Sylvan's Rebirth: Part Two

Corvus looked at the young woman in his arms, her red hair, limp and unwashed, framing her pale, dirt-streaked face, as the teleportation spell deposited them in his foyer. Even in unconsciousness she looked troubled and careworn, making it difficult for the satyr to estimate her age. As he carried her to the nearest spare bedroom, Corvus called out for his valet.

An immaculately dressed young man, his dark blonde hair neatly tied into a ponytail with a dark red ribbon that matched his tunic, appeared, his eyes alone betraying his surprise at seeing his master carrying a dirty, half-naked woman. "Yes, m'lord? How may I serve?"

Corvus lay the young lady on the bed and turned. "Thomas, I need you to go to my workshop and bring get the herbs in the blue jars and take them to the kitchen. And have Anya bring a bowl of water and some towels and rags to the guest bedroom. The left one from the top of the stairs." As the young man hurried to fulfill his master's request, Corvus mounted the stairs, his hooves clicking on their cold, grey stone. Carefully opening the door, he moved across the room and laid the young woman on the bed. He reached out and gently tapped the large quartz point in the wall sconce, light radiating out from where he'd touched it. As he began removing the tattered remnants of her clothing, Anya, Thomas' wife and Corvus' cook and maidservant, entered the room, carrying a large ceramic bowl and several cloths and towels on a dark wooden tray.

"Master Corvus?"

The satyr turned and gestured for the pretty raven-haired lass to set the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed. He finished removing the filthy rags and handed them to Anya for disposal. "Please take these and throw them out." He frowned, suddenly realizing that there was a problem.

Before Corvus could say anything, Anya spoke up. "She looks to be about my size, yes? I'd be happy to let her borrow something of mine."

"Thank you, Anya," the satyr smiled gently, grateful for the young woman's kind and generous heart. "I sent Thomas for some herbs- could you make up a few poultices?" He looked down at the unconscious woman. "She has quite a few injuries that need proper care." Anya bowed respectfully, then left to start on the herbal mixtures her master had requested.

Corvus turned then, taking a rag a dipping it in the bowl. He spent the next hour carefully cleaning the wounds on the young woman's arms, legs, and belly, many of which were starting to get infected. Bits of crushed and torn herbs clung to the torn flesh along the edges of the tears in her flesh and the satyr gently plucked them away, looking closely to identify them. He smiled then- she knew a bit about herbalism, it seemed, and had done her best to treat most of the older injuries herself.

When Anya returned, a small bowl of herbal paste and a number of clean bandages in her hands, Corvus had just finished cleaning the last of the red haired girl's cuts. The two worked quietly and efficiently, applying the herb mixture to the most serious cuts first and bandaging them before treating the smaller ones. Soon they were finished and had covered their guest with a blanket so she would, hopefully, rest more comfortably.

Corvus helped Anya clean up and carry the dirty bowls and cloths out of the bedroom. They ran into Thomas just outside, waiting against the wall beside the door. He looked up as they emerged, taking the tray of wet cloth from his wife. "How is she?"

"She's pretty beat up, but should heal up just fine," his wife replied. "Who is she, master? What happened to her?"

The three were descending the stairs, making their way to the kitchen. "She has the Gift. That's how I found her and pretty much all I know about her. There were a couple of men attacking her and she called out for help. So I rescued her and brought her here so we could take care of her and protect her." Corvus put the bowls down beside the sink and activated the magickally-powered water pump, waving his hand over the smooth crystal embedded in the wall behind the faucet, causing clean, cool water to flow into the basin. He poured the dirty, bloody water down the drain first, then rinsed the herbal paste out of the smaller bowl before waving his hand over the crystal again to stop the water, leaving the bowls in the sink to be washed later. "Now all we can do is wait for her to wake up."