Ballad of the Brothers: The Lion

Chapter Five

Caiaphas dreamed a dreamless dream, which is just a dramatic way of saying that he was completely out of it. Out cold. Blacked out. A human paperweight.
He was awakened to the searing pain of a needle through his flesh and the tapping, nimble fingers of someone who had done this many times before. His eyes slowly fluttered open. A beaked mask was watching him mere centimeters from his eyes, an occasional guttural WARK rising up it's throat before being instantly surpressed. He pitched awake with a yell of terror before being pinned to the bed by Gaol's skinny but surprisingly strong hand. He struggled for a moment and went limp after realizing what was going on. Shen continued his deft needlework silently.
"You will be fine, though a bit, mmm, insipid for a while. Lost more blood than a respectable boy of your age should, really now. Shen's been tending to you nonstop for a full two days now."
Shen raised his free hand in greeting. "It is no problem, really. You should not be so hard on him however. He fought as best as the situation allowed. I DO think that he should have left the fighting to us, though, as we are,mmm, better suited to the task."
Caiaphas said nothing. Partially out of guilt, like a child caught drawing on the walls, but mostly due to his intense hunger. In fact, his stomach was growling so loudly that both his companions were startled.
"Thought we were under attack just now. Shen's just finishing up. Patience."
As if on cue, Shen stood him up, gave him a pat on the back, and helped him back into his robes. "All clear."
He looked down at the stitches. They had a surprising amount of handiwork about them. It was like he was looking at a tapestry. A human tapestry, that is. It was almost a shame that the threads would be removed and the wounds would heal.
"You really didn't need to put so much effort into this, you know. Still, I appreciate it."
Shen audibly inhaled, sharp and abrupt. "I think I could have done better." He finally conceded shyly.
"More importantly though, what will we do about food? My gut is moving on it's own right about now."
Gaol swiftly appeared in front of him, as if teleporting. In fact she was so swift about it that he did not notice when she left. One of her hands went to the back of his head and the other to his lower jaw. She forcefully opened his mouth, and partially lifted his mask. She began to retch loudly like a vulture choking on a bone. That description turned out to be scarily accurate. Disturbingly whole slabs of meat suddenly flowed into his mouth, and with a controlled blow to the throat, she got him to swallow it in surprise. He coughed ferverently as she wiped her mouth on her sleeve with the attitude of a boxer nonchalantly removing his gloves.
"What the actual hell was that?" He mumbled weakly, on his hands and knees, recovering from the shock of it all.
"I knew that you would be hungry but did not know when you would awaken, so I kept a little something for you, hot and ready." She had a malevolent glint in her eyes as she explained this nonchalantly.
"Do me a favor. Next time...just let me starve." Even if he tried he could not deny that it was actually an efficient method of nutrient logistics.
This got a chuckle from Shen, who was sorting the loot from the nearby corpses. "Found the machete you used. Thing is busted. Might want it as a souvenier," he began, tossing the sheathed blade towards him. It was crusted shut in dried blood. Gaol thought it would be more dramatic that way, no doubt. "Got a few trinkets. Oughta fetch us, hmm, twenty silver in all. Looked through the used gear. Our guys' weapons were mostly hacked in half, but I managed to salvage a couple of bastard swords, four bandoliers of knives, and one cavalry saber. In that bundle over there." He gestured towards the stack of weapons, binded together.
"Oh, and the chief had this on him." He tossed him an iron and scale bracer. "From what I know those scales are from sacrificial warriors. They get cast in metal. More of a good luck charm than anything, but eh, it's a start." Shen was surprisingly talkative when it came to statistics and strategy, something Caiaphas noted.
"That's actually a pretty good haul. Wonder how much it's worth. Before we begin travelling though, how will we bury the dead?" Caiaphas pondered.
"We will give back to nature that which we took from it. That is to say, we will throw them into the river, and be on our way." Gaol shrugged. To her, death was just a place where tired warriors went to rest. It wouldn't be right to pester a resting man with formality.
Caiaphas jerked his head at Shen. "And you, Shen? What do you think?"
"I think the same. We can mourn on the road. Just know that they died happy."
Caiaphas was both slightly saddened and extremely flattered by this. He wanted to know, though, why they seeked to serve him so eagerly. These thoughts were interrupted by him belching loudly into his fist as Gaol slapped him on the back. He had been choking but did not even notice it.

By nightfall, they had already patched up the raft, disposed of the dead, and distributed the gear. Caiaphas had opted for the cavalry sabre with a bastard sword as backup. He also had a uniform that they found on one of their allies, who had apparently been the supply unit. It had been made for him, apparently, because it had his nsme on it and fit him well. It was a brigandine and a set of journeyman's robes, along with a pair of durable looking boots. Boots were important.
He sheathed the bastard sword in a back sheath and the sabre at his side. It was a bit heavy, being made for use on a horse, but because of this he could imagine how severe a blow struck by it was. He pictured the image of it's previous owner flying down towards it's enemy like an arrow and cutting it in half. Flight was definitely on his list of life goals.
The three huddled together for warmth. The nights were cold, even moreso when there was moisture in the air, such as now. They were on a sturdy raft following the current west, about a week away from the Hill of Swords. The wind ripped at them and the cold gnawed away as the water surged and shined with a pale light.