When I awoke I found myself lying in a bed. It took me a moment to recognize that there was no reason I should be in a real bed. For a moment I blissfully ran my hands over the soft quilted blankets. My leg rubbed against the soft feather mattress. It was lumpy, but compared to my bed of blankets it felt like a cloud. It was then that I realized I did not have a bed. I sat up quickly, shocked, but found myself feeling dizzy and collapsed back down on the mattress, rubbing my throbbing head.

"I see you're awake", came a nonchalant voice from the corner of the room. I looked over to see an older woman with knitting needles watching me, her eyes gazing over the top of a pair of spectacles. She had gray hair tied up in a neat bun and a long red and white dress. "Don't sit up too quickly", She added, an unimpressed calmness in her voice, "You had a nasty run in with an irt, looks like. You've been out for a couple days."

She leaned towards the open door, raised her voice a bit and called out, “Solmar! He's awake!" I could hear a muffled voice responding, but couldn't tell what it was.

I was a bit startled by the woman but still too dizzy to do much. My head ached and my foot still burned. I rubbed against it with my other foot and noticed it was covered by a thick bandage. It seemed that wherever I was, these people didn't want to hurt me, but I had problems putting any thoughts together.

"Ungh", I mumbled. My words were slurred. I was starting to wake up, but my mind was a fog and it was the only thing I could vocalize for the moment. It took a great effort to say it.

The old woman smiled. She had a kindness about her wrapped in a no nonsense look. "My son Solmar will be here shortly. He's the one you have to thank for keeping you alive."

"What happened?" I mumbled weakly. There was no response. I couldn't tell if she was unable to understand me, or didn't care to answer my question.

In walked a sturdy man in a dark brown shirt and pants. His clothes and hands were caked in dirt. Mud was smeared across his face up to his bald head. He had a semi serious look about him, but a broad friendly smile was plastered on his face.

"Well look at you!" he cried out, his voice booming as his eyes fell on me, "Finally awake! For awhile we didn't think you'd make it!"

I sat up a bit again, more slowly this time. "Where am I?" I asked feebly.

The man rushed to the side of my bed as I started to rise, "Now hold on there, slow down! You must be tough to have escaped the forest girls, but you got a nasty bite there." Slowly, he helped me to sit up. "As to where you're at, you’re in Timbervale, a town on the western edge of Meadowglen, just outside the Mindal Forest."

"Meadowglen? The Mindal Forest?", my voice was slow, and my voice still slurred. I could feel the fogginess slowly leaving but I was still full of confusion.

The man and the old woman looked at each other and then back at me.

"You hang on. I’m going to need to take a look at that foot of yours", he said, and swiftly left the room.

The woman and I sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. "He'll take care of you", she said reassuringly, mostly just to break the silence.

The man returned, his hands and face clean, and he now wore a fresh red shirt. "You got a nasty bite from an irt", he said, moving into the room and beside the bed. Carefully he lifted the blankets off my leg, exposing my foot neatly and tightly wrapped with white bandages. He turned to the woman "Mother, would you fetch me some bandages from my cabinet?"

"Of course.” the old woman said, her voice calm without a hint of concern in it. She gingerly got up from her seat, placing her knitting needles on the padded chair and made her way out of the room.

The man slowly started to unwrap the bandages. "So", he said, "My name is Solmar. I'm the doctor here in Timbervale. What's your name?"

I watched As Solmar unwrapped my leg. I had always disliked the sight of blood, but it was competing with my curiosity. "Jon" I said.

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Solmar removed the bandage completely, the bottom layers were soaked in dried blood. "Chon", he said, "That is an unusual name." I looked down to see my foot was a green color. There was a large gash on my foot. Leaves of some sort had been placed inside it. My stomach churned and I looked away.

The woman returned with a tray of towels, a bowl, and bandages.

I'm sorry", said Solmar, "I'm going to have to clean the wound. It's going to hurt"

He did not lie. The pain was excruciating. I tried to stand still and not cry out by squeezing the blankets. He worked quickly, washing out the would and reapplying the bandages. Soon there was a new bandage on it, though the pain still burned.

"I had to cut open the foot and apply Aronax leaves to draw out the venom. It should take a week or two to fully heal", he said.

There was a rapping on the door from outside the house, and voice called out, "Word is he's awake! Can we see him?"

The old woman leaned her head out of the doorway, calling back, “Now you two just wait a minute!”

Solmar placed his hand on my shoulder, “Think you can walk? It’d be good for you to move around a bit and get something to eat.”

I nodded, “I think so.” As comfortable as the bed was, I desperately wanted to move about. Holding my arm, Solmar helped me up. My body was stiff and sore from laying down so long. My foot hurt when I put pressure on it, but with some help I was able to hobble out of the room.

Outside the room was a small hallway. Across the hallway from the room I had been in was an office which I assumed was where the woman had gathered the bandages. To the right the hallway extended to two more rooms. One I could see was a bedroom, but the other door was closed. To my left, however, the hallway opened up to a living room containing a fireplace and chairs. I could see the bright sun outside streaming in a window. As Solmar helped me down the hallway I found myself in the living room. The right side of the room transitioned into a kitchen area with a table and chairs. On the far wall where the living room and dining room met there was a door — against which two faces were plastered, looking in from outside.

Solmar helped me sit down in a chair by the fireplace. It was warm, and there was no fire burning, but it was a cozy environment. The old woman went to open the door for the two men who were waiting outside. The men rushed in eagerly, each giving her a warm friendly hug. “Thank you Miss Nerenne”, one of them said, “How’s he doing?”

The woman pointed in my direction, “He’s doing better. Go see him for yourself.”

Having just been seated I was then inundated with questions from the two men. I learned that their names were Cadel and Finiel. They were both younger, perhaps in their late 20’s in Orth years, putting them in their early 20’s in Earth years. They had a similar demeanor, but were easily told apart due to Finiel’s thick, bushy black beard. Cadel, who had no beard at all, was also a bit thinner. They were brothers, fishermen, and I learned they were the two who had found me adrift in my canoe. The two of them could barely contain themselves enough to sit down.

“You were completely delirious!”, Cadel said animatedly.

“You gave him that!”, laughed Finiel, pointing to Cadel’s eye, which was discolored. Cadel scowled at him.

“Sorry”, I said sheepishly. The two had a vibrant energy about them. It was infectious, but I was too tired to let it fully affect me.

“Give him some space”, Solmar said, stepping in as the two finally sat down in their seats. They were loaded with questions. They had surmised correctly, based on my clothing, that I had been a prisoner of the forest girls, and they wanted to know more. Both Solmar and his mother sat down as well.

Finiel wanted to know about the forest girls. Both he and Cadel seemed particularly interested in the imata. Most of what was known of imata outside the forest was, according to them, through word of mouth. While forest girls were occasionally captured and sold into slavery, it was extremely rare for an imata to be captured, due to how well they were protected. The forest girls were known for their great beauty, and it was rightly assumed that the imata surpassed them.

Solmar seemed more interested in my experiences, as well as the layout and location of the forest village. The information, he said, would be helpful in defending Timbervale, and perhaps even mounting rescues, which had always been met with failure. His mother stayed mostly silent, only making faces to show her disapproval at the way Cadel and Finiel carried on about the forest girls or to express dismay at how I had been treated.

“Chon, you have a very unusual accent.”, Solmar pointed out, “I don’t think I’ve heard one quite like it before. Where are you from?”

“Yeah, I’m from pretty far away”, I said, not knowing exactly how to explain how I had arrived here. I didn’t even fully know myself yet.

They continued to press me, with the hope they would be able to help me return home. I tried explaining to them that I didn’t even know how I got here, but they did not understand. Finally I thought of a way that I might explain it. “The forest girls used to call me Nelak”, I said.

The room grew silent. The entire room, that is, except for Finiel, who began roaring with laughter. Everyone looked at him. “Wait, he’s not serious, is he?”, Final said, his voice still jovial. He looked at me, nudging the air with this elbow. “Come on, you’re having us on. There’s no such thing as Nelak other than in fairy tales.”

“I don’t think he’s kidding Finiel”, Cadel said, looking at him and then back at me.

Solmar’s mother had her mouth open in shock, her hand over her mouth.

“Cadel”, said Solmar. “Go fetch the prophet.”