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Headman. Once you approach it from that stance, it gets
much less dry."
    Va'del
shrugged noncommittally, and shifted slightly, testing tired muscles
for soreness. He never would have guessed having an actual
instructor for weapons training would make such a difference in how
enjoyable it was. I'rone still didn't say much, in fact sometimes
his comments were downright cryptic, but even so Va'del had learned
more from him in the last two days than he had from Ma'del in the
last three months.
    I'rone
had started with Ma'del's style of fighting, but promised that once
Va'del's arm was healed, the lessons would change. The Guadel's
manner of fighting involved the use of not only the standard
longsword, Va'del was familiar with, but also a long dagger that was
held in the left hand and used for parries and the occasional
strike. It seemed to Va'del like it would be hard to mentally keep
track of both weapons, but I'rone had promised that with enough
repetition the proper strikes and counters would become reflexive.
    If
the study of law was the low point of the past two days, and the
study of weapons was the high point, the things Jasmin had asked
Va'del to do were more or less in the middle. I
don't understand what possible purpose meditating could serve. She
just makes me sit there and visualize a thick sheet of ice slowly
melting away. Or a beaded curtain parting before me so that I can
see the outside world. That and relaxing. She seems awfully
concerned with me relaxing, and when I ask her about it, she just
says that the mental will follow the physical.
    As
frustrating as the pointless exercises were, Va'del found he
couldn't really generate any ill feelings towards Jasmin after what
had happened the first night they'd reached the caves.
    Va'del
had awakened partway through the night, unable to catch his breath.
Initially, he'd tried not to wake the others, but as his breathing
had grown more and more ragged, he'd been overcome by a mounting
sense of panic, and crawled over to where the other three were
sleeping.
    Jasmin
had been the first to wake. She'd looked up at him with sleepy eyes
for a second and then sworn and yelled for Betreec. Jasmin had
hurriedly explained to Va'del that his lungs were filling up with
liquid, and then joined Betreec in a trance. The better part of a
cycle passed before the two women came out of the trance, but
somewhere along the way Va'del found he was once again able to
breathe.
    Thinking
about what had happened, Va'del took a deep, experimental breath.
Betreec looked up again. "Do you still feel okay?"
    Va'del
nodded. "Yes, I have since that night."
    The
older woman smiled, and looked back down at the book she was
reading, but Va'del decided it was time to ask the question that had
been on his mind. "It only took a few minutes for my breathing
to ease. What were you and Jasmin doing for the rest of the time?"
    Betreec
suddenly had the look of someone who'd just realized something
they'd thought trivial was about to come back and cause problems.
"As we mentioned before, the reason you were having a hard time
breathing was that the cold, thin air this high in the mountains was
damaging your lungs and causing them to fill with liquid. While we
were repairing the damage and helping your body to absorb the
liquid, we made a few changes so that you'll be less prone to have
problems of that sort in the future."
    Va'del
found his fear of the Guadel suddenly swept away by the greater fear
of what he would become if they had their way with him. "You
changed my body without asking? Like I was a piece of stone to be
molded with no thought to what it might prefer?"
    Leaning
into the cold wall behind him, Va'del fought off tears. "You
made me even more different from everyone else."
    Betreec
looked devastated as he turned away, but he didn't care. For once
he suppressed his concern about how others felt, and instead
rejoiced in the fact that someone else felt bad.
    A
few seconds later a gentle hand touched