[Tevildo]

What a fool I am. This is all my fault. Because of me, we almost killed two innocent men.

The words kept reverberating inside Dorran's head as he sat by himself at the far end of camp, trying to stay out of everyone's way. Dorran stared blankly over at the strangers wondering who they were and why they were here. Restless and disatisfied, unable to sit still, he had borrowed an axe and stomped off into the woods, hoping to find a tree to hack down that could provide them with some firewood as well as an outlet for his own frustration. He had not even heard the question that Incana had asked the men. Coming upon a mid-sized birch that had likely fallen in the last storm, he began whacking off some of its branches. While a few of his strokes were straight and true, others went wild, far off the mark, somehow mirroring the anger that simmered inside his soul. The blade of the axe deflected from the wood and hit the soil with a resounding thud.

"Having some trouble? Can I give you a hand?" The words came unexpectedly from behind Dorran's shoulder. Turning around, the young man was surprised to see the older healer who had joined them from the village. "Are you following me?" Dorran snapped peevishly, in a way that was very different than his usual calm demeanor. He swung the axe over his head and then in a downward arc, landed the blade squarely in the middle of the tree trunk.

"Following you?" For a moment, Leod sounded puzzled. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "No, no. Your friend Vaenosa was doing a fine job brewing up some herbs for the men so I came out here to find a few more plants I thought we might be needing on this trip. You couldn't hold off on that wood, could you, and give me a hand with these?" Leod pointed towards a large pile of herbs that looked like nothing more than a tangled mat.

"So many?" queried Dorran, forgetting his misery for the moment and wondering why the old man could want with such a large supply.

"Aye, I intend to take these back to camp and boil them down into a salve along with some other remedies I brought with me. From the look of things, I'm afraid we might be needing some strong aids for the cleansing and healing of wounds."

There was a hint of bitterness in Dorran's quick response, "Yes, I suppose you're right, especially if I keep making suggestions that have us going on a wild chase that does no one any good."

Leod stared back evenly at Dorran and shrugged his shoulders, "Mistakes happen. You told Brand what you knew to be the truth. And if the men had been slavers, we'd be better off knowing that ahead of time. Brand made the best decision that he could, and luckily no harm has come of it."

Dorran hung his head, avoiding Leod's eyes, "Brand.....he must hate me. I've put the whole group in peril."

"I don't think so. But if you're worried, go tell him it was an honest mistake and you're sorry. Let's get back now. I think the firewood can wait." With that, the two men turned and headed towards camp.

Dorran could see that Brand had finished taking care of their two guests. The young man sidled up and pulled Brand over to the side. Leod followed just behind him. He nervously cleared his throat and then spoke, "I'm sorry, Brand. I really am. I feel like such a fool. When I saw the Orcs and what they had done, it made me think of how it was in the past when I lived near the mountain. I guess I was wrong." He shook his head sheepishly, and sighed, before adding, "These men, the ones we kidnapped.... Do you know why they were here, and what they're doing? Are they survivors from this village? Or perhaps another? I'd ask them myself but I can't bear to look them in the eye."