Siren's Reach - Fallen Lands Book 3

Chapter Thirteen

The Healer in the Willows

Alice

Alice and Caeda stood along a rail with several other passengers as the crew tossed lines out to the dock workers. It was late in the day, and the workers who had expected to be going home soon were eager to have the riverboat moored quickly. As much as they wanted to rush down off the boat and back into civilization, they took their time and were the last of the few passengers to make their way in that direction. The riverboat's captain, a man named Ballio, though everyone just called him Skipper, walked to the gangplank with them.

"I wasn't sure what to think when I took you two on, but that water magic of yours saved us a lot of time. Getting here early enough to have our cargo offloaded tonight is going to cut a day off our trip. This isn't much, but it'll help you find a place to sleep tonight."

With that, he handed a small pouch to Alice. Her immediate reaction was to turn down the payment, but it only took a heartbeat to remember how little she had, so instead, she gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Skipper. This'll really help us a lot."

Before it could turn into a long goodbye, Caeda grabbed her hand, "Yes, thank you, Skipper. We'd best get going if we're going to find a room!" Without a look back, the excited little wood elf tugged her right off the boat and was leading them in a rush away from the waterfront as if she knew exactly where she was going.

"Have you been here before?" Alice asked her.

"Nope! But a lot of these riverside towns are the same. We don't want to sleep on the waterfront, and I can already smell better food this way!"

And she was right. It didn't take long for Alice to catch the alluring smell of food cooking as well, and she understood immediately why her friend was so excited. It was definitely not fish. In fact, Alice wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled wonderful enough to pull her along by the nose. It was a bit of a relief after everything, but she still had some concerns. When Caeda finally led them into an inn called The Wicked Badger, it was a bit of a shock. Alice had somewhat of an idea from watching shows and reading books of what an inn might be, but this place wasn't exactly it. The floor was just the ground under the building with rugs on it. The tables were made of rough-cut wood, and despite the mouth-watering smell of good food pouring out of the ample dining area, it wasn't even half full. They quickly found a place to sit, and then when a passing server made their way through the room, Caeda indicated they wanted two meals. While they waited, Alice tried to listen in on conversations around them, but they were all about mundane things, and with her limited knowledge of the world, she still understood very little. The truth was that Alice was still in a bit of a daze at the sudden change in their circumstances, and she was having some difficulty focusing. It was such a relief to finally be surrounded by decent people again. Based on what she'd learned on the riverboat, this town, a place called Elby, was not very large. It primarily existed as a point for goods to be transported up and down the river from the local agricultural based fiefs in the area and was the only place locals could find the things they couldn't produce on their own. Still, it was civilization and a good place for travelers such as themselves to stay for a while and get their feet under them. If they played their cards right, they might even be able to make some coin and be far better prepared to continue their journey. The amount of stress that took off her shoulders so suddenly was jarring. It wasn't something she focused on at all until it was gone, and it was like she could finally breathe again.

Caeda brought her back into the present when she said, "I was wondering why it wasn't so busy with how good the food smells, but they sure are slow."

Alice blinked, looked around, and saw that she was right. There were quite a few people waiting for food or drinks, and as she watched, she quickly understood why. The single server that they'd ordered from looked to be the only person working on the floor. The innkeeper was there, but she was being kept busy with the inn side of things. "That poor girl's workin' all by herself. Least no one seems upset about it."

Caeda seemed surprised by the revelation but then grinned, "Say. Maybe they're looking for help. They might even throw in room and board. I don't think we'd have money to stay here more than a couple of nights otherwise." Alice brightened, "That's a fine idea. I ain't afraid of gettin' my hands dirty. I can work for my keep." Then she grinned, "But not tonight. I'm lookin' forward to eatin', relaxin', and sleepin'."

Caeda grinned back at her and nodded, "Agreed. But I will speak with the innkeeper about it."

Without another word, she bounced to her feet and made her way over to the woman who was busily working on some sort of ledger. Alice watched them as the woman looked at first frustrated at the interruption, but soon seemed happy to be negotiating with the elf. Not too long after, they shook hands, both smiling. When Caeda returned, she was grinning from ear to ear.

"We are in luck! It seems they are badly in need of some help around here! I was able to negotiate a fairly good deal!"

"That so? What'cha got for us?"

"Well, first I let her know that we couldn't begin right away, we were too exhausted from our trip. She was fine with that so long as we were paying for our stay until we started, which I agreed to for tomorrow evening. We will learn the basics of the common room from her daughter, Mair, so we can help out. Then, from tomorrow night on, room and board will be included as long as we're working here. We'll earn four silver a week, but we'll also get tips from the patrons. I had the feeling I could talk her up to five silver, but I didn't want to push it and be unwelcome."

Alice frowned, "I ain't sure if that's good or not, so I can't complain. What are we doin' to earn that money?"

"Oh, right! The staff works together to serve breakfast and clean up afterward. We'll help clean the rooms up and wash linens between meals, and then help again with lunch. We'll have free time until dinner is served, and then after clean up, the evening is free."

Alice gave Caeda a comically suspicious look, "Nothin' else? She ain't gonna expect us to do any special entertainin' of the guests, is she?"

Caeda gasped, "No, of course not! That sort of thing isn't done in a real inn! People go down to the waterfront for that!"

Alice nodded, "Sounds good, then!"

The schedule sounded strange for someone used to eight hour shifts, but Alice supposed it made sense for the business. It didn't take too much longer after that for their food to arrive. The smell of the rich, savory, spiced stew and freshly baked bread after such a bland diet for so long was a shock to the senses. Alice only stared at her bowl for several long seconds while Caeda dove right into her own. Remembering how upset she'd been about the deer incident, Alice did her best not to think about what the stew actually was. She just closed her eyes and put a spoonful into her mouth. The flavors exploded across her tongue with the spices, vegetables, and fatty meat that tasted surprisingly like beef. Much to her delight, she felt no revulsion or even aversion to the food. She did have the presence of mind to realize it might only taste so good because it was something different. As she savored the flavor, she was a little amused to find that she actually longed to replace the red meat with fish, but she wasn't complaining. The idea of them finding fish stew in the inn and Caeda's probable reaction put a genuine smile on her face. Still, the longer she ate, the more she appreciated it. She decided it wasn't just that it was something different to eat; the food was genuinely good. It only made the lack of business or even additional staff seem all the more strange. Maybe it was fate lending Caeda and her a hand. She smiled, and thinking about having a steady schedule, a safe place to sleep, and three well-cooked meals a day, Alice let herself believe things might finally be looking up.

Three days later, they were well into their routine. It wasn't anything difficult, and even the hardest part of the work – washing bed linens, was made trivial once Alice applied a bit of magic. The revelation that she was a mage had stunned Livia the innkeeper, but with how much time and money it was saving them, she knew better than to object. It didn't take long for them to realize that Caeda was also a mage with how often they practiced together. When they first noticed it, the rest of the staff had tossed around a lot of theories about why a pair of mages would be hiding out in their little town, but when it came down to it, they knew to keep it to themselves. No one wanted an issue with classers. The addition of magic to the chores also meant that Alice and Caeda would finish quickly and had a lot of free time to rest and recover from their troubles, which they were happy to do in the common room to be social. The innkeeper's daughter, Mair, was their new companion for this time, and she was very relieved to finally have some help with the work. She was incredibly grateful for how much less stress she was under, but probably more important to her was having others near her age around to talk with. She'd explained the state of the building was partly due to a fire several months back. Her father and younger brother had died while trying to save the building after passing out in the smoke, and most of the dining and kitchen furniture had been lost. They were recovering, but it was a slow process. Part of the problem was the degraded dining area, but there were also rumors of a curse that some stupid superstitious boatman had started, and they'd had a terrible time finding workers since. They still had many regulars who'd come in, even if less frequently than they used to, so business wasn't bad.

All things considered, Alice appreciated the pace of the current business. It gave her and Caeda time to adapt, and the regulars were kind and talkative, but the pay wasn't the best. That isn't to say it was bad, it was easily average for the work, even without including room and board, but it would take a long time to save up enough to be comfortable. That evening, while she had been trying to think of other ways to make more money to buy supplies, a group of dock workers came in to eat. There had been an accident while unloading crates, and one of the men was nursing a broken hand. As she approached, she heard them discussing it, and while she waited for a point to ask them for their orders, she overheard one of the workers finishing their tale.

"Now Ol' Henry has to leave in the morning to take a boat two days downriver to find a healer. Hopefully, the lad can put his hand back together before it mends wrong on its own and cripples him."

Forgetting what she was doing for a moment, she stopped next to the injured man, recognizing him from several days before, and asked, "May I see it?"

Henry slowly raised his eyes to her with the slight glaze of painkillers in them and an obvious fever, staring for several seconds before finally shrugging and holding his injured hand up, "It isn't much to look at, lass."

Alice only nodded, gently resting his forearm on her hand while she looked at the misaligned bones. "I disagree. This is real serious." She took only a few seconds to evaluate the injury before looking back to Henry's eyes. "Travelin' two days is a long time to wait. How much does this healer charge for somethin' like this?"

"Oh, lass. I don't know. If they just set it and brace it, probably around twenty silver. It isn't a bill I'm looking forward to, especially needing to be out of work while it heals."

Alice nodded, "I'll do it for fifteen then, and you won't need to travel. What do ya say?"

Ol' Henry gave her a grin, "I say I want my hand to work in a few months. This is serious healing work."

Alice gave him a knowing grin, "Don't you worry none. I'm more than enough of a healer for this. You can pay me after I'm done. No charge if you ain't satisfied."

Henry huffed out an amused breath, "Alright. I don't think it could get much worse."

With a nod, Alice took his hand and intoned, "[Heal Wounds]." The click of his bones snapping back into perfect alignment was met with a gasp from everyone nearby. Her [Healing Touch] surged through his mended hand, and when she let go, he flexed it as if it had never been hurt.

"Well, I'll be," he said in an awed tone. After several more flexes, opening and closing his hand, he finally focused back on Alice. "I don't know what to say."

Alice grinned, "You could say, 'Thanks, here's fifteen silver,' and then tell me what you'd like for dinner."

That lightened the mood. Henry was happy to pay, and not too long after dinner, Alice already had her second customer for her new business.

Having a healer in town was a novelty, especially one who charged less than a standard healer for magical healing, and word spread fast. By the end of the week, everyone in town knew that the new girl at the inn was a healer, and the gods only knew how far up and down the river it had been spread by traders. Livia didn't mind the extra business it was bringing in, and things only got better when Alice had begun to openly mock the idea of a curse over the inn. People took her words to heart - Magical healers were rare and always well respected, especially when it became known that they'd not turn anyone away over payment and would even travel to the homes of the ill to treat them. The next week began with another young man and woman joining the staff, and at Livia's insistence, Alice's scheduled work ended after lunch so that she could focus on her healing business in the evenings. It had been a very short negotiation, and Livia's reasoning was hard to argue with. First, she told Alice that her pay would not be reduced at all so long as she continued to practice her healing at the inn. Most people came to see Alice in the evening when their work was done, or their boat had moored for the day. They would often stay to eat while they were there, and those who were traveling would stay at the inn overnight. It was great for business, except that each time someone came in and needed to see Alice, it would interrupt her other work, forcing someone else to watch her customers while she was busy and throwing a bit of chaos into their workload. With the new hires, it was far easier for Alice to just be present at the evening meal when she might be needed. Alice had readily agreed.

Keeping her normal pay made her feel a little conflicted, but eventually, she decided it was fair. She didn't need the money so urgently anymore, but it would be silly to throw it away since she was technically helping business by just sitting in the room. Besides, not everyone who came in could pay in coins, or sometimes, at all. She'd been gifted a few farm animals that she'd needed to rehome, a nice spring dress, and even a small rowboat. She felt like just a few more weeks of this, and she and Caeda would have more than enough money to travel well-supplied.

That is how she found herself lying in bed at the end of their third week, reviewing all the changes to her status. It was the middle of the night and she was having a little trouble sleeping, even with the gentle rhythm of Caeda's soft snores in the bed only a few feet from her own. Since arriving in this town, she'd leveled up several skills, but what was most important to her was that she'd even managed to gain a class level by healing. That wasn't something she'd known was possible, and it showed her that there was a peaceful path to life when whatever mission she was brought to this world for was complete. Not that being a badass, adventuring grandma one day didn't appeal to her. That was still an option. With a small grin at the thought, she checked on her progress.

Her class was now Mystic of the Waves – Level four. She'd split her attribute points between Wisdom and Arcana. Deciding that since she was acting as a healer and the sick were routinely coming to see her, she'd put her five skill points into [Disease Resistance], bringing it to level six. Her spell points had gone into [Water Shield], now at level twenty two. But it was her natural skill growth that had really impressed her. She'd taken to going to the river after lunch each day from the second day she'd been in the town to swim. It was something she felt like she needed, and the explosive growth of her [Swimming] skill from four to twenty-seven had been a welcome benefit. Her work at the inn had also been weirdly good for several of her skills and spells. Paying attention to clients so she'd know what they needed before they asked had raised her [Perception] to seven, weaving through the crowds on busy nights had helped her raise her [Graceful Movement] to level six, and even her help with the laundry had increased her [Water Mana Manipulation] to fourteen, her [Dual Casting] to seven, and her [Hydronic Flow] to twelve. She'd managed to raise her [Charm] skill much faster than expected as well, all the way to eleven, but she supposed that was only to be expected, working both serving tables and calming people's nerves as she healed them. And that was another important thing. Her healing skills and spells were getting a workout. Her racial [Healing Touch] skill was the most commonly used, and she'd brought it from eight to nineteen. She was sure it could have leveled up even faster, but most of what she'd used it for had been things that were easy to heal: cuts, sprains, a few fevers, and other simple illnesses. Most of the more complicated things, such as broken bones, she'd needed to use her [Heal Wounds] spell for, only bringing it to level nine with the few cases that came up. Still, with everything she'd done, she'd managed to raise her [Healing Arts] skill up to twelve as well.

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Overall, she was really proud of how much progress she'd managed to make, especially after Caeda had explained what normal skill growth was like. When Alice's skill levels began increasing at such a rate, and she'd happily told her friend about it, Caeda had been so stunned that it took her nearly a minute to recover. It had led to confusion, disbelief, and fascinated experimentation. They quickly caught on that whatever had caused it was affecting them both when Caeda's own skill growth increased until it was nearly keeping pace. The only explanation they could come up with was that it must be related to Alice being a [Hero]. At first, this caused some concern that the others at the inn might notice, but no one was acting out of the ordinary. With how much excitement that would have been sure to cause, they were certain no one else was seeing the same effect. This brought them to the conclusion that it was affecting Caeda as well because they were friends and stayed together so much. Alice closed her eyes again, intent to try and sleep. She was happy that Caeda was seeing the benefit. She had been a really good friend through everything.

A sudden series of rapid steps in the hall outside made Alice's eyes pop right back open just in time for someone to begin pounding on the door. Caeda groaned loudly, rolling over and pulling her blanket over her head, so Alice called back, "Just a moment!" and, lacking a robe, wrapped herself up in her blanket to go answer the door. She could hear whoever it was pacing impatiently outside as she crossed the room, and she carefully opened the door just enough to peek out with a questioning, "Yeah?"

"Are you the healer everyone is talking about?" a boy of maybe twelve years asked her. He wore the most elaborate clothing Alice had seen so far in this world, made of a rich blue velvet and paired with well-shined knee-high leather boots. It was so out of the ordinary that she only stared at him for several seconds before nodding, and he continued, "You must come with me right away. You have been summoned by Sir Mortimer Baele."

Alice was immediately annoyed by the boy's imperious tone and gave him a flat glare. "Does Sir Mortimer Bally even know what time it is?"

The boy actually took a half step back at her tone before gathering himself and replying with annoyance, "His name is Sir Mortimer Baele, and of course he knows what time it is! That is why we must go immediately. Do you expect him to wait all night?"

Alice snorted, tried to choke back a laugh, and then grinned at the boy, "No, you idiot child. I expect him to wait 'til mornin'. Now go on back to your master and tell him that if he wants to bother me, he better send someone with some manners next time."

"You! You can't speak to me like that! I am the third son of the Weddall family! You must show me respect!" That was enough for Alice. With an exasperated sigh, she moved to close the door, but the boy quickly jammed his foot into the gap, letting out a yelp as it was slammed in the door, "Ow! You dare! Open this door at once! You'll be whipped for -Gah!!"

Alice's fist hit the boy square in the nose with a satisfying crunch. He landed flat on his butt in the middle of the hallway, both hands covering his broken, bleeding nose as he looked up at her in shock.

"You better remember what that felt like the next time you try to force your way into a lady's room, you little pervert!" Alice told him in as angry of a tone as she could muster. It was difficult to be angry while also feeling so satisfied. Only when the boy continued to stare did she realize her blanket had fallen away, and she quickly closed and locked the door.

"Who was that?" Caeda asked her, now sitting up in bed.

"Oh, just some brat demandin' I go with him 'cause he's so-and-so from some family I ain't never heard of. He seriously tried to force the door open when I said no! Can you believe that?" Alice told her as she walked back to her bed and shook her blanket out.

"Alice… did you just assault a noble?"

Alice stopped making her bed to look at Caeda for several seconds, but then she just shrugged and crawled under her blanket, "Maybe. He was dressed fancy enough to be a noble. But he should've known better than to try and force his way into our room." She was almost comfortable when Caeda replied.

"This is serious. If that boy was really a noble, he might come back with guards to arrest you. They won't care why you hit him, only that you did."

Alice sighed and opened her eyes again, "It's too late now. If he comes back and tries to have me arrested, I'll just escape. You can grab our things and meet me at the river. If we travel by water, we can probably make it to your home with what we've got now. It might be a little tricky, but we're much better off than we were before."

Caeda laid back down on her side to face Alice. "Fine. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." She was quiet for a few seconds before a small smile crossed her face, "That was a really good punch, at least."

Alice grinned a little in response without opening her eyes, "Yeah, it was. Pampered little cream puffs like him never seem to know what they're walkin' into when they start tryin' to push around a Georgia girl."

"Alice, I'm not sure I know what any of that means."

A small giggle escaped Alice as she said, "It means he just got a lesson in manners, and if he wants me to fix that broken nose in the mornin', I'm gonna charge extra."

Alice heard the long sigh that Caeda let out, but she didn't reply and they were both able to fall asleep not long after.

It was nearly morning when the door to their room flew open, startling them both awake again. A man rushed in, hand on the hilt of a sword, making it two steps toward them before stumbling back at Alice's outstretched hand, swaying wildly on his feet, and falling to his hands and knees to vomit up his dinner. Alice blinked away the confusion and slowly lowered her hand, taking in the effect of her accidental use of [Hydrokinesis] on the intruder. It had just been a natural reaction to try and push him away, and while her [Hydrokinesis] wasn't very powerful, it apparently didn't need to be to stagger an unsuspecting victim. When his attempt to stand back up had him stumble and fall back into his own vomit, she realized how much of an impact it must have had on his inner ear. That was something she was going to have to remember. She looked at the man on the floor through a light fog her [Mistwalker] trait had formed in the air, and knew that it would be enough water to help her defend herself if she needed it.

"You should probably just stay on the ground and tell me who you are and what you're doin' here before I drown you in your own vomit," she told him in as authoritative of a voice as she could manage. She was still a little rattled, but her senses were returning quickly.

Another voice answered from the door, "He is one of my guards. He entered the room to ensure it was safe after what happened to poor Frederick. The boy failed to mention you were a mage."

Alice's eyes met his as he raised them from his guard on the ground, and while her steely gaze hardened, his reaction was the complete opposite. His eyebrows shot up as his face slackened, and his mouth parted in total surprise. She didn't give him time to recover, though.

"Are you the one that sent that little pervert to try and force his way into our room in the middle of the night?"

That snapped him back to reality, and he shook his head as he turned to avert his eyes. "No, that's not it at all! I sent him to find the healer rumored to be in town when my squire fell off his horse in the dark and broke his leg. Madam, please cover yourself!"

"Madam? Really? Well, alright then. That's a first. And I should remind you, this is our room. You should've knocked, not barged in here, havin' your man make a mess all over our floor! Now, get out and close the door. I'll speak to you when I'm dressed!"

The man coughed, "Yes, of course." He reached down to grab his guard under one arm, "Come on, Kel. Let's wait in the hall."

Kel only groaned, but he rose with the assistance, and the two of them moved together for the door. As the man she could only assume was Sir Mortimer reached to close it behind him, Alice grabbed as much water as she could from the air and sent it in a wave across the floor, washing the vomit out into the hallway with them – and then winced as the knight's frantic dance to avoid the mess made him slam the door.

"I don't think that went how he thought it was going to," Caeda told Alice when she turned around to find some clothes.

Alice shrugged, "Just wait 'til he finds out how much I'm gonna charge him for wakin' me up twice."

Caeda smiled for a moment, then after thinking things over, she threw away her own blanket to get ready as well. "I guess I can't let you go out there with a bunch of strange men alone."

Only a few minutes later, they opened the door to find the knight and his guard awkwardly standing outside the puddle of watered-down puke. Alice gestured at the mess, forming it into a very dirty globe of water before casting it out the window at the end of the hall. She briefly thought she heard a shriek but ignored it as she turned to lead the group to the stairs.

Sir Mortimer rushed to walk beside her and said, "You are rather brash for a lady."

Alice lifted a shoulder in reply, "I'm also real tired and grumpy for a lady, but it is what it is. How long's it gonna take to get there?"

"By carriage, it will take a little under an hour."

Alice shot him a sharp glance as they made their way outside the inn and said, "Didn't you just tell me some kid already broke his leg messin' with horses in the dark? Y'all sure are a slow lot, ain't ya?"

Annoyance flashed across Mortimer's face. "And what would you do? It would take twice as long to walk."

Alice returned his annoyance with a flat look. "What I'd do don't much matter, does it? A broken leg ain't all that big a deal for me. I'm a healer."

Obviously growing in frustration, Mortimer said, "You know, I didn't catch your name."

She snorted, "Because I didn't give it. If you'd introduced yourself like a proper gentleman, I might have."

Before he could retort, a sogging wet, puke-covered boy in a formerly blue velvet outfit came stomping toward them from the direction of the carriage parked next to the inn. "That's her! She's the one that did this to me!" His voice had that nasally tone that can only be achieved by pinching your nose – or having it broken.

Alice pointed at the newcomer, "That idiot right there's another good example. He didn't introduce himself either, the dirty little pervert."

Caeda put a warning hand on Alice's arm, but she ignored it and, in an act of infinite mercy, dumped more water over the boy to wash away the vomit before drawing the water away and into a gutter on the road. Ignoring his sputtering, indignant noises, she looked back to Mortimer.

"Well?"

He looked around in exasperation, "What? You want me to introduce myself now?"

"No, you're way too late on that one. I want you to open the door so we can get in." The knight looked like his head might explode, but Alice ignored him, turning to Caeda, "Do you think you could put some lights above the carriage facing forward so the horses can see?"

Caeda, more than happy to change the subject, nodded, "That shouldn't be a problem. The ride is less than an hour."

The carriage had lanterns, of course, but when Caeda's directional lights appeared, it was more akin to having flood lights. Alice smiled at her friend and nodded her approval, but before she could turn back around and continue bickering with the knight, Caeda stepped forward and opened the door herself, allowing them both aboard. It was nearly a minute before Mortimer and his page Frederick joined them, with the boy looking suitably chastened and sulking. Once the carriage was moving, they sat in a long, awkward silence before Caeda couldn't stand it any longer.

"So, Sir Mortimer, why was your squire out so late? It does seem like an odd thing for him to be riding at night."

Mortimer looked at her for a few seconds before he answered, "He was riding to deliver news of a bandit attack on a caravan near a community to the east. He should have waited until morning, it was already over and sending arms men right away wasn't going to make a difference, but he is the excitable sort."

"That seems to be a serious problem 'round these parts," Alice said with some concern.

"Is it not the same where you're from, Miss..?" Mortimer asked, again hinting that he wanted her name.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Clarke. Alice Isabella Clarke. See how easy that is? And no, there ain't no bandits where I come from."

Caeda kicked her foot as subtly as possible, but Mortimer only nodded as if confirming a suspicion, then continued somewhat more politely, "There were very few around here until recently as well. We're not sure where they're all coming from."

"The ones we ran into were slavers, talkin' 'bout sellin' us to Chithian pirates before we gave 'em the slip."

Caeda nodded, "They sounded like islanders themselves, but we were nowhere near any body of water they could have sailed up."

"Where was this?"

Alice only looked to Caeda, entirely unsure of where they had been, so her friend answered, "It was near the King's Road, west of Vigilance, maybe halfway to Nightvale. They were following a trade road south."

"That far north? They are bold. And what were you two doing in such a remote place? And what brings you all the way down here?"

Alice shrugged, "We're on a bit of an adventure."

Mortimer raised an eyebrow at that, "And you came here? This is about as far from adventure as you can get. And where is the rest of your party? I have a hard time believing it is just you and your attendant here."

Alice grinned at her companion, "You hear that, Caeda? You're my attendant."

Caeda sighed and rolled her eyes, "It's close enough, sometimes. You'd be lost without me." Looking back to Mortimer, she continued, "She rescued me from the bandits and is helping me to get home while I help her find her friends. We're just passing through."

Mortimer's gaze, following their conversation, snapped back to Alice, "You fought a group of bandits on your own?"

Alice barked a laugh, "Oh, no, I was practically naked at the time! We did a lot more sneakin' away than fightin'." Her statement was met with blank stares, so she continued, "In any case, we followed the waterways 'til we found a riverboat and ended up in this town. Now we're headin' to Irvine's Ferry. Nothin' too excitin'."

"Is that where you expect to find your friends? I can't imagine adventurers staying in such a peaceful place."

Alice shook her head, "No, I ain't sure where they are. But it's got a busy port, so I'm hopin' to hear some rumors that'll point me in the right direction." He thought about that for a moment and then nodded, "I suppose if they are a rumor-worthy group or have any famous members, a port town that busy would hear about them." He paused for a moment and then carefully asked, "Well, while you are working here in your capacity as a healer, would you be so kind as to do something about my page's nose?"

Alice blinked at him innocently, "Like what? You want me to flick it?"

Frederick frantically cowered back into the corner of his seat, and Mortimer groaned, "No, Lady Alice, I'd like you to heal it."

Alice grinned, "Well, sure! I can fix that for a measly fifty silver."

Mortimer's eyes shot wide, and Frederick jumped forward and nearly yelled, "That's robbery!" but at a raised hand from Mortimer, the boy sat back in his seat.

The knight cleared his throat, "My lady, that does seem a little expensive for something so simple as a broken nose."

Alice gave a slow shake of the head, "No, Sir Mortimer, it ain't expensive at all when you break it down. Normally, I'd say ten silver should do, but then there's the wakin' me up in the middle of the night fee—twenty silver. Then the tryin' to force his way into my room while I was undressed fee—that's another twenty. And now, a ten silver penalty for complainin' about it. But from the sounds of things, I reckon seventy silver would be well spent just to stop him whistlin' through his nose every time he breathes. I think it's a real fair price."

"But I don't have seventy silver!" Frederick cried out piteously.

"That's enough, Frederick," Mortimer said with finality. After a moment he let out a long breath and said, "I will pay the boy's fee."

Alice shook her head, "Oh, no. That nose was a lesson. If you just pay for it, he won't learn a thing. He's gotta promise to pay you back every red cent with money he's earned himself, on his honor."

Looking exasperated, he turned to Frederick, "Well then, Frederick. Do we have your word?"

The boy slumped and said, "Yes, sir."

"Good boy," Alice told him. "Now lean forward so I can take a look."

When Frederick leaned forward, Alice did the same, gently touching his face and examining it. After a few seconds of this, Mortimer asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Alice grinned, "I think it's fine art. I bet I coulda been a painter." When he only continued to stare at her in exasperation, she sighed, "Fine. [Heal Wounds]."

His nose snapped into place with almost as much of a crunch as when it had broken, making everyone wince, but Frederick nearly swooned as the warmth of her [Healing Touch] skill spread throughout his body, soothing away all the pain from his nose and the many, many bruises and aches he'd built up training and riding so hard over the past few weeks.

Mortimer's face took on an expression of awe as he saw the magical healing take effect. "You're a mage and an arcane healer? What kind of class do you have?" Before the last word had even left his mouth, his eyes seemed to glaze as he stared more intently and then gasped, "By the gods."

Alice sat back, not quite understanding what he had done. "Don't get all weird on me, Morty. It ain't a big deal."

Mortimer kept staring, but from the look in his eyes, Alice could tell he was lost in his own thoughts. When he finally broke out of it, he said, "You're looking for the [Hero] Evelyn Shakespeare Dalen."

It was Alice's turn to look surprised, "That's an awful good guess. You 'bout to tell me you know where she is?"

Still a little starstruck, he breathily said, "No... I don't. She was in West Peak and then Vigilance. There was a celebration in Lihume. I haven't heard anything since."

"Yeah, that's what I've heard too. Maybe I'll get lucky, but if not, I'll just head to Vigilance and ask."

Mortimer started to slowly nod his agreement but then stopped, "Actually, you might want to stay right here. My liege, Baron Algerone Rothchester, will be visiting the manor we are heading to now in a week's time. He will be returning here from Vigilance. If anyone can give you accurate information, it will be him."

Alice perked up at that, "Really? That'd be great! A week ain't so long to wait."

He nodded, "In fact, if you would like, I can make up a guest suite for you to stay with us on the estate."

"No, that won't be necessary. The town's close enough, and I plan to keep providin' healing there. Thank you for the offer, though."

The carriage fell into an awkward silence after the refusal, but Caeda soon broke it, asking polite questions about Sir Mortimer's position and local business. Soon enough, they made it to the estate, which was far less eventful than expected. The young squire was unconscious when Alice arrived, and though the healing did remove the majority of the medicine from his system, he didn't awaken before she left. Alice only made one last stop to heal the sprained leg of the horse who threw the boy before gratefully accepting a ride back to town. The knight made a few more attempts to convince her to stay, but her refusal was steadfast, and not long after, they were on their way.

As Alice and Caeda rode in the carriage back to the inn, Caeda woke Alice from where she had drifted off by asking, "Did something feel uncomfortable about that knight to you?"

Alice stretched and answered, "Yeah. I think he figured out who I am somehow. I didn't like how he was tryin' to separate us. I'm not sure I wanna wait around for his lord to show up."

"He was?"

"Yeah. Did you notice he only kept offerin' to make a room for me? He never said a thing 'bout you. He was gonna send you back to town alone."

Caeda's mouth parted with sudden understanding, "You're right! That doesn't sound good at all. What do you want to do about it? Do you think he's going to give up?"

Alice shook her head, "He don't seem like the quittin' type. I reckon our best option is to pack up and leave today before he finds another excuse to come back. I didn't like how much he was pushin' the issue. Maybe I'm bein' paranoid, but after those bandits, I'd rather be safe."

Caeda sagged a little, "Livia is going to be a little upset, but she might understand."

"I don't think she'll mind. Her business has turned around a lot since we've been here. Now that she's got a full staff again and her customers are comin' back, I think she'll be fine. We can probably sleep a bit and stay the day at least, so it won't be so sudden. We can leave tonight in that little rowboat I got as payment a few days ago."