Neve opened his eyes and lay still for a moment.
Something was different. He could feel it. It was definitely not the cave.
The cave was the same... cold morning air, grey light through the entrance, the smell of yesterday's fire still faintly in the walls. Cael was breathing steadily beside him.
The difference was inside his head.
He sat up slowly and looked at the dried plants hanging along the cave wall. The ones he had been looking at since he got here without knowing what any of them were.
He knew now.
All of them.
The dark bundled leaves near the top — fever reduction, steep in hot water, drink slowly. The pale roots tied with grass — pain relief, chew directly or grind into a paste. The small dried berries in the clay cup — infection treatment, bitter, effective. The grey moss tucked into the corner he had assumed was just decoration — wound packing, absorbs and cleans.
