"Oh, probably. They're always trying to send me back and forth." Has he asked the Head Healer? Has he asked the Provost? As though he'd not contact whoever he intended — "They've a device that numbs the limb. I've concerns of it,"

Hurt is a signal. Easier to miss a painless infection, or that more ephemeral change in feeling which presages trouble.

"But you'll want it for the early days, and that asks Tavane be weaned, if she isn't already."

John's stump still ached, years on.