Then a familiar mix of odours caught her attention. She stopped, recognising the twin scent of illness and cures, then quickened her pace. A large rectangular tent appeared ahead. She paused at the entrance, taking in the makeshift beds of dried grass matting covered in blankets, the sick men and women, the bowls for excrement or washing water, and the table covered in cures, some mixed, some not, some in the process of being prepared.
In the shadows at the back of the tent someone was bending over a patient. Tessia could hear the rasping sound of breathing. She moved into the tent and approached.
“I have some briskbark ointment back in my tent,” she said. “Shall I go and get it?”
The figure straightened, then turned to face Tessia. Instead of the surprised face of a man, she was confronted by a beaming, familiar smile.
“Tessia!” Kendaria exclaimed. “I heard you were here. I was going to seek you out, but the healers put me on night duty.”
“Alone?” Tessia glanced at the other patients. “Without even an assistant?”
Kendaria scowled. “It’s my punishment for daring to be a woman. Besides, most of them are managing to sleep, except for this fellow here.” She took Tessia’s arm and led her out of the tent. “And he’s not going to live much longer, no matter who watches over him,” she added quietly. “Poor man.”
“I can get my bag,” Tessia offered. “Might ease his pain.”
Kendaria shook her head. “What I’ve given him will do the job well enough. So, how are you? I’ve heard so many stories of chasing Sachakans, battles and such, and you’ve been there right from the start. How have you managed it?”
Tessia shrugged. “I don’t know if management has been part of it. Wherever Lord Dakon went, I went too. He has gone wherever Lord Werrin then Magician Sabin and now the king took him. And they’ve gone wherever the Sachakans forced them to go.” She looked back at the tent. “You’ve obviously managed to convince the guild to let you do a little healing.”
“Only the boring or unpleasant work that they don’t want to do.” Kendaria’s face darkened. “They treat me like a servant most of the time, sending me off to get them food or drink. One even thought he could help himself to my bed, but he was so obvious about his intentions I put some papea spice under my pillow and blew it into his eyes. They were streaming for days afterwards.”
“That’s terrible!” Tessia gasped. “Did you complain about his behaviour?”
“Of course, but the guild master told me that since most people think the only women who hang about armies are there to service the men, I should not be surprised if men make assumptions about me.”
Tessia gaped at her. “He said what? Does he make that assumption about me? Or the other female apprentices or magicians?” She shook her head. “Or the servants? Do they work hard to feed and support us only to be treated like...like...?”
Kendaria grimaced and nodded. “I’ve had more than a few women come to me asking for a preventative for conception. Who do you think got me the papea spice? It’s not a cure ingredient.”
Appalled, Tessia could not speak. She considered telling Lord Dakon. He would tell Magician Sabin, she was sure. But would anybody do anything about it? Even if they forbade it, would the men taking advantage of the servant women pay any attention?
“Is it true what they’re saying about you?” Kendaria asked, a little hesitantly.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Tessia turned to look at the healer. “What are they saying about me?”
“That you can heal with magic. That you mended a broken back.”
“Oh.” Tessia smiled. “It is and it isn’t. I’ve been trying to use magic to heal, but haven’t found a way yet. What I’ve been able to do is things like moving broken bones back into place, or holding a wound closed while it is stitched, or stopping bleeding. And I’ve recently worked out how to pinch the pain paths to numb an area of the body. That’s all, though.”
“So how did you mend the broken back?”
“It wasn’t broken. It was all out of alignment. Once I put it right all the pathways straightened and unblocked. Though there was a lot of swelling that had to be discouraged.”
“But... how did you know it wasn’t broken?”
Tessia paused. Of course, ordinary healers couldn’t see into their patient’s bodies. I hadn’t realised how great an advantage that was. I’ve been thinking less of the healers for misdiagnosing their patients, when they really can’t help it.
“I’m able to see inside people,” she explained.
Kendaria smiled. “You might not be able to actually heal magically, but what you can do is marvellous.” Then her smile faded a little. “Which is why the healers aren’t happy about what you’re doing. Don’t be surprised if they try to stop you. They’re worried that if magicians can heal then they’ll lose their richer customers.”
“How could they stop me?”
“By convincing the king that, because you’re not guild trained, you might do more harm than good out of ignorance. Or that magicians will take all the work from the healers, which will leave them less able to afford to do charitable work with people who can’t afford to pay magicians. Not that they do much of it, anyway.”
Tessia laughed quietly. “In other words, they’re afraid they’ll end up no better than a lowly village healer.”
“Yes.” Kendaria gave her a serious look. “Don’t dismiss them. They are the most powerful guild in the city. They won’t give up what they have without a fight.”
“I’ll be careful,” Tessia assured her. “I’m not going to stir them up then disappear like my grandfather did. He used to say the mistake he made was to try to change them too quickly. He’d have had more success making changes so slowly that they didn’t notice them. But he was young and impatient, and people were dying... what’s that shouting?”
The calls in the background were growing rapidly louder and more numerous. Kendaria frowned as she listened.
“Go! Get in the carts!”
“They’re coming!”
“Leave it! Just go!”
Suddenly there were people everywhere, darting between tents and shouting. Servants were emerging. There were questioning calls from within the healers’ tent. A man strode up to Kendaria and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. She yelped in fright.
“The army is coming and the Sachakans are close behind. We have to get everyone onto the carts and leave. No packing. Just get the people out.” He looked at Tessia and blinked. “Apprentice Tessia? Master Jayan is looking for you.” He pointed towards the centre of the camp.
“Thank you,” Tessia said. She looked at Kendaria. “Good luck.”
“You too.”
Turning away, Tessia jogged through the tents. She was forced to dodge several times as men and women raced towards the outskirts of the camp where horses and gorin were most likely being harnessed to carts as quickly as possible. Once she crossed the gap between servant and magicians’ tents, she found herself following apprentices all moving in the same direction.
As she emerged onto the road, into the space before the king’s tent, she saw Jayan standing on a large box. He was shouting orders and repeating the same information again and again, in response to the apprentices’ frantic questions.
“Our army is retreating. The Sachakans are following. They will be here soon. We must be ready. The servants are bringing horses.” He paused and frowned at one of the apprentices. “Stop wasting time asking stupid questions and see if your horse is here!” he snapped. He turned away and pointed. “You! Arlenin. I can see someone bringing your horse. Yes, I’d hardly miss that ugly beast if it were on the other side of the country. Go and get it.”
Tessia put a hand to her mouth to stop herself laughing, then felt a wave of affection for him. He had no patience with fools. While it was not always a good trait in times of peace, right now it was just what the apprentices needed to snap them out of their panic and get them organised.
It seemed to take for ever, but within a few minutes they were all mounted and waiting. As the crowd around Jayan diminished she was able to get closer. A servant came to tell Jayan that the carts were loaded and ready. Jayan paused for a moment.
“Then go. You’ll travel more slowly than us. Is there any road you can take other than the main one, to get you out of the Sachakans’ path?”
“Yes. It has already been chosen, in case there was need.”
“Good. Then go.”
The man bent into a short bow then hurried away. For some reason this sent a shiver down Tessia’s spine. It’s hard enough getting used to Jayan behaving and being treated like a higher magician, but watching him in the role of leader is very strange indeed!
“Jayan,” she called. His head turned in her direction, then another shout drew his attention away. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to find Ullin, Dakon’s servant and former stable servant, holding the reins of her horse out to her. As she took them he smiled then raced away.