Falco was out of the canvas door in the blink of an eye, and Frasera wasn't far behind him. Dellromoz was still groggy from whatever the matriarch had done to him, but he crawled to the entrance and pulled aside the flap. The sun seemed almost painful to his eyes, and he covered them with a hand and let out a groan. It probably only took a moment for them to adjust, but it felt like an hour.

When he could see again, he stood up, fell forward onto his face, and then made a second attempt, this time holding onto the doorframe to keep his balance. He didn't often envy Erasmus, but there were clearly a few advantages to being a mistwalker. The idea of him not being able to balance on his own two feet seemed silly at this point, Dell wouldn't be surprised if he could dance on the head of a pin. He giggled a bit at the mental image, then scowled as he realized how intoxicated he was.

A few bramblejacks rushed past him with concerned looks on their faces, so he turned and stumbled after them, hoping they were heading toward wherever the emergency was. He swayed precipitously when he let go of the hut, so he leaned back against it for a moment. Looking around, he spotted a sturdy stick that was just a little taller than him, with a string and hook tied to one end. It was leaned up against the hut a couple of strides away from himself, so he staggered up to it and seized it in both hands. With the fishing rod to steady himself, he set off after the bramblejacks.

He made his way past a few huts like the one he'd been in, a couple of sturdy canvas tents, and an assortment of carts and wagons. A dog barked at him, and the sudden, loud noise startled him enough to trip over his own feet. The large animal shrunk away from the glare Dell fixed it with as he brushed the dirt and leaves off his sleeves. It had a long, shaggy coat in various shades of brown, with small twigs and leaves stuck in it. It probably had eyes and ears as well, but Dellromoz couldn't see exactly where they were under under all that fur.

After he was back on his feet, a pile of leaves behind the dog stood up, walked over to him, and gave him a sniff with a cold, wet nose. He realized that the camp was full of such dogs, but they looked like piles of dirt or leaves when they laid down and curled up. He abandoned his fishing pole and threw an arm over the back of the dog, seized a handful of fur, and wrestled himself onto its back.

"Well, let's go see what the trouble is," he muttered.

"Woof," the animal agreed, and ambled toward the commotion on the edge of the camp, with Dell clinging on awkwardly.

Two dozen bramblejacks surrounded one who was lying on the ground, her face contorted into a grimace of pain. There was a bloody rag held against a wound below her knee, and another two were looking at the injury with concern. Falco was one of them, Frasera seemed to have her hands full trying to calm an argument among some of the others about what had happened.

"I can't be everywhere at once!" insisted a harried-looking bramblejack woman with a staff that appeared to be made of bones, with a few furry animal tails tied to ring at its head.

"You don't need to be everywhere," shouted one of the crowd, "just where the dangerous animals are! What sort of beast warden doesn't ward off dangerous beasts?!"

"I was leading away a panther that was stalking around the edges of the camp this morning, or don't you remember the commotion all the dogs made?! It wasn't even the bear that caused her injuries, she was startled and tumbled down a hill! The bear was probably just as afraid as she was!"

The voices jumbled together as everyone seemed to have an opinion on that, but Dell's mind was still too foggy to sort them out.

"ENOUGH!" Frasera wasn't really that loud, but everyone clamped their jaws shut anyway. Dell didn't blame them, who wanted to end up hexed and unable to stand up or think straight? At least they'd know it was coming.

"Ranzi was doing what I told her to do; panthers can't be allowed to skulk around the camp," Frasera stated authoritatively. "It's unfortunate that she wasn't available to go with the foraging party, but these things happen." The dog Dell was clinging on to walked around most of the gathering to stand next to the bramblejack woman with the bone-staff. The gnome remained where he was, arms wrapped around the thick base of the hairy animal's neck.

"If the beast warden was busy, then were was the green warden?!" someone demanded. Falco stood up from where he'd been examining the injured forager and turned toward the speaker with a stern expression, but Frasera spoke again.

"Falco went to investigate why Old Cannibal had come down the mountain," she said. "Also because I asked him to. None of us are happy that Hyacinth was injured, but none of us were neglecting our duties, either. You know us better than that." Most of the angry bramblejacks seemed to be suitably chastened by that.

"Hey, why did Old Cannibal come down the mountain?" someone asked.

"Hello," Dell tried to slide off the dog's back gracefully, but at that moment we was incapable of anything approximating grace. He rolled off the canine sideways and landed on his back, arms and legs splayed out like a rug on a floor. He pointed a finger roughly in Frasera's direction and groaned, "This is a lousy thing to do to someone."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"What are you doing here, Dellromoz?" Frasera said, her arms crossed. "This isn't your concern."

"I'm a physician, it's as much my concern as it is yours. I'd be more than willing to take a look at the lady's injury, if someone could dispel whatever this incapacitating nonsense is." he replied. The treetops overhead seemed to be swaying in a strange fashion, and he squeezed his eyes shut before they could make him feel even dizzier than he did already.

"Where did this outsider come from?" Ranzi asked. "What's he doing in our camp?"

"He did it," Dellromoz said, pointing at Falco with an unsteady finger. "You're in trouble now," he added, looking at the green warden.

"I found him and his companion when I went to investigate the matter of Old Cannibal. Apparently, they woke him up coming down the mountain."

"We didn't wake him up, that was those other two rock sliders, they ran right into him!"

"You outran three rock sliders?" Ranzi looked skeptical.

"Erasmus outran them carrying me. He's much faster than I am."

"He is that," Falco muttered.

"How can he be a physicker and simple?" wondered Ranzi, prodding at Dell's foot with her staff.

"I'm not simple!" snorted Dell indignantly. "I'll have you know I attended several colleges!"

"Oh?" inquired Frasera, "You have one of those 'degrees' they give to scholars or philosophers?"

"No," Dell admitted. "They wouldn't let me enroll, but I snuck into all the best lectures." Frasera raised an eyebrow at him, and he became indignant again. "I've stitched up more wounds than anyone here! I had my own physician's office in Drumlummon!"

"Is that true?" The matriarch's eyes bored into his.

"It is."

Frasera gave him an appraising look for a moment, then took off a bracelet made from a braided vine. With deft movements, she unfastened a pin holding the ends and unwound the braid. The fog cleared from Dell's thoughts and the world stopped spinning around him. He sat up and gave a relieved sigh.

"That should do it," Dell said, cutting the thread, then wiping his forehead with his sleeve. The injured forager, Hyacinth, was unconscious, knocked out by an herbal tincture that Frasera and Falco had concocted. The two had an impressive knowledge of herb-lore, which had proven useful, as Dell was working with borrowed tools and improvised materials. Falco had left a little while ago, but Frasera helped him clean and bandage the wound.

"Help me get a brace on it here," he told the matriarch, "she needs to avoid moving it for at least two weeks, or she could re-injure the tendon."

"Thank you for your help with this, Dellromoz," she said, "I apologize for doubting you."

"You had your reasons, I understand," he replied. "You have a responsibility to your clan, and you didn't know anything about me." She nodded, and they finished binding Hyacinth's lower leg with rope and wooden strips. "We can let her rest now."

They stepped out of Frasera's tent and into the last sunlight of the evening. Food sizzled, simmered, and steamed over cookfires as members of the clan watched and sniffed appreciatively. Small groups carried on lively conversations, laughing here and there. A group of children ran around the corner of a wagon, giggling and shrieking. Erasmus came chasing after them, walking on his hands, which were stuffed into his boots. His feathered hat was on one of his feet, which swayed back and forth over his head as he moved them to keep his balance. As he got close to the laughing children, he began to spin, and Dell recognized the steps of the Mapleseed, a dance that had been popular at Ostrogothi festivals in the decades before the war.

"I sent Falco to release him," Frasera said, standing next to Dell, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she watched the bramblejack children attempt the Mapleseed themselves. Mostly, they just spun around until they fell over laughing. "The ancestral spirits said he would behave himself."

Erasmus kicked his hat into the air, then stood up in just the right spot for it to land on his head. He gave a bow as the children cheered, then excused himself and walked over to meet Dell and Frasera.

"Dellromoz! You must have finished the surgery! They let me look in on you earlier, but you were busy, so I didn't interrupt." He hopped about on one foot as he pulled his boot over the other.

"The surgery's done, it went well. I see you're making friends," Dell remarked.

"Children are the best of us," Erasmus told him.

"Where are you two traveling to?" Frasera asked.

"We're bound for Ostron, Erasmus needs to be recognized as a master swordsman, so he can challenge a count to a duel," Dell answered.

"We need to figure out if Dell can be cured of a magical malady, and either deal with the enemies that malady has caused, or put him on a ship to somewhere beyond their reach," Erasmus said. "My grudge against the count can wait." Dell looked at him in surprise.

"This is the matter with the fire?"

"Yes."

"I can't help you with your enemies," the matriarch began, "but we can provide you with a guide to Gaizarik's Mount, as payment for the help you've given us."

"Thank you. Is there anyone else you'd like me to look at before we depart?" Dell asked.

"I can think of some, if you're willing to remain with us for a few days," she answered.