Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen (26 page)

“No
, I am looking for Hellen. Is she here? It is an emergency,” Anwar answered.

The girl stepped inside
, allowing him to come in. “She is in the back, sir. I will get her. May I tell her who is calling?”

“My name is Anwar. I have a friend who is in bad shape.”

“Oh, Master Anwar! I am sorry. I will get her right away. I did not recognize you.” The girl closed the door and hurried down a hallway. Hellen came back less than a minute later, followed closely by the girl.

“Master Anwar
, it is good to see you well. Has something happened to Rundo or Grundel?” Hellen asked.

“No
, they are both fine. It is another of our companions. We arrived in time to help save them, but one of them has taken a gash in his leg. It seems it was infected by orc blood. A priest looked at him, but he said that he couldn’t get the infected blood out. He tried to slow the spreading of the infection, but his leg is turning black. I was hoping you might have some ideas. Maybe those leeches of yours could do something?” Anwar was in a hurry, so he tried to sum it all up the best he could.

“You will have to take me to him. It must have been a really bad infection if the priest was unable to bring it out. If he could not help
, I am not sure what I can do, but I will do what I can. You will have to take me to him. How far away is he?”

“He is in the dwarven kingdom of Evermount. I can take you there
, though. We can be there in seconds after you are ready,” Anwar explained. He saw fear when he said that. Magic scared people. She didn’t let her fear control her, though.

“Just let me grab a few things
,” Hellen told him as she grabbed a bag and started tossing things in it. A couple minutes later she turned to the girl. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. You are in charge until I get back.”

“Yes
, ma’am,” the girl responded.

Anwar took her hand and then they were staring up at Evermount. He did his best to get as close to the mountain as he could. He didn’t want her to have to go through what Master Gibbins had gone through, but he could only get so close.

When they materialized Hellen looked around. “This is terrible. I am glad you are okay. I have never seen so many dead. Orcs are terrible creatures. I am sure the dwarves are as lucky to have you as the people of Freeman were. I am guessing that we have to take the stairs?”

Anwar looked at her and then up the stairs. “I can get us up there faster, but I don’t think you will like it.”

She looked up the stairs, then back to Anwar. “Your friend is in trouble. From what you have told me, every second may count. Just do it.”

Anwar pushed off the ground using his magic. He forced magical energy under him. He wasn’t used to this
, so they went up and down a lot. It was clumsy but they were flying up the mountain. They rose and fell with the mountain, and even more as he tried to adjust the amount of pressure he sent below him. He was sure there was a better way to do this, but not one that he could think of. A few minutes later they were standing on the landing. They took a minute to let the dizziness pass, and for them to get their bearing. When Anwar felt like he could walk again without falling over he turned to her. “Whenever you’re ready.”

She took a few more seconds before she turned to him and nodded. He walked passed the dwarves at the entrance who did not challenge him or the wom
an with him. Hellen was obviously nervous, but she didn’t say anything. He looked back at her as the walked down the tunnels. They passed plenty of dwarves. Given her reaction to the two at the entrance, he was pretty sure that other than Grundel she had never seen a dwarf before. Every time he looked back she seemed less scared and more intrigued. It wasn’t long before they made it to Jabaal’s room.

When they walked in
, Rundo, Grundel, and Grizzle were all talking with Jabaal. Master Gibbins was watching from the corner of the room.

“I knew it
,” Grundel said when he saw her.

Rundo laughed. “Y
eah, you were right. We are glad you are here, Hellen.”

Grundel helped Grizzle up. He shook Hellen’s hand. “I am Grizzle Stoneheart, Son of Grindel Stoneheart, King of Evermount. My son tells me you saved my friend Anwar. I hope you can do the same for another friend of mine.”

“I am Jabaal, the friend. Whatever you can do I will be grateful. Whatever happens, Kalime will watch over me.”

Hellen went and took Jabaal by the hand. “I will do what I can. Your leg is already bad
, though. If you eat this, it will take away the pain. I have something that will help you sleep if you want. It would probably be better.”

Jabaal held Hellen’s hand. There was something about her that intrigued him. It was a weird thought at this moment, but he couldn’t push it away. “I have slept enough. I have my own way to deal with the pain. Thank you for the consideration
, though.”

“The herbs that will numb the pain are as much for me as they are for you. If you kick or jerk or slam into me when I have a sharp object in my hand you could hurt me as much as yourself,” Hellen replied to him sternly.

“Ho, ho! This one has bite, Jabaal, you better watch out.”

Jabaal smiled at Grizzle. He appreciated what she was saying. It was actually attractive. When he looked at Hellen he was very serious. “I will need a clear mind to get through whatever happens. I promise you, you could saw through my leg with a dull knife without worrying about me jerking the leg away.”

Hellen stared at Jabaal for a long time. Then she looked at Anwar. He nodded. She didn’t know why she was giving in. She had never given in to any man who claimed not to need the herbs. Somehow this man had actually convinced her.

She looked at the leg. The infection was spreading faster then it should. “How long ago was this last line made?”

“About an hour ago,” Rundo answered her.

She looked down at the infection. There were half a dozen lines. The wound was down to the shin, and cut toward the inside of the leg. The first couple of lines had maybe a finger
’s width between them. The last two had close to three fingers. If she understood rightly, those had been made within the last couple hours. It didn’t make sense. She went to her bag and took out the jar of leeches. She didn’t think they would be enough on their own, but she wanted to see if they would at least slow the growth of the infection. She pulled the first one out and set it on the leg inside the edge of the blackened skin. She reached in the jar and took out a second leech. But before she even got the second one to latch on to the skin, the first fell off. That didn’t make sense. She put the second one back in the jar.

“Maybe it’s the orc blood. Maybe it
’s bad for leeches, too,” Jabaal said.

Hellen looked up at him. Then picked up the le
ech. She looked at the fat creature. It had swollen up way to fast. “No, blood is blood to a leech. There is something else in the wound that is affecting it.”

She looked at the remains of the yellow paste that was nearly dissolved in the wound. She looked up at the priest. “What did you put in the wound?”

“It was a special blend that heals wounds. I knew it wouldn’t help heal it, but I had hoped it would slow the progress of the infection. It was pretty standard stuff. Mainly yarrow, with a little garlic and sicklewort. It should have at least slowed the infection from spreading.”

Hellen stared at him for a minute. He was right. Those things should have helped some, but it seemed like they had done the opposite. They wouldn’t have had any
effect on the leech, either. She looked at Jabaal. “You remember what you said about the dull knife? This one is sharp. If you jerk, it could be bad for both of us.”

Jabaal just looked at her and smiled. “I won’t move. Do what you need to.”

Hellen looked at Grundel. “Grundel, do you mind holding his leg just in case?”

“Don’t touch him
, Grundel,” Grizzle interjected. “Jabaal said he wouldn’t move. He won’t move. That is the greatest paladin of Kalime. He is the most disciplined man I have ever met. Do what you need to do, Hellen, but believe what he says.”

Hellen turned and looked at the dwarf sitting in the chair. He was battered and bruised very badly. He should be in bed himself. He had meant what he said
, though; she could see that in his eyes. She looked back at Jabaal and he smiled and then nodded.

Hellen put her blade at the entrance of the wound. She cut from the wound up to the edge of w
here the skin was blackened. Jabaal was true to his word. He didn’t jerk or flinch; he didn’t gasp or suck in air. He didn’t even make a sound. She almost believed he didn’t feel it, but she knew that wasn’t true. The infection in the wound had to be extremely painful. Most men would have been howling in pain just from that. When the wound was opened the blood poured out freely. It wasn’t thick and dark like she had expected. It was thin. After the dark blood came out, the blood that followed was thin and light. She looked up at the priest. “Why?”

“Why what
?” Grizzle asked.

“He didn’t give him what he said. He could have saved the leg. I know it now. I could have saved the leg before he did this,” Hellen answered Grizzle without ever taking her eyes o
ff Master Gibbins.

“They killed her!
” Master Gibbins screamed. “She gave everything to them. She gave everything to everyone. She was innocent. She was too good for them. They took her away and then they got her killed. This is less than they deserve. They deserve to suffer!” He was still yelling when Grundel grabbed him.

Grizzle might have been barely able to move on his own, but what he had heard was enough to bring him to his feet. He was making his way toward Master Gibbins.

“STOP!” Jabaal shouted. “He was wounded. He blamed us, Anwar. This was how he got back at us. It was an evil thing to do, but I understand. He wanted revenge, and we were the only ones he thought he could take it from.”

Anwar looked back and forth
between Jabaal and Gibbins. Tears were running down his face. Veins pulsed in his forehead and neck. His thinning grey hair was a mess. He looked like he had aged decades in those few minutes.

Grizzle was furious. “I don’t care what he was. He came here and poisoned you
. He will pay for that.’

“I’m not saying he should get away with it. Lock him up.
Just don’t kill him. That would be too easy for him anyway. He knows what he did was wrong. Let him live with that, but let him live,” Jabaal told them.

Anwar just stared at Gibbins. “You betrayed us. You abandon
ed everything she believed in. Everything you have ever taught. You did this to someone who was important to her. Get out of my sight before I lose control. I don’t want to become you.”

Grundel grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out into the hall. The dwarves out there took him. Grundel
gave them orders to lock him away.

When everyone was somewhat calmed down
, Jabaal looked at Hellen. “Hellen, if you would please tell us what we do now.”

“
There is no choice now,” Hellen replied. “He gave you avaleen. It thinned your blood. It allowed the infection to spread quickly. There is nothing we can do to stop it. The only choice is to take off the leg now. If we wait much longer it will spread further and you will die. The infection is below your knee. Normally I would amputate below as well, but since he used avaleen we need to amputate above the knee. With the avaleen the infection is going to be progressing further underneath the skin than in it appears.”

Jabaal nodded and
lay back. “Do it.”

“Sir
, please let me give you something for the pain. I believe you won’t jerk now, but this is going to be incredibly painful. We will have to cut through bone and skin and muscle. Please, you don’t have to feel all that,” Hellen pleaded.

Jabaal looked her in the eyes. She had pretty eyes. They were big
, brown things. She didn’t have traditional beauty, but she was beautiful in her own unique way. “You don’t have to do this. Make a mark on my leg where it should be removed. Grundel can make it clean with one swing of an axe, or Anwar can cut through it with magic I’m sure. I will not take anything for the pain.”

“No, that will not do. I will do it. I need to leave some skin to fold over. I can make this as livable as possible. My way will make sure you can put a stump on it when it heals
,” Hellen answered sullenly.

“Let
’s get this over with, then. I would rather not waste any more time now that we know what has to be done,” Jabaal told her.

Hellen gave Jabaal one sad
, last look then started setting out her tools. She set out two very sharp knives, a strap of leather, a leather belt with holes all the way down it, a pile of rags she had taken from Master Gibbins’ bag, some kind of metal snips, and a saw. When she had everything laid out she threaded a string and set the needle out of the way. She moved around the bed to Jabaal’s right side. She looked up at Grundel. “Will you help me?”

Grundel walked up next to Jabaal’s bed. “What do you need me to do?”