Shadows on Water
You spur your little horse on desperately. Fang draws up beside you on his faster horse and tugs on the bridle of your horse, literally pulling you along, and around a bend in the gorge. Ten more minutes of hard riding and the stream joins the river. Once out of danger your wound makes itself felt, and you wince.
"Leaving home can be dangerous, scholar," says Ling. You are in too much pain to offer any retort.
"Let's stop and deal with that arrow," says Fang.
For an excruciating half hour, Fang works on carefully digging out the arrowhead from your thigh. His precise hand shows he has done this before, and he does the work well. You are bandaged up, but can't possibly walk, such is the pain. You rest for a while, and soon fall to sleep.
When you wake, the sun is going down, and two dragonflies flit playfully around your head. The river is dappled orange and blue, and there is a faint smoky scent in the air.
Fang crouches over you with a serious look on his face.
"I have consulted the oracle, and it says we should seek out others for help. Is there a village near here?" he asks.
In your painful, feverish state, you don't quite understand what he's saying;
"You spoke to the spirits? Is that what the burning smell was?"
"I did not speak to spirits," says Fang, slightly confused himself now. "I consulted a yarrow stalk oracle. The burning smell may come from a village, that's why I asked you about it."
"There's a village further down the river I think."
"It may be home to the bandits who shot you, but we can't get far with you in this state. We may have to chance it."
"Leaving home can be dangerous, scholar," says Ling. You are in too much pain to offer any retort.
"Let's stop and deal with that arrow," says Fang.
For an excruciating half hour, Fang works on carefully digging out the arrowhead from your thigh. His precise hand shows he has done this before, and he does the work well. You are bandaged up, but can't possibly walk, such is the pain. You rest for a while, and soon fall to sleep.
When you wake, the sun is going down, and two dragonflies flit playfully around your head. The river is dappled orange and blue, and there is a faint smoky scent in the air.
Fang crouches over you with a serious look on his face.
"I have consulted the oracle, and it says we should seek out others for help. Is there a village near here?" he asks.
In your painful, feverish state, you don't quite understand what he's saying;
"You spoke to the spirits? Is that what the burning smell was?"
"I did not speak to spirits," says Fang, slightly confused himself now. "I consulted a yarrow stalk oracle. The burning smell may come from a village, that's why I asked you about it."
"There's a village further down the river I think."
"It may be home to the bandits who shot you, but we can't get far with you in this state. We may have to chance it."