Getting the report from the General that the village's people had disappeared put new ardor into Finn's efforts to uncover what parts of the mystery she could.
The doctor was highly wary of attempting any of the recipes Finn had copied out from the book. They were still arguing about the pros and cons when they arrived back at the house. Mayra came out of the room she'd been helping Mrs. Sherman clean.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"I've been researching everything we talked about and found some recipes in an ancient book to do magical things, but Dr. Sherman says trying any of them would be foolish." Finn explained.
Mrs. Sherman grimaced, "I'm in full agreement with him, my dear. The risks involved even in mixing a simple medicine incorrectly must be compounded tenfold at least when dealing with something magical."
Mayra brightened, "Why don't we ask Jimmy?"
"What?" The others turned to her. The secretive, strange old smuggler was hardly the reliable resource Mayra seemed to imply.
"Well, he answered some of my questions," she demurred, "and I think he knows a lot more. He clearly can do some magic, with the way he can make things appear and disappear, and brought the herbs which healed Finn so quickly." The others continued to stare at her and she changed to pouting. "Well, what's the harm in asking?"
"He's an unpredictable man," Mrs. Sherman said. "And curiosity around the unpredictable can be especially dangerous."
______________________________
Riley glanced at Roland, huddled off by himself as he often did during the short breaks the soldiers had during the day. Though a lingering mild distaste for the other man had kept him at bay as they searched the areas surrounding the village (to no avail), curiosity finally got the better of him.
Strolling casually over, he leaned to see that Roland was writing on paper that he must have brought himself.
"What are you up to?" Riley asked in as friendly a voice as he could manage.
Roland barely glanced at him, "Um, writing."
"I can see that," Riley sighed. "What are you writing?"
"A letter."
".... to whom?"
Roland finally stopped and put down his pen, turning to face the other man. "Serafina."
Riley's face twisted into a mixture of intense irritation and disbelief. He recalled Finn mentioning that Roland said he was going to write to her, but Riley had no idea the man was following through with it.
"Really?" Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Yes. If you must know, I asked her permission to write to her, and she consented." Saying this out loud gave Roland great satisfaction, though it had taken some work and time for him to gain said consent. Riley was still for a moment before responding.
"May I borrow some paper and your pen when you're done?" The request caught Roland off guard. Though his supplies were limited, the sincerity in Riley's voice made it difficult for him to turn down the query.
Roland simply nodded. Riley turned away to give him some privacy to finish his letter and waited patiently, staring at the horizon. He wondered how in the world one writes a letter, and used the time waiting to try and compose one in his head.
Should it be 'Dear', or just her name? Letters were slightly formal, weren't they? Should he use her full name or would that seem awkward and like he was trying too hard?
He WAS trying very hard, he acknowledged, but thought that the appearance of desperation would be off-putting. He should just be himself, but 'himself' had never been in a letter. He'd never reduced his thoughts, feelings, or anything into writing. Not really.
This would be a challenge, but at least it was a distraction from the fact that the quest to find his family (and hers) was, thus far, an abysmal failure.
Feeling useless and futile, Riley sat on the ground. A lone wolf's howl in the distance compounded his self-loathing. The creatures made enough noise to make themselves heard, but seemed to evade any attempt to search for them. Captain Grayson had decided that following them must be a diversion of some kind, and that calling off the search and heading back was the best option.
Riley cursed at himself for joining the military. To try to back out now would mean charges of treason. He wanted to do what he thought was best, but his next full year was subject to the whims of his superiors.
It was a maddening consequence for a momentary lapse in his judgment. His mental pictures of brave soldiers marching in and saving the village dissolved, and left behind a dissatisfying wake of endless training and obeying orders. To add to all that, he was now separated from Finn in the same way Roland was. He had rejoiced over that when it happened, and then walked into it himself.
He mentally pummeled himself. What a ridiculous, useless person he'd turned out to be. Incapable of saving those he loved, trapped in a position he could not leave, and having enormous trouble even thinking of words to put in a simple letter.
________________
Finn and Mayra rode borrowed horses out to Jimmy's boulder. Despite Dr. and Mrs. Sherman's misgivings, the girls were insistent that the strange hermit could be of great help to Finn's research.
The lake was near enough to the city that there was no conceivable danger from bandits, and larger groups might make the man leery. Besides, the couple were both very busy with various obligations within the city and didn't have the time for this potentially foolhardy excursion.
The girls weren't waiting long before the boat appeared. Jimmy doffed his hat to Mayra and nodded to Finn as he exited his craft.
"Ladies?"
"Hello!" greeted Mayra brightly. She held out a loaf of sweet bread she had baked that morning. Men seemed to be in far better moods when fed. "We brought you something."
"That's mighty sweet or awfully suspicious of you, Girl." Jimmy accepted the loaf and sniffed it warily.
Mayra was unfazed by his blunt assessment, "Well, maybe it's both. We have some questions and we'd be so grateful if you could answer them for us." She smiled her most charming smile.
"The day you come here without any questions is the day I retire." Jimmy spat on the ground.
Mayra laughed as Finn's eyes silently bounced between the two people, observing their unusual interactions. She had never actually spoken to Jimmy at all, having been unconscious the only time she was around the man. Jimmy waited in silence for them to continue.
"Finn, here-- you remember her, don't you? Well she was doing some research and came across some recipes she's a little scared to try." Mayra stretched the truth here a little. Finn was willing to try the recipes, and it was Dr. Sherman whose protests prevented her from doing so. "We were wondering if you could look them over for us and give us some insight?" Mayra smiled her most persuasive smile and gestured for Finn to hand them over.
Finn had made copies from the ancient texts, and now handed the first one to Jimmy, which purported to bring about a type of invisibility. Jimmy studied her face for a long moment before he looked down at the paper she handed him.
"Hmm. What a thing for a young lady to come by," He mused. "A little less refined than my personal recipe, but quite something to just stumble upon."
"So it would work? It's magical?" Mayra confirmed excitedly.
"Magical is an interestin' word. Don't think I'd use it myself." He squinted at her. "There's things in this world most people don't think's possible. Lots is possible if you know the right way."
"We know you can disappear," Said Mayra. "Finn's been looking at books about an ancient culture called the Rhone. Have you heard of them?"
"Might have. Might have."
"They could apparently control animals and even nature," Mayra continued. "Do you know of any other unusual things one could do with herbs?"
Jimmy eyed her skeptically, "Might."
"I would love to learn anything you would be willing to teach me," Finn smiled softly. "I have a few more recipes here from the book I found." She offered them forward.
Jimmy took them and scanned them dispassionately. "Nothin new here. What's in it for me to teach you?"
"Um," Finn blinked, trying to think of what skills she had to offer the man, "I'm... a good cook. I could make you some delicious meals. I also garden well if you need any help with that." She doubted he needed any aid with child care, which was one of her other talents.
Jimmy chewed the inside of his cheek. "Gardening, eh?" Finn nodded. Mayra held her tongue, hoping the man would agree to Finn's request. He spat on the ground again.
"Tell ya what. I've got this little plant giving me some trouble." He walked around behind the boulder as he spoke, and bent to pick up a clay pot with a small plant in it. Half the leaves were a sickly yellowish-brown color, and the green leaves were drooping. "If you can revive the persnickety thing and bring it back to me all healthy, I'll teach ya something."
"What kind of plant is this?" Finn had never seen anything quite like it before. A single purple blossom nestled in the middle of the leaves. Despite its sickly appearance, it looked like it could be a truly breathtaking thing in full health.
"Do you need to know its name to take care of it?" Jimmy's eyes narrowed.
"I suppose not," Finn shrugged. Each plant had its own needs, she just had to figure out what this one wanted.
"I'll be waiting," Jimmy said.
Mayra jumped as she realized he was gone without a trace once again. "If you can hear me, I don't appreciate that whole disappearing without saying goodbye habit! It's a little bit rude, and you never said thank you for the bread I brought! I still have some questions!" She nodded emphatically. Determined for the strange man to learn some form of manners, she'd lost some of the healthy fear the Shermans had attempted to instill.
"Ok, little plant, let's go home... or, at least, back to the Shermans' house." Finn said, all at once remembering that her home lay in ashes and her family who-knows-where. She gave it a trembling smile and gave it a prominent place on her horse's saddle so it might not be crushed in the saddle bag.
"How long do you think it'll be before we have more news of the soldiers?" Mayra asked by way of conversation as they rode back.
"I'm not sure. A few days, at least, I should think." Finn replied. She didn't know how far the platoon had spread out in their search, nor in which direction. It was almost impossible to know how long it would take for a rider to come back with more news for the general.
In the mean time, she had a new assignment. Although she couldn't do much to save anybody or take care of the people she loved, she now had a sad little plant to nurse back to health.