The Ruins

She's a witch

Hot ambers, in blue and red, came tumbling forward from the mouth of the cave. The nasty, yellow smoke rose high. Ishloche continued to breathe fire into it. He crooned his neck, and made sure that the flames engulfed all of the cave, walls and ceiling as well as the floor. When nothing remained but black ash, he stopped. Smoke came from every opening, and every crevice, in their formation that might have made it a way out. Ishloche was careful to rid the virus from the whole thing. With Krag and Jakombie down the mountain, he lit the walk ways and the rocks as well. Satisfied with his work, he went to them.

“Where else have these foul things been?” Ishloche’s voice thundered. The disgust shown on his face. Even though he was a large dragon, that much fire took a lot out of him. He stretched, and searched the valley with a second vision. His sight turned infrared, yellow, and blue. Ishloche perched on a high up boulder, scanning the countryside, for any more signs of contamination from the zombie blood. “Stay here.” He told them.

Large blue wings unfurled. The muscles tensed and flexed as Ishloche moved to the edge of the boulder and swooped downward. His scales turned blue and green, as he launched up into the sky, like a torpedo. Ishloche narrowed his eyes, squinting against the vibrant rays of the sunset. His direction was back to where they had originally assaulted the Zomborc hoard, from on the mountain.

Ishloche saw a large yellow area with red edges. Green and blue dots were along its border. It also had a red trail……

LANAI

Lanai became a very caring nurse to the wounded soldiers. She was attending to their every need. The edge of her dress went to her feet, and drug trough the dirt as she tended them. Lanai had also been working on fine tuning her magic. She was allowing herself to feel everything around her. The environment was giving her everything that she needed, for herself and the men. A wash basin came from the dirt and rocks with her fingertips. Brown and gray, with swirl designs, she spelled it to hold water without leaking.

Lanai made a stand from the wood that was there. She tied it with parts of her skirt, torn off for its uses. She made a wash cloth as well. Lanai walked back and forth between the men, cleaning their faces and hands. She let the water run down their necks and hair, to keep them cool. Frankincense and lavender grew wild. She had made a mortar and pestle to grind the herbs. Lanai mixed them into the fat mass that Jakombie had given her. She used her powers to make it grow.

The men had wounds that were festering. Lanai redressed their wounds after cleaning them. She used the herb, fat paste as a salve, and blessed it. She was humming an old tune as she did so. It was if the men were in a meditative state. She wiggled her fingers at the water basin and snapped. It magically refilled with clean, fresh water.

She refilled the canteens and water bags, often. Some of the men had lost a lot of blood. Tordin’s leg was gone and the wound was deep. His blood had been tainted by the blood in the water from the Orcs. Lanai wasn’t sure if his body would bleed out all of his contamination. The veins and arteries were disconnected, where his leg was missing. She placed a cool wash cloth on his forehead, and kissed him lightly, as you would a small child with a fever. She waved her hands above his body pulling away his pain. He was weak. She lifted his head and made him drink.

Tordin grabbed her arm. “Stop.” He said. “I’m already dead. You don’t know what you are doing!” Tears welled up in his eyes. This war is won, let me go to my family with honor.” His voice became a whisper.

“Enough of that!” Brock came nearer to them. His red hair was almost glowing, soaking wet, as the light from the sunset cast its rays upon it. His green eyes were full of fire. “I am better, and now you will be too. Stop being a coward and thinking of your leg.”

“Leave me be.” Tordin responded.

Fin waltzed over, arrogantly. “All of you need to shut up and eat some more fish.” He threw a crispy, blackened salmon at Brock and then another to Tordin. “Get your strength back for when Krag returns. “ He told them.

Several more wounded were unconscious. They seemed at rest as they were healing. “We need to put more wood on the fire for the night.” Lanai told them. She tilted her head and looked at her helpers. Both boys were young. Their youth shown through their tormented mindset. Brock seemed strong. His muscles bulged from his shirt. He was a farmer, before this started. Fin was optimistic, and energetic. They walked away to gather more wood. Lanai stayed with Tordin and brushed his hair from his face with her fingers. Her green eyes rested on his face. She pushed healing power to him. He was calmy going back to sleep.

KRAG

Krag and Jakombie made their way down the mountainside. They were treading carefully. Ishloche told them to stay put, but why? They could help. Looking out at where he had gone, they saw nothing of alarm. They retraced the trail where Jakombie had walked a few times before. It was now a burned and beaten path. The ash crunched under their feet. They were walking together in awkward silence.

“So…. You were healed by Lanai? What was wrong with you?” Krag quizzically asked, trying to get to know his new partner.

Jakombie gave him a side eyed look as he continued walking. He laughed to himself. “I was taken as a child by the Orcs. They tried to feed me to the Zombies. I was enslaved and beaten.” Jakombie swallowed as he thought. “I remembered that there were healing herbs. I made a paste that saved my life. I didn’t turn, and I didn’t die. The virus made me really dumb…” He didn’t know how much he should share with him. “Lanai was captured and turned into a slave. Gnork wanted her, but he liked to break them first.” Jakombie went silent as he thought of her.

Krag nodded as though he understood. “Gnork was a monster. What would he want with a human woman? “ He shook his head in disgust. “I’m glad that they are dead.”

Jakombie readily agreed. He sized up Krag as they trudged onward. He brushed a stray lock of hair from his face as he turned to talk to him. “Lanai was strong, and smart. She did what she was told and stayed as far from all of them as they would allow. She was trying to escape. I was watching from my inner cave dwelling. I went to her. She didn’t trust me at first.” Jakombie was watching Krag’s face as he retold the story. “I helped her escape and gave her some healing ointment. We made our way out of the cave, unnoticed.” Jakombie shook his head. “She is very brave.”

Krag listened carefully. He wanted to understand everything that had happened to them all. He had a need to be able to help them all. He was furious at the Orcs and their experiments. His inner turmoil demanded that he be able to. He couldn’t help his family, but he would help those that he could. “She sounds like it.” Krag thought about Lanai and the magic that she used. “How did she become a witch then? Why didn’t she escape that way?”