Lunamae Read Online Free PDF

supplies on the level of the
living quarters (for obvious reasons). I followed the guards and
Talfrin from a distance until we were led into the room. It was
very similar to his shop actually, with shelves of labeled bottled
herbs and some pre-made poultices on wooden shelves. The room had
no windows so it was rather dark. The guards used the sconces on
the walls outside the room to light the many candles in the
room.
    “Do you require anything?” One of the guards
asked.
    “Some boiling water to start,” Talfrin
answered. When the guards left he addressed me. “I have a mortar
and pestle on one of the shelves on the far wall. I need you to
take the leaves and flowering parts of the yarrow plant and crush
them in the mortar. You will probably need to add some water to get
a good consistency. That is one of the reasons why I asked the
guards for boiling water. I want to make sure it is free of
impurities. The other need is to clean the wound out. You will have
to be brave Muirenn. I will not be able to remove the arrowhead by
myself the way it is. I will want you to put a little of the mixed
yarrow on the wound to ease the pain and then you are going to have
to pull the arrow out and be mindful of the shaft that you don’t
break it low. I would hate to have it dug out.”
    Sewing up his arm was one thing, burrowing
into flesh to remove an arrowhead was another. I tried to be strong
in order to pull it out. The guards arrived a few minutes later
with a pot of boiling water. I asked for a little bit for my
mixture and once the water was added it was much easier to grind
the plant bits together.
    “Muirenn, there are some clean strips of
fabric in the cabinet farthest from the door. You will need those
after you have applied the poultice.” I rummaged through the
cabinet and pulled out several strips of linen. “Now come here and
help with this arrow.”
    I walked toward him and realized I would need
a knife or something sharp to cut the fabric. I had carried a knife
in my apron and I took it out. I began to work on the arm fabric on
Talfrin’s shirt. I was careful to not jar the portion around the
arrow shaft. After carefully removing the piece of clothing,
Talfrin breathed a sigh of relief.
    “It looks as though it bypassed the bone and
is in a bit of muscle,” he said. The arrow had gone completely
through; the bit of the head could be seen on the other side of his
arm. I explained the situation to him since he couldn’t see the
underside of his arm. “You will have to drive the arrow shaft
forward and then make a clean break on either end. You have to
remove both the fletching and arrowhead ends.”
    I did as was instructed. It was very hard to
do without causing Talfrin to wince but I had put the yarrow around
the wounds as he had instructed earlier so the pain was much less.
The wound oozed blood but it wasn’t bleeding as bad as before due
to the healing properties of the yarrow plant. Once the pieces of
the arrow were removed I poured some of the boiling water in the
wound. He groaned in agony but made sure it was all clean before I
could stop. I then put the poultice within either side and wrapped
it in the clean linens.
    “You have done very well,” Talfrin said
proudly. “You know, I have been thinking you would have made the
perfect apprentice if you weren’t female. We should continue your
training. You can handle situations like this very well. You could
have Lunamae tag along. She will need some of the knowledge as well
for when she grows up. In a few days I will need you to stitch the
wound together. Right now it needs to heal a bit and I want to make
sure it doesn’t get infected before you stitch it.”
    “Yes, Mister Talfrin,” I said.
    “I’ll be fine if you leave me here. I think
it best if you get your mind over the events of the day and help
Lunamae with her party.” I did as Talfrin instructed. I walked back
through the upper level corridor, took the stairs in the tower down
to the