The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel Page B

her throat.
    â€œYour test has three parts,” he said, glancing at Luna. Ariel wanted to stamp her foot at the injustice, but her mother nodded, approving.
    â€œUnless someone has taken ill suddenly!” he added. The crowd laughed. Ariel held her breath, certain Elbert would claim to be sick and she’d have to heal him.
    â€œAll right, then,” Zeke’s father went on at last. “There are three things you’ll need to bring us, Ariel. The first is a sample of your needlework. Healers must have clever hands to stitch wounds.”
    Ariel exhaled. She could stitch something that afternoon if she had to.
    â€œThe second,” Jeshua said, “is a bucket of fish guts. Healers must not mind ugly sights or unpleasant things to touch.” He surveyed the crowd. “I’m sure we have a Fisher who can supply what she’ll need?”
    A chorus of agreement ran through the crowd.
    â€œFinally,” Zeke’s father continued, “you must bring us a certain few plants. Your mother says you know plenty already. It wouldn’t be fair to expect you to say what they’re good for, but you should be able to remember a list and recognize them. Are you ready to hear them?”
    Grinding her teeth, Ariel nodded. This might not be so bad.
    â€œThey are foolsbane, marshyellow, fiddlefern, chamomile, goat ivy, and swarth. Your mother assures me they all appear this time of year. Do you see why we’ve chosen these six?”
    With a gulp, Ariel nodded. Everything on the list had a twin that was either useless or poison.
    â€œA healer’s intuition should guide you in choosing which are wholesome, even if your eyes can’t do it for you. Shall I repeat them?”
    Hoping she’d simply remember the telltale signs, Ariel nodded stiffly. She ticked a finger for each as he went.
    He finished, “You, too, have until nightfall.”
    Unlike her two friends before her, Ariel didn’t care what anyone thought. She set off at a run.
    The fish guts would take the least time, so that’s where she started. She tapped the arm of a sturdy woman who lived on her boat at the docks.
    Felia Fisher winked. “Oh, have I got fish guts for you.” She led Ariel to the pier and what looked like a pile of seabirds. As they reached it, the birds lifted off, their wings beating a stench into the air. Ariel had certainly smelled it before, but it still turned her stomach.
    â€œBorrow a bucket from my boat if you like, child,” Felia said. “Your mother might not want hers smelling so fresh.”
    â€œIt’s got pollywogs in it, anyway,” Ariel told her.
    Felia laughed. “Remind me not to drink water at your house!”
    With a shout of thanks, Ariel ran to the boat for the bucket, glad she hadn’t worn her new yellow skirt. If all went well, she could don it later, along with her new last name.
    When she returned, the birds had gone back to their feasting. She shooed them away, held her breath, and dipped the bucket. It scooped up loops of fish intestine, loose scales like stinky snowflakes, and putrid, unidentifiable ooze.
    The villagers in the square smelled Ariel coming. Heads turned. Palms waved at the air before noses. Ariel walked up the aisle they formed, wishing she hadn’t filled the bucket so full. Her arm ached.
    â€œThat’s close enough,” laughed the Storian as sheapproached. Ariel set the bucket at his feet. “No, no,” he continued. “Please take it away now!”
    â€œThat’s not what Jeshua told her!” someone shouted. “There was nothing in the test about taking it back!”
    The crowd erupted in hoots and pleas for Ariel to take it away. Giggling, she hefted the bucket again. Cheers followed. She was filled with a prickly love, not just for her mother and friends but for all of Canberra Docks—even the guts pile.
    No longer nervous, she went next to her house for a needlework sample.