“Squad leader, report!” A gruff voice barked at us as soon as we entered. We turned to see a heavily armored dwarf heading our way, though he kept his plumed helm under one arm.

“Commander Gronig, sir!” Brom saluted, slamming a fist to his chest. “We observed the bog men from a safe distance, ready to charge into action should they advance any further. About ten minutes into our wait, Helena sensed a massive surge of mana in the distance. We fell into a turtle defense, but it was unnecessary. The attack was targeted at the bog men, a swirling vortex of cold that froze them solid. Once the spell passed, we carefully advanced to-“

“Enough of that.” He growled out. “Save it for the written report. Who is this and why is he in my garrison?”

“Caravan master Bribis.” I answered for the flustered soldier. “One of our mages cast the ice spell, letting us cut through the last bit of bog men. We’ve been on the run for two days now, and could use a safe haven.”

“Fair enough. We can house you for a day.” He said.

“Actually sir, we need a few days at least. One of our number is injured in a way we haven’t seen before, and our oxen have been on their feet for far too long.” I said before he could turn away.

“Why so long?”

“We were caught near the midpoint when the bog awakened.”

“Alright. Brom, lead them to the stablemaster. Have him give the beasts a once over. After that, take their injured fellow to the infirmary. I’ll be in my office with Bribis.” The dwarf indicated I was to follow with a head jerk, and I fell into step beside him. We entered the two story stone garrison, and immediately took a turn upstairs. The office we entered was fairly sparse, only two small chairs on one side of a plain desk.

“So.” Gronig said, settling in on the opposite side of the desk. “Why don’t you tell me everything then.”

“Not much to say really.” I shrugged. “We set out from Edgehall a few days ago. Two days out from the town, the weaker members of our caravan had troubled sleep. I knew it was a sign of the bog awakening, so we went into emergency mode.”

“You pressed on? Why not turn back?” He interrupted.

“The member who was injured? He did it using a skill that reduced stamina consumption for the entire caravan by twenty percent. Kept it up for over a day and a half before collapsing. We thought we could outrun the bog, and it seemed to be working. Until-“ I trailed off.

“Until you met the army of bog men and specters camped outside our door.”

“Yeah. Until then. Elendria cast her spell, nearly draining her mana pool to do so. A half hour break and we finished the trip here.”

“Do you know what spell she cast?” He asked, intrigued.

“Sorry, you’ll have to ask her.” I said.

“Fair ‘nuff.” He grunted. “Alright, that’s good enough for me. My superiors will want to have an answer though, you didn’t do anything to wake the bog, did ya?”

“Not at all.” I said.

“Didn’t think so. I try and tell ‘em, ain’t nobody going to fess up to it even if they did. They still insist on it though. Sorry about that.”

“No worries.” I said. “If you don’t mind, could we go check in on my caravan member? I’m worried about him.”

“I’ll bet you are. Follow me again.” He said, leading me back down the stairs. In fact, we went into an underground area, and I could see several wards on the wall.

“What’s with the wards?” I asked.

“Anti-water. We’re close enough to that damned bog that this would flood without ‘em. But it also means we can use that purification ward there to always have a source of clean water for the fort.” He nodded to one ward that was set with a trough nearby.

We entered a room with a double wide door, this one filled with empty cots. In the bed on the far side, there was a group around a bed. I couldn’t see Sean on it, but Elendria was watching another elf examine him like a hawk. She was obviously a wood elf, the blond hair and greenish brown skin a dead giveaway.

“How’s it looking Loreley?” Gronig asked as we closed the distance.

“Hmm? Oh hello Gronig.” She said, looking up for a moment before bending her ear down to Sean’s chest. “Well, this is an odd condition, that’s for sure.”

“I knew she wouldn’t be able to help.” Elendria grumbled, getting a glare from the herbalist.

“Elendria.” I warned.

“It’s fine.” Loreley waved my concern off. “Concern for a loved one often overrides common courtesy. If I couldn’t handle this, I never would have made it this far in my career.” Standing up, she went to a shelf behind her and started looking over some jars. She started to reach for one, then decided against it and turned back.

“You.” She pointed at me. “What happened to this man?”

“Not sure.” I said. “We were attacked by the bog, but I don’t think he was hurt at all. He did hold a buff spell for a day and a half.”

“Mana potions?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I talked with him, he assured me the spell he was using didn’t cost more than what he is able to regenerate.”

“Really?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. “I see. I’ll have to check him for injuries first though, as that’s the easiest to rule out. Strip him.” She ordered.

“Absolutely not.” Elendria took a step forward, fist clenched.

“Relax child.” Before I knew it, Elendria was bound in vines with her arms locked behind her back and a vine blocking her mouth from speaking. “I understand you care for him. But I must examine him to ensure he hasn’t been injured. Unless you don’t want him to recover? Or perhaps you would prefer a wound to go unnoticed and turn septic, slowly killing him over several days? All the while he is writhing in agony?”

Eyes wide, Elendria shook her head no. “Then let me do my job. I assure you, I don’t do this for my own pleasure. I do this because it is the fastest, safest way to figure out exactly what ails him. Now, will you let me do this? Thank you.” Elendria nodded yes, and Loreley let her go. We all watched as the elf methodically stripped Sean of his clothes, and then started inspecting his entire body. She was thorough, but in a detached manner. Each bit of skin was checked, and she didn’t linger on anything. Elendria didn’t either, though she developed a bit of a blush as certain areas were inspected. Carrigan started to say something, but violent shaking of my head dissuaded him. After demonstrating just how powerful she was, I wasn’t about to try and provoke her. Especially with her this high strung.

“Turn him on his side please.” Loreley gave us the politest order I had ever heard, and we jumped to obey. She did just as thorough of an inspection to Sean’s back, before waving us to put him back down. “Well. Good news is that there are no apparent injuries. That eliminates a lot of the nasty options, though not all of them. I was also using mage sight, and see no signs of curses or hexes. Carrigan was it? Would you hand me that small cup there, and help Elendria here prop Sean up.”

Once she had the cup, Loreley got just a bit of water in it while they propped Sean up. She came back over, and ever so carefully spilled just a bit of water in his mouth. She closed his lips and massaged his throat just a bit, then nodded. “Excellent. He still has the ability to swallow, so if it is paralysis it is only partial.”

“Paralysis?” Elendria gasped.

“Relax, it’s an unlikely scenario but I am eliminating what I can. Tell me exactly what happened just before he collapsed.”

“We were escaping from the bog, and he had been channeling a buff type spell for nearly a day and a half. I noticed his nose would bleed on occasion, and he seemed utterly focused on the spell form, but that’s it. The effort was straining him, and he had a bit of fever that I would cool down with ice magic.” Elendria said.

“Pale skin? Sweating?” Elendria nodded. “I see. That’s rather worrying. What’s his constitution at?”

“I don’t know.” I said.

“It’s low.” Elendria said. “Last I knew it was at 8.” Everyone nearby flinched at that.

“That. That is unfortunate.” Loreley said.

“How so?” I asked. “I thought constitution was just about resisting disease and overall health.”

“It is. But it also is a soft limit for how far you can push your body. While it will always be possible to push your body beyond the limits, you will always have to pay the price for that. Be it pulled or torn muscles, broken bones. Things like that.” She explained. “The bleeding from the nose wouldn’t have been the first warning for him to stop. He likely had a horrendous headache. Trouble concentrating, probably multiple vision. He’s very lucky.”

“How so?” Carrigan asked, nervous as well. I could understand, as he likely had a lower constitution as well.

“Stroke. He could have killed a portion of his brain, permanently injuring himself. Even the gods don’t intervene in stroke cases.”

“So what is wrong with him?” Elendria asked. “If you know that he didn’t stroke.”

“I’m no expert on it, but it seems as though he overtaxed his soul. Even if the spell cost less mana than his soul could replenish, he is still putting it under strain. Just like walking for hours can hurt your feet.”

“So what do we do to treat it?” I asked, concerned.

“Time.” She said. “That’s the only cure for this. He’ll have to stay here until he recovers enough. I’ll have the kitchens prepare some nourishing broths to feed him, and I’ll train Elendria here on how to feed him. It’ll be slow going, and make sure not to give him too much and choke him. But he should recover. And before you ask, I have no idea how long it will take.”

“Hold on a second.” Carrigan said. “I don’t mean to take away from your expertise Loreley, but there is ample evidence that mana regeneration has nothing to do with the soul. The commonly accepted theory-.”

“I care not for your theory master mage.” She interrupted. “All I know is that this man’s body is perfectly healthy and yet he isn’t moving. You can quote all your theories at me that you want. I’ll trust in my training, and know that this is a soul issue. It might not be mana regeneration, but using magic requires some interaction with the soul. Sean abused that interaction for a day and a half, and now has to pay the price. I hope, for his sake, that it is more like a muscle strain than a tear.”

“Are you seriously going to believe this?” Carrigan asked me. “You are. I can’t believe you are going with this mythological bull-“

“Mind your tongue.” Loreley snarled. “Though you don’t believe them, my methods are tried and true! Just because proving anything with the soul is notoriously difficult doesn’t mean that it can’t be proven at all!”

“Look, he isn’t in danger, and we can feed him. I’m sure that if we press on to Shineheart-“ Carrigan started.

“His soul does look weak.” Elendria said, and we all turned to see her eyes glowing white. “But it isn’t under any strain. It seems rather peaceful.”

“Soul oracle.” Loreley breathed, immediately bowing her head.

“Please raise your head.”

“But, you must be-“

“Quiet.” Elendria demanded softly. “I’m not ready to make my return, so please keep my origins to yourself. I only revealed myself to help Sean.”

“I understand, and obey.” Loreley said reverently. I locked eyes with Carrigan, who merely shrugged. “Feel free to stay with him as I go get the kitchen started on his food.” With that, Loreley immediately headed off.

“Your return?” Carrigan asked after an awkward silence.

“Indeed.” She replied. “Sean isn’t the only one with high ambitions.”