He ducked his head. “Well...I spent a lot of time with them. I am a bit worried how the warriors will do fighting beside Prince Ryne’s army. It was only a few months ago they hated us and wished to slaughter us all.”

“Lovely,” Quain said with a queasy squint.

“That’s an excellent point, Danny. Why did he come to help us?” I asked. “His tribe was safe and healthy in Alga.”

“I convinced them that if we didn’t stop Tohon and his army of the dead, our tribe wouldn’t be safe for long. I also think Noak and the warriors were bored. Their two tribes had to play nice in order to survive and, although Noak won’t admit it, he likes Kerrick.”

“Nice job, Danny. With the addition of Noak’s warriors and the monastery women, Prince Ryne’s army is going to be quite dangerous.”

“If the enemy ever attacks us,” Loren muttered.

“We shouldn’t wait. Going on the offensive is not a bad thing,” Odd said, speaking up for the first time since Danny had arrived. “Look what happened to the High Priestess’s army. We waited and waited and waited for Tohon to engage us in battle, giving him plenty of time to set his trap. Plus Prince Ryne said the dead were on the move again.”

“And Tohon has to know the tribesmen are here,” Danny said. “The warriors didn’t bother to hide their presence and they sounded like a herd of lost cows in the woods.”

That was the second time Danny mentioned Tohon. I opened my mouth to inform him about Tohon’s frozen state, but another thought popped. “Did they scare the farmers and villagers? It must have been mass panic.”

Danny straightened. “No. Once we crossed the Nine Mountains, we didn’t see a soul.”

Odd cursed.

“Wait, it makes sense,” Loren said. “Cellina tried that backdoor sneak and probably scared everyone away.”

“That was closer to Zabin. Maybe she’s trying the same move again, but this time going farther to the north,” I said.

Loren rubbed a hand over his short hair. “That’s pretty far. It’ll take a long time and they’d be cut off from their main army and supplies.”

“With Prince Ryne only harrying patrols and small platoons along Vyg’s border, they’ve had plenty of time to travel circles around us,” Odd grumbled.

I stood. “Once he’s done talking to Noak, I’ll tell Ryne and let him figure it out. He may already be aware of the situation.” I swept a hand out, indicating the rows of cots. “Danny, do you want to check patients with me?”

He shot to his feet. “Of course!”

Quain groaned. “I don’t think I can handle another healer.” He poked a finger at Danny. “Just don’t be all nurturing and smother us with concern. We get enough of that with Avry.”