"Dun krastalan-Irin-Mirith voleniya!” The Half-Elf bellowed as he approached Kaleb and Iridia, Morgan followed behind him, his face was muddy and his eyes were tired, the ride had been long and hard.

Kaleb pointed at Flencer, assuming the Sinley wanted to know whom to treat.

The botanist flared his robe to one side and glided to Flencer who lay motionless at the base of the steps. “Ah, Ilin-milik-alana-geera.” He looked at them searchingly but couldn’t draw an answer.

“What is he saying, Morgan?”

“I–what happened to your face, my lord?”

“Put my head in a hole I shouldn’t…nevermind that, What is he saying?”

“I haven’t a clue, he doesn’t seem to speak the common tongue so well, he’s a recluse from what I was told.”

“Right.” Kaleb cleared his throat. “Dwarf. Sick. Murder root. You make well.”

The botanist stared at Kaleb a moment and then waved him off with his hand, “Pah!” he turned back to Flencer and knelt beside him, dropping a hide bag to the floor and extracting several vials. He lifted them to eye level and inspected them, all the while grunting and humming. He proceeded to stick his fingers in the Dwarfs mouth and made what seemed to be poignant observations, offering up knowing nods and then a shake of his large head.

Kaleb watched over the botanist's shoulder and then glanced back at Morgan and Iridia who were speaking quietly.

“How did you get here?” Iridia was holding Morgan by the hand, his presence pulling her out of the sadness she was spiralling into.

“The village botanist was given a message by a bird, saying Flencer is in trouble and you need help, he can’t speak the common tongue so I offered myself to go.”

“It’s very brave of you, Morgan.”

“I learned from the best.” He looked between the two Paladins and then broke his hand of Iridias to approach Flencer and the Botanist, Iridia followed up and a small crowd had formed to watch him work.

The botanist appeared calm and was haphazardly dashing the dwarf with a liquid of some sort, splattering his face. He poured an entire vial of something down his throat and closed Flencer’s wide nostrils with his thumb and forefinger.

“Will. He. Live?”

The botanist looked at Kaleb, “Gul-ahm”

Kaleb tried to read his expression but it offered no comfort or concern.

He stood up and waved his hands at the party, “Acha, acha acha.” One didn’t need to understand Sinley to interpret that message, they shooed out of the way and the Botanist dragged Flencer to the shallow pool and laid him in the water. He sighed and shook his head while backing away and turning to face Kaleb. “Antreeya, Gin-rith?”

Kaleb hadn’t quite caught what he said and raised his hands questioningly.

“Gin-rith, alak Gin-rith.”

“Ah…” Kaleb lowered his eyes and raised his head slowly, “Gin-rith. No more.”

The Botanist nodded, understanding somewhat.

Kaleb attempted to explain, “Irin-Mirith…” he made a pulling motion with both hands.

The botanist looked back at Flencer and nodded slowly. “Deereeya.”

“Yeah.”

The party sat around Flencer and watched, the botanist had joined them but remained silent, not sharing another word even when spoken to directly, simply waving them away, not interested in attempting to decipher the common tongue.

“How is the village?” Iridia half smiled.

“It is, different, they gave me new clothes…they threw my hat away and said it was ugly.” he laughed as he spoke, Morgan's new outfit was a simple green leather tunic and pants with a pair of well-made boots to match, he looked quite dashing Iridia thought.

“It suits you well.” Said Iridia, tucking into the rations Morgan had fetched, The buck was also enjoying some feed which it was missing by now.

“How’s your new lass?” Kaleb spoke through a mouth of stale bread.

“She is well and lovely, very hands-on.”

Iridia glowered at Kaleb.

“Oh yeah?” Kaleb raised his eyebrows. “Well, it’s good to see you again before we part.”

Morgan rubbed his arm, “Heh, yeah, it’s great to be with the old party…even if it’s under such dire circumstances.”

“Can you communicate with mushroom man here? He doesn’t seem to be engaged in this whole process.” Kaleb looked directly at the botanist as he spoke.

“I try to, but he tends to ignore me, I don’t even know his name.” Morgan leaned toward the botanist. “Ki-leth..”

He looked up at Morgan and repeated the words back, seemingly correcting his awful pronunciation. “Ki-eh-leth, Ki-eh-leth…” he shook his head, “Anukan.”

“Ahem, Flencer.” He pointed at the Dwarf, “Flencer ama nu?”

Iridia raised her eyebrows, impressed that he was making use of Sinley words so eagerly, she felt for him, being in a new place where he could not speak the language so clearly, she prayed that Jill-drath was as kind and understanding as Gin-rith.

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Iridia regaled a horrified Morgan with the tale of how they defeated the Wendigo and how Gin-rith sacrificed himself for Flencer. He sat with legs crossed before her like a child at story-time in the old Angelspree orphanage. He was saddened about the fate of Gin-rith and concerned about what the forest, his new home, was capable of and more worryingly what it was willing to do. It made him uneasy about returning.

The botanist jumped up without warning, disturbing the calm evening and rousing everyone into chaotic action, the party stood and looked at him, his face was twisted with a combination of excitement and nervousness.

“What’s happening?”

The botanist pointed at Flencer, from his chest, arms and thighs a thorny, slender branch had grown out of his skin and was moving rapidly, coiling and twisting like a snake that had been stuck with a spike. “Igree-acha-acha.” he shooed everyone away and moved to Flencer’s side. He took out a pair of gripping tools, they looked like empire craft, old and rusted, well used for sure. He pinched the roots and with a grimace, agonisingly pulled the viney root from Flencer’s body. It seemed to go on forever, the length of ten, no twenty, no thirty men. He would break off a length and continue to pull, many times he did this, the process took them to the late afternoon.

The party had paced, watched, walked around and chatted as the botanist worked, anything to relieve the anxiety. They observed the botanist hopefully as he stood up, letting a groan out from the cramp in his knees. “Gilin.” he shook his head.

“Gillin what?” Kaleb shrugged and pointed at Flencer, “Is he going to live?”

The botanist looked at him plainly.

“Will. Dwarf. Live?” Kaleb waited.

“Gillin.” The botanist said once more and turned away to begin packing his things.

Kaleb threw his hands in the air and shook his head. “What does ‘gillin’ mean, Morgan?”

“I think it means he doesn’t know, he said that a lot to me when I asked him questions.” He peered over Flencer whose skin wasn’t as green as he remembered, though it could have been a trick of the dying light.

“Perfect, brilliant.” Kaleb placed his hands on his hips. “We cannot spend too many days out here, we need to start moving.” He looked at Iridia. “We will give him one night, then decide.”

Iridia looked at Morgan, “Thank you for coming.” She bowed her head at the botanist. “Thank you.”

“Al-la-al.” He waved his hand dismissively at her as he finished packing up his things.

“Can we wait?” He looked at the botanist.

The botanist looked back and grumbled something. Morgan tugged his arm, “Wait, stay here.”

“Agdar…nabana-ul-al-frey.” he shook his head and sighed. Flencer let out a low, long groan, it was pained and wanting. The botanist stopped his packing and headed over to Flencer to make further inspections, nodding slightly and looking at Morgan. “Gindar.”

“Gindar means, yes.” Morgan scratched his head, “Or maybe something else in this context I cannot say for certain.”

The botanist dutifully unpacked his things once more and began to dab at Flencer’s head, applying a lotion from one of the vials.

“He seems to have changed his tune.”

Morgan nodded, “Flencer seems to have given him a reason to stay…” he looked at Iridia as he spoke those words.

***

Night came and it was filled with the howls and cries of Flencer as he rolled and spasmed. He spat up blood and bile, croaked like a frog and bucked like a deer in heat. The botanist did what he could and the party watched on, helpless.

Iridia and Morgan found a spot at the end of the pool to talk quietly about what had transpired and the state of the world, Kaleb on the other hand packed up the buck and was checking equipment, he knew that it was do or die and once confirmed the party would need to make a move, it was unsafe to stay in one place, especially after all this racket had occurred.

“I did not expect the stone to answer back when I whispered into it.”

“What a coincidence, I was holding it in my hand for good luck and in hopes you’d remember, but what did you say?”

Iridia blushed brightly, “Oh, just, I said hello.” She smiled and looked out onto the darkened hills, the view disturbed by Flencer’s bloody howls. She would occasionally look back to see if anything had changed with the botanist, he had remained steadfast by his side.

Morgan brought his arm around Iridia. “Something Kaleb said, back in the camp has played upon my mind.”

Iridia rested her head on his shoulder. “What did he say?”

“He said I would be remembered for the part I played in this quest.”

Iridia yawned, “Mhm, and why would that play on your mind?”

“I am not sure if I want to play just a part, perhaps I should come with you, The village is no better with or without me.”

Iridia pulled her head from his shoulder, happily, she’d accept his company back, with open arms in fact for she missed him so very much, her heart burned for him, though she would never admit such. Kaleb’s words were like icy water, bringing him so close to her and what might happen if he should falter, fail or die, it would be easier to pack him away safely in the forest with his people and push that memory to a corner of her mind, only to be opened in the loneliest of moments.

“What do you think of this, Iridia?”

She opened her mouth to tell him yes, yes come with her, but what came out was: “No, you should stay.” Her eyes fell sad as the flush from Morgan's cheeks retreated in the moonlight and a sadness fell over his face, he tried to hide it but could not.

“W-what do I offer my people?”

“You offer them more than you can offer us, I promise.” Her words were like sickles dragging over his chest, cold and frostbitten, For a moment she thought Kaleb had taken over her and spoken through her, a divine trick, but no, these were her words.

“I…I guess you are right.”

Iridia closed her eyes and turned her head, unable to look upon his face. “I cannot let you be lost, I cannot watch you die, look at Flencer.”

“Flencer will live.”

“This time, what of Gin-rith? Torn apart like he was nothing to anyone.”

Morgan breathed deeply and nodded. “Let it be known, that if you asked me to, I would leave this village and stay by your side and venture into the darkest places and the unholiest lands my lady.”

Iridia smiled up at him, her tears sparkling from the moonlight, “You are very brave and I believe it, for the love of the divine you raced through Manglewood for us, you were tortured and did not break.”

“Indeed.”

“But you can break, Kaleb cannot, I cannot…but you can break and I fear none of us will live through this.”

“If you fail don’t we all?” Morgan cocked his head.

Iridia sighed, “I will think on this before you go, I will have an answer.”

“If you have me join you, Kaleb may not approve.”

“We’ll see, I must think about it.”