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Aris said that they could put off the trip for as long as a week. The council would understand that they had encountered some 'complications' on the road. This was definitely a relief for Reya. The extra time and bed-rest would make the trip far less painful for her. Depending on the injury, a light fracture could take as little as 3 weeks to heal. However, a more complicated break like her's - which she had learned from Aris was an oblique fracture - would take longer. Even so, a week of recoupment would dull the pain significantly.

Reya was almost rolling off her bed in boredom. She was never this still! She wasn't used to it at all. Everyone else was busy, too. Torren was off helping with the farms off in the clearing to the east. Fall had come and with Fall came harvest time, so the townsfolk were happy to have as many extra hands as they could get.

There were two huts in town for guests. They were rarely used, but clean and modestly furnished. One was across from the medical lodge, in between Artaaga's cabin and a beaver couple's. The other was across town in a more secluded location. Aris chose to take the one next to the lodge for convenience.

Torren was offered the other hut, but he elected to stay in the medical lodge on a bed next to Reya's. She was happy about that. It was comforting having the larger otter nearby. It wasn't that she felt threatened by anything, but she did feel especially vulnerable with all of her injuries.

Aris was around a lot too. With Talip locked up in the dusty and seldom used cell in Savul's house, Aris had no apparent official duties to attend to. As the head of the council, Savul oversaw all prisoners that passed through the village. However, he'd never actually had to exercise this power until just recently.

Aris, apparently having gotten what he came for, was helping out with the medical lodge in Talip's place. However, Aris usually just acted as the eyes and ears of Reya. This was one of the few ways she could find to pass the time. Even when Aris obviously knew what the matter was with a patient and how to treat them, he would explain the symptoms to the bored otter and let her dictate how to go about healing them. Reya appreciated the beagle's gesture, it gave her some time to do something other than stare at the ceiling and think.

After four days Reya was running out of things to talk to Aris about. Well, she was running out of medical things to talk about. When Torren wasn't around she hadn't been very talkative on other matters.

"Where are we going to take Talip?"

"Fenbury, its about 23 days downriver."

"Ah, makes sense," Reya responded, "I've never actually been there before, believe it or not."

"I don't think it's quite as impressive as Southbank. That's probably just because I'm from there, though! I don't mean any offense. It's the biggest and coolest city in the northeast!"

Reya chuckled. "You don't have to defend it to me! I've never been much of a traveler, anyway. It'll be fun to see it, I think. My brother told me all sorts of stories about that place."

"Like what?"

"Well, I guess there wasn't anything too interesting. He did tell me all about the wharf! How the animals are all impatiently bustling in and out. He said that the hardest thing is to avoid getting stepped on by some equine who thinks that his hooves makes him the meanest thing on the streets! And well, I guess they kind of do! Gither said that, while the small alleyways and twisting roads were crammed shoulder to shoulder, the horses and other hooved creatures, both people and feral, would always have a big path cleared in front of them."

Aris laughed. "Its not quite that bad. Not that your brother would lie or anything, but usually hooved creatures will have their own paths to the docks. Now, it's not like we separate them from everyone else, of course! They're free to take the regular streets when they're just wandering about, but its best for everyone's safety if they keep to the separate trails when they work. It's harder to keep steady when you're carrying a lot of weight! A horse could seriously hurt someone if they tripped when carrying a big load. Imagine if it stepped on some smaller creature, the poor guy may not even make it! Especially with all the extra weight from what the guy'd be carrying. It's safety!"

"It's alright Aris, I'm not accusing you of anything!"

"I know... It's hard to talk about these subjects, though. Too many people who'll condemn you for having a different opinion. There's been a lot of unrest about that sort of activism and stuff and you can never tell which side people are on. How about you? What's your opinion?"

"I've never heard about these things! We don't get much news up here. The most I hear is the occasional bit about the tensions with Selend. Even then it's not much and I mostly ignore it. What do I care? If what Gither said is right, we're literally as far away from Selend as we could possibly be."

"Yeah, that's about right."

"So what do you think? I get your I don't want to offend anyone 'cause I'm a ranger and I work for the government stance. You're a smart guy though. I'm interested."

"Well, I think that the equines sort of have a case, but not in the right way, if you know what I mean. A lot of the horses feel like they're being treated like second class citizens. There are definitely some things wrong with the picture, but I feel like they're focusing on the wrong issue. Equines are often pushed into either working transportation, farming, or herding because their hooves make it pretty difficult to do a lot of skilled professions. They're creating an issue over their treatment in a single job, a treatment which I don't think is entirely unreasonable - the lanes they're forced to use are actually the faster routes! ... When the real issue is how they're being pushed into a limited set of lower class jobs."

Reya thought for a moment. "That's interesting. I guess we never had those sorts of issues really come up around here. Well, we don't really have anybody with hooves up here either, but I guess that's the point."

"I can get kind of carried away on these sorts of things. Not many people want to talk about this stuff," He smiled happily at her, "thanks for listening."

"For what its worth, I can't think of anything to disagree with what you said. Maybe that's why people won't argue with you about it!" Reya teased. She could instantly tell that the playful nature of her words had gone straight over the beagle's head.

"Oh..."

"It was a compliment, doofus! You were convincing! You even sounded educated!"

Aris sheepishly looked down at his paws. "Um, I actually was educated."

"No way! That's awesome! Why didn't you become a mayor or councilperson or something then? There are so many really good things you could have done!"

"Well, I -"

Reya interrupted him. "I guess it's ok. Who'd pass up the opportunity to be a ranger anyway! I mean, it's so cool when you walk through the forest with that cloak on! Criminals will only see the rustling of what they think is a bush before BAM!" Reya threw her free paw out to the side. "You pounce on them with your claws slashing and dicing away at -"

"Reya!"

This time it was Reya's turn to look sheepish. "I'm sorry, I think it's a good choice. That's all."

Aris looked pretty embarrassed himself. Reya could see the red through the fur on his cheeks.

"You sound educated yourself, you know," he mumbled.

"Really? I don't think so. I've grown up out here my whole life. Half of what I know about is medicine and the other half is how to annoy otter siblings." That drew a nervous laugh from the beagle.

"I don't have any siblings myself. I was an only pup."

"I can tell! If you did, you wouldn't freak out so much when you think people are upset at you!"

Aris jumped a bit as she said that. "Um, Freak out? Am I - uh - that bad?"

"No! I'm sorry Aris! I didn't mean that!" she backpedaled, "You're great to talk to. I was just joking there! Its humility, not freaking out!"

Aris was blushing again. "Oh. Well, thanks, I guess."

Reya quickly tried to change the topic of conversation. Aris seemed pretty self-conscious about his nervousness, so she thought it would be best to get as far away from any mention of that as she could.

"So, um, do many people go on two legs in Lenwick?"

"Uh... not really. Even though it's one of the bigger cities in the kingdom, only the nobility really follow through with the standing. I think it's a pretty stupid custom anyway. Lots of species can't stand well or get problems with their legs -"

"Like stretching the tendons. Gither says it can lead to arthritis too. It can also really wear on your spine."

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, the vast majority of townsfolk just go around the natural way. There won't be a problem for you."

"Oh, right. I guess these burns would make two legs pretty painful. That'd be a lot of pressure on just two paws."

"Yeah, even for most folk, I think that it can get pretty painful over time."

"You know, I bet my paws'll be a lot better by then. I just hope we've got some way of getting there that isn't too jolty."

Aris cringed. "We'll be taking a wagon down the road."

"Oh." She tried not to look too upset. Aris was looking more and more miserable by the second. "Who's pulling it?"

"A horse is being sent from Lenwick."

"Feral?"

"Not sure. Probably not. If it was feral, they'd need to send someone else to handle it. Its cheaper to hire thinking people for places way out of the way like here. You only have to feed one mouth, you know. However much you argue the intelligence of ferals, I haven't seen a feral horse go on a month's trip to pick up a traveler on its own."

"That's true!" Reya paused for a moment as Torren staggered into the lodge. He was panting like he'd gone for a jog in the desert. "Hey, Torren! Looks like you've been making yourself useful."

The larger otter didn't answer. He wobbled his way over to the bed next to Reya's and, after steadying himself for a good 10 seconds, jumped up. He proceeded to collapse on the bedsheets.

"Getting more dramatic every day, huh?" Reya asked.

'It's hard!' Torren rolled on his back to sign more easily.

"I'm sure it was hard the first day too, and you didn't look like you got broadsided by a bull then!"

"I'm bet it gets harder every day!" Aris interjected. He paused for a moment before adding, "that's how it was when I was training!"

Reya laughed. "I know! I was just teasing him." The spotted otter just groaned.

"Well I just didn't think it was fair," Aris said, "he's making some money to help us on this trip!"

"Oh," Reya said timidly, "I - uh - sort of thought that you, I mean the rangers, would be funding this."

This time it was Aris's turn to laugh. "Don't worry. We're taking care of room and board and transportation. I just happened to mention to Torren after that whole fiasco was over that -" Torren was giving Aris a glare that very clearly said 'shut up.' Aris took the hint.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking flustered, "I didn't realize it was that big of a deal!"

'Well it's not! But now it seems like one!' Torren's paws snapped back at the beagle. Reya quickly translated for him.

"Well, then, what's not such a big deal?" Reya badgered.

'I just thought that... you know. It'd be nice to treat you to some nicer meals or something since you've been having such a rough time.' Torren said after a few moments of hesitation.

Reya blushed. "You don't need to overwork yourself for me! I don't need anything fancy, Torren..." Both Torren and Aris looked a bit crestfallen at her response. She guessed that Aris had also been excited about the idea. Torren had probably wanted to surprise her. It would have worked - she didn't even know he was being paid for his work!

'It doesn't need to be fancy! I just thought that I might be able to cheer you up a bit...' The spotted otter said, he smiled a very forced smile.

"You're cheering me up already!" Reya smiled at the disheartened otter. She appreciated his gesture, but she had seen how much effort Torren was putting into working with the villagers every day. It was harvest season, so there was no dearth of physical labor for Torren to do. Reya assumed that he'd been taking on as much as he could by the exhausted state he was in when he came back to the lodge every afternoon. She felt apprehensive that Torren wanted to use the small amount of money he was going to get in return on her instead of himself.

"You're working really hard for however much money you're getting," Reya said, "If you want to get me some meal in Fenbury, or even when we stop in Lenwick, I don't mind, but you need to get it for yourself too! You deserve it!"

Aris seemed even happier than Torren did. The beagle's grin stretched ear to ear as he yipped in excitement.

"That's great! Now you've got something to look forward to!" Aris exclaimed. Reya wondered if Aris had meant to say that. Did he and Torren think that she was depressed about leaving? That she was looking ahead with just trepidation and fear? She didn't think that she was.

"I can't wait," Reya grinned back at her two friends. She wasn't incredibly excited about it. She had never had much of a variety of food and therefore didn't know how much she'd like whatever strange things they ate in cities. She'd give it a try though. What really made her happy were the expressions on the faces of her two friends.

Torren also had a large smile plastered on his face, but he looked more relieved than anything. It was a bit surprising, she figured that Aris would have been the one worrying about her willingness to accept money from the two of them, but Torren seemed to have been a lot more apprehensive about it.

"Just one condition!" Reya said after a second of thought.

"What's that?" Aris asked.

"It can't be something that makes you stand. I think standing is silly and unnatural and I'd never be able to enjoy eating if I was standing!"

"No food places would make you stand!" Aris said, laughing, "Even for the nobles who wobble around on their hind paws, they just sit down to eat!"

"Well I don't know these things!" Torren laughed along with Reya and Aris. She was feeling good, a lot better than the she was for the rest of the week - even if she considered the days after she broke her arm.

"I um - hope you guys don't mind," Aris started, "but Weisk's going to be coming along with us. We need an avian to get word to the Fenbury council if we get held up any more than we already have."

Reya snorted. "Way to ruin the mood, Aris!"

"What's wrong with that? We need an avian around," the beagle said defensively.

"If you can keep him busy, I'm all for it. I just don't know if Torren and I want to spend the entire trip hearing about how inferior otters are to eagles."

"I'll ask him to tone it down," Aris muttered.

"Good luck! He's been visiting this village for almost 8 years now and I haven't talked to him yet without getting a reminder that I don't have wings."

'I don't mind,' Torren signed.

"Really Torren? Not gonna back me up here? You know, I should have just acted like you were agreeing with me. Aris wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"Probably not," Aris mumbled.

"Whatever," Reya sighed, "Its fine." She signed 'whatever' using her one free paw to further emphasize her displeasure. It wasn't actually difficult, the word whatever didn't use any finger movements, so her bound paws didn't stop her, and she could make the gesture effectively with just her single good forepaw.

"So what's the deal with Talip?" She asked, wanting a change of subject.

"Really," Aris balked, "You're - uh - just going to ask about that right now?"

"Yeah, I want to know."

"So, I don't really - um - know where to start... What do you want to know?"

"How did Sylvia die?"

'Didn't I already -' Torren dropped his paws. Aris was speaking over him.

"He broke her neck."

"No he didn't," Reya said matter-of-factly, "and you know that. What happened?"

Aris was looking very nervous. "I - uh - her neck snapped. You must have been really stressed and didn't notice!"

"Of course I noticed!" Reya nearly shouted at the beagle, "she was my friend and I made sure to see for myself exactly how she died!"

"Then... uh... how did she die?"

"Her heart just stopped."

"Oh."

"There were no signs of struggle. No broken bones or any kind of lacerations. I didn't see any signs at all of internal bleeding. The only thing that changed about her was that there was a paw - that wasn't hers - melded into her arm like it had always been there."

"Are you sure it wasn't her paw?" Aris squeaked.

"Yes! I'm sure! I got a long look at it and examined it before I ran off!" Reya lied, "since you don't seem to be too curious about what happened back there, I assume that you know."

He nodded.

"So what is it? What happened?"

"Sorcery..." The beagle's voice was barely a whisper.

Reya had seen that answer coming. Torren had confirmed to her that there was something unnatural about everything that had happened. He'd also confirmed to her that magic existed. She hadn't paid that thought enough heed until now.

Magic was real. Gither had told her stories in her childhood of evil sorcerers that had been vanquished by brave rangers and strong knights. But they were just that, stories. Reya had always taken the supernatural elements of his stories with a grain of salt. Now she was wondering if the ancient myths and legends had some basis to them.

When Torren showed her his fire back when she was wounded the forest, she hadn't been in the right mindset to comprehend what was happening. Even afterwards, she was too tired to allow the thought to crop up.

Talip was a sorcerer. How the hell did Aris think that the box by the mayor's place would hold him?

Reya hesitantly repeated her last thought to Aris. Her heart was bursting a bit faster, as if the mole would show up at any moment and steal the life from one of her friends.

"He's not in any state to break out. Besides, we have him securely bound and guarded."

"W-what if burns through the ropes or something?" She couldn't help but steal a glance at Torren. The spotted otter had seemed terrified when he talked about his powers back in the forest. Did he know just as little about this as she did?

"I don't think he can."

Reya wanted to object, but she also didn't want to imply that she knew more Instead, she opted for a more neutral question.

"But can't he magic up some fire?"

Aris sighed. "Please... please don't repeat any of this. Very few people anywhere in the kingdom - or probably anywhere else for that matter - know anything about this." Reya nodded in agreement. "I haven't known you long, but I think that you're trustworthy. If anyone else finds out that I told you, I could lose my head as well as you. The government doesn't take this sort of talk lightly. Of course, you... um, know too much to be able to stay away from the truth. And if you ask questions about what happened to the wrong people I'd hate to see what would happen."

Reya recoiled slightly. For a bit, she had been wondering if it was maybe just a noble thing. Aris was educated like a noble, so she figured that maybe he had been taught about it unlike all of the uneducated people. This was disturbing though, and not just when she thought about what it meant for Talip. And it meant bad things for Talip. If the government was this harsh on the mere education and talk about magic, what would it do to a sorcerer whose powers had murdered an innocent creature?

Even more disturbing to Reya was what might happen if Torren's magical power was exposed. He said that he didn't mean for the fire to happen every time he'd done it before he purposefully showed her. What if it happened in the town? What if hundreds of creatures were killed like she could have been?

"I won't mention any of this to anyone." Reya promised. She nodded at Torren. She hoped that Aris thought that she was agreeing to his terms. However, the knowing glance that Torren returned said that he understood the real message. She'd never let anyone know about what Torren did and she would do whatever she could to keep anyone from finding out.