“Listen to me!” Deglan whirled on him. “I will take no death bed requests from you! Not today! Not tomorrow! You are under my care and under that care you will recover! No one tells me my business! Especially not simple-minded fomori, who care more for swords and the tears of little girls then they do about their own lives! And if you cannot find the will to get well on your own, then find the strength in the knowledge that this village needs you! The very people whose foolish labors saw you hurt are now defenseless because you had to play at farming!” He stopped. The last was too hard and he knew it. Thankfully, Faabar had stopped listening after--

“Defenseless?” he managed to pull himself up to a sitting position.

Deglan went over to the window and stepped up on the stool again to retrieve the vervain. This was as good a distraction as any, intended or not.

“Kederic’s warriors…,” He said, pulling the vervain apart carefully into two equal halves, “…rode out this morning. I saw Acwellen and his bunch headed back to the fort while I was in the forest, looking for this.” He held up the split plant, then proceeded to the hearth and retrieved the bronze kettle. Thankfully, the girl must have seen it was filled before Faabar absolved her of her duties.

“Does Brogan know?” Faabar asked, some of the old force returning to his voice.

Deglan put half of the herb in the kettle and hung it over the fire. “It was barely dawn when I saw them and I was already miles from here. Must have skulked out in the wee hours.” He began gently plucking the blooms off the remaining half of the vervain. “That early, I doubt anyone saw them. Maybe Slouch Hat did, I cannot say. He surely would have told. At any rate, I am sure Brogan knows now.” He walked over to the head of the pallet and retrieved his satchel from the floor. He removed his bowl and muddler, then turned his back to Faabar as he went back to the stool by the window. He sat down, and placing the vervain blooms in the bowl, began grinding them down.

“He will want to go and speak with Kederic,” Faabar said. “And I cannot go with him.”