The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (14 page)

Eventually she made her way to the laundry
and as she stopped in the doorway the lady waved her in and said,
“Your pieces are done. There is no charge. Mayor Cesler came by and
told me that you were the one that calmed the animals. My horse is
the big grey with the star on his forehead. He had to be one of the
the ones that caused you trouble.” She looked at Erin
inquiringly.

The ‘lad’ grinned and nodded, “You have a
high spirited one there! He is young but intelligent and has a big
heart. You have a fine friend.” The woman returned her smile. “You
tell Lor that because of you I will throw in his clothes for free,
this time.” She gave a big laugh and tied the clothes bundle
carefully with string. “Here you go lad and my thanks to you. Come
by and see me next time you are in Morraton!”

Since the bundle was manageable she decided
to return to Tobl’s shop to pick up the boots. He, indeed was
finished and was putting away his tools. Nothing would do but that
Erin had to put down her bundle and try on the new boots! They felt
so comfortable! He then explained that he had waterproofed them and
had strengthened the heel so it would wear well. She looked at the
sole and was relieved to see no special marks that would
distinguish her boot print from another’s. Tobl beamed with her
delight and praise. “You wear them in good health, lad. Tell Lor
that he only owes me half what we agreed on because your first
thought was for the animals. The little filly is mine. Being so
small I feared that she had been trampled but she had nary a
scratch.”

Erin nodded. “It was quite a ruckus. I was
glad to help. Thank you again for the great boots and I will pass
your message to Lor.” Putting her old boots under her arm she
picked up the laundry bundle and with a farewell smile, left the
shop.

As she emerged from the inner Morraton she
hurried to Lor’s wagon. They would be leaving before sunset and
putting in a few hours on the road before stopping for the night.
Erin stored the clean clothes and the old boots in the wagon. She
mentally called Tempo and told him that they would be leaving soon.
Lor was just coming back from the tinker’s wagon. She showed him
the new boots and gave him Tobl’s message. “I am going to get the
horses and and bring them right back. The laundress did not charge
us and said to tell you it was because of me,” she gave him a
cheeky grin then turned away.

“I’ll settle my bill with Tobl and return to
help you harness them.” he said with a smile and quickly left.

Hurrying to the paddock she separated Lor’s
horses and attaching leads to their halters led them out. She had
just arrived at the wagon when she realized that she hadn’t heard
from Tempo. She softly called to Tempo and Keir. Tempo did not
answer but Keir, catching Erin’s concern said that he would look.
Lor was just emerging form the city when Erin ran up to him. “I
have harnessed the first two horses and the lead set are tied but
not harnessed. Could you do it? Tempo is not answering and Keir is
looking for him. I will catch up if you have to leave.” she paused
long enough to get his concerned nod, then spun around and ran for
the woods.

She started calling and searching under brush
and around trees. Keir could be seen flying between the
branches.She was trying to tamp down her panic, knowing that it
would cause her to get careless but she was losing light and
getting worried. As it got a little darker under the trees Erin
called softly to see if Nuit was awake. ‘I am awake, what is
wrong?’ and the owl landed near her on a snag. Erin said, ‘Tempo is
missing and does not answer. Most everyone knows Tempo is important
to me. I might have endangered him. Please help me find him!’ Nuit
flew off. Her mind was open so any of her companions could talk to
her and be heard by the other.

They kept looking but Erin was losing a lot
of visibility. The sun was setting and what little light penetrated
the trees was filtering through the branches sideways. There were
more shadows than light and it distorted shapes and hid hollows.
Erin was trying to be quick and thorough but she was getting really
worried. She could feel the time slipping by with each heartbeat.
She stumbled over a root and caught herself, hard, against a tree
as she entered a small clearing. It was no more than ten feet in
diameter. Erin rapidly looked around the small area. The lack of
light was becoming a real hinderance. She was trying to suppress
her anxiety so she could keep a clear head. Stopping in the center
of the glade she made herself turn slowly, scanning everything as
she softly called Tempo’s name. She turned methodically one more
time. Erin started to move deeper into the woods but paused.
Something felt wrong about the spot. Deliberately, carefully she
looked around the forest floor, using all of her senses to see
through the dim distortions. There was a messy pile of leaves and
branches at the base of one tree. Erin went over and crouched down.
She saw a tiny patch of white. Without realizing what she was doing
she started throwing branches and flinging leaves all the while
almost sobbing, “Tempo!” Keir and Nuit appeared on the lower
branches then landed on the ground. Erin gently brushed the dirt
from Tempo’s face and fur and placed her hand between his front
legs on his chest. She let out a long breath to calm herself and
concentrated on what she was feeling through her fingers. There was
a soft beat. Tempo was alive.

She gently ran her hands over the little
skunks body. There was a swelling at the base of the neck by the
shoulder and a sticky dark stuff on his fur that she knew must be
blood. Erin could not detect any other injury. She felt all of the
bones in the area and there didn’t seem to be anything broken. She
carefully brushed the twigs from his fur. She looked up and
silently spoke to Keir and Nuit. ‘He is alive but not conscious.
Someone managed to hit him without warning then they covered him up
so we could not find him, perhaps hoping an animal would find him
and eat him. They may not have known he was still alive. I am going
to put him inside my jerkin and carry him. Do you see any clue
around as to who could have done this?’

Keir said, ‘My vision isn’t as good in this
light. I will go let Lor know you are coming. We can not speak but
I think I can get the message across.’ He launched from the forest
floor and flew, weaving through the trees toward the sliver of
light that remained of the sun.

Nuit watched Erin slip the pouch with the
rutilated quartz from around her neck and lay it gently on Tempo’s
back before she carefully picked up the little skunk and nestled
him inside her partially open jerkin. When Nuit saw that Erin had
Tempo secure she took off, flying sweeping patterns around the
clearing. Suddenly she folded her wings and landed. Within a moment
she was flying back to Erin, carrying something in her talons. ‘I
have found something.’ She landed on a low branch and the girl,
with her left arm cradling the injured skunk reached out her right
hand to receive what Nuit had found. It was a slingshot.

‘Where did you find it?’ she asked and Nuit.
The owl flew a little way outside of the clearing in the direction
of the city. Erin looked carefully at the ground. There was a few
scuffed foot prints and some kicked up dirt by a tree root that
crossed the path. Just ahead there were skid marks in the leaves.
She looked carefully at a few of the foot prints then lengthened
her stride. “I’ll find out who. But the most important thing is
that I need to catch up with the caravan without jarring Tempo.
Flar is a healer. She might be able to help him.”

Erin knew that the wagons were going to stop
at the crossroads before the bridge. It wasn’t all that far to
walk. She knew how to eat up the distance with a steady pace. When
the ground was flat, as it was now, she could walk with a smooth
gliding motion and not jar the injured skunk. She was out in the
open now and Luna was shedding enough light that she could se where
the ground was uneven and where it was even. She wasn’t afraid of
tripping. Nuit was overhead, discretely accompanying her. She had
one part of her mind on her path and traveling smoothly. The other
part was going over the possibilities. To be fair this might not be
about her. There were people who didn’t like skunks. But if that
had been the case why try to hide the ‘body’? She hadn’t felt any
negative thoughts from people all day. It definitely wasn’t Bure or
Wras because they were broadcasters. She set the thought aside and
concentrated on reaching the caravan. She could see the campfires
in the field ahead so she was almost there. She felt the little
body that she held gently against her and willed her warmth and
vitality into it.

Nuit circled over her head then gained
altitude. ‘You are being met,’ she said. ‘Lor is running toward us,
on the moor. Keir must have gotten the message across to him.’

‘Oh, I am sorry, you two. I was so occupied
in my thinking I didn’t have my mind completely open. Each of you
are my family and if one of you falls...’

Keir spoke quietly to her, ‘It is alright,
Erin. We are fond of the little one, too. I flew across Lor’s path
while he drove. There were no trees to hide in so I tried to do it
in a way that others didn’t observe. He was the last wagon so that
helped. He has the sage seed so I could understand his speech even
if he could not understand mine. He asked if you were alright and
had you found Tempo. I landed on the side rail of the wagon and
bobbed my head, yes, then flew off. When the wagons stopped he
spoke to Alliz, who was in the wagon in front of him. People had
started their fires. I was flying high and spotted you coming
across the moor. I landed on the wagon then looked back toward you
before I flew back here. I’ll spend the night tucked in the eaves
of the wagon on the side away from the fires. No one will see me
but I will be close.’

Nuit added to Keir’s comment, ‘I will guard
from the air. You take care of the little one. We’ll watch and
listen.’

Erin kept her pace steady even as Lor ran up
to her. “Talk to me.” he said, keeping pace. Erin turned her head
and gave Lor a level look.

She was seething with anger and fear for her
little friend but answered in a flat tone. “Tempo was hit by a
stone from a slingshot. The person missed his head but hit between
the top of the shoulder and the bottom of the neck. There is
swelling and some blood. Tempo is unconscious. The person might
have thought he was dead. The do-er hastily covered him with a pile
of leaves and branches. As the person was running back toward the
city they tripped over a root across the path, and fell. They lost
the slingshot which I have in my pocket. Quite possibly the person
has skinned hands and there is a distinctive mark on the sole of
the right boot.”

She continued to eat up the distance with her
long, smooth stride. They were close to the caravan and Erin could
see Alliz at the outer edge of the firelight as Flar joined her. As
soon as they spotted Erin and Lor emerging from the gloom they
hurried to Lor’s wagon and laid a pad on the ground. He had parked
his wagon slightly back and apart from the rest. Within moments
Erin was approaching the women. Lor ran ahead and briefly filled
them in on what had happened.

As she stopped to kneel down by the blanket
she felt a stirring inside her jerkin. She spoke verbally and
mentally at the same time. “He has been unconscious but is coming
out of it.” she said toward the three concerned people,“Tempo, you
have been hurt, little one. I have carried you back to camp. You’re
safe. I’m going to lift you out of my jerkin and lay you down now.
I will try not to jar you.” There was a weak mew of distress from
the skunk as Erin slowly got her hands under him. Slowly she freed
him and set him on the blanket. “It’s okay, Tempo. You’re safe. I
am right here. Flar is going to check you over.” The little skunk
barely opened his eyes, gave another mew and vomited over the edge
of the blanket. He squeezed his eyes shut and lay there panting.
Erin kept her hands on him so he could feel her. In her left hand
was the small pouch which she kept near Tempo’s head.

Flar was gently running her hands over the
little skunk and found only the swelling that Erin had. She paused,
“If the person had been just a finger width higher and a bit
stronger with his shot, Tempo would not be alive. His skull is
unharmed except by the pressure of the bruising. I think he might
have a concussion. All I can do is clean the area and put on a
salve that will diminish the swelling and help the wound heal. Keep
him with you Terran, as that seems to comfort him, and keep him
quiet. I can check him first thing in the morning.” With Erin’s
help she gently cleaned the little animal and put the ointment on
the swelling. Flar packed up her little box, with her quick
efficient movements, and turned to leave. “Lor feed this young man.
We can’t neglect his needs in the concern for Tempo.”

Lor and Alliz set about getting Erin food and
cleaning up Tempo’s small mess. Erin had laid the pouch beside
Tempo’s back and was talking softly to the little skunk while
lightly stroking a hind paw. Repeatedly she gently stroked the soft
fur and the small pads of his foot to the end of his long claws.
Her fingers light and rhythmically soothing for the little animal.
Soon Lor and Alliz sat down beside Erin. She silently handed them
the sling shot as she ate. Her veneer of patience and courtesy was
a little thin at the moment and she preferred to limit what she
said. She knew that Lor could get information by touch and
suspected that Alliz could also. She didn’t say anything as she
watched them handle the weapon. She wanted information about
several things and they had some of the answers. Neither Alliz or
Lor spoke yet Erin got goose-bumps on her arms. Okay, she thought,
Alliz can speak with Lor as well as to the Great One. “Share some
answers with me, not just each other, please.” her voice was soft
in volume but had an edge to it.