He awoke with a start, ashamed of having fallen asleep. Sorden was nodding as well. Jarron realized what had woken him was the sound of the kettle boiling over. He jumped up and swung it away from the fire; it was more of the herb broth. When he turned around, Sorden was watching him as well. "You're quite handy with that," he remarked.

"Oh, thank you," Jarron said. "I can't cook very good, but the others can't cook at all, so I usually do it. My sister taught me. She died." He realized he was babbling and snapped his mouth shut.

"Did she teach you about herbs, too?"

Jarron was surprised that an adult would be interested in him, but he answered obediently. "I know about some of them. Like this one, ferny, for the fever." He pointed toward the herbs where Sorden had tied them to hang from the ceiling.

"We call that featherfern at the Healer Hall. Do you know any other herbs?"

Jarron was no longer nervous; he was concentrating too hard on remembering what Larina had taught him. "There's tussilgo, for winter coughs – "

"Tussilago."

"Right. It clears your throat out. And there's hazel bush – you can rub that on bruises." He paused to think. "Willow bark for headaches… I can't remember any others. Except we have mint for when we run out of klah."

"Very good!" Sorden said approvingly. "You've got several very useful herbs growing out there. Do you know if you have one called yarrow?"

Jarron screwed his face up, trying to remember. "I'm not sure."

Sorden stood up. "Can you show me your garden? Yarrow is very useful for
healing severe bruising and sometimes even internal injuries. We gave Chandis some earlier, but if there's some in bloom that'll be better than the dried."

Jarron got up as well, looking anxiously at Chandis, but Sorden put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be all right for a few minutes. He's had enough fellis to take out that draybeast that stomped him." Jarron nodded and led the healer out toward the end of the vegetable patch where he had faithfully tended Larina's herbs, even the ones whose use he wasn't sure of. He explained about saving the seeds to plant each year. Sorden seemed surprised that they had only the small garden, but Jarron explained that they always had a lot of business just at harvest time, when people were bringing tithes to the main hold and the Weyr. They couldn't afford to farm as well and have to abandon the fields at that crucial time. "We get lots of stuff from Fort," he said. "Klah and flour, and beer – " Sorden laughed at that. "And clothes, and things like numbweed and fellis and seeds."

"So when no one needs the raft, you work on the garden?"

"I do the herbs, and all of the weeding. Gaffer's from a farmhold, so he always helps me plant, and Chandis – " He faltered, thinking of the way Chandis had screamed under the wagon. "He milks the cow. He's the only one she lets milk her. I have to take the cow's dung out to the garden. We mostly just pick things when they get ripe. But we always have to take a day to dig up the tubers. That's always the hardest part." They had reached the row of herbs. Sorden immediately went to a row of taller plants that were just starting to bloom, and picked several with white flower heads.

"This should do for now," he said. "I'll show you how to make an infusion of it. We'll have to wait a while longer to give it to him, because we don't want to mix too many different medicines. Also, we don't want to give him too much of this yarrow, because it can be dangerous." Jarron caught his breath anxiously. "Oh, it's all right, lad. The same goes for most medicines; they can be useful, but if abused they can also cause harm. Even fellis, which is keeping Chandis asleep and feeling less pain, can kill a person in a strong enough dose." They had reached the house. "I'll be using some of that hazel bush for the bruising. I have some in a salve, which is gentler than just using the juice from the crushed bark. Unfortunately it reacts with numbweed, so we'll have to wash off some of the numbweed. We can alternate the two."

"Healer!" Rorden had come into the room. "Is he any better?"

"No change yet, Holder, but I can use some of Jarron's herbs to make another infusion, and I have a salve I'd like to put on the bruises. I'll need to wash the numbweed off." Jarron hurried away and returned with clean cloths and water. "Thank you. I'd like to start brewing the infusion before I do the salve; would you go get some fresh water?"

When Jarron had left to get the water, Sorden turned to Rorden. "That's quite a helpful lad you've got."

Rorden seemed surprised. "Yes, I suppose he is at that. He was my wife's brother – came out here to live with us when he was a child, after his parents died of fever. Larina – my wife – she died a few Turns ago." He sighed, and a look of such tender sadness passed across his face that Sorden was taken aback. Trying to break the silence, he went on.

"She taught Jarron about herbs?"

"Oh yes, she loved that garden. Knew more about herbs than any of us – I don't know what any of those are good for." He gestured toward the hanging bundles of herbs and sighed again. "She loved that boy like her own son. I know this isn't the best place for a boy to live, all alone with us men. I'd like to do more for him, but we can barely make ends meet. And now with Chandis hurt… I'll have to send a message to Fort when that dragonrider comes back with your Master. We can't get along with just three of us – it takes four to man the raft."

"I'd like to discuss the boy with you, Holder." The Healer's tone made Rorden look up warily.

"Has he done something he shouldn't?"

"No, nothing like that. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was quite impressed with his bedside manner. Actually, I wanted to ask you if you would give me permission to take him back to the Healer Hall with me."

Rorden's mouth dropped open in surprise. Sorden hurried on. "He's of an age to be a good apprentice, and he seems interested in the herbs and things. It would be a chance for you to do more for him."

Rorden struggled for words. "I… don't know. Does he want…?"

"Of course no one would force him if he didn't like the idea," Sorden assured him. "But it's time you considered his future. It'll be years before he's strong enough to help with the raft, if he ever is. Maybe it's time he got to choose where he goes." He noticed Jarron standing in the doorway with the bucket of water. "You can put that in the kettle to boil," he told the boy. "How much of that did you hear?"

Jarron was staring at him in surprise and disbelief. "You said… you want me to leave?"

"I want you to come with me, to the Healer Hall. As an apprentice. Would you like to be a healer?"

Jarron glanced at Rorden, who seemed as surprised as he was, but who gave him a little nod to speak.

"Sir, I – I never thought about it before." He hesitated, and then went on. "Could you teach me more about herbs?"

"Herbs, and many other things. You can specialize in herbs and making medicines if you want, or in treating wounds and illnesses, or in helping people while they are recovering. You would have to come to the Healer Hall to study, at least at first; you must know what each bone looks like and how it connects to other bones, before you can mend a broken bone." Sorden paused. "You would not be able to return here for some time," he said gently.

Jarron was silent, thinking. Remembering his parents dying of fever, his sister and her unborn child dying in agony. Remembering the feeling of helplessness when he saw Chandis laying under the wagon, the helplessness that he had seen in Rorden, the strongest man he knew. He didn't want to feel that helplessness ever again. But to leave Riverbend Hold? It had been his home for over three Turns. The only people he knew were here. But he had also heard Rorden say that they would have to bring someone new in. Things were going to change whether he stayed or went. He looked up at the young healer, who was watching him with compassion, allowing him to make his own decision, and at Rorden, who looked helpless once again at the changes that were occurring. "Sir," he said slowly, "I would like to learn more about healing. I – I want to go with you." He met Rorden's eyes, pleading with his own.

"If you want to be a healer, Jarron, I won't hold you here," Rorden told him. "Larina would want you to become the most that you could… We'll miss your cooking, lad."

Jarron laughed in relief, remembering how everyone always complained about his cooking. Sorden smiled, pleased to have found such a willing apprentice. Rorden smiled sadly, remembering his Larina and thinking that she would have been pleased with her brother – and with her husband. The kettle began to boil, and Jarron went to watch Sorden make the yarrow infusion. If he was going to be a healer, he'd better get started right away.