Warprize

need rawhide. One large piece and then strips. Can you get that?”
    He nodded and ran off. I raised my voice to be heard. “I need rocks as well. Good sized, about the size of two fists.” Two other men ran towards the river. “At least four,” I called after them. The first man returned with a large blanket in his arms. We managed to get it under her and hefted her up without jostling the leg too much. I urged them to go slow and careful as we carried her to the healing tent. Once there, I directed them to put her on an empty cot and started to strip her trous off. Looking up, I realized that the entire group was in the tent, all of them, watching me work. “Out.”
    “But…” Rafe objected.
    “Rafe, you and Prest stay. The others leave.”
    “They want to watch, Warprize. Please.”
    I frowned. “Then roll up the sides of the tent, but have them stay out of the way.” I continued to remove the trous. The blonde bit at her lip as I worked.
    “What is your name?” I asked, trying to get her to focus on something else.
    “Atira. Warprize, I am cursed, I know it. I am cursed. The elements…” She sobbed. “Because I hurt you.”
    “Hush, Atira. It’s a broken leg, not a curse. An accident.”
    The other men entered, with about twenty more rocks then I really needed and lengths of rawhide. Gils popped up out of nowhere, and I had him cutting strips and wrapping the rocks so that I could use them as weights. I put Rafe and Prest at Atira’s head and went to the end of the cot. I called over a tall, husky type and had him stand next to me. Atira was big, and I would need help setting the leg. I explained what we were going to do. The silence in the tent was absolute. I ignored the looks and the whispers, but it was unnerving. Everyone was fascinated by what I was doing. For a moment doubt crept in. What if I couldn’t heal it? It was a clean break, but there were no promises with legs, and if the patient didn’t obey me, it could end up healing crooked or…
    Eln would have boiled me over a hot fire. I pulled myself back and focused on my work. The future belongs only to the Goddess, I’d have to leave it in her hands.
    Once I was sure that everyone understood, we got ready. The two men braced Atira’s shoulders, and she grabbed them, wrapping her arms around their hips. The other man took her foot gently in his hand and waited. I reached over and handed her a piece of willow bark to put between her teeth. “All right, Atira. Ten deep breaths, then we begin.”
    She nodded, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then another. On her third breath, I grabbed her ankle with my helper and we pulled hard on her leg.
    She exploded off the cot, her cries muffled by the bark. The men held her in place. My helper maintained the pull as I ran my hands over her leg. They kept the tension steady, increasing the pull until I felt the bone go together under my finger tips, and heard the familiar grating noise. Once it was in position, I secured the splints, and tied it off. I tried to move swiftly.
    When the splints were in place I nodded, and they eased off the pressure. I concentrated on feeling the bone under the muscle. It felt right. They kept the foot elevated, as I wrapped the limb with a layer of soft bandages and then placed the wet rawhide over it. That was well secured with straps of leather, and we finally lay the leg back down on the cot. Atira was pale by now, and I deeply wished for a sleeping draught to give her. I tied the rocks and strips of rawhide to her ankle, hanging them over the edge of the cot. The pull would aid in keeping the leg straight.
    I finally sat back on my haunches and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Atira looked at me, wide-eyed.
    “You lied!”
    I looked at her in surprise. “I did?”
    “You said ‘ten breaths’.” She glared at me.
    I maintained my expression for as long as I could, then grinned at her. She was starting to relax and was fighting sleep. “My leg, Warprize?”
    “Atira, it is a simple break. We will be careful, and go slow, but all should be well.” I smiled at her doubting face.
    “How long, Warprize?”
    “It will take forty days to heal completely, Atira.”
    “Forty days?” Gils looked at me with horror in his eyes. “Forty days in this cot?”
    “No, not forty days in the cot. Forty days to heal completely. She’ll be able to use a crutch but that will be at least half of that. You can’t risk putting weight on it before