The lad looked up. "Four, Warrior."
"Well done, to make it that far." Rafe gave me a nod, and went back out to his post.
The lad straightened at Rafe's parting words. I started to clean the arm, although it wasn't allthat dirty.
"Gonna use bloodmoss?"
Startled, I look at him. "Why, yes, I think so."
He nodded. "Gils told me. Told me that the wound had to be clean." He gave the wound acritical look. "Looks clean."
"You knew Gils?"
He nodded, and used his good hand to open a pouch at his side. He pulled out a small packageof bloodmoss, wrapped carefully in a clean cloth. "Gils and I were friends, Warprize." His facewas stoic, but I could hear the pain in his voice. "I wanted to take his place as your guard."
"Gils wasn't my guard, Cadr. Gils was my apprentice." I choked a bit on the words.
"Guardian of your knowledge." Cadr answered quietly.
I reached for the dried leaves as I blinked back my tears. Cadr watched in silence as I packedthe arm carefully, pressing it tight to the wound. The familiar moldy smell filled my nose as theplant did its work. As soon as the color changed, I pulled the leaves away to reveal the pinkskin beneath it. "Favor the arm for a day, Cadr."
"I will." He adjusted his seat as he struggled into his tunic with my help. "Warprize, what Gilstold me was interesting, and I'd like to leam more. Not sure I want to give up being a warrior…
"
I looked at him and smiled. "If you want to learn more, that's fine. Come when you have time,and I'll be glad to teach you some useful things."
Cadr nodded, picked up his other bits of armor and turned to leave. But a memory came to me,something Gils had said. "Cadr?"
He turned, with an enquiring look.
"Didn't Gils tell me that you had a boil?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "I tried to deal with it myself, Warprize. Thought you'd be angry.
But it's back, and bigger, and hurting."
"Drop your pants, young man." I moved to get my lances, a sense of quiet joy in my heart.
Here was something Icouldcure. "I'll explain about boils while we take care of this problem."
Cadr sighed, and dropped his pants.
After dealing with Cadr's problem, I returned to the command tent. Keir was still out, butMarcus had promised to have four buckets of hot water waiting, with my soaps laid out for me,and drying cloths. Keir's people may be comfortable bathing together naked in the river but notme. While a hot bath might be out of the question, using the drain in the privy room to showermyself with warm water was the next best thing. Rafe and Prest took up position by the tententrance.
Marcus was waiting inside. "Everything is laid out, Warprize. If you need help with the water,call."
"I will." I turned and glared at my guards. "No interruptions."
"Even the Warlord?" Prest asked with a sly grin.
"The Warlord may enter." Actually, I was hoping the Warlord would enter. I'd not seen himmost of the day. "No one else, unless they are ill."
"As the Warprize commands." Prest bowed, as Rafe and Marcus chuckled.
Once in the privy, I checked the water temperature, set my bag on a bench and started toundress. I did miss the hot baths under the castle of Water's Fall. Soaking in their warm depthswas a luxury that I had taken for granted. But given the living conditions in this camp, I wasgrateful for what I had. Remembering the temperature of the water in the lake made me shiver.
I took my time, hoping that Keir might appear. I removed my tunic, combed out my braid, andeased my trous off. As I bent down, it seemed to me that my waist was a bit thicker than Iremembered. Of course, Marcus had been feeding me on a regular basis but—
