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 "Are you going to be able to save the hand?" the young man pleaded, gazing up at Syatti with hope and pain in his eyes. The journeywoman fought the impulse to look away. The farmer's hand was all but crushed. If it wasn't amputated, he'd probably bleed to death. "We'll do our best," Syatti assured him, giving the mangled hand as reassuring a pat as she could manage. "My apprentice is going to give you some fellis. It won't taste good, but it'll put you right to sleep." Eritoz, one of her apprentices, moved forward and helped Liokin drink the fellis. The farmer made a face at the taste but drank it all without more complaint. Within a few minutes he was asleep. "You can't save it, can you?" Eritoz asked glumly as he walked over to wash the cup out. "It's almost off his arm as it is." Syatti sighed. "I'm going to try," she replied. "But I doubt it. Make up a batch of numbweed while you're over there and then scrub up. Where are Laro and Tiolle?" Eritoz grinned. "They said they had some business to take care of, and then they'd be down here. Something to do with finding the list of who's scheduled to Walk tonight." "You apprentices," Syatti exclaimed. "So eager to walk to journeypeople when all that happens is you retie your knots and get a new Master." "Laro thinks she's on it," Eritoz replied with a shrug. "Supposedly Tiolle heard from Gedel who heard from Kacha who read the list, which, according to Iriyni, doesn't exist." "Ah, to be young and gullible," Syatti sighed. "If they don't get down here soon, we're going to start without them. It's not going to be a very complicated operation, from the looks of that hand." "I'm on it! I'm on it!" Laro exclaimed, all but dancing into the room. "You're looking at a journeywoman! Or a will be one tonight when Master Larin announces it." "Dimglow!" Tiolle scoffed, walking into the room shortly after Laro. "That was in Freden's writing. It's fake." Laro gave her friend an exasperated look. "You're just jealous because you're not on it." "When has Master Larin ever made a list of the Walkers?" Tiolle reasoned. "Since now!" Laro shot back. "And probably as long as he's been Masterhealer. I've just never known about it before." "When you don't walk tonight," Tiolle told her. "I'll be laughing." "If you two are finished," Syatti drawled from the sink. "Scrub up. You get to watch the delicate process known as amputation. It can be preformed by anyone with a knife, but only healers have perfected it." "Why can't we ever get exciting patients?" Laro wondered as she walked over, automatically checking the instruments to make sure they were lain out properly. "Care to volunteer?" Syatti asked. "Now, Tiolle, what do you suggest we do with this case?" Tiolle gingerly picked up the mangled hand and eyed it for a few moments. "Amputate it. It's doing more harm on then off." "Exactly. Eritoz, be ready to stop the bleeding. Grab one of those hides from the tray, they're all sterile. Laro, you get to do sutures this time, get your needle ready. Tiolle, you get the fun part." Tiolle groaned. "I'll go get a bag." The whole procedure took about half an hour and went relatively normally aside from the fact that Laro's thread snapped in the middle of a suture and she had to start again. Now came the hard part. Syatti stood over Liokin's cot, gazing down at him. What a shock. And how young. He couldn't have been more than sixteen, seventeen turns old. Liokin's eyelids fluttered open suddenly. He looked up at Syatti and clearly read the expression on her face. "You couldn't save it, could you?" he asked. "I'm sorry. It was doing more harm on then it would do to take it off," Syatti told him, wishing she could have done something more. "It's not your fault," Liokin replied, turning away and staring blankly up at the ceiling. A tear slipped down the side of his cheek. "I should never have tried to ride him. Should have known I'd get thrown." "If there's anything else you need, just give a holler. I'm on duty for another few hours and then someone else will be here," Syatti told him. Liokin didn't reply, and she walked away, suddenly disgusted with herself for what she'd done, even though she'd had no other choice. Telling one of the other journeymen that she was going outside for a moment, Syatti pulled on her over tunic and slipped outside. The snow was still coming down hard and the familiar courtyard was blanketed in the stuff so thickly she barely recognized it. A gust of cold wind blew through her hair and Syatti shivered but did not go back in. She pulled her gloved hands from her pockets and examined them. What in Faranth's name would she do if she lost a hand? Her hands were her life. What would Liokin do without his hand? The door creaked open and Eritoz came out, obviously not dressed for the weather and shivering. "It's time for the evening meal," he informed her. "I have the evening shift today," she explained. "I'll eat later." "The Masterhealer has requested the presence of all apprentices and journeypeople," Eritoz replied with a grin. "A Master will be here to take your place." "Why do I need to be there to watch a bunch of apprentices walk?" Syatti complained but followed Eritoz back inside. "Evidently he's assigning people today too," Eritoz explained. "No one knows who, though." "Wonderful," Syatti sighed. "A guess where you're going sort of thing." "Exactly," Eritoz agreed. "Exciting, huh?" They arrived to the meal a few minutes late and people were just settling themselves. Though the Masterhealer was still eating and no move to announce promotions and assignments had been made, the tension in the air was almost tangible. Syatti went to sit with the other journeypeople, sitting between a journeyman named Deigl and a journeywoman named Retanya "You have any Walking tonight?" she asked Retanya in between bites. "I think I might have one or two," Retanya replied. "Not sure though. What about you?" "According to some list one of mine is," Syatti said with a chuckle. "He never makes a list," Retanya scoffed. "I know," Syatti agreed. "Which made it all the more interesting to listen to them talk about it." A sudden hush spread over the dining hall and Syatti looked up to see the Masterhealer standing on the raised platform at the front of the room. "Here it comes," Deigl whispered. "There's no room at these tables!" "Hush up!" Syatti hissed. "Since there have been enough rumors going around about tonight," Larin began, pausing to look pointedly in the direction of Laro's little group, "I figured I might as well live up to it." Silence followed this remark. A cough was stifled and not even one of the many roosting flits dared to squeak. "We have a very talented group of apprentices Walking tonight," Larin began. "A great deal of talent will be seated among our journeypeople by the time the night is over." A few snickers greeted this remark, and Larin grinned over in the direction of the Journeypeople. "Our first Walker is Eritoz," Larin announced. A blushing Eritoz stood up amongst applause and walked over to the higher tables. A few journeymen clapped him on the back and scooted down to make room for him. Laro followed and then a few other apprentices whose names Syatti didn't recognize. Then came Tiolle and shortly after, as Retanya introduced them, Jirakin and Terikus. There were two more and then Larin moved on to the assignments. First the new Journeypeople were assigned, then the older ones. Retanya was assigned to a hold and Deigl to a seahold. Kliado and Naridly were assigned to the harper hall. A few muttered comments and a slap accompanied this announcement, for Kliado and Naridly were all-but-espoused. Rumor had Naridly pregnant, but it had yet to be confirmed. A few more of Syatti's friends were assigned and then Syatti heard her name. She had been back at the hall for the past turn, and she'd been expecting another assignment soon. But she hadn't been expecting where she had been assigned. "Are you sure you want to send me to Ryslen, sir?" she asked Larin after the meal. The Masterhealer smiled assuringly. "I said they asked for an experienced, dependable healer who worked well under pressure if needed and you're the best person for the job. You'll do well, I'm sure. If you absolutely can't stand it, we're only a flit away." | ||||||||||||
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