Vendetta's Rise (The Dragon Realms Saga: Book 1)

Chapter 64

Deep in the night, the soft sounds of scurrying feet could be heard as Essie moved across the forest floor. She used her ARO training to muffle her footsteps while the collar of her cloak masked her cold breath in the frigid darkness. In the distance beyond the forest's edge, the camps of Estinain forces could be seen. Large fires blazed as groups of enemy soldiers huddled around the welcoming warmth.

Koda's men had no such opportunity to light even an ember. A single spark would give away their position and another onslaught of attacks would befall the already shaken forest. During the first week, the king's mages were able to shield the soldiers from most attacks. However after awhile their magic waned and several of the mages were killed. That left the remaining six mages hesitant and defensive.

Essie leaned against an uprooted tree. Its trunk was large enough to provide temporary cover as she took a moment to count her supplies. She bit her lip when she found herself low on dullweed, a plant used to numb the pain of a patient. She tried to think how her supply could have run out so quickly. They had been entrenched in this forest for the last week. She started with at least twenty pieces of the weed, and that was enough for forty patients. The attacks left soldiers completely mutilated and maimed. Dullweed was given out liberally at first, but all that changed after the third night.

I should find some bitterbark.

Bitterbark was not as potent as dullweed, but kept the pain low enough to avoid sending a patient into shock. Finding it would be the tricky part, but at this point it would not be as scarce as dullweed.

Noticing a flash of shadows weave into an adjacent tree, she whistled a low call to grab the attention of a fellow soldier. The soldier poked his head around the corner, showing that he was a fellow medic. Essie motioned for him to run to her, but the medic seemed too fearful to expose himself. After another failed attempt at convincing him to come over, Essie darted and slid to his tree.

"Private Essie Windfoot, first Anti-Rogue Ops," Essie rapped out her name, rank, and unit in a single heavy breath. Sure to keep her tone low so that he could hear, but not those around her.

"Corporal Jempsen Rivertread, second Medical Corps. I'm attached to the first Wolf Lancer Division. Can't find any of them though. Have you seen any Wolf Lancers, Private?" His eyes were tired and blank. The unit he was attached to was part of the front line. The Wolf Lancers were scattered after the first day, and Jempsen had been wandering among the forest ever since.

Essie instinctively checked Jempsen for any visible wounds. He was shaken to the core, but was not physically injured. She frowned and shook her head, "Sorry, Corporal, I've not run into your kin," She pointed a ways off, and Jempsen turned his head to where she pointed with a delayed reaction, "I know if you walk a bit that way, you'll run into a Sergeant Elimder Barkwick. He's a platoon sergeant for the second Tactical Information Relay Division. If TIR doesn't know where the Wolf Lancers are...Well, he'll know."

Jempsen continued to stare off in a daze. After a minute or two, he finally responded, "Thanks, Windfoot."

Essie grabbed him by the sleeve as he was getting up, "Corporal, do you have any dullweed you can spare? Maybe some bitterbark?"

Jempsen reached into his haversack and pulled out a stack of dullweed tied by twine and tossed it into Essie's shivering hands. She smiled weakly and carefully stashed the dullweed in her medical satchel. She watched as Jempsen slowly trudged through the forest once more. She took a long breath and moved out of her resting place herself.

***

The night grew colder as the pale moonlight revealed itself from the navy blue clouds. The night was at the pinnacle of danger when the moon came out. What was once a safe and quiet time within the foxholes became a troublesome rat race to keep from being hit by bombarding boulders and piercing ballista bolts.