The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (19 page)

“You probably don’t remember but you got your
first nettle sting when your parents were visiting me. You couldn’t
have been more than two at the time. I had some dried herbs that I
mixed with water to make a paste. We put it on the sting and it
drew most of the plant poison from your arm.” She pulled out a
small jar with a stopper and handed it to Erin. “I have mixed a
special powder that has extra strength. Strangely enough, just
mixing it with water didn’t make it effective as effective as it
can be.” Ree chuckled. “I was puzzling out the problem at my work
table in my still room. Little ‘Silk’, the female skunk I rescued
from a rock slide, was gnawing on a nut beside me. She sniffed at
what I was doing and some of her saliva got into the mix. Silk and
I looked at each other. I shrugged and mixed it in. It actually
increased the tackiness of the paste and seemed to draw the toxins
faster. I don’t know why but I am not questioning what works.”

“The other thing I need to tell you is that
you must apply this to the affected site within the first half
hour. The toxins will be in the blood and the person will get sick,
but this will give them a chance to survive. When Tempo was
injured, if I understand the message you sent, you put the two
loose stones by the injury and you remained very near.” Erin
nodded. “If you use the stones to heal, that is what you need to
do. They are linked to you and are for you. You may lend their
healing as long as you are in physical contact. The stones are not
without their limits. They can not cure but can only aid the body
to heal. If the body is too weak or the sickness too strong they
will not be able to help. Rest the stones between uses.”

“Now I am going to go see Flar and give her
this recipe as a strong compound to draw toxins. If you need more
she should be able to make some. I need to say hello to Lor then I
will head back home.”

“Please be careful, Ree.”

The wise woman smiled at Erin and said, “Same
to you, dear heart. I am reasonably safe with an army of friends
guarding me. You are walking in harms way, though. It is you I’m
concerned about. Do you sense them ahead of you?”

Erin held Ree’s hand as she rose. “Yes”, she
answered, “more intuitively than by hearing but I anticipate that I
will hear them soon.” She gave her a quick hug then walked with her
to the end of Lor’s wagon. As Erin put the jar in her belongings
for safekeeping, Tempo peered out. Ree made a sound of delight and
Tempo came forward to make her acquaintance. It was a friendly but
silent exchange then Tempo did a rapid stomp and a quick bob of the
head.

Ree said softly in her head, “Well met, my
brave one. You are a wonderful companion. If this quest can be
completed before winter solstice you are welcome to stay the cold
months in my home. Erin will tell you about little Silk. Be careful
and stay well.”

As they stepped away from the wagon, Ree
quietly said, “I have been with you less than ten minutes. You need
to disappear into the crowd again. We’ll stay in contact.” Erin
nodded and though she wanted to stay with Ree for hours, she knew
the wisdom of the words. She touched her shoulder in farewell and
turned toward Tassy’s wagon.

Tempo spoke in her head, “She is a fine
woman. Are you related?”

“No, little one. She was a dear friend of my
parents and I cherish her, also.”

“Don’t worry, Erin.” said Keir, “She has many
wild ones that move discretely with her. She is well guarded. When
she leaves I will follow until she is entirely surrounded by her
friends then will return, here to watch.”

Erin drifted by Tassy’s booth. There was a
throng of people gathered to see and purchase new fabrics and some
ready-made goods. She saw Cob ahead and opened her mind just a bit
more. Approaching him she dug in her pocket for some small marks.
”Hi Cob! Do you have a hot fruit blintz?”

“Sure Terran. I have two left. I was about to
go and fill my tray again. My uncle is working in the baker’s shop
over there.” She paid for the treat and continued chatting with him
as she ate. Some of the purple berries got on her cheek but she
left it there. No girl would do that. She didn’t detect any guilt
or knowledge of Tempo’s attack from Cob.

“How did you get here ahead of us?”

“Well, you see,” he said, “We are not pulling
a wagon and we work with the regional bakers that have shops in the
towns. So as soon as the eating stops we pay the bakers their
portion, then hop on our horses and ride ahead. We ride hard and
get to the next gather town to help prepare and bake the food. The
arrangement benefits everyone as it frees the businesses to
concentrate on the making of the food. They don’t have to split
their work force to do the selling and we don’t do the cleanup.”
They walked to the open door of the bustling baker’s shop. Erin
peered in as Cob went to his uncle who was filling another tray.
Cob exchanged trays and turned to leave. “Got to get back to work,
Terran. My uncle doesn’t like me standing in one spot.” He nodded
back over his shoulder at the man who was pulling more food out of
the oven. “See you around.” Erin gave another quick look at the man
then waving to Cob set off toward Alliz’s wagon.

Alliz had several people around the wagon and
Erin didn’t want to bother her. She turned to walk away and Alliz
called out to her. “Terran, can you wait a moment?” She continued
to work with her customers but in a few minutes, their purchases
made, the people drifted to other wagons. “Talk to me, we haven’t
much time but I sense you have information.” Alliz said.

“I briefly saw Ree.” The guild member’s eyes
rounded. “She gave me a powder that can be made into a poultice
that can draw toxins from the skin if used right away.” I also just
saw Cob’s uncle and thought to draw his likeness to see if he might
have been the slingshot person.” There were more people coming
across the way to the booth.

Alliz spoke in a normal tone. “Terran, can
you find me a couple of those blank journal books and straighten
the paper supply.” Erin nodded and climbed into the wagon. She
located the paper, because everything was neatly stored and quickly
drew the likeness. Setting the drawing aside she unlatched the
right hand storage cupboard and pulled out three blank journals.
Erin climbed out of the wagon and gave the books to Alliz.

She lifted her hat in acknowledgment and said
“All done guild member.” and strolled away.

Erin continued to circulate and listen. She
explored the city and wandered in and out of shops. She even
drifted into the city archivist shop and saw them looking through
records for Lor. Erin went back outside and past each of the
wagons. The conversation in front of the paraglide booth was all on
the weather and the fall winds. Everybody was positive, agreeable
and having a good time. She decided to check the horses even though
she had looked them over when she had put them in the paddock that
morning. They were all resting and enjoying each others company.
She shook her head. Why was she so restless? Everything was
fine.

She was almost to Lor’s wagon when she
realized that SHE wasn’t restless. Someone else was. She sat down
on the bench where she and Ree had visited earlier. She leaned her
head against her hand as if she was scratching her head or wiping
her brow and opened her ‘door’ all the way. She knew she could not
reach out in search but maybe she could take more of the antsy
feeling in and learn something. Closing her eyes she ‘listened’ as
hard as she could. The person wasn’t here, in Terresville and since
that was true that meant that they were really agitated for her to
pick it up from a distance. It seemed to be coming from the north
so the person could be somewhere near Sherroton. That is all she
could discern. As she stood up she looked over at Lor and found
that he had been watching her. She shrugged.

The afternoon was winding down and the gather
was ending. Lor called to her to come help him pack away the glow
stones and pedestals. They worked in silence, efficiently wrapping
and storing each stone in the special bins designed to hold them on
either side of the wagon. A woman with light red hair, pulled into
a braid down her back, came hurrying up to Lor. She spoke to him in
low tones then with a wave ran back the way she had come.

Erin put the lead ropes on the team and led
them out of the paddock. Lor helped harness them to the wagon and
before she knew it the caravan was moving. The goal was to get to
the cross roads near the bridge to Arbreton before they camped for
the night. Tempo was on her lap as they rode in silence. Finally
Erin asked, “Are we eating with Alliz tonight? I think there is
several pieces of information we need to share.”

Lor looked at her steadily then turned back
to watch the road as he flicked the reins. “Yes. Are you okay? You
seem bothered about something. Do you have a headache?”

Erin glanced into his eyes. “Yeah, I’m
okay. Someone else is nervous or, perhaps, antsy. Nothing you can
do about it now. I’ll tell you at dinner.” She closed her eyes and
her ‘door’ and rested for a few miles.

Cear hadn’t yet risen when the caravan made
camp at the crossroads. The silvery light from Luna illuminating
the area well as they pulled the wagons off the road and parked in
the field beside the river. Tempo was digging for grubs and worms
in the soft soil near the river. Erin unhitched the team and led
them to the water to drink. Kennet was leading his team, on their
leads, as she was going back to camp. “Kennet, I’m going to be
brushing Lor’s animals down as they graze. It wouldn’t be any
trouble to do yours too.”

“Their fine, lad. You just went over them
within the last few days. I’ll brush them down myself. Tomorrow
night will be soon enough. You get a good night’s sleep. We’ll be
starting early and pushing to make distance tomorrow. Sherroton is
scheduled to start mid day the following. Gotta make time.” he
waved her off and continued on his way.

The horses were tethered near the wagon to
graze and Erin checked their hooves, groomed them and spoke to
each. Before going to dinner she decided to go by each team to
speak with them. Quakes were going to happen and she didn’t want
them to panic and injure themselves. Each horse appreciated the
attention she gave them and assured her that they understood. They
would try to remain calm. Right now they were going to graze and
rest. She needed to do the same.

Lor didn’t have a campfire going at his
wagon. He was over talking to Alliz as she put camp bread by the
fire to warm and was pulling tubers and small pieces of meat and
vegetables off of grilling sticks. Her wagon was back from the road
and near a rocky part of the river. The turbulence made it a great
place to talk quietly with their words being masked by the river’s
sound.

They looked up as Erin approached. She could
see that Lor was holding a piece of paper in his hand and guessed
that it was the picture she had drawn of Cob’s uncle. That could
start the conversation up. For awhile, on the ride to the campsite,
she didn’t understand why she felt tired. It finally occurred to
her that the ‘shouted’ emotions could drain her. What she needed to
do was to analyze the incoming emotional shout, quickly deduce what
she could from it, then close, or mostly close, the ‘door’. By
having it open, and receiving the negative sensations for as long
as she had today, it had exhausted her. The fact that they were
going to get down to talking, right away, suited her just fine.

Alliz had the meal on the plates by the time
Erin walked into the firelight. They all sat down and started
talking quietly. Erin opened her mind to her companions so they
could follow along. Lor spoke first. “The picture you drew of Cob’s
uncle fits the impression that Alliz and I got from the slingshot.
You have never picked up anything from Cob, have you, other than
his discomfort and avoidance of skunks?”

“No, and I purposely tried today.” Erin said.
“I haven’t brought up the subject of skunks as that would be too
obvious. But I have tried to detect, from him, any guilt or
uneasiness when he is around me. Nothing. I don’t think that he was
a part of the attempt on Tempo’s life. His boot print is different
from what I saw. There wasn’t any way I could check the boots of
his uncle.”

“Okay,” said Alliz, “with the limited
information we have, at this moment we will assume that somehow
Cob’s uncle is involved with the elimination of skunks. We can’t
prove it and we don’t know why but it puts him in the suspect pool.
We need to watch him.”

“In my conversations with Cob, he has
indicated that they only work this set of gathers. Sherroton should
be the last one for them.” Erin said, then took another bite.

Lor looked at her and nodded. “There is one
more. We always do the Sawblen gather last as it is on the way back
to where most of us winter, in Khanlund. The province is not easily
assessable because of where it is geographically located. It is a
place that produces many products and the gathers we have had there
are interesting but, you are right, they are catered by their own
people.” Lor took another bite.

Erin picked up another thread to their
problem. “You know that I saw Ree today. She has been puzzling out
what little information she has about the contact poison. She
thinks that some of the ingredients come from the sea. Ree is a
gifted herbalist. I trust her guesses. She doesn’t know all of the
ingredients and figures that who ever concocted the poison had a
lot of testing to do to get the results he wanted. She postulates
that many animals were tested with the poison before the dosage was
worked out. Somewhere there are a lot of buried animals. She did
come up with a powder that, when mixed into a paste and applied to
the contact area of skin, would draw some of the toxin out. The
catch is it needs to be put on the skin within a half hour of the
contact with the poison. The person would still get ill but would
have a fighting chance to recover. Right now it is the best we
have. Ree gave Flar the list of ingredients as something that would
be able to draw toxins. She gave me the powder and told me how to
mix it into a paste, to make it the most effective. Strangely
enough it is stronger if a little skunk saliva is mixed into the
water for the paste.” Erin shrugged. “It was an unplanned addition
when she was experimenting. She doesn’t know why but isn’t going to
question the results.”