Danger

She took the book and showed Mikael the side with the mushroom he just took a look at.

Excited, as she just found a interested listener, she began to explain:

"Here look at this moss mushroom for example. It describes here it only grows in shadowy, moist places under tree roots or very complex root structures. It can be used as a ingredient for tinctures that fasten your self-regeneration or straight up heal lesser wounds with the right additions.

Or this here," she turned some pages, showing him a flower, depicted surrounded by many leaves, having a very bright color distribution.

"This is known as the flower of opportunity, a uncommon but still sometimes seen plant. Depending on the color of the petals, it has a variety of possible uses. If they are red, it has a healing effect, blue means it can cause hallucinations if consumed raw, but rightly processed it can reduce pain. Black and it has even a poisonous effect if you just touch the stem, and yellow it tastes like honey, calming nerves and serving as a ingredient for high class tea and fetching good prices on markets."

Listening attentively, Mikael could see how these papers could be very valuable and maybe be used to make a lot of things.

"In there was also the recipe for the tincture that was used by Brom." She said, opening another page a bit more serious.

She showed him the page, describing the picture and it's uses.

"This is the root of a rare plant known as Mantrage, not to be confused with a Mandrake. It has properties similar to pain relievers, but also produce a effect to help the patient sleep. In the sleep the body gets more energy than normal, as it sole purpose at that moment is to help mending wounds inside the patient.

But as it gets used more often, the body will counter act the medicine, lowering the effects."

She took a second, waiting for Mikael, if he had any questions or assumptions against her.

As why she did not make another medicine if she had the knowledge, or why she did not just took more efficient herbs to help.

But Mikael remained silent. The thought didn't even cross his mind that Didi may not helped Brom to her best abilitys.

He knew the state of his father was already bad, but to the last moment he still ignored it to some extend.

'Who would like to just watch his father withering away. Many would close an eye at the unavoidable.'

As the silence continued and no other reaction other than the expecting gaze of Mikael was present, she proceeded:

"I had only a bit of the root left, and the forest is too dangerous at the moment to search for more. Despite that, my other herbs were either consumed prior to our escape, left behind or got bad as they were to old."

"This Collection, and these scrolls," she pointed at the stack of neatly stacked hide scrolls," are my, no, our community's most valuable assets at the moment."

Nodding knowing, Mikael understood the worth of knowledge, namely these frail looking papers.

"Thanks, aunt Didi, I finally understand." He replied honestly. "Just somewhat bumming I can't read any of these, or I could help you gathering some of them."

She smiled weakly, ruffling his brown hair, making it even more a mess.

"Not as bad as you make it out to be. I can teach you at least the basics, so you won't be a complete country bumpkin."

'It's mostly the task of the parents to teach you simple math and reading even if you don't go to school. But can't expect that anymore. Sorry, little one, but you have to suffice with me.'

They had a little moment like a mother and son would have. Didi, having her hand on Mikael, and him, just feeling the warmth and good intentions coming out from her.

Both of them wouldn't have minded if that moment had just lasted a bit longer, but they were startled by the far away shouting of a man.

The words were very unclear, and inside the hut they could not make out anything. But the tone was unmistakably urgent.

As they went out, many other people also gathered on the hill, standing here and there, looking towards the running figure of a man, waving hands and shouting from the depth of his lung:" Flee... Coming!" Broken parts of words got carried over, but the intentions were brought over.

Behind the man, just emerging from a shallow valley, were some few man, galloping on horses.

They wore some simple clothes and pieces of armor, either protecting a vital part of the body or serving other purposes.

The sight of these riders was more than enough information than the man running towards them could deliver.

They were parts of the group that raided their village, slaughtering the man and capturing young boys and girls.

"How can this be?" Mikael heard Didis shaking voice whisper. "Do they really dare to linger any more in this lords lands, knowing a pillage at this scale would surely alert some other forces. Or..." She talked no more, tearing at Mikaels clothes and turning him away from the approaching enemy.

Others stood there either in a daze, falling to their knees sobbing in fright or straight up fleeing in terror.

Before turning around, Mikael could see how one of the Bandits took out an arrow and nocked it on the bow string. To make a clean shot from a galloping horse took a lot of skill, and the whistling arrow got shot not entirely straight towards the man. But it still penetrated a leg, and the wail carried wider than all his shouting did.

To finish their job, another horse rider hold out a hand, speaking some silent words. Strange symbols appeared on the arm, not visible due to the clothes, but the effect was visible.

In just a moment, faster than an arrow, the body got penetrated by a thin strand of an unknown material. There wasn't a lot of blood gushing out, but a second later the wailing man faced the ground, never making another movement.

Mikael did not saw that part, but heard the shout of another woman that fell on her but, just about attempting to escape.

"Magic, they have someone capable of using the secret arts."

Some fleeing persons some way away stopped in their tracks, losing suddenly the will to continue running.

Mikael, not understanding the threat a caster depicted, could only guess the situation by reading Didi's facial expression.

And what he could see was nothing good. Her eyes widened, and instead of stopping in her tracks, she accelerated and moved faster, almost carrying Mikael by the edge of his shirt. When they arrived in her little home, she instantaneously began cramming up some of the scrolls, filling a bag she took out from some corner of the room.

"Didi, what should we do?" He asked in fright. He lived through this scenario once, and entirely relied on his father. Now however, the closest he was was with her.

She was practically hovering inside the hut, taking things here and there, stuffing it into multiple small bags on herself and a rather big backpack she carried.

"We flee, obviously!" She said through clenched teeth.

"No chance in a fight, no hope for reinforcement and certainly no chance to live against a caster! Hope," she said to him as much as to herself," we live today to see another day."

'Should I take him with me?' She thought, here and there looking at this little kid. He was scrawny, thin and a bit small for his age, despite being fed well over the last years.

She painfully became aware:'He would be a burden, just tying me down.'

Her emotions told her to take him with her, trying everything to get him safely aware, but her mind. Her mind told her to abdomen him.

She stopped her rustling, making place for the vibrations of horseshoes meeting the ground, and the panicking cries of the refugees.

Slowly, she took the book that laid on her shelf, wrapping it up with a belt, so it can be worn on the back or on the hip.

Her eyes turned to Mikael, that looked back, confused, frightened and alone.

She knew she was the only real hope he had, but... .

"I'm so sorry." she said, scaring Mikael, that felt his back becoming cold, his mind void of anything.

The pressure of the compendium woke him up, looking up at her, but Didi avoided his gaze.

"I want to life, too." she began to explain, reasoning to both of them. "I just can't guarantee our safety together, hell, not even my own. I still have a dept to repay, so take it. One day, it may help you. Considering you live through this." She added.

Still in a daze, he received it, blankly staring at it. "Aunt Didi... but I... Why..."

He couldn't think straight. And her heart hurt a lot, but she wanted to flee as soon as possible, already wasting precious time.

"Run to the forest. Despite the unknown danger, here all that's awaiting you is certain death!" she said, leaving through the door promptly, letting Mikael all alone.

There he was, surrounded by approaching danger, already first sounds of whistling arrows flying into the hamlet were heard.

It awoke him, conscious of the situation once more.

'I have to run!' It filled his mind. 'Run to the forest!'

Taking his steps out the hut, he saw similar pictures like last time.

Smoke rose up from a hut that started burning from a source he didn't saw. A body laid just outside, an arrow sticking out from the eye socket. The scene was gruesome and gory, but Mikael wasted no time analyzing the corpse. With the little bag on his body and the book on the hip, he run as fast as he could in the general direction of the forest, opposite the direction the enemies came from.

It stretched far towards the horizon, and some people were seen running towards it, Didi being one of them.

'But there are so many of them.' he noticed. 'When there are so many, surely the bandits will track them down first.'

His prediction made a lot of sense to him, and albeit reluctantly, he ran a bit offside towards the forest.

'It takes longer, increasing the risk, but may also safe my hide.'

And so he ran, not looking back, neither to the side. Just straight to the front, drifting to the tall, still lush trees and thorny bushes.

In hope to survive, again, this time all alone, with barely any hope of escaping.