Myrkron (Volume Two of The Chronicles of the Myrkron)

by Woods, Timothy

  "Aye, but not by much. Most of us start out when we are not much older than he is now, as apprentices to a unit of soldiers. We spend time as messengers and cooks' helpers. We learn to tend arms and armor and then how to wield those arms. If we display an aptitude for repairing things, we generally are then apprenticed to a smith so we can learn the craft of forging. If we are better with wielding than repairing, then we are trained in fighting. Dain was a cook’s aid when I met him. He brought me a bowl of soup and then just stared at me." Bran laughed lightly, remembering the awed look on Dain’s face. "He told me I glowed."

  "Ah, the boy can see auras then. That explains much," Mardak nodded knowingly.

  "How so?" Bran asked.

  "Since he can see the aura of men, he can know what they are feeling and what is in their hearts. He knew we came to help and were no threat to you. He could read it in Karg’s and my auras. That explains why he trusted me enough to approach. He is a rare one, your Dain."

  "Aye. That he is. He has saved us more times than I care to count. There isn't a man among my unit who would not give his life to protect Dain. After this morning, I’ll wager a good many of Commander Salic’s men feel the same."

  "I’d not take that bet. I can assure you they do, for I feel the same way." Mardak chuckled. "By the look on my brother’s face upon seeing me as I am now, I would wager he would take on a great wurm barehanded if it threatened Dain."

  "I’d not take that bet either," Bran said eyeing the big ogre.

  Mardak laughed at Bran turning his own statement back on him.

  Bran was sitting with his head tilted back and his eyes closed when he heard a rustle from inside the tent behind him. He heard the faint chink of chain mail and then opened his eyes to see Dain pull back the flap on the tent. Dark circles under the boy’s eyes spoke to his fatigue.

  "You should rest more, Dain. The wounded are being tended," Bran told him.

  "There is one that requires me, Axethane," Dain stated as he walked from the tent and headed toward the area where the wounded were being treated.

  Bran was immediately on his feet as was Mardak. They followed behind the young dwarf, watching him as he tried to smooth out the gray healers tunic he wore over his armor. There wasn’t much gray left to it. Most of it was stained an ugly dark brown from the blood that had dried on it from all the wounded Dain had healed during the battle.

  "Axethane, why does he think he is needed by one of them?" Mardak asked, gesturing to the many wounded laying in neat rows on the canyon floor.

  "I couldn't even begin to answer that, Master Mardak. I only know that he senses when he is needed," Bran told him with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

  "It's Shaman, Axethane," Mardak replied.

  "What’s that?"

  "If you choose to address me by title, then it is Shaman Mardak, not Master, but Mardak will do. We ogres rarely use titles, except in the case of the Chieftain."

  "You are Shaman for your tribe?"

  Bran saw a wide smile spread over Mardak’s face.

  "Aye. Our father would have been very proud. One of his sons now leads our tribe as well as several others. Karg is a mighty warrior and a great leader. He has joined fourteen tribes under one command. Additionally, I have been given the gift of the Great One's Touch. Though he knew I would one day be Shaman, my father never would have dared to guess that Karg would be a Chieftain."

  "I apologize, I do not know much about your culture. From what I do know, is it not unusual for multiple tribes to come together under one leader?" Bran asked.

  "No apology needed, Axethane. I would not expect an outsider to know much of our ways. To answer your question, yes. Such a thing as Karg has done has never before been accomplished. It is not unheard of for one tribe to take over another through war, but to bring so many together without war has never happened."

  "How did he bring about such a thing?"

  Mardak smiled again.

  "He talked to them. Unlikely as it sounds, he traveled around just talking to our people. He found that most thought as he did, that we should not be making war on the other races solely for the benefit of one man, and a human man at that."

  "Not all thought that way," Bran spat angrily. "We were attacked by a large group of your people at West Gate. Mortow has obviously persuaded some of your kind to his side. They killed many dwarves before we were able to route and slay them as they fled."

  "It is as you say. My people are war-like," Mardak said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "But then, there are always those ready to fight no matter what race they be. With all of the trolls now following Mortow, for the first time, my race was without war. Peace weighs heavily on those who have never known anything except war. It doesn't surprise me that some would join him merely for the glory of war. We are here for the same thing. The only difference is that we fight so our people will be free. We fight against Mortow because we know all he will offer us are the chains of tyranny."

  Bran and Mardak stopped as Dain came to the same man Mardak had stopped at earlier and knelt down beside him. His breathing was very shallow and his face was extremely pale. Mardak gestured to the man lying on the ground.

  "If I had not felt for myself what Dain is capable of, I would say this man is beyond a healer’s ability. Now, I am not so sure."

  It was Bran’s turn to smile. "If there is breath left in the man, Dain can heal him. I have seen wounds much worse than this, disappear under his hands."

  Bran and Mardak fell silent as Dain laid his left hand on the man’s stomach and right hand on his chest. They saw Dain bow his head. A few seconds later, Dain’s entire body went rigid, and he sucked in a breath with a gasp. The unconscious man’s body convulsed under his hands and Dain’s slight frame shook as they saw his lips pull back to reveal clenched teeth. Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, they saw the gaping wound draw together and close. The man’s body relaxed and his breathing returned to normal. Dain rocked back onto his heels and rose shakily to his feet. He walked toward Bran and Mardak, stumbled, and nearly fell.

  Mardak took a quick stride forward and easily picked Dain up with one hand. He sat Dain down in the crook of his left arm. "Easy young healer, you must rest more if you are to help these men. Driving yourself to exhaustion will gain them nothing. Only healthy and rested can you do your job properly." Mardak dug into a pouch on his right side and pulled out a few items. He separated them in his palm with a finger on his left hand. "See the gray leaf, young healer?"

  Dain looked blearily at the items displayed on the big ogre’s palm. There were several different kinds of leaves as well as what looked to be roots. They appeared so tiny in the massive hand that they almost looked unreal. Dain nodded his head as he looked up at Mardak.

  "See the red colored root right beside it? Take them both. Put the leaf in your mouth and then bite off a small piece of the root. Chew them together until they are smooth. Once they're mixed completely, you will taste a sour apple flavor. Only after you taste the apple do you swallow them."

  Bran stood watching the big ogre gently holding Dain and ministering to him. He watched Dain do as Mardak had instructed him. He couldn’t help still being leery about the ogres, especially when it concerned Dain. Mardak had done nothing to provoke such a feeling, but Bran kept remembering all the dwarves that died at West Gate at the hands of ogres.

  Dain suddenly made a sour face as he was chewing.

  Mardak chuckled at seeing his expression. "Now swallow it," he told Dain.

  Dain made a bitter face as he did as Mardak instructed. "What will it do?" Dain asked.

  Mardak straightened to his full height, lifting Dain with him. "It will help restore your strength somewhat. It's no substitute for rest, but it will clear your head and give you some energy. Give it a few minutes to do its work then you can see to the other injured. When its effects wear off, however, you are going to need sleep more than you would have without its aid. You will sleep soundly tonight. In the morni
ng, you will be very hungry. Eat well and you will be good as new."

  "What is it that you gave me?"

  Seeing Dain’s eyes brighten as the plants began to work, he set Dain down on his own feet. Bran noticed that Dain didn't stumble and appeared more alert than before.

  "The leaf comes from the Kelin bush that grows in the mountains of my homeland. It is used in many of our medicines. The root is from the Taka plant. It is the only part of the plant that can be ingested. The leaves, berries, and stem are poisonous. The root is only mildly toxic, enough to make one ill. When properly combined with other herbs, the toxicity is neutralized and other beneficial effects are released."

  Dain, already feeling the effects of the plant, smiled. "Such a thing would be very handy during battle. A lot of times, if I had more strength, I could save more lives."

  Mardak looked down on Dain with a stern look. "It cannot be taken often. What I have given you is all you may have for the next cycle of the moon. Any more given before that time can cause injury in here," Mardak poked a massive finger at Dain’s chest. "Feel how your heart beats? It will be faster than normal. More taken now can cause it to burst. The effects only last a few hours, but it takes the body many weeks to flush the root out. If you were to wait even two weeks before taking another dose, it would have the same effect as if I gave you another does right now. It builds in the body and must be expelled before more can be taken."

  Bran watched the exchange between the two. He realized as Mardak spoke that the shaman was a healer for his people as well. Not a healer like Dain, but one who used the flora and fauna of his land to aid his people against sickness and injury. He had thought that Mardak only wanted to talk to Dain because Dain had healed him. Now he knew that wasn't the case. Mardak wanted to talk to someone who shared his calling, someone who used his abilities to heal others.

  Bran cleared his throat to get their attention. "Now that you seem to be back on your feet, I must see to the men and talk with Commander Salic about our defenses."

  "Yes and I must see to the injured. Thank you for your herbs, Shaman Mardak. They will help many men this day," Dain said bowing to the big ogre. "If you will excuse me, Axethane, I am needed."

  "If you don't mind, Axethane, I would like to tag along with Dain and help where I can," Mardak inquired.

  "I have no objections if Dain does not," Bran said looking to Dain.

  Dain smiled. "I would be most grateful for your help, Shaman Mardak."

  "Please, just Mardak. Titles waste breath better used on other matters."

  Bran eyed Mardak. He was starting to like the big shaman. He didn’t mince words nor did he place importance on matters of protocol where they were not needed. "I will send Pace out to you as soon as I can."

  "Let him rest, Axethane. I will look after Dain. Pace needs his sleep as much as anyone else. He will be better able to resume his duties after he has slept. We are safe here for the time being and I vow to you, I will let nothing happen to Dain."

  "Very well. Just make sure that Dain gets some sleep. He will be no good to us if he wears himself out," Bran said, shooting a scowl at Dain that would bend iron.

  "Fear not, Axethane, he will sleep well tonight. What I have given him will leave him little choice in the matter," Mardak replied grinning and watching Dain trying to hide a smile of his own.

  Bran grunted and walked off toward the officers' tents.

  Mardak chuckled.

  "He cares greatly for you, young healer, or else his scowl would not be so fierce."

  "I know. He alone, of all my people, has shown me the path of my life. It was he who brought my calling out when I would have denied it. Because of him, many of our men are alive today who otherwise would have perished. He not only saves lives through combat, but through me as well. Every man I save is another he has protected. He is Axethane. Few truly understand what that means, but I do. I try to ease that burden by saving those he cannot," Dain said as he walked to another injured man.

  "Why do you not have more healers with you? It would seem to me, that if you had more than just yourself, then many more could be saved."

  "Healers are not as common as warriors among my people. We have many, but not nearly enough to concentrate them in any one place. Most are already attached to a unit. I would've thought that an experienced healer would join us, but none were available. I do what I can, but I am untrained and inexperienced."

  "I always thought there were vast numbers of healers among the dwarves," Mardak said in surprise.

  "Most Delvers have some healing ability, but true healers are rare, even in my people. Maybe one in a hundred Delvers born is gifted enough for the kind of healing required to be a battle healer," Dain explained.

  "I guess I always assumed a healer was a healer. It makes sense that the gift would be as varied as magic is in magi, but it is something I never considered. If you are as untrained as you lead me to believe, then your skilled healers must be beyond miracle workers. What you have done for me is a miracle in itself."

  "I used to think as you do, but I have been told that my ability is on the exceptional side. Men have told me that I have healed wounds that no other healer they have known could have healed. I know I am different in that I feel the pain of those I heal."

  "This is not something common to all healers?" Mardak asked.

  "No. No other healer that I know of feels the pain of their patients. I guess that is why I am able to do some of the things I do. I can feel so precisely what it is the injured feel that I am able to focus in on the problem quickly, and because I feel the pain too I tend to heal quickly in order to alleviate it."

  "You are a very brave young man, Dain."

  "I am not as brave as these warriors around us. They face the enemy knowing it could be the last thing they do in this life, but still they do it."

  "And you face the pain of their injuries, knowing you will share that pain. Of course, a warrior must be brave to face his enemies, but we have the chance that we will come out unharmed. If we are hurt, most of the time, the battle lust will keep the pain at bay. You heal these men, knowing you will experience their pain and not just one man’s but many. You are as brave as any warrior I have ever known, Dain. Do not ever doubt that," Mardak said with conviction.

  "He is right, young healer," a voice from behind them said. Dain and Mardak turned to the man. "I have not had many dealings with your kind," the man said looking up at Mardak, "but I see that many of my preconceived beliefs about ogres were incorrect."

  Mardak stared at the man by the light of the lanterns placed around the wounded. He was about six feet tall with long, dark hair bound back at the base of his skull and gray eyes. He was dressed in black trousers and boots with a flowing silver shirt. A wide black belt held a short sword at his right hip and a dagger at his left. Above his right shoulder protruded the long hilt of a larger sword. Mardak could feel a power about this human that he had never before sensed in anyone else.

  Hesitantly, Mardak spoke. "If that is meant as a compliment then I thank you, human."

  "Micah," the man corrected, extending his hand in friendship.

  Mardak's thick black eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline as his eyes opened wide in shock. "The Avari Lord?" Mardak asked, taking the offered hand.

  Micah smiled at the stunned expressions on both Dain’s and Mardak’s faces. "The very same. And who might I have the pleasure of addressing?"

  Mardak quickly recovered his composure. "I am Shaman Mardak, Brother to Chieftain Karg of the Hauddan Tribe."

  "I am pleased to meet one of your race off the battlefield. And you, young sir, must be the healer, Dain," Micah said, turning his attention to Dain, but did not offer his hand. The smile turned into a chuckle when he saw Dain’s open-mouth stare. "Come now, Dain, surely you've seen a human before, or am I that horrid to look upon?" Micah said still smiling.

  "Yes, Lord Micah, I mean no, Lord Micah," Dain sputtered.

  "Well which is it l
ad, yes or no?"

  Dain heard the echo of those very words in his mind. It had been Axethane Bran who had said them before. ‘Well which is it lad, yes or no?’ He could see the same quality of mirth in the Avari Lord’s smile as he had seen in Bran’s.

  "Yes, Lord Micah, I have seen humans before, and no, you are not horrid to look upon."

  "Well, glad to hear that. You were beginning to give me a complex about my appearance."

  "I am sorry, Lord Micah. It is just that, that…you have no aura," Dain replied stunned.

  "Eh, what’s that? No aura? What are you talking about? And please drop the Lord business, it’s just Micah. Titles are an affectation of the pretentious," Micah replied, noticing a slight smile creep onto Mardak’s face. The boy not only felt the pain of others, he saw auras as well. Micah would have to be on his guard around Dain.

  "You have no aura, Lord Micah. I have never seen anyone who did not have one. Well, other than those no longer alive."

  Micah’s smile vanished in an instant. "Walk with me a bit, young healer."

  Mardak held his hand out to stop Micah. "I'm sorry Micah, but I have given my word that I would protect Dain. I cannot allow him to go off without me."

  Micah locked eyes with Mardak. His expression leaving no doubt that Mardak was not allowed to be privy to what he had to say. "I am afraid, Shaman Mardak, that you have no choice in this matter. Be not concerned though, if I intended harm, there are none here who could stop me. Dain will be safe with me." Micah turned part way around and gestured for Dain to accompany him.

  Dain patted Mardak on the side of the leg. "The Avari are our allies. I have no reason to fear their Lord," Dain said as he joined Micah.

  Micah led Dain away, taking care not to touch the young healer.

  Mardak watched them walk off a bit from the wounded. When they were out of earshot, he saw Micah turn to Dain and begin to speak. Mardak saw Dain nodding his head. After a few minutes, they both turned and walked back toward Mardak. Micah’s face was expressionless, but as Dain came back into the light of the lanterns, Mardak could see that he was extremely pale.