I spent the rest of the day lying on a cot. Occasionally a woman would come and check up on me. Thankfully they had food. These ranger folk had berries, nuts, but most importantly cooked game. The meat filled up some very empty parts of my body. The berries and nuts were alright, but not nearly as filling the salted venison they had on stock. But I was still very ill.
It was strange. I had been fine up until the clan leaders meeting, but then I almost collapsed or passed out from what some people were saying was fever. Lying down helped and the deer hide blanket was a great improvement from the cramped carriage ride or even the hay in the stables back in Crossroads. Plus, every smelled different in a better way. Instead of the odors that came from horses or people, there were smells of spruce from the trees and evergreen nearby. Everything smelled so much more natural, which was a relief on my breathing. Crossroads wasn’t as bad on odors as a place like Mentings, with their many war factories, but it was still a dread for the ranger encampment here.
Just then, I had a visitor sitting by my bedside. For a second, I was expecting it to be Orin Daunderfell, telling me its safe to return home, but I should not wish for such things. Instead, I saw Elena, who was looking much better than she was when we had first arrived to the camp. It was a bit embarrassing to be in her former position, as if we had switched places. I got the short end of the stick, as usual. But it was good to see that she was better. It gave me some hope that I would recover soon.
“Elena, what are you doing here?” I asked, still a bit asleep. I tried sitting up, but she put her hand on my shoulder, urging me to stay down. She didn’t have to use a lot of force because I was feeling very weak while under this hex.
“I was getting lonely,” she said, sitting down next to me. She was wrapped in a deer-hide blanket, trying to keep warm from the chills of her fever. That, or it was getting later in the day. The forest’s tall trees and wide canopies blocked out a lot of the sunlight, keeping the woods cooled for the most part. “Plus when I saw them carrying you in here, I had to see what had happened. They wouldn’t let me talk to you until you rested.”
“Oh, well thanks, I guess,” I said. I was caught a little off-guard by her sudden appearance, so my words were short and few.
“What did happen, by the way,” she asked, seeking clarification. “With you and Valen, that is.”
“We had to go to some clan leaders meeting,” I said in brief. I explained to her how Howard was the son of the chief of the ranger clans, and how upsetting the news of his death was. I also told her about how Carter was the son of Degamux, an older clan leader like Arwulf, who had little patience or sentiment for Valen. Then I told her how I suddenly became ill to the point where I almost couldn’t stand.
“Oh my,” she said after I had finished. She looked just as worried as Arwulf. My mind began replacing her blond locks with those of gray like the old chief. “I had the feeling that Howard and Carter were friends of Valen, like really good friends, but this... this is really bad, for Valen. I’m not sure if we’re to be blamed for their deaths, but I don’t think they’re going to like us much here.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, still not sure. “We’re orphans, refugees. We lost our home, why should be to blame for anything?”
“Because people don’t usually take in strangers into their home,” Elena said, with a hint of grimness. “Not unless they don’t plan on leaving any time soon.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant that we were prisoners, because I didn’t feel like one. I felt like an honorary house guest, one that everyone likes to stare at. But at least they were taking of care of me. I had gotten pretty sick right out of nowhere and they let me stay in one of their sick tents. So far, the rangers seemed like nice enough people, minus the arrow-to-the-head greetings. But that was just for outsiders, as I saw with Valen, so it wasn’t fair to judge them for their need to maintain security. Plus, they were being hunted by General Warwick and the entire Andoan Regime. They had to keep the location of their home, their enclave, safe. One loose pair of lips and everyone hear could be put at jeopardy.
