“Welcome,” Beldo said, with a dramatic flourish of his hands, “to Northwind.”

It was a more theatric introduction than the village probably deserved. As far as Lusya could tell, it was an unremarkable rural village like any other. For that matter, they were on the very edge of it, amidst sprawling farmland with homes spaced far apart. One could scarcely tell they were in the village. He should have waited for a denser part of town for that introduction, if such a thing existed.

“Wasn’t the last village Northwind?” Ariya asked.

“That was Northwood,” Beldo corrected.

Ariya frowned. “That’s basically the same thing.”

“They are quite similar,” Lusya said.

Beldo shrugged. “We’re in the north. There’s a lot of North-something villages. Northwade, Northwild, Northward…”

“That last one is just a direction,” Lusya said.

“It’s lazy,” Ariya said. “They should be more creative when they name things.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Beldo replied. “Back when the village was being founded, I suggested they name it Awesomeland, the Shining Capital of Burning Justice, but it’s not exactly my call.”

Lusya blinked. “Was that a joke?”

“Did it sound like a joke?”

“They are fortunate they did not heed your advice.”

Beldo laughed. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

He led the way farther into the village, past sprawling fields and working villagers. A few waved and called out to Beldo as he passed. He responded in kind each time.

“You seem to be well-known in this village as well,” Lusya said.

He nodded. “Yeah. I was born around here, you know. I travel a lot, but I tend to come back here pretty often. People end up knowing me.” He smiled and held a finger to his lips, as if shushing her. “Oh, but they don’t know I was around when villages were being founded, so keep quiet about that, okay? Don’t need someone who understands relti blowing my cover, so I like to keep things at least a little plausible.”

“I have no reason or desire to disrupt your charade,” Lusya said.

He chuckled. “You could work on sounding more reassuring.”

“I will not.”

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe,” Ariya said. “That’s what Lusya meant too, right?”

Lusya nodded. “More or less.”

“I’ll take it,” Beldo said.

They continued into the village, with homes growing a bit closer together. The villagers sent more and more greetings Beldo. It seemed ingratiating himself to them over several generations was quite effective. That information would likely never be useful to Lusya, but it was interesting.

“Is this not the inn?” Lusya asked, stopping before the building as Beldo kept walking.

“It is,” he said. “While we’re here anyway, there’s someone I want to visit. But you can head inside if you want. Sorry, guess it slipped my mind.”

Lusya shook her head. “It is fine. We will accompany you. I find your relationship with these villagers fascinating.”

"Well, thank you,” Beldo said.

“It was not a compliment to you in particular.”

“Sometimes you just take the thanks…”

“I wanted to correct your misconception.”

He sighed. “I guess that’s fine. You’re welcome to come, if you want.”

From there, he led them to a nondescript home and knocked on the door. The building was a tad larger than most in the village. It had neither an adjoining field nor any other facilities to indicate the resident’s occupation, and it did not seem to be a shop. Of course, it was possible whoever lived here worked elsewhere within the village.

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged human man in spectacles. Everyone was human in this region. It had been weeks since Lusya had seen a reltus or tiransa. The man smiled, his green eyes twinkling.

“Beldo, it’s good to see you,” he said. “Here to visit Gouter?”

“If he’s up to it,” Beldo replied.

The man nodded. “He should be. He’s not out of the woods yet, but he’s been feeling better. And your friends?”

“These two are travelers. I’m serving as their guide for the time being. Would it be a problem if they joined me?”

“Not at all,” the man said. He stepped aside, holding the door open. “By all means, come in, make yourselves at home.”

Beldo entered, and Lusya and Ariya followed. The house was, for the most part, about what one would expect of a rural home. It consisted of a singular home, with a table in the center, kitchen supplies on the far wall from the door, and a single bed to the left. The exception was on the right, where three cots were lined up against the wall. Only one was occupied at the moment, by a slightly older man than the one who had opened the door. A woman about the same age as the latter stood nearby, with a bowl of water resting on a nightstand. She removed a rag from the lying man’s head, soaked a new one in water, and placed it on his forehead.

“Are you a doctor?” Lusya asked the spectacled man.

He nodded. “Something like that. I’m no expert, but I know my fair share about medicine. The name’s Gebrel, and me and my wife, Corenne over there act as the doctors around here. We studied together, you see.”

“I see.”

That was more information than Lusya had asked for or cared to know, but she did not begrudge him for telling her that much.

“That’s super cool,” Ariya said. “I wish I could make sick people better.”

“It’s all a matter of practice,” Gebrel replied.

Beldo approached the man in the bed, presumably Gouter.

“How are you holding up, old friend?” Beldo asked.

Gouter looked at him with a weak smile. “I’ve been better, Uncle Beldo.”

“Uncle?” Ariya repeated incredulously.

“Beldo is far older than that man,” Lusya said. “I imagine he acquired the habit of that address when their appearances reflected as much.”

Gouter let out a laugh that trailed off into a cough. “Your lady speaks her mind, huh?”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” Beldo said. “She’s an acquaintance’s daughter. I happened to meet her on the road.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

On the one hand, it was not a mistake Lusya could not comprehend. She and Beldo did look to be about the same age. From a human perspective, he did not look more than five years her senior. On the other hand, she was not sure why mortals were so quick to assume romance.

“That’s good,” Gouter said. “Wasn’t sure whether I needed to chew you out for keeping her a secret or congratulate you on meeting someone. Either way, though, she’s right. Does make me feel a little silly calling you that when you look half my age. But, hey, I’ve only ever known you as Uncle Beldo.”

Beldo shrugged. “Call me what makes you happy.”

“You know, on that note, you’ve been a bachelor for, what, at least fifty years? When are you going to settle down?”

“I’m a wanderer,” Beldo said. “It’s better if I don’t settle down. Don’t you worry about me, I’m happy with the way things are. I’m here to worry about you.”

Gouter waved a hand dismissively. “Bah, there’s not need for that. I feel fine. The only thing I’m suffering from is these two worrywarts fussing over me.”

“Very convincing from a man who’s been bedridden for months,” the woman said.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Corenne,” Beldo said.

Gouter scoffed, which undermined his point when it was immediately followed by a coughing fit.

“You really don’t look fine, mister,” Ariya said. “You have to say when you’re sick, so people can help you get better.”

Gouter scoffed again.

Beldo fixed his gaze on the man. “Gouter.”

Gouter sighed. “Oh, fine. I’ve got a fever, my head is pounding, I hack up a lung every other minute, and the only thing I can keep down is the blandest soup known to man. Happy?”

“Hey, I worked hard on that recipe,” Gebrel said. He was in the kitchen, fussing over a steaming pot. “It’s perfectly formulated for proper nutrition while being palatable to someone in your condition.”

“It tastes like hot water,” Gouter shot back. He returned his attention to Beldo. “I am feeling better, though. Got more energy, and nothing hurts aside from the headache. I think I’ll be good soon.”

“That’s good to hear,” Beldo said.

“Is it true?” Lusya asked Corenne.

Corenne hesitated, and before she could say anything, Beldo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You wait to ask those kinds of questions in private.”

“I do not understand why one would do that,” Lusya said. “It seems beneficial for him to know if he is incorrect as well.”

Gouter laughed, while Beldo sighed again and waved at Corenne for her to answer.

“He should be fine,” Corenne said. “His condition has been steadily improving…”

“But?” Beldo asked.

“We’re a little short on snowroot, the main ingredient of his medicine,” Corenne said. “If we can’t get more, we won’t have enough to finish his planned regimen. He should be fine anyway, but it will be a little extra risk.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

“You worry too much,” Gouter said. “She said I’ll be fine.”

Beldo clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You can never be too safe. Is snowroot something you can get locally?”

“You can,” Gebrel said. “It’s a pain, though. It grows far enough to be a bit of a hike, and only in winter, so we have to wait until it’s warm enough to venture out in the middle of winter.”

“Threading the needle, huh?”

Gebrel nodded.

“Why don’t you go get some, then?” Ariya asked. “It’s not that cold. Right, Lusya?”

“It is not cold enough to be hazardous in and of itself, so long as one takes proper precautions,” Lusya replied. “However, the cold and snow still increase the risk factor of going to harvest the plants. If one of them tries and anything happens to them, the village will have lost half of its medical capabilities.”

“That about sums it up,” Corenne said.

“Then why don’t we go get some for you?” Beldo asked. “Just point us in the right direction and you’ll have all the snowroot you can stomach.”

Corenne shook her head. “Oh, we couldn’t impose on you like that. Especially not when we’re not willing to risk the trip ourselves. That’s why we won’t ask anyone else in the village to do it either.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Beldo said. “In fact, I insist, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

What a strange demon he was. Lusya could not say he was the only one so eager to help she had ever met, but he was one of a number she could have counted on one hand.

Gebrel shrugged. “If you feel that strongly about it, we won’t stop you. The best place to find it is just to the southwest. There’s a thin line of trees, then a wide field with one big tree in the middle. A whole bunch of snowroot grows there. I’ll draw a picture of what the plant looks like for you. Do not confuse it with frostroot. That’s deathly poison.”

Beldo nodded. “I’ll be careful.”

Gebrel drew a picture of both plants, complete with careful annotations of how to differentiate them. Frostroot had more jagged leaves and was a darker green, apparently. He wrote a note in the top corner, explaining to be careful but not to panic if they made a mistake. Frostroot was lethal to ingest, but harmless to the touch. Beldo accepted the drawing along with a sack to put the plants in and left with Lusya and Ariya.

“I’ll go pick some snowroot, then,” he said. “You two can go back to the inn. I’m sure your curiosity is satisfied by now, right?”

“More or less,” Lusya replied. “And I will learn nothing by watching you gather herbs.”

“But I wanna help!” Ariya exclaimed, tugging on Lusya’s hand for attention as if she might not hear otherwise.

“I have no problem with that,” Beldo said. “As long as Lusya agrees.”

“Please, Lusya?”

Lusya nodded. “Very well. But you will not go alone with him. I will accompany you. Also, be aware that we will have less time for reading if you do this.”

Though she was confident enough that Beldo was not an imminent danger, she still saw no reason to trust him alone with Ariya. Lusya had known him for only days, and knew little about him other than that he had an odd affinity for the mortals of the region.

Ariya hummed in thought. “I know, but I wanna help the sick guy. Plus, it sounds fun. Kind of like picking flowers.”

“Then we will go.” Lusya did not understand why killing plants was fun, but she knew Ariya enjoyed it, and Lusya herself had no strong opinion about it. She looked to Beldo. “Let us go, then.”

He nodded, and the three of them made their way to the spot Gebrel had indicated. Lusya had learned over the course of her journey that many mortals were awful at giving directions. They overestimated how notable features and landmarks were, and acted as though they were guiding someone who already knew the general area even when speaking to an outsider. However, Gebrel’s directions had been straightforward, and they found his field easily enough.

In the summer, it was probably a sea of grass, but right now, it was a sheet of white. A thin layer of snow coated the entire ground, with only a few plants poking out. Including the snowroot they were looking for.

“Let’s get picking,” Beldo said.

“Yeah!” Ariya agreed, pumping a fist in the air. “I bet I can pick more than either of you.”

“That is unlikely,” Lusya said. She looked to Beldo. “May I see that paper?”

“Sure.”

He handed it to her, and Lusya took a moment to take another look at it and make sure she had its contents memorized. Then, she handed it to Ariya.

“Refer to this before you pick anything,” Lusya said. “And I mean every time.”

Ariya was a bright girl, but it was not unheard of for her to overlook a few details, especially while excited. It would not harm her to pick the wrong plant, but, at best, it would waste some of the doctors’ time sorting through to get rid of the frostroot. At worst, they might not notice—they did look very similar—and kill their patient. Lusya would prefer not to cause a needless death.

“But I’ll lose if I do that!” Ariya protested.

“That is unfortunate,” Lusya said. “You will still do it.”

Ariya huffed. “Yes, Lusya…”

She stomped off to the nearest plant, snow crunching underfoot, and looked between the plant and the page before picking the snowroot.

Lusya watched. She did not find Ariya’s wager interesting, but, given that Ariya did, ruining it was an unfortunate side effect of forcing her to be careful. It had not been Lusya’s intention to upset her so. Maybe she was still upset about the stealing incident as well. Perhaps some compensation was in order.

“If you do not pick any frostroot, you may have a second candy.”

Ariya immediately looked up at her, beaming. “Really?”

Lusya nodded. “So be careful.”

“I will! I’ll be more careful than anyone’s ever been about anything!”

“That is unlikely, but do your best.”

Ariya nodded and returned to her task. Lusya and Beldo set about harvesting the herbs as well.

“Don’t just volunteer my candy like that,” Beldo said with a chuckle.

“You volunteered it to begin with,” Lusya said. “You should have said so if you meant to revoke it.”

He laughed again and they continued with their job. By evening, they had harvested an ample supply of snowroot. Ariya had harvested the least, being slower than either of them and having to take time to check her paper every time. But she had succeeded in finding only snowroot.

“Do I get the candy now?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“You may have it after dinner,” Lusya said. “It may hamper your appetite and interfere with proper nutrition if you eat it now.”

“Okay! As long as I get the candy.”

“You will receive your candy.”

“Yay!”

Beldo hefted the sack of snowroot. “Let’s get this back to the village. The sooner we do that. The sooner we can eat. And the sooner Miss Ariya can get her candy.”

Ariya nodded. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

They returned to the village and delivered the herbs to the two doctors.

“Oh, thank you,” Corenne said. “With this, we’ll have plenty.”

“You really didn’t have to,” Gouter said. “But thanks, Uncle Beldo.”

“No problem,” Beldo replied. “You rest up and get better now. I’ll see you again before next winter. Don’t make me a liar.”

“I won’t. Shadows, I’m not a kid anymore.”

Beldo grinned. “You are to me.”

Gouter clicked his tongue but didn’t argue.

Beldo nodded to each of the doctors. “I’ll see you two again too.”

“Of course,” Corenne said. “We’ll look forward to it.”

“Always a pleasure to have you visit,” Gebrel added. He looked to Lusya and Ariya. “And you two. You’ve never been here before, and yet you pitched in to help where we wouldn’t risk it. Thank you. You’re welcome back anytime too.”

“I doubt we will return,” Lusya said, “but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Gebrel smiled. “Well then, I wish you safe travels and good luck wherever you do go.”

“Thank you,” Lusya said. “I wish you good luck in your medical endeavors as well. Farewell.”

With their extra task done, Beldo exchanged one last round of goodbyes with the doctors and Gouter, and he, Lusya, and Ariya left the house and made their way to the inn at last.

“If Mister Gouter gonna be okay?” Ariya asked.

“I’m sure he will be,” Beldo said. “He’s in good hands, and he’s a tough one.”

“That’s good. Now, let’s eat so I can have my candy!”