No Longer a Game Ch. 05

Natalie's meal was rather decent and she was complimented on her cooking. She had used the spices and dried fruits and vegetables and dried meat to make a rather tasty meal. True to his word, the dwarf the other men did the dishes. Christie tried to talk to Natalie bit gave up as the other girl ignored her.

After a while the group became silent as they sat around the fire. Lou was going through Natalie's spell book while the rest just sat in silence studying the fire.

"Well maybe we should try and sleep." Jason said.

"I can't sleep...I am too worried about Rain and Derrick to sleep." Natalie told him and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Ok but we are going to need sleep soon."

"Natalie, you need to learn your spells again." Lou told her and handed her the spell book. "You used two of them and need to relearn them in case we need them again."

"How?"

Lou laughed, "I have no idea. Maybe you study the two you used or just read it, I don't know."

"Ok. I will go sit on the edge of the hill and see what I can do. Plus I can see if well...if Rain and Derrick come back in case they got in trouble." Natalie got up and took the spell book and sat in the side of the small hill that over looked the city.

When she looked out past the woods and to the city she noticed she could see very well in the dark. Like a cat. It was as if she was seeing everything on a cloudy day and not an almost moonless night. She smiled, being an elf sure has its perks that's for sure; she said to herself and opened the book.

As soon as she opened the spell book it tingled in her hand and she felt the intense desire to touch the runes written on the pages. It was not an ominous feeling or one of dread but a very pleasant and almost euphoric feeling. Her fingers caressed the runes and it was very pleasing to the touch. She touched every page and every rune. It felt as if she needed to touch them. When she got to the page with her Globe of Immunity spell, the one she cast on herself to protect her from Derrick's attack, the runes started to glow blue and Natalie read them and the spell imprinted on her mind. She giggled at the blissful sensation. She did the same with her Fireball spell but those runes glowed red and again she giggled at the sensation.

She put the book down and felt a brief moment of loss and she looked at the sky and noticed the crescent moon and stars had moved quite a bit in the night sky. She looked over her shoulder and saw the fire was low but not out and her friends still sat around it. She knew a good deal of time had passed while she was looking at her book but it only seemed like seconds. She looked back toward the city and then her sharp elf eyes with their night vision saw a figure run from the woods staggering, fell, got up, ran staggered again, fell again, and got up to run again. Natalie saw the blue hair and knew it was Rain and that she was hurt.

"It's Rain! She's hurt! Hurry...someone help her!" Natalie screamed as she jumped to her feet.

Christie, Lou, Jason, and Michael aka Ahira quickly ran to where Natalie was standing and shouting. The drow, paladin, and dwarf all had their weapons in their hands.

"Where, I don't see her." Jason shouted.

"I see her." Both Ahira and Christie said.

"I can't see her...we don't have night vision eyes like they do, Jason." Lou said then he pointed, "I do now, there she is."

Jason also saw her and he drove his large sword in the ground point first and started running down the hill; behind him and trying to keep up was Ahira carrying his two handed ax. His short legs could not keep up with Jason long strides. Natalie saw Jason pick up Rain as if she was a small child's doll and carried her gently up the hill.

"Get back!" He shouted as the others gathered around her. "She's hurt. Looks like crossbow bolts. Two of them. One in her lower back and the other her upper back."

Jason laid Rain down gently under the same tree Natalie was awoken from and placed a folded up cloak under her head. Natalie kneeled down and started to caress the girl's forehead and brush her hair from her face. Rain's eyes fluttered open.

"Der...Derrick...he..." She said weakly and coughed and blood came from her mouth.

"That's not good." Jason said. "Means the bolt punctured her lung."

"Do something!" Natalie screamed.

"We...we have to remove the bolts." Ahira said as he got to his knees and gently rolled Rain to her side.

Rain looked up at Natalie, "He...he," She coughed again and coughed up more blood, "he just killed him. No...no one did...anything." Again she coughed up more blood.

"Shhh...stop talking...shhhh." Natalie told her as she stroked the dying girl's hair. Tears rolled down Natalie's cheeks.

"Nat...Natalie...I..." Rain coughed again, "I...I don't want to die...I'm scared."

"Shut up! You are not going to die!" Natalie looked up at Jason. "Do something! Please don't let her die!"

Rain screamed as Ahira pulled out the first bolt and blood poured from the wound. The bolt was barbed and when he pulled it free it pulled flesh and muscle with it. Rain screamed again as the dwarf pulled out the second bolt and she passed out.

Natalie looked up at Christie, who stood there looking down in shock. "Fucking do something! You're a healer so fucking heal her!"

Christie blinked several times, "I...I don't know if I can." She replied softly.

"Well try damnit! My spells worked! Just fucking try!" Natalie screamed at her in a shrill panicked voice.

Christie got down on her knees and placed a hand on Rain's shoulder wound, the worse one, and said words no one understood. The words were unlike the spell words Natalie used, Christie's sounded more like a prayer. As with the mage words, everyone could hear them but they were immediately forgotten and they could not remember what was said. Everyone focused their eyes on Rain's wound and nothing happened. Christie repeated the words and still nothing.

"I...I don't understand! I know I am saying the right words but it's not working!" Christie shouted her voice full of fear.

"Move, let me try." Jason said.

Jason placed his hands on Rain and he said some words that were different than Christie's but they too sounded like a prayer. His hands glowed a light blue and so did the wound on Rain's back and the wound closed a little and the bleeding stopped some but it was not enough.

"That's all I got. My lay on hands spell isn't strong enough to heal her." Jason told them.

Natalie started sobbing as she cradled Rain's head in her arms. To everyone's surprise it was Lou who took action. He had run to the chest and came running back with one of the stone bottles. He pushed Jason out of the way, opened the bottle and poured some of the silver liquid over Rain's wound. The wound bubbled and started to close. Within a matter of seconds it faded into a small puncture scar that looked years old. He did the same to the other wound and got the same results. Rain opened her eyes.

"Drink it, Rain." Lou told her and helped the girl drink the rest of the potion. After a few moments Rain looked up and smiled.

"Thank you...it...it doesn't hurt anymore. I...I feel better." She said in a weak voice and struggled to sit up but Lou pushed her back down gently.

"No you need to stay still. You're healed but you lost a lot of blood."

Rain nodded and smiled and actually blushed when Natalie kissed her lips and kissed the tears from her face.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again!" Natalie screamed at her as she wiped her own tears away.

Rain nodded and looked at Jason, "Derrick...he...he's dead."

Everyone got very quiet as Rain told them what had happened. "And...no one did anything. They just watched him die. It was horrible." She cried.

"Shhh....it's ok, baby." Natalie told her as she still cradled the girl's head.

"No...it's not ok." Rain protested and sat up. "I...I...I killed someone. I didn't mean to, it just happened. It was like instinct and it was terrible...I...I cut his throat. Blood was everywhere."

"No you did what you had to do and you would do it again if you had to...I would have done the same." Everyone was surprised at Natalie's words. She looked at them as they stared at her in disbelief. It was not the words that shocked them but the cold way she said it.

"What?" She asked.

Ahira shook his head, "She's right. We have to realize that now. We may have to kill before we go home. This isn't the game, this is real and it's dangerous and we have to be prepared."

"Killing monsters like orcs and ogres is one thing, but another person?" Lou said. "I don't know if I could do that.

"Well you better learn how to quick." Ahira told him harshly.

"He's right," Jason added. "We all have to understand it may come down to it."

Natalie kissed Rain's lips again and stood up, "You must be hungry. We have food and other stuff and water. I will go fix you something and get something to wash the blood off of you and a clean shirt. We found extras. In the morning you and I can go down to the pond and wash that blood off your back and try and clean your shirt."

Rain smiled at the elf, "Yes, nurse."

"Hush!" Natalie grinned and stood up.

As she walked to the fire where they kept the supplies she looked at Christie. The drow had been silent after her attempt to heal Rain. She just stood there with a lost look on her face. She looked at Natalie when she felt the elf's eyes on her.

"I...I don't understand." She said. "Why...why didn't it work?"

Natalie shrugged, "I don't know...but you tried. It's ok now...she's fine."

"But...but what if someone else gets hurt? We don't have many healing potions."

Natalie walked over to her and hugged her, "We'll figure it out. There must be a reason. You did try, Christie." She kissed the drow on the cheek and went to get Rain some food and water.

Later that night they prepared to get some sleep and Jason took the first watch. It did not seem as if any of the city watch of Lund had chased Rain but it was better to be safe. Blankets were handed out and Natalie folded up her cloak for a pillow next to Rain, who was already asleep and between her and Christie.

"You may want to put one of the blankets between you and the ground like I did for Rain. The ground will absorb more of your body heat than the night air will." Christie told Natalie she saw the elf lay on the soft grass and pulled the two blankets up.

"What do you know about sleeping out doors?" Natalie snapped.

"More than you. When was the last time your prissy ass went camping?" Christie snapped back. "I grew up with three older brothers and my dad took us camping all the time."

"I'll be fine." Natalie said and rolled to her side to turn her back from the drow.

"Suit yourself." Christie smiled knowingly.