Maura was definitely exhausted, and she had no idea how long she had been working, but she only had the last warrior to treat. The soldiers were both human men like her first patient and had similar wounds and the same venom in their systems but they certainly needed no additional exercise. In fact, they really should eat a bit healthier and take it easy for a while in her opinion. Maura hadn’t ever worked on soldiers before, but the number of microfractures in the bones along with scarring along the hands and arms, probably from weapon practice, couldn’t be healthy.

Everyone had needed a bath, but at least they had tiny little clean spots now where she had used their bodies as tables. The thought almost had an exhausted giggle escape, but she satisfied herself with a secret smile.

As she flushed the wound clean for the last time before working on the venom, she mused on the differences she had noticed in these people from what she expected. At first, there wasn’t anything too strange that stood out, but as she checked on her first patient between working on the soldiers, she noticed that his internal mana had been building back up.

She postulated that the venom had been behind their lack of internal mana, which seemed to be the case when she checked the woman and noticed her mana was building up again as well. Whatever that venom was, it drained or disrupted their internal system enough to block mana from accumulating, which was certainly interesting.

The people also had much more internal mana than she had been expecting. In her memories of the before times people with enough mana to become mages were pretty rare, but it seemed that every person she had scanned had deep reserves. But mages still seemed rare? It was a bit of a conundrum that she just added to her list of evidence and questions about the mystery that were the changes in the world.

She had noticed that in the warriors their muscles and bones were much more dense than she had been expecting, but that wasn’t the case in her civilian patient. There were probably many other changes that she didn’t or couldn’t notice while they were resting and recovering. She had considered earlier that these people somehow used mana to reinforce their bodies when she saw that guard throw the javelin, and from what she had seen of internal changes would make sense if that were the case.

Maura placed her right hand on the soldier’s skin between the wounds and his head while she placed her left hand in the wound itself and used her diagnostic spell to target her magic and purge the venom. This was the longest part of each treatment, and she had to concentrate so as not to leave any damage.

When she came out of her healing fugue with one last diagnostic sweep and an almost silent weary sigh, she looked up and gasped in surprise. Sitting across the soldier’s cot from her was a human woman. She didn’t move, but just seemed to be studying Maura as if she were a puzzle that was missing many pieces.

Maura’s body froze as her eyes flickered around and she reached out with her senses looking for any threat. She heard someone breathing outside of the tent flap, but didn’t sense anything other than these two new people.

Her wide eyes locked onto the woman across from her as her instincts, feelings, and thoughts all ran in different directions which left her stunned and unable to move. Had the woman moved or talked or whoever was outside been in the room as well, it probably would have been enough of a threat for her to bolt, but the woman stayed silent and let Maura study her back.

She was a pretty woman, probably around fifty or so. Her greying red hair was pulled back and hidden under a colorful green wrap. She had sharp curious blue eyes set into a severe face with a few wrinkles here and there. Her skin was light and there were faint freckles dusting the bridge of her nose and cheeks that were rosy from the cold. She was dressed in a well made thick green dress with a heavy woolen shawl woven with patterns wrapped around her shoulders, and her hands were placed in her lap.

After some unknown amount of time she took a bit deeper of a breath and breathed out with a *mmmm*

“What a curious thing, you are.” She said quietly.

Maura flinched upon hearing her voice and quickly scanned the sky before realizing she was still inside the tent. She was still frozen with indecision - her instincts were beginning to calm somewhat, but her mind was still stuck.

The woman tilted her head slightly and continued in her low breathy voice, “There I was, on my way here to check on the wounded, when the ever vigilant Sergeant Eileen stopped me and spoke of a mystery she had been trying to solve for a few hours now. She asked me where I had been, for she was of the opinion that someone was still inside the healing tent and had thought that person was me.”

Her voice had a strange cadence to it that drew Maura in. Her body began to relax without her knowledge and though she had been woken up temporarily from the surprise, her mind was in just the right spot to be able to sit and listen, as if half dreaming.

“I, of course, had been sleeping and so I told her just that. She spoke of a possible intruder and that she had been trying to find something for a while, you see, so now my curiosity was piqued. The good Sergeant had turned this way, probably to begin a crusade as all soldiers are wont to do. I decided that I would head off all of that energy and see for myself what was behind her quest.

“And what do I find when we reach the object of the mystery? A strange little girl, leaning over a wounded soldier, casting advanced healing magic. Thus, instead of answers I was presented with more questions.”

Maura felt her cheeks blush a tiny bit and her mouth drew together slightly.

“But the mystery does not end there, oh no. For this little girl recites an epic tale without saying a word. For not only was she able to evade an expert tracker and forward army scout for hours, but she is displaying magic and talent that only decades of advanced learning could account for, not available to many at all - if you were unaware, and yet she couldn’t fit the typical mold of a learned healer less if she had been coached to.

“Everything about her tells a story. Her features are that of an Ovoure, not seen in the area in a few hundred years, she has thin little scars all over the tiny areas that her clothing does not cover. And the clothing? There are several novels written in her clothes. She is wrapped in lovingly tailored remnants of a hundred different grand beasts. Every place you look, there is another story being told, another secret to be found. From different bones, claws, feathers… It is quite the picture. Though it is a rather dark picture, I fear.

“Then, when I am sure that I have found myself an insurmountable enigma, the mystery only deepens as she opens her eyes, and they are glowing a deep emerald green, my favorite color if you were curious, which I am almost certain is a trait that Ovoure do not share.

“So tell me, curious child, who are you? What is your story, I wonder?”

Maura had been hypnotized by the story-like pacing in the strange accent. She had understood almost all of the words, and those that she didn’t know were easy to comprehend from context. Her eyes had begun to droop as she watched the relaxed woman and listened to her speak.

The last sentence broke her out of her dreamy state of mind, but not sharply like she would have expected of the situation. It’s probably because the woman hasn’t moved the whole time and she didn’t look like a threat at all, that her instincts are still and she is so calm.

Maura looks into the woman’s eyes and whispers, “I… My name is Maura. And…”

Maura had settled down onto her ankles, feet still on the ground. She quickly looked down in embarrassment trying to find the words to continue, only to realize that she hadn't finished with her final patient and she had completely forgotten about him for a moment. Seeing the wounds and the little bits of blood woke her mind up a bit.

She breathed in a quick breath and her hands twitched a little. Her eyes widened and she looked back up at the woman, who’s eyebrow was now raised in a question.

“I have to finish with my patient! If… that’s okay?” Maura hesitantly asked.

The woman narrowed her eyes a little bit before responding, “Mmm, yes, that will be fine dear. I’ll wait right here, because we haven’t finished our chat.”

Maura was flustered and stammered out a barely audible, “Y.. Yes, of course.”

She shook her head a little as she took the whole confusing situation and all of her feelings and placed them in a little box to worry about later. She had someone who needed her help. With a quick breath she took the remaining silk thread and needle and began to stitch up the wounds with expert little knots.

Once the wounds were sealed, she used a sterile bandage and some water to remove any blood and then placed her finger to finish the final healing. She could probably have healed all of the wounded fully without over-stressing their bodies, except for the first patient due to his more advanced infection and overall lack of fitness, but a credo of magical healing is ‘less is more.’ Letting the body heal naturally was not only safer and more beneficial, but adding excess magical stress to a body could quickly become detrimental, especially if they hurt themselves and required more healing before fully recovering.

As her hand lit up again and the energy began to flow Maura could almost feel the intense scrutiny from the woman across from her. A few minutes later she had finished tracing each wound. She took the remaining sterile bandages and wrapped up the wounds expertly then re-sheathed her knife. She curled her body up as she sat back on her heels with her hands nervously clasped and waited awkwardly.

Maura went still and kept staring at the floor, instinctively trying to hide from the coming confrontation. She wished that she hadn’t made the pretty woven headband now, because she could have hidden her face behind her hair if she hadn’t put it on. She knew in her mind that this was all pointless, but her body and feelings didn’t want to listen.

The woman shifted a little bit and said, “Well, that was expertly done. I suppose I should introduce myself, but I’d rather not talk to the top of your head. Chin up, girl.”

Maura winced a little but moved her head up a little so she could see the other woman’s face. She didn’t see any anger or suspicion on the woman’s face, but she was still very nervous.

The woman gave her a quick smile and said, “There you are. My name is Amelia Carter, and it’s nice to meet you Maura. Now, I’d like to hear your story, though I fear I already know some of it. Why don’t you tell me what you are doing out here, and are you all alone?”

Maura’s face scrunched up in distress for a moment as that question hit her right to the core. She reflexively curled up a bit tighter before clearing her throat with a little cough.

She looked back into Amelia’s eyes and haltingly began, “H..hi Amelia. It’s nice to meet you, too. It’s nice to meet anyone, really. I’ve been looking for you… for a long time. I mean… not you but… people. I’ve been traveling east, hoping to find someone, and I found you about a day ago.

“I er… I wanted to come say hi, but… I was afraid. I didn’t want to be… I don’t want to be alone anymore. I have been for five years… or even longer, I guess. It’s a bit complicated.”

Her voice had started in a somewhat strong whisper, but most of her last sentence had dwindled so much as to become inaudible. She was beginning to shake a little. She had been waiting for this moment for what seemed like all of her life, and now that it was here she was absolutely terrified that it would go wrong.

Her mind was running on overdrive and was dredging up all of the terrible ways this interaction could go wrong that she had either imagined in the past or was creating anew. She was waiting for the world to crash around her, but also hoping with her entire body and soul that it would also turn out well.

Amelia said, “I couldn’t quite catch that last bit, dear. You’ll have to speak up!”

Maura winced as Amelia’s voice became too loud. She reflexively scanned the skies again before berating herself about forgetting she was in a tent, then responded, “It’s hard. You are all so loud, and it makes me very nervous. Sound is the Enemy. Er.. I said I… I’m alone, yes. I don’t want to be, though!” As she looked into Amelia’s eyes with desperate hope.

Amelia looked a little taken aback and flustered at the emotion in her eyes and cleared her throat before saying, “Well, okay then. I won’t make any promises just yet, but I will say that it’s likely you don’t have to worry about that anymore. I have one last question for you Maura, then I’m afraid we’re going to have to go talk to a bunch of chest thumping barbarians. Could you explain to me what you have done, and to whom, with your healing?”

Maura was feeling a surge of conflicting emotions at her statement. She wouldn’t be alone anymore! Maybe… Amelia said no promises, but that wasn’t a no! It took her a few moments to get her breathing under control, and though she felt on the verge she didn’t let her tears start to gather.

Once she was sure her voice would work, she nodded a few times and explained, “I cleaned out the wounds and removed any dead tissue before purging their systems of what I assume was a venom of some kind. It had traversed through their system from the wounds to concentrate in certain areas of the body, including the brain. Removing it without harm was complicated but not overly difficult. I then sutured the wounds closed and used a local enhancement on the wounded areas to give their natural healing a boost. I then re-dressed the wounds. The bandages should be changed every six to twelve hours, and the stitches can be removed in a week or so. If you have any cream that assists in keeping a wound moisturized it would help the wounds heal and further reduce scarring. The stitches are spider silk, so the body won’t reject them and they will resist infections.”

Amelia looked a little amused and said, “Well, I understood about half of that, but I understand the broad strokes. Our dear old healer was one of the casualties of the soul wisps, I’m afraid, so this tent in which he knew everything about we’re just trying to muddle along until we get back. We’re lucky you found us! Now.”

Amelia slowly stood and waved her hand to the soapy water. She said, “Drop those bandages in the water, we can come back later or someone else can clean them. I’m afraid we have a meeting with my husband and the intimidating Captain Logan; those barbarians I told you about earlier. Just stay near me and know that while they will be loud and look mean they won’t actually harm you. Just stay by my side and we’ll answer their no doubt important questions.”

Amelia began to walk to the tent flap while Maura quickly scooped up the bandages, put them in the pile of dirties, washed off her needles and hands, stashed the needles back in their hiding places, and dashed to crouch alongside the pile of firewood all before Amelia finished lifting the flap open. She kept herself small as she pulled on her headdress and gloves.

Maura listened as Amelia said, “Well Sergeant, the mystery has been solved! We have a stowaway. Nothing to worry about for now, I assure you. If you wouldn’t mind terribly please extend an invitation to your Captain to join my husband and I for breakfast. He can meet our new guest then.”

Maura managed to get a peek at Sergeant Eileen’s stormy expression as she obviously stopped herself from demanding something then gave a terse nod and began walking swiftly away.

Amelia turned and jumped a little to see Maura so close, not having heard her move. She raised an eyebrow then just gave a smile and a wink.

“Follow me, Maura. Best we get you situated in the tent and wait for the Captain. You can meet my husband in the meantime and we can get you something warm to drink. Be a dear and take off that hat for me, would you? People get nervous when they meet new people unexpectedly, and more so when they can’t see their face. Besides, you have a pretty face and it would be a shame to hide it.”

Maura reluctantly pulled her headdress off while blushing at the compliment before following Amelia out of the tent. She tried her best not to slink around like a bandit, but found that she was instinctively staying near cover and moving silently.

She remembered that her cloak was still under the sled, and had a feeling she wouldn’t have time to retrieve it later so while Amelia was climbing down some clever wooden steps on the front of the sled, Maura dashed underneath. Her cloak was still there, almost impossible to make out against the white snow. She snatched it up and put it on before catching up to Amelia, who had been looking around for her and then started with a little laugh when she saw Maura climb out from under the sled.

As they moved towards the central sled, a few soldiers jogged up to the healing tent and ducked inside, to check on their friends no doubt. Maura was getting nervous and hoping she hadn’t messed up when Amelia began to talk again.

“Well, what an interesting cloak you have there. I see that your story grows ever longer. I wonder what other surprises you have hidden away! Well, don’t mind me, you can speak of it or not in your own time. Now, I have a feeling you might be a little out of your comfort zone and might not know a few things. I’ll give you just a little bit of information so you can understand the proper forms of address, but I’ll try not to bog you down. You let me know if I need to slow down, alright?”

Amelia was walking slowly and deliberately so as not to spook her, Maura thought. Her voice was also distracting her from being overwhelmed by the rousing camp. It was still early and people were still asleep, but the sky was brightening in the east and Maura couldn’t help but scan for threats.

Amelia continued, “First thing to get out of the way are the confusing titles. My husband Stephen Carter is a baron, that’s with a lowercase b as we do not own any land. Despite being technically nobility, the proper way to address him is Ser Stephen. I don’t have a title except through marriage so I’m simply Amelia, or Mrs. Carter. Any questions?”

Amelia turned to her with a raised eyebrow and paused to see if Maura did, but she just shook her head silently and so Amelia continued, “Good. Now the Captain should be addressed either by his rank or as Captain Logan. He has no last name, as he isn’t a noble or part of a house. It can get confusing, but you don’t need to worry too much for now.

“Our three children are off in other wagons, but in case you meet them they also do not have a second name as our title is non-hereditary. No one else in camp does except for Ser Ethan, who you treated in the tent. He’s our academy certified mage, and with the wisp poison we assumed he would be basically useless and in pain for the greater part of a year, so thank you for that. That’s the important stuff for now. Here we are!”

They had made it to the central wagon (not sled, Maura reminded herself to ask about that later) where Amelia fluidly climbed up the steps. Maura just hopped from the ground to land next to her which startled Amelia a little. Maura felt bad about that and mumbled an apology while she shrunk a little.

Amelia gave a quiet laugh as if to say everything was fine, then turned to enter the tent. She called, “Stephen, I have a guest for breakfast! And we will most likely be receiving Captain Logan in a few minutes. Come along, Maura.” as she held the flap open and waved Maura in.

Maura steeled her nerves and moved to follow her inside. She was nervous and worried, but she was also full of hope.

She had had her first ever conversation, and it went… well? And now she was being invited to meet a leader of a group of people!

She had to be brave. Maybe, just maybe, she could stay.