The Heart of Valor

Section 9: Too late

The 55th of Spring, 879

Fairka emerged to open from the secret entrance to the
cave, the one Aeliar had guided to, hastily carrying the
small body of Pip.  The boy was still clenching his dagger,
stained with mahogany red, goblin blood, his tunic darkened
at his side.  The other survivors were waiting for her.

"Make way, leave me space."  Fairka laid the child softly
on a bed of heather, ripped a shred off her tunic, and
immediately put herself to dressing the wound.

"Doredai, where's Doredai?"  Bawa's question received
no response as Fairka focused on containing the boy's
blood loss.

"Mom, help, it hurts."  Those words, felt like the command
from an old god.

The four friends, understanding finally there would be no
answer, ran clumsily, for their exhausted bodies allowed
for nothing better to the cave.  Back to the soft light
over dancing shadows, the youths wished what it couldn't
be; nothing to be heard: no war cries, no clashing of
weapons, no bodies falling on hard rock, no cries of pain,
no curses, not even the breath of a bat. The first warm
corpse was that of a goblin, its arm broken in a twisted
shape, the second body was another enemy, impaled with a
javelin, the third, you guessed it, the third was Doredai,
eyes closed, nostrils bleeding still, her face wearing
her last smile, the wooden Heart of Valor resting by her
injured leg.

When they came out with their friend's body, Fairka
approached them.

"Pip's sleeping now.  He got a bad slash on his ribs, it
reached to the bone.  I've patched him up... best I could,
but he may die... he'll die."

"Doredai's dead."  That was Bawa.

"I know, I arrived just in time for Pip.  Not for her."

Aeliar knelt on the ground, bursting out in tears.

"Listen.  I must go now to find "sweet-kisses" and
"flowers of water-pearls", to fight pain and infection.
Stay with Pip, don't let him get cold.  I'll be back."

The four who remained stood without words, perhaps out of
fear or simply bound by this nightmare, but then Aeliar
fought off her horror.  "This will us do."

"This will us do", repeated the other, their childhood
phrase changed them into the hearts of legends.

                       * * *

A sundial would have seen one hour running on its stone
surface, the youths could have sword it was a lifetime
of angst. Two had taken positions as lookouts, Aeliar
and Caud remained with Pip, who woke up just as soon as
Fairka's magic had run out of its power.

"Mom. It hurts."

Aeliar approached him. "She's back soon, with medicine,
you'll be alright."

"Thanks, mom."

Aeliar felt a punch in her soul.  "I'm not..."

Caud interrupted her.  "Just play along..."

"Mom. It hurts."

"Shh, don't worry, experience points hurt!  But they'll
make you stronger."

"Yep, you're level 3 now!"  Added Caud as if that could
possibly mean anything to the house slave boy.

"She's saying you're a hero."  Aeliars words came with a
soft voice, she didn't ever remember addressed to "one of
his status"and a caress."

"No, mom, Doredai is.  She died for me, died for me
smiling, strange..."

"Hush, quiet, lil'one.  "Caud tried to imitate Fairka's
voice.

"Mom, your song, your song, I want to sleep."

There was a hint of terror in Caud and Aeliars' faces.
A need to have him away if only to reassure themselves
the boy was still alive, but finally complied, the boy
opening his hands, peacefully.

Section 10: Alrighty, cleric

Night was approaching, Caud was still guarding Pip, who
rested under a blanket of dead leaves; Caud's idea.

"Tell me, tell me, is he breathing?"  Aeliar had just
come from lookout duty, to watch for Fairka's return,
still without luck.

"He is,"  Caud replied.

"Not very well."

"No.  If Fairka isn't here soon...  May I ask you
something, and you don't call me mad?"  Caud voice sounded
like a begging boy.

"I couldn't now."

"The Heart of Valor."

"You are nuts."

"But it's said to give health, in all our adventures it
always worked."

"Come on, that would be magic, and there's no such thing.
And we made it all up, besides."

"But, look where we are now!  The map, it wasn't supposed
to be real either, everything just fitted!  I know how it
all sounds... but... it wouldn't hurt him."

"Ah... alrighty, cleric."

Caud took the wooden heart from Doredai's corpse and placed
it by the boy's hand.

"Happy now?"

"Not."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Epilogue: A long, boring, sorrowful journey"

The 78th of Spring, 879

They had gone through very long, very hard days.  The four
survivors of the adventuring party looked aged, older than
their years, were certainly exhausted and filled with dirt
and paint.  Still, they were alive, for that they could
be thankful.  The first three days after the battle at
the cave, the return of Fairka and the burial had been
awful, running from place to place, hiding under the
cover of night.  All made much worse by having to carry
Pip around, for it that Heart of Valor worked healing,
it did it slowly.

Then knew of their salvation when the local Paladin
Squadron together with a hastily raised militia met them.
Amazingly, some scouts had discovered the Goblin Host
and warned the authorities, with the speed of a hawk,
"or a swift", by Fairka's own words.  Their joy lasted a
day, and then they took, a long, boring, sorrowful journey
back home.  And on the midday of the 78th day of Spring,
they found themselves at the walls of Lwgar.  Pip could
walk again, though helped by Fairka. They both went so
very close together for it was meant to be their end, Pip
was still a slave, and he was to return to Doredai's home,
where a mother would soon find her heart broken.

Caud, Aeliar, Bawa and Arteen understood. "There's an inn,
it's not too posh".  Arteen said.  "Just say my name.
Wait for us, we want to approach Doredai's mother, you
see, no need for Pip to be around just yet.  We'll tell
her we've asked him to do stuff.  Don't worry.  We'll be
back in four days".

Three days went by.  Fairka did not stay at the inn,
but took a canvas and went to the Serpent Sea, by a cliff
where puffins and sea-wolves played, taking Pip with her.
They sang, they gamed, they told each other stories,
playing to be mother and child.

By the fourth day they went back into the city, solemnly,
in their tattered clothes and rough looks, to be met by
the survivors, these wonderful in their best suits, and
a scroll.

"Pip, we are sorry, you are not expected at Doredai's
funeral."

"I understand, young masters and mistresses."

"No need to call us that know. Here you have."

Caud handed the scroll over to Pip.

"It has letters."

"Yes, that's your name.  We bought you for half a penny."

Fairka exclaimed, almost to the point of anger.
"But that's... you can't..."

"Doredai's mother did it in account of her daughter. We're
freeing you, you may go with Fairka, if you like."

And then, just as woman and boy marched to the forest,
where Fairka had her wooden home, Caud rounded his
friend in hug and said... "Now, I have an idea for a new
adventure, you'll love it, there's this prince and his
captured by goblins and taken to the arena, and you go
and release him, or try at least... and there's a 'kitteh'
involved."

"A kitteh?"

"Yay, a great, wonderful creature, a monster even, 200
experience points and..."

           -=- -=- -=- The End -=- -=- -=-