“What happened?” Cyn demanded as she attempted to sit upright in the cart.

“Uhh the boy fell m’lady.” Sitarre explained as he jumped off his horse and ran to the boy’s side. A quick examination of the boy showed he was sweating heavily and breathing in shallow breaths. He then put a hand to the boy’s forehead. “He’s burning up! By the Five, I never thought a child could burn so hot.”

“Bring him here!” Cyn commanded and Sitarre nodded.

“Up we go young lad.” With a quick pace, he laid him down in the back of the wagon with Cyn. “We need to get him to a doctor.”

“Aye.” Cyn nodded as she soaked a small piece of cloth in water and laid it over Daen’s head.

“But the only place nearby is Lenzeros, the capital.”

“Aye. Two days away.”

“He might not make it.” Sitarre paced back and forth with his hand to his chin.

“If we don’t get moving, m’lord’s not going to make it.” Cyn growled.

“Patience my dear. We might not need go so far…though you may not like what I have in mind.”

“It don’t matter. We need to save m’lord at all costs.”

“In that, we are in agreement.” Sitarre then raised his hands to the sky and shot forth a great burst of flame. “My second will see the signal and come assist.”

“Second?”

“You don’t think I’d go to meet the boy with the golden aura alone, did you?”

Moments later, a tall and very thin woman wearing black leathers came riding out from the forest.

“I saw the signal Sitarre, whats wrong?” She asked in a serious tone.

“Ah, Glicei! Punctual as always. We need you to play doctor for a few hours or so until we get to our abode.”

“Very funny Sitarre. What do you really need me for? And whose we?”

“He speaks true. Please, you must help m’lord.” Cyn pleaded from the back of the wagon.

Cyn felt herself being scrutinized for a few moments before she was quickly ignored.

“Picking up strays again Sitaree? This little bird seems to have broken her wing.” She turned to Cyn, “You know they cut those off right?”

“M’lord needs help…” Cyn agonized.

“I’m afraid the lady speaks sense, Glicei. We need you to use your power to keep the golden boy from burning up. He’s with the woman.”

“What did you do Sitarre?” She rushed to the wagon. “Ugh! Never mind, out of my way!”

Once she climbed into the back she began to remove the boy’s clothes.

“What are ye doin’!” Cyn demanded.

“Well these torn clothes aren’t doing him much good are they?” Glicei spoke as she removed his pants

“…At least leave m’lord’s pants on!”

“Well if his body is really hot, we need to keep it cool right? That means his whole body! The heat will just move from his head to his…head…” Glicei rationalized. “If we make his whole body cool then the heat cant go anywhere except out.” Cyn finally nodded.

“I see.”

Sitarre jumped onto his horse and kicked her into motion as Glicei removed the boy’s undergarments.

“Not much to look at is he?”

“Don’t judge m’lord too harshly. Tis just a boy.” Cyn murmured.

“Please don’t make light of a man’s pride m’ladies.” Sitarre called from the front. Glicei merely scoffed,

“I’ll now use my powers to cool him down even more.” She then placed her hands on the boy’s chest and cast a spell. Small patches of ice then formed on the boy’s chest. “This should keep him cool for awhile.” Cyn nodded,

“Impressive.”

“You should see Glicei here when she’s pissed. Then you’ll see impressive.”

“You always piss me off Sitarre.” She deadpanned.

“See? Isn’t she amazing?”

Over the course of their trip, the boy began to speak in a strange tongue. They had assumed that he was still burning up, so Glicei had formed more ice upon his body to keep him cool. In a few hours time, the group approached a small home that had clearly seen better days. They parked the wagon beside the house, unhitched the horse and carried the boy inside.

“Welcome to our humble abode and headquarters of the Black Enchanters in the region!” Sitarre dramatically emphasized the building. “Please, make yourself at home m’lady Cyn.” He bowed and led her to a room with a bed of straw. Glicei followed as she held Daen and placed him upon the bed. Her ice had already melted by the time they had made it to the house. For good measure, she casted some more upon the boy’s body. He shivered.

“I think its working!” Glicei exclaimed.

“Aye. He ain’t burnin’ up no more.” Cyn spoke as she placed her hand upon Daen’s forehead.

“Well, I think we can rest easy now. Lets all take a breather and wait for the other two to show up.” Sitarre negotiated.

“Other two?” Cyn curiously questioned.

“Brute and Stitch. Brute is…well, was a slave. A Werewolf in fact. Stitch is like Brute in that he was a slave. But hes a Ratman instead of a Werewolf. One fine doctor as well.” Glicei explained as best she could. “You’ll meet them soon.”

Together the two women sat watching over the sickened boy with worry. Cyn’s thoughts were all about the boy himself. Daen could have left her beneath that tree. Could have turned away Sitarre’s offer of assistance. He could have done anything, but he chose to stay and help. He was a fine lad, and she’d do anything in her power to help him in turn. Her honor would allow nothing less.

Glicei however, worried about different things. Her thoughts were mixed with concern, curiosity, and a bit of anger. She was concerned about the boy, sure. But more pressing was her concern with what would happen should the boy die in their care. Not only would the Black Enchanters be held to blame directly, but her group in particular would be hunted by everyone! She was also curious about the boy himself. Why was a golden aura so important? ‘I mean, sure its out of the ordinary. But to make such a fuss…’ Her anger was all directed towards Sitarre. The man always stuck his nose into problems not his own. He shouldn’t have brought the boy here and now everything would depend on this child.

It wasn’t long until Brute came stomping into the house. The large wolfman had to bend down to enter through the door because he was so tall. Cyn’s eyes widened as she saw the massive figure approach them. Thick dark grey fur covered his entire body, but couldn’t hide his muscular stature. Yellow eyes watched every hint of movement around. His snout constantly sniffing, searching for anything out of place.

“Welcome back Brute!” Sitarre stood with his greeting, “As you can see, we uh…have some guests! Yes, guests. A sick one and an injured one.”

“Sick?” Brute growled as he spoke.

“Aye. M’lord has a fever.” Cyn uttered, visibly shaken by the Werewolf’s appearance. Brute closed his eyes in thought before nodding.

“So Brute, where is Stitch?” Glicei questioned.

“Out. Wanted flowers. Smelled them.” He turned, grabbed a bucket, and walked back towards the door to go outside.

“And where are you going?” Sitarre inquired.

“Get leeches. Clean blood. Help cure. Back soon.”

Once they were alone they all looked at one another.

“Leeches?” Cyn questioned.

“Well, it sounds like it should work. His people must use such cures when they’re ailing.” Glicei rationalized.

“Indeed. When Brute speaks, which isn’t often, its best to listen. He knows quite a bit.” Sitarre nodded sagely.

********

Its a strange feeling, being under a fever. You don’t know whats real or a dream. And I gotta say, I had some pretty weird dreams. One was where I heard people speaking a strange language as they pointed at me. My surroundings constantly shifted, one moment I’d be in red canyons, the next I’d be in a tropical forest. At one point I was on a beach resort, tended to by beautiful women in bikinis. I wished that one would stay. But that too faded after a time. In another such vision, I was surrounded by a group of people. One wore black leathers, another wore a black robe, and a third wore some sort of splint on her arm. It reminded me of Cyn, but I couldn’t focus on her face, it kept shifting. There was a forth…person wolf thing…who had a bucket in his hands. He put his hand in the bucket and pulled out a leech.

That bucket was filled with leeches.

“Don’t you dare use any of them fuckers on me! Fucking slimy gross disgusting bastards! You guys are nothing but ass-backward barbarians!” I yelled out as I thrashed on the bed, held down by two people. “Don’t hold me back! Oh lord, don’t hold me back I am getting the fuck out of here! Fuck this dream!” I then kicked the bucket from the wolfman’s hands, sending leeches flying everywhere. The wolfman stared straight into my eyes with his yellow ones and he growled. My breathing came fast and soon I felt myself drift back into sleep.

*******

“I don’t think the lad approved of your methods, Brute.”

“Foolish. It work. You see.” Brute then began picking up leeches off the ground and placing them upon the boy.

“What language was that?” Glicei asked Cyn, “It was structured, not like the ramblings of a madman.”

“Dunno, never heard m’lord speak such before.”

They watched Brute affix the leeches to the boy’s body as the door slammed open.

“Home home! Yes Stitch home. Greetings greetings!” The rat man, Stitch, scurried inside carrying a basket of flowers. “Whats this whats this? Visitors!” The ratman walked on two short legs with large rat-like feet. His back was hunched, his arms spindly, two large ears sat upon his head which resembled a rodent’s. His body covered in dirty brown fur. “Brought gifts!” The ratman then began to give his flowers to Glicei.

“Oh thank you Stitch, they’re wonderful!” Stitch’s tail thumped happily on the ground.

“Who these?” he gestured to the strangers in his home.

“This is Cyn and this is Daen. Daen is the boy we received word about.”

“Ah golden aura, yes. Sick is he? Leeches work good.”

“See.” Brute growled. “Stitch know.”

“How boy sick?” Stitch asked. They then began to describe his symptoms and what they had done to help him. Stitch went eerily silent when Glicei mentioned she used her ice magic to keep Daen’s body cool. When they were done, he was shaking and quite agitated. “Out! All out! Dumb, stupid! No leeches! Out!” he screeched.

“What? But we-”

“Out! Is no sickness! Well, is sickness. But not sick, sickness!” Stitch then began to sniff the boy’s face before nodding. “Took too much energy! Magic! Sick from using!” He pointed an accusing finger at Glicei and Sitarre. “You should know! You is magic! Need only rest and water and food. Out!”

The group was then shoved outside by the fuming ratman. They stood dumbfounded at the now closed door and looked at one another.

“Leeches work if sick.” Brute simply stated and walked away.

“Magic sickness?” Cyn questioned Sitarre and Glicei. They both looked sheepish and guilty.

“Never had it like that before.” Glicei murmured.

“Yes…I uhh, I only get headaches really.” Sitarre bashfully looked away and whistled.

Cyn glared at them both for awhile until they both mumbled an apology.

“But…magic sickness?” Sitarre mused, “Magic can’t truly form until a child is around eight years old. Thats when they're sent to a school for enchanters. How could the boy have cast a spell so young?”

“Never seen m’lord cast anything before. Maybe Stitch has it wrong?”

“Doubtful, that rat can smell a sickness a mile away.” Glicei stated. “Though I wonder, how’s your arm Cyn?” All eyes were fixed upon the injured woman.

“It don’t hurt.”

***************

Groggily, I yawned as I awoke. My body felt a little weak, I must have been out for a long time. I tried to check my surroundings, but it was pitch black all around except for some light coming from under a doorway. With my hands, I felt around at my immediate area. I was on a bed made of straw. I was also naked for some reason. My searching was brought to a halt however, when a pair of yellow eyes glowed in the darkness and looked straight at me. I’m not one to think the boogyman is real. But those eyes were definitely real.

“Awake?” A voice growled at me in the dark.

“Y-yes!” my voice squeaked. Whatever this thing was, it had a deep voice.

“Good.” It responded and turned away from me. It then opened the door into a lit room, revealing a silhouette of what looked like a werewolf. “Boy awake!” The giant beast announced. Feet scurried in the other room as an over-sized rodent entered carrying a lantern.

“Yes good! Boy awake, how feel?” The rodent asked with a scratchy voice.

“I uhh I’m fine. Who are you guys?”

“Ah rude yes introductions.” The ratman coughed into his hand and wiped it on his ragged clothes. “Stitch is me. Doctor, help you out. Sent bad doctors away. Used leeches. Normally good, but bad in this case!”

The werewolf raised his hand. “Me Brute. Used Leeches. Would have worked.” He murmured.

“Wait. That wasn’t a dream? Sorry Brute, didn’t mean to kick your bucket.” The wolfman shrugged, “What else did they do?”

And so the ratman, Stitch, told me what they had told him. Ice. They kept my body cool by taking off all my clothes and covering me with ice.

“And where is everyone else?” I spoke with a smile that I’m sure was more threatening than inviting.

“Sleeping, yes. Won’t be up till later. Can wake up now yes.” Stitch cradled his hands gleefully as he gave a scratchy chuckle.

“Yes.” I smiled, “Lets. But first I need some clothes.”

“Big Sitarre make some while you asleep.” He handed me a pair of black trousers, a pair of woolen undergarments, and a long sleeved white shirt, both made of dyed leather. “Two days of sleep! Rough with magic sickness yes?”

“Uh, what? Care to run that by me one more time?” I quickly put on my new set of clothes.

“Magic sickness! Used up too much too quick! Got sick.”

“Uhh…but I’m not an Enchanter.”

“No but! Has magic. Can smell.” For emphasis, Stitch sniffed. “Girl arm better now. Not normal. Magic.”

“Huh?”

Frustrated at my confusion, Stitch grabbed my arm with his rat hand and pulled me out of my room and into another room. As we moved I asked Brute if he would bring us two buckets of water. Best not make demands of a wolfman, but he nodded and walked off as we entered a room where Cyn was now asleep.

“See? No more arm wrap. All better.” I glanced at Cyn’s arm as she slept. My splint was gone and her arm did look like it had made a full recovery. Healing magic? I must have had some holy element of magic then. Was it actually holy magic though? Or just the antithesis to dark magic, light magic. I shook my head. The classification didn’t really matter, it was purely semantics.

But still, I had magic!

“Wakey wakey!” Stitch exclaimed as he began to shake Cyn in her sleep. In an instant her eyes were open and she held Stitch’s arm in a tight grip. I’m glad I didn’t try that.

“Ah, Stitch, ye startled me. I was thinkin’…” She set her eyes on me. “M’lord!” As she tried to rise out of bed I held her back.

“Ah, don’t worry about rising Cyn, its early. Also, you’re not decent.” She had dropped her blanket in surprise and was rather bare in terms of night time clothing. She nodded and raised the blanket to cover herself.

“Welcome back m’lord…and sorry.” She bowed her head.

“Think nothing of it Cyn, though we’re going to have a discussion later about proper medical treatments. Most notably, how to not kill your patient.” She averted her eyes in respect.

“As m’lord demands.”

“Now go get dressed. We’re gonna dump a bucket of water on Sitarre and his friend’s heads.”

That morning I found out that a man could scream far louder than a woman. But that man was not as vengeful as the woman.