After a few days, gossip began to ripple through the encampment, spreading from tent to tent and most of it centered on how unreasonably luxurious Soren's tent was compared to those of Arctelle and Irlian.
Whispers carried poorly concealed envy and spite, exaggerated with every retelling until it sounded as though Soren had been granted a noble's pavilion rather than a healer's quarters.
As punishment for their conduct, Arctelle and Irlian were ordered to spend the entire month stationed in the regular healers' chamber. The place was cramped and poorly ventilated, with no private bath and no personal space to speak of.
They were forced to share the same quarters with the very people they had always looked down on, working shoulder to shoulder under constant scrutiny. To make matters worse, their progress was to be monitored personally by Alaric, leaving them no room for complaint or defiance.
