"But knowing that? They'd had to have been really close." Difyr said.

"May he was...familiar with  her cycle?" Shawn speculated. "Or he used some magic user."

"It's not something a woman advertises." Difyr said. "If they had a magic user wouldn't they have used magic in the attack on the village? The attack was terrible but I don't remember any magic."

"When you spend your time together, another person simply knows," Shawn admitted uncomfortably. "The changes in personality and eating habits... I don't remember any magic in the attack either, but don't you think it's strange that mermen showed up at the same time?"

"The only people Pinja is around is Millie and myself, I don't know about Millie but I wasn't keeping track of it." Difyr shook her head. "The mermen have been around us for years, we just didn't know it, and we still don't know how long one of them was masquerading as Nelek."

"Then I have no clue how he was able to know. I wonder who this midwife is? I'm sure Wulfsen would ban her from the village for consorting with the raiders."

"All I know is she serves Jack's family. She was there when Jack kidnapped Pinja before." Difyr said. "Disgusting woman."

Shawn was furious. "I'll need to find out who she was to make certain she doesn't get in the keep or the village when it's rebuilt."

"You'll have to ask Pinja about her. I've never met her but the fact she's a midwife makes it so much worse that she helps Jack and his family." Difyr said.

Shawn agreed. "She has no business being allowed to help any woman with their health."

"Or their babies." Difyr said. "Twisted, evil woman."

"I need a name. I doubt she'll talk to me, I doubt she'd be comfortable around me. If you can get it from her, I can take the name to Wulfsen."

"I'll give her some time to calm down, she's really upset." Difyr looked over at Pinja. "I don't think she's drank any of her broth."

"Understood. I don't want to cause more duress and pain to her."

Difyr nodded. "I wish I had something to give her for her pain... She really shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach."

"Millie's not had any luck getting broth in to her?" Shawn gave a small smile.

"Hopefully Millie can get her to drink her broth." Difyr said. "I don't think Pinja has eaten since the attack."

"They already had her mentally fragile before," Shawn sadly. "I hope she can come back from this."

"I do too." Difyr said. "She had already been through a lot."

"I know. Even Aron took on Jack at one point to protect her. And Aron's no fighter."

"Jack is an evil man, and it looks like his whole family is evil." Difyr wished Aron had killed him.

"It appears so. I wish I would have given in to the impulse to kill him."

"His family wouldn't let you get away with that, they probably just would have attacked earlier. And you would be in trouble with the magistrate for killing him." Difyr said.

"That was the only thing that kept me from acting on the impulse. But surely I could have made it look like an accident," Shawn lamented.

"They'd probably go after you even if it really was an accident." Difyr said. "And the rest of the village."