Moorawees pushed aside a low bough to disclose a nest of dried grass under a tree. Lying there unconscious, eyes closed, was a Sorogetso. Obviously female, her sac gaped slightly open, she stirred and moaned with pain. Her left foot had been bitten by some creature, was half eaten away. Now it was swollen and black, covered with flies. Her ankle and the leg above were also swollen and discolored.

“Neglect and stupidity,” Ambalasi said with some satisfaction, opening the container creature. “Drastic measures must be taken and you shall assist me. This is also the opportunity for certain scientific experiments and observations. Send Moorawees away. Tell her this one’s life will be saved but she must not watch or the cure will not take.”

The Sorogetso was happy to leave and retreated quickly. As soon as she was gone Ambalasi, with quick, accurate movements injected an anesthetic. As soon as Ichikchee was silent she wrapped a binding creature around the injured limb, centering the head over the large artery behind her knee. When prodded, the binding smoothly swallowed its tail until it grew tight, sunk into the flesh, cutting off the blood supply. Only then did Ambalasi take her string-knife and cut off the infected foot. Enge turned away but could still hear it crunching through flesh and bone. Ambalasi saw this and registered astonishment.

“Such squeamishness! Are you then a fargi with no experience of existence? Watch and learn for knowledge is life. The foot was possible to repair—but only as a partial, crippled thing. Better to remove it all. Or rather all not needed. Half of the phalanges and metatarsal bones gone. With care and skill I excise the rest, stopping at the tarsus. We need that. Now—the large nefmakel, yes that one, clean this wound up. Give me the container.”

Ambalasi found a small bladder of viscous red jelly. She cut it open and used a tiny nefmakel to remove a white kernel from its core—which she fixed into position on the stump of the severed leg. Only when this was placed to her satisfaction did she close the wound and cover it with a larger nefmakel, then found another single-fanged creature for a second injection.

“Antibiotic. Finished.”

She straightened up and rubbed at her sore back—and realized that they were no longer alone. A number of the Sorogetso had emerged silently from hiding and now stood close and watched, stirring and moving back a bit when her glance caught theirs.

“Pain ended,” she said loudly in their manner of communication. “She sleeps. Will be weak, but pain will be gone. She will have many days’ rest, whole again, as she was before.”

“Foot . . . gone,” Moorawees said, staring wide-eyed at the bandaged stump.

“I will return and treat her. Then something will be seen that you have never seen before.”

“What have you done?” Enge asked, as puzzled as the Sorogetso.