by P. G. Thomas
“I’m tired of names, call me Lauren.”
Looking down at her open eyes, he smiled like never before. Nur was sitting in a chair across from the bed, hearing the words also. When Lauren tried to move, all heard.
As the room began to fill with people, Nur pushed them out, “Get Brook and Arora!”
Lauren’s breathing was heavy, as pain from every limb invaded her brain. No matter which way she moved, something hurt, sending blinding flashes of agony to her brain where they exploded. Brook forced some berry juice into her mouth.
“Leave me alone—” Lauren fell asleep.
All in the room said a silent prayer to Mother.
Arora finally spoke, “We shall meet tomorrow. We have a list of her injuries, and we shall determine what we need to heal first. Bring Fodu and John since their skills we will also need.”
Gingaar spent the night with Lauren, talking with her, trying to comfort her, and singing to her. Being sedated, Lauren never moved that night.
*******
The five Earth Mothers, John, Fodu, and Gingaar stood silently around the table in the backyard as Brook listed off the injuries. The previous day, Nur and Gingaar made a special trip to Mother’s forest outside of town, harvesting as many gifts as possible, and knowing that Lauren’s pain was so great, they realized a second trip might be required. They decided first to sedate Lauren so they could reset her arm. It would hurt, but if not treated soon, it would begin to heal that way, or worse, gangrene would set in. They would also need to treat her back and legs. As for the brand and her foot, the damage was too great, and they would be unable to treat them, resulting in Lauren being crippled for the rest of her life. With heavy spirits, they went up before lunch, and Brook gave Lauren the strongest sleep plant she had. After waiting for an hour, Panry gripped her arm by the elbow, and grabbing her wrist, Fodu pulled. The crack of bones snapping into place caused them all to contort in pain, and Lauren’s unconscious body convulsed, shaking for several minutes, before it once again calmed down. Checking the break, John found the trauma on the surrounding skin to be great, and he was uncertain if they would be able to save her hand. The bones were straight, almost, but her skin was distorted and discolored, and he fought to hold his tears back, as he nodded to Gingaar to splint the broken bones. Then Brook exposed Lauren’s back that was raw and red, having fluid seeping from many of the cuts. Pulling out his barber-surgeon kit, Fodu started sewing, and when done, Nur applied a special plant mixture to speed up the healing. After they had bandaged her back, they rolled her over so Fodu could work on her legs. After cutting out the grotesque heavy stitches, he re-opened the wounds, aligned the skin the best he could, and then, with smaller stitches, he closed the fresh wound. Brook, Arora, and Gingaar then started to clean and dress the rest of the injuries that would keep them busy for the remainder of the day. In the end, they would sedate her for two weeks, giving her nerves a chance to calm down, and her body a chance to heal.
After Fodu had finished with Lauren’s legs, the rest checked in on Logan, who remained motionless. While he looked peaceful, John wondered if the fire would ever burn inside of his friend again.
John turned to Panry, “Go to the healing well with Mirtza. Maybe that water will help Logan.” Within the hour, the magical journey happened.
Taking the bag of crystals, Fodu went to the goldsmith shop. Never asking to borrow the space, he just slammed his ax into the workbench, and none interrupted him. For six days and six nights, he stayed at the shop. Metal never screamed when you formed it, never flinched when you worked on it, and it never bled. He thought of Lauren and John’s back and of advantages. On the seventh day, Fodu knocked on John’s door, showing him how to work the machine. Then, gathering his brothers, they went looking for a bar in the rough end of town. However, the liquid they sought would not be delivered in pitchers.
Brook sent over members of the other Earth Guards, forcing Lauren’s to get rest, and the Earth Mothers quit parking their carriage in front of Lauren’s house, as Ryan destroyed the last one. While carriages were in short supply, firewood was plentiful.
The Earth Mothers gathered the council, advising them what was about to happen: war, telling them to send a message to all in the west. Some asked about the Earth Mother, thinking it was a ruse. Others, having been present, they had seen the damage, and shook their heads in silent disagreement, and then the rumors of Lauren’s death began to circulate.
With Nur spending so much time with Lauren, Zack took to the streets and forests. While IT had no emotions, IT howled at the moon with rage. Ryan was unbearable, as every day he became worse. Never sleeping, he wandered the streets at all hours of the day and night. Surprisingly, Eric was calm. With war approaching, he often smiled. The house, town, and west were all the edge.
*******
Having been a week since Lauren and Logan had returned, both still slept, and the magical water had no effect on Logan. John spent every night looking through crystals trying to find the magic. He calculated the number of combinations to look through, figuring that the result equaled the number of soldiers that marched to the west. All night long, he scanned the sky, marking off the combinations he had tried, sleeping most of the day. Even though Pintar came to check on him several times, John refused to leave his room. He was looking for signs of magic, and he had to find it. On the seventh night, frustrated, having not eaten in days, even John’s stench revolted his sense of smell. That night, after the suns had disappeared, much like his hopes, he stared through the machine trying to find signs of the magic in the air. Seeing Ryan and Eric on the back wall outside his room, he thought about Lauren, crippled for life, and the approaching army with the shield of innocents. Smacking the mechanism that Fodu had built for him, it spun around, and as the natural forces acted on it, two different crystals fell into alignment when it lost momentum, coming to rest pointing at Ryan and Eric, and there it was. Something in the air fluoresced, flowing towards Ryan and Eric. With Ryan being fluorescent through the crystals, Eric’s armor was the same. Running into the backyard, he called to Bor and Aaro, telling them to follow him. Once outside, he called to Eric and Ryan. Aaro and Bor entered the backyard with battle-axes in hand, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
“Ryan, after the accident? Did the doctors ever tell you of your operations? What they did to repair you? To make it so you could stand, walk?”
“Yes, my parents had to sign permission for all of the operations, every single last one.”
“Did they put metal in you: pins, rods, screws?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of metal did they use?”
“Titanium.”
“Aaro, Bor. Eric’s armor, what kind of metal is it? Fen and Fodu said that it was all light metal, but what’s the name of it?”
“Mithril.”
John smiled, “Send word to all of the dwarf clans. We need to have a meeting tomorrow.”
Aaro looked at Bor, “Father spells, delusional brother becomes.”
Bor shrugged his shoulder, “Brother, he is dwarf, Ironhouse. Tomorrow we will meet with dwarf.”
*******
That night, both Gayne and Mirtza woke, hearing magic in the distance.
Chapter 24
Brook, Arora, and Nur went to Lauren’s room early the next morning. After relieving Fritza, they administered the plant extract to wake Lauren. As they waited, they examined her back and other wounds, which most were healing nicely. It would still be weeks before she would walk: if she ever walked again, as her foot was grotesque. With most of the bruising gone, it was almost flesh-colored again, but nothing pointed in the right direction. They had the cook send up a pot of hot bean juice, tea, a bottle of apple spiced cider, and some hot food.
Lauren slowly began to mumble. Opening her eyes, she winced in pain, “I don’t like this show anymore.”
The three Earth Mothers all exhaled at the same time.
Nur looked at Lauren, “Do you want to try to sit
up? It will hurt, but the wounds have mostly healed. We have hot bean juice or tea?”
“No, please leave me alone. I want to be by myself.”
“Would Earth Mother like to know what has happened? Would you like an update?” asked Arora.
“I don’t know what the Earth Mother wants. Lauren, on the other hand, she wants to be left alone. Please leave.”
The three Earth Mothers left the room and went to the backyard.
“Something is wrong,” Nur said.
“I agree,” began Brook. “I expected that we would need to hold her back and tell her to heal.”
Arora reached for her flask, “Earth Mother, her body we have healed, but now her spirit needs the same.”
Panry came out, asking for an update, “Earth Mother, she wakes?”
“Yes, she is awake—”
Never hearing the rest of the sentence, he raced up to her room.
Lauren had slowly rolled over onto her back, holding back the scream. Managing to fight through the pain, she lowered her feet to the floor. She looked down at her left foot, “Guess I’m going to need new shoes.” She saw the huge scar forming where the man in purple had carved his name on her calf bone, and it looked like Fodu had reopened the wound, making smaller stitches to try to lessen the scar. Trying to stand, her legs were weak, and her foot hurt. Grabbing the tri-wood staff, she used it to pull the chair closer, and then she threw it into the corner. Slowly she managed to stand. Her right wrist, still in a splint, hurt badly, and she could see where they had used a hammer to make her let go of the staff. Once she caught her breath, she maneuvered the chair in front of the trifold mirror, remembering all of the times she and Gingaar stood in front of it, modeling new outfits. She slowly unbuttoned her nightshirt, letting it drop to the ground. Being able to see her back, she recognized Fodu’s work, which she had seen on John’s back. If there had been a contest to see who could take a worse beating, she won. Raising her right arm, she saw the brand that ran from her armpit to the top of her hip and started to cry. There were cuts, burns, and welts all over her body. Lauren looked in the mirror, “Freak!”
There was a knock on the door, “Earth Mother?”
“Panry, if you open that door right now, you’ll die! LEAVE ME ALONE!” After she had looked at the wounds on her naked body, she reached for her breakfast, which she threw at the door. Slowly working her way back to the bed, she covered her shame. “They all saw, and everybody knows.” Then she cried, hoping to fall asleep, but the plant extract used to wake her fought her efforts.
Panry went down to the backyard, wearing a puzzled look, “Earth Mother, she is upset?”
Arora was holding her flask upside down, letting the last few drops drip into her tea, “She told us to leave. We expected fire, a wild stag, an avalanche, or more. We expected the first one with named Lauren, not this meek one.”
“Her wounds,” inquired Panry, “do they not heal?”
Nur requested a fresh bottle from the cook, “Yes and no. Her arm still heals. Her foot will never be the same. Most of the wounds are healing, but her back will take longer. Fodu had to stretch the skin to make ends meet, and pain will be her companion for a long time.”
“Her spirit, does that not heal?” asked Panry.
“Broken bones we can set. Broken spirits, we do not know how to treat such,” advised Arora, as she wiped away her tears.
*******
After the natural drugs had worn off, when Lauren finally cried herself to sleep, the dreams started, but Mother was absent. She was back in the dark room with the man who wore purple. The first time she screamed, Panry ran in, but he was met by a violent outburst from Lauren, which only caused her more pain. Even though her screams continued to pierce the night, none would enter her room. Having Earth Guards above her window and outside her door, they knew she was physically safe, but this was a threat that they were unable to safeguard her from, and each scream ripped at their hearts, as Lauren relived the nightmare in her dreams.
*******
John had left before breakfast with Aaro and Bor, needing to talk to the dwarves. Bor had sent out a house runner late the night before. ‘Meeting at Pintar’s in the morning.’ When they arrived, most of the clans were present.
John started, “Several months ago I asked you to make gold chains, ropes, and thread for me. I thought it could give us an advantage in the war. It failed to work. What I withheld was the reason I needed it. I seek to capture magic, and last night I found it. It isn’t gold that I need but mithril.”
“Mithril is reserved for dwarf only. None others,” came from the back.
“I’ll make this quick, those three suns generate radiation. It is energy or let’s call it magic. When it falls down here, it’s attracted to certain metals, and one of them is mithril. That’s what makes dwarf weapons and armor so superior. When you make weapons and armor, you use this metal to make them lighter, but when you add it to other metals, you dilute it or weaken it. If you only used mithril, no dwarf blade would ever lose its edge. No dwarf armor would ever fail. Your advantage on the battlefield would be unmatched. Is that of value to you?”
Aaro stood, “Dwarf he is, proclaimed him that and brother I did. What he says we do not understand. Advantage he speaks, you are dwarf, ACT! Chains, ropes, and threads. My brother, advantage he seeks, dwarf will deliver. Questions do not win battles. Action, the price we pay for victory. Brother, need them when?”
“You’ve all heard of the campfires that have been spotted on the plains, and many of you may have seen them. War comes. These items could mean the difference between victory and defeat. I need them tomorrow, but I know you cannot meet that deadline. Send whatever you have with the post office riders. If it’s too much for them, take it to one of the hubs on the main road. I’ll arrange with Pintar to send wagons if necessary. If you make three feet of chain that day, send it out. Tell the Master Weapon Smiths in each mine that which he builds will save our future.”
Bor stood, “Brothers, the objective is clear, action is required. Threat this way marchs and seeks dwarf greeting. Advantage dwarf. Messages send by post or person. Tell all to send mithril chain, rope, and thread.”
The dwarves all nodded.
After they had left the meeting, Aaro walked up to John, “Magic you saw. Mithril it likes?”
“Yes.”
Aaro looked to Bor, “When satisfied is brother, message send. Pure mithril ax, sword, and shield they now cast.”
Bor smiled, “Dwarfs with magic. Legends great will be born.”
*******
Later that morning, the house reacted when Lauren began to scream. Panry and Nur raced up the stairs, and opening the door, they found her crying, curled up in a ball.
Nur sat down beside her, “Earth Mother, please let me give you some berries to help you sleep—”
Lauren’s eyes were wide with fear, “No, no, no. No sleep. No. No.”
“Earth Mother, please calm down,” requested Nur.
“STOP CALLING ME THAT.”
Nur reached out to caress her.
“Leave me alone. Get out of here. NOW!”
When Nur left the room, she started to cry.
Knocking on the door, Panry asked, “Lauren, do I have your permission to enter?”
“NO, LEAVE ME ALONE!”
They both went down to the backyard where the Earth Mothers waited, and Brook inquired as to what happened.
“I don’t know. She sent me from the room. I offered to give her berries to help her sleep, but she became very upset,” replied Nur.
“What can we…how do I…” asked Panry.
“Pray,” advised Arora.
It was two hours later when Lauren screamed again. When Nur and Panry went up, they were greeted with ‘Get out, leave me alone,’ and they returned to the backyard.
“Send in one of her friends?” suggested Arora.
Zack had been sitting in the backyard, waiting for Nur to grow bored with the conversati
on, and realized all were looking at him. Hearing the door open, Lauren saw the otter sticking his head in the door, “I’ll name you Slippers. You’ll keep my feet warm.” After Zack backed up, Nur closed the door. They tried to send Eric up, suggesting he wear his armor, but he declined.
It was late in the afternoon when Pintar entered, “Armies arrived on the south bank across the river. Reinforcements of the west are moving to the pass, preparing for battle.” He brought with him two of the fast horse amulets, which he gave to Panry and Eric, but once outside the house, they bumped into John, who demanded to go with them. After Panry had hoisted him onto the back of his horse, when they were outside of the town, they dug their heels into the magical beasts, racing to the pass.
One hundred yards from the end of the pass, the wall of Iron Wood trees stood. When Eric pulled his mount to a stop, he looked at Panry. “How did you get by those when you rode out to rescue Lauren?”
Panry pointed to the far left, where the river flowed through.
“I still don’t understand.”
“We pointed the mounts, and they ran so fast, they jumped the river.”
Eric shook his head, “Tranquil Fury says this isn’t good, but we’ll fix it tomorrow.” Riding down the last hundred yards, on the right-hand side, the dwarves had carved a staircase into the mountain that led up to a large open ledge. In the great distance, they could see a large dust cloud that stretched back for miles. Closer, but not close enough for elf eyesight to see clearly, the first army had started to arrive. The war council had taken offense to the first partial bridge, and in the dark of night, they had sent rafts loaded with lamp oil, which they ignited with flaming elf arrows. Charred remains, attached to the far bank, still stood while others bobbed up and down in the clear river. Beside it, a new bridge spanned the river. Oddly, it was only ten feet wide, having no supports under it. The sentry advised that the skinny bridge appeared two days ago, and the previous night, they had sent a crew out to burn it, but oil and flame had no effect.
