Chapter 2
A New Friend
Derek looked at the three knights standing in front of him. He heard one ask a question, but the voice sounded as though it came from far away. Derek gazed at the youth that asked the question. His mind felt clouded and he found it hard to focus on what they were saying. Derek felt a bolt of pain shoot through his side and looked down to see a large, red stain spreading across the side of his tunic. The last thing he noticed was the panicked look on the knight's faces before he fell over and blacked-out.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Marilyn, Carter, and Robert leapt forward and carefully lowered the stranger onto the floor.
"Take him upstairs while I get my supplies." Marilyn ordered before running off. Besides being trained in the art of the sword, Marilyn was a well-equipped healer, always keeping her satchel stocked with various types of herbs.
Carter and Robert made their way up the stairs, supporting the stranger between them. He moaned quietly, and the wound in his side pulled open with the movement. They laid him on the bed as Marilyn entered, satchel in hand.
"I'll need you to pull his tunic up so I can reach the wound easily," she said.
They complied, and Marilyn proceeded to spread a salve over a deep cut in his side. It looked as though it would need stitches.
"Hold him still." She directed her companions. "I'll need to stitch it closed."
Carter's face paled, but he nodded mutely. He had never liked seeing other people suffer–even if they couldn't feel what was happening to them. Like now.
Fortunately the surgery was quickly done and Marilyn cleaned her needle, bound the wound, and the three made the stranger as comfortable as they could.
After transferring their belongings to some rooms near his Marilyn, Carter, and Robert settled in for the night.