Here I am again, after a good 3 weeks with a relatively new chapter.

Disclaimer: I borrowed the basics from Lord of the Rings and don't want to earn any money with it. Most of the characters are mine.

Dedication: to all the authors I have read the stories of, JE, because thanks to her fewer errors are produced and Zoe

Legend:
"Conversations"
'Thoughts'
... dreams / visions ...
(my comments within the story)

As always: have fun reading!

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Chapter 3 'The Apprentice'

Piero had been leading the horse through the forest for several hours and the night was gradually falling over them. His companion, Sulnaur, seemed to have fallen asleep exhausted in the saddle. The wound hadn't improved in the meantime. She continued to bleed and Piero was slowly running out of scraps of cloth for bandages. He just hoped it wasn't far to the place the Elf had described to him. But he knew that they were on the right track, as they had found a road some time ago and, as is well known, roads lead to villages.And in most of the towns there were healers, if only old witches. For Sulnaur, these would also be of great help for the time being.
"How far still", Piero asked himself silently. Again he had led the black horse around a bend and again there was no end of the forest in sight. Angry, he kicked a small stone out of the way and watched him go. His eyes widened with joy and he excitedly called for his mate. This was immediately wide awake. Instinctively his hand twitched to his sword, but suddenly stopped halfway. Now that he was awake the pain returned to his mind and body. "Sulnaur there is the edge of the forest. I was able to see the plain behind it for a moment. We made it soon!" Piero's words penetrated his thoughts only slowly through the veil of pain. "Done ?!" he repeated as if in a trance. Concerned, the Rohirrim turned and looked carefully at his companion. His skin was deathly pale, his posture was cramped and he was trembling badly."Are you okay?" He asked, although he could see the answer. "It works," mumbled the Elf. The loss of blood and tiredness exhausted him so much that he barely had the strength to speak. "As I said, we will soon have made it." Hopefully Piero turned back to the path. He could now clearly see the snow-covered land behind the forest.
When they stepped out onto the plain they were completely enveloped in the night. The clouds of the day had given way to the glow of the stars and made the snow-covered pastures glitter in their light. They could make out their target some distance away. Silent and moved by inner warmth, they continued along the road.

The two companions had reached the village and Piero knocked on the door of the first house they came across to ask for the way. A woman opened it a crack and peered out into the night. "Sorry to disturb you," began Piero in a friendly manner, "My companion and I are looking for the healer of this place and we wanted to ask them for directions."The woman's eyes looked briefly at Sulnaur, then looked at Piero again. Her gaze was penetrating and Piero had the impression that the woman would slam the door in his face." Down the street and the third from last house on the left side. Goodbye. "The Rohirrim actually wanted to say thank you, but the door was closed again. Shocked by this unfriendly behavior, he went back.
"What is it?" Sulnaur asked him when he saw his expression. "Just down the street. Then we really made it," he replied curtly and grabbed the horse's reins. "They're so unfriendly here," he mumbled on. To his surprise, he heard the Elf giggle faintly. Although he wasn't feeling particularly better, rather worse, the anticipation of a place to stay gave him new strength. Together they moved the last few meters along the street, past buildings that, in their exhaustion, they no longer paid any attention to.They soon found the house in question. It was not that different from the rest of the village houses. It was two stories high and made of wood and stone. Piero went resolutely to the door and knocked hard on it. He stood there waiting and soon heard a noise from inside and then he finally saw a faint glimmer of light under the door. It opened and, contrary to all expectations, faced a boy who was about his age. "What can I do for you?" He asked rhetorically. "Well, my companion is badly injured and that's why we need a healer," Piero began again. The boy with the black hair looked past Piero in the direction of Sulnaur. "Bring him in," he ordered. The Rohirrim did as he was told and helped the exhausted Elf from his horse. He was so weak that he could hardly stand alone and grabbed Piero's shoulder for help. With his help, he entered the house and followed the boy into a kind of hospital room.Sulnaur sat down carefully on a bed and looked around wearily. There were a few other beds and a large oak closet in the room. It was filled with strange vials, tinctures, and instruments. The boy stood in front of the cupboard and held several substances in the light of a lamp. Sulnaur's and Piero's eyes met for a brief moment and both knew instinctively what the other was thinking. Piero cleared his throat and immediately caught the boy's attention. "How should I say ...", but before he could continue he was interrupted by the boy. "I know what you want to say. The master is not here at the moment, so I'll take care of the injury." He grabbed the bottle that was standing next to him and went straight to Piero. "I think I should introduce myself. I'm Gerin, apprentice who ..." he paused for a moment and his face screwed up briefly. "I'm an apprentice," he continued to finish the sentence. "Piero.And that's Sulnaur, "he introduced himself and his companion.
The Elf sat slumped on the bed and only partially listened to the conversation. The pain required all of his attention and strength. After an infinite time for him, the apprentice turns to him. He was holding a small bottle with a greenish content in one hand. Sulnaur pushed up his shirt sleeve almost mechanically and revealed the bloody bandage. Gerin loosened it carefully so as not to further irritate the wound. He cleverly tossed the rag into a bucket and began to clean the wound with a clean cloth. The Elf winced briefly at the touch, as another painful shiver ran through him. He heard the apprentice say an apology, but paid little heed to him. After the cleanup was done, Gerin opened the vial. A sweet smell emerged from her and made Sulnaur feel safe. It reminded him of his home and family.The pain in his arm slowly subsided at the thought and the rubbing of the ointment on the wound.

After Piero had taken care of the horse in the stable behind the house, he entered the room again. It smelled strange and he saw his mother in front of him. "What is that?", He asked full of curiosity and stepped closer to the bed on which the Elf was sitting. "We call it green leaf ointment," explained Gerin, who looked up briefly. “It was invented by the Elves, but is also very common here.” “The smell seems familiar to me.” “Me too,” joined Sulnaur Piero. “It's often the case that the smell is best remembered.” Gerin put a new bandage on the Elf and stood up.
At that moment Piero remembered something important. He felt uncomfortable and felt the need to go away. "Gerin, can you go please? I have something to discuss with Sulnaur." His voice sounded particularly harsh and Piero was aware of its sharpness. The black-haired looked at him skeptically for a moment, but then complied with his request.After the door was closed, Sulnaur drove to his companion. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you crazy or why are you talking to him like that? He hasn't harmed you." "No, but he doesn't have to know everything. Have you ever thought about how we should pay him or do you have money? "Piero was upset about the attitude of his counterpart. He didn't know why he was acting like that. Sulnaur, on the other hand, felt offended. He hadn't thought of that either and just shook his head in response. "Damn it," the Rohirrim cursed and sat down wearily on a nearby bed.

Gerin stood in front of the door and didn't know what to do. At first he was flabbergasted when he was kicked out of the room by this Piero. Now something like hatred welled up in him, just not that strong. He couldn't explain why he should go. He had been particularly friendly and polite, had done his job excellently, and now this. He snorted contemptuously and made the short walk into the kitchen to turn to his books.They were spread out on the floor as he had left them. Carefully he picked them up one by one and put almost all of them in his room. He had placed a leather-bound copy on the table to study further. He turned to a page with interest and began to decipher the intricate letters. Again and again he tried in vain to memorize the verses. After a while, he finally gave up. He just couldn't get these strangers out of his head. Suddenly he had an idea and his face twisted into a sneaky grin. 'We'll see,' he thought to himself and immediately set about carrying out his plan.

Piero lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. He thought desperately how they could get out of this mess.
"Have you already found a solution," he asked the Elf. He was silent and that spoke volumes. A knock on the door made him sit up. “Yes?” The door swung open slowly and Gerin stood on the threshold.On his arm he carried a tray with water and various foods and Sulnaur's stomach began to growl as if on command. "I thought you might be hungry", his grin hadn't disappeared from his face, it just wasn't that mischievous anymore. He calmly placed the tray between Piero and Sulnaur on a small table and pushed a plate to each. Both stared at their food, but did not dare to take any of it. “Aren't you hungry?” Painfully the Elf looked up from his plate to his companion. "We can't eat. We have no money, not even to pay