Moonstones and Madness

Thirteen

     Junseo recognized a few of the faces in the small knot of supporters gathered near the first-aide tent and let Knight-Master Lei know the group were from Hae-sung's hometown. The men backed up respectfully but one grabbed Junseo's sleeve saying, "You will let us know, won't you?"

"Not before his family," Junseo said and ducked through the door flap.

"Healer Park," one of the medics waved from the corner.

"Student Park," Junseo muttered a correction that went unnoticed by the team gathered around the stretcher. He picked up a clean cloth to dip in the disinfecting solution and gently dabbed the scrapes along the edge of Hae-sung's hairline until he could see the source of the blood running across the still face. He signaled to the assistant to trim back the hair while he got a suture kit ready. "I know it is not the worst of his injuries but this will help him rest easier," he responded to the questioning looks from the others.

"Head wounds always bleed like crazy," Knight-Master Lei said and stepped back a couple of paces and picked up a lantern.

Junseo nodded his thanks and went ahead with the quick repair then gently probed behind Hae-sung's ear. He called over another healer who just shook her head before fetching a physician from the palace. The older man made his own assessment and pursed his lips then directed Junseo to stabilize Hae-sung's head while they loosened the neck brace for a better view. An assistant came over with a jade jar and the senior healer selected a stone that outshone the lanterns. Junseo struggled against the crystal's pull, silently running through a grounding mantra to push back the dissonance gathering outside the tent. His ears popped.

"You were right. We missed this in the first assessment but it shouldn't be a problem now." The court physician studied Junseo a bit more closely. "Can you hold your anchors for a while longer? We couldn't get a clear view before," said waving his hand in the direction of the strongest shields.

Junseo swallowed hard then nodded. He was grateful when Knight-Master Lei put a hand on his shoulder and joined the quiet chant. The healer's crystal glowed brighter and everything quieted for a moment.

"Good, I think we have them all now." The other healers all bowed to their senior. His assistant hurried over to collect the large crystal. The court physician sat down heavily and croaked, "Well done." He took a sip from a flask then started the inventory of injuries for the scribe to record.

Junseo could feel Knight-Master Lei's worry growing as the list went on from a broken ankle, torn knee, broken hip, cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, and a severe head injury. The stitches Junseo had thrown were added in near the end of the list and he was called over to sign off the report. The court physician then discussed the treatment plan with Knight-Master Lei, explaining that once Hae-sung was more stable he would, by the prince's decree, be sent to recover at the palace infirmary. "Inform the boy's family they will be welcome guests of his highness when they come," he said. Knight-Master Lei nodded and signaled to Junseo it was time to leave.

"I would like to stay and watch over Hae-sung for a while more," Junseo said.

"I am sure you would but you have clearly over done it and you still have a full slate of matches tomorrow," Knight-Master Lei put his hand up to stop any further objections.

"Wait. The boy is a competitor? He will need a note about how he helped in case there are any questions about crystal use." The healer called over the scribe before observing, "You know he is a rare talent, none of my students could hold an anchor like that, not here, and definitely not without tuned stones." Knight-Master Lei quickly thanked the man for his service, and his discretion.

Junseo swayed with exhaustion by the time they got to the arena gates and was grateful for the waiting carriage. He did not notice the smaller boy who bumped into him and planted something in his pocket. The wooden disk with three paint stripes fell out as he was getting ready for bed. Chenhui scooped it up to take a closer look.

Song-hee's squeaked, "Where did you get that?"

"I don't know how if got in my pocket. Maybe someone in the crowd at the gate? Honestly, I have been pretty out of it. Does it matter?" Junseo looked confused.

Song-hee sat on the lower bunk and buried his head in his hands. "You guys have to know it was an accident. I mean it. I would never risk Hae-sung's life."

"What are you going on about?" Junseo put his head to one side.

"It's your marker, isn't it?" Chenhui didn't wait for confirmation. "I knew the gang was cooking something up the way my Dad acted so smug. Going on about having an inside track with me here. Now we are all going to get the blame, aren't we?" He punched Song-hee's shoulder.

Song-hee didn't even try to duck. He just sat very still before letting out a big sigh. "The Slack-harbor boys did ask me to look for an opportunity to take down one of our members. I didn't think it would go so badly. I promise."

"You should have said something," San Jin frowned.

"I couldn't." Song-hee hugged himself and rocked back and forth.

"He's telling the truth," In-Yeon said holding up his topaz. "See, no shadows, so we need to believe him."

"Well, I don't want him on the grounds tomorrow," San Jin said turning away from the younger boys.

"Fine. I will think of an excuse so you don't need to see me," Song-hee said pulling the blankets over his head and curled up to make himself as small as possible.

"I know we should talk this out but I can't right now. I just can't." Junseo sounded close to tears.

"We are all tired," Chenhui admitted before adding, "We can figure out things out in the morning." He patted the lump in the bottom bunk and took the low grumble as assent.

Song-hee stayed perfectly still until he could hear the muffled snores coming from above him. He slid quietly out of bed and inched over to the door. Once last glance around the room assured him the others would not come looking before morning so he made his way down to the workshop to finish up the clockworks he was making for his friends in the tournament. He was certain once the truth was revealed he would be leaving the forge. No matter that when he slipped the burr under the saddle pad, he only expected a few bucks to slow up the team's best rider. Somehow it all went terribly wrong. Hae-sung could have died. The Slack-harbor gang had gotten their due, but now Song-hee had even bigger debts to pay.

He flipped through the back of his notebooks, trying to remember the insignia they had come up with for their team. He could get enough metal for matching cloak pins by melting down the piece he had started for his journeyman's application so he got on with it. Inlaying the copper wire to form flaming petals demanded his full attention so he did not notice the sun rising or the other team members leaving for the competition. Journeyman Yang stood in the doorway to watch Song-hee's steadying a hand before tipping crucible over and back. The boy returned the pot to the fire, moved the form out of the way, wiped his forehead, and picked up the tongs and repeated the steps.

"How long do expect your build to take?" Journeyman Yang asked after watching Song-hee tap the pieces out the forms.

"An hour maybe, or two at the most. You don't need to stay. Actually, it would be great if you could go to the grounds and ask Scout Jia to come back and have lunch with me. I've got something important to tell him about yesterday's race." Song-hee turned his full attention back to his project, trusting his request would be accepted.