FIREFANGED

Chapter 8 (Blood-strewn)

Barely stepping inside the keep, I ran into Lynda Snow as she was coming downstairs for breakfast. She froze, noting my ugly, blood-strewn appearance or perhaps the wretched smell. The blood wasn't mine, but possession is nine-tenths of the law. I winced at her shock and her loss of appetite.

"Ara, what happened to you? Are you alright?"

I had a feeling her father rarely returned home wearing his work. "Lynda, sorry. I'm alright, mostly. I just got back from a night patrol with the scouts. It began quietly and ended with quite a fight. I'd better get cleaned up." I ducked my head. I remembered how fine she looked the night before at dinner, and here I stood, ruining her breakfast.

Lynda recovered quickly and changed the subject to something lighter, "Maybe we could head into town together later this week?"

"You bet. It looks like I could use some new clothes," I replied, running up the stairs.

Reaching my shared living room, I saw Doctor Loeb coming out of one of the extra bedrooms with a pair of young women that were dressed in gray like sentinel recruits.

He gave me the once over and checked my left arm for any damage. I had a nice dent in my left vambrace. My forearm was black and blue. Loeb didn't think that the bone was broken again, but it was starting to feel like it. He suggested that I use my old sling to take some of the weight off the arm.

Loeb introduced me to his young recruits. Their names were Helen and Drew, and they were both in their late teens. They were assisting the doctor as part of their medical training. They helped me shed the rest of my armor while I quizzed Loeb.

"Doctor, how is the girl? Did she wake up?"

"She awoke quite agitated. After calming her down, I gave her something to help her sleep. She's lost some blood, but of more concern, she appears to be utterly exhausted. She must have been on the run for quite some time. She's a half-breed dark elf. Rare. I only know of one other. Dark elves are not a race to suffer impurities."

"Did you find out her name?" I asked.

"Her name is Raven. She seems to be about your age, though in her condition, it's tough to be sure. Helen and Drew are here for the important task of watching over her day and night. Get yourself cleaned up and dressed. We will let you know if anything changes."

"Doctor, you need to know that she killed one of the demons before she collapsed, took it clean apart with this black blade of hers. That puts her on our side." I wanted to make sure he knew that she was a priority to me.

Hesitating a moment, Loeb gave me a nod. "Go get cleaned up and see to your armor. We'll have plenty to discuss later with Vigil Snow."

After getting a bath and a fresh set of clothes, I looked in on Raven. She was still asleep, but I felt reassured, seeing Helen sitting at her side. I asked about the woman's wounds. They weren't viewed as life-threatening but had required some stitching by Doctor Loeb. I asked her to let me know as soon as anything changed.

I hit up the kitchen for a late breakfast and made a short visit to the armorer to knock out the dent in my vambrace.

The sentinel armorer was the same one that had kitted me out back in Lockrun, a man by the name of Nickols. He recognized the thick vambrace and asked what caused the dent. When I told him that it was a demon's nose, he laughed before he realized that I was serious. Nickols pounded out the dent and handed it back as good as new. He promised to find something a bit sturdier now that he realized I would be using it as a weapon and not just a brace.

I had a long list of visits to make, starting with the scouts in the North Tower. Upon reaching the tower's second floor, I found four scouts scattered around the common room working on their armor. Sentinel Pika Havens was snoring heavily in the corner. It must have been a rough night.