Betrayal

Fallen before me and bleeding profusely was Pane. Jerell had snatched him just in time when his followers were covering him from the enemy. On the ground, coughing and spitting blood Pane struggled to speak. The opened wound split his chest apart, nearly missing his heart.

"B..b….b…" he stuttered.

I turned Pane onto his side to help the blood drip out of his mouth as Jerell rubbed this petroleum gel of ointment to cover his deep gash. Then he placed a rag on top of the wound as the bleeding began to slow.

"Hold here with light pressure. The ointment should stop the bleeding completely."

I put my hands over the rag.

"B….B… BJORK!" Pane managed to spit out along with blood and saliva, spraying all over my face.

Bjork's name and the blood triggers my memory of that one frightful night. I feel my lungs start to burn and without realizing it, my hand has dropped the rag from Pane's chest and I stare out into nothingness.

Jerell sees me go into a daze and quickly wraps Pane's wound. He then serves Pane a small drink of potion from a potion flask, the size of a finger.

"This will help ease your mind and lessen the pain." Jerell said to Pane and then he turned around to me, handing me a similar flask. "Here, drink every drop." I reach my hand up to him and notice the blood on it. Then I looked down at my shirt and skirt, there was so much blood on me. Jerell's voice began to muffle in distortion and my mind was distracted by everything around us, aside from the people.

"Seer." Jerell said, shaking me.

I look up at his bemused eyes, "Jerell, Bjork is coming for me!" I cried. "This is all for me. He wants me dead. He… he…~"

Jerell puts his arms around me and squeezes me. "That will NEVER happen, I promise you." and then gently kisses the side of my head.

Pane is dazed, whatever he drank was starting to work. He sucked in a large snot from his nose and spat out a clump of clotted blood onto the floor. "What did that arse do to you?" Pane asked me. I turned to look at him as he stared at Jerell embracing me.

"I didn't do anything to her." Jerell said to Pane all puzzled and offended as he slowly let go of me and backs away to his suturing kit.

"Not you, idiot. Bjork, that fecker who did this to me." Pane forced himself to say and then groaned in pain.

"Bjork tried to…" I hear my voice say without realizing it. My face was dull and distant, a tear rolled off the edge of my eye, "he was going to ruin me… and I denied him, so he hurt me. I could see it in his eyes, the anger that seeped from his loathe of me because of my refusal of him. I had to strip from my clothing to escape and when that wasn't enough to get away from him, I had to stop him with the only weapon available. You see, I was gathering wood from that old log for Lei, because he was cold and unwell"

"I understand! Say no more, my lady." Pane interrupted, the mucus in his throat gurgled with every word. "Bjork was NEVER a trustworthy man when an innocent woman was present. I had an idea of what happened, because his story didn't add up. Ugh, but now…" Pane cups his bandages over his wound, "I'm feeling the effect of that drink and it feels good. No pain for Pane." He chuckled as he closed his eyes to feel accept the high of the potion.

"What is it that's in that flask?" I asked Jerell. Jerell's face was full of anger, after hearing about Bjork, but he took one look at my face and completely changed his demeanor.

"A mixture of strong mushrooms amongst other herbs and oils. It will reduce his pain and help him rest. Once he's asleep, I can suture him without hesitation. Pane can be a real pain, if you know what I mean." Jerell said, emotionless.

"Kharrl! Send the message!" Pane yelled out. Jerell rushed to him, mawing one hand over his mouth. The stampede above is still thumping loudly with the occasional screams of dying men and roaring of victory.

"Message? What message? Who is Kharrl?" I mouth to Jerell.

"Kharrl is one of the four. Remember, I told you there were four of us? What I don't understand is the message part." He whispered in a quick reply.

"Oh… right…" We remained quiet for a little while and then I suggested, "Maybe I could drink a little of that flask, to help me through the rest of the day. I don't think the battle is going to end anytime soon. I am feeling really out of place." Jerell hands me the flask and I take a small sip. "That aftertaste was NOT good at all. It was like drinking laundry water full of mildew."

"I know, but it works like a charm."

Almost instantly, I feel my body completely relaxed. I moved off my knees and onto my bottom so that I could try and steady my mind and myself. "I need to wash up. I'm covered in blood, you know?" I said in a stupor as I showed Jerell my hands, all stained with dry blood.

Jerell takes a wet cloth and wipes them down. "Water will have to wait. We will all have to wait. The battle above has yet to finish. Rest now and stay quiet."

I feel my body getting heavier and my visions begin to fade going in and out, warping and even showing doubles at one point. I close my eyes, feeling completely at ease with myself and drift off into wonderland.

*

"What do you mean he disappeared into the woods?!?" Bjork yelled angrily at his men. "Follow the blood and you will find him!"

"That's the thing, Master Bjork… the blood trail also disappeared." one of the men said sheepishly.

"I know that my ax got him good. It landed right in his heart! There should be blood everywhere. FOLLOW THE BLOOD!" Bjork demanded loudly to his men. "FIND PANE! FIND KHARRL!! We cannot let them get away."

The men quickly scatter around in the woods. Bjork walks speedily towards Riverway and announces, "Any savages you see, kill them on the spot!"

Meanwhile, Manji-Manidoo and his followers watched from afar, all in their wolf form, and well hidden in the deep woods. Their vision, hearing and smell are enhanced as they contemplate the foreigner's every move.

"Beta, What should we do about these mayagwewinini… foreigners?" Jeko asked.

"We watch for now. Looks like they are all biting each other's tail. After their blood bath, there will be less of them. That will give us a perfect time to kill them all. For now, we wait patiently and just enjoy the scenery." Manji-Manidoo said diabolically.

"Beta!" Aamoo races towards Manji-Manidoo, "Words from the center grounds. Niiganii has returned and she has been replaced. Wawa is summoning the Heads of this tribe for a ritual to reveal the new Alpha that was already chosen, to the whole tribe."

"No one knows who the new alpha is? Manji-Manidoo asked.

"No, no one. A ritual will take place tonight to reveal the alpha. We must hurry to center ground. Mooji is there too. She can heal you."

"I AM FINE!" He barked at Aamoo. "Quick, I need to win that Alpha title. Then, we can really own this land and NO ONE can taint it with their filth." The wolves leave the sight, heading back towards the main grounds.

*

Bjork and a few of his men arrive back at Riverway and he heads straight to storage where Clint and Czechvi were being detained.

"IS THERE A HIDEOUT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT?" He yelled at the men.

Clint and Czechvi shook their heads no.

"Oh right." Bjork pointed to Clint and said, "can someone remove his gag please? I can't hear him speak if he's being gagged." One of his men quickly rushes to Clint and removes his gag. Clint gasps for air and then tries to cough up whatever may still have been stuck in his throat.

"So, tell me Clint. You've always talked a lot and I've always admired that big fat mouth of yours. Tell me, where could Pane AND Kharrl have gone? Apparently, the both just disappeared into the woods, like magic. It's making my men a little weary of witches and witchcraft. Now, " Bjork moves closer and closer to Clint until they are eye to eye. "... we both know the only witch is the one I'm hunting. I need you to tell me where they fled to."

"I have no clue." Clint said, "I've been instructed to watch Niiganii. Pane, Kharrl and Jerelliyus are all mappers while Czechvi managed Riverway~"

"I know the damn story! You don't need to fecking repeat yourself!" Bjork yelled in a booming outburst, his saliva spume collecting at the corners of his lips and spritz of spit sprinkled onto Clint's face.

"I really don't know!" Clint cried. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Bjork, I thought you were my friend. You know me. I really don't know."

"Well, maybe if I play a little with Mister Czechvi's here, as you watched, maybe that might jog your memory, eh?" the foul words came out of Bjork's mouth with malevolent, and its send and uncomfortable and torturous feeling down Clint's spine.

"No. You can't do that. If I didn't know then Czechvi wouldn't have known either. We both have no clues…" Clint yelled, but it was too late. Bjork had pulled his arm back and released a hard punch into the temple of Czechvi's head. He falls to the floor dazed and unaware of what just hit him.

"NO!!! STOP!!!"

*

"Your grace, it won't be long now. We will arrive at our destination no later than tomorrow night." Yuqin said.

"Good. That is exactly the perfect time."

"Sire, a bird with a message." a crew member hands over a letter to King Leifae Arkson and leaves.

"What does it say, your grace?" Yuqin asked.

"Rain is upon us. We must make haste, Yuqin. Tell the Captain to hoist sails and bring out the paddles. We need to get there earlier than nightfall. Summon, HIM, to see me now. I need to discuss some plans."