Best to Worst

It was early, before most of the city was up and about their business. That was intentional because they needed the road clear for today's adventure. Somehow during the bachelor party, a contest was set to determine who was the best runner in the group. The other positions had been more clear since the group sparred together often. Kel the best jouster, Merric the best swordsman, Balduin had become an fast and dangerous expert in unarmed combat in his last assignment in the war which had demanded he go lightly armed and undercover often. But no one could agree who was the best runner.

"If we had to send someone for help? Who would it be?" Owen had demanded. And so, they were all gathered at the at the same pub where they had the bachelor party to race a loop around town and back. Neal would have been a better runner if he trained more, but Kel was betting on Prince Roald. She had seen him out on her runs in the royal forest and she was betting he trained more than he let on. It was a safer way for the healer and heir to keep in shape than combat drills.

Qasim was recruited to watch the finish line. Tokens for them to pick up had been placed at the turnaround point to prove they made it. With the drop of Qasim's hand they were off. Kel had no illusions about her running. She was steady and had great endurance but she was not speedy so she held a steady pace as the others scrambled ahead of her for the lead around the first corner. Jump had decided to join her that morning and he ran ahead of her scouting out interesting smells then catching her up when she passed him.

Kel was about a mile away from the finish, running through a section of town where there were many Yamani shops and families. The morning market was up and in full swing as cooks, housewives and chefs arrived early to get the most choice produce. Colorful rows of late summer peppers and squash lined the carts. Kel was waving to a dumpling vendor she had often visited when she was a squire when the world exploded. The force of the blasts threw she and Jump to the ground where she lay as debris rained down on her. The last thing she remembered was pulling Jump under her to protect him and trying to push to her hands and knees when her world went black.

At the finish line, Neal had just clapped Roald on the back congratulating him on his victory when the force and sound of the explosions reached them. Without comment they started running back up the street they had just run down.

"Neal, how far back do you think Kel was?" Owen asked his voice shaking. Neal didn't answer, but exchanged a grim look with his brother in law, Balduin. Their faces were even more serious when they arrived on the scene. Fire roared in two of the buildings on the street, one a dry goods store, the other a tavern that was known for its grilled eels. The front of the dry goods store had been blown off before the main building caught fire. Carts, food and bodies and pieces of bodies were scattered about the courtyard as if some great hand had tossed them all in the air and let them fall. Neal was relieved to hear the city fire brigades and the horn calls of the King's Own.

"Go to Raoul and get your orders from him," he told the group. "Owen, you're with me, we are setting up a medical area there, under that pergola in the shade." Go and help the people that can walk to get there. I'll be setting up a triage area."

Neal stood for a moment scanning the area. Owen still stood by his side.

"I haven't spotted her yet either," Owen said quietly. Maybe she decided to stop at the turnaround point." He added, without conviction.

"Let's get to what needs to be done," Neal urged both himself and Owen to the job at hand and to keep them both from rushing to search under the collapsed storefront for their friend. There would be better and safer resources for that job arriving shortly.

Hours passed. Crews managed to finally put the fires out, but both of the buildings were a complete loss. Neal had been joined by his father and other healers from the city. Wagons were organized to take the seriously wounded to places where healers could perform more complex healings. At least with all of the help, everyone received care quickly. Many of the injured had lost limbs. Some could be reattached, but some could not. A group of clerks helped organize the list of those who had been found and where they had been taken so the family members could join them.

The sun was low on the horizon when Neal looked up to find stretcher bearers next to him. He hardly recognized Dom and Qasim under all the soot and blood. Neal looked down at the stretcher and felt a his breath catch when he saw Kel's face. She was unconscious. Duke Baird was beside him in an instant.

"Bring her here," He gestured to a table behind him. Once they moved her onto the table Neal saw that Lerant followed carrying Jump. Jump wagged his tail at the site of his friends, but they'd could see the bone protruding from his front leg. Duke Baird called to Daine who had been working on a cart horse nearby. She came and pressed her forehead to Jump's in comfort and communication.

"He said the were passing by the dry goods store when the blasts hit. They were hit first by the debris thrown from the blast and then by the front wall as it fell. There was no warning and they didn't see anyone suspicious." Daine translated.

"Probably not" said Qasim. "They probably made sure to be far away by the time it went off."

"It looks like his leg and his concussion are the worst of his injuries." Daine carefully helped Lerant set the dog on a nearby table so she could work on him.

"How is Kel?"

Duke Baird had been quietly assessing Kel's injuries. He spoke quietly, half to himself.

"No major broken bones, lots of small cuts from the flying debris, some big bruises from the heavier projectiles. I think the worst of it is her head injury. There isn't any active bleeding In her head, but there is marked bruising, causing it to swell. There just isn't any room for that in a skull. That's probably why she is still unconscious. I'll work on decreasing the swelling. Neal, could you go find Shara? She is a bit of an expert with closed head injuries."

Neal nodded, running a hand through his hair, he backed up and ran into Dom who was standing eyes fixed on Kel. Neal grabbed his arm and towed him toward another medical area. They both started talking at once.

"I really don't like head injuries. They are so tricky. It's so much easier for me to be able to see what I need to heal." Neal started.

"I don't know if I've ever seen Kel out of commission before. I guess she was down for a little while in Scanra, but you patched her up pretty fast. I couldn't get any reaction out of her when we found her. She was so still. She was so lifeless. She's usually so full of life." Dom trailed off.

Neal slung an arm across his cousin's shoulder and they went in search of the healer who specialized in head injuries. After they found her they went back to find the rest of their friends and to see what was left to be done. The clean up that would be finished that day was almost over. With all the help, the damaged part of the building had been pulled down so it would not fall. The wood and glass from the buildings had been swept from the street. They found Merric, Owen and Balduin securing a barrier around the damaged area. A guard would be posted until investigations were completed. Dom and Neal told the group about Kel. Owen went white at the news. Neal imagined he thought Kel was invincible. They finished the barrier and walked over to where they'd left her.

"We moved her to the King's Own infirmary, There are several people there, so we will staff it all night and it will be easy for me and Shara to check on her. She hadn't recovered consciousness yet when we moved her." Duke Baird updated them.

When they all stood there looking blankly at him. The Duke took a breath and continued. He could see them as they would have been in the battles they fought with Kel, looking for her command and not sure to do without her there.

"The best thing you can do is go clean up and eat. Get a good night's sleep, she'll get rest and treatment tonight and we'll see where she is in the morning." They still stood there. "Go," he ushered them along, "the bath house is just up the street, that's as far as you have to make it."

They moved woodenly to the bath house and managed to scrub much of the soot and a grime from the day off in silence. The bath house gave them loose tunics and pants to wear home and sent most of their clothes to refuse. It would be hard to get them clean.

From there they continued, still in silence, to the Own's mess where the staff was feeding those who had responded to the call for help. They didn't speak much, but just being together was good. It had been a hard day. Seeing the victims, alive and dead had been wrenching. Many of the images would always stay with them.

Finished with their meal, they all parted company to head to their bunks. They clapped each other on their shoulders and clasped arms in parting, reassured by the life and strength in each other.

Apparently sleep didn't come easy to any of them. When Dom arrived at the infirmary, he was glad to see Neal seated by Kel's bedside. As he got closer he saw Owen asleep on the floor on the other side of her bed. He smiled to think she was well tended. He sat on the adjacent bed next to Neal. "What do you think?" Dom asked.

"Head injuries like this are tricky things, there are so many variables. I'm going to bet on Kel. She's as tough as they come."

Dom nodded and noticed the green glow of Neal's healing gift around his fingers where he held Kel's hand and raised his eyebrows in question. "I'm betting on Kel, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to give her all the help I can." He said with tired lines around his eyes. It just a general kind of tonic, extra energy for healing. I left the head healing to Shara." And with that they settled into comfortable quiet waiting.

When they woke up the next morning, Kel was sitting up in bed, a healer beside her helping her drink a healing tea. She smiled carefully at their creased, sleepy faces. Owens curls were in particularly impressive disarray. "Wow, it's like so great to see you up Kel! I was so worried!" Owen exclaimed for all of them as he clambered up from the floor. Kel tried not to wince at the volume of his voice.

"Well, now that your vigil has been successful, why don't you boys go have some breakfast and let this girl sleep?" The healer suggested.

They all agreed and Owen claimed he could eat a horse, which Kel thought through a fog, was probably normal for him. Neal and Owen headed for the door while Dom played at looking for his jacket under the bed. Neal blocked Owen's view when he saw Dom lean over and kissed Kel softly on the forehead and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. She could only manage a smile and to rest her head in his hand. Neal figured Owen didn't need to know about Dom yet, the boy had enough on his mind. Neal had to smile a little at the worry on Dom's face. Seemed like he was learning what it was like to care for someone like he cared for Yuki.

Kel's body recovered rapidly from that point although she moved carefully for several days, not wanting to jostle her head. It gave her a lot of time to think. Time to wonder who might have done something like planting the explosives and why. Her mind didn't want to move past the incident as fast as her body did. The smell of a simple cook fire would set her on high alert. The sound of breaking glass made her want to dive under the nearest table. It was hard to explain to those who hadn't been there. It was hard to think about the world the same way as she had before.

She attended the memorial service for those who had been killed. Neal, Owen and Dom went with her. It was solemn. Kel knew many of the dead and had a hard time understanding how it was that good people were killed and injured just for going about their day. It weighed heavily on all of them that the perpetrator was still out there and they were no closer to finding them. It was hard not to think about what the next target would be.

Debrief

In a session in Raoul's office the team compiled their notes.

Raoul started, "The explosives that were used in the market blast were not something we've seen before. They have some similarities to what would be available here, but Numair, can you investigate and see if you can track down a source? That might give us some clues about who planted them."

Numair nodded. "I've already started making contact with my friends abroad. We will figure it out."

"Flyndan spoke, "I think we need to start questioning those we know have animosity toward the Yamini's. They may at least have some information even if they aren't directly involved. And have we come any closer to finding those who attacked the Carthakis and Kel and Dom?"

"They were hired thugs, who received these job through a process of note passing that is intentionally anonymous." They know they'd got their 'assignment' and payment through the system. They'd don't know who hired them. They didn't have any particular animosity to the Yamanis, they are happy to dislike anyone for money." Myles supplied.

"The problems started about the time the peace delegation started." Raoul considered, looking at the board they'd had set up with a timeline of the incidents. Should we include anyone who's is against the peace delegation on the list?"

"Should we include the peace delegates on the list?" Kel asked. What if someone in that group doesn't want us all to get along? What would they do?"

"That puts everyone on the list!" Raoul growled in frustration.

"Yes, that's exactly it isn't it? These events have the effect of making you look at everyone with suspicion." Dom summarized. "So the main qualification of our suspect is that they'd don't want us all to get along. Who fits that qualification? Let's make a list and start investigating each one systematically. If they aren't our suspect, then at least we may get a lead from them. We can use Myles agents and Daine's animals and get as much information as we can about their activities."