The wood reeked of magic. Eskel led Scorpion by the rein, looking for signs and traces the monster might have left behind. Jael ambled along, looking right and left. She didn't like it there, although it was exceptionally beautiful, covered in flowers and luscious green undergrowth. When she spotted a small spring she went over there to drink a few gulps of water, but Eskel's voice stopped her.
"No! Don't go anywhere near it, Lil' Bleater. Folks say it grants wishes, but I think it's equally likely to pull you down and never give you back. And if you drink from it, who knows what its magic will do to you. Here, drink this."
He held his flask out. Jael drank, then they continued. The whole place was so strange, she kept thinking she was hearing singing, but Eskel didn't so it must have been her imagination. Or did goats have extra senses? Finally, Eskel seemed to have found the right track, so he tied Scorpion and her to a tree, checking the rope twice.
"Stay here, Lil' Bleater. Nothing foolish this time, understood?"
He grabbed his swords and left, after tipping off two of his potions. Jael waited and waited. Scorpion wasn't much of a company. She thought about eating some grass, but then remembered Eskel's words about the water and decided against it. She was getting bored at first, then worried. Where was Eskel? The sunset's orange light colored the leaves, and the sun was still high in the sky when they entered the forest. She tugged a few times on the rope, with no luck. Then finally, finally she heard steps. Eskel was done with the monster and they can go back to the inn and eat some carrots and apples. But wait, the steps were too slow, and she could hear the swords being dragged on the ground. Eskel was bleeding heavily from his side, barely able to walk. He made it to Scorpion, rummaging through the saddlebag for the right vial, but he collapsed before he could find it. Jael bleated and bleated. By the time she managed to gnaw through the rope and run to him, Eskel was passed out.
Jael was crying. She never knew goats could cry. Big, fat tears were running down her face, because Eskel was dying, and she could do nothing about it. She had no arms to lift him up, no fingers to sew the wound together and find the right potion. All she could do was bleat. She was useless. Just a goat. The blood was pooling under Eskel, and no matter how hard she poked him with her head he wouldn't wake up. He was going to dye. That's when her glance wandered on the hot spring.
"Don't go anywhere near it, Lil Bleater." Eskel had said. "Folks say it grants wishes, but I think it's equally likely to pull you down and never give you back."
Death or a granted wish. She had to risk it. For Eskel. She stood on the bank and closed her eyes.
"Let me save Eskel. Please."
And she stepped forward. For a little spring, it was surprisingly deep, she immediately sank. Hot water surrounded her, filled her nose and her mouth. She tried to fight it, but the water was stronger, the whirl hugging her body, pulling her down. Then suddenly it stopped. She could feel the sandy bottom with her toes. Wait, toes? She emerged, gasping for air, and swam to the bank. She just stared at her hand, her legs, her clothes (which the spring luckily supplied). Then she shook her head and snapped out of it. She had to help Eskel. "Stay calm, and focus on him. I can deal with the whole broken curse thing later. First, the wound." It was pretty deep, slowly bleeding, but no bowel was hanging out, so that was good. She stopped the bleeding, pressing her skirt to the wound, then she jumped up, running to Scorpious scavenging for bandages and salves. She washed the wound out and bandaged it tightly. It was too big to be sawn, but maybe after it heeled a bit she could see to that. She forced two viles of healing potion down Eskel's throat, and four gulps of Swallow. Afterward, she started treating the smaller wounds, cleaning them out and neatly stitching them together. Lucky for them her aunt was a healer, and she was adamant that Jael learned the basics, which she was immensely grateful for now. When she was done she laid out Eskel's bedroll and rolled his body onto it, careful not to aggravate wounds. She sat up a camp, collecting firewood and feeding Scorpion some oat from the saddlebag. She ate bread and some dried meat for dinner. She moaned when she bit into it, after half a year on grass and oats, it was the best thing she had ever eaten. She thought about getting Eskel to the next town to find a healer, but he was too fragile, she was afraid he wouldn't survive the ride, and she didn't want to leave him there while she went to find one. She was varied to fall asleep, too afraid Eskel hadn't slain the monster and it was roaming the forest, injured, and she also had to check up on him every hour, make sure he didn't die. He woke up around midnight for a short time, moaning. Jael managed to get some Golden Oriole and water into him before he passed out. He didn't wake up until noon.
"Wa..ter." He rasped.
Jael held his head while he drank from the flask. Eskel tried to sit up, but Jael pushed him back (the fact that she could do that showed just how weak Eskel had gotten).
"Careful, you don't want to reopen your wounds and ruin my work. You almost died."
"Are you a nymph?"
Jael blushed.
"That's very kind of you to say, but no. I'm your traveling companion. We met near Trusek, you saved me from a trap, and ever since we have been traveling together."
There was no recognition in Eskel's eyes, so Jael imitated horns with her hands and bleated:
"Baaaaa."
"Lil' Bleater?! But…how?"
"An old witch turned me into a goat for stealing her flowers, you found me and saved me. Then when you were bleeding out I wished that I could save you and the spring changed me back."
Eskel laughed, then immediately winced, clutching his side. Jael was there within a blink, holding him.
"Careful. You should eat something, then get more rest. I have given you Golden Oriole and Swallow, do you need anything else?"
"How did you know I needed those?"
"I have been traveling with you for over six months. I notice things. So?"
"No, those are good enough."
He could keep down a few bites of bread before he got too tired.
"May I?"
Asked Jael, then took his head in her lap, gently caressing his hair, and started to sing.
"A young man walked through the forest
With his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young girl singing
And followed the sound below
There he found the maiden
Who lives in the willow."
Eskel fell asleep after the first verse. The next day he insisted he was ready for the trip to the town, but Jael just shook her head after checking his wounds.
"It's not safe yet."
"I have traveled in worse conditions."
"Yeah, but I couldn't speak back then, or I would have told you how stupid that was."
Eskel became much quieter since her transformation, and she noticed that he often anxiously rubbed the scars on his face when he did. She wanted to grab his hand and kiss his scars (and many other things) and tell him it didn't bother her, but she was anxious too, not used to being able to reply, afraid that she would say something stupid to a man as smart as Eskel was, able to recite poetry from memory and knowing every monster on the Continent. Finally, on the third day, she gave the okay for him to get on Scorpion (with a lot of help, of course). She sat behind him, to make sure he wouldn't slip off or faint, although Eskel protested against this. The ride to the town took four hours instead of the normal two, and by the time they reached the inn, Eskel was exhausted. He had to lean on Jael as they walked inside. She could already the states and hear the whispers, but she was too tired and worried to care.
"A room, and two meals."
"We are full."
"Funny, I thought I just saw two men pay for their rooms and leave."
"We don't have a room for the likes of him. Bad for the business"
"He just saved your town from a griffin. That monster killing your customers would have been bad for the business, not him sleeping here."
After a long starring match, the innkeeper shrugged.
"First floor, second room on the left. And you pay extra if he bloodies anything."
"Won't be a problem."
She helped Eskel upstairs who immediately collapsed on the bed.
"I'll go find a healer, I'll back as soon as I can." She said, but she wasn't sure he heard her at all.
It's harder to find a healer who would treat witchers than she thought. Finally, she came back to the inn with an elf woman, who examines Eskel. She smeared a green salve all over his wound and had him drink herbal potions, then stood up.
"You did a good job. He'll live, thanks to his healing abilities and your help. Most of it will scar, but I did everything I could to avoid infections and minimalize scarring. He should rest, at least for a week, and apply this salve once a day."
Jael paid her and lead her to the door, then turned back to Eskel to say something, to reassure him, but he was already sleeping. She brought their dinners upstairs, and when Eskel took it from her he startled when then fingers brushed against each other, spilling some of the soup on the floor. Jael was sure he would have blushed if he could. They ate in silence until she couldn't stand it anymore.
"You know you can talk to me, even if I'm not a goat."
Eskel looked up, then rubbed his scars again. Jael decided to help him out.
"If I were still a goat, you would tell me about your fight with the griffin, what to do better next time and what was good. Then it would remind you of something a brother of yours said and talk about them, or recite a piece of poetry about forest gods or beautiful maidens."
"I forgot you knew all about that. It's just...strange, that you know so much about me, and I barely know you."
"Well then, I will tell you about me. There is not much to know. I lived in Trusek my whole life, the furthermost I traveled was Arga, a town two days ride from there. I live with my aunt, she is a healer. I could only help you because she insisted on teaching me, even when I would rather gossip or play with the other girls."
"Then I own my gratitude to her."
"She is a very kind woman. She took me in after my parents died."
"What happened, if I may ask?"
"Pillagers. Raided the village, and killed them when didn't find enough coin. I was in the wood, playing. By the time I got back…"
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you. Aunt Tasha raised me. I have two cousins, Oleg, who is younger, and Prisca, who is the same age as me. They will be so happy when they realize I'm alive!"
Eskel's face fell.
"Trusek you said? We can be there within two months. They will surely be happy to get you back."
Jael's smile faltered too because she realized what that meant. Retuning to Trusek, to her boring life, to the everyday gossip and work on the field, without traveling, without adventure, but most importantly: without Eskel. She wanted to tell him this, all of it, but he already turned towards the wall, breath evening out. Jael lied down on the bedroll, but couldn't sleep. She didn't want to lose all of this. Then after a lot of thinking and tossing a thought came upon her: two months was a long time, a lot can happen during it. Maybe even Eskel can be convinced to let her tag along. She smiled and finally fell asleep.