Ravenwood by Nathan Lowell Page B

healing medicines provided by the All-Mother in this growing thing.” She turned to the west and finished the circuit. “Guardian of the West, may the healing power of water flow more easily through these trees as we remove this branch for our use.” Tanyth faced the north once more and, lowering her arms, planted the foot of her staff on the ground. “So mote it be.” As if in answer a raven cawed loudly from the top of a spruce on the ridge above, startling them all a little. She could see the black bird outlined against the sky as it perched somewhat precariously on the fir tree.
    When she turned back, everyone stared at her. She had a hard time deciding who looked the most astonished. They all regarded her with round, staring eyes and a slack-jawed wonder. Riley recovered first.
    “Whoosh, mum, when you does a prayer, you don’t mess about, do ya.”
    His innocent exclamation broke the spell and the women laughed at his piping pronouncement. Tanyth’s laughter joined the rest, all of them sounding just a bit brittle. Tanyth’s body still vibrated from her effort and she felt a bit flushed and more winded than simply saying a few words might account for. The warmth in her belly flowed through her and a sense of well-being accompanied it.
    On the hummock a few feet away, Sadie placed the blade of the saw against the edge of the tree and with a few swift strokes took the limb. It was only an inch or so at the base but long and spindly from working between the trunks of the other trees. With Riley’s help, she extricated the awkward shape out of the copse and together they dragged it back to the road. The base of the branch was woody and dense but the length of the branch showed a good progression with many branchings and tips of first year growth that promised a fat layer of inner bark. Tanyth nodded and smiled. “Yes, this will do nicely.”
    “How many more do we need, mum?” Sadie was about to head back to the hummock.
    “Just the one. It’ll serve our purposes for teaching you how to do it and probably give enough bark for the village for the whole winter.” Tanyth eyed it once more, measuring and gauging with her eye. “Yes, I think this will be more than enough.” She looked back at the small grove and then cast a glance at the spruce where the raven still perched. “One more thing to do here and we can head back. Riley? Can you get a handful of that sticky mud?” She used her staff to point to a place in the ground where their feet had exposed a rather black looking slurry of mucky ground.
    Riley looked at her as if she were mad and then looked at his mother for permission.
    Amber nodded and shrugged.
    With a very boyish grin and great enthusiasm he scooped up a double handful, digging his fingers into the soft, cold soil and holding up this clod of muck as if it were a golden prize.
    Tanyth nodded approvingly. “Very good! Now plaster that on the cut on the tree, if you would? Make a nice covering for where we cut her.”
    He had trouble figuring out how to apply the mud at first but eventually went with a “slap it on and pat it down” approach. He had to stretch up to reach the cut and mucky water rolled back down his arm. He laughed as the chilly, messy liquid tickled his skin. Eventually he had it covered to his satisfaction and stepped back to admire his handiwork.
    “Will that help, mum?” Amber asked.
    Tanyth shrugged. “Some. Better than nothin’. It’ll keep the tree from losing too much sap until the winter stops the roots and it should protect the exposed wood from vermin that might like to feed on it. I don’t expect it will last through the first good storm, but in a few days, the tree itself will begin healing over. In the meantime, she has a little protection.”
    Sadie and Amber exchanged a glance as if to say, “We must remember this.” Amber lifted the lightweight branch and handed it to Riley. He balanced it and was careful to carry it so that it didn’t drag on the