I relayed the translation as I set my bags down.
"I think my feet are cut" Krista said, sitting next to Jason on a nearby cushion.
"Let me see" Jason said, being Mr. Chivalrous for the moment.
With that, he examined her feet, which were cut indeed.
"Ahmed" I said tentatively "Do you have anything to put on wounds to help them heal?"
"But of course" he said, selecting a vial off of the table "This eucalyptus salve will heal the wounds in no time"
He handed the vial to me and I tossed it to Jason, who slathered the salve all over the cuts on Krista's feet.
"Mmm" she murmured, smiling "It feels so nice and cool. My feet don't hurt anymore"
"Well what are we gonna do?" Jason demanded, pulling Krista close "Religious chants?"
"We must all prepare for your journey" Ahmed said, pulling a pouch from his sash "I need you to fetch me some herbs and powders from the alchemist"
"We shall make a list" I agreed, reaching into my bag for pen and paper.
Ahmed watched me curiously, before I realized that he hadn't seen a ballpoint pen before.
"What is that strange tool?" he asked me curiously, rubbing his long beard.
"We call it a pen" I explained, handing it to him "We write on paper with it"
Ahmed took the cap off and curiously made a few scrawls on the paper.
"Buddy's never seen a pen before" Jason said loudly, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, you asshole" Ash hissed, watching Ahmed laugh with delight.
"Simply marvelous" Ahmed exclaimed, making more scrawls on the sheet.
After making a few more scrawls, he and I started making the list. It was a very extensive list.
"You must go to the alchemist only for these ingredients" Ahmed said, as I wrote the last item down "If all else fails on your journey, magic will always be on your side if you use it properly"
I nodded, putting the pen down on the table. Ahmed handed me the pouch, which was full of Ancient Sumerian coinage.
"Ash" I said, as he stood up curiously "Come to the alchemist with me!"
"I'm there, babe" he said, immediately taking my hand.
"What about you guys?" I asked, clutching the list and the pouch of coins in the other hand.
"No can do" Krista replied, wincing at the mention of walking again "I'll stay here"
"I'm staying too" Jason quickly quipped before we even considered asking him.
"Let's just go" Ash said, impatiently tugging on my hand.
We walked out of the hut and headed into the village, which was suddenly quiet.
I looked at Ash questioningly before scanning the village with my eyes. All the villagers had assembled in a big group, surrounding someone sitting on a horse.
"Let's go check it out" I whispered to Ash, tugging at his arm "It could be important"
Before he could complain, I led him to the crowd of people. We filtered in, assembling ourselves near the front.
I took a look at our surprise guest, working hard to stifle the gasp coming out of my mouth. Sitting on a black horse was a man, or at least I think he was a man, who wore armor out of what looked like some kind of skin. His helmet was made out of two human skulls fused together with metal, both jaws open in a silent scream.
I also noticed the red, piercing eyes of our somewhat cannibalistic visitor as the two menacing guards stepped in front of him. Much like their lord, they seemed inhuman as well and wore armor made from skin. Their eyes had a strange yellow glow in the sunlight. Something told me that these guys were not normally messed with by the villagers, who seemed frightened of the three figures.