He ran through the night, through the cold and the biting rain, water in his eyes, under and through his clothes, until he felt like an old piece of sailcloth, dangling in a storm. At some point in the night, he had run the barrow into a particularly deep patch of mud and the handle had jabbed him in the gut, near knocking the wind out of him. In his younger years as a soldier, he was able to run all day, swing a heavy war axe like it was a hatchet. Gods, but he was getting old.

He wished he had grabbed something more to cover Mouse with, even just a coat. The poor dog had lain in the bottom of the barrow, shivering and whimpering for hours, until he eventually fell into a fitful sleep. Auric hadn't been thinking straight, he supposed. The lack of booze hadn't helped, nor the lack of food.

Thankfully, the rain had eased, sometime in the early morning hours, and the sun had spilled over the road to Brunholm, shining through a clear, blue sky. Most of the wet had evaporated off him by the time he jogged into town, navigating the barrow through the brown puddles at the gate.

'Doctor,' Auric shouted, slowly clawing his breath back. 'Is anyone a doctor?' A few people in the street turned to see what the commotion was, but no one did anything to help.

Auric scooped Mouse out of the barrow. Still breathing. Mouse was still breathing, but his body flopped about, loose as a sack of flour. Auric stroked his muzzle, hoping he would wake, lick his hand. He had always been a nervous dog, annoyingly so, at times, but Auric would give anything to have Mouse turn those concerned eyes on him now.

'Doctor,' Auric tried again. 'He needs a surgeon. Somebody help him.'

A handful of people had stopped in the street. They looked to one another, perhaps waiting for some guidance.

Auric stepped up to an older man with a crook in his back and a sack of vegetables on his shoulder. The man blinked hard as Auric approached. 'Sir, is there a surgeon in town? Is there someone I could show him to? He's lost a lot of blood.'

The man's mouth opened, then slowly closed again. He looked at Mouse, drew in his brows. 'I'm sorry,' he said and hitched up his sack. 'I can't help you.' And he walked on.

Auric scowled at the man, ran to the next person, a woman in ragged clothes holding the hand of a young girl. 'Can you help him? Do you know where he could get help?'

The woman pulled her child closer. She shook her head slowly, took a step back. 'I…'

'Maybe Jayna could help him.'

The voice had come from behind him. Auric whipped around, leaving the woman and the girl. A boy, just shy of his teens, with dirty, black hair looked towards him and Mouse. He stood in the street, his bare feet covered in mud.

'What did you say?' Auric said, approaching the boy.

'Jayna, my sister. Maybe she could help him. She's been learning stitching from my aunty. She might be able to close him up. That's what people do with bad wounds, ain't it?' The boy reached out, stroked Mouse gently, gave a sad smile.

'Are there no surgeons in town? A doctor at least?'

The boy shook his head. 'You new around here? Most doctors got called to Whitehall. Conscripted my da' said. Emperor Vallendred needs 'em for his armies overseas. There was a surgeon here a few years ago, but he died, and we haven't got a new one yet.'

'Fuck,' Auric shouted, drawing more glances from people on the street.

The boy frowned up at him.

'I'm sorry,' Auric said. 'I—'

'Don't bother me. Nothin' I ain't heard before.'

Auric looked about. A few faces had appeared at windows to see what the commotion was, but most simply ignored him. 'Why doesn't he just put it down?' he heard someone mutter from inside a building.

'Your sister,' he said, turning back to the boy, 'is she any good with needle and thread?'

'She made all my clothes, and they ain't half bad.'

Indeed, the boy's clothes were nothing fancy, but they seemed sturdy enough, and the stitching lines were neat.

Auric sighed, gave Mouse's head another stroke. 'Take me to your sister. Quickly, mind.'

'She's at home. Follow me.'

The boy took off up the street and Auric followed, abandoning his barrow, Mouse still a lead weight in his arms. If someone wanted the barrow, they could have it. He could always replace it, but he could never replace Mouse.

They turned down dirty streets and mud-splattered alleys. Brunholm was a tangle of crooked roads, skinny walkways and overhanging roofs, all thrown together and on top of one another like bones from a soothsayers bag. A handful of old men, smoke wafting from the tips of their pipes, turned their heads as Auric and the boy passed. A woman selling fruit yelled at them not to run in the street.

The boy must have known the town well. He darted about, twisting and turning without warning, until a couple minutes later when he skidded to a stop in front of a tenement flat. Auric's chest burned. Sweat ran down the back of his neck. It had taken all he had left to keep up with the lad.

The boy went up to the door and jerked it open. 'Jayna,' he shouted, his head half through the doorway, 'you've gotta come quick and help someone.'

The smells and sounds of cooking leaked out of the flat. There was a clatter from inside as someone threw something down.

'Don't be comin' in here with your dirty feet again, Flynn. I'm sick of cleaning up after you.'

'I'm not comin' in, I'm callin' you out. You gotta come help someone.'

'Enough of your mischief, Flynn.'

Footsteps came stamping up to the door. Flynn stepped aside, and a young woman appeared, an apron tied about her waist, her blond hair in a tight bun. When she saw Auric, her face went blank.

'Who are you?' She reached out to her brother, pulled him closer to her. That was the second time in ten minutes someone had done that in front of Auric.

'My name's Auric. I live in the woods a few miles outside town.'

Jayna poked her head out of the doorway and looked up and down the street. 'What's that?' she said, pointing at Mouse.

'It's what I've been saying,' Flynn cut in. 'This man's dog is hurt. I thought you might sew him back up, on account of you learning from aunty Helena.'

Jayna flicked Flynn's ear, her face scrunching up in anger.

'Oww,' the boy said, rubbing at his ear.

'I've told you time and again not to go talking to strangers.'

'I didn't. He was calling out in the street for a doctor.'

'And you answered him, didn't you? Besides, I'm no doctor. I've barely sown anything but sackcloth and linen.'

Auric stepped forward, showed her Mouse's wounds. She recoiled back into the doorway, her hand still on her younger brother.

'Please, Auric said. 'Mouse never hurt anyone. If you could do anything, anything at all, I'll find a way to repay you. He'll die if you don't help.'

Jayna's eyes darted up and down the street once more. Her face pulled tight in a look of resignation. 'Bring him in, then, but I can't promise you anything.'

'Thank you,' Auric said, stepping up to the stoop.

They moved inside the flat—little more than a single room with wooden floors and an open fireplace, crackling gently against one wall.

'I've seen wounds sewn up before,' Auric said. 'On people, anyway, but never done it myself. Don't think I'd have steady enough hands for it, these days.' Auric thought how long it had been since he'd had a drink. 'We'll need hot water, rags, and something to bandage with, if you've got it.'

Jayna nodded. 'You can put him down on the floor. Flynn, get the kettle on.'

Auric lay Mouse down in the centre of the room. He was still breathing, but slower than before. He wheezed with each breath, bloody spit frothing around his lips and teeth. 'Just hang on, boy. We found some help. We found you some help.'

Flynn and Jayna rushed about the flat. Flynn poured water into a kettle, set it hanging over the fire. Jayna grabbed a cloth, threw it over her shoulder, then pulled down a tin from a high shelf. The tin rattled like it was full of coins. All the while, Auric stroked Mouse's head, scratched behind his ears.

The young woman came over to Mouse, knelt down, set the tin beside him and examined the claw marks across his side. 'What did this?'

'We were attacked by a bear.'

'A bear?' she said, looking up, frowning. 'I've never heard of bears coming this far south before.'

'First time I've seen one, myself.'

'Hmm.' She looked back at mouse, lay gentle hands on him.

'We'll have to clean the dry blood away first,' Auric said. 'So we can see what we're dealing with. That water's probably hot enough, son. Bring it over, and a bowl too.'

Flynn brought the items over, his tongue clamped between his lips in concentration. He set them down and Auric poured water into the bowl, took the cloth from Jayna and started cleaning the wounds. The skin around the gashes had turned a deep purple. Blood didn't pour from the cuts, but it seeped up steadily.

Jayna opened the tin, took out a thick, curved needle. 'I guess a stronger thread will be better.' She pulled at the end of a black thread, licked it and deftly passed it through the eye of the needle.

'What do you want me to do?' Flynn asked.

'Not get in the way,' Jayna said.

Auric set the cloth into the now-bloody water, wiped his hands on his clothes, and reached down to Mouse. 'I'll hold him together. You just do your best stitching.'

Jayna took a deep breath, sucked air through her teeth. 'I'll do what I can.'

The first stitch was the hardest. Jayna worked the needle tentatively, pressed it against Mouse's skin like he would jump up and bark at her any moment. Auric's fingers kept slipping, and it was quite the effort to keep the wound closed. Jayna flinched as the needle pierced the edge of the wound, but once she saw the thread pull tight, and the wound start to pull closed, she relaxed a little.

'It's working,' she said. 'It's actually working.'

'I knew you could do it,' Flynn said, patting his sister on the back. 'Skin is just the body's natural clothes, anyway.'

It took over an hour with all three of them crouched on the hard floor. Auric's fingers cramped with the effort of pulling Mouse's torn skin together. He ground his teeth in concentration, had to trade places with Flynn and give his hands a rest.

Halfway through, Mouse's legs started jerking, twitching like he did sometimes in his sleep, and Auric bent down to whisper in his ear and stroke his head. Still, Jayna had to wait a few minutes for the dog to become still again.

When the last stitch was done, Auric washed the wounds once more. The skin was still puffy, and that awful purple colour, but what was once an ugly tear was now a neat line, dotted with little loops of black thread. Most importantly, it was holding the blood in.

Jayna snipped the end of the thread, tied it in a knot, took a few deep breaths. They wrapped Mouse's middle with strips of cloth, torn from an old sack. They quickly dirtied with pus and other fluids, but they were better than nothing.

'Not bad for your first time,' Auric said. 'Thank you.'

'Can't exactly say I was glad to help, but you're welcome.' Jayna put the rest of her tools back in the tin, pressed the lid on tight. 'Phew, I think my nerves'll take a month to recover,' she said, standing and stretching out her back with a groan.

Flynn looked confused. 'That's it? But he's not better yet. What do we do next?'

'We wait,' Auric said with a sigh. 'We wait and see if he wakes up.'

*

'You said you'd seen it done before,' Jayna said, handing Auric a bowl of soup.

He had propped himself up against the wall, Mouse asleep in his lap. Jayna had offered him some food, after Auric had told her the full account of what had happened, but had said he wouldn't be able to stay for too much longer. Their father would be back soon for his lunch, and they'd be in enough trouble if he found out they had talked to a stranger, let alone let one into the flat. Flynn had fallen asleep on a cot in the corner of the room, and spent the rest of the morning snoring loudly.

'What's that?' Auric asked.

'The stitching. You said you'd seen it done on people.'

Auric took the bowl, slurped at the rim. Suddenly, his hunger hit him, and he realised it had been longer than a full day since he last ate. He poured some into Mouse's mouth, then tilted his head, working his throat from the outside until the dog swallowed.

'Aye. Saw it back in the war, before Vallendred overran us and took all that was rightly ours, put his empire's name over it all.'

Jayna sat down beside him, reached out to stroke Mouse. 'You fought then? Fought for the resistance?'

'Aye. I fought. I was young and stupid. Thought maybe I could do some good. But no good comes of war. All I ended up doing was watch a lot of good men die for naught.'

'Do you really believe that? That it was all for nothing?'

'We lost, didn't we? So, it doesn't really matter much now.'

'But we couldn't just let Vallendred take all of Nothstrum without a fight.'

'Why not? Would've had the same result, only there'd be less corpses lying unmarked in the fields out there.'

'Maybe, but we still have our freedoms, for the most part anyway. Vallendred could've made us all slaves, but he didn't, cause he knew how strong we were, knew we wouldn't take that lying down. That's because of men who fought, men like you.'

Auric scowled. 'Our freedoms, eh? You are too young. We did terrible things, truly terrible things, in the name of our freedoms. Those types of things leave a wound, one that can't be stitched closed. Those wounds leave ugly scars' Auric looked down at his hands. The shakes again. He rubbed them together, tried to hide the quivering. 'What is freedom worth when you throw away your soul, when you throw away all goodness?'

'I don't think you've done that. You're good to him.' Jayna nodded at Mouse.

A hot feeling rose at the back of Auric's throat. He blinked hard, his eyes stinging. 'Might be the only good thing I've done.' He took a big swallow of the soup. It burned the back of his throat, somehow felt right. It occurred to Auric then that he knew very little about these people who had let him into their home. 'You said your father would be back soon. What about your mother? Where is she?'

Jayna looked down at her hands. 'Gone. Dead. I don't know. Our da works the fields outside of town all day. Most of the time it's just me and Flynn.'

'And you do all the cooking? All the cleaning?'

Jayna shrugged. 'Someone has to. Flynn helps a bit, where he can.'

'You have your aunty, though? Flynn said that's where you learned your sowing.'

'Well, sort of. We see her now and then. She showed me a few things, but I mostly figured it out by myself. That's the way it usually goes around here.'

A silence fell between them. Auric finished his soup, handed Jayna the bowl. 'Thank you again for what you did. That was…very brave.'

'Well, my da always says, "you got a thing needs doing, you do it. You can always worry about the what-fors later."'

'Hmm. Sounds like someone I could agree with.' Auric pushed himself to his feet, hauling Mouse up with him. The dog's breathing had steadied, but there was still no sign of consciousness. 'I'd better leave you and your brother be. Pass my thanks along to him as well.'

Auric walked to the door and Jayna held it open for him. 'Will you go home? Do you have somewhere to stay?'

Auric chewed at his lip for a moment. 'I have some coin on me,' he lied. 'I'll find something.'

A concerned smile passed over Jayna. 'There's a decent inn back near the gates. I worked in the kitchens for a while. Tell Halford I sent you. Big man, round face. He's kind.'

'I will. Good luck to you.'

'And you both.'

Auric walked away, and the door closed behind him. The sun shone hot, and the mud in the street had mostly dried to a cracked top. Auric wandered south, not knowing where he was going, but knowing he would eventually make it back to the gate. He felt a lump form in his throat as he walked through the quiet streets. His vision blurred behind watery eyes.

'Cmon, boy. Wake up. I just need you to wake up,' he said, dripping snot from his nose. But no licks came, no concerned eyes. Mouse just flopped about, drooped like rags.

Auric didn't know how long he wandered, but he found himself outside the inn near the town gates. He looked up at the sign. It showed a mug of ale dripping with condensation, frothy head overflowing. Auric stood there for a moment, then shoved the door open with his shoulder.

It was quiet inside, other than the tinkle of the bell above the door. The only people were the large man behind the bar who must've been Halford, a woman, a young girl and a soldier dressed in the dark colours of Vallendred's imperial army—a captain, by the stripes on his shoulder. They sat at a table, eating bread and stew, and turned to look when he entered. The girl dropped her spoon, put a hand to her forehead like she was in pain. Auric narrowed his eyes at the captain, then walked up to the bar.

'I've had a shitty day, I've got no money and my dog might die. I don't suppose I could work off a drink or two. I'm handy with an axe and I don't mind cleanin'.'

The barman took it all in with timid apprehension. He looked down at Mouse, saw the wounds, the skin stretched tight across his flank. 'Look, I—'

Auric cut him off. 'Jayna said you were kind.'

Halford ran a hand over his bald head, sighed. 'Alright. One drink. But you'd better put him down. It's bad enough having animals inside, let alone at the bar.'

'Thank you,' Auric said.

He carried Mouse over to one of the tables, set him down underneath it, gave him a pat. 'I won't be long. You just sit tight.'

He went back to the bar. Halford had his back turned, stood at a barrel, filling a mug with ale. 'Don't think I know you, friend. But Jayna's got a good head on her shoulders. If she vouches for you, then I guess I do too.' He turned and set the mug down in front of Auric.

Auric took it, pressed the rim to his mouth, felt the cool, bubbly liquid slide down his throat, felt his hands settle. 'Auric. I live a few miles out of town. Keep to myself mostly.'

'Nothin' wrong with that. I presume you know me as Halford.'

Auric swallowed. Let out a satisfied sound. 'Aye. Jayna said as much. Do you know if she's okay? Does her father treat her and her brother well?'

Halford puffed out his cheeks. 'Can't say as I know much about that. Haven't spoken to her in months. Seems you'd know more than me.'

A chair scraped behind Auric. Boots stepped across the inn, up to the bar. Auric took another swallow of ale, set his mug down carefully. A hand clasped around his forearm. Auric turned slowly, looked down at the hand, looked up into the dark eyes of the captain as he frowned back at him.

'Did you say your name was Auric?'

He could've lied, could've finished his drink and walked away, no trouble. But at this stage, he didn't think he even cared to, and with the drink in him, the notion of a little trouble was starting to sound appealing.

'That's right.'

'As in, "The Blackhand?"'

He nodded. 'I've been called that before.'

The captain stared for a moment. His jaw trembled. 'I should gut you where you sit, cut your head off and deliver it to the Emperor.'

Auric smiled. 'You should take your hand off me, is what you should do.'

There was another scraping sound from behind him, and the woman shouted, 'Liandra, no.'

Auric turned to see the young girl dart across the inn. She crouched under that table where he had lain Mouse and put her hands on him. Auric shook the captain's hand off his arm and rose from his stool. 'What are you doing? Leave him alone.'

The woman, too, was running across the inn. She grasped the girl by the shoulders and pulled her away from Mouse. 'I told you to leave it. Why won't you listen to me, child?' she berated the girl.

'What'd you do?' Auric shouted. He rushed to the table, bent down, reached out for Mouse. Wetness, warm and slimy on his hand, Mouse's tongue licking him. Auric stuck his head under the table. Mouse's big, dark eyes looked up at him, shining with a look somewhere between joyful and exhausted.

The tears flowed then. Auric grabbed Mouse around the shoulders, pulled him into his arms, squeezed him tight. 'I thought you were gone, boy. I thought I'd lost you.'

He sat there, on the floor of the inn, blubbing away, probably looking a right madman. But he didn't care. Mouse was awake. The dog licked his face, gave a yap, and he put him down. Mouse stood on his own, weakly, but he managed.

Auric wiped his face, gave a little chuckle and turned around. The girl stood there, shrouded in her mother's arms. The captain still frowned from the bar. 'What did you do?' Auric said, his voice small, catching in his throat.

The girl stared at him. Her lip quivered a little. She blinked hard, wiped her own tears. 'Mouse just needed some help finding his way back, is all.'