Doc was unable not to smile, wryly.
‘I don’t really have a choice in this, do I?’
Vries smiled in kind. ‘As a true Healer . . . not really.’
‘But you’re staying on,’ Doc said.
‘All of us, as you put it, will be “staying on,”’ Vries said.
‘And what of this business of leaving Mirrindale?’ Doc asked him. ‘I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.’
‘As you wish,’ Vries replied. ‘There is no guarantee that Mirrindale won’t eventually fall, in which case all of its inhabitants will be put to the sword. Yet Mirrindale’s endurance is imperative, in that the King’s armies will be preoccupied with destroying this fortress city. Since Mirrindale is the only stronghold we have, not only will it buy the refugees precious time to escape, but if the city were to be quickly overwhelmed, then there will quite literally be no chance for anyone to escape from the Elf Kingdom, as the Goblin hordes would then be turned loose to roam the countryside at will . . .’
As Vries spoke, Doc considered the implications of staying in Mirrindale, and of leaving it altogether, consigning the fortress city to its fate. Working with the healers of Mirrindale had already taught him much concerning his special gift of Healing. But his Power and control over his abilities was growing steadily, and he found that for this reason he was reluctant to leave; not yet, while he still had so much to learn. Besides, he thought wryly to himself, the real reason is that I never could turn down people who need me.