Moonstones and Madness

Forty-six

     Just before sunrise Junseo woke to a quiet discussion just outside the window above his sleeping mat.

"I barely made it to you and we have practiced," Hae-sung whispered urgently.

"If we were up a bit higher, the straight shot would be in range and I have spent enough time with Scout Jia for the resonance to carry," San Jin answered.

Junseo swam out of his blankets and crept to the door. He did a quick check around the room and spotted Song-hee's eyes sparkling in the dark. The boy's slow blink told him to go ahead, so Junseo slipped outside. San Jin jumped when Junseo tapped him. They made their way over to where Chenhui was standing guard. San Jin took out a flyer and pointed up the tree. Junseo drafted a short message, "Three injured. Send patrol to camp." Hae-sung scrawled the word "soonest" on the bottom and rolled the thin paper tightly.

"You're the strongest sender," San Jin whispered to Junseo.

"You have the best connection at the estate," Junseo gestured for San Jin to shinny up the tree. He then joined hands with Hae-sung to send a boost of energy to the climber.

San Jin grinned down at them before sending his flyer out. He waited near the top of the tree for almost an hour before climbing down. "I'm not sure it made it. The echo back was so faint," he said then stumbled.

"Woah there. You need to rest and fuel up," Hae-sung said while putting his arm around San Jin. "You, too," he pointed to Junseo. "Let's go see what is left in the pot."

Candidate Kim made sure there were left-overs ready and kept the kettle warm so the boys could have some tea.

"Thanks for this," Junseo said with a toasting gesture.

"Just regular duties for the last of the night shift. Now you are up and about I'm going to sack out for a bit. Oh, and I already checked in with Candidate Don-je. He is still a bit loopy, can't remember where we are," Candidate Kim sounded worried.

"I'll be checking on him in a few minutes but we are all going to have to stay put for a while." Junseo said.

"Good thing we bagged that boar," Chenhui said with a proud grin.

"Yes, instead of hunting you can put your energies into improving our camp and its defenses," Guard Yun's voice caused Chenhui to jump. "We need the perimeter cleared up. Better shelter for the horses wouldn't go amiss, either."

"Do you think it is alright for me to take the string to the pond?" Hae-sung asked.

"Only if you take a fresh guard with you. I don't know what you boys have gotten up to but San Jin looks dead on his feet," Guard Yun frowned.

"Just trying to get us some help," San Jin shrugged, then tried to cover a yawn.

"It may have been too much of a drain after you held those cleansing barriers for me last night. I probably should have made you wait," Junseo admitted.

"Nonsense. You guys know we needed to get the message out and your support really made a difference." San Jin frowned at his family guard and went to find a mat in the cabin.

Junseo followed him in to do a round of the patients. Manager Doak's color looked good and he dug into the plate of food Junseo delivered with gusto. He was anxious to be up and about but Junseo was firm. "Your leg needs at least two more days to be sure my patching job will hold. The last thing we need is for you to bleed out on us doing something we are capable of handling on our own."