The Assassin's Redemption

Chapter 2

Fire pit-picture from Tumblr found on Pinterest by We Heart It

The first thing that the young man felt was the agonizing pain in his abdomen region had lessened to now dulling throb. His fingers brushed a soft martial as he stirred. Huh, what happened? All the young man could remember was collapsing on the road. Lady whinnying and nudging him before blackness overtook him.

Wait-where's Lady? The young man bolted upright on the straw blanket mat, his green eyes wide open, "Lady! Lady, where are you girl?" he shouted in near panic. 

A soft wicker meet his ears on the right, and for the first time he noticed the fire pit in the middle. 

By the fire pit, a stranger, with a straw hat on his head, stirred a small pot. He tossed in some dry looking herbs into the pot from his brown satchel.

"Is my horse alright?"

The stranger lifted his blue eyes at the young man. A stubble grazed his face, "Good, you are awake. Your horse is out grazing over there with my mule," he pointed to the shadowed animal figures on his right, before facing him, "how are you my friend?" he asked.

The young man did not know how to respond to the stranger. He simply did not talk to strangers unless necessary for a mission that he was carrying, and even then knew something about the person he was to make contact with. However, this man was completely foreign to him. He could be a bandit, a wanted man or a spy for the elite upper class! 

Licking his chapped lips, he responded flatly, "I'm fine." Just then another dull throb seized his midsection and he squeezed his eyes shut while clutching the area.

"I'm guessing you are quite thirsty right now. It has been about a few hours since you blacked out in the middle of the road this evening." He started ladling the watery substance into a cup.

The young man's brown eyebrows drew together as a thought entered his mind; a few hours?

"In fact, it is a good thing that I was there to assist you. A buggy nearly run over that arm of yours if I did not push my way in," he came closer to him, "now let's see if this drink can help with that aliment of yours."

The young man's left hand raised up as the other arm kept him upright. He put his free hand up, "Woah what are you giving me?" he asked in a wobbly weak voice. Inwardly, the young man detested the way he sounded like a weak little girl right now.

A softness took over the stranger's tanned face as he could sense that the young man was having a hard time trusting him, "My friend, this is a herbal remedy. You see, I collect herbs, make remedies and sell them at the market. I'm also somewhat of a healer around these parts." he explained to him.

"Oh" came the young man's response.

"Would you like to try it? It will help with the throbbing pain in your gut I bet you have been feeling these past couple of days." he said and raised the wooden cup in his hand.

The young man hesitated before pulling down his grey cloth mask and taking the drink. He was already dying from poison; what more did he have to lose by drinking this obscure concoction. 

Swallowing the whole cup down, he handed the cup back to the herbalist. "Yuck, that was worse than the time someone gave me croak roaches to eat." he sputtered, wiping a grey sleeve on his mouth.

The herbalist laughed, "You wouldn't be the first to claim that!"

Feeling sleepy, the young man laid back on the blanket and felt the straw pillow underneath his head. He looked up at the clear starry night. The crickets chipped in the nearby wheat-field and the air was cool. The gentle summer breeze rustled through the fields. For the first time, after running for so long, he felt at peace. It occurred to him about something; how did the herbalist knew that he about his pain?