Thea gave an approving nod of Calanon’s accepting smile, and looked rather unfazed when he mentioned seeing the Northern Pass.
	Rayadell stood and pushed her bowl slightly to the side to bend over the map. She pulled it slightly closer to her. She had visited the range before, long ago, though only in passing of their outskirts. Her eyes trailed the various towns and trails marked on the map, trying to decide on the quickest route to the mountains.
	Her attention snapped to Calanon when he stood, a hand instinctively reaching for her staff. But he only excused himself.
	“Of course!” Thea gave him a warm smile. “If Merek hasn’t already managed to lead him there.” She glanced to the back door where her husband had earlier departed. “Hopefully he’s found some suitable feed.”
	Rayadell mimicked his second bow to her, her upper body dipping forward ever so slightly. Instead of answering him, she only nodded.
	[i]It’ll be interesting, no doubt there.[/i] She waited for him to leave before turning back to the map. She tried to quickly commit the various trails and towns along the way to memory as Thea took her guest’s bowls and began washing them in a basin.
	“Our sources indicate you’re quite talented with fire. Is that correct?” Thea asked, wiping her hands dry on an old hand towel and turning toward Rayadell.
	The Elagon finally tore her attention from the map. She stared at Thea for a short second before her words fully registered. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered, not for the first time, exactly how much the couple knew about their hired hands.
	All the same, Rayadell nodded.
	“Could I request your help in warming some water for Calanon? And you’re quite welcome to bathe as well, if you so wish.”
	Rayadell shook her head at the offer. “I’m fine, but thanks.” Her wings ached to stretch, but she had no intention of doing so here. Though the Carishes may already have known, she was not willing to take that risk. They could wait for the night, once the household had fallen asleep. “But I’ll help with the water,” she added, realizing she had not addressed the woman’s request.
	Rayadell carefully rolled the map up. Leaving it on the table and grabbing her staff, she followed Thea into the main room.
	She quickly glanced around, her eyes lingering on the couple doors to the side of the room, and a hall leading further into the house.
	“Your daughter.” Rayadell glanced to Thea as the woman paused at the front door. As honest as the two seemed, she wanted to see the girl for herself, to validate their story as much as she could. “Have you moved her to a healer’s, or does she still reside here?”
	The sorrow that lurked in the depths of Thea’s gaze came to the forefront. “She’s here.” She nodded toward the hall, then stepped toward it, Rayadell in her shadow.
	Thea led the way to a room toward the back of the hall and stopped. “Please,” she began in a whisper, “try to not disturb her.”
	Rayadell nodded silently as Thea slowly opened the door. Though the curtains were drawn, within the dim light of the fading sun filtering through, Rayadell easily made out a small lump wrapped in blankets atop a small bed.
	She glanced to Thea, waited for the woman’s nod of approval, then entered. She went to the bed, her steps quiet, and bent down near the head of it.
	A girl of about thirteen laid there, her breathing ragged. Sweat glistened on her deathly pale forehead, her long dark curls plastered to her sunken face. Without opening her eyes, the girl shuddered in her sleep, then turned away from Rayadell with a moan.
	With a soft sigh and her proof gained, Rayadell stood and returned to where Thea waited.
	“I’ll do everything in my power to see that she becomes well,” Rayadell said as Thea closed the door, then followed her to help draw and heat some water.