1.4

Meanwhile, Emri had quickly found herself more or less surrounded by friendly people. Hin Jeralan had been friendly from the start, and seemed quite genuine; the lady he called Rinna who walked with them from the leaders’ tent was more boisterous, and also quite friendly, though she seemed to be after something more than what she pretended on the surface. Those who were assisting the Healer in tending the many sick people were all friendly enough, though mostly subdued compared to Rinna - or even Hin. Emri supposed they might be tiring of seeing their neighbors, friends and loved ones falling ill and none recovering: she knew she would, in the same sort of situation. Rinna had been leading, and hadn’t really intended for Emri to be meeting several people all at once, but the Healer wasn’t to be found right away and they had to ask where he was and someone went to fetch him and someone else started telling others there was a visitor from outside their camp, and soon enough most able-bodied people at the tents of the sick were taking a moment to try and find out what she was doing there, while the Healer made his way over.

With the current number of sick in the camp, the people had set up a cluster of tents behind the Healer’s usual working tent, to keep the sick close by where he and his helpers could tend them efficiently and go quickly from one to another, rather than crossing the camp every which way visiting individual families’ tents. They also had moved all of it to the side of the camp farthest from the marshes when they first started to collect those who were ill together. Apparently even before the Healer was sure about the insects being the cause of it, he had suspected it might have something to do with the marshes.

Almost as soon as Emri met the Healer - Faver Laeron, they called him - she concluded he was the sort of person who hoped for the best and believed in it, while still realistically accepting the possibilities that things might not go so well, and planning to do everything he could to help things turn out the best they could. He also appeared to take his work seriously, and lost no time in dismissing all his helpers to go back to their work. One of the young ladies - a girl called Nathley - seemed most reluctant to go, since a visitor was apparently quite a novelty and she and the others had barely exchanged names with Emri before the Healer had been brought over. Faver Laeron ushered her, Hin, and Rinna into his work tent and then asked for information. It only took a moment to explain to him what she intended by bringing him herbs the scouts had helped her gather, and his optimistic response let her hope that although the others there had seemed a little less hopeful, they would come around once they could see some of their people start to get better.

At first, up in the hills, Emri hadn’t been sure if she’d found people from the camp she was looking for - until the scouts Jeralan and Haelson had said their camp was, in fact, the one down near the marsh-bordered lake. And even then, Emri had some misgivings over wondering which might be more representative of his people: friendly Jeralan, or stern-faced Haelson. She was hoping more for the former, of course, and leaned towards that after meeting the Healer, but then the way some of the leaders had acted left her feeling uncertain when she thought back on it. They hadn’t been talking and looking at each other like people who were simply insisting on a formality - no, some of them definitely were not sure if they could allow her to stay with their camp for any length of time - as a group, they were truly undecided. Some of them might be more concerned with her safety in being around a camp full of sick people, but others (like the scout Haelson) were surely more concerned over whether she (a stranger to them) would help or harm their people. Yet if she had read things correctly, and understood well from what Rinna and Jeralan had said while walking over, the Healer’s opinion of how helpful she could be would carry a lot of weight with the leaders for deciding if she could travel with them or not. She fervently hoped she had remembered the herbs correctly and that the ones she had chosen would help enough to allow those who had fallen ill to recover quickly.

Another thing she hadn’t been sure of was what to call people, since she wasn’t used to people having more than one name where one wasn’t a formal title or other indication of status or station. She didn’t know why people used the second name sometimes and the first name at other times, and - for example - why Hin called the Healer by his first name, while Rinna addressed him using the second one. No one seemed to use both names at once except in formal introductions, though. Perhaps later she could have someone explain it better to her, but for now she only asked the Healer what she should call him, and he told her to use his first name.

“Alright,” the Healer Faver said, while fishing around to gather various containers, tools, and instruments, “tell me what you know about these herbs, the best ways to prepare them, and common side effects.” Then, just as Emri was about to speak, he added: “As briefly as possible. Start with the most crucial facts.”

Truth be told, Emri was glad that Faver wasn’t insisting on an exhaustive discourse regarding absolutely everything she knew about the plants. She gave a brief summation of the most common ills they were likely to have any experience with that the herbs could either cure or aid in treatment of - and then began to talk about preparing them, but was soon interrupted by Faver prompting her to show him what she meant while she explained it… not only for the sake of efficiency, but also it turned out that some of the words she knew best for use in that area of expertise, were not quite the same as what these people were in the habit of commonly using for the same things. The way they spoke was not so very different from what she had been taught, but there were some things here and there that gave her a moment’s pause to sort out what they meant or fill in what she missed when they were speaking very quickly and not pronouncing things clearly. Hin and Rinna sometimes asked short questions or spoke to each other, though mostly they kept quiet and watched while it was Faver who spoke to her most.

Faver followed along with everything Emri showed him, while also setting apart small samples of the herbs to examine, and testing various things about them to determine what chemical properties they had. Emri was certain these people did not have as extensive a knowledge of chemistry as scholars did where she was from, but that didn’t mean Faver wasn’t knowledgeable about all the things they were able to detect with the kinds of resources he had. She could tell he was mostly checking for toxicity or similarity to plants and other things that were known to them as being harmful. He clearly was an intelligent man, able to keep track of a number of things at a time, fast and efficient in his work, and a quick learner. Emri wondered how many of the people in the camp might be like him, thinking they could possibly be a more advanced people than she had expected based on the types of rough clothing, tents, and other items she had seen so far in the camp. She started to feel a little self-conscious, then, since she had been - and was - a bit clumsy with the unfamiliar style of the basic tools the Healer used. Emri thought she had presented what she knew in a confident way thus far, and Faver had been fairly accepting of what she told him, but she wondered if he’d start second-guessing it if she seemed too inexperienced in her handling of the herbs’ preparation for use.

Truly, preparation of these herbs was not terribly complicated for the simple use they were to be put to here - one as a medicine to be administered by drops, and the other as a poultice to not only relieve symptoms but also to treat insect stings and prevent more people from falling ill with the same sickness. Since the actual preparation was not very complex, most of what Emri talked about while preparing the herbs was information on the herbs’ uses and potential side effects of overuse, with a few notes about their general properties added in. Faver followed along, and after completing the tests he had been doing on the samples he took, he began preparing more of the herbs in the way that Emri had showed, catching up relatively fast since he was not only skilled, but clearly quite used to his own tools and well-practiced in this sort of work. Admittedly, Emri was not - having spent far more time in academic study of medicinal preparations than in actual concocting of them. She was even more frustrated by her clumsy handling of things, now that such an obvious difference in skill between her and the professional Healer was right in front of her.

Wishing there were not other people in the tent looking on, Emri shifted her feet uncomfortably, and then immediately thought of how the Elders back home would frown on such an obvious sign of irritation. Naturally, that did not help her feel any better. It was only Rinna and Hin in the tent with them, and she thought that rather than being judgmental of her, they seemed to care much more about hearing what the herbs were supposed to do for their sick people, and looking to see if Faver was going to let them help with any part of it. Not only that, but perhaps they didn’t even notice how very clumsy Emri was being, if they were not themselves experienced in preparing medicines? She hoped, but wasn’t sure; and really what mattered more to her was what Faver thought. Maybe he’d see the herbs could help, thank her, and then send her on her separate way, if he thought she seemed too inexperienced to be of any further assistance.

Just as Emri thought she was starting to get a little more used to the tools and perhaps somewhat comfortable with things there, a movement by the tent door caught her attention a moment. Trying (as she had been taught) to not let something seen in her peripheral vision disrupt what she was already doing, she only glanced up slightly - to see Haelson had arrived with a sternly critical glare directed at her. Losing focus enough to fumble the tool she was holding in one hand, Emri was too clumsy to steady the small bowl she had the other hand resting against, so when the tool fell on the edge of the bowl it tipped with a clatter, spilling half of its contents before Faver scooped the bowl up into an upright position.

“Oops!” he exclaimed in a patient tone, deftly swiping the medicine running down the side of the bowl back up into it, and then grabbing a cloth to wipe the residue off the outside of the bowl. “Don’t worry,” he said, “we only need a little to start with. Besides, we can make more quicker now that I’ve seen what goes into it.” In a moment Faver had also cleaned up what had spilled onto the table, seeming to have almost fixed Emri’s blunder in as little time as it had taken to make it. Certainly he had taken care of everything before she could even think of what to say about it, whether to apologize or offer to help, or to protest that he was leaving nothing for her to do.

Still, Emri belatedly said, “Oh, let me-” and then stopped since there was nothing left to clean up. Instead of finishing, she apologized. “I’m so sorry about that.” She sincerely was, though honestly a large part of why she felt sorry about it was really because she worried Faver would not want her to keep helping him if she was too clumsy. So she was annoyed with herself for having fumbled things, but she quickly displaced much of her annoyance over to being annoyed with Remal for having come in suddenly, all glaring and severe-faced and making her lose focus. Of course she knew she shouldn’t have let a thing like that disrupt her concentration, which made her all the more annoyed with herself, and thus more frustrated with the entire situation - so it bothered her all the more that Remal Haelson had pulled Hin and Rinna to one side where the three of them were having a brief quiet conversation. Were they normally secretive? Naturally, in an anxious and frustrated state of mind, Emri was also bothered that she couldn’t hear what they were saying. As an additional annoyance, she didn't know which name to call Remal Haelson by, but didn't want to ask. So far she mostly had only heard Hin address him by name, and he used the first name. Hin seemed to use first names for everyone. Perhaps she could avoid speaking directly to or about Remal, and thus not have to use a name for him. She shifted her feet again but without realizing it this time, and stretched her fingers.

Faver had again been telling her not to worry about the spilled medicine, but she only apologized more. “Truly, I am so very sorry. Some of the medicine has been wasted-”

“You can help make more later. But for now, we’d best test the medicines out. From what I can tell so far, it all seems safe enough, and it’s no reflection on you personally, but you understand I can’t give anything that I’m not familiar with to any of my people without trying it out first.”

Faver was talking to her in a tone she thought he’d likely use on a student who was learning to be his assistant, which sort of bothered her a little because she worried it was an indication he might be taking her less seriously, but the other side of it was that if he treated her like an assistant, then hopefully he thought she could be a helpful assistant, instead of someone he was planning to send away. Besides, he reminded her a bit of her mentor - not entirely, but in some of his manner and attitude, she thought - so it was almost comforting to think of settling into an arrangement of letting him treat her like his trainee. She needed to learn how these people did things anyway; there were bound to be a great many things they’d do differently, and she could adapt to how they did things while also helping them with better medicines and new herbs to use.

“How can I help?” Emri asked.

“Tell me again what specific dosages should be used, and I will write them down this time.” Faver replied. “Then, I’ll-”

But the others had approached, and Remal abruptly cut Faver off, saying, “No you don’t! Don’t you dare try them yourself.” Before Faver Laeron could protest or reply in any way, Remal insisted, “I know you. That’s what you were planning, isn’t it?”

Rinna nodded. “He’s right, Laeron. As Healer, you are of exceptional importance to the camp and we cannot allow you to put yourself at risk to test out anything new. No matter how well recommended.” That last was delivered in a tone Emri thought was clearly calculated to show her they meant no disrespect by it, like how Faver had only a few moments ago said it was no personal reflection on her that he considered it necessary to test the medicines.

Hin Jeralan seemed to believe more explanation was required. Addressing Emri directly, he said apologetically, “On our travels so far, our camp has met a lot of people who… didn’t mean well. From bandits to cheating traders, we’ve met far more dishonest people with the worst of intentions, than we have met of people who were honest - and even less who were genuinely helpful.”

Rinna added: “You understand, of course, there are a lot of people who are only working for their own profit one way or another.”

Emri could believe it, though she found it difficult to picture and she'd hoped it hadn’t been as bad as that in the lands these people had traveled through up to this point. Small wonder that some of them seemed automatically suspicious of strangers, as vexing as that may be to her.

Faver seemed vexed by it as well, or perhaps he was annoyed from Remal having interrupted him so rudely. “Really,” he said, addressing the others in an irritated sort of manner, “if Miss Emri were out to profit from this kind of situation, she’d have far more to gain from selling a cure for the sickness, than from getting a few of us to ingest something harmful that she could sell an antidote to!”

Emri had thought he seemed a very patient sort of man, and was a little surprised at him talking like that. Perhaps Remal irritated him as much as he bothered her, being so sour and suspicious.

It almost seemed as though Remal was out to prove that impression of him, as he muttered darkly, “I could think of worse things.”

She thought it was horrifying, but Emri could think of something worse, too. Now that they had brought such things up, she realized that a selfish and shrewd person could sell a cure for the sickness that was addictive in being overly-strong, without any cautions about over-using it, and not teach the people of the camp how to make it. Then such a person could profit by selling them more of the remedy that they had become addicted to, even after they no longer needed it for its medicinal purposes. She had heard of things like that happening in a few places, but hadn’t yet seen it for herself anywhere. She absolutely would not mention such a thing to these people. For a moment she wondered what worse things Remal could think up - but then Emri caught Rinna looking at her in a way that seemed almost like she could guess her thoughts. She was sure the leader couldn’t, but it was slightly unsettling. Again, Emri thought of her mentor - that was the sort of thing he’d do a lot, though it wasn’t so unsettling for him to look at her that way since he didn’t combine it with a suspicious manner.

“Anyway,” Hin said, in a pacifying tone, we’re not saying there’s any reason to think there’s anything wrong with this medicine, just that we’ve learned to be cautious as a habit.”

“Exactly.” Rinna agreed.

“And our Healer should not test the medicine himself.” Remal added, and once again going on quickly before Faver could say anything in protest, he said: “I’LL try it.” And he gave Faver such a serious glare that Emri was surprised. Really, she had thought that among these people, the Healer was of higher importance than a scout, and that Faver being older would also afford him more authority than what Remal would have. At least, Faver appeared to be several years older or more. Did age matter here? She thought the people had seemed to afford more status to the older leaders than the younger ones. Perhaps Remal was only acting like he could tell Faver what to do because in this instance it was something that a camp leader was agreed with him on? Or maybe the scouts, as hunters, also acted as a peacekeeping force for the leaders? Emri wasn’t quite sure, and thought there must be something else to it.

In any case, Faver acceded - and after writing down the dosages Emri repeated to him, administered some to Remal. The mixture made from the plant that grew in the swampy areas near the lake was given as a few drops to be swallowed, and the poultice made from the herb that grew on the hills in drier areas was applied to a small circle of skin on the arm, over a bug bite. Remal happened to have one, but even if he hadn’t, they would have simply put it on a clear patch of skin to see if it caused any reaction there.

While all that was going on, Rinna muttered to Remal in a tone Emri couldn’t take seriously, that she had been surprised Remal hadn’t suggested that the medicines be tested on the foreigner, if someone were going to take any risks with it. Remal replied that they had no way of knowing whether a stranger to them might have a tolerance to something that might be harmful to people from their homeland. He said it in a tone Emri thought suggested such a tolerance could be something she might know about and plan to exploit in some way - as if she might have built up a tolerance or immunity to something toxic just so she could use it against unsuspecting people from other lands. Really, it was insufferable.

Faver, overhearing the exchange, murmured that he thought Remal was a little paranoid, though he had a fair point in the basic idea that a substance some people in one land might tolerate well, other people from another land might react poorly to - however, Faver doubted someone like Emri would be planning anything like that on purpose.

Emri, mixing up some more medicine with a little bit more of the herbs she and the scouts had already collected earlier, could hear most of what they were saying this time, though they seemed not to expect her to - or didn’t care if she could. Truly, the manners of these people were a bit different from what she had been brought up with.

While Emri finished mixing the batch of medicine she was working on, Rinna and Faver discussed when to give the medicine to which of their ill. Rinna suggested that until they had seen what effects might occur after a day or so, they not give any of the medicine to any of their ill. Faver agreed somewhat to that, but insisted that those who they were reasonably sure were already on death’s doorstep should be given the medicine much sooner. Rinna seemed to imply if that were the case, Faver should wait at least several hours first, but he insisted there were some he wasn't sure would even live another few hours so he didn't see much harm in giving them something unproven after a short while, rather than waiting several hours or more to see how Remal fared. Rinna ended by throwing up her hands and telling Faver to go ahead and give it to those who were most ill as soon as he wanted, then, but not to anyone who they were sure could last at least another day or two - until they had first waited a full day and night to see how fared those who had been given the medicine first.

Faver agreed to the compromise, and Rinna offered to help Hin go back out and look for more herbs, and it was decided that Emri should go with them to help Rinna learn to recognize the plants and to make sure that Hin correctly remembered the features to look for. Rinna insisted they would wait until they were sure the medicine would help before having anyone more spend time on collecting those herbs, but did want to learn to recognize them herself and wanted them to collect more while Faver finished making medicine with what few plants were left of what had already been collected.

Emri didn’t really want to stop helping Faver prepare the medicines yet, but agreed it was a good idea to go get more plants now, and agreed with the reasons for her going. Besides, Faver was demanding that Remal had to stay there, even though he protested and insisted he should go along to also help collect more plants. This time, the Healer clearly seemed to be overruling the scout.

“You absolutely are not going back out now.” He said sternly to the younger man. “You insisted on being a test subject, now you’re staying here where I can watch you. For the next full day and night. If you don’t like it, take it up with the leaders.”

Rinna’s smirk and amused eyes clearly said that the leaders would completely agree with the Healer on this. Remal Haelson sat back in the chair Faver had set him in, folding his arms and grumbling a warning that none of them had better mention any of this to his mother - and that they especially had better not tell Brylin, whoever that was. Hin and Rinna laughed over that, though Haelson had sounded terribly serious about it. Faver nodded in a knowing way.