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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Buttercup" data-source="post: 1359436" data-attributes="member: 990">The first thing I noticed when I awoke is how stiff and sore I was.  The wound in my side was throbbing, and the one on my arm was hurting only slightly less. The next thing I noticed was that the light coming in the window seemed like dim morning light.  I guessed that I had slept all day, and completely through the night, but it turns out that it was the day after that.  I had slept for almost two days!  The healer must have heard me stirring (and moaning) for he was by my side almost at once.  And that was when it all hit me.  I shamed myself by starting to cry, but the healer, who said his name was Doak, just brushed my hair out of my eyes and handed me a pocket handkerchief.  He gave me some more of his tea, which put me back to sleep quickly.When I awoke this time, Sir John was sitting in a chair at the foot of my bed. On the table beside him was a tray from which really wonderful smells were coming.  Oh, but I was hungry.  No surprise, really, when you consider how long it had been since I had a decent meal.  Sir John gently propped me up with some pillows, and then put the tray of food on a little stand over my lap.  My side still hurt pretty bad, but I was so hungry that I was able to ignore it and eat.  They say that hunger is the best spice, but even the most jaded gourmand would have found noting to complain about in that meal.  Grilled pheasant, tender vegetables swimming in butter, and some very tasty grain dish were accompanied by a cold fruity drink and warm crusty bread.  I ate so much that I made my side hurt more.  While I was eating, Sir John sat quietly, looking out the window.  When I finished, he smiled at me and took the tray away.  He then told me that I could ask him any questions I wanted to.Where do you start with your questions when you want to know everything?  I couldn’t decide, so I asked him to start by telling me what he thought were the most important things.  And the most important thing was that I could never go home.  Sir John said he spent years and years looking for a way home, but never found one.   He finally gave up, and he advised me to do the same, but to do it now instead of wasting my life on a fruitless pursuit.  He told me a bit about the community of Kallon, which is where we were.  It was really nothing more than a way station on the main caravan route.  I asked if he had a map, but he explained that those could only be found in the big cities, all of which were far away.  I told Sir John that I was really more of a city girl, and that if there was a way to get to one, I thought I should probably do it as soon as possible.  There isn’t much use for a Lady’s bodyguard out in the back of beyond like this.  Sir John told me that the caravan should be coming through in about another sevenday, and that they would probably be happy to give me free passage if I helped guard.  Free was a good, I told him, since I had nothing but my weapons, armor and the clothes on my back.  I didn’t even have a whetstone to sharpen my blade.  This thought made me tear up again, because I recalled that Lady Amelia had given me my blade for my 18th birthday.  It was made by the finest swordsman in Faliner, and had the Hawk and Rose crest on the pommel.  It’s the finest sword I’ve ever seen, and sharp enough to cut a thought in two.Sir John cheered me up by telling me that because of our part in the defense of the fort, Duncan and I could kit ourselves out completely from the community stores.   At first I didn’t know who he was talking about, and then I realized that Duncan must be the brain injured man who also got Taken.  I was ashamed of myself that I had forgotten about the poor fellow, so I asked if the healer had been able to do anything about his head injury.  Sir John laughed and assured me that Duncan was as much in his right mind as me, but that the world he came from was very different from anything I knew or could even imagine.  This sounded like it might be an insult, but I let it pass, since Sir John was a very old man, and maybe he was one of those who thought all young women are just empty headed.  I asked if Sir John had any history or geography books, but he said no, which made me more determined than ever to get out of this gods forsaken hole and find civilization, or whatever passed for it around here.  I figured that I should at least ask this Duncan if he wanted to accompany me when the caravan passed through.  At least he was as much like a fish out of water as I was, if not more so.  And he wasn’t half bad in a fight, which is never a bad quality in a companion.  All this talking had made me sleepy again—it’s amazing how a sword cut to the side can tire you out—so I excused myself to Sir John and slipped into slumber once more. ---This brings me to the end of the session, more or less.  Next update in two weeks.</blockquote>

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