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Gage stumbled into his tent, exhausted. The day had been spent restocking supplies, grinding pastes, and cutting strips of cloth. Hye-jun had taken care of the small stream of injuries that had made their way into the healer’s hut throughout the day. By the time Hye-jun had dismissed him for the day, his fingers were stained with the remnants of a variety of plants. The medicines had burned their scents into his nose and his eyes kept darting around the phantom lines he had to follow for his cuts of cloth.
He paused inside the flap of the tent to remove his shoes and crack the crick out of his neck. Gage opened his eyes to the gentle hand on his arm to see Aeliana standing beside him. With a gentle smile, the head of the family led him to the table and guided him to sit.
“A stitch was dropped in your weaving.” Aeliana commented as they sat on the cushion next to him. Gage stared blankly as Rashani placed broth and bread in front of him. Aeliana amended the statement, “You look like you had a busy day.”
“Ah,” Gage cracked a weary smile and nodded, “Yes, Daja Hye-jun was in rare form. I was kept busy making sure everything was properly stocked.” As he spoke, Aeliana gestured to his food. He gratefully sipped his broth. “I also had the chance to meet The Respected today. Apparently, I have been living with my head in the sand.”
“She spoke of the tensions?” Aeliana took a sip of their own broth.
Gage frowned, “You knew of it?”
With a sad smile and a shrug, “We are alajin. Tensions are a fact of life for us. It was as clear as water what was happening here. It was more surprising that we were able to have a decent life at all. Though that is in no small part due to you.”
The two of them continued to eat and drink in silence for a short while. It was Aeliana who noticed the sounds of commotion first, frowning at the tent flap. Rashani and Sarnai stepped outside to see what was going on. Sarnai quickly stepped back inside, and Aeliana was next to them in an instant.
“Gage, it seems there was an accident.” Aeliana pulled the flap aside to reveal two dwarves. If Gage recalled correctly, these ones were known as noctelve, or obsidian.
The first dwarf had a squared jaw and deep-set eyes. His beard was kept neatly groomed, as was his well-trimmed mustache, both a grey-black. His hair was shaved short on the sides and kept long down the middle, which was tied back into a wolf-tail. He was shirtless, showing off his broad, dense chest and muscular arms. He wore guards around his forearms, and simple, grey trousers.
He was supporting a second dwarf, who looked slightly wilder compared to the first’s more orderly appearance. He had a full beard, his hair a more ashen grey, that spiked out aggressively from his face. His sleeveless shirt and loose-fitting trousers, tied about the waist, were augmented by a set of metal pauldrons and bracers. Both noctelves had burning orange eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness of the alley.
Gage was quick to see a liquid the colour of oil seeping through the fingers of the second dwarf, which he had clamped to his stomach. “Bring him in.” Gage said sternly and gestured to the carpet next to him.
The first dwarf grunted and the two struggled into the tent. “Feared the healer’s hut was too far. Line snapped. Took a tent spike to the stomach. Big crate landed on his leg. Bone shattered, pretty sure. Can you help him?”
“Lay him down. Ma’tuk,” The orb danced next to him as the dwarf was laid down onto the carpet with a grimace and groan. “Go get Hye-jun. Now.” Ma’tuk was a line of light as it shot out through the open flap. “Rashani, Sarnai, I need water and cloth.”
“Clik,” There was a slight pause, “Mi ssriz klatcha.” Gage stared at Rashani, who had spoken, before closing his eyes in frustration. Frustration at himself because he had just sent away his translator. Gage snapped his eyes open, determined.
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He picked up his cup, drained it of its broth, and then used it to point to the storage compartment where the vault was kept. “Water.” Gage shook the cup and pointed again. Rashani tilted their head for a moment, then nodded before rushing to the compartment. Gage turned to Sarnai. He ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt and held it up to the alajin. “Cloth.” He mimed ripping more strips. Sarani nodded and also moved to the storage compartment.
Gage turned to the dwarf on the ground before him and his jaw clenched. He reached down and gripped the dwarf’s thick wrist, struggling to pull it away from the wound. He hadn’t expected the dwarf to be so heavy. The first dwarf knelt across from him and grabbed the arm, moving it aside. Gage wasted no time in pulling the injured dwarf’s shirt up. There was a deep puncture wound just above the dwarf’s navel. The black blood pumped out of it. Sarnai had returned with a stack of cloth strips.
Gage immediately took one and pressed it against the wound, pressing his weight on it. He looked up to see the other dwarf staring at him. Gage tossed his head back. “Gage.” The dwarf frowned. Gage nodded to Aeliana then Sarnai. “Aeliana, Sarnai.” He then nodded to the dwarf.
The dwarf considered him a moment before nodding. “Basa.” Basa then gestured to the injured dwarf. “Keme.”
Gage nodded and turned his attention back to Keme as Rashani arrived with the water. With one hand he took another cloth and dunked it in the water. He pulled back the cloth he had pressed to the wound and with the wet one, began to clean it.
This was all very roughly done. He did not have any of the proper tools that he would have had at the healer’s hut. Once he had the wound cleaned, he looked closely. From what he could tell, only blood was escaping the wound. Nor was there any rotting smell. This was a good sign that neither the stomach nor intestines had been punctured. The problem now was that there was a lot of blood pumping out with each thump of Keme’s heart.
Gage took a deep breath. Even at a run, it was a distance from the healer’s hut to get here. Gage let himself fall inward with an intake of air. He reached for his power and let it flow out into his hands. He began to Breathe. His power welled up, surging more than he was used to.
There were little green flecks swirling around in his pink light. Gage shook away a frown before it could form and refocused on the wound. He pressed his bare hand against it and gasped. The blood was hot, almost burning his hand. He took a deep breath and concentrated. Gage’s power flowed from his hand into the wound.
Gage closed his eyes and followed his power. An image of the wound began to form in his mind as his Breath outlined every nook and cranny. The spike had indeed missed the stomach and a number of other organs. It had, however, hit what looked like a major blood vessel or two and something that looked like a liver. They had suffered extensive damage. The liver-looking organ was brutally mangled, he was sure by not just the initial puncture, but the removal of the tent spike as well.
With one hand pressed to the wound, he reached out the other and pressed it to the chest of the other dwarf, Basa. He felt the dense muscles tense, but he ignored it and let his power flow into the healthy dwarf. He needed to see what the healthy organs and pathways looked like. He felt his Breath and mind strain, split between mapping out the healthy body while holding in and guiding the blood of the injured one.
Gage kept his breathing even and steady. He reached into the deepest part of Keme’s injury and began to work. Using Basa as a guideline, Gage began to reconstruct and repair the damaged organ. He quickly lost track of time as he focused on his task.
It felt like hours had passed when he finally finished with the organ. Wearily, he checked his work against Basa and nodded to himself. He was tired and stretched thin. His Breath flowed sluggishly, and he had lost control of some of the finer blood vessels.
Something pressed against Gage’s forehead, and he gasped as a cooling wave washed over him. He felt invigorated and he quickly grabbed hold of the injury again. He cracked his eyes open for just a moment to see a slip of talisman paper dangling from his forehead. Hye-jun’s hands were placing another few slips around the wound.
Comforted by the sight, Gage closed his eyes and continued his work, turning his attention to the major vessels.
…
“You did well.” Hye-jun’s voice was the first thing Gage heard as he awoke.
With a groan, he pressed a hand to his forehead and hoisted himself into a seated position. Squinting against the dull ache in his head, Gage saw he was not in his compartment, but in Elfric’s. Hye-jun sat in the entrance, looking out into the main section of the tent. “What happened? Is Keme…?” Gage groaned and stopped speaking. He accepted the cup Hye-jun held out to him.
“Keme is fine, as is Basa. It was reckless to reach into both of them at the same time, but…” She paused, “You used Basa as a baseline, yes?” Before Gage had a chance to respond, she continued. “That was smart. Reckless, still, and we will talk about that, but it was smart. You strained yourself greatly, so you will need to rest. But, thanks to you, Keme will live.”
Gage silently sipped on his broth. As much as everything ached, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.