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Ironha knelt beside the injured goblin, her hands glowing faintly green as Pulseweave threaded through damaged tissue. The break was clean but the swelling had progressed faster than it should have.

"Hold still," she said quietly.

The goblin—Vrek, one of Kraggir's miners—gritted his teeth and nodded.

Around them, six others watched. Three goblins, two kobolds, and a human woman who'd arrived at Threeburrow less than with a group of refugees less than a week ago. All of them here to learn. All of them quiet while Ironha worked.

She felt the bone beneath her fingertips. Misaligned. Not by much, but enough to complicate healing if left uncorrected.

"Lina," Ironha said without looking up.

The girl stepped forward immediately, her movements steady and confident.

"What do you see?" Ironha asked.

Lina leaned in, her brow furrowing in concentration. "The break is clean, but the alignment is off."

"Good. What happens if we heal it like this?"

"The bone sets wrong. Weakens the arm long-term. Might cause pain when he grips tools."

Ironha nodded. "So what do we do?"

Lina hesitated, then met Ironha's eyes. "Realign first. Then stabilize."

"Correct."

Ironha shifted her grip, placing one hand above the break and one below. She applied gentle pressure—and felt the bone shift back into proper position. Vrek hissed through his teeth but didn't pull away.

"Now," Ironha said, glancing at Lina. "Watch the flow."

She let Pulseweave guide the healing. Just encouraging the body to do what it already wanted to do. The green glow intensified for a moment, then faded as the bone began knitting itself back together.

Vrek exhaled slowly.

Ironha sat back. "Two days of rest. Light work only. If it starts hurting again, come find me."

Vrek flexed his fingers experimentally, then nodded. "Thank you, Healer."

Ironha stood and turned to address the group. "What did you learn?"

The human woman spoke first. "Don't rush the healing. Make sure everything's in the right place first."

"Good. Anyone else?"

One of the kobolds raised a clawed hand. "That you can feel what's wrong before you fix it."

Ironha nodded and tapped the brace on her wrist. "Vital Sense is the skill I use. You have the bio-scanner." She watched them look down at their own units. "It'll take some getting used to, but that's what it's for. Start there."

She was about to continue when footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance.

Riona appeared in the doorway, rifle slung across her back, her patrol vest still dusted with snow.

Ironha straightened. "Injured?"

Riona shook her head. "it was a clean run. No injuries."

Ironha exhaled. That was good. That was very good.

"Maz is back," Riona continued. "Her group just came through the north gate. I escorted them in."

Ironha felt something loosen in her chest. Maz had been gone for two months. "Anyone hurt in their group?"

"No. They ran into two hordes on the way here, but nothing serious."

Ironha nodded slowly. Two hordes. That was more than she'd been hearing about a month ago. The numbers were climbing.

Riona adjusted the strap on her rifle. "We're heading back out soon. Just wanted to make sure you knew they were here."

"Thank you."

Riona gave a short nod and turned to leave.

Ironha looked back at her students. The class had been watching the exchange in silence.

"That's enough for today," Ironha said. "We'll continue tomorrow. Same time."

The group dispersed quietly, filing out through the tunnel entrance one by one. Lina stayed behind.

Ironha waited until the last student had left before speaking. "Finish cleaning up and you can take your break."

Lina nodded. "Yes, Ironha."

Ironha adjusted her cloak and headed for the door.

The corridor beyond was cool and still, the faint hum of enchantments threading through the stone walls. She passed a kobold carrying a crate of froststones while two human children played with a carved wooden toys near the kitchen entrance.

She stepped through the outer door and into the valley.

Two goblins worked near the eastern tunnel entrance, installing what looked like a detection ward. One held the rune plate steady while the other traced activation glyphs carefully. They wore identical vests—militia colors. Ironha had treated one of them last week. Twisted ankle. Healed clean.

Further out, a human woman guided a group of children through a series of stretches. Morning drills. The woman called out corrections with an easy confidence, and the children—goblin, kobold, human alike—responded without hesitation.

Ironha felt a faint smile pull at the corner of her mouth.

When Edda first asked her to come here, Ironha hadn't known what to expect. Draugr activity is escalating, Edda had said. Kesh is worried. Threeburrow will need a healer on-site.

Ironha had agreed immediately.

She'd arrived expecting chaos and fear.

Instead, she'd found resolve.

Ygrana had greeted her at the gate with a steady nod. Kraggir had shown her to the infirmary—small but well-organized. Rurran had posted guards outside the first night because they wanted her to feel safe.

And the injuries came.

They always did.

But the people here didn't panic. They endured.

The path Ironha was on curved past the communal kitchen, where Brikka stood at a workbench, kneading dough. Another refugee—a older human woman—worked beside her, chopping root vegetables.

Brikka looked up and raised a flour-dusted hand. "Healer! You eating today?"

"Later," Ironha called back.

"I'll set something aside!" Brikka didn't wait for a reply, already turning back to her work.

Ironha kept walking.

A frightened child Doc had saved — quiet and withdrawn when she first arrived, but curious enough to follow Bran into the kitchen and never really leave. And now she ran the kitchen like someone twice her age. People adapted. That was the lesson she kept learning here

The northern gate came into view.

Ironha spotted the wagon first. Snow Tusk stood harnessed at the front, his massive form impossible to miss. Moss-ear perched between his horns, tiny and utterly unbothered. Tanna stood near the wagon bed, checking straps while Marron directed two goblins carrying crates. Rurrak leaned against the gate post, arms crossed.

And at the center of it all—Mazoga.

The Warden stood with her warhammer slung across her back, gesturing toward a stack of crates as she spoke to Kraggir. Ygrana stood nearby, listening with her arms folded, her expression unreadable.

Mazoga glanced up mid-sentence and smile

"Heard you've been teaching folks how to be healers," she said.

"I wanted to." Ironha stopped beside her.

"More healers means fewer deaths."

Mazoga nodded. "Can't argue with that.

Kraggir turned, his slate-blue scales catching the light. "Healer Ironha. Good to see you."

Ygrana inclined her head slightly, a gesture of respect.

Marron waved from the wagon bed. "We brought back what we could. Tools, armor, enchanted equipment. A few magical tomes Dulric asked for. Runic materials that would've taken months to source up here."

"Good," Ironha said. "Dulric will be glad to hear it."

Tanna jumped down from the wagon and approached, Moss-ear phase-stepping onto her shoulder mid-stride. "How bad has it been?"

Ironha stop near the gate. "Manageable, thanks to the rifles and equipment Carl and Dulric have been producing. But there are more of them every day. More undead than there should be."

Mazoga's expression hardened. "Edda warned me it was getting worse. The journey here showed me just how bad."

Ironha nodded and asked "Were you able to report it to the proper people?"

Mazoga nodded. "We reported to the Adventurer's Guild," she said. "Gar Ironwood took it seriously. He said he'd pass the information to Imperial command and the clan council."

Ironha felt a knot of tension ease slightly. "That's good. At least someone's listening."

"Gar also reminded me about the bounty on Rellan," Mazoga continued. "Doc went with me to collect it. You should've seen him with the Truth Stone." "Is he doing okay?" Ironha asked. "He wouldn't tell me if something was wrong."

Mazoga's mouth curved slightly. "He's fine. Being Doc."

She paused. "Pulled three kids off the streets while we were there."

Ironha blinked. "More?"

"Three of them. Street orphans. Caught them trying to raid our wagon." Mazoga shook her head, but her voice carried something close to fondness.

"Doc brought them inside, fed them, and asked the innkeeper for rooms."

Ironha looked toward the valley, where children played near the eastern tunnel entrance and refugees worked alongside goblins and kobolds with ease. Two months ago that hadn't been the case. She supposed kindness had a way of spreading when people let it.

Ironha nodded slowly. "That sounds like him."

She glanced at Mazoga. "And you? How are you holding up?"

Mazoga rolled her shoulders. "Still standing. Had to re-register with the Adventurer's Guild while I was there."

Ironha raised an eyebrow. "Re-register?"

"They had me listed as dead." Mazoga's tone was completely flat. "Apparently eight months without a check-in means presumed deceased."

Ironha stared at her. "And?"

"And I re-registered." Mazoga paused. "Gar was professional about it. But I could tell I'd given him a lot to think about."

She glanced at Ironha. "Walking back in after eight months. Coming out of the Hollow Vale. Gaining that many levels." She shrugged.

"I probably set off every flag they had." Ironha studied her. "Does that concern you?"

Mazoga considered that for exactly a second. "Not really. They'll either come asking questions or they won't."

Ironha shook her head. "Only you could say something like that and sound this calm about it."

Mazoga shrugged. "Not much else I can do."

That was Maz. Always practical. Never wasting energy on things she couldn't control.

Ironha looked past her toward the wagon, where Tanna was checking Snow Tusk's harness and Marron was directing the last of the crates toward storage. Rurrak leaned against the gate post, arms crossed, watching everything with the quiet vigilance of someone who'd spent weeks on the road.

They looked tired.

Not injured——but worn down in the way people got after long travel through dangerous territory. The way Tanna shifted her weight. The slight tension in Marron's shoulders. Rurrak's careful stillness.

Ironha turned back to Mazoga. "You should all come to the infirmary."

Mazoga raised an eyebrow. "I just told you we're fine."

"And I'd like to confirm that." Ironha kept her tone even.

Mazoga opened her mouth, then closed it.

Ironha didn't wait for her to argue. She raised her voice slightly, addressing the group. "All of you. Infirmary. Now."

Tanna looked up from Snow Tusk's harness. Marron paused mid-instruction. Rurrak straightened.

Mazoga sighed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"Fine." Mazoga turned toward the wagon. "You heard her. Everyone to the infirmary."

Tanna nodded and patted Snow Tusk's flank before stepping away. Marron finished giving directions to the goblins, then moved toward the group. Rurrak pushed off the gate post and followed without protest.

Kraggir watched the exchange with quiet amusement. "She runs a tight operation."

Ygrana's expression didn't change, but something in her posture softened. "Good."

Ironha gestured toward the eastern tunnel entrance. "This way."

The group fell into step behind her. Mazoga walked beside Ironha, shaking her head but saying nothing.

Ironha didn't push. She'd get the full story once they were inside and she could see what they weren't saying.

That was how healing worked.

You checked what people told you.

Then you checked what they didn't.