Checking her hair to make sure it was tied up securely, Nela took a breath and entered the repurposed tavern again.

  Although she'd avoided mentioning it, the truth was that she had never had to deal with this many people on her own. Hallowscroft was not a large town, and her grandfather had not been the only healer. The old man rarely had more than two or three people under his care on any one day. As much experience as Nela had gotten working with him, there were limits on what he knew.

  Even when she'd been working as a healer in the armies, she'd been part of a group of healers who worked together on the wounded soldiers. It was there Nela had learned the lesson she'd passed to Jylania yesterday. Here, it was just her and Jylania, since there was no chance Jisry would help now. A single healer and her apprentice, tasked with all of this.

  Well, Hamond was here too, but his ability to help was limited. While he had worked as a healer for a year or two, he'd been self-taught from books, ones that were clearly incomplete and weren't a substitute for having an actual teacher. It was a miracle he'd gotten as far as he did without a major mistake. At least, until the time he tried to heal Ronny's shattered arm with a spell far too simple for such. If Nela hadn't been there to fix it, Ronny could've ended up crippled.

  But enough of that, Nela told herself as she regarded the empty front room of the building. It wasn't a time to think back to their own weaknesses. It was time to shut up and push through to see what they could do for these people.

  It didn't remain empty for long. The woman they'd met the previous day emerged from the back rooms, rubbing her hands together. She blinked on seeing them standing there. "Took your time. Was wondering if you'd show up."

  "I suppose you'd rather I come in still covered in dust?" Nela retorted. As much as all of them had wanted full baths, they'd settled for wiping themselves down with a damp rag. It made her feel a bit better at least.

  "Right, you did look rough." The woman shifted in place. "Actually, you're...quite young, aren't you? I swear, the way you looked made me think you were older."

  That might explain how Jisry thought Jylania was her child, Nela thought. But they had bigger problems than how she looked. "Old or young, it isn't going to stop me from getting to work. So how are the people here doing?"

  "Mostly the same," the woman answered, "A few stuck in bed, most not feeling good but starting to get up and be about. You did see them last night, didn't you?"

  "Yes, but like you said, most of them were asleep. Today's going to be talking to them and getting actual information on how they feel." Nela paused, realizing what she'd forgotten. "Oh, and since I didn't get to introduce myself last night, I'm Nela."

  "Merytuya." The woman gave a slight nod. "And I'm a fool for coming back, but I figured I ought to give you a little help."

  "I'll take any I can get," Nela said, "Although if you're worried about me dealing with Jisry, I think I know what to do there."

  "That ridiculous man," Merytuya - a mouthful of a name Nela was definitely going to forget - growled. "He cornered me and demanded that he be moved to a different building or he'd never recover. I asked about what you did, and he called you a stupid would-be healer that we all needed to avoid."

  "Is that all?" Nela said with a forced laugh.

  "Whatever you did put a good fear in him, I'd say," the woman said, then spat on the floor. "Of course, he's going to send those frustrations at you when he sees you again."

  "He can wait," Nela said, "On that matter...who would you say needs help the most here?"

  "Probably Dannet. He got bit on the chest by one of those snakes. He's awake now, but walking around leaves him out of breath, so doing any real work isn't happening."

  "How long ago was he bit?" The effects of the bites lingered longer than Nela would've thought, going by Jisry and now this Dannet. Healers had limits to what they could do, especially if they were called on days after the wound or illness had taken hold.

  "A few days ago. I don't know the details." Merytuya look over past Nela, towards the door of the tavern. "His wife turned up at one of the barricades half-carrying him, and he could barely move. If you're wondering where she is, she's been helping look after the children here."

  "Got it." Nela had the suspicion the woman was hinting at sending Jylania away. That wasn't about to happen. Apprentices had to learn somehow. "Which room is he in again?"

  "Second one on the left," Merytuya answered. "You saw him last night, didn't you? Such a shame, a big strong man like that, and he's now all but helpless."

  Right, the Hyarchian man who'd been laying on his side, with the blanket a little too small to cover him. He'd been sleeping quite deeply when Nela had peered in before, so she hadn't tried to look at him more closely. Maybe she should have.

  No time like now to make up for that mistake. "Right, let's go see what we're dealing with."

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  "I'll wait here." Hamond shifted in place. Nela was no fool, and could tell he had some other thing he wanted to do. Maybe asking Merytula questions about what was going on in Lasfont? If so, she wasn't about to object.

  "Shout for me if you need something." Merytula stomped over to one of the chairs, and sat herself down. "I'll be taking be a breather here. Been running about all morning."

  So in other words, don't bother her unless something went very wrong. Not that Nela felt she'd need the help. Lack of healing training aside, she'd call for Hamond and his spells first.

  Striding into the back half of the building, Nela made for the room. This one had two men staying it. The other was some young Remuati man, who looked around Nela's age. Hopefully he would be better behaved than Jisry, although that wouldn't be hard to accomplish at all.

  She entered right in the middle of a conversation....apparently about her. "...must be a pretty good healer, if...the captain's going with them." The bigger man looked like he was about to say more, but broke off in a cough.

  "Really? You know the captain hates Jisry," the younger man replied, a sneer on his face. "The Spellking could show up and offer himself as a healer, and she'd take it."

  "Good thing I'm not the Spellking then," Nela said. Even if she needed to get on with this, standing there listening to this was all sorts of awkward.

  "Oh...uh...greetings," the big Hyarchian man said, "Wait...are you that new healer?"

  "That's right," Nela told them, "Name's Nela, and you must be Dannet."

  "Indeed...I am." The man stopped to take in a breath, wincing as he did so. Now that she could look at him clearly, Nela could see the faded purple marks on the right side of his chest, a slight swelling showing just where he'd been bitten. It didn't look too bad now, but it almost certainly had been worse.

  "How many days ago were you bitten?" Nela repeated her earlier question.

  "Five, I think. My memory's a little misty. I could barely move for a day and a half after. It hurt so much...but somehow I lived."

  "Don't lie. You looked like you were dying when they brought you here." Nela shot an annoyed look at the other man. She hadn't been asking him, but...it was good to know. Dannet would not be the first person she'd seen who claimed they weren't nearly as bad off as they actually were. Definitely would not be the last one to pull that shit, either.

  In this case, though, it didn't change too much. The venom had done its damage already. "Here, you should chew on this for a while, then swallow it. It should ease the pain a little." Lowering her bag to the ground, Nela rummaged in it for a moment, then came up with the herb she sought. She handed it over.

  Dannet took it and studied it, turning it over. The leaf seems so small compared to the man's large hands. "Will this cure me?"

  "No." Nela stated flatly, wishing she could say the opposite. "I, for one, won't lie. If I'd been here when you first got bitten, I could've employed some spells, maybe had some better herbs to give you. But as things are, it's going to be the long road you're taking." Of course, there was the possibility he would never fully recover, but that was a problem for another day.

  "But Jisry said-" Dannet started to protest.

  "He had to be making that up just to prod at the captain," the room's other occupant cut him off. "If he could do that kind of healing, he'd have done it to himself already."

  "Senby," Dannet said in a tired voice.

  "First, yes, he can't. Second, shut up, or I'll leave healing you for last." Well, second last before Jisry, but the point remained. He clearly needed a reminder that Nela was the healer here, and she wasn't about to put up with more nonsense.

  "Doesn't bother me. I should've been out of here days ago." A cocky response, one that made Nela pause.

  "Right then. So your name is Senby, I assume. What's your story?" Might as well get this out of the way now, since it would be a few moments before the herb took effect for Dannet.

  "They do call me Senby, but elsewhere is where I'd rather be." From the rote sound of it, that was some old joke he'd made up. "As for why I'm here, I twisted my foot getting away from one of those monsters. It's better now."

  "I'll decide that." Nela walked over, and Senby stuck his foot in her direction. It looked fine, with no sign of swelling or bruising. She reached down and squeezed the ankle. "Does this hurt?"

  "No," came the answer.

  "Other foot," Nela said, well aware of the possibility of being tricked here.

  Senby complied, turning slightly as he offered the other leg. Nela checked it over as well, and it was the same. His legs and feet were both healthy, with no problems at all.

  "Looks fine to me," Nela said, "Why didn't you just walk out?"

  "I tried," Senby answered, "Captain ordered that no one gets to leave until they get checked by whoever's in charge here, and no one took the time."

  If they kept rotating who was keeping an eye on this place, Nela could see how they'd be too busy getting caught up to bother with the one person who really didn't need any attention. However...this had only taken her a moment. Really not organized here, were they?

  "Now I have, and you can go. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them to talk to me about it." He'd be certainly glad to get out of here, and this freed up another bed for someone else. Sooner or later, it would be needed.

  "Thank you. Good luck." Senby rose, eager to get out of there in a hurry. Nela resisted the urge to ask him if he was going to walk outside wearing nothing but his waistcloth. It could just be a Remuati custom. She briefly though of Ronny going around wearing nothing but such, a distraction Nela knew she really shouldn't be entertaining right now.

  "What's that on his back?" Jylania asked.

  Nela turned to see Senby freeze, halfway out into the hall. On his back was a oval shaped brand, with a set of four symbols arrayed vertically. She'd seen a few soldiers who crudely branded designs on the arms or back before, but this was far more fancy and elaborate.

  "It's nothing." Senby didn't turn to face them, just standing there staring out into the hall.

  "Doesn't look like nothing to me," Nela replied. She may not know anything about the Remuati, but her instinct were silently shouting in her head that this wasn't something he bore willingly. "No more than his bite looked like nothing." She pointed back at Dannet.

  Senby let out a heavy sigh. "I'm one of the ashabti," he answered, still looking away. "Lifebound servants of nobles and merchants. My whole family is."

  Nela had a lot of questions she wanted to ask right then and there, but no, she couldn't yet with more wounded to see to. But once she was done, Nela would have those answers. Even if she had to march up to Captain Takhat and demand them.

  "Right then. May the grace and glory of the Fae go with you." Might as well give Senby a reminder that as strange and unknown as Remuati practices were to her, Nela's Elefae traditions would be just as strange to him.

  Senby nodded, and left, the curtain falling back into place behind him. Pushing that matter to the back of her mind, Nela turned to Dannet. "So, you finished with that herb?"

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