The combat practice became just another of their daily rituals. Even as Corbin’s hands became callused, they went on. She simply gave him some more herbs to apply to the painful area. He was only spared from sword practice when she decided they should also practise archery. They travelled in peace, the only danger they faced were the wolves that came too close one evening. Ilargi used her bow to scare them off. Corbin expected something similar was about to happen one day as they walked through a thicket. One moment they were walking as usual, the next Ilargi stopped and put a hand over Corbin’s mouth. She pulled him down and they ducked behind some ferns.
She pointed into the distance, and Corbin saw a silhouette of a giant beast. A bear? Can we fight it off with just a bow again? Ilargi must’ve been thinking the same, as she took hold of a bow and nocked an arrow. There was a brief glint of light in Corbin’s peripheral vision. He turned to see, but then immediately grabbed Ilargi, who loosed the arrow in surprise, and threw them both to the ground. At the same moment a thunderous crack sounded. The roar of the beast was almost imperceptible by comparison.
“What?” Ilargi said with a shocked expression, but her silent tone made it clear that she knew something was wrong. He gestured towards a large boulder and they crawled towards it. He took a look at their gear. We each have a bow and a messer. We are as good as dead against a gun. I wish I at least knew what kind it is. He peaked around the rock, which exploded next to his face as another gunshot rang out. “What?” Ilargi was looking left and right in horror. She was saying some more things with a shaking voice, but Corbin couldn’t understand. He put a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention and nodded with a calm, but serious expression. Despair was gripping his own insides, but he managed to hide it and Ilargi regained a bit of her usual composure.
It's some kind of hunting rifle. They are too far away for a pistol or shotgun. I hope it’s at least not semi-automatic. Ilargi poked him and pointed to the side. The bushes were rustling and he saw hints of green cloaks. How many are there? He picked up a couple of pebbles and showed them to Ilargi. She nodded and nocked another arrow. He threw the pebble and hit one of the ferns, which rustled as it moved. Two gunshots cracked into that space. At the same time Ilargi peaked over the rock, drew and loosed the arrow in one smooth motion. A gasp confirmed her precision. Without a pause, a new arrow was already nocked.
“No! Get down,” Corbin shouted, but it was too late. Another shot thundered. Ilargi’s bow exploded in her hand and she fell down with a scream. At the same time a horrible roar sounded. The bear-like beast was barrelling them. Its coat was blood red and looked as if liquid fire flowed all over it and the tail looked like a flaming candle wick. Its horns were black as night. Corbin was sure, the beast hadn’t shone like that when it was still far away. Screams were coming from the men, who had noticed the beast.
Corbin didn’t lose any time and rushed back to Ilargi. She was hit in the shoulder and her face was scratched by fragments of the bow.
“Ilargi,” Corbin whispered. When she started moving, he let out a sigh of relief. He helped her back to her feet and despite his delicate motion, she still grunted with pain. He shifted to her healthy side and supported her. “Run,” he told her. Screams and shots still sounded out behind them. They ran and Corbin could feel the spasms of pain every time she landed on her right foot. They didn’t stop well into the night and only then, because Ilargi could go on no longer. She sat down and began shivering.
Corbin brought her some blankest, but before covering her, he had to check her wound. He pointed to her wound and mimed undoing his shirt. She looked past him, not responding. He came closer and started undoing her shirt. She lifted her uninjured hand to halt him, but couldn’t even summon the strength to do so. He got the shirt past her shoulder, taking care not to move her shoulder and cause more pain and damage.
Upon inspecting the wound, he found that the bullet hadn’t exited her shoulder. She had been bleeding, but it didn’t look like a lot of blood, but he still tied a rag around the wound, trying to put pressure closer to her body. Hurriedly he covered her in blankets and began collecting wood. After watching her every evening, he understood how to make fire. He used the flint and his knife to light some kindling and then began lighting the fire. He hoped the forest and rocks were enough to hide them in case they were followed by their attackers, but the fire was necessary for them. It took him too long, but he managed to set fire to the branches. He put a pot of water over the fire and waited for it to boil. Then he held the knife in the flames until the blade began glowing. He washed his hand as best as he could and took some clean cloth from his backpack.
He gave Ilargi a cloth to bite into, which she took even though she was only somewhat aware. He then uncovered her wound, using the water to clean it and wash away the blood. She jerked from pain, then seemed to pass out from the shock, leaning back onto the rock. Corbin hadn’t been used to dealing with blood and injuries and had been quite squeamish, but in that moment any thought or feeling of fear or disgust was utterly absent. He cleaned as best he could, then took the knife and looked closer at the wound. It wasn’t very big. Did they have different guns? This seems too small for a rifle. Maybe a handgun? Or was the distance that large? He held the wound open with one hand, making more blood flow out. He inserted the knife, trying to find the bullet. He felt the scrape of metal against metal. He washed away the blood with more water. The tip of the knife was able to get below the bullet and he slowly began pulling it out. It was firmly lodged in the shoulder. He tried shifting the knife to get into a better position, but didn’t want to risk causing more injury. After moving the bullet a bit, the knife slipped away, but Corbin just tried again. As the bullet got closer to the surface, he put the knife away and reached for the bullet with two fingers. His grip slipped, but he was able to pull the bullet out and stopped holding the wound open. Using the remainder of the clean water he washed the wound, then took a needle and thread and began stitching the wound. He didn’t know how to stich or and did a poor job of it, but at the very least it seemed to hold the wound together. He continued by dressing it using clean cloths and applying honey to the wound to prevent infection.
He was exhausted in both body and mind, but stayed up keeping guard and letting Ilargi rest. Minutes dragged on like hours, but for the first time while keeping guard, he was vigilant, alert and fully awake. Every rustle of the leaves and call of the nocturnal fowl made him jump. Despite his watchfulness, he found that his gaze lingered more and more on Ilargi. By the time the first light of dawn came, he was sure his eyes were bloodshot and marked by dark circles. Ilargi awoke early in the morning. Her sleep had been restless for a part of the night, but for some time she also slept like the dead. Her first waking sounds were grunts of pain. The second was the grumbling of her stomach. Corbin gave her some of the dried food they were carrying with them, not wanting to spend more time hunting and also reducing the load they carried.
“Go Amane, Fermin?” Corbin asked, hoping she would understand.
“No, go zurgina,” she replied. “Near.” Corbin nodded and prayed that the woman would be able to help them. Perhaps it would be better to return even if the path is longer, just to get help from someone that knows more about treating wounds. She stood up and went to pick up her backpack. Corbin hurried to her side and grabbed the backpack. She gave him a stern look, but sighed and relented. Then she reached for her messer. Once again Corbin tried to prevent her from carrying anything, but the look she gave this time made it obvious that she was not going to give up. Corbin nodded to her and started preparing for departure. He eyed the sheathed sword. It was one-handed with a slightly curved blade, which was wider near the tip than at the crossguard. One of the quillons was just straight, while the other was longer and at a right angle, covering the fingers on the knife-like hilt.
Corbin carried both of the backpacks, one on his back, the other on the front. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep going at their usual pace, but when they walked, it was easy to keep pace with Ilargi. This caused him even more worry. He was under no illusion that a single night would be enough for Ilargi to heal, but he wasn’t sure if they would make it all and what he would do if Ilargi could go on no longer. And what if we’re attacked again. Her training wasn’t enough to become competent in sword combat. Even if I was, what could I do against guns? I need to get stronger. But how? I’ll need to start with physical strength, I just don’t have any other choice. I need to somehow get my hands on a gun. Even if I’m not trained, I understand guns better than these people.
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Their walking pace was slow to begin with, but degraded even more during the day. They continued eating only the dried food. Corbin removed her bandages and smelled the wound. There was the smell of iron, but no rot. He gently cleaned around the wound, then applied new honey and bandages. Ilargi still twitched with pain as he worked, but refused to make any sound. Somewhere deep in his heart, away from his rational thoughts, Corbin resolved he would protect this strange woman. He let his hand rest a moment on her head. She stirred in her sleep, but didn’t wake up. Ilargi tried to take her turn doing guard duty, but fell asleep and Corbin didn’t wake her up. He spent another night without sleep.
The next day they covered even less ground. Both of them were struggling every step they took. That night Corbin wanted to keep guard once more, but after a minute of watching he wanted to rest his eyes for just a moment and was woken up by the first rays of the Sun. He took a quick look around, but it was just the two of them. He was shaking from the cold, as he covered Ilargi in all of the blankest that they had and fell asleep before being able to cover himself more.
He prepared to leave before waking up Ilargi. She also shivered despite the blankets, but as he felt her forehead, he saw she was burning. He didn’t know what to do, it was hard to communicate with her and even if they could, he didn’t know what he could do. There was no way they could make it all the way back and wasn’t sure he could find the way anyway if Ilargi couldn’t guide him. The frustration was overwhelming and he was just about ready to drop to the ground and cry, but saw Ilargi’s determined face scrutinizing his. Her blue eyes were focused despite the fever. Before they left he checked her wound again. It smelled worse, but there seemed to only be inflammation and nothing worse.
The road forward dragged on, but they made steady progress despite the slow pace. That was until some time after midday, when Ilargi collapsed while walking. Corbin ran to her side, dropping the backpacks in the process. Before he reached her, she was already trying to get back up, but her strength left her and she sunk back to the ground. Corbin knelt down and held her, rolling her over her healthy side to rest on his lap. Her breathing was ragged.
“Ilargi,” Corbin said. He didn’t know what else he could say or do.
“Zurgina, Corbin,” she said, raising her hand forward. He looked around in desperation, wondering what to do. After a moment passed, he decided. He left the backpacks on the ground and lifted Ilargi, carrying her in his arms. It was an arduous task and she squirmed with pain as he walked, but he just kept going. He was walking faster than he had ever since the attack. When he felt his arms were about to fall off, he instead shifted her to his shoulder. He made it out of the forest in the direction she indicated. He thought about trying to get her to tell him new directions, when he saw it. On the top of the grassy hill there was a lonely cottage. Please let this be the right place.
Every fibre of him was burning, even his right knee began clicking, but he raced to the top of the final hill. The cottage had a low straw roof and a smoking chimney. Someone is home. When he came to the door, he used his boot to knock since his hands were full. The doors opened, but there was no one there. He was sure a cold wind blew from the inside as the door opened. He ducked through the door, making sure to not bump Ilargi into the frame.
The inside of the cottage was a mess. There were various items lying around with no apparent logic or organisation. There were stacks of books, jars, bottles, baskets of herbs, food, unwashed dishes and more. There was also a lot of dust, dirt and cobwebs. As soon as they were through the door, Corbin felt the wind once more. Then the door banged closed. He started and looked back, but the door was still open. Perhaps it was just a draft. There was a grumbling coming from across the cottage, then a door opened. A woman came through carrying a bucket of milk.
“Zer aurraio naki sunu?” She asked in annoyance. She didn’t do anything, but looked ready to fight for her life. Whatever she said was outside Corbin’s vocabulary, but he knew she was asking him something that started with what.
“Ilargi, injure, help, zurgina,” he tried stringing together all relevant words that came to his mind and stepped closer. The woman took a step back, but then noticed Ilargi slumped over his shoulder. She hurried towards them, forgetting any possible danger. She went to a sofa, covered by random mess and swept everything to the floor. Some bottles broke, but she just kicked them out of the way and pointed to the couch. Corbin placed Ilargi onto it and uncovered the injured shoulder. The woman nudged him out of her way and began looking closer at the wound.
He collapsed into a chair and watched the woman frantically rummage through her messy cottage and collect various items. He wanted somehow to be of help, but it was too hard to move at all. He felt his eyes wanting to close. The woman was perhaps a similar age as Amane or slightly older. Her auburn hair was tied in a messy bun. She was wearing a dark green tunic, black trousers and high boots. She was leaning over Ilargi and Corbin thought he saw a light glow around them, but the images were mixed up with his dreams, so he couldn’t tell how much of that had really happened.
He woke up in the chair, covered by a blanket. Has there been any days in recent memory when I didn’t wake up in pain? The uncomfortable position of sleep meant that even his neck hurt. He got up and started looking around for Ilargi, but she was no longer on the couch. In a panic, he began running towards the door, but before he opened it, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked back and saw the woman standing beside him. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a long time, a feeling that became all too familiar to him in the past days. She put a finger in front of her mouth and when he nodded, she let him go. The other room was a bedroom, where Ilargi slept peacefully. Her bandages looked a lot neater than what he had done. The woman waved him out of the room.
“I am Esti,” she said, pointing at herself.
“Corbin,” he replied in kind. She repeated the name, the word sounding strange to her. She led him outside through the back door. There were logs of various sizes staked in a criss-cross pile. An axe was leaning on the wall. She showed him the split firewood lying around a larger log, then returned to her cottage. He sighed and picked up the axe. For the next couple of days he had to perform all kinds of chores from cleaning the house, hunting for food, milking the goat, organizing the books and even weeding and watering the herb gardens. Esti even wrote down what he assumed to be a runic alphabet of their language just so he could organise things. He didn’t learn to read them, but had to look up every time what order each rune was. He also retraced his steps to find the backpacks he had left behind. Some of the items were strewn around, carried by wild animals. The food was mostly gone and the backpacks were full of ants. He collected everything and brought it back. All this time Esti was tending to Ilargi, who had barely woken up at all. When she finally regained her strength, the cottage looked nothing like it did when they first arrived, it became a respectable home. Ilargi spent her days stretching and exercising her shoulder. The recovery she had made was tremendous. Could it be that she has magical abilities? Maybe she could help me return. If only I was able to talk to her. I’ll keep this in my mind.
The two women talked, with Ilargi pointing to Corbin several times and waving her hands around. Esti nodded and held her chin in a thoughtful manner. She spent the rest of the day going through her tomes, undoing some of Corbin’s hard work. The dark circles around her eyes grew every time he saw her. She was just about ready to collapse, when she made a victorious exclamation. She presented the results to Ilargi, who nodded gravely. Corbin just sat next to them with a bored expression. He gave up on trying to follow any stray words that he understood.
Ilargi explained the plan to him. It took a long time, requiring learning new vocabulary and miming. Even after all that Corbin wasn’t completely sure, that he understood the message. We need to steal a ring from a one-eyed giant called a tartalo, which will help me talk. I don’t even know how that works. Esti the zurgina turned out to be a sort of a local wise woman or witch. She helped them with new supplies including food and medicinal resources. She even gave them spices, which could apparently be used as preservatives. She sent them even deeper into the mountains.
“Goodbye Ilargi,” said Esti. Ilargi nodded and faced forward. “Goodbye Corbin,” she continued. Corbin bowed, but Ilargi scowled at the words.
“Thank you Esti, goodbye.”
“Let’s go Kemen,” Ilargi said. Corbin waved back and moved onward. Ilargi’s first steps were cautious, but she soon regained her quick pace that Corbin came to know. Didn’t she already call me by my real name once?