Chapter 13 - Malpractice

“C'mon, give me something, anything..” Skyle whispered urgently while searching through the crates in front of him as fast as he could. Box after box of boots, belts, socks, and the like were quickly discarded to the side.

By this point, Skyle would have really settled for anything. Still, nothing useful had turned up thus far. Leon had even thoroughly searched the dead soldier for anything of use, but aside from the guttering torch, the guard's oversized armor, boots, clothes, and his sword, there hadn't been any other items on him.

The torch would obviously be of no use to the boys, since they were trying to be stealthy. The guard's pockets proved to be empty, and in fact upon close examination even his armor looked as though it had been donned in haste. After all, the poor devil had not even been wearing a helmet.

The sword, the only useful item, had been claimed by Leon as Skyle did not know how to use one, and besides it was too big and heavy for him to wield. However, the sword looked too big even for Leon, who was well built to the point where he looked many years older than his true age. After all, the dead soldier was 2 meters tall and Leon barely reached his shoulders. Leon was able to lift the sword with one arm, but being able to swing it competently would be a impossible given its size and weight. In the end, Leon had opted to lay the sword down in hopes of finding a weapon more suited to his current capabilities.

Both boys kept urgently searching, one inside the tents, the other through the crates outside. It was only after a while that Skyle's persistent, methodical search finally yielded two smaller boxes that looked better cared for. When he lifted the cover, Skyle's eyes shone as he saw it was filled with bandages, needles, jars and bottles. Immediately recognizing it as medical supplies, Skyle pulled the stoppers of a few of the bottles but was unable to identify any of them. They had labels, but the names were unfamiliar and no other explanations were written.

Shaking his head helplessly, he pursed his lips while thinking furiously. They needed medicine. Though so far they’d been able to persevere on pure guts alone, they were on the verge of collapse and Skyle knew it. Also, Skyle had been taught that even the smallest wound can rot and fester if not treated properly.

Skyle had a broken leg, and though it had stopped bleeding, the makeshit bandage he had wrapped around it was doing nothing to stop the pain or the swelling. Skyle remembered his father’s survival and hunting lessons. This kind of wound would soon make it extremely difficult for him to move unless he could treat it properly.

Back home, he knew a dozen different herbs he could use to alleviate the pain, fight the rot, reduce the swelling and accelerate the healing. Here, none of these medicines were familiar, and his father had taught him that sometimes the wrong medicine could be almost as deadly as poison.

After a moment of pause, Skyle gritted his teeth and made his decision. If Skyle couldn’t treat his wounds soon, he would be incapacitated, captured, then likely killed in any case. He might as well take a calculated gamble.

After all, he had a new trump card he could rely on.

Skyle narrowed his eyes as he focused his gaze on the medicine jars, trying his best to perceive every variation in the strange amalgamation of colors shown by his True Sight

It took him a while to separate the aura coming from the bottles and jars from the aura of their contents, but after a few seconds of careful examination, Skyle was able to determine that most of the bottles shared a similar brown texture that could help him separate them from the substances contained within.

Interestingly, the bandages were also glowing with a slight brown sheen, but by contrast most of the contents of the flasks and bottles seemed to be tingling brightly with several different colors. Some had a pink tinge to them, others a smooth blue aura, and yet others a bright green glow.

Skyle picked up the vials that were glowing pink. For some reason, these bottles gave him a feeling like they would burn, but it would be a good fire, like a cleansing fire. This struck a memory, so he immediately openned the vial and carefully sniffed again. Though his father had taught him to identify hundreds of herbs, the scents from all these bottles were unfamiliar. Still, by the faint stinging smell, Skyle was reminded of an herb that emitted a similar sensation when crushed. This herb was used for treating wounds and fighting the rot, so Skyle decided to take an educated guess that this vial would have similar properties.

Skyle picked up another jar, this one glowing with a few bright blue threads. This blue color reminded him a chilly winter wind, bringing a cool, numbing sensation to his skin. Skyle was somehow able to associate this feeling with another medicine he had been taught. When he smelled its contents, he couldn’t identify anything specific. However, his nose had a tingling sensation before slowly becoming slightly numb. With a flash in his eyes, Skyle remembered a salve that was the product of mixing three different herbs together. Two of these herbs were completely innocuous, and had no other effects by themselves. The third was a potent poison, and his father had repeatedly warned Skyle to be careful in its handling.

It was only when all three herbs were mixed in the right proportions, that they produced a special salve. Skyle still remembered the first time his father had manufactured it. Inadvertently and against his father’s prior warnings, Skyle had gotten too close and caught a whiff of the concoction while it was still being brewed. It had immediately numbed Skyle’s nose so that he couldn’t smell anything at all, and given him a headache that had lasted for the rest of the night.

Of course, the reason why the lesson had been so memorable was not because of the headache, but because his father had spent the rest of the night making him identify herbs by smell, and had deducted his pay for every wrong answer.

Skyle could still remember his helpless, frustrated moans while his father handed him herb after herb and chortled the night away.

The salve that had been produced, it was a potent medicine that numbed the pain from wounds and reduced inflammation. Could the substance in this jar do the same thing?

Last of all, Skyle picked out a bottle glowing with a brilliant green aura. When he pulled the stopper, the smell was surprisingly pleasant, and a small but puzzled smile stretched across his face. This sensation was strange and unfamiliar, and he couldn’t identify it with anything he was familiar with. However, both the strange effect of its smell and the comforting, almost soothing green glow of its elemental aura gave him the strong conviction that this was definitely nothing harmful, and instead would be greatly beneficial.

So far, his True Sight had been extremely accurate, so Skyle carefully set it aside with the other two medicines he had selected.

Taking a deep breath, Skyle untied his bandages to examine the wound on his leg. The flow of blood had stopped, but the leg was bent slightly and he knew that it had not been properly set. Fortunately, Skyle had experience with such wounds before, and his father had of course taken the opportunity to teach him how to treat such wounds.

With a determined glare, Skyle placed one of the rolled up bandages in his mouth and with a firm, jerking motion, he pulled the broken ends of his bone apart, then twisted and hurriedly pushed them into place before the oncoming tide of agony hit him in a wave of dizzying red. He grunted and howled silently as tears flowed down his face. His jaw made popping noises as all the muscles in his neck stood out and his teeth bit savagely on the bandages in his mouth.

After a few steadying breaths, the stars finally cleared from his vision enough that Skyle could trust himself to continue to treat his wound. The violent motion had pulled the small tear on the skin of his leg open again, so Skyle used another bandage to wipe the area clean, then tipped the contents of the substance glowing pink on top the wound.

Another surge of agony rushed up his leg as a dark green liquid fell from the bottle and covered his wound, making it bubble slightly. Skyle was slightly alarmed at first, but the pain slowly receded and the boy didn’t pause at all as he finished applying the substance. He then set it aside and opened the bottle with the blue glow, but before anything else he paused for a moment to study the wound with his True Sight.

Angry spikes of red were swirling around the wound, but deeper within, Skyle could see a few dots of an ugly purple coming in contact with tendrils of the pink substance, and being swallowed up. The pink glow gradually spread along the wound, but it didn’t seem to have any other effects.

So far so good. It was time for the next bottle.

Skyle narrowed his eyes as he braced himself for another wave of pain, but when he tipped this next bottle, a dark liquid dripped out of the opening and covered his wound. Immediately, a slight numbness spread up his leg, and only from its sudden absence did Skyle realize just how much pain he had constantly been in.

In his True Sight, the wound that had previously been flaring with an angry red had now blended with the blue substance, and a much more mellow pink glow was the result. Also, the size of the now pink glow was shrinking visibly.

Nodding to himself, Skyle reached inside the crate for the rest of the supplies he’d seen. Swiftly and with practiced motions, Skyle applied splints to his leg, then firmly bandaged it while still retaining as much motion as he could. When he stood up once more, he found that the pain was now greatly reduced, and he could place much more weight on it now.

By then, Leon had returned with his own bounty and had been observing him quietly for the last thirty seconds.

Though the first tent had yielded nothing but a dead sense of smell and watering eyes, Leon’s quick search through the next tent had yielded a supply of worn but thick and warm cloaks in one tent, one of which miraculously seemed to fit Skyle’s smaller size. Cloaks were impractical for combat, but they could keep a body dry from the weather and warm during the night.

The next tent had yielded an even more important item.

“Is that a map?” Skyle stared at the large piece of parchment Leon was holding.

“How should I know,” Leon grumbled, scowling indignantly at the other boy. “I honestly can’t make out anything on it. Damn curse-infested place.”

“Then why did you pick it up?” Skyle asked while grabbing the map and studying it wide-eyed.

“It seemed important, as it was lying neatly folded on top of a table while everything else inside was a mess,” Leon shrugged. “Is it really a map?”

Skyle nodded. “It shows the general layout of the camp, and identifies a few landmarks around us. This could make all the difference!”

Though it was more of a rough sketch than a real map, it was still possible for Skyle to identify the general supply tents and the cage area. Checking for the nearest tree line, Skyle was able to find the closest way out of the camp.

“Time to go,” Skyle nodded to Leon, then turned around, but was grabbed by the arm by the other boy.

“Wait, there were no weapons, but at least this is better than nothing,” Leon said, offering a small knife to Skyle.

It was a common, utilitarian knife. Though the blade looked rather worn, overall it had been maintained well and sharpened often. It was likely used for odd jobs around the camp, but given Skyle’s small hand, the size was almost perfect for him to wield with ease.

Skyle noddded his thanks to Leon.

“What about you?” Skyle asked while holding the knife in his hand, testing its balance. “Since you can't use the sword, you might be able to put the knife to better use than me.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Leon shruggeed somewhat sheepishly and pulled something out from around his back.

It was an axe.

The axe was almost more of a hatchet for chopping smaller kindling, given the smaller handle. Still, Leon looked threatening enough with it as he hefted it in his huge hands. Although the wooden handle was well worn and the single edged blade had a few nicks, the metal itself seemed of decent quality and still carried a sharp edge. Moreover, the axe head was heavy enough that even if the edge had been completely blunt, a well delivered blow would still deal a vicious injury.

“If only we had found a-” Skyle said wistfully, but was interrupted by the other boy.

“No bows or arrows,” Leon shook his head helplessly. “No weapons of any kind around here, for that matter.”

Skyle nodded ruefully, then nodded towards the medicinal crate.

“Let me take a look at your arm.”

Leon opened his mouth as though to protest, but then he glanced at Skyle’s leg once more, and finally nodded decisively.

“Make it quick,” Leon muttered, offering his arm to Skyle.

“Sure, as long as you can take the pain,” Skyle raised an eyebrow, at which Leon simply scoffed.

A handful of minutes later, a much more subdued Leon swayed woozily on his feet as Skyle patted his heavily bandaged shoulder in a mock-reassuring way.

“All done, your lordship,” Skyle smirked.

Sweat streamed down Leon’s face, his skin as pale as a ghost’s and his teeth still biting down convulsively on the bandange Skyle had given him to muffle his screams.

“Damn, did you learn that from a hedge witch or a torturer?” Leon muttered under his breath as soon as he could draw normal breath again with his trembling lungs.

Skyle tilted his head upwards while he seriously considered the question for a moment, then thinking of his father, he nodded solemnly to Leon.

“You could say it was a nasty combination of both.”

“It shows,” Leon grumbled, scowling fiercely at his bandaged arm. He moved it experimentally a few times, and seemed surprised at how flexible it still was. “This is not bad. Not bad at all. And here I thought I’d have to have you hanged for malpractice.”

“Tell me that again if your arm doesn’t suddenly rot and fall off in the next twelve hours,” Skyle scoffed.

“Might not even live that long,” Leon raised an ironic eyebrow.

“I suppose. Anyway, try not to move it too much for now. I tried to leave as much leeway for movement as possible since you will need to use it again soon,” Skyle advised in a low tone.

Leon glanced at the other boy for a moment, noticing his tone. “Then, we’re finally committed?”

Skyle let out a long sigh, but in the end he nodded resolutely as his hand found the hilt of the knife hanging by his belt. “Yes, it is now us or them.”

“Kill or be killed,” Leon agreed, hefting his axe, then took breath to add in a more serious tone. “Thank you.”

Skyle paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

“You’re welcome. Now, lets get the hell out of here.”