Dindi
The injured came to the healing hut one after another. Some limped. Others were helped by friends. Gwenika and Gremo worked quickly, using dance and music to call healing tama.
Outside, Dindi stood guard. She held her bow, ready.
But no enemy came.
Instead, a small group of women and children crept toward her. They moved slowly, as if afraid she would attack them. Dirty rags covered their heads and faces.
Dindi lowered her bow and called softly, "Come closer. Do you need healing?"
The woman in front stopped. She pulled away her rag. Her face was covered in weeping sores, red and swollen. The smell was sour.
"We do," the woman said, her voice rough. "We are diseased. But we do not want to be. Can your healer help the likes of us?"
"I don't know," Dindi said. "Come with me."
She lifted the leather flap to the hut and guided them inside.
Gwenika looked up. "More? The elder said that was the last—" She stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened when she saw the sickly newcomers. "Oh."
Gremo grunted in surprise.
"It's forbidden to help them," Dindi said quietly. "But they are suffering so much."
The sick woman fell to her knees. "Please. Don't turn your mercy from us."
Gwenika looked at Gremo. "We can't stop now. These people might need us more than the others."
Gremo nodded. "I am with you."
Dindi said, "You know it's taboo. Zavaedi Brena, Zavaedi Rthan, even Kavio wouldn't allow this. And if Svego tells Nargano, the peace deal might be ruined. If you heal them… no one else must know."
"You won't betray us?" Gremo asked.
Dindi met his eyes. "Gwenika is my friend. And…" She gently helped the woman remove her filthy cloak. "I think you're doing the right thing. Even if the stupid taboo says otherwise."
"Don't let anyone know the Shunned are here," Gwenika told her. "If someone comes close, knock three times on the wall."
Dindi went back outside and listened.
Inside the hut, she could hear the soft beat of Gremo's drum, and the breathy sound of Gwenika's flute. They were dancing. Calling tama. Healing.
She wanted to peek inside, just for a moment, to see what kind of tama they used. But she forced herself not to.
Healing dances took time. This one took longer than most.
That's when she spotted Svego. He was jogging toward the hut.
Dindi quickly knocked three times on the wall. The drum and flute went silent.
Gwenika hissed through the leather door. "We need more time!"
Svego waved as he came closer. "The battle is over! A few warriors need healing. Where are Gremo and Gwenika?"
The music started again inside. Dindi's heart pounded. He would hear it soon. He would wonder.
She stepped away from the hut to meet him.
"What good news!" she said quickly. "Uh… it is good news, right? Did we win the battle? Is everyone still alive?"
"No one on our side died," Svego said.
He tried to walk past her.
Dindi stepped in front of him again. "Kavio is well?"
"Yes."
She blocked him again. "And Brena? Rthan?"
"Yes and yes."
She moved again.
He sighed. "I appreciate your joy."
Then, without warning, he picked her up by the waist and moved her out of the way.
The small Olani envoy was surprisingly strong.
"Now," he said, "let me speak to Gremo."
He strode toward the hut.
"No," said Dindi. She lunged after him, reached for his back—
—and tripped on her own foot.
She tumbled to the ground.
When she opened her hand, the corncob doll was there.