As Fin watched the hostages leave the gate, he kept his eye on one person, Lady Marsha. She was taller than the rest, better fed, and had premature gray hair. She was significantly younger than she looked, but as she walked, she seemed to get older with each step. Fin had employed Sprout to drain her life away as seamlessly as possible. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice until it was too late. Already, she was starting to hunch while she walked.

In the time it took to drop a knife, everything changed. The woman's shoulders slumped under the weight of her rapidly increasing years, and a soft metallic sound rang out against the desert floor. The surrounding group of people seemed confused, and then all at once scrambled to get away. In the chaos, two people dove for the knife that Lady Marsha dropped. Heidle and Marsha's husband, who had also disguised himself among the captives, reached for the weapon simultaneously. The scuffle was pitifully short and ended with the man fleeing as Heidle lay in the dirt, spilling blood from a fatal wound.

Fin ran to him. As he ran he dismissed his armor and invited the cool air to wash over him. The hard packed dirt was vacant of all but a rock garden to pull life from; he started his healing ability regardless. He slid on his knees coming to an abrupt stop over Heidle who was in bad shape.

"I almost didn't recognize you," Heidle coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth. "I'm glad I lived long enough to see…"

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you healed up; I just need you to keep your eyes open for a little longer," Fin scooped Heidle into his arms and ran back towards the goblin camp.

He hoped the massive weed Sprout was growing would have enough life energy to heal Heidle or at least prevent him from dying. He saw the green orb following him, and realized she might not like the idea of him draining the life out of her special weed. So, he sent her away. He envisioned the man who stabbed Heidle and the direction he ran in. Sprout chased after the man before he could offer her anything in return. He would have given all the gold in the world to heal his friend, but he was glad not to have to.

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"I'm not going to make it," Heidle managed. "Just let me go, lad."

Fin fought back tears as he kept running. He felt the activation of Violent Healing and knew his options were limited. He tucked the dwarf under the left shoulder of his life-giving hand and pressed the other to his own chest. Despite the name of the ability, the life absorption didn't hurt. He could feel his life source drain from him like water through an unplugged hole, but it was absolutely painless. His pace slowed, and he stumbled through the broken gate. It was getting dark. He could see vague shapes around him but couldn't make out their faces. He vaguely remembered calling for someone to take him to the weed when he was overcome by his own frailty. He fell face-first onto the gravel.

Brando heard Fin yell something about the weed, so he turned. He saw him carrying the blood-soaked Heidle and knew what he had to do. The giant weed was a wonder to all but only a mystery to a few. Everyone who was a part of the convoy had, at one point or another, seen the green sprite grow or destroy a plant. Sprout's antics were a point of entertainment and made an otherwise boring trip more bearable. Brando knew that the oversized weed was a source of life to Fin.

He scooped Fin and Heidle into his arms and ran towards the weed. When he arrived, he dropped the two on the ground and ripped open Heidle's shirt. There was a stab wound that had already started knitting together. Brando placed Fin's right hand on the weed and his left hand on Heidle's wound. When he noticed Fin's skin. It was wrinkled and grey as a corpse. Brando directed the healing energy away from Heidle and back into him. When the plant died, the ability cut off, and Brando called for food.

"I know there's a big pot of stew around here somewhere," Brando told the people around him. "Go find Sophia and ask her for three bowls."