Duplar looks up at Hank. If the stranger from elsewhere is offering
medical aid he considers this as a good thing, indicating friend
rather than foe...

"I'm no expert", he says, "but the same basic principles must apply
because the few first aid dressings I have work equally well on Human
and Kandar.   I'd be careful with any potions though. There are a few
differences there - mainly in dosage I think".

"Thank you", says Hank. Without another word, he sets to work. He
removes his pack, puts the beam-weapon down, very carefully, and
unhooks his medical pack.

"Can you hear me", Hank says. The others seemed okay with English, so
it seems as good a way to check responsiveness as any.

Kylar opens his eyes, and nods.

"My name's Hank Jenkins- I'm here to help. Your friends are nearby.
Please try to stay calm".

Kylar says something in a language Hank doesn't understand, then
switches to something understandable. "Hurts. What happened?".

"A fight", Hank replies, "I didn't see it".

"I remember", Kylar replies, "The machines, the beastmen. They were
trying to open a mirror".

Satisfied that Kylar is lucid, Hank explains what he's doing,
step-by-step, so as not to worry him.

Before touching the wound, Hank uses hand-sanitizer on himself, and
puts on latex gloves from his kit. No use making things worse...

Hank checks the level of bleeding through the bandage. Some blood is
seeping though the bandage, but not a great deal. There's not great
bloodstain on the floor where he's lying. Of course, he has no idea
how much blood loss is dangerous for kandar. 

There's a poultice under the bandage. It smells of some kind of herb,
although Hank doesn't recognise it.

"What's this?", he asks Duplar, since his teaching tells him not to
undo previous work.

"I'm not sure", Duplar replies, "Ryzar applied it".

"Do you need a hand?", Roy asks Hank, "I took a first aid course a
couple of years ago".

Without losing focus on his work, Hank thanks Roy, and asks him to
assist in the tricky "moving" parts of the job.

Carefully, Hank removes the dressing, and cleans the shoulder wound
with sponges and alcohol swabs. It's a nasty wound, but probably not
fatal provided it doesn't get infected. The bleeding has almost
stopped now. Kylar winces with pain more than once, but following
Duplar's advice, Hank shies away from using the painkillers and
'patch' anaesthetics in his kit until he gets better information.

Given that the 'native' medic knows Kylar's species, and Hank just
teleported over about an hour ago, it's reasonable for Hank to assume
that the previous work is good. All the time he explains what he's
trying to do and tell how he plans to do it. He  shows his equipment
carefully so as to be clear about its function.

He rebinds Kylar's wounds, using sterile bandages from his pack to
replace the rather grubby cloth that was there before. He also offers
Kylar some clean water from his supply; Kylar is able to take a few
gulps.

Kylar still finds it painful to move, so with Roy's help Hank
improvises a sort of "hammock-stretcher" from the tarp in his pack
that he usually used for a tent.

= = = = =

Satisfied that Hank knows what he's doing, Duplar joins Ryzar and
Dharak with the three fallen enemies.

"Master Duplar," Ryzar says, pointing at the fancy-dressed kandar with
the head wound, "This one has the appearance of being High-Born -- but
you could probably tell of that better than me. These other two, they
dress alike, and were this strange light armour -- is this a uniform
that you are familiar with? Or, might they possibly be personal
armsmen to the High-Born one?".

"Say!" Ryzar perks up with a sudden thought, "Back in my home of
Estcarp, there was a tradition among many of the land's Lords to carry
upon themselves a ring engraved with their family crest; a Signet Ring
it is called.  Do your Kandar Nobles follow any such traditions?  If
this High-Born carries such, it could aid us in determining where, and
how far, this Kolder plot reaches".

Ryzar examines the hands of the three fallen enemies.  No rings on any
of their fingers.

"Oh, and this one is still alive. For the moment." Ryzar adds with
casual unconcern, pointing at one of the uniformed Kandar, "Do you
wish me to tend his wound, My Lady, or just leave him to his fate?"
Ryzar asks Reylorna.




Still wary of more ambushers, the Dharak touches the gear of the three
dead kandar, extending his awareness for psychic clues as to their
origin, starting with the strange beam weapons they carried. He's
struck by a psychic equivalent of vertigo; a twisting in space and
time. He's not at all sure what that's supposed to mean.

"What do you think, brother," he addresses Ryzar, "do we have time to
bury our dead, or do we need to get a move on?" His face is steeled in
concentration, but there is a wounded look behind his eyes.



"I think that we should do what we can to keep him alive.  Death is
necessary for survival, not for everyone."  Her words may sound
strange coming from a human Academy of the Mind apprentice in a Kandar
dominated society, but it rings true none the less.

"He might even be willing to answer questions," she offers hopefully,
even though she doubts the last statement herself.

"Save him if you can Ryzar, but no need to bring him round", Duplar
says. "The knowledge of an unconscious mind is mine".

"As you wish, My Lady." Ryzar says with a small bow towards Reylorna,
just before he begins removing his backpack.

"I shall do what I can quickly -- try and get him well enough to
move." the young Borderer says, as he kneels next to the injured
Kandar bodyguard, "After the disturbance we just made in those
tunnels, I'm sure that the Kolder will be sending those -- what were
they called, again? Vordrals? -- I'm sure that those Vordrals will be
after us soon."

Ryzar removes his leather gauntlets, then lays out a supply of
bandages and small, neatly wrapped bundles of healing poultices.  He
works with quick efficiency at cleaning the Kandar's wound, then
placing a poultice over the wound, and bandaging it down tightly.

"Master Duplar, have you yet searched the body of the Kandar Noble,
there, for any identification or papers?" Ryzar asks with a momentary
nod in the direction of the dead man.

"Any evidence from that body I can glean later, but the information in
your patient's mind is only open to me while he's unconscious", Duplar
replies, "I don't want to be in another mind as it dies, but if you
think he will live long enough, I'll see what he knows..."

Ryzar seems to have stabilised the prisoner's condition, so Duplar
sends a mental probe into the man's mind. He's actually now hovering
on the brink of consciousness. Duplar is dimly aware of the burning
pain of the wound, but his mental link isn't deep enough to feel the
full force of it. He gets a lot of random scattered thoughts.

...mustn't let them escape ... if they get back we're doomed ... Uluum
is dead ... can they launch the shuttle ...

--
Tim Hall, http://www.kalyr.com
Read my blog!  http://www.kalyr.com/weblog