15 Ingrid & Byrne

Warning: Minor gore

_Ingrid & Byrne_

Byrne stumbled out of the burning inn just as it started to creak and moan. No doubt it would collapse soon, so it was good that the man could get Nyka out in time. However, it would have been better to have completely stopped Nyka from even entering the place. Though he did try, he felt like he hadn't tried hard enough and now the boy was injured.

He had held the kid back, and was going to pick him up and take him farther from the building but he wasn't able to hold on to the boy for long. He wasn't used to this kind of thing. He may have said he believed there was some magic in the world but that had in no way prepared him to be thrown back by an invisible force. The impact on the ground had knocked the air out of him momentarily, and he had seen stars. It was only the boy's voice from inside the burning building, calling out for his grandmother, that had spurred him on to get up.

When he had reached Nyka, he had instantly hoped he had gotten there sooner. Byrne felt responsible for this. Nyka had been severely burned up his left arm and the left side of his chest- and it was a bad burn. This kind of burn would leave a scar on the boy for the rest of his life- and it was Byrne's fault. He felt the responsibility heavy, he should have never let this happen- magic be damned.

Ingrid had only worried over Nyka, when the boy was brought out and laid before them, unconscious. He was covered in ash and soot, even his burns were and this meant he required immediate medical attention. If the wounds festered, the boy would surely die. That thought had scared Ingrid most of all. For all her nagging and complaining about the boy, she felt very strongly for him. She had watched him grow for six years after all.

When Byrne started panicking, and saying this was all his fault, Ingrid had wanted to blame him too. She had wanted to blame someone for this mess but she knew it was not his fault. The young man had most definitely not had started the fire, and he had not willingly let Nyka run into the fire. No, there was someone to blame, but it was not him.

"Byrne," She had broken him out of his panic with a strict tone,

"Yes?" Byrne had asked her in return, holding his burnt hands close to himself as he looked from the burning building, to Nyka, and then finally to meet Ingrid's hard gaze.

"I don't have many coins on me after shopping, and anything to do for these burns was inside. If yew have any money on ye at all, I need ya to rush and buy it now," She informed him critically.

"Aye, I do. What do you need?"

"I need bandages- lots of it, and buy lots of honey and grease. I need water to wash off these wounds- I am afraid to leave him though," She admitted that last part in a conflicted manner.

"Can you carry him?" Byrne asked now.

"Aye, I think- but not well, I may hurt him in this state," She motioned to his limp body.

"Then I will carry him to a stream to wash him, Byrne informed, starting to dig around in his pockets, "I will give you all the coin I have on me, and you can meet me there,"

Ingrid gave him a nod, moving to stand. "Be careful, and do not wet him for long, the water makes the burns boil. Rince the ash from him quickly."

"You are a smart woman, Ingrid," Byrne pointed out as he lifted Nyka careful of his burnt side.

Ingrid merely shook her head. "Ira only taught me to read and lent me some books," She admitted.

Byrne raised his brows. "Ira only instructed my manners," he said with a small smile, trying to find some good out of this, but it was hard.

They shared a small, sad smile, and nodded before going their separate ways. Both made haste, running to their agreed upon locations. When Byrne reached the water, he had crouched down in the water and started to splash water onto the wounds, only enough like Ingrid said, to get the ash off of him. This is when the boy stirred a bit, but still he did not wake.

After Byrne had worked at delicately rinsing off Nyka's burns, he took the boy to the bank and brought a handful of water to his eyes, trying to wash away the ash from his eyes. The last thing they needed was for the boy to go blind too. From there he worked on slowly removing the ash from the rest of the boy's body but it was difficult. He had no rags and his clothes were far too dirty to be of any use. The man wondered if the creek water would cause the burns to fester- but he had no other options. There was at least a chance this way, for the boy to live.

Why Nyka lay there unconscious, Byrne had stepped in the creek and began splashing himself to remove at least some of the ash from himself. It was not a thorough wash, but it did not matter. A little bit went a long way. When he was done, he came to sit next to the boy, moving his curly hair from his eyes. Ira had curly hair too... Byrne smiled a sad smile.

When Ira arrived, she was breathing heavily and dropped everything to the ground, along with herself and immediately started tending to the boy. With shaky, rushed hands, she started to take care of his wounds, but she was clumsy. The longer she took, the faster she tried to be, but the more she became clumsy in her movements.

Byrne could tell she was getting frustrated. "Ingrid, you should calm yourself- why don't you let me help?" He offered her, reaching out.

Ingrid ripped her hands away from his. "I have got this," She said as she struggled to rip some bandage.

Byrne let the struggle continue on until he could not take it anymore and took the bandages from her and ripped it easily despite his hurting hands. He watched Ingird spread the grease and honey along Nyka's burns, a hard look on her face as she did so. Once his left arm was coated from the elbow up, she wrapped him in the bandage, her bottom lip trembling.

"Ingrid..." Byrne said slowly, watching her intently.

"I am fine." She said sternly, continuing on to coat the left side of Nyka's chest, shoulder, and side with the grease and honey. Despite her assured and stern voice, her face betrayed her. Her eyes were red and misty, and her cheeks were pink with emotion. Her lip continued to tremble even as she unwrapped more bandage.

Soon tears were streaming down her face and she was gripping the bandage tightly in her hands, unable to continue. Her bottom lip was curled in the way people curled it when they could no longer hold back their emotions.

Pink cheeks were now red, flushed with emotion she could no longer control. Ingred let out a muffled sob, not bothering to stop Byrne from taking the bandages from her and finish wrapping Nyka up, having some difficulty to lift him by himself and wrap the bandages all the way around his torso.

Ingrid's wrists came to her face, her hands still sticky with grease and honey. She let out sobs of grief, her body wracked with shakes. "He almost died," She croaked out through her sobs, her breath hiccupping after every word. "We could have lost him, Byrne."

Byrne frowned, looking at Nyka. "I know. It is my fault." He said as his burnt fingers slowly ran gently over the bandages they had secured over his burns.

Ingrid swiftly shook her head. "Yew did all you could, Byrne," She said now, trying to wipe the insistent tears from her face with the back of her hands. "You risked your hands for him. Look at them... Will you be able to play the lute the same?" She asked the bard.

Byrne shrugged. "It does not matter now." He said simply, looking at Ingrid with misty eyes. "I have played at many Inns and taverns. Ira was the most welcoming. It would not be the same to play anywhere else."

Ingrid covered her face with her arms, trying her hardest to hold back more sobs. "Oh Ira," She whined. "That woman was my savior- she was like a mother to me,"

"Aye, she was a mother to everyone." Byrne said as he ran a burnt hand down his face."

Ingrid stood and went to the water, washing her hands off in the stream. "Bandage yer hands- there are still supplies left." She instructed.

Byrne shook his head, clearing his throat so that it did not shake. "I could not. He will need fresh bandages here in a day or two."

"I have more money at home I can use to buy more supplies with," She said shaking her head.

"So you are going to take care of him?" Byrne asked as he reached for the grease and honey, lathering them onto his hands.

Ingrid came back to him and took the bandages herself, unwrapping them and taking him by the wrist, and wrapping his hand despite the fact that he had not asked for any help. "Why wouldn't I? His grandmother is gone- she was all he had. He has no one now. Besides- I have watched him grow," She felt her eyes wet again. Her voice started to shake once more. "I love the boy as if he were my own- I- I know it does not appear so,"

Byrne was silent for a moment as she bandaged him. Finally after what felt like a great deal of silence, he spoke up. "Let me help you."

"Help me?"

"I have watched him grow too- perhaps not nearly as long as you, but I still feel for him."

Ingrid gave a soft smile, but it was small, the most she could manage at the moment. "Alright," She said with a short nod.

Nyka began to stir, and the two looked down at them expectantly. The first thing the boy went to do was rub his face with both hands but groaned out at the pain coming from his entire left side.

Ingrid shushed him like a mother would to her babe. "Careful, do not move too fast, you have been burnt badly," She warned him, smoothing back his hair.

"It hurts- it hurts badly," He said now, blinking blurry eyes, squinting form sleep and the bright light of the afternoon. "Where is grandmother?" he asked, but neither of them responded.

Ingrid and Byrne looked at each other. "He needs something to ease his pain," Ingrid said now.

Byrne gave her a weary look. "Opioids?" He suggested, but the woman wrinkled her nose.

"I have seen those who use the drug- it does wonders but it is easy to get stuck to it like a calf to its mother's teat. He will have none of it. It is too dangerous."

"Alcohol then- I do not know much else," He admitted.

She shook her head yet again. "It would not be enough, we need to get him to a medicine practitioner." She said now.

An unfamiliar voice spoke up. "I do not believe that will be necessary." a robed individual said now.

"Who might you be?" Byrne said as he stood. Ira had spoken to them about Nyka the night he had his outburst. She had explained to them who it was they were in hiding from, and why they had come so far south to get away from them. She said to be weary of strangers- and Byrne would hold true to her warnings.

Nyka craned his neck to see who it was that had approached them, and as soon as he caught sight of the robe, he sat up, grunting at the pain coming from his left side. He managed to turn himself and face the robed man. "I saw you," He said now, wide-eyed. "You were in the fire-" He said, astonished. "You should be dead- the fire- it surrounded you."

The man merely shrugged. "You must have been delusional."

Nyka narrowed his eyes now. "You were also a customer. I remember you." He said now, growing suspicious.

The robed man sighed, and shook his head. "I am not the enemy,"

"Then who are you?" Ingrid asked, standing up as well.

"I am merely here to protect people," The man said now.

Byrne narrowed his eyes. "Protect who from what, exactly? That does not answer the question."

"Innocent people, from him." The man said, lifting a cloaked arm to point a long finger at Nyka.

Nyka looked from Byrne to Ingrid, confused. He had a nervous feeling building up in his gut. "Innocent people? Are you saying I hurt people?"

"Perhaps not now, but you will."

Nyka's eyes widened. "You are... you are with the people who think I am bad." He concluded.

"Perhaps. I do not know what people you speak of, but it is possible." The man said now, seemingly aloof.

"I will not hurt anyone. Not ever. You can tell that to the rest of your friends," Nyka told him now.

The man laughed at him. "Many have said that to me before, but it is not true- they always hurt people.

"They?"

"People like you."

Nyka's eyes widened again. "There are people like me?"

The man grunted, any humor suddenly gone from him. "Conversing with you is a pointless thing. You will not care to know anything when you are dead." He informed.

This made Ingrid step up. "You will not be going anywhere near the boy." She said in her usual strict tone.

"I do suggest you move out of my way- I am merely trying to save lives- not take any more than I need to."

Ingrid glared at this stranger. "I do not care for your savior talk, leave us now."

"I do not understand," Nyka spoke up once more. "Why? I am not of the devil, I promise you. I will not hurt anyone!"

The man shook his head, reaching into his robe to remove a dagger from his belt. "The devil has nothing to do with this. It is you. You are the danger- a natural catastrophe." He said as he moved forward.

Ingrid took a step back, Byrne standing beside her now. "Leave us," He commanded the man. "Leave us and no one has to be hurt."

Swiftly the man threw a punch at Byrne, who had not been expecting it and had fallen back, next the robed man brought the dagger to Ingrid who narrowly dodged it by moving slightly to the side. It grazed her cheek and she grunted but reached out to take the dagger from the man. The man pulled away and punished her in the gut, hard enough to bring her to her knees.

"Stop!" Nyka cried as the man kicked her aside and started to walk towards Nyka but Byrne had jumped up behind him and pulled him back, gripping the man's wrist with the dagger in it. He twisted the man's wrist, making the dagger fall to the ground but the man elbowed him in the face, once, then twice before Byrne was forced to let go. He stumbled back holding his nose as it started to gush red with blood.

"Please! Stop it!" Nyka cried, trying to push himself up off the ground but his left side ached too badly to do it.

The boys cries fell on deaf ears as Byrne tackled the man reaching for his dagger. The two rolled in the dirt, throwing punches and swear words as the boy looked on in horror. It didn't take long for the robed man to be on top of Byrne, punching him repeatedly and slamming his head back into the ground.

Byrne was reaching as far as he could for the dagger, stretching as much as he could without being noticed by the man that was beating on him. Nyka said nothing as he practically froze with shock, unsure of what to do. When Byrne had the dagger in his grips he brought it up quickly to the man and attempted to stab him in the throat.

This man had unreal reflexes as he caught the knife, holding it over Byrne's hand. Slowly, the man turned the dagger towards Byrne who grunted, trying to force it back in the direction of the other, but to no avail. The knife steadily sunk lower and lower in Byrne's direction and Nyka felt his stomach drop.

Byrne was going to die- he was going to die because of him. Just like his grandmother had, no doubt. The boy panicked, looking around but there was nothing for him to do. Tears streamed from his eyes as he lifted up his only good arm and screamed a loud, "Stop!"

It echoed across the area loudly, sending birds from the tree's in a terrible fright. But that was not the worst fright here. As soon as the words left Nyka's mouth, it was as if the robe'd man's head popped like a melon smashing against the ground from a large height. Blood, bone, and brain matter scattered everywhere. Byrne, Nyka, and the dirt were not safe, as they were covered in the stuff.

The smell of death was immediate, and suffocating. On reflex, Nyka hunched over to the side and wretched. His lunch spilled along the ground next to him, causing him to grimace and dry heave again in disgust. He was shaking now, breathing heavily as he cried and continued to vomit.

When there was nothing left to throw up, his body continued to try and try, dry heaving until his voice was raw.

"I- I killed him!" He said after a while. "He is dead because of me! Oh gods, he is dead!" He said as he wiped his mouth with his good hand. The pain of his burn was mere background noise at the trauma and shock he was experiencing now.

"He is dead!" Nyka cried again. "His head- I- I did that! He was right! I hurt people, he-"

"Nyka!" Ingrid raised her voice now. How long had she been trying to talk to him? How long had he been a sobbing wreck?

"Nyka, calm yerself," She told him, coming over to cradle his head into her chest, hugging him but staying away from his left side. "It is okay," She tried to assure him but he shook his head and sniffed.

"I killed a man," He whispered in horror.

"You killed a man who was trying to kill us all," Byrne said now, cringing at the blood and brain that covered him the most. He needed to wash himself completely as soon as possible. The man had never felt more disgusting in his life.

"But did he have to die?" Nyka said now, wiping at his nose, cringing at the blood matter that came off his face with it. He leaned his right side into Ingrid, subconsciously craving her comfort.

"He had a dagger to my throat and you were next," Byrne pointed out. "It was self defence- you are not in the wrong."

"But he said I was going to hurt people!"

"Innocent people!" Ingrid pointed out, her blonde hair noticeably a mess now. "A man who attempts murder three people- no I am sure he is behind that fire too- A man who attempts murder, and sucessfuly murders innocents, is not an innocent man. You have done nothing wrong Nyka, you have saved our lives," She pointed out to him, Pulling his head closer so she could hug it tightly without hugging his toro which would have produced problems.

"He... he killed grandmother." Nyka concluded the obvious. "I saw him before I went asleep- he was there in the fire- and he was not burned!"

"He was not burned?" Ingrid said skeptically.

"The boy blew the man's head off with his mind and you don't believe that there is someone out there who can walk through fire?"

Ingrid glared at Byrne now. "I suppose you have a point." She said now, loosening her grip on Nyka who did not pull away.

"Ira said there are more of them. We have to get out of here." She told them.

Byrne nodded. "We should go south- I know my way around there," he suggested, thinking back to his homeland. It was a wild place, but certainly it was safer there than it was here.

"Ira had been going south for years," Ingrid said with the shake of her head. "They would expect him to keep going that way. He should go north, they would not expect it."

"You have a point, but what if they find us?" Byrne said now.

Ingrid thought for a moment. "We travel with robes, conceal him since he is easy to recognize- perhaps you too if we are to go north. There are less of your people there than here, it would be suspicious. We stay off the main roads, collect wild herbs as we travel to sell for a little coin. I do not know where we would stop, but surely somewhere safe. They would not expect it as long as we are not seen."

Byrne gave her a critical look. "The capital is north, there are lots of people there."

"We stay as west as we can from it, but there are also many people in the coastal city of Faun Gaia, so we will have to be careful when we are caught between."

"Comsworth is north of there," Nyka pointed out.

"Comsworth?" The other two repeated in unison.

"It is a tiny village, Grandmother said I was born there," He said just as he was wincing at his bodies remembrance of his pain.

"Well before we get anywhere, we have to get you to a medicine practitioner," Ingrid informed.

"But what if we are seen?" He asked through seething teeth.

"Then you will have to protect yerself again," Ingrid said grimly.

"I cannot hurt someone again, not like that! It is not right,"

"I will buy us weapons then, and we will practice them on the road. It is our best option." Byrne concluded.

"I do not want to hurt another, magic nor blade," Nyka admitted quietly, looking down at his lap now. He did not want Byrne to have been murdered, but if he could take it back, he would not have killed that man. He would never kill anyone.