A hard jolt that momentarily tossed her prone body a half-inch into the air brought Val back to consciousness.
It took her a few moments of awareness for her to fully comprehend where she was. She was on her back, facing upwards. Blue sky with scattered fluffy clouds rolling lazily along was all that she could see. She had a slight ringing in her ears and her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it full of cotton balls and had just removed them prior to her awakening. She heard hoofbeats and felt the hard surface below her jolt and jostle.
"I'm lying in the back of the cart," she thought. The last thing that she remembered was escaping from the attack... and then darkness. She had been sitting in the front of the cart when that happened.
"How did I get here?"
She tilted her head and saw Strema wrapping bandages around Gatyn's now bare torso. The man's armor had been removed and was now sitting next to him, a small hole visible where the crossbow bolt had punctured it. The padding that the guard wore underneath the armor also lay to the side, a reddish, rust colored stain discoloring the cloth.
"You're lucky that it hit bone," Val heard Strema say as she tended to the man's injuries. "This could have been much worse."
"I once took a punch from my old man in the same spot when I was a kid," Gatyn responded. "I think dear old dad did more damage. It's not like it was an aimed shot."
Strema scoffed at this. "A lucky shot can drop a man as good as an aimed one," she said as she finished tying the bandages.
Gatyn's head turned, his eyes landing on Val who had been watching in silence.
"That's good," Gatyn said, waving Strema off. "I think your other patient is awake."
Strema nodded and turned towards Val, hunched over, trying to keep her balance on the back of the bumping cart.
"What happened to you?" The warrior woman asked. "I looked you over and I couldn't see any obvious injuries."
Val tried to answer but it came out in a froglike croak. Strema paused and then passed Val her canteen.
"Here, just take sips for now."
It seemed about mid-morning and the canteen must have been sitting in the sun as the water inside was tepid. Nonetheless, it seemed to clear out some of the dryness of Val's mouth. As the water ran down her throat, Val's body seemed to respond with relief. She took a few more sips before attempting to speak again.
"The metalmancy," Val said. "I did too much I guess."
"That's never happened before," Val thought bleakly. "I never came close to falling unconscious when my sister was around. I did all that practicing and study back at the inn, if anything I should be STRONGER. What has changed?"
Strema nodded and spoke, bringing Val back to the present, "You're lucky that Keth saw you toppling forward. You were just about to end up underneath the wheels of the cart. He caught you just in time."
At the mention of Keth, Val tried to twist her head so she could see him, but it was to no avail. From her prone position she could not see the drivers seat. She attempted to sit up, but the combination of the movement of the cart and some residual weakness made it challenging. Seeing Val struggle, Strema moved forward and helped her place her back against one of the walls of the cart.
Now upright, Val could see Keth sitting in the driver's seat of the cart, head shifting between looking right and looking left.
"Keth?" she asked, trying to get his attention.
There was no response, perhaps he didn't hear her.
"Keth." she tried again, now a little louder.
Still no change.
"Keth!" she shouted. She saw his shoulders visibly flinch.
"Boy! Pull the cart over!" Strema demanded before Keth had a chance to respond. "We're far enough away now. Besides, it's open field, there's no way anyone could get the jump on us here."
Without saying anything, Keth brought the cart to a stop. He remained in the driver's seat, not moving or saying anything.
"Boy! Are you alright?" Strema asked, a mixture of annoyance and concern.
Keth shook his head for a couple of seconds, he answered without turning his head, hands still gripping the reins."
"I'm... I'm fine. Is Val OK?"
"She's fine. Come on - come back here, we have to talk."
A few moments passed and then Keth let go of the reins. He stood on the driver's bench and climbed into the back of the cart with the others. Val tried to give him a smile, but Keth seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her.
The slap delivered to Keth's face by Strema surprised everyone. Keth lifted his head, his eyes a mixture of confusion and anger.
"Get with it boy! We can't have you zoning out, especially right now!"
"First time in a fight Keth?" Gatyn interjected, his voice somewhat gentle.
Keth nodded, still holding the side of his face where he had been struck.
Strema softened her tone now as well. "It's alright lad, you did fine. But we still need to do a job, and we all need to be 100% here to do it. Right?"
"I heard you saved me," Val said patting the boy's hand. "Thank you."
Keth's face reddened slightly at this. He gave a slight smile.
Strema turned to Val. "So, who were those guys in black?"
"I'm not sure," Val shrugged. "Other exiles perhaps?"
"They seemed bloody well organized for exiles," Gatyn said.
"What..." Keth paused, trying to muster some confidence. "What about Markus?" he asked.
Gatyn and Strema looked at each other.
"Shit," Strema said. "Kid's probably right. He probably got word about our trip and sent out a hit squad."
"Markus?" Val inquired.
"Our boss has a few.... rivals. They have been getting more aggressive lately."
Val's heart sank.
"Wait..." Val said. "You're telling me that not only are we walking into a city where people probably want me dead. But Terry's business rivals are after us as well?"
"Yes." Strema said simply.
Val sighed. Part of her wanted to return to the peaceful darkness of unconsciousness.