Working with the lepers was reinvigorating for Appo. For one, it gave him an opportunity to meet the rest of Garabi’s people, all simple but hardy and well-meaning folk. It also allowed him to dust off his latent medical knowledge even further, for their leprosy had left them with a multitude of untreated issues. Many suffered the aches and pains of growing old like anyone else, but they also endured an abundance of pain from their open sores. Appo spent much of the day testing the tensile strength of his suture, learning how to tie with his single hand. He also wowed the lepers with the sterility of his spirit. He found that most lepers had been addicted to opium to tolerate their various pains, but he did his best to alieve them of their ailments in other ways. Many had come just to speak with him. They had endured many hardships over the years, and Appo was a patient listener when he needed to be.

“‘I’ve found talking does the most good,’” Appo remembered Malefica telling him at the pillories. For all their differences, the two agreed on that much.

By the end of the moon, Appo had endeared himself even further to the village. At first, Appo accepted their humble trinkets and food offerings in thanks, but he was quickly running out of space to carry them. When they insisted, Appo conjured a lie, saying accepting gifts was a sin in the eyes of Lowya. Appo hoped he would be long gone before they discovered his harmless ruse.

As Appo assisted the lepers, Garabi announced plans to drive away the screamers from around the tree. To Appo’s surprise, Garabi revealed he had actually used the screamers as a deterrent from raiders. During the day, they were slow enough to maneuver around with ease, at least in the open desert. But he elected to lead them away from the tree before Uten came back with Isbibarra. Appo figured Garabi would’ve liked to spare his son the same trouble he encountered when arriving.

To Appo’s surprise, Garabi insisted on letting no harm come to the screamers. Like many desertfolk, he opposed murder on what they considered holy ground. The plan would be for Tomi to lead them away while Garabi lowered their camels to the desert floor. After some pestering, he convinced Appo to join them for their endeavor.

And so it was that around sunset, Appo again found himself back on a camel. He rode next to Garabi as they watched Tomi run effortlessly over the ground, almost gliding. The band of seven screamers limped after her, falling over each other to grab her. They hadn’t even come close.

“Come here, ya dummies!” Tomi yelled, unable to hide her excitement. Appo realized how Tomi moved so effortlessly: she used her abilities to push herself ever so slightly off the sand. Although far from her terrifying bursts of energy he witnessed not too recently, her grace was beautiful to behold. It reminded Appo of the few southerners he met back in Jyvask, who wore shoes fixed to blades that they used to skate over ice puddles.

“She’s incredible, no?” Garabi said proudly.

Appo nodded. “Must’ve been a handful growing up.”

Garabi shook his head. “You have no idea. With how different she is… I struggle to understand her even now. But she never fails to give me joy.”

The two followed as Tomi danced around the screamers, leading them off towards a hill. They figured that at least two leagues between them would be sufficient, but that was all dependent on when the sun finally curved under the horizon.

“I mean to thank you, Appo,” Garabi said suddenly. “Your presence has been a blessing in many ways. You’ve changed my world just a bit.”

Appo figured he was referring to his outlook on healers. “Likewise,” he replied honestly. “It was no trouble at all.”

“I want to give you something, a little thanks for helping us all… Have you gotten used to riding one-handed? You’re quite efficient.”

Appo certainly didn’t feel so, but he had gotten better as his strength returned. “I suppose. It’s not second nature yet.”

“You’ll get used to it, but you’ll never forget. I used to play the sitar once.” Garabi held out his stubbed hands. Earlier that day, he told Appo he had lost his toes early in his illness, but his fingers held on until only a few years prior. It was the last punishment a leper endured, long after the disease ate away the nose and hair. It seemed as if the disease attacked their victims differently. Tomi and Erish were fortunate, for they showed only the mildest of presentations. But Uten had taken after his father. He would look like him in another ten years.

Garabi continued. “You need a means to protect yourself. You can still wield a scimitar, but you strike me as a man unfamiliar with them. Therefore, I propose an alternative.” Garabi halted his camel, leading Appo to do the same. “Bring your arm to me.” As Appo did, Garabi strapped on a sort of gauntlet made of a sleek, lightweight metal. Faint etchings swirled around the sides, clearly carved with care.

“It’s beautiful,” Appo said.

“There is a latch on the underside. Hold your arm out and tap it firmly with your other fist.”

Appo did so. As he hit the gauntlet, a thin flat blade ejected from the underside, extending the length of what remained of his elbow. It shocked Appo with his speed, and he nearly fell off his camel.

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“The blade needs to be sharpened, but it's ejection mechanism is sublime. It’s not very practical in a fight, and putting it back in place is a bitch, but if someone doesn’t expect you to have it… you’ll cause quite a bit of damage.”

Appo held the blade out, attempting a few practice swings. It was certainly unwieldy, and he while he wasn’t inept with blades, he was far from trusting himself in a fight against screamers. Still, he found himself with a grin on his face.

Appo wanted to say that he couldn’t accept such a gift. Instead, he found himself saying, “I very much approve.”

Garabi laughed. “Good! Good. I have no use for two in my older age, can do just fine with one.” With that, he slapped his right arm, producing an identical blade from his right. He used it to tap the camel down on its lower thigh, pushing it along. Appo mimicked the motion.

“Where’d you find them?” Appo asked.

“I used to travel through the desert for a living. Traded water outside Ash. Came across a group of lost legionnaires. One of them gave me these as a gift. I’ll never understand why, but a friendly face and dried figweed is worth all the coin in the world under some circumstances.”

Appo agreed. “You say you’re from Ash?”

“I once lived there, yes, before the Heads got too greedy. Any business that didn’t belong to them was no business worth keeping.”

“Um, I… Did you know I was-”

“Travelling with a Head? It came together. He doesn’t talk much, but the attitude is a giveaway. He’s a Gizzal, right? Spitting image of his father, even without all the gemstones.”

“That’s why you interrogated me earlier,” Appo realized.

Garabi nodded. “I knew you were hiding his identity, though now I see why. I would too if I had to put up with one for so long.”

“He’s certainly a desperate man,” Appo admitted. “But he was a better guide than I could ever be.”

“Ah, but of course. Easy to do when your family can afford all the camel riding lessons. I traded water for ten years before I could afford a camel.”

“I have a question, and forgive me if this is too forward… but how could you have worked a trade if you had leprosy?”

Garabi smiled. “No, it’s a fair question. The answer was very simple: I wasn’t always a leper.”

“You contracted the disease, then? How?”

“I…” Garabi paused, considering how to begin. “I’ve come to terms with the sins of my youth. If I am to be absolved, ignoring the past won’t help… Erish and I have known each other since we were young. But our love wasn’t always as strong as it is today. Especially with the long routes of the trade.”

Appo picked up on his meaning quickly. “You slept with another?”

Garabi chuckled. “So many I lost count. I’d go to speakeasies and just fall into bed with whoever. I often woke up next to women whose names I had forgotten.”

Appo couldn’t possibly imagine this old leper living such a voyeuristic lifestyle, especially one with so little skin left on his face. “People certainly change,” he thought.

“There was one I slept with more than the others. One of the other water traders introduced us. Her name was Vonika, a skinny thing, but she listened to me. I often told her stories while she laughed and collected my coin. I used to think we were in love, but I can see now that it wasn’t. Erish is a strong woman, Appo. At one point in my life I resented that, I think.”

“You contracted it from her?”

Garabi nodded. “The changes were subtle in those early years. My skin became thick and dry. My hair thinned. And then someone outed her. Turns out she hid all the ulcers on her fingers with gloves… Despite what you may think, leprosy is hard to catch. I highly doubt you’ll have it even after all the time you’ve spent with us. But when you sleep with one for as long as I did…”

“So they kicked you out?”

“I caught wind before the city could give us a proper exile. It was just me, Erish, and Uten then, and we had lived in the desert before… It took many years for Erish to forgive me, but godwilling, she did. Eventually, once our noses deteriorated, we found ourselves with the small community you see before us. It’s difficult, but we’re happy. I have three beautiful children. I have an incredible wife. There’s not much else you need… even fingers.”

“You have quite the outlook,” Appo admitted. “I’m still getting used to missing a hand.”

Garabi shook his head. “You are grieving. What you have gone through is something many could never recover from at all. It’s not just your hand… I know you would have been able to saw through Hulla’s skull a month ago. Do not belittle this sadness, but it too will pass… I was angry for many years. I was wronged, after all.”

“Wronged? How were you wronged?”

“The water trader who introduced us… He only ever offered Vonika. He kept pressuring me to sleep with her, but he had never slept with her himself. Kept making sure I’d do it every night we went to that speakeasy… Not even a year after I left, he claimed all water routes for himself.”

“You think he tricked you?”

“I know I was, Appo. It was the last thing Vonika said to me. She offered me that kindness, at least. Right as I was being run out of town.”

Appo found himself conflicted. Garabi was clearly in the wrong, but Ash had no right to expel an entire family like that. The sins of Garabi were not his wives or his children.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this, Garabi,” Appo admitted. “Why go through all this trouble of trying to save a city that doesn’t want to be saved. They did this to themselves and have done this to themselves for decades.”

“Don’t become bitter, Appo,” Garabi said. “You associate the crimes of the powerful with those they subjugate. Regular people just want to work, to make enough coin to feed their families, and enjoy themselves free from the burden of living. I assure you, Ashfolk and desertfolk are not responsible for this plague. I do not blame them for what’s become of me. It’s the parasites that feast off them, that manipulate them into doing whatever they wish. They are the enemy. The screamers are their victims. It’s best we remember that.”

Garabi was right, Appo realized. Regardless of what had happened to him, it was not the townspeople’s fault that he lost a hand. He looked out again over the distant horde chasing Tomi. He felt a moment of pity for them.

“You’re a good person, Garabi. Your family is good people.”

“Thank you,” Garabi said, his smile flattening. “It’s those damn Heads, all of them. They’re all monsters. I hear that water trader is one now.”

“The one who gave you leprosy? He’s a Head?”

Garabi nodded grimly. “Last I’ve heard. I am a changed man, but if I ever see him again…”

Considering what Appo had been through, there was only one person who could have done such a thing. He didn’t even need to ask Garabi before he continued. He was speaking to himself now.

“I’ll kill that man. For what you’ve done for me and my family, I’ll kill you, Boah Awil-Ishtar.”