The leather cord stopped sliding through her hand and began to pull against her fingers. YES! It must be tied to something on the saddle.

The horse tried to rear and pull away, causing her to slide a bit in the leaves. Mareen pulled down on the reign and through her weight behind it, only to slide in the loose leaves. Fortunately, its exhaustion and the weight on its back made the effort half-hearted, allowing her to pull its head down. Gently stroking its neck with her free hand she tried to sooth the animal.

She watched the animal closely, as it wheezed from the sudden exertion. Foam began to appear at the corners of its mouth while she watched. How long have you been running?

Afraid to lose hold of the horse she slid her hands one at a time to the end of the reins. The man in the saddle had tied them to his hand. Twisting the lead around her left hand, she began working the reins free.

Finally! She got the knot loose and tied the leads around her hand. Turning her attention to the men on the horse she saw the man laid over the saddle was clearly dead. She could not tell which of his injures were the cause, but he was beyond her help.

That left the man sitting in the saddle, who was slumped over the body. Turning his helmet to face her, she undid the clasp holding the visor closed. The dented visor made a creaking sound as it came open revealing a blood covered face. She could not make out much about him from the blood and dirt caked on him. Reaching into the helmet she felt warmth on her fingertips.

Still breathing. She closed her eyes and used her skills to reach into him. Her eyes nearly snapped open in shock. How are you still alive?!

She slowly tried to categorize the damage. Both arms broken. One leg shattered. Ribs cracked and one is in his liver. Merciful goddess is there one part of him that is still in one piece? Where do I even start?

She slowly nudge the green energy toward the parts that felt the most pressing. Working by intuition she tried to walk a fine line between keeping him alive and hurting herself. Just enough to stop the bleeding. I cannot heal everything, just slow the damage.

Slowly coming back to herself, she took her hand off the man and grabbed at the saddle to stabilize herself. With slow deep breaths she let the vertigo pass and opened her eyes. Her hand was wrapped around the belt of the dead man.

Cringing she let go and looked to the other man. He was still breathing, if only just. I need to get him to the camp. The others can take it from there.

“Come on friend just a little further and I will get you to the horse keepers.” She slowly began to lead the horse towards the edge of the forest.

The horse plodded along slowly. With every step the horse took she watched the injured man’s boy shift. “Just hold on a bit longer.” Who am I kidding? With every step the little I could do is being torn back open.

Reaching the edge of the tree line, she looked at the camp in the distance. It had taken her a few minutes to walk into the trees, but now it seemed an impossible distance. She continued her slow pace across the field until she was able to catch sight of one of the sentries.

She waved her free hand widely, and saw the man begrudgingly get up and head in her direction. Lazy basta….