The man threatened again: "Drop it, Orkam."
His gaze was fixed and he seemed utterly determined. There was no doubt he would do as he said. The large dog beside him growled at the fugitive, poised to attack. Orkam’s hesitation gave the other guards time to surround him. The nearest man placed a sword against his neck, nearly ready to finish him.
Sensing the danger, Respina shouted: "Drop it, Orkam... right now!"
Orkam sighed and slowly lowered his sword, releasing it onto the ground. He could hear Abaris’s whisper from behind him: "She told you not to do that..."
The guard’s sword rose from his neck, ready to finish the fugitive, when a whistling hiss rang out. Something appeared with a faint thud in the man’s neck—a long hunting arrow had entered through the back of his neck and pierced through the front, accompanied by a flood of spraying blood.
Before the stunned guard could realize what had happened and fall to his knees, another arrow struck the chest of the second man. Orkam’s gaze followed the path of the arrow and saw the slender figure of a man sitting atop a greyish-white horse. His bow was drawn and ready in his hands. The large dog lunged toward the attacker, but a spear from the forest's edge plunged into its body, leaving the animal half-dead on the ground. A moment later, the earth trembled under the thundering hooves of several horses.
Orkam dove to the ground to snatch the dead man's sword and, with his first move, cut Abaris’s bonds. But neither gained the chance for another move. The riders had surprised and surrounded the guards in an instant. Seeing the situation, the red-clad officer raised his dagger to finish the child, but the flat of a sword moved between his blade and the infant’s body. Two of the riders, who had charged toward him like lightning, struck the officer down with flawless coordination. Amidst Respina’s terrified scream, one of them miraculously caught the infant in mid-air.
A minute later, the six remaining guards were tied up in a corner. The rider who had caught the infant urged his bay horse forward and came toward Respina. He gently placed the infant into her pleading hands: "She is fine; she is unhurt."
Respina was nearly in tears. Sobbing, she pressed her wet face against the infant’s face and thanked her savior. The man nodded and turned toward his companion standing over the officer: "Finish that wretch off, Gallus. Take a few men down the valley and make sure they aren't being followed."
The archer, who had just reached them, replied: "The situation is clear, Kayan... I don't think anyone is following them."
Then he dismounted and went directly to Orkam, who was kneeling and panting as he clutched his wounded shoulder: "Oh no... let me have a look at your wound."
None of the trio protested; they were still in shock from this strange rescue. The slender archer was barely twenty-six years old. He had a thin face and straight, brown hair. He gently placed his hand on the wounded man's arm. Abaris could see Orkam’s complexion growing darker by the moment.
The archer, without lifting his gaze from the wound on Orkam’s arm, announced: "The knife was tainted with poison, Garnik... he needs help..."
"No..."
Respina’s face had turned pale. She had warned her brother. The brawny young man mounted on a tall brown horse said: "We don't have much time, Haran; we have no idea what is happening behind us."
"Well, buy me a little time."
Garnik nodded: "While we scout the perimeter... attend to his condition... you don't have much opportunity." Then he turned his horse’s reins and went toward the larger group of riders. He swiftly issued several orders, and they split into groups, each turning in a different direction.
Haran pulled his own dagger from his waist and handed it to Abaris: "Place its blade over the fire... Kayan, come help me..."
Abaris went toward the fire without any argument. He could see that the man before him knew his trade. At the very least, the unquestioning obedience of those around him showed that they trusted him.
With Kayan’s help, he laid Orkam on the ground and placed a horse’s saddlebag under his head. Then, with a forceful tug, he tore the collar of his shirt to take a closer look at the wound. The blade of the dagger had sunk deep, and blood was flowing from around it. "What happened to that dagger?"
Abaris turned the dagger over the fire: "How hot do you want it?"
"The hotter, the better."
Orkam let out a groan and tried to rise: "It's nothing, I can handle it."
Haran placed his hand on his chest and forced him to remain lying down: "Friend, just stay right where you are. Let us do our work." He lifted his head and called out: "Gallus, leave those prisoners for the others; I need you here." He untied a small pouch from his belt: "Kayan, make me a paste with this powder."
The man nodded and went to carry out his order.
Haran turned his head toward Abaris: "What happened to that dagger, man?" At the same time, he unfastened his leather belt, folded it in half, and moved it toward Orkam's mouth: "I’m going to open your wound. Bite down on it hard."
From behind him, Respina protested: "Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"
Haran took the glowing dagger from Abaris’s hand: "Under normal circumstances, I shouldn't just pull a knife out of a wound like this, but this blade was poisoned. If it had hit his jugular, he would already be dead."
He took the hot dagger from Abaris: "I want to open the wound; bleeding helps less of the poison spread through his body. What happened to that ointment, Kayan?"
An inverted helmet was placed in front of his face; a foul-smelling brown paste was at the bottom of the helmet. Haran’s eyebrows shot up. His friend shrugged nonchalantly: "Do you see any other bowls or containers around here?"
"Good, set it aside and come help us. I want you three to hold him down firmly. The wound must be opened completely, and if he moves too much, it might damage the artery."
While the three men held Orkam down, Haran made a skillful incision above and below the wound with the dagger. The three men used all their strength to pin down the struggling, wounded limbs. Orkam losing consciousness amidst the pain made the task easier. Haran created a vertical cut, then leaned in and began to suck the blood from the wound.
Respina, staring at the semi-conscious man being treated by the archer, searched for a way of salvation. Before her, Haran was sucking out the blood and spitting the tainted gore from his mouth onto the grass. He repeated this several times, extracting as much of the contaminated blood as he could. Then, he covered the wound with the ointment. He spat once more and raised his voice: "Someone bring the bandages from my saddlebag!"
A few minutes later, as the scouting riders were returning to them, Orkam's wound was clean and well-bandaged.
Haran, drenched in sweat, lifted his head and met Respina's worried gaze: "His condition is stable for now..."
He wiped the bloodied blade of his dagger on his leather trousers to clean it, and meanwhile, reported to Garnik, who had just dismounted: "He’s sweating and his body has gone cold... it’s some kind of compound venom. I’ve cleaned the wound and sucked out the poison. This ointment will buy us a few hours... I can’t do much more for him than this."
Respina intervened quickly: "A woman can save him. A woman in blue with long hair... do you know such a person?"
Before Haran could express his surprise, Garnik announced: "Seems like we have to take him home..."
"...I’ll send Raad home to let Armira know."
A small-statured youth standing beside him jumped onto his horse quickly. As he sped away toward the mountain path, Garnik turned back toward the survivors. The smaller group seemed anxious. As he untied a rope from the side of his saddle, he said without looking at Respina: "Two days ago, we were informed that Hotran is after you... we acted as fast as we could... I promise you, you are safe with us, Lady Respina. As soon as your brother's condition improves, you can continue your journey."
"Who are you? Who informed you?"
With a toss of his head, the man pushed a lock of sweat-drenched hair away from his eyes: "Let’s put it this way: the man whose neck you had a right over informed us."
He lowered his voice as much as possible and continued: "Hamin wanted me to tell you that he won't forget what you did for our mother... I owe you that same debt..."
Respina’s face brightened: "You are... the brother of Hamin Illen?"
Garnik nodded in confirmation; he could see peace returning to Respina's face. He smiled at Respina and Abaris, then went toward the few riders guarding the soldiers: "Take their boots, weapons, and horses; by the time they reach the first village, we will be far from here."
He looked at the commander of the men: "Have a pleasant journey..."












