Voramini followed a set of tracks. He had a few days off from tending bar before the new owner took over. The new boss was going to keep the staff the same, at least to start out. Vor was using his time off to practice tracking. He'd been a tracker back in Erilu, before he'd needed to go to the college and before King Arlin made him come here. If he ever got to go home, he'd be a tracker again so he did what he could to stay in practice. He saw a man stumble out of a house and stagger to the road before collapsing. Vor hurried to him and checked his pulse. He didn't feel anything. He transported the man to Darkham's clinic. “Dark!” He called. The dwarf came down a moment later followed by his wives. “What happened?” Vor shook his head. “I don't know. I saw the man come out of a house and collapse.” Darkham led them back to a patient room and Vor laid the man on the bed. Darkham examined the man. “He's not breathing. Minx, I'm going to need you to breathe for him.” Minx nodded and took her place. “Wench, get all our healing potions.” “All?” Darkham glared at his wife as he started rhythmically putting pressure on the man's chest, pausing to allow Minx a chance to breathe into his mouth. “He's got a damaged sternum and an atrophied heart. This isn’t going to do that any good.” Darkham explained as Wench and Vor collected healing potions. “Do you want me to contact Shun to help?” Vor offered. Darkham shook his head. “If this doesn't work, there's nothing else to be done. Even Shunati can't raise people from the dead.” “Sometimes he can.” Vor shrugged. “Not with this much damage.” “How bad is he?” “It's hard to say. His heart's at least a level three atrophy but after this, it'll be higher.” The man gasped for breath. Minx stepped back. They waited a moment. He continued breathing on his own. Darkham started healing the man's chest while Wench gave him healing potions. “So who is this man?” Darkham asked Vor. “I don't know.” Vor shrugged. “I just saw him collapse. It wouldn't be right to ignore him.” “You said he came out of a house. Where? Which house? Unless he was robbing the place, they probably know him.” Vor frowned. “I don't know. I'd been tracking someone. I wasn't looking where I was going. I could go back and try to find the tracks again.” Darkham shook his head. “He'll tell us who he is when he wakes.” “Will he wake?” Vor asked. “Probably. If not, we'll talk to the guard. They’ll know if anyone is missing.” Vor nodded. He looked at the man. There was something familiar about him but Vor couldn't place it. He saw dozens of people everyday at the inn. He’d probably been in for a drink at sometime. “Come, Wench has coffee made. Have a cup or two.” Darkham suggested. “Wench made it?” Vor raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I suppose I could have a cup.” **** Vor was just leaving Darkham's. He'd stayed the night to keep the healer company as he watched over the unknown patient. Being a bartender he was typically up late anyhow. A few extra hours didn't matter. Darkham was just opening up the clinic the next morning when there was a knock on the door. Darkham opened it. “Sorry to disturb you. Is Vor here? I can't find him.” “Shun?” Vor pulled the door open further so he could see his cousin. “Vor? You okay?” Vor nodded. “Just visiting.” “At this hour?” Shunati frowned. “I came last night. I saw man collapse and brought him in. I stayed to keep Dark company.” “Is the man okay?” Shunati asked. Darkham nodded. “He had a partially healed broken sternum and an atrophied heart.” “What are you doing in Thager, Shun?” Vor asked his cousin. “Did you finally get run out of Sen-gan?” “Sort of. I need a place to stay for a bit. I didn't want to be in Erilu that long.” “Why? What happened?” Vor frowned. “Tylan's friend, Darina was killed last night.” “Star's dead?” Vor repeated. “What happened?” Darkham asked. “She came to Sen-gan yesterday. Some guy coerced her into stealing something and she came to Tylan for help. They apparently were going to use the item to get the man arrested but the person they were stealing from caught them and shot Darina in the chest with a lightning bolt and killed her.” “How's Tylan?” Vor asked. “She wasn't hurt, nor was Thorgrey.” “Thorgrey?” Vor raised an eyebrow. “They need a second mage.” Shunati shrugged. “He and Tylan were able to save the baby but they really cut up Darina's body to do it.” Shunati continued. “That kind of damage to a person is too much for me to handle. I can't go within three rooms of her.” “Baby? What baby?” Vor asked. “Darina's baby.” “Darina’s? Dar wasn't pregnant.” Vor insisted. “There's a tiny baby in Sen-gan that says otherwise.” “I can't believe Star was pregnant.” Vor sat down, stunned. “And now she'll never get to see the baby.” “How could you not know?” Shunati asked. “No one’s seen her in a few months. We've been busy at the Dragon’s Wine and she's been busy with her mother. The woman has Nielboh.” “How bad? Is someone watching her?” “The nurse will probably be there by now.” Darkham speculated. “I'll stop by and let her know what happened.” Vor offered. “And yes, Shun, you can stay with me. But if you’re going to be here long enough that you need to indulge in your addiction, you talk to Dark. I'm not cutting myself again.” “I never asked you to cut yourself.” Shunati insisted. “No, you were just going so rocky you couldn't think. You put coffee grounds on your pot roast.” Darkham laughed. “You can help out here if you need to. But stay away from him.” He gestured toward the patient Vor had brought in the night before. “I think he's a healer and in his condition, the feedback shock would kill him.” “Then how were you able to heal him?” Shunati asked. Darkham grinned. “I'm an unreadable.” “Seriously? You're an unreadable healer? I didn't think it was possible.” “It's possible, but we are rare.” Darkham agreed. “Do either of you know who the baby's father might be?” Shunati asked. Vor and Darkham shook their heads. “I've never even seen Star with any guys,” Vor said. “I'll ask the hags.” Darkham offered. “Did anyone talk with Kith?” Vor asked. “He was closest to her. He’s hunting with a friend right now but is due back soon.” “Pt'this contacted him. He’s back in Sen-gan. He didn't know either.” “If they can't find the father, what's going to happen to the baby?” Vor asked. “King Emeton and Pt'this both talked about adopting her. Whatever happens, she's going to need to stay at the palace for a while. She was quite early. She's lucky her organs were fully developed but she's smaller than Bacna was. She's not much bigger than my hand. Mila and the dragons are keeping her warm. I'll help when I can go back.” “You mean you didn't bring her?” Vor asked. “You can’t transport a healthy newborn much less one as tiny as she is.” Shunati frowned. “I was kidding. Come on. Let's go talk with Fria and see what kinds of arrangements we can make for her.” Vor suggested. Shunati nodded. “I'll be back later to help out.” He told Darkham as he followed his cousin out. **** Thailyn drifted in and out of consciousness. He felt he needed to wake up but he dreaded it. He never wanted to wake up again. He didn't understand. What had happened to him? He could barely read himself. He was having a bout and his chest hurt. He couldn’t feel Darina. Why couldn't he feel her? What happened? Panic brought him toward that dreaded wakefulness and with that came remembrance; the fight, his injury, the job from Merrada going terribly wrong, the death of his family. Darina and the baby were gone. Tears came to his eyes. He tried to put himself back to sleep, deep enough there would be no dreams, deep enough there would be no wakening. He couldn’t face life without them. He couldn’t go back to being alone. But he couldn’t put himself to sleep. His healing abilities weren’t working. He was too drained. His injuries and the shock of Darina’s death had overloaded them. But where was he and how did he get there? He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a healer’s clinic. It wasn’t Lial’s. He was probably still in Thager. He heard voices, or maybe just one voice. It sounded like someone was having a conversation with himself. He didn’t care. Words came to him but most drifted past. Then he heard the voice say something about a baby’s father. His mind started to focus. Dragons were instinctually protective of children. “I’ve never seen Star with any guys.” The same voice responded. Star? They were talking about Star? His Star? “I’ll ask the hags.” Another voice said. He listened closer. They were looking for him. The baby was still alive? How? The clash of emotions made him sick. He knew he couldn’t sit up yet so he tried to roll over. He couldn’t even manage that. The best he could do was to turn his head so hopefully he wouldn’t choke. The pain was unbelievable. The bout he was having intensified. “Hey now. Take it easy,” The other voice he’d heard said. Strong arms helped him roll over. Thailyn felt the pain and nausea lessen as if he was being healed but he didn’t feel any feedback shock. Was that because he was so drained? “Minx.” The man called. “I’m going to need some help in here. Bring fresh clothes and wash rags. Wench, bring a mop.” Thailyn finally looked at the man. He was a dwarf. Shortly, two dwarf women came in carrying the requested items. One helped change him while the other cleaned up the bed and the floor. “Was that Shunati that left with Vor? One asked. Thailyn assumed it was Wench since she had the mop. “It was” The healer nodded. “Star was killed last night.” There were gasps and moans from the women as the man relayed the story. There were exclamations of surprise when he mentioned the baby. “How did the child survive?” The one Thailyn thought was Minx asked. “I don’t know how she survived the lightning blast.” The healer shrugged. “Slippurse and a friend cut her out of Star. She’s quite early but Shun said she’d survive.” “Good.” Wench nodded. “We have to find the father.” “He looks terrible.” Minx frowned at Thailyn. “Should he even be awake?” “How can you expect anyone to sleep with you two going on like you have?” The healer scowled. “Did he tell you his name?” Minx asked, ignoring him. “Not yet. He was a bit busy being sick.” “Is he ill too?” Wench asked. “No. He’s just in shock.” “Can you tell us your name?” Minx asked. Thailyn tried to answer but couldn’t manage words. “Do you know your name?” She asked. He nodded. “Can you read?” Wench asked. He nodded again. Wench left, taking out the soiled clothes and cleaning supplies. She returned a moment later with stiffened parchment. Each page had a few letters on it. The letters were large enough to be read from a distance. “We’re going to spell out your name. You nod when you see the sheet with the first letter. Then we’ll go through those letters until we find yours. Okay?” Thailyn nodded. He’d used this method too. Even when people couldn’t read, many times they recognized their own name. They went through the process until they had his name. “Lyni?” Wench asked. Thailyn nodded. “I’m Wench.” The woman confirmed. “And this is Minx and the surly healer is Darkham. It’s good to meet you. Do you have any family?” Thailyn shook his head. “None? What about in Baj-tisk?” Again he shook his head. “It there anyone we should contact?” She pressed. He thought about Fria. He shouldn’t abandon her. But he couldn’t help her and most times she didn’t recognize him anymore. He shook his head again. “Let him rest now.” Darkham insisted. He looked at Thailyn. “I’m going to put you to sleep for a while. Your system is so confused right now, I’m not sure you’ll be able to sleep on your own.” Thailyn nodded. He knew he understood this. He probably could tell Darkham a few things about it. But he couldn’t think. He couldn’t focus. With the healer’s help he drifted off to sleep. **** Over the next few days Thailyn improved slightly. He could sleep on his own and he stopped getting sick. He’d gone from all liquids to some soft food. He was to the point he could probably feed himself but he didn’t. He didn’t want to eat. He didn’t want to survive without Darina. The hags, as Darkham referred to his wives, saw something was wrong but didn’t know what and he didn’t tell them it was because he’d lost his mate. He didn’t want a deathwatch. No surviving mate ever did. He wanted to die. They all did. The physical and emotional shock of losing the bond combined with the grief of the loss of a loved one was often too much for a dragon to handle. They usually tried to kill themselves. So friends and family stayed with the dragon at all times to make sure they survived. Wench and Minx seemed to be doing similar. **** Kritalla entered the clinic and looked around. “Can I help you?” A dwarf woman asked. He held up his hand. “I burnt myself. The bartender at the Dragon’s Wine recommended this place.” “Vor sent you? His cousin finally leave?” “This morning.” Kritalla nodded. “Just in time for you to get hurt. Darkham will be out soon. He’s with a rather stubborn patient.” She came out from behind the desk with a rag. “Put this on your hand for now.” Kritalla hesitated but did it. There was pain at first from the touch but it was replaced by a cooling sensation. “It was soaked in a special solution to help with burn pain.” The woman explained. Shortly another dwarf came out. “Hello. I’m Darkham, the healer.” “I’m Kritalla.” “Come on back. Let’s check out that hand.” Kritalla followed him to one of the back rooms. “So what happened?” Darkham asked as he examined the hand. “The cook spilled hot oil on me.” “Ouch.” Darkham healed the burn. “Thanks.” “Anything else you need?” Kritalla shook his head. “Not at this time, though if that cook is as accident prone as she seems, I may be back.” Darkham nodded. As Kritalla followed him out he glanced in one of the other rooms they were passing and stopped. “Lyni?” Darkham turned. “You know him?” “We’ve been friends for ages. Would it be alright if I visited with him for a bit?” The dwarf hesitated. “Lyni, you know this man?” Thailyn nodded. “He’s a friend?” Another nod. “Go ahead.” Darkham told Kritalla. Kritalla entered and sat down. “I never thought I’d see you as a patient. What happened?” “I got hit in the sternum. The resulting break messed with my heart. What are you doing here?” “I burnt my hand.” “In Thager.” Thailyn clarified. “I just moved here. I bought an inn.” “You bought the Dragon’s Wine?” Kritalla nodded. “We just reopened yesterday. This morning the cook spilled hot oil on my hand.” He looked at the dragon man in the bed. “You look terrible Lyni. You doing ok?” “I’m fine.” “Where’s Darina? She shouldn’t be alone with you like this.” Thailyn didn’t answer. “Where’s Darina?” Kritalla repeated. Thailyn turned away, closing his eyes. Kritalla shut the door and leaned close to the healer. “Thailyn, where is your mate?” “Dead.” “Dead? What? When? Why didn’t you tell me?” “About a week ago, I think. I don’t know.” “A week? And they’re leaving you alone?” Kritalla was familiar enough with dragons to know about deathwatches. “They don’t know.” “Thailyn, you need to tell them. They can help.” “No. And don’t you tell them either.” “I know you want to die. I know you felt that way before. But you can’t give up.” “It’s not that. It’s the baby.” “Baby? What baby?” Thailyn sighed and told him what happened. “The child can’t be tied to me. What would the council do to her? She was nowhere near ready to be born. Right now, Pt’this is helping care for her. What’s going to happen to her if he finds out whose child she is?” “She’s a baby. He’ll continue helping. No dragon turns his back on a child in need. And no dragon would abandon his daughter. That little girl needs you to survive.” “I’m in no condition to care for a premature baby. And the life of a fugitive is no life for a child. They can adopt her.” “You call yourself a dragon? You’re abandoning your own daughter when she needs you?” “I can’t raise her.” “Then don’t. But don’t abandon her. She needs you to survive for her. Watch over her. Be there when she needs you rather than an adopted family.” Thailyn sighed and nodded. He had a responsibility to the girl. He had to survive for her. “I need to get back to the inn, but I’ll be back.” Thailyn nodded. Kritalla stopped by the desk to pay his bill. “Lyni seems awfully depressed.” He told the woman. “I don’t know if he should be left alone right now.” “You think he might hurt himself?” The woman asked. Kritalla nodded. “I do.” “I told you,” Another dwarf woman said. “Hush, I never disagreed.” The first said. She looked at Kritalla. “We’ll keep an eye on him.” “I’ll be back when I can to visit with him,” Kritalla said and left. **** Thailyn woke to a child crying. He was still unaware of how long he'd been in the clinic. Kritalla came several times to visit and one dwarf or another was there with him frequently too. Kritalla swears he didn't say anything about him losing his mate but Thailyn sure felt like he was under a deathwatch so he was surprised to find he was alone. The child kept crying. He wondered if Darkham was busy or if there was a problem. The child's cries tore at his heart. He went out to see if there was anything he could do to help. “Darkham's not here now. He won't be back for a number of days.” Minx was insisting. “He won't stop crying. Can't you do something?” The woman holding the boy asked. “I'm not a healer,” Minx said. “You've been told before not to wait so long to bring Rejenn in.” “We have dozens of kids. We don't have time to bring in one child every time he whimpers.” “Let me see him.” Thailyn insisted. “Lyni, what are you doing?” Minx asked. “I'm a healer. You said Darkham's gone. The child needs help.” “Do you feel up to it?” “It's better than lying in that bed.” Thailyn shrugged. “The boy needs help.” Thailyn took the boy. “Well, you are sick, aren't you? Sleepless fever is a tough one. “You said his name is Rejenn?” He asked as he handed the boy back to the woman. She nodded. “If you don't want to bring him in any more, give him more food, boil his clothing and bedding. Replace the mattress. Use lye soap and hot water on anything that can't be boiled and keep him away from other sick children.” He instructed. The woman frowned. “Send us the bill.” She told Minx and stalked off. “And she'll be back in another couple of months,” Thailyn said as the door closed. Minx nodded. “That she will.” “He's been sick quite a while, how long?” “Two years.” “Two? The boy’s only two years old.” Minx nodded. “Two years ago, a merchant brought him in. He'd found a broken up wagon and stopped to investigate. There was a man and woman, both dead. Nearby, he found the boy and brought him to town. An investigation indicated they’d been attacked by trolls. By our guess, they were from one of the farming villages and bringing the boy in for healing. He was already sick at that time. No other family’s been found, though I'm not sure how close they looked.” “So that woman was an orphanage keeper?” Thailyn guessed. Minx nodded and he let out a growl that was cut short by pain. “You be careful. You're still a ways from being healed.” Minx admonished. “Yes, ma'am.” Thailyn nodded. “And you really shouldn't be up. Let's get you back to bed.” She started to grab his elbow but he jerked away. “Oh relax. I'm an unreadable.” “I thought my abilities were just being overloaded.” “I don't know anything about that.” The woman shrugged. “It's just I'm not getting feedback shock from Darkham.” “And you won't. He's an unreadable too.” “But he's a healer.” Thailyn frowned. “That's just…” “… Very rare.” Minx finished. “And very fortunate for you. In your condition, the feedback shock would've killed you.” “Yes, it would. Even now, after… How long?” “Almost 2 weeks. How about I get you breakfast and I'll get you caught up on the latest gossip.” “Gossip?” He raised an eyebrow. “News?” Minx shrugged. Her tone and body language indicated she didn't see a difference between the two. “But you need to eat.” “Yes ma'am.” Thailyn nodded. She left and returned shortly with his breakfast. “Dark said you could eat solid food, but not a lot.” “I understand.” He needed to get used to it gradually. “Now, you want to know what has been happening. A friend of Queen Tylan's was killed while visiting in Sen-gan. She had a little girl. The king and queen want to adopt her. They’re searching for the father. Squads of soldiers have gone out to all the towns and their surrounding villages in search of him. Queen Tylan came here herself since the friend was from here. She wanted to talk to the grandmother herself. “The grandmother didn't know?” Fria very easily could tell them who he was, if she remembered. Mix shook her head. “She has Nielboh. Dark and some other healer from Illia were treating her but the other healer seems to have disappeared or has other patients taking up his time.” She eyed him a moment. “It wasn't you, was it?” Thailyn shook his head. “I can't say it was.” Although he wished he could. “Pity. She's not doing well. She has another year if she's lucky. Darina had a nurse coming. She still is. And friends are staying with her at night. Queen Tylan is thinking about taking her to Sen-gan. One of the palace healers believes he can repeat what was being done. It's possible she may remember something but it's unlikely.” “What about the little girl? How old is she?” “Newborn. She's the tiniest thing and so adorable.” “You’ve seen her? They brought her with?” “Oh shades no. She’s too tiny. We went down for the memorial.” The memorial, he would've liked to have gone to that. But unless they'd had it here in his room there was no way he'd been able to make it. “She was a bit premature so, like I said, she's tiny. Smaller than even dwarf babies. But she’s getting constant care. The palace healers are quite good. And there are a couple of dragons living there who treat all the palace kids as their own. She'll be well cared for.” “Did they name her?” Minx shook her head. “They’re waiting for the adoption ceremony, in case the father shows up.” “Are the palace healers strong enough to tell if anyone claiming to be the father is?” He didn't want his girl ending up in the hands of another man. Minx nodded. “One is very strong. They compare him to Thailyn. Did you ever get to meet Thailyn?” “That was before my time, I'm afraid.” Thailyn shook his head. “With what you read from Rejenn, you might be in their arena too.” Thailyn smiled. “I don't know about that.” “In your condition, reading age and past ailments, I would say so.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “Darkham and Wench are in the villages this week. Most things I can deal with using potions but would you be willing to help me when needed, if you feel up to it?” Thailyn nodded. “I don't think I could do emergency healing right now, but otherwise, I should at least be able to get them stable.” “No, I won’t you have you doing emergency healing. Even I know you're in no condition for that. But having something to do might help you recover.” **** “We’re back.” Darkham called as he and Wench entered through the back way. “I missed you.” Minx smiled and kissed both of them. “How'd you get along?” Wench asked. “Very well.” Minx nodded. “And our patient? He’s still alive?” Darkham added. “Alive and making great progress emotionally and physically.” She reported. “Who’s he talking to?” Darkham asked. “Marna. She brought in Tohan. He fell down some steps that hurt his arm. She was worried it was broken.” “You're letting him heal?” “Just a little. It's helping him so much, emotionally. The keepers brought in Rejenn the day you left. Lyni actually got up and came out to heal the boy. Just that alone improved him so much; I decided that maybe he could help occasionally. He's quite skilled and he's responsible enough to accept his limits. He hasn't been pushing himself.” “You're using my patients as part of one of your patient’s cures?” Darkham frowned. “Yes I am. I've also helped make sure your patients get the healing they need.” Minx nodded. Darkham scowled and went back to check on them. Thailyn was just finishing up. “It wasn't broken. He's fine; just watch him on the stairs.” He told the mother. “Darkham, you're back,” Thailyn said, seeing the dwarf. “We're just finishing up with Tohan, if you'd like to double check it.” Darkham did so. The boy was fine. “I’m glad you had an assistant this time while you were gone. I don't like going to those other clinics.” Marna told him. “Both have good healers.” Darkham assured her. “One doesn't like kids. The other thinks I worry too much.” “I hope Lyni was better for you,” He said. “Oh, he was. Thank you.” She went out to pay. “Thank you for your help.” Darkham said grudgingly. “You're welcome. It gave me something to do while I recovered.” “And how are you doing?” “My sternum's healed, breathing’s back to normal, bouts with my atrophy are down to two a day and mild enough I don't need any green bough, eating is back to normal and I'm close to normal strength, physically and my healing. I still tired easily and need a lot of sleep.” “That's because you’re healing others, rather than yourself.” “It's because I’m doing both.” Thailyn corrected. “But I need to.” “Your addiction, huh?” Darkham guessed. Thailyn nodded. “Back to bed with you. You are still recovering from basically being dead.” Darkham insisted. “One moment.” Thailyn went to the table in his room and grabbed a stack of parchment. “Here's my notes of the patients I treated this week, in case they need follow-up or have more problems.” “Notes? You took notes?” The college encouraged note taking but Darkham rarely did it unless he was treating someone long term, or in cases like that blasted, neglectful, orphanage. Thailyn nodded. “This way I can look back at them in case a patient tries to tell me the wrong thing. I can also look back and see how I treated and ailment and see what worked and what didn't. And like I said, this way you know what was done.” Darkham grunted and took the papers. “Get back to bed.”