decided she could let this go.
“Alright, seeing as I owe you one, sure. But now we’re even”
She let the man go and backed away as he slid down the wall clutching at his neck.
“Now, onto more pleasant topics, do either of you have a tonic on you?”