The Wolves of Bellrose

Chapter Five

While waiting for the witch to burn fully, Alouette spent time strolling through the cavern, inspecting the ancient books and grimoires that the witch had collected over her many years. Some of the books were in languages Alouette had never even seen. Dead languages she assumed. Or witch dialects used to keep their secrets safe from snooping hunters like herself. She didnt have to wait around long for all that remained to be a steaming pile of ashes, thank the Three-Eyed Goddess. But, just to be safe, Alouette still stirred the ashes and separated them as best as she could. She stood from her crouch, glared at the ashes one last time and then left the cave with not a single glance backward.

Outside again at last, Alouette looked around for Aldert. She found his footprints and tried her best to follow them in the waning sunlight. It seemed that the man was more injured than Alouette initially saw, as Alderts footprints seemed to head back towards the camp.

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When she arrived back at last, she saw that Aldert had started the cooking fire and had set some bandages to boil. The man they had rescued was rolled in a spare blanket they kept, shivering despite the sweat shining upon his brow and his proximity to the fire. Aldert looked up from where he was tending the man and his posture relaxed as he looked up and saw Alouette standing just outside the triangle of their tents. A huge smile blessed his face as he stood and embraced her.

"I'm sorry I could not come back to help," he said squeezing her tighter. "The man was too ill to be left on his own, so I thought it best if I brought him back to camp."

"You did the right thing, Alouette smiled as she squeezed him back and then let go. How is he? Do you know what's wrong with him yet?" She asked as she approached the man they had saved, kneeling down beside him to feel his brow. She hissed at the heat she felt there. The man shivered violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"I am not entirely certain yet," Aldert said as he knelt down beside her. "I have tended to the wound on his head and will bandage it once the bandages are ready. I also need to set his arm, which is broken hugely. Some of the bone is protruding from his flesh, but I did not want to set it by myself. That could be what is causing the fever. It could also be the pure shock of the situation."

Alouette nodded several times, before carefully pealing the blanket away to reveal the broken forearm. It was a grisly sight. Bone did indeed protrude a fair bit from the flesh. She examined the wound carefully. The bone was jagged and splintered, blood did not gush from the wound at a ridiculous rate, but it did steadily leak.

"Blood loss could also be another reason he is feverish," Alouette said, gently covering the arm. She tenderly brushed the mans wild curls back from his forehead. "Fetch me a small bowl of water and a cloth please Aldert." He left and reappeared at her elbow within a short time, bearing what she had asked of him.

"Find two sticks as straight as you can find and roughly the length of his forearm. The sticks must be strong and sturdy." Alouette dipped the rough cloth in the bowl of water, rung it out and gently placed it on the mans burning brow. Within moments the water had evaporated and the cloth was hot. Aldert disappeared into the darkness beyond their camp to find what she had requested as the sun finally set for the day. Alouette re-dampened the cloth and wiped it gently up the mans brow again. It was good he was still unconscious. Re-setting a break like this would likely rouse him, but at least for now the pain was only faint.

When Aldert returned she bid him to enter her tent and find her healing supplies. He knelt beside her and presented her with the rough canvas bag, filled with herbs and tinctures of all kinds, to help almost any ailment. She rummaged through, struggling to see clearly in the flickering firelight. She triumphantly pulled several small jars out, containing different combinations of herbs.