Dangers of the Mountain

Chrystal hovered close, perched in a tree. She was worried for her companion, wanting to help the wolf that had saved her. All the barn owl could do was wait and fetch things when asked.

Ime and Kayode returned with several likely branches along with the one Marshal offered, and Paladin nodded his thanks to the vulture as he relayed to Sirius, “Chrystal told me. And unfortunately, with as many broken bones as this young man has gathered, all at once, he likely won’t be able to travel all the way to Valhalla, even bound and splinted up, until maybe three weeks. Abaven’s too far… and we don’t know where we stand with the pack closest to this place.”

He reached for three sticks, pausing as he spotted the pouches of Cairo’s armor, which the wolf wore—probably saved his life, as the leather bore heavy scrapes and dents, but had likely kept the rocks rom puncturing his body with each hit he took. But, even better, the pouches held a first aid kit. Good boy.

As he dug through the pouches and pulled out several packets of herbs, some to staunch any internal bleeding, some for pain, he could only hope his patient woke up, but only after the legs were set, and his torso was wrapped. The mortar and pestle he took out as well, and the honey.

He was efficient—while Ime ran his hands over the broken foreleg, locating the two fractures, Paladin began mixing herbs, adding honey and grinding until it had become a green paste of plant and honey. He handed the mixture off to Kayode to administer as he turned back to the task of locating the breaks and setting the legs.

It was a lot easier with two primate companions. Where his toes were not sensitive enough to feel when the broken bones were aligned, Ime’s fingers were deft and steady. Three straight sticks were lined with the leg and strips of doeskin, rolled and tucked neatly into another of Cai’s pouches, were unrolled around and around the splinted leg. It wasn’t the best of jobs—it was emergency first aid, after all, and he only had when herbs he’d gathered, the kit in Cairo’s pouches, and the resources around him, rather than his entire store at home.