Chapter 11

A/N: thank you for those who put this story on their favorite and / or alerts. I really appreciate it :)

Together Jane and Nazgurat healed Bo's wounds so they were closed up and wouldn't get infected, except the part missing in his hip would not close since part of his flesh was gone, and had to be bandaged several times with thick pads of cloth to try and reduce blood loss. However Jane could see they certainly wouldn't last very long, the blood was already seeping through around the edges, and she was very scared for Bo's life. If he lost too much blood he would truly die, and it terrified the girl.

All together, the three of them picked up the unconscious Bo and hauled him on top of one of the black horses, who nickered nervously. Nazgurat, with a little effort, climbed up behind him and held him firmly in place. Jane recovered their packs and tied them to the horse's saddle. She pulled herself up onto the other black horse and helped Ahmon up behind her. His arms reached around her and he picked up the reins.

"Ride hard," Nazgurat called. The horses broke into a gallop and Jane allowed herself to slump in the seat and cry for a long time.

Ahmon's horses were beautiful and strong. They ran endlessly, long past the night and well into the afternoon. When they reached water, Nazgurat called for them to stop, and give the horses a rest.

Bo's wounds had opened again, and his blood had soaked through the many layers of bandages. They fixed him back up and led the horses to the water to drink, and then finally collapsed on the ground and slept for a few fitful hours. Jane woke up first, groaning as her tired body screamed at her to not move but she forced herself to get up. She roused the other men and they worked to get Bo back up on the horse. Jane's legs ached from riding in the saddle, but kept her laments to herself, she was too busy worrying about Bo she thought her heart give out.

"How much farther?" She asked, turning around so Ahmon could hear her with the wind, her hair whipping about her face.

"Day's ride. We are about halfway there."

They stopped once more before they reached the Inn, and that time Bo had woken up briefly before drifting into unconsciousness again shortly after.

Nightgate Inn was a lonely little Inn located in a remote place of the Pale. Jane prayed to all the Gods that were listening that a healer was within, as she helped Nazgurat take Bo off the horse and he carried him inside. The main hall was deserted; save for a Nord at a counter Jane assumed was the owner.

"What happened?" He asked, his eyes widening as he looked at the weary group.

"Bandits," Nazgurat growled. "We've been traveling for two days, this man needs immediate help."

"Is there a healer?" Jane asked desperately, clutching her cloak.

"The Gods are on your side this night. There is but one patron staying here, and she is a healer."

The owner hurried off to get the woman after telling the group to take the nearest room. A couple minutes later a Nord woman wearing only a black tunic and breeches rushed in, her blond hair was slightly frizzy, like she had been sleeping.

"Jane?"

Jane turned to the woman, and recognized Lynne.

"Lynne! Oh thank God, please it's Bo!"

Lynne turned to the Orsimer on the bed, and covered her mouth.

"What happened to him?" she asked, rushing forward to gently inspect his wounds.

Jane quickly told their story, skipping over the details. She felt light headed, and nearly fell over.

"You've had a tough couple days," Lynne commented softly, touching the girl's shoulder. "All of you. I want you all to go to lie down right now. Bo is in good hands; you did a good job with your limited resources. You've saved his life. I will come see you individually when I am certain Bo is stable."

Nazgurat and Ahmon left the room, but Jane stayed behind.

"That includes you Jane, I promise you Bo will be alright. You did a good job keeping him well bandaged."

Jane sighed, hanging her head in defeat. She left the room and wandered until she happened across another empty room, and collapsed on the bed. Despite her racing mind she fell asleep within a couple minutes and did not wake until Lynne came to her.

Bo's injuries were extensive. Lynne gave him a sleeping potion first; to make sure he would not wake while she worked on him. Then she dealt with his broken leg, resetting it and putting a splint around the limb to keep it stable. She used a more powerful healing spell to seal his skin completely, leaving nothing but a long jagged scar from the top of his thigh down over his knee and ending at his shin. She washed him while she worked, healing minor cuts here and there, and then she began to work on his hip. There was a lot of flesh missing, the white of his hip bone could be seen among the mass of torn red flesh, and healing it was going to be tough. She used older, stronger magic she had learned from various sources, trying to rebuild what wasn't there anymore. Bo's hip would never look the same, it would have a permanent dip in it, but Lynn managed to heal it enough so it wasn't as much. Feeling drained, she downed a stamina potion, and a magicka potion for extra strength, and then made her way to the next room, where a sleeping Nord lay slumped on the bed.

Lynne inspected his chest, his shirt was a ragged mess so she removed it from him and cleaned the blood off him to get a better look. The cut was long, it started above his collar bone and ran down his chest, ending just at his stomach, but had been healed quite nicely. Lynne cast a stronger spell on it just for extra measure, satisfied he would recover no problem.

The Orc was awake when she entered his room, and he stared at her through narrowed red eyes while she inspected his arm.

"Your arm is broken. I will need to set it."

"Do what you must," he growled, unblinking.

"Drink this." Lynne handed him a vial, which he eyed suspiciously.

"Would you prefer to sleep through this, or do you not trust me when I say this is a sleeping drought?"

The Orc grunted, and drank the potion. A couple moments later his head slumped back against the headboard, and Lynne moved his broken bone back into place, attaching a splint so it would not shift and have to be reset again. She cast another higher level healing spell to smooth out the grisly scar until it was just an angry bright red slash against his dark green skin.

Jane lay curled up on her bed, clutching a pillow, still wearing her blood soaked armor and cloak. Her cheeks glistened with tears and she whimpered in her sleep. Lynne sat down beside her and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Jane," she whispered. "I'll only be a minute and you can sleep again."

Jane stirred, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Were you hurt, at all?"

"No," Jane whispered, her voice small and broken. "Bo protected me. I couldn't fight well enough, I was knocked down."

"Don't put yourself down Jane," Lynne covered Jane's hand with one hand and the other reached up to feel her forehead. She was running a pretty high fever, and she imagined her nerves were shot.

"Those bandits are all hyped up on skooma and whatever else they're doing. They're tougher than most since they live out in the wild and have nothing better to do than raid places and attack innocent people. You did well Jane, in the fight and with caring for Bo."

"How is he?" Jane's voice croaked, and she looked up at the healer with a worried eyes.

"He will recover just fine. His leg will set and his hip is healed, just… not the same. I could not replace completely what was gone. The Frost Troll committed some hefty damage."

"Thank you so much Lynne, I don't know what I would do without him." Jane started to cry again, and covered her face in her hands. Lynne rubbed her back affectionately, letting her healing spell wash over her. She added a small calming spell and left the girl to sleep her fever off.

Returning to her room, Lynne sighed and threw herself down on her own bed. She was extremely relieved that she had decided to stay in the Inn instead of continuing her travel to Whiterun. She traveled there regularly for the alchemy shop, where she purchased her more… off market supplies. The Gods were on their side, she mused, and drifted back into sleep.