It was decision time.

  Laid out before Nela in the tent were a woman and her son, both badly injured. The boy, battered and bloody from the shattered wood and broken stone that the bombard had knocked loose, stared up at her silently with tired eyes. Meanwhile the mother lay there unconscious, with some terrible looking burns.

  The woman was visibly in the worst shape of the two, but without inspecting the boy, Nela couldn't be sure if he wasn't hiding a more serious injury. The same could apply to his mother, of course. If she took that time to look either of them though, the other's wounds could become more dangerous. Even deadly.

  Neither could afford for Nela to waste another moment making the choice.

  Truthfully, she already knew her answer. It was just...after all the work she and Ronny and the others had put into winning the trust of the elves of Faehaven, failing to save both of them would be letting them down. But Hamond, the only other person who might could help her, was busy elsewhere. And that was assuming she trusted in his healing skills.

  No, this job fell to her, and her alone.

  She stepped carefully over, then knelt by the boy. "Are...are you going to help my mother?" he asked, voice ragged.

  "I'll do my best," Nela said, "Don't worry about her."

  It wasn't really a lie, just a...reassurance. At least, that was what Nela hoped it was. What it would be.

  She grabbed an extra blanket, one left there by one of the other elves, and cast the first spell. "Hydropidax." With the blanket now soaked, she began using it to wipe away the blood and any dirt. Once she got a good look at where his wounds were, she could begin the actual healing.

  A rustling sound behind her indicated someone had entered the tent. "What do you want?" Nela knew she sounded harsh, but there were lives on the line. Anyone who insisted on manners in this situation was an arse.

  "I came to help."

  Nela glanced back to see Astorel standing there. "And what good are you when you interrupt me?" She turned back and resumed cleaning the boy. She didn't have time for this, especially not from-

  -him.

  Shit.

  In all of the chaos, it had not even occurred to her that there was, in fact, one other healer who could have helped her. Nela smacked her face with her free hand, wondering how in Aether's name had she not thought to tell him to follow her. He'd been right there when they heard the bombard.

  "Sorry," she muttered, looking down.

  At this point Astorel's attention was fully on the woman, as he didn't respond. Instead, he stepped around Nela. "I suppose you've got Rubapel taken care of."

  Nela assumed Astorel meant the boy. It wasn't like she'd had the time and energy to memorize everyone's names. "Of course."

  From what she could tell from where she'd been cleaning, the boy had three cuts. Two were minor and had already closed, but the third, on his right shoulder, looked rough. Starting there was probably best. She placed one hand on the wound.

  "Panakeia logos."

  The wound closed. Nela resumed wiping, hoping that was the only one. Meanwhile, she kept one eye on Astorel, curious to see what he would do.

  Crouching down, the other healer was examining the woman's head, feeling over it with his fingers. Checking to see if something had hit her there, Nela figured. It made sense - something had to have knocked her out, and it hadn't been Nela's sleep spell.

  Apparently he found what he was looking for, because Astorel started pinching at one part of her scalp. He let out a low sigh. "I hope the skull's not broken. Panakeia logos."

  At least he sounded like he knew what he was doing, much better than Hamond had. Every type of wound had its own healing spell. You didn't heal broken bones with a spell meant to heal bleeding and bruises, not without causing all kinds of problems further on.

  Meanwhile, she'd found one more gash on the boy's arm. Repeating the same words, she let the healing spell do its work once more. It didn't seem like there was any more wounds, although one other thing was certain: Rubapel here badly needed a bath.

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  "That's it then," Nela told him, "Take the rest of the day and rest, and you should be fine tomorrow."

  "Thank you," the boy said softly. He looked as exhausted as Nela felt. Aether and ancestors and anyone else, it had been too long a day. Dealing with this attack on top of the group First Ascension rite earlier was just too much. Nela just wanted to go get some food, and throw herself down and sleep.

  "Panakeia logos." Worried that Astorel had found another wound she hadn't seen, Nela looked over to see him laying hands on the woman's burn.

  Normally, you were supposed to rub a specific mix of herbs and water on a burn first before casting the healing spell. It wasn't like a regular wound, where you could skip that part if it was an emergency. With Faehaven as poor as it was though, and with Astorel hiding his healing knowledge, they likely did not have any useful herbs available.

  Now that she thought about it, Nela was both surprised and annoyed that Astorel hadn't called her out for not using similar herbs during the First Ascension. Yes, he had been trying to hide his background, but the moment the elders had revealed it to everyone, he ought to have brought it up. Especially since that was his own daughter Nela had been working with.

  She promised herself to ask him about it later.

  One final check told Nela that the boy was as well as could be. "Anything else wrong with her?" she asked, glancing over as Astorel rose to his feet.

  "She should be fine," Astorel said. The look on his face told Nela something else. At the least, he was worried about something, which was not all that reassuring. "We should step outside and let them rest."

  Nela nodded in agreement, and followed him out of the tent. The inside of the tent had gotten a little too warm, and the breeze felt nice and cool despite still being late summer. Wiping the sweat away with one hand, Nela looked around Faehaven.

  The Elefae were starting to come back into town, emerging from where Ronny had led them. Judging from their faces, it had gone well, although some still appeared worried. She didn't hear any sounds of fighting or battle, so she guessed Edeline, Hamond, and that sphinx had dealt with the attackers.

  "Seems like it's over then," Nela commented to Astorel.

  "I wish it was." Astorel sighed, staring off into the distance. "Listen, about what I said to you all earlier...I owe you an apology."

  "Say sorry to your daughter instead," Nela told him. She couldn't bring herself to be all that upset over his earlier frustration, with everything having gone so badly here.

  "Do you think I haven't tried?" Astorel's frustration was clear. "Udeola's refused to speak to me or her mother the whole day."

  A very childish protest, but one Nela could understand. "Well, could be worse."

  "What do you mean, it could be worse?" Astorel blurted out, face reddening.

  "Tell me one thing. What do you think would have happened if she hadn't found out until after she was grown?" This is for you, Edeline, Nela thought to herself. "You really think she'd settle for a little fit and stop talking to you for a day or two then?"

  "I...guess."

  "Besides, there are worse things you could have done and said to her." Nela looked down, her mother's words coming back to her yet again. "Believe me, I know."

  "That's not all that reassuring," Astorel said, "I appreciate it though. And...I suppose I'm sorry about your family."

  "Don't worry about them. They're not here." Nela put the thought of them aside. "But us two healers are."

  "I haven't thought of myself like that in a long time," Astorel admitted. "I suppose I ought to try, since the original reason for me having given up healing is now pointless. Not that anyone will want my help when you're around."

  Nela sighed. "I'm not staying." It was tempting, but she knew just how that discussion with Ronny and Edeline would go.

  "I suppose I should have expected that. You and your friends seemed very determined to get into Kelshir, after all? Where do you plan to go after that?"

  She wished Ronny was here to handle this. Nela just wasn't sure how much she could say. "We're still figuring that part out."

  "So we both don't know what we're doing," Astorel said, his tone indicating he was mocking himself. "You're lucky. You have skilled companions, and you don't have to worry about keeping a family safe."

  "The first of those, yes." Her earlier promise to Ronny - it wouldn't be that hard to keep, would it? Nela hoped so, more than anything else in her life.

  "Wait..." Astorel locked eyes with her, "You don't mean...you and..."

  "Nela!" Ronny called out from down the way. He was approaching along with Edeline, Hamond, and that Lady Lace. Maybe by now one of the others had figured out her actual name. If they hadn't Nela was going to think of something else to call her.

  "Knights are dealt with then?" Nela asked as they approached.

  "With some aid from Ugotlas, yes," Edeline said. Shit, she looked rough. Then again, Nela knew she probably didn't look any better.

  "All good here, too," Nela answered, fighting off a sudden urge to yawn.

  "Good work," Ronny said, "You should go rest...wait. One thing first." He gestured at Lady Lace. "Introduce yourself."

  The woman glanced around nervously. Besides Astorel, a few other elves were gathering within hearing, clearly waiting to find out what had happened. It wasn't something Lady Lace wanted out in the open.

  Fine then. "It can wait," Nela said, "I'm too tired to deal with more shit right now, anyway." It wasn't just an excuse for Lady Lace either. She really just wanted this day to be over.

  "You sure?" Ronny looked confused. "But she's-"

  "Some foolish noble lady? Everyone can see that." Nela closed her eyes. "Look, I'm hungry and tired, and the only thing I want right now is to deal with those two in order. Unless it's the knights making another visit, anything else can be dealt with tomorrow."

  "It's a sure bet there won't be another attack today," Hamond said, "I'll go see if I can start getting some food together. I think you two can handle talking with the elders."

  "Right," Ronny said with a nod, "We'll take care of it."

  "See you back at that house then." Taking in a deep breath, letting herself relax, Nela headed off. Her task was done. Ronny and Edeline could handle the rest.