Morziwayn opens her eyes, head spinning. She coughs and sputters, blood mixed in with the river water that comes from her mouth and pooling on the ground under her. Placing her hands beneath her, she pushes herself up from the riverbank, only for a shooting pain to go up her right arm. She drops back down onto the moss and stone. Deciding to wait until she has the energy to move, she runs her tongue around her mouth—the front teeth are gone, most likely from hitting the tree.

  After a moment, she rolls onto her back, hoping to get an idea of where she is. She has spent many a lifetime in the forest of northern Brachb?sc to know her way around. Sitting up, she scans the surrounding slopes, looking for anything notable, but finds nothing, unable to make out distinctions through her blurry vision. Running the fingers of her good hand through her hair, she picks out twigs and leaves while trying to form a mental map. She must be somewhere along the Aznakhe River [1]; judging by how the farmhouse was east of Nyrh?lt, it would be the closest.

  She tries to stand again, only for the pain to return in her arm—but there is nothing visibly wrong with it. Running her hand up her arm, she tries to feel for any noticeable breaks. Upon finding nothing, she determines that this is a smaller fracture of some sort and begins looking for something to form a makeshift cast to prevent her from using the arm. She decides on the wool cloak; she had originally thought the ripped pant leg would work, but it was most likely too small, even for her slight frame.

  With her sling done, she tries to stand for the third time, finally succeeding. She looks through the falling canopy to find the Crown and starts walking towards it—she should find something she recognizes soon.

  She had walked for about eight hours before arriving back at her house, managing to keep herself entertained throughout by running her tongue over the stubs of her teeth, as well as the forty-five-minute endeavor of eating an apple she had found without said teeth. The walk had taken longer than it should have due to her having to stop and rest when her headache got worse. Her little cottage was just the way she had left it when she fell asleep last night.

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  She rushes around her house gathering everything she will need to move the body swiftly into the woods—wolves will do the rest. An old plain blanket from her chest of bedding, one of her horse’s spare leather leads, and a full-gold coin, slipping it into the pant pocket. Taking the now ragged socks off, she puts on a clean pair and a pair of boots that are now far too large; stuffing the excess space with other socks, she makes her way to her bedroom.

  Stripping her old body and tossing the clothes on the floor, she rolls it off the bed. The corpse lands on the blanket with a meaty thud. She ties the corners of the blanket nearest the feet together and loops the lead around it; tying the lead around her waist, she drags the body out the door behind her.

  She drags the corpse into the woods, stopping about—what seems to her to be—a hundred meters in. Untying and coiling the lead, she puts it over her shoulder.

  Morziwayn squats down next to the head of the corpse and opens the mouth. She takes a moment to look at the aged face, unable to recall the name of whom it belonged to originally. Removing the gold coin from her pocket, she opens the mouth and places it inside and returns home.

  Having no time to spare, she quickly removes the old clothes and hangs them by her fireplace to dry completely. After they are sufficiently dry, she puts them back on and reties the sling, figuring it would be more comfortable to be in dirty and ripped garments than ones that are many sizes too large. She takes her pointed hat from the table by the front door and heads to the stables, needing to introduce her new self to Mekh before leaving for Beorgrud.

  Footnotes

  [1] The Aznakhe (pronounced AHTS-nakh-eh) River—like most rivers in the central region of Iania—is a tributary of the Crown Caldera, flowing southwest to the inland sea. The Aznakhe is notable as it serves as the border between the Kingdom of Brachb?sc and the Kingdom of the Great Moon of Our Lady Luhnylla, as well as the border between the Kingdom of Brachb?sc and the Kingdom of S?gseton, where the Lun?r River meets the Aznakhe.