Chapter 28 part 3

"What'd she say?" Amelia asked, her eyes wide.

"Uh, she said, uh, that I should remove my shirt," Charlie answered, her eyes darting between Amelia and the bear-kin woman, her words coming out slowly as she tried to figure out how to get out of it.

"Why?" Amelia asked. Charlie had a suspicion she already knew 'why,' but since she couldn't prove it, she had to accept she didn't know.

"So they can get to the dressing," Charlie said, slowly taking her shirt off as she felt her face begin to burn.

"Now, lay down on the blanket and we can get this taken care of," the woman told Charlie.

"What'd she say?" Amelia asked, not even giving Charlie time to translate.

So, Charlie told Amelia what was said as she complied, The woman began rattling off instructions, which Charlie began to translate for Amelia, not liking being only in her bra, even if it was just in the tent, in front of the bear-kin and even Amelia. It wasn't even like she was hurt at this point. Although, she had to accept the consolation that she didn't have to take her bra off, since that hadn't been necessary the day before.

Charlie hadn't expected to really feel the 'dressing' changed, but as they took it out, Charlie couldn't help but stop breathing for a minute as she started coughing again. She didn't know why, just that suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe properly anymore for a minute. She was at least glad she hadn't coughed up as much blood as she had the day before, but she couldn't help but be surprised as a lot of dried blood came up.

Did that dry in my lungs? Charlie couldn't help but wonder as she started translating what the woman said for Amelia again after they did something that let Charlie start to breathe properly again.

When they were done, Charlie started to get up so she could put her shirt back on, when she felt someone press her down again.

"Hold on, Charlie," Amelia said. "I want to try something."

"What's that?" Charlie asked, not sure what her friend had in mind.

"I wanted to try to use my magic to heal you the rest of the way," Amelia said. "This way we won't need to wait in the village for a few weeks while you heal the rest of the way."

"Wait?" Charlie asked, starting to try to sit up again. "Weeks?"

"Yeah, Sishk told me earlier that they need to change your dressing every day for at least a few weeks until you fully heal," Amelia replied, firmly keeping Charlie from sitting up again.

Charlie felt her head spin at that information, letting Amelia hold her down. "Want me to translate for you?" Charlie asked, not sure if the bear-kin knew what Amelia had planned.

"It's okay, I already explained it to them when they first let me know about needing to change your dressing," Amelia said, putting her hand on Charlie's back.

Charlie wanted to say something more, but for some reason, where Amelia put her hand was making it hard for Charlie to breathe. Not only that, but she could feel that part of her starting to heat up and her back begin to hurt. Part of it tickled, but it felt like a sharp pain that she couldn't quite get rid of. Almost like someone was sticking a knitting needle in her back.

The pain was even getting so she couldn't breathe at all. It was much worse than the pain she had been feeling as she was coming up the slope before she got pulled into this, despite that being the only comparison that would come to mind at the moment. However, when she was starting to wonder if she was going to suffocate from not being able to breathe due to the pain, it ended.

It wasn't like it faded away, it was more like she was riding a bike and then came to a stop. That sudden. It even took her a minute to realize that it was gone. When she felt Amelia take her hand away, she sat up, feeling confused, looking at everyone in the tent with her, as if she didn't recognize anyone.

The smirk on Amelia's face as she looked Charlie over, made her look down at herself. The surprise she felt to see that from the waist up, she was only wearing her bra brought to mind why she really didn't want to do this in the first place. She quickly covered her chest with her left hand while she felt around with her right hand for her shirt. Part of her wanted to scream at Amelia, but at the same time, it felt like her throat had locked up and she could barely even breathe past it. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end once she had her shirt on.

As she felt her fingers brush against the fabric of her shirt, she quickly pulled it on, vaguely aware she was putting it on inside out. She didn't care at the moment. What was important to her was the fact that she was covered again.

"Why so freaked out, Charlie?" Amelia asked, her smirk on her face making Charlie dread what was going to happen later after they rejoined their friends later on.

"You should know why," Charlie muttered, feeling her face start to burn again.

"You shouldn't act that way towards any of your patients, young one," the woman said, looking at Amelia. Her gaze so intent on Amelia that Amelia was looking rather uncomfortable.

"Uh, Charlie? What'd she say?" Amelia pleaded, her eyes looking like she was scared of the bear-kin woman.

Charlie translated what was said, part of her feeling more comfortable with the bear-kin woman, feeling like this woman was aware and understanding of her discomfort.

"You're just saying that," Amelia accused. "What'd she really say?"

Charlie translated to the bear-kin woman what Amelia said. The woman sighed and turned to one of the other bear-kin by the door. Charlie suspected that it was the same on who'd carried her in here.

"Go find the other one who translated for us. I think we'll need him to impress on this cub the importance of making the patient comfortable," she told the other woman, who nodded and left right after.

"What'd she say?" Amelia asked Charlie.

"I think she asked that woman to go find Ralph," Charlie said. "I'm not sure, but that's kind of what it sounded like to me."

"Come on! What'd she actually say?" Amelia pressed. "You know, word for word?"

Charlie sighed. This was another pain that she wished she didn't have to deal with. Being the one who had to translate for her friends. It was one thing when it was just Petals, especially since that was only for a few days, but with the bear-kin? She was sure it would be a lot longer if they stayed there.

Charlie said what she heard word for word to Amelia, though, at the moment, she wished she could just get in her sleeping bag and sleep for the next few days straight. She wasn't sure she wanted to deal with Amelia that long right then. Especially with how she was certain Amelia was planning on regaling their friends with what happened in the tent when she had the dressing on her wound tended to.

"Now, it's time for you to leave, our patient will need a minute to compose herself," the woman said to Amelia, putting her arms on Amelia's shoulders and pulling her towards the exit of the tent.

"Charlie?" Amelia whined. "What did Sishk say?"

Charlie couldn't help but smile helplessly as Amelia was pulled out of the tent as she translated for her. She didn't think that translating for Amelia at that point was really necessary. It was clear what Sishk wanted Amelia to do. Charlie couldn't help but feel her appreciation for Sishk grow.

Then, when she was alone, she quickly took her shirt off so she could turn it back right side out. She wasn't sure how Sishk had noticed how uncomfortable she was with her shirt like that, but she couldn't think of any other reason for the woman to have allowed Charlie some time to remain in the tent.

When Charlie felt ready, she exited the tent herself, seeing the bear-kin and Amelia back digging through the bushes, occasionally setting a root to the side or leaves of some plant. She had no idea what they were looking for, so she just sat down and watched. Somehow she found it fascinating watching them. She wasn't sure why, but it held her attention, more than even when she had started to get interested in My Little Pony.

After a few minutes, she picked up a root that Amelia had set down next to herself and examined it a moment before pulling on her magic, trying to do what Amelia had once described about how she used her magic to 'scan' people to see anything wrong with their bodies.

What came to mind to Charlie surprised her. She got detailed information about the root, most of which she wasn't sure she understood. As the knowledge flooded her mind, she dropped the root, feeling the sensation of her going through another waterfall that didn't get her wet again, although, this time it was different in a way. She couldn't exactly say how it was different, just that it was.

Somehow she understood that the root could be used to make a tea that would help reduce fever, was the primary treatment for a seasonal disease that came during the autumn, had a very bitter taste, and would also help with arthritis and gout.

She picked the root back up when she felt her heart start to calm down and put it back where Amelia had originally put it. The root looked like it was a light pink and about as thick as a dandelion's root. She noticed that they had at least three baskets full of the roots. She wasn't sure if the tour she'd had the day before hadn't included medicinal supplies due to an oversight or if even that wasn't on their radar. Or maybe they merely thought that Charlie wouldn't be of any help with that.

Curious, Charlie reached to pick up one of the leaves that they'd been gathering as well. It looked to her like it was somewhere between an olive green and an emerald green. She wondered if she'd have the same thing happen as with the root if she scanned it. Though, she almost expected it to happen as soon as she touched the leaf, but had to chuckle at herself as she knew the flood of information hadn't flown into her until she used her magic to 'scan' the root. However, this time, she took a deep breath and held the leaf in her hand securely, so she wouldn't drop it.

As she pulled on her magic to scan the leaf, she felt the flood of information ram into her and she felt she couldn't breathe for a moment, partly from the sensation of going through a waterfall without getting wet and partly from the influx of knowledge entering her mind. Briefly, she wondered if Amelia felt like this when she used her magic to scan people. After she felt she could breathe again, she was able to start to make sense of the information.

The leaves themselves were poisonous to consume, but when boiled, they created a substance that could be wiped on skin that would help heal burns, open sores, could be used to make a poultice and when crushed, the oil could be used to make a dye that would provide a shade that helped blend fabric or whatever it was applied to, to blend in with the bushes the leaves came from to the point of near invisibility.

Charlie put the leaf back with the others and wondered if they'd used leaves like that one when they bandaged her wound up. While she now knew what she'd just learned about those two plants, she wasn't sure how to go about some of it, such as how to make a poultice or how to make the root into a tea.

Charlie wondered what else they might be doing with Amelia that day. Was there anything other than gathering these leaves and roots? She couldn't help but find herself eager to see what path they take with it.

_

Ralph had barely caught up with the others when suddenly one of the healers, which is what he'd been told the bear-kin called them, also caught up with him. He wasn't sure why they needed him, but he didn't want to head back. Though, it was clear the healer wasn't leaving until he went with her.

"Ralph, it's probably important to them, so why not go? We're close to the gate, but it should be a little bit before we can see it," Tim said.

"It's more that I don't want to deal with translating explanations for what a leaf does or any of that. There's more information about that kind of thing that I really don't need," Ralph complained.

"Well, you could always let her know that we're close and invite her to tag along until we reach the gate," Beth suggested. "That way when we're done, you can go with her and take care of whatever problem with Charlie they have."

"Why would it be a problem with Charlie?" Hannah asked, her face split with a huge grin. "Why couldn't it be a problem with Amelia? I mean, you should know how bad she is with listening to others when she doesn't want to."

Beth sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could be right, although you could say that'd be a problem with Charlie as well," Beth acknowledged.

"I don't care about that, I'm more concerned with having to get involved with that again," Ralph said. "I didn't expect it would be so boring. I mean, I thought history was boring, but listening to what a leaf does, what it's uses are, and how to identify it from other leaves that look exactly the same, that's almost torture."

Hannah sighed and put a hand on Ralph's shoulder as they paused in their climb to make sure of their footing before they started to walk across a rock slide. "You might find it boring, but you did agree to do that. If you didn't, then they might not know that you could translate for them. You did this to yourself," Hannah said, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

"Don't tease him that much, Hannah," Wes said, chuckling. "If you make me laugh, I might fall down this rock slide."

"Well, let's get this done with then," Ralph said. "The sooner we find the gate, the sooner I can take care of what they need me for and then the sooner I can be done with it and go somewhere they won't find me."

"Shouldn't be too much farther," Tim said, absently and Ralph couldn't help but wonder if Tim even paid attention to anything any of them had just said. Not that he could complain about it. It just meant that Tim wouldn't have realized he could have poked fun at him.

"Would be nice if it was by a hot spring," Ralph commented, imagining soaking in a hot spring before they went through the gate.

"Keep dreaming," Wes said, as they reached the other side of the rock slide. "I haven't seen any signs that there's any volcanic activity in the area, or even signs that there was in the past."

"Come on!" Ralph protested. "It goes with mountains. Where there's a mountain, there's seismic activity. Or at least was. Which means that there's the chance for a hot spring."

"Don't bother," Hannah advised. "You know how Ralph gets when he has to do something he doesn't want to. This is just Ralph being Ralph."

"Would be nice if we could get him being himself without being himself," Beth joked.

"Ha, ha," Ralph said dryly. Why were they really getting on his case? This was supposed to be a relax scouting trip.

"Ah, there it is!" Tim said, pointing ahead of them.

"Uh, are you sure?" Ralph asked. Where Tim pointed was what looked like a space just above a cliff. "Is it over the cliff or just before it?"

"Only one way to find out," Hannah said, moving ahead of everyone to look at it closer, though as she first needed to find out exactly where the gate was, she had to toss rocks to see where they disappeared at.

"She's not finding anything," Wes commented, as the rocks just went out over the cliff and fell, not having encountered a gate or anything, even about ten feet out from the gate.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Hannah remarked, turning around tossing the remaining rocks she had towards the ground, only to have them disappear about a foot away from where she was.

"I guess that solves that problem," Beth said. "Only, the gate faces out over the cliff rather than away from the cliff."

"Maybe we should see about having the arachnoids creating something so when we come back through it, we won't need to worry about accidentally falling off the cliff," Hannah said, looking down the cliff. "I mean, it's only about two, three feet away from the edge and I think the bottom of the cliff might be near where we started."

"Now that you've found your gate, will you come with me now?" the healer asked Ralph, much to his annoyance.

"Alright, fine, I'll go!" Ralph snapped, wishing he had a way to go somewhere else with his magic. Like teleportation. Sadly, even Heathcliff's tutor for him hadn't known how to do anything like that.