Having made it to the cot she had chosen to sit up as opposed to lying in repose. Benaiah was surprised by her choice for had supposed that she would have preferred to recline. Either way it made little difference to him but he marveled at the  tolerance to pain that she displayed.<br/><br/>She informed him of firewood and gestured her hand in the direction of its location. He found it straight away and immediately began chopping kindling and making tinder as the cloaked woman spoke of her past.<br/>It may have appeared that he was ignoring her as he intently focused on his  tasks. Nothing could have been farther from the truth as he listened intently and gleaned understanding from every word that she spoke.<br/><br/>Soon he had a small fire crackling in the fireplace.  He had  filled a small cauldron with water from the rain barrel which sat outside just below the window sill.<br/><br/><br/>At her direction, Benaiah rummaged through  the  cupboard and found some old apothecary jars. One was filled with powdered myrrh and another held yarrow. There were others that were a mystery to him. Those he avoided.<br/>Using a small mortar and pestle he mixed a blend of the healing herbs which would soon be used in poultices.<br/>He placed the blade of his knife in the glowing embers of the fire and left it there to heat. As the water began to simmer he placed the bandages in for sterilization.<br/><br/>The maiden  had finished her story and had grown silent as she watched Benaiah  from across the one room cottage.<br/>The young hunter’s voice broke the silence: “It will take a few minutes for the blade to redden and the water to scald.” He arose and drew near to her and fixed a curious gaze upon her as he asked: “What is your name?”<br/><br/>“Audra.” he repeated. He liked the name. It was a pleasant sound to him as it rolled off his tongue.<br/><br/>“Well Audra,” he spoke, with a tenderness in his voice. “I will need to have a closer look at that wound. May I ?”<br/><br/>She nodded her consent.<br/><br/>Benaiah carefully moved the cloak just enough  to expose the wound. In his hand he held a moist piece of torn linen.  He gently swabbed  away the clotted blood  but was careful not to cause more bleeding.  He grimaced at what he saw.<br/><br/>“It doesn’t look too bad.” he said.  “ We shouldn’t have much trouble at all.”<br/><br/><br/><i>He was lying to her. The wound was hideous to behold. The shaft was broken and splintered  throughout much of the surrounding flesh. The damaged tissue was like jelly, it would need to be cut away with the knife.</i><br/><br/>“Is there any wine or leaf here?” he asked “ You could use something to take the edge off your pain. Otherwise your only option will be to bite down on a stick and bear the agony.