The surge of joy Erik felt in hearing that his friend has passed the final test vanished. He wanted to be sick.
“Why is he unconscious?” Erik asked.
“We had to uh…sedate him in order to get him down. He was throwing my men around like ragdolls up there. You can see him in the morning, right now we need to take him to see the Chief Surgeon.”
The lump on the side of Lawt’s head spoke volumes about the force of the sedation.
Chapter 13
Ready on Hand
Erik did not leave Ramona’s side while she worked on Lawt. They had given her this opportunity because of her previous experience with him. The Chief Surgeon thought the whole hand did not need to come off. It could be possible to save his thumb on his left hand but everything above that would need to be removed. It would not be as functional as a normal hand, but more functional than no hand at all. The man was fortunate it was his left, non-dominant hand. A specially made shield would allow him to continue as Roh’Darharim with very little re-training.
“Those imbeciles are always so conservative. Yes, his pinky and his ring finger must go, but the rest can be saved. They thought he was going to die after the bear attack. I proved them wrong then, and they are wrong now,” Ramona whispered under her breath as she worked. “Talking to me like I am a novice, like I don’t know how special a deep burn is.”
Erik had heard Ramona and the surgeons’ arguments. The Chief Surgeon had put it bluntly. She can do as she wants but if he died she was out.
With that decree Ramona went straight to work on Lawt while keeping him heavily sedated. Lawt’s pinky broke clean off when Ramona attempted to unclench his fist. With the charcoal removed she cleaned the hand as best she could, then took her surgeons kit and removed a small handsaw. The sound of metal on bone shivered in Erik’s skull and down his spine. With each stroke of the saw there was more blood and more tissue grated loose, more bone ground to dust. Bits of flesh clung hungrily to the saw teeth. Erik ground his own teeth until the woman was finished. With a cauterizing iron she seared the wound she had just made with a fresh burn to stop the bleeding.
He noticed the care with which he wrapped his hand. The alcohol soaked bandages were loose. When she was finished she sat next to Lawt, looking at him. Erik did not know if she had forgotten that he was still in the room with her. She sat looking at Lawt’s face and slowly she raised her hand to the man’s head and gently brushed errant hairs out of the way. The way Erik’s mother used to do to him whenever he was sick.
“He talks a lot about you,” Ramona said quietly not looking at Erik. “Underneath this big man’s rough exterior is a frightened little boy. He feels all alone in this world. The only thing he has is you. He is afraid of others hurting him but most of all he is afraid of you. He is afraid of disappointing you, of losing you, or getting you hurt because of your relationship with him.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Of course, you idiot. We just need to wait and see what else we have to do. Go get some sleep Roh’Darharim. If we want the best we will have to work together. I will watch over him tonight. In the morning, don’t do anything stupid like get him riled up.”
Ramona was true to her word. When Erik arrived the next morning she was rewrapping his dried bandages and replacing them with fresh alcohol soaked pads. Erik stayed with the slumbering man during the day while Ramona slept. Ramona cautioned Erik frequently about trying to do too much with the wound since too much tampering could cause infection.
The tears came again when Lawt awoke, and he received the news about his hand. The White Charger came down personally to give Lawt his uniform and his title, Tal’Onala. He was the Protector of Innocence. More tears flowed but this time for a different reason.
One morning, when Erik arrived to relieve Ramona, his friend’s sleeping countenance stunned him. “What is that?” he whispered.
“What is the matter with you, worrying me for nothing? The man is asleep. There is nothing wrong that I can see, and if there is something wrong I can fix it.”
“His mouth, look at his teeth.” With each word Erik was getting louder.
“Follow me, you damn buffoon, and keep your mouth shut.”
Ramona led Erik to the well outside the infirmary then drew in a deep breath. “How dare you do that to him? Draw attention like that, from no fault of his own. He could wake up at any moment. Do you think the first thing he would want to see is you with that look of disgust?”
“What have you been doing to him?” Erik accused.
“What have I…? I have only been trying to save that man’s hand.”
“His teeth have nothing to do with his hand.”
“You moron, you don’t know anything about him. The man is not human.”
“He is more human than you!” Erik could feel his anger raging up his neck into his face. Erik expected another smart retort from the woman but her face softened and she looked Erik in the eyes.
“I did not mean it in that way, Erik. Half of Lawt is physically not human. His body responds to trauma differently than we do. On top of being stronger, faster, and tougher, he heals differently, too. If he is wounded his body reacts offensively. If he is wounded badly, and he recovers, his body tries to make it easier to defend itself the next time. Since his last injury I have made a study with any available resource I could. When he was mauled by that bear his body responded by giving him tusks.”
“That was years ago. Why did they only show up now?”
“They showed up a month after the incident. Lawt has asked me to file them down each week as soon as he noticed them. He did not want people to react the same way you just did, and you’re his best friend.”
Erik bit back the embarrassment he was feeling. “He could have told me.”
“He probably could have.” The woman had a hint of sympathy in her voice. “You know now, and that is what is important. It is not your secret to tell. Lawt will decide when he does not have to hide being who he is. Now we have more important things to worry about.”
“Don’t worry, you know you’re our surgeon when we leave.”
“If it ever comes to that, but that is not what I am talking about. Lawt is gaining strength every day, which is good. I am afraid his hand is festering though. I drained a half cup of pus from it yesterday. I am doing everything I know but it is not helping.”
“So what do we do?”
“That’s just it, we can’t do anything with his hand as it is. I am sorry, I…” Ramona turned away crying, “made a mistake. Why was I so pig-headed? I had to prove to them all that I was better than them! Had I done what the Surgeons suggested he would probably be able to keep his thumb!”
“And now?” Erik asked.
Ramona paused. “Now I am afraid his entire hand must come off.”
“When?”
“As soon as I can get a hot blade.”
Erik started back into the infirmary. He was angry about his impotence in the situation more than anything else. Ramona was doing the best she could, and he knew despite her rough edges that she would always do what she could to protect Lawt.
As Erik walked in Lawt awoke. “You look worse than I feel,” Lawt said.
“Are you okay?” Erik asked worried.
“I am fine. It was a joke.”
Erik and Ramona stood in silence, neither of them could think of a way to tell Lawt the bad news.
“Something is wrong, isn’t it?” Lawt finally said.
“Ramona has told me some bad news, old friend. It seems your wounds were worse than she estimated. You are going to lose your entire hand, I am afraid.” Erik’s words were calm, they never wavered.
“Well it was not much of a hand anymore, was it?” The tears in Lawt’s eyes showed that the news hurt worse than his words indicated. “Can I ask a favor of you, Ramona?”
“I hope I can grant it,” Ramona said.
“I want Erik to do it. I want it done with his blade.”
“I can’t do that!” Erik cried.
“You do it or it does not come off.” Lawt’s demeanor told them that he was serious.
“How can you ask me to do this?”
“There are only two people in this world I trust, Erik. One of them told me what has to happen. I would hope the other would help me go through with it.”
Erik paced around the small room.
“There has to be another way. We have gone through so much together. Now that we are at the end, and proven everyone wrong, how can we end like this?” Erik looked his friend in the eyes, not sure if he wanted an answer.
“This is just another thing we will get past. This is not the end, Erik. This is the beginning of the three of us doing the incredible, to continue proving everyone wrong.”
Erik pulled his sword from his scabbard. He walked over to the iron stove in the corner of the room. With the tip of his blade he opened the small door then sunk the blade in as far as it would go.
“Let me prepare him. By the time he is ready your sword will be hot enough,” Ramona said.
She moved without hesitation, filling a small cup with powdered herbs and steaming water. A thin iron rod and a wooden stick were placed next to Erik’s sword in the coals. Another cup appeared this time with less water and more herbs and these she formed into a paste. The woman moved all over the room but never seemed to leave Lawt’s side. She offered Lawt the first cup she had prepared. “Drink it all.”
Lawt looked at her hesitantly, then took the brew and downed it. The man’s face almost broke the grim atmosphere. That concoction must have been vile.
Ramona now went to work on the man proper. She placed a bed high table next to him and removed all the dressings from his arm. With the care of a mother laying down her newborn baby, she placed his hand on the table and used bandages to secure the hand to it. She tied one last strap around the middle of Lawt’s forearm, and with a stick twisted the tourniquet cutting off the blood flow to his hand. She went back to the stove, removed the stick, and blew out the small flame that burned at the end. She dipped the tip in water, and used the charcoal to draw a line across Lawt’s wrist. “That should do it.”
“And another thing,” Lawt said, his words slurring together. “No one can call me nubby.”
Erik went over to grab his sword.
“You need to do it in one stroke. if you only cut half way through you will need to do it again only higher.” Ramona said. “After you make the blow I need you to discard your blade and hold him down. I have to cauterize any vessels that were not seared by your blade.”
“The man wrestles bears. What do you think I can do with him?”
“Not bearsh,” Lawt chimed in. “One bearsh! And I won!”
“I think the hemeth I gave him may help you with that,” Ramona said.
“Won’t this burn him more?” Erik asked.
“Yes, but they will be smaller burns, and will have the advantage of immediate treatment.”
Erik removed the blade from the stove, its end glowed orange. He raised his sword, looking at Ramona for reassurance. She gave a small nod. The sword came down embedding itself into the table. The ringing sound of metal made a sad counterpoint to the scream Lawt let out.
Lawt pulled his arm back instinctively. Erik jumped on top of his friend, trying to pin his arm back into a position were Ramona could work. Erik felt himself in the air as Lawt’s right arm tossed him into the wall.
“Stop fooling around and get over here,” Ramona screamed.
Erik pinned Lawt, this time using leverage on his right arm to pin it back. In this position the man could not use all his strength. With the rest of his weight he held Lawt’s severed arm still. With precision Ramona went to work. Small wisps of smoke rose into the air as she moved the small iron rod from point to point, cutting off the egress of crimson fluid. Ramona packed the stump with the paste of herbs she had made and wrapped the entire wound in alcohol soaked bandages.
“You can get off me now, Erik,” Lawt gasped.
Erik slowly got off his friend and ran his fingers through his hair. “It was not too bad, I hope.”
“No. Not too bad,” Lawt replied. “Never had anything worse mind you. I am just glad this ordeal didn’t cost me a leg as well.”
A small chuckle escaped Erik. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing.”
“Why not? I thought it was a pretty good joke, all things considered,” Lawt said, then he passed out.
Over the next few weeks Lawt slowly recovered. The man’s vigor returned within days and was soon walking around the infirmary. After that, keeping him inside the infirmary began to be a chore. It was the morning of the tenth day that Ramona noticed the point of bone. She had though Erik had made a clean cut. The skin could stretch painfully around that and the man would be in pain for the rest of his life.
“I am going to have to take care of that when you have the strength,” she said pointing to the small spur emerging from the scab.
“Not much point to it. Look at my other hand.” Lawt raised his hand in a fist to show Ramona his knuckles. Four small pimples had risen in the middle of each knuckle. On close inspection Ramona realized they were not pimples at all. What she thought were the white heads, were in fact bone spurs from the man’s knuckle. The surrounding red flesh was inflamed due to the tireless crawl of the bone to break the skin.
“I pity the man who gets in a fist fight with you,” Erik said.
“I hope that never gets realized,” Lawt said looking at his knuckles.
“Can I ask you to do something for me, Lawt?” Erik asked.
“Always.”
“Keep the teeth. Do you think I would be ashamed to be seen with you?” Erik paused, unsure if he could keep down his emotion. “You are the best man I know, and I proudly call you my brother. I will never be embarrassed about you. You shouldn’t feel guilty for being you.”
They were summoned shortly after Lawt’s recovery back to the Hall of the White Charger. The anticipation in receiving their first assignment was paled by the fear of failure. Erik could not help but worry whether or not they were prepared to be out on their own.
Lawt looked resplendent in his uniform. With the shield that Ramona had prescribed from the smith his missing hand was hidden behind an ever ready wall of protection. The bone spike ending on his left arm extended past the wall of the shield but was encased in a metal spike of its own, forged to the back of the shield riggings.
The trio rode fast up the mountain to the Hall and saw the White Charger chopping wood to add to his already large pile.
“Get over there and get that ax from him,” Ramona ordered Erik.
Erik dismounted Ghost and approached the old man first. “Sir, I would be more than happy to chop any wood that you need to last until the end of this upcoming winter.”
“Of course you would.” The White Charger grunted, splitting another log. “I am not doing it for need. I think that pile over there will last me until the end of next winter. I am doing it because I like to work while I think.”
“Lawt, Ramona and I are here as requested, sir.”
“I would like for your three to go to the Earldom of Wynarche. I have heard some grumblings about something unearthly. Mind you I don’t know anything firsthand and that Earldom has been extremely quiet after some recent agitations a few years back. Rumors are spreading and I would like to know where the root of this conjecture is.”
“Wynarche?” Lawt asked. “Isn’t that the new Earldom that came about because of the land dispute between two Baronies and a cult?”
“Your studies in recent history serve you well, Roh’Darharim,” the White Charger said. “I also need you to look into something a little more sensitive.” He motioned the trio to step into the house. The darkness in the small house added to the ominous silence as they all entered. “No other person may know of this matter. It seems someone has made a forgery of my insignia. The only people who know what my signet looks lik
e are the Roh’Darharim, which implies a traitor. I need you three to ferret them out. I ask you because you’re the newest and least likely to be involved. Roh’Darharim are being given false missives leading to catastrophic circumstances. We have lost a few over the past five or six years before I was able to put the pieces together and I can’t stomach the thought of losing another.”
“Sir, we are not trained for counter espionage,” Erik said.
“I am asking you to keep your eyes open, Roh’Darharim. We need not scare this cur off before we can bring him to justice. Just let me know what other correspondence you receive from me.”
“How are we to know which missions are factual and which are not?” Lawt asked.
The White Charger held open his hand uncovering a blue stick of wax and red flanged seed. “Your correspondence from me will be sealed with this blue wax. Embedded in the left with my signet will be this red pine seed. The first sentence will always be addressing purity or anguish. I must know what orders you receive from anyone else and when you receive them. This is your true first assignment. The mission in Wynarche is legitimate but rumors happen all the time. I need you three in the field so that I can find this traitor. I have one final gift for you, your signets. I like to design my new Roh’Darharim’s seals, it lets me feel clever, and because I designed them it’s easier for me to remember who sent me what.”
He handed each a ring. Erik’s was simple. Instead of a round signet his was bent into a droplet with a barbed hook in the center. When pressed into wax it appeared as a drop of blood with a thorn inside. Lawt’s presented as a star with a candle in the center, and Ramona’s was a bear in profile.
“I do not know when your first mission will start but I will ask that you follow those misguided orders. I want the perpetrator to feel comfortable. When the time comes we will set the trap.
Chapter 14
Strangers
Miranda shivered in the cold dawn air. What had she been thinking running away? She did not regret killing Rollo, it was long overdue, but she could have at least taken more money. Portia had the Wastings. There was no cure and it was not contagious, people just wasted away and died. It had forced Rollo into showing he didn’t keep a tab on what the women paid to earn their freedom. The man was a slaver and a liar. There were also personal reasons for her vengeance.
Ascent of the Unwanted (The Chronicle of Unfortunate Heroes Book 1) Page 16