Chapter 1

"Is this good for anything?" Samudra chirped, holding a green, three leafed plant up. She, Edér, and Aloth had been on the road for a couple days, heading to the mysterious and abandoned keep of Caed Nua which supposedly might hold some answers about her condition, and hopefully good news on a cure. Hopefully. When Edér had volunteered to take her on a day trip in the wilderness to help her improve her survival skills by teaching her about various plants and their practical uses, it seemed like a welcome distraction to the travel and her constant ruminating--not to mention the restless and nightmare filled nights that plagued her. Aloth had been only too happy to leave Samudra in Edér's capable hands and have a quiet day poring over his grimoire.

Edér looked over his shoulder and sighed. Teaching the Watcher survival skills was turning out to be much more difficult than he'd originally thought. So far, she'd managed to find three different types of poisonous plants, a stink bug, a sink hole, and a group of sporelings. He was beginning to wonder how she had even made it to adulthood. "Uh, that's good for giving you a really itchy rash."

Samudra gasped and dropped it, quickly rubbing her hand on the leg of her brown trousers. She glanced around. Edér was already continuing down the path. Suddenly, sometimes flitted in front of her eyes. Her gaze followed it. The vivid green wings of the insect captivated her. She glanced at Edér's retreating form. They were staying to the path and there was no chance of her getting lost, she reasoned. She snuck closer the creature. Upon closer inspection, there were emerald colored diamonds with a white circle in the middle on the back of the insect's wings, making them look like eyes were peering back at her. "Edér! Come see!"

Edér turned in time to see Samudra reach her hand out toward the creature. Before he could shout a warning, her hand got close enough that the insect fluttered its wings aggressively, sending spores into the air in a cloud.

Samudra coughed violently and stumbled. "Edér, I feel funny," she mumbled, shaking her head. As she reached out to balance herself against a tree trunk, she fell forward; she'd miscalculated the distance between herself and the tree. Edér caught her by the shoulder and steadied her.

"Hey, whoa there. You're ok. Let's get you back to camp, though. You're going to feel weird for a while, and you'll probably get--" Samudra slumped entirely, "--sleepy." He scooped her up, thankful she wasn't very heavy. It was about a mile back to camp. He sighed.

"I c'n walk," Samudra slurred, somehow managing to sound slightly petulant even through the fog of confusion and exhaustion.

Edér chuckled. "I don't think so." He didn't hear anything after that.

~~~~~~~*

When Samudra opened her eyes, she noticed a few things. The first that she was in her tent, covered up. The next that it was now night. She heard low, disgruntled whispers coming from outside the tent and froze. Grabbing her dagger from her boot, she snuck from her tent. Upon sneaking out, though, she realized it was only Edér and Aloth. She stowed her dagger away and approached them openly.

Seeing her coming, Edér elbowed Aloth, cutting off whatever he was saying. "Mornin', sunshine!" Edér said jovially.

Samudra chuckled. "Not quite morning, but it's good to be up. What happened? I remember looking at a bug and then feeling strange all of a sudden. Then I woke up. I didn't, uh, have a, you know, weird Watcher thing, did I?" She looked at Edér hopefully, wringing her hands together.

Edér shook his head. "No, that bug you were lookin' at it. It's a moth called Emerald's Malady. Least that's what I was taught growing up. People usually are attracted to it's beautiful green wings, but get too close and it shakes its wings really hard, sending spores all over you. They usually cause confusion and exhaustion."

Aloth huffed. "Yes, they've been known to cause death, as well. People become so confused they wander into danger." He pressed his lips into a thin line sending a glaring look at Edér from the corner of his eye.

Samudra glanced back and forth between the two. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that Edér was there with me," she said uncertainly. "Thank you, Edér. How'd I get back to camp, anyway?"

Edér shrugged. "I carried you."

Samudra gazed at him with utter appreciation. "Seriously? We were...at least a mile away from camp! I'm sorry," she said sheepishly.

Aloth stood up quickly and strode away without a word.

Samudra started to get up to run after him to see what was wrong, but Edér put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him in confusion, but sat back down.

"I don't understand," she said simply. "Is he mad at me?" She glanced again at Aloth's retreating figure which was practically shaking.

"No, not really. He's just upset in general and doesn't really know where to place it. He's upset that you got injured while I was with you. He thinks I should have been watching you more closely. He also feels guilty that he didn't come along. He thinks maybe he could have prevented it."

Samudra scrunched her eyes up. "I'm not a child," she said.

Edér sighed. "Like I said, I think he's just upset in general. Don't really seem like the type to be used to having people around to care about." He shrugged.

"I guess that makes sense," Samudra said slowly. She sighed. "I'm sorry. Guess I'm not exactly the survivor type, huh?" she said sheepishly.

Edér chuckled. "You are definitely not. That's the whole point of giving you these lessons, though. I was the same way as a kid. My big brother Woden taught me everything I know."

Samudra shot Edér a grin. "So are you big brother Edér now?"

Edér laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's not as easy as Woden always made it look, that's for sure." He gazed at the campfire, lost in thought for a moment. "But if it makes you feel any better, I learned about Emerald's Malady the same way you did."

Samudra leaned closer. "Really?" It was hard to imagine Edér without his current knowledge and skill set.

Edér nodded. "Mm-hm. Almost exactly the same. I was out with Woden gathering some herbs for my Ma. When I saw the Emerald's Malady, it was so pretty I had to show Woden and ask him what it was. I got too close and it shook spores all over me."

"Did you have to be carried home?" Samudra asked slyly. Picturing Edér being carried anywhere was a funny sight to think about.

"Yeah, and Woden, he didn't ever let me live it down, believe me." Edér looked thoughtful. "Not to pry, but how is you've never seen an Emerald's Malady before? Or the poisonous plants? They're all over the Dyrwood, and kids usually run across all of 'em."

Samudra fidgeted in her seat and looked away. "I'm not really from around here. I'm from the Deadfire Archipelago."

Edér waited patiently, but she didn't offer up anymore. He knew a touchy subject when he saw one, and he didn't press her. "A story for another night, maybe," he said easily.

Samudra nodded gratefully. "Another night," she promised.

"Well," Edèr said, standing and stretching, "we didn't all lay around in our tents today after being carried back to camp. I'm gonna hit the hay."

Samudra nodded distractedly. "Yeah, ok, I'll take first watch."

Edér nodded, stepping into his tent and leaving Samudra by the fire with her memories.