The brothers sat at the table as Major began to pull out various instruments and plant samples and place them before the siblings.

"Well, boys, ya see. Herbalism is awfully useful. Most plants have some sort of use for Herbalism when it comes to it. The key is figuring out what that use is." The ogre spooled out a length of cloth on the table, and slowly started placing out various portions of plants. "This here is lavender." He pointed at a bit of dried purple flower. "and this here is watermint." He pointed at another dried purple plant that looked practically the same to Asgar, who squinted and asked. "How can you tell the difference?"

Argus looked questioningly at him, "Brother, they are two entirely different shades of purple."

He cocked a brow at his brother, before leaning in and looking at the plants more closely.

"They don't look very different to me... maybe I should get little bags and label them if I want to work with them so I can tell them apart."

Major nodded. "A good idea in general, when you're making something quick, ya don't wanna make a mistake." He plucked up a book, humming a bit as he opened it and turned the pages. "But if ye're harvesting plants yerself, ya gonna want a clearer picture of what they look like when they're not all dried out and ready for use." He placed the book down, revealing it to be an encyclopedia of sorts, and the page it was opened to depicting a flower of some sort. "This here is lavender," Major said while tapping the paper. Then turned the pages with a practiced motion. "-and this is watermint."

"Ah," Asgar nodded, they were distinctively different, where the lavender was long and straight, the watermint formed a sort of sphere of little purple petals.

"When ye're buying them." Major rumbled, "Ya gonna want to be purchasing from someone you can trust not to scam you, but if you don't know for sure. You can always smell them. give it a try."

Asgar and Argus took a moment to pick up the dried petals and sniffed. They were pleasant scents, and again. Clearly different. Where the lavender has a somewhat floral scent. The watermint had an almost cooling scent, and neither brother had ever smelled anything like it.

"Now, the recipe for this is fairly simple, one of the most basic." The ogre palmed both of the ingredients and placed them into a mortar, then picked up a pestle and began grinding them down and into each other. "Ya grind 'em up, and once yer down, ya chew 'em."

Asgar couldn't help but be surprised. "That's it?"

"Yup, it's one of the simplest concoctions I know."

"What does it do?"

"It helps the healing process. Though not by much, of course. as this isn't a particularly magical concoction."

"Did you make any of this for us while we were out?"

"Nope, I used a healing salve for that. Another simple one. Lavender, ginger, and water. Unfortunately, the more powerful stuff is beyond my means to make at the moment. Not too much grows here that is useful for healing besides Pitcher's berries- that I know of anyway. so I have to get most of my supplies from Riverstead, the ‘human’ town nearby."

The ogre finished his grinding, then offered the grounded paste to the brothers.

"Here, chew. It won't be pleasant."

They took handfuls of the substance and began to chew. "Could we just have eaten the ingredients whole to get their effect?" Argus grimaced. It wasn't that unpleasant, Actually. The watermint gave it an oddly refreshing taste, and he didn't dislike the lavender. But it wasn't good either.

"Don't eat 'em, just chew. And no, ya have to grind the plants together first to let what little magic they have interact. If ya don't have any mana of yer own to help coax it, ya gonna want to use an enchanted pestle, I have a spare I can give ya."

"Thank you."

"No problem at all, now, the types of things ya can make vary quite a bit based on where ya are, what ya know, and how much magic ya channel into it. Ya oaths might develop a skill to aid ya in that, mine did when I had it."

Asgar raised a hand. "Is there any place we can learn recipes? If we're in a new place where the ingredients to yours are hard to find?"

Major shook his head. "Most recipes are made through trial and error or handed down through generations. Ya might be able to purchase the methods off someone if they trust ya and like ya. But I wouldn't count on it. When we head to Riverstead, I'll get some paper and write up my recipes for ya."

Asgar felt a surge of gratitude. It was one thing to be taught a couple starting recipes, another altogether for a list of various methods from an expert in the field. "Thank you, you are most kind Major. I'll be happy to pay for what I can."

"Ah, no worries, someones gotta know 'em. not like I have anyone else around to teach." The ogre took a moment to think. "How much money do ya boys have anyway?"

Asgar and Argus took a moment to think, before suddenly remembering they had left their packs. And thus what little currency their tribe had provided them back at their campsite, where they had been attacked.

"Ah... whoops." Argus finally spoke.

"Ya don't have a copper between the two of ya, do ya?"

The brothers shook their heads, and at least had the good conscience to look mildly embarrassed.

The ogre gave a long-suffering sigh, before reaching into a cupboard and pulling out a small jangling pouch.

"Here." he tossed the pouch down onto the table with a clink.

Asgar shook his head. "No, Major. We've already taken so much from you."

"Ah, don't ya worry about it. The coin's just collecting dust anyway. And I can always sell my skills as an herbalist if I feel the need, which I haven't for some time. Gives me an excuse to get out of the house, if anything."

Argus peeked inside the pouch and did a double-take. While neither brother knew the value of each of the little metal pieces. They were pretty sure the three golden coins were worth quite a lot, which was nothing to say about the two dozen or so silver and copper pieces.

They sported twin looks of surprise and not a little confusion.

"Ya don't know how much I gave you, do ya?"

Argus began to object. "Too much, Major, we can't accept this. There's gold in here."

Major reached out and took the pouch back, getting a sigh of relief from the brothers before he poured them out on the table and began sliding the coins at them one at a time.

"There are three major coin types, a Copper, a Silver and a Gold. Regions all have their own names for 'em. But generally, travelers refer to 'em as the metal they are made from. A Copper will fetch ya a meal, not a quality one, but a decent one." He looked at them sternly to make sure they were listening as he slid a handful of copper forward. Then continued. "This is a Silver, usually iron covered in a thin coat of silver, and worth ten times the value of the copper, though sometimes more. That's 10 meals, remember that. Ya might as well be covered in silver pieces." The brothers shivered at that. "Finally, a Gold, this varies too much to be consistent. But generally speaking, they're worth a lot. This one," he said, pointing at a particularly small gold piece. "its solid gold, so despite being smaller, it's probably worth three times these other two. hold onto it till you need it."

"But... Major."

"Enough complaining, when someone gives you money. Take it. If you feel it's too much, then use it for something good." He spoke in a firm voice that allowed no more argument.

The brothers reluctantly nodded. "Thank you." They voiced practically simultaneously.

"Alright, let's get to learning you both."

—-

"Now, before ya do this. Ya wanna make sure the person actually needs it. For most types of folks, ya can feel here." Major pressed his fingers against his neck, just below the corner of his jaw. "To see if their hearts are pumping right. come here and try it."

The brothers watched his movements, looked at their hands, then looked at his neck. Eventually, Argus spoke. "I think this is a bad idea, Major." he raised his hands and wiggled his clawed digits in the air.

"Ah, good point there, Argus. Hmm... I suppose you could carry a mirror on you to see if they're breathing. Put it beneath their nose, and it'll fog up. but most mirrors are expensive."

"Uh, Major." Argus turned his hand around, showing the scaled back of his hand. And its polished surface from consistently being worked with.

Major rubbed the back of his head. "Well, now I feel a bit silly. It seems ya got one built-in. In yer case then, place the back of yer hand beneath their nose and see if it fogs up. Also, this might seem obvious. But make sure to shake 'em a bit and ask if they're alright. Ya, don't wanna be trying to revive somebody and find out all ya did was wake 'em up from a nap."

Asgar nodded enthusiastically, dearly wishing he had something to take notes with.

Argus, despite his effort, could not help but find this rather difficult to follow. While the study of plant life interested him greatly, he was much more prone to leaving the 'pounding life back into someone via smashing their chest in' to his brother. He respected Major but, he couldn't help but feel this whole concept was pretty ridiculous.

"Now, while this skill set is beneficial. It's just about useless without some form of healing to help whoever yer using this on if they come back around. The broken ribs they'll likely have, and whatever other trauma made their hearts stop, will probably kill them. And remember, it won't always work. The sooner ya start from when their heart stops, the better."

Asgar nodded gravely at the gravity of what he was being taught.

"Now, Argus, since yer not listening. Why don't you lay down here and be an aid in letting me show your brother the motions."

"Uh." Argus blinked, guilty for a moment of being called out and then suddenly concerned about a giant green ogre potentially caving in his chest.

"Don't worry, I won't apply any actual pressure, just showing him where to put his hands."

Argus hesitantly nodded, then laid down on a bear pelt on the floor as Major and his brother knelt down beside him.

"Now, ya gonna want to place your hands down on the center of the chest. Drakon’s hearts are a bit lower, so you'll wanna be about here." The ogre laid his hands on the center of Argus's chest at the level Asgar knew his heart was at.

"But for humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, ogres, even goblins, gnomes, and halflings. Yer gonna want to be up here."

He laid his hands further up Argus's chest, between his pectorals.

"Be very careful ya don't get too low on the races I mentioned, as there's a little bone down there, that if ya break can cause inner bleeding. If ya need a guide, look for the nipples and try to place yer hand on the line between them. Though that advice isn't beneficial here as ya don't have any. For now, just try placing yer hands where mine were."

Major removed his hands, and Asgar placed his hands in roughly the same spot. Major adjusted them a bit more upwards then nodded.

"Good, now yer gonna want to get gloves, or file down yer claws. Particularly if yer working on a female. It's very likely your talons will cut into their flesh as ye're compressing their chest. Don't hold back, and don't be gentle. Use your body weight and shoulders, Lock yer elbows. better they're alive with a broken rib, than dead with whole ones."

"Right."

"As for Drakon, remember to prepare yerself for the scales. they'll cut into the palms of yer hands when ya start, and yer likely gonna need some form of healing for both them and yerself when ye're done."

"I understand." Asgar nodded in affirmation, but he was beginning to struggle keeping everything straight.

"Remember to keep doing it, ya should be doing it till a healer arrives, and maybe after. We'll go over this again before we leave, and that time. Argus." He said, turning to look at the brother on the ground. "Make sure to pay attention. Whoever yer trying to help might need both of ya. Yer brother might tire before a healer arrives. Supposing ya are both so unlucky as not to gain any healing Workings from your Oaths yerselves."

Asgar tried not to be overwhelmed by all the information. Major chucked at his expense. "I'll write up a guide for ya when we get to town, but do yer best to remember what I just taught ya."

"Yes, sir." The brothers echoed.

Major smiled. "Alright, Imma get started on dinner, and then after it, we'll talk about tourniquets.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

—-

Dinner would be on hold for a bit, as Major wished to get the brothers some meat. It was incredibly helpful- almost vitally so. For the brother's healing process as Drakon relied on meat. When he mentioned his planned method was spearfishing, Argus insisted on coming along. Even with his damaged arms- which had actually healed quite well over the day or so's rest. Major's medicinal skills had shown dividends.

Asgar, however, remained. Engrossing himself in Major’s book of plants.

"I've been spearfishing awhile and talked to other fishermen but that's the first time I've heard anyone try fishing with a sword." Major rumbled as they walked to the stream that Asgar had tried his own hand at 'sword-fishing.' A tale that had made Major give off a deep chuckle. "I'm surprised he did so well with the sword."

Argus had been impressed by his brother then. But had also been oddly transfixed on the idea of fishing that way. He'd fished with a line before, nets too, and once even a bow. But never a spear.

"I had a friend who did it with their hand." continued Major. "I never figured out the trick to it."

"really?" Argus asked, intrigued. "who were they?"

"Her name was Cerna, a halfling. She's the one who provided me with most of those pelts on my floor."

Argus thought of the Pallid Bear pelt he'd seen lying on Major's floor, then turned and looked at the ogre skeptically "A halfling?"

Major laughed, full and deep. "Most folks react that way when I tell ‘em, though it's been a while since I've said that to anyone, I suppose. And no, before you ask. she isn't a Paladin, just damn good with an axe."

"She must be a very impressive halfling."

"Oh no, shortest I've ever met, and ya wouldn't guess it to look at her. But she's a strong little thing. I wouldn't wanna challenge her to a fight."

Argus could not help but doubt but, he set that aside. So far the ogre had been helpful and kind, and didn't seem the type to make up pallid bear slaying halflings, nor crazy enough to come up with it. Which meant somewhere out there, there was a halfling capable of tearing down Pallid bears. And leaving their pelts in good enough condition afterward to be worth making a gift carpet out of them.

He shivered.

Oddly enough, the ogre didn't carry a single spear, but about a dozen.

"Why so many spears?"

"I'm too big to fish like your brother did, I cast such a big shadow that it spooks the fish. So I stand on the shore and throw them."

"Oh." Argus was a little disappointed, he had kinda hoped to mimic his brother.

Major chuckled "If ye'd like, you can stand downstream where I'm throwing. It'll allow you to save any spears I misthrow from floating downstream, and ya can try fishing the way your brother did."

Argus smiled, "I would like this."

"Yer gonna want to collect some bugs if ya can, it rained recently so some should be out. Ya can throw them in a calmer part of the stream as bait."

—-

Argus stood in the stream, a little ways down from Major. He pulled a dead insect from a bag he had collected on the way here from time to time and waited for a fish to take the bait. Upstream he could hear the splash of spears hitting the stream, but he was too focused on the task at hand to see how successful Major was or was not being.

Finally, a fish swam by and went for a shield beetle he had seeded into the stream. He struck down onto it in blur, spearing it through and raising it into the air as it flopped on the head of his spear.

"Haha, Yes!" Argus hopped about in the stream, spooking off some nearby fish. But ignoring that and delighting in his success.

"Did ya get one?" Major’s voice thundered down the stream.

"Yes!" Argus took a moment to actually look at the fish he'd gotten up and down and was deeply satisfied to find it was quite sizable. "And it's a big one!"

"Good job, I've got a few myself. That should do it." Compared to Asgar's attempt, Major and Argus's had taken half the time. They had proved nearly four times successful, and Major rejoined Argus with a collection of six speared fish, all smaller than his lucky catch. But still sizable.

.

—-

When the fishermen returned, Major got to work, slicing the fish into thin strips after cleaning and gutting them outside the cabin. He provided a pair of yellow onions and cut them just as thinly.

Then he filled his cauldron with water and lit his fireplace, letting the water slowly boil. And occasional adding small tablespoons of Thina oil- which was a type of nut that grew in the spring in the Ternach Woods. From there, he sprinkled a pinch of salt and a handful of ground Pitcher's berries.

"So, while that cooks. What were we going to talk about?" Major asked.

Asgar slowly closed the book and pushed it aside. "'Tourniquets.' I've never heard the word before.”

"Right, a tourniquet is a way of tying up a limb to slow bleeding further down it. let's see here." The ogre fumbled around before producing a bit of cloth and placing it on the table. before opening the door and stepping out. "I'll be right back." true to his word, he returned moments later, carrying a stick with him. "let me see your arm, Argus." The Drakon nodded and sat down, lifting his arm facing another chair major took and turned towards the arm and then held it. "Sometimes, putting pressure on a wound isn't enough. If it's bleeding badly enough. And for those kinds of injuries, ya use a tourniquet. Now, don't use these lightly, as even correctly done. Using them often means ye're sacrificing whatever limb ya've tied them too unless there's a healer nearby and if there is. yer better off just using whatever magic is at hand. if it's on for anymore then a couple hours, the limb will likely have to be amputated."

"When do I know to use them?" Asgar asked.

"When no matter how much pressure ya apply, the flow of blood won't stop." Major turned to look at Argus. "Now, don't worry about this, I won't tie it tight enough to hurt yer arm. And now that I'm thinking about it, if you try it on another drakon, this might be harder to pull off. Of course, cause of yer scales, it is harder to get a wound bad enough to need this."

The brothers nodded, taking his words in as best they could.

"Now, yer gonna want to get further up before lower. If the wound is all the way on the wrist, don't be afraid to tie off at the shoulder. They're better off armless then dead. And hopefully, if ya have my recipes and supplies for them, y'all be able to rub in a powerful healing salve while they're tied off."

"How do you actually tie it off?" Asgar interrupted,

"I'm getting there, be patient. Now, on legs, y'all probably wanna use more than one, and for big folk like me, ya might want to use as many as six. As for how we're there now." Major began to tie a bow like a knot around Argus's arm. "Y'all want to make it tight, much tighter than I'm doing now. And once ya get this first bow here, y'all want to push a stick up to it like so." he pushed the stick up against the bow and tied another around. "Using a stick like this is called a windlass, and it is useful for more things than this. But we'll get to that another time. Once ya've tied the second knot, twist. Twist through the whole process, using the stick as a lever to do it. Ya want it as tight as ya can make it. Y'all wanna try feeling a pulse in their arm, but that'll be impossible with Drakon. And difficult with other races due to how thick the skin of yer fingers are, I have the same problem. So just keep going tighter."

Argus spoke this time. "What if they've been stabbed in a place we can't use a tourniquet?"

"Pray, and start filling the wound with bandages. Y'all want to pack as much bandage into the wound as ya can. If ya have any numbing pain herbs, use them here. It will be excruciating for the poor folks ye're helping. If ya can, put yer knee above where they were wounded and press yer weight down on it."

Major untied the cloth from Argus's arm.

"Now, I've humored y'all quite a bit. And now as yer physician, I need to charge ya with some rest."

"But-" Asgar started.

"Nope, that's enough lessons for ya. Eat yer fill of soup and then rest. If we keep talking about this stuff, we'll be up all night."

The brothers grumbled but agreed, eating with softer small talk about fishing and other activities of the sort before going to bed and resting.

—-

Major was delighted. It felt silly to him, but the pair of Drakon he'd found dug into the mud after a brutal fight with orcs had genuinely surprised him. After his run-in with the Drakon the day before, he'd expect them to be unpleasant at best and dangerous at worst. And while that wasn't reason enough to let them bleed out in the mud, he had still been tempted.

But instead of a pair of scaled monsters they were... people, of course. He knew Drakon in general, weren't monsters. But he had been unsure if he could say the same for this clan of Drakon. Foreign laws and customs were served so far from more 'civilized' lands. And they often didn't take kindly the ogres or orcs, of which Major was both.

And yet, the brothers had been courteous, if overexcitable and a bit too energetic for his tastes at times. But perhaps that was age getting to him. They didn't act their age, and yet they had, in a way. While he wasn't sure if he agreed with their decision. They had clearly considered the orc to be dangerous to other people and had taken the duty of stopping him very seriously. And based on their wounds, they had been willing to die for it. While he was hesitant to agree with their choice, he was more reluctant to disagree.

He shook his head mournfully at the thought of what the orc was wearing, it soured his appetite.

And oddly, he found a wave of growing anger in his stomach at the orc. The possibility of it having succeeded in ambushing the brothers and killing them, only to wear them for armor made him grind his teeth. And he found himself impassioned about the concept for people he'd only just met.

They were just so... young, men and not boys surely, but young men. And so happy to learn.

He thought of Argus dancing happily over spearing a fish and chuckling, or Asgar dutifully listening to his medical knowledge like it was the most essential thing in the world. And both complaining that they had to go to sleep because they wouldn't be able to hear him talk anymore.

Imagine that.

—-

The suns warmed the forest. An ogre and a pair of drakon rose as the suns did.

With some pestering during breakfast, Major began describing how best to treat burns and the herbs for it. And that conversation continued onto the topic of choking, and the grapple Major preferred to use to help someone who was choking.

"You can grapple someone to help them stop choking?"

Major nodded, sipping some tea. "You'll wanna be careful you don't break anything while doing it. I adjusted it from a takedown grapple I had grown fond of."

"A takedown grapple?"

"Yes, due to my size and weight, I can take most things out of the fight by knocking them over and pinning their limbs. I suspect you'd be decent at it as well, you're both large, and I imagine the scales add quite a bit of weight."

"What's the point?" Argus asked.

"It lets me bring an opponent down non-lethally, though I haven't used the methods for some time."

The brothers went thoughtful. "Would you be willing to teach us?" Argus finally spoke.

Major smiled softly. "Gladly, though, we may need to wait till ye're in better condition."

The brothers nodded, then continued to barrage him with questions.

Asgar, due to his bad leg, spent most of his time in the cabin. Major grew concerned that he'd always have a slight limp. Though Asgar's spirits didn't seem to go down much for the trouble, as he threw himself into studying Major's book and experimenting with the various recipes, Major taught him.

Argus, on the other hand. Seemed to have much more desire for getting out of the house, he would go out alongside Major and collect various herbs for Asgar to experiment with or fish. Despite Asgar's studies, Argus just had a natural talent for finding useful fauna that Asgar didn't. Yet in the reverse, Asgar seemed to have a knack for working with herbs that Argus didn't.

It was an unusual case of contrasting skills that seemed to work to the two brothers' benefit.

—-

Over the coming weeks, the brothers healed, and then Major began to teach them his martial arts and grapples. It was not a perfect translation, as the skills Major used were built around his large frame, and a few of his grapples weren't usable in a non-lethal way for the brothers due to their claws.

"Remember to stay low, Asgar." Major commanded. The drakon in question nodded, squaring off against his brother as they circled each other.

Asgar had unfortunately developed a limp, but he had insisted on training anyway. Stating, 'it's not likely to go away, so I should learn how to fight with it.'

It was somewhat unfortunate to be used alongside Major's fighting style, as many of his moves called for grabs at the legs. Throwing the opponent off balance and then knocking them over, then quickly pinning them. This gave Asgar a distinctive disadvantage when facing his brother.

And despite Argus trying to avoid taking advantage of his brother's new disability. He still won most of their matches.

Still, the brothers were coming along quite well and learning quickly.

Asgar ducked low, rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Argus's center. Before throwing his body violently to the side, knocking both himself and his brother down.

"Asgar," Major spoke. "Ya need to stop doing that, ya can't hold them down effectively if ya lose yer grapple on them while getting them to the ground, and they'll get to their feet quicker then ya."

"I don't need to grapple them once I get them down, Argus will be there."

"Argus won't always be there if he's fighting his own battle, y'all be on your own."

Asgar shrugged. "Then, I won't do it if he's busy."

It was an argument Major had heard before, and he was growing tired of it. It was hard to argue he was wrong. Major had noticed it while they were sparring, they had a symmetry that most warriors didn't, one always seemed to know what the other was doing. And it turned the spars between them into a long series of fake-out mind games.

This concerned Major, as most enemies likely wouldn't be able to read them as effectively as they could each other. And it might cause them to develop bad habits of being over-reliant on feints and misdirection.

On the other hand, he would argue that over-reliant was better than under-reliant on feints.

Another week continued as such, but eventually. It was time for the brothers to continue their journey Major had been a detour. One to their benefit. But all three knew it was time for the brothers to get going, if they continued to stay here, they might as well have never left home.

—-

Three figures marched through the woods, two carried packs and walking sticks, as well as weapons and provisions.

Both Asgar and Argus were a bit underdressed, as Major had no spare clothes that would fit them. They wore their pants still, which had somehow survived most of the combat except for a hole stabbing into Asgar's pants leg. They wore what remained of their leather armor still, but they'd likely need to purchase new sets or some kind of replacement.

They'd been given money for just that, as much as they'd argued against accepting it.

The three talked as they walked through the forest, Major gave a handful of last tips about their grapples. Though he would be with them a while longer, as he needed to purchase paper to write down his recipes for them.

It took a little over a day, and they had to camp in the woods. Though no trouble came of it this time. But eventually, they reached Riverstead.

—-

"What are the humans like there?" Asgar asked

Major took a moment to think. "Horned, a bit green in the skin. They have Satyr and Orcish blood both."

"Orcs can breed with humans?"

"Most humanoidish mammals can, everything from dwarves to elves, even fiends and celestials. No two human towns really look alike, unless they are quite close and trade regularly."

"How does that work? Are they even humans anymore? Surely if their green, their orcs?"

"It's debated heavily, and most humans aren't that helpful for it, as they identify more with nations than their race. Not that I can blame them. Still, the first humans, the tan to brown ones, bit short and good runners. All bland colors. Those are quite rare. The only place ya can find them is at the seat of the Weeping King nowadays."

"The Weeping King?"

"A great storm giant. Apparently he got his kingdom involved in the hell wars, I don't know much about it. It's quite far from here. I just know that every ten years or so purebred humans, orcs, and some breeds of lesser giants are expelled from the hollow mountain the storm giants live in and settle surrounding it."

"I see." Asgar spoke just as Riverstead came into view. It was a small town, wooden houses and shanties were spread out behind wooden walls that surrounded it. The river it was named for flowed beside it, from which aqueducts had been dug to water the nearby farmland. Water only just now unfreezing as humans and cattle dug grooves into the land and began planting seeds.

The humans looked oddly familiar, not unlike Major actually. Their faces were very angular, and small canines peeked out from under their lips. While many came in tans and browns, some came in the same pale green color Major was. And most were quite hairy. The males almost always sporting beards, and even the women sporting thinly cut sideburns, which seemed to be trimmed to exaggerate their sharp features. Every now and then horns could be spotted growing from their heads, everywhere from small numbs, barely visible, to large ram-like horns that circled their ears. The horns were often decorated with jewelry where possible, and Asgar couldn't help but notice how straight backed and full of confidence those with the most enormous horns walked.

They approached the gates of the town, paying a moderate toll for entry. And stepped into a whole new world.