1697 Wounded
Ning walked along with the people in the dark, with a single firewood to light their way to the camp these people had set up.
He heard the men grunt as they walked, some in pain, some in fatigue. He could smell day-old sweat and grime from these men. Their hygiene was the worst it could be, but he couldn’t blame them for it.
“May I ask what your name is?” Ning asked the man who was clearly their leader.
“I would rather not speak my name, little brother,” the man said. “I do not wish to disrespect you but I am not in a position where I can speak my name just like that.”
“I see,” Ning said. “And where are you guys from? Or can you not tell me that either?”
“We’re from the city over. We are trying to make our journey through the mountains, but ended up having to return halfway through,” the man said.
“Which city was this?” Ning asked.
“The one you were headed to,” the man said.
“Ah! You guys are from Filam?” Ning asked.
“Yes,” the man said.
Ning said nothing anymore and continued walking. No one said anything for a long minute before the man finally spoke again. “That is not the name of the city, is it?”
“Toma is the city’s name,” Ning said.
“Tsk. I knew it started with a T,” the man said. The others moved at the same time, encircling Ning completely.
“You wish to kill me?” Ning asked.
“No,” the man said. “You’re going to heal my men. Once that is done, we will let you return.”
“I don’t know why you are encircling me then. Aren’t I already headed that way?” he asked.
The man didn’t know how to respond. “You clearly suspect us of being bandits. Why do you still want to help us?” he asked.
“Bandits? You?” Ning chuckled. “I’ve seen beggars that look better than you, let alone bandits. And any bandit would know the name of the city so close from here. No, you guys are not bandits, and you are not from here.”
He looked toward the leader, the orange glow from his firelight burning reflecting in the man’s eyes. “So, who are you guys exactly?”
The man stared back at Ning for a long while before waving away the men. The circle disappeared. “Who we are, does not matter. We only ask you for your help.”
“Sure,” Ning said and turned around to walk.
The others followed him quickly and soon Ning was close enough to hear the whimpers of wounded men and the small fire behind some bushes.
A few men stood up as they noticed that it was their men that had returned. “Boss, did you get it?” a man asked.
“I did,” the man said. “There’s not much, so only the ones that are truly wounded should be allowed to use it.”
The men slowly nodded. “Yes, we can heal on our own. The dying should be healed first.” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ning walked up front, going beyond the bushes, and finally arrived in front of the fire where nearly 10 men were huddled close together, each one wounded or sick.
In truth, everyone was wounded, but it was these men who had suffered the most.
Ning could see someone missing an arm. Another one had their leg tightly wrapped. Everyone was with some sort of wound or another, the stench of flesh filling the air due to it.
Ning covered his nose for a moment before letting go again. “Horrible,” he said slowly. “How did you get so wounded?”
The leader walked up. “We were attacked while asleep. We couldn’t see those beasts in the night and ended up having to fight them in the rain.”
Ning frowned for a moment. “Those beasts?” he asked. “Did you perhaps fight a bunch of lions?”
“Yes,” the man said. “Mountain lions. How did you know?”
“Our group was attacked by them too about a week ago,” Ning said. “Did they just attack you out of nowhere or…”
“It was raining,” the man said. “We had nowhere else to go, so we thought we had gotten lucky when we found the cave in the mountains. It was the perfect place to keep from rain.”
“But… we did not expect the rain to hide their footsteps when they returned,” the man said. “We only then realized that we had accidentally slept in the lions’ den. We had it coming for us at that point.”
“They attacked you then,” Ning said. “And these are the injuries? You came out better than I would’ve thought for men that had to sleep in caves.”
“Better?” the man asked in a scoff. “I lost 5 good men that night. And then 3 afterward who died from their injuries.”
“Oh…” Ning reacted. “I’m sorry for your losses.”
“Please, just help me not have any more,” the man said.
Ning nodded and walked toward the men. He got down and looked back, “I need someone to help me,” he said, revealing what was underneath his cloak.
“You are one-armed?” the leader asked, slightly taken aback. “Alright, I will help.”
He quickly got down and Ning began telling him what to do. First, he had to clean his hands with clean water. Then he had to sprinkle the powder medicine where the wounds were to kill any infection and germs. Then the clean bandages were wrapped around the wounds, letting them stay there to heal.
Ning went around the campfire, taking care of the wounded ones first. Then he looked at the sick men.
“They’ve been out in the rain, haven’t they? They caught the cold,” he said. “That is alright. They will heal on their own with time, but you need to make sure they get proper water. Nothing from rivers or ponds.”
“Where else are supposed to find water?” the man asked.
Ning sighed. That was also right. Looking around, they had absolutely nothing with them at all. No pot. No nothing.
“You guys need serious help if you’re going to survive like this.”
