The Death Bridge

"Here's some linen…there's a bunch of herbs on the shelf 'at I think you should get yerself…I don't know any of them", the big man said as he laid a few linen rolls down on the table.

The white-haired man stood up from his kneeling position and walked over to the shelf against the wall, speaking over his shoulder "Look for water, anything I could use to clean the wounds".

The big man stumbled around and saw a kettle with water standing near the bed. While he went over to get it, the white-haired man stood with a frown on his face in front of the shelve. Finally spotting some herbs he recognised, he grabbed them and went back to the still unconscious Raven.

The big man placed the kettle down beside the kneeling man. The white-haired man cut a piece of linen from one of the rolls and started to carefully clean the wound around the arrow. When he finished he grabbed the rest of the linen and looked up at the big man.

"I'm going to remove the arrow. It will start to bleed a lot and I need you to press these onto the wounds."

The big man nodded and took the linen from the white-haired man.

The white-haired man carefully breaks off most of the arrow's shaft and removed some splinters with the dagger. He stood up and prepared to push the arrow through, carefully grabbing the arrowhead with a piece of linen in his hand. He quickly glanced at the big man and took a deep breath. In one swift motion, he pulled the arrow through and the big man quickly pressed the linen tightly onto the wounds.

The white-haired man dropped the arrow in his hand and grabbed the herbs, rubbing them between his hands. He grabbed a roll of linen and pushed the big man's hands away. He quickly placed the herbs on the wounds and started to wrap the linen around Raven's middle. The big man silently watched the white-haired man work.

Finally, he broke the silence and said: "What's 'at ye put on the wounds lad?".

The white-haired man tied the ends of the linen in a knot as he answered: " It's Marnarry leaves. It should stop the bleeding…for now at least…"

He stood up and carefully picked Raven up and laid her down on the bed. He looked over at the big man and sighed. "Let's take a look at you", he said as he walked over to the big man and examined the wound in his right shoulder.

He looked up at the big man and then back to the piece of wood sticking out of his shoulder.

"I'll have to pull it out…"

He took a few steps back and asked: "Can you get rid of some of that armour?"

"Aye", the big man replied as the white-haired man turned around to get more herbs and linen.

The big man carefully removed his bloodstained armour and looked at the piece of wood.

"It shouldn't be very deep lad…And I'll pull it out!", he said and pointed a finger at the white-haired man.

"No, you'll just worsen the wound if you do it yourself. It needs to be pulled out straight. Unless of course if you want to risk not being able to use your arm properly again…", the white-haired man said as he looked the big man in the eye, handing him some linen.

The big man looked suspiciously at the man opposite him as he took the linen. After a few seconds, he said

"Alright lad, but if you-"

"If I what? Hurt you on purpose? I'm not going to do such a thing, even though I want to", the white-haired man cut him short, a cold expression appeared on his face.

The big man just stared at him. The white-haired man put his one hand on the big man's c.h.e.s.t and grabbed a hold of the piece of wood with the other.

"You know what to do when I remove the piece of wood"

A few seconds later a bellow echoed through the shack followed by a sharp thud.

The white-haired man stumbled backwards and tripped over the basket near the shelf. A loud crash sounded through the air and the white-haired man found himself lying on top of the contents of the basket. He grunted as he started to get up.

"You're welcome", he muttered under his breath.

He looked down and saw the floor littered with stones and crystals. His mouth dropped wide open as he slowly crouched down to pick up a stone. "Unbelievable", he said as he held a small stone between two of his fingers.

"Och, aye well…ye should've tried tae be more gentle…Oi! I'm bleedin' over here!", the big man said with a disgruntled look on his face.

But the white-haired man ignored him. He spotted a blue-ish crystal and picked it up, chuckling in amazement.

"What are ye laughin' about?", the big man asked, confused.

The white-haired man stood up and came over to the big man with the blue-ish crystal in his hand.

"What's that?", the big man asked suspiciously.

"It's a healing crystal…I'm surprised you don't know what it is. It's one of the rarest crystals in all of Bregaldia…Only the royal family and the high ranking nobles or warriors have access to such valuable and rare crystals…Well, them and thieves or bandits", the white-haired man said as he looked at the crystal in his hand.

"So how does it wark?", the big man asked.

"It requires a drop of blood from the person that needs healing", he answered and pulled the big man's hand away from the wound.

He pressed the crystal onto the wound, staining it with the big man's blood. The crystal started to glow red. The big man clutched his shoulder as an agonising pain suddenly burned in his shoulder. He let out a roar. The red glow started to fade as the crystal returned to its blue-ish colour. The big man felt the pain in his shoulder fading.

Suddenly a sharp thud ringed through the shack and the white-haired man found himself staggering backwards again. He ended up on the floor with his back against the foot of the bed. The big man was staring at him with anger radiating from him as his breaths were fast and shallow.

"Ye jist had to leave out th' part of where it hurts like hell!", he bawled at the white-haired man.

The white-haired man chuckled as he rubbed the spot where the big man's fist made contact with his jaw.

"What did you expect? Surely not that the wound would just vanish?", he said as he stood up.

The big man growled as he examined his shoulder. The white-haired man started to put the stones and crystals back into the basket, briefly looking at each one. {"How did this woman come into possession of all of these?"}, he thought as he glanced at the unconscious Raven.

He placed the basket back at its original position near the shelve. Then he walked over to Raven. He carefully pulled the bandage aside and quickly pressed the healing crystal against the still wet blood.

The crystal started to glow red again. After a few seconds, the glow faded and the white-haired man removed the bandage completely. The big man looked at the wound.

"Why isn't it healed?"

"It can only heal so much…A minor injury like yours could be healed completely but something serious would only be healed halfway"

" 'at doesn't make any sense…why only halfway?", the big man asked, confused.

"If a serious injury like this one gets healed completely it could do more damage than good. The body would reject the healing since it's unnatural healing. There are ways to heal a serious injury completely…but that is dangerous and dark magic. The side effects of such healing could be…catastrophic…", the white-haired man explained.

"Oh", the big man replied as he watches the white-haired man change Raven's bandages.