Gilreg assessed the situation. He and Shaymus were injured. Shaymus was nursing her left arm, which looked to have some burns. His ribs were sore, and it hurt to move. The thought of running after the two fleeing adventurers was not pleasant. Gilreg looked up and saw Nulrok sitting crossed-legged on the ground. Sweat on his brow. Magic comes with a cost, and the practitioners tempt madness whenever they weave a spell. Nulrok was meditating to focus his mind on warding off insanity.

The two human bodies already disappeared in a puff of smoke, as is often the case with adventurers. Gilreg had asked Nulrok why that happened, and the mage said they were blessed by their gods. Unless they were out of favor, their bodies left when defeated, leaving their gear behind. Gilreg had asked if they came back to life, and at this, the shaman in training just shrugged. He didn’t know much more about the high races.

“Ooh, I call dibs!” Shaymus said, leaping to her feet to snatch a sword from one of the spear fighter’s remains. Her injured arm was forgotten.

Raine was the only one unscathed from the battle. She gathered her bow and got up suddenly to chase after the dwarf and the elf.

“Raine! What are you doing?” Gilreg asked.

“To get their treasure,” she said over her shoulder as she ran.

Gilreg looked to the others. Shaymus shrugged and continued to loot the remains while Nulrok was still meditating. The goblin warrior cursed and chased after Raine. He saw her jogging fast, holding her bow, knocked with an arrow. They were in a corridor with rough-hewn stone that exited through a cave entrance. The light coming from outside was glaring white and lit up the corridor. Raine paused and fired an arrow. Gilreg saw the small limping shapes of the dwarf and the elf about 40 meters out. Raine missed but caught their attention. The two adventurers scrambled even quicker to exit the cave, and Gilreg saw that they dropped some packs to run faster.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Raine sprinted, and Gilreg cursed as he favored his wound. His padded armor was a little wet with his blood. Raine ran further away, navigating the rocky ground with some difficulty but scrambling as fast as she could. Gilreg grunted and did his best to follow, stumbling through the uneven terrain. The dwarf and elf were out of sight as they exited the cave and into the light.

As Gilreg stumbled after Raine, the warrior saw her stop by the packs and not rise to run after the dwarf and the elf. Raine waved at Gilreg, and in the sack were gold coins and jewels. Gilreg was so happy that he almost cried.

Raine and Gilreg returned to the others. Raine threw the two packs on the ground.

“Ooh, more loot!” Shaymus said with glee and began to rummage through the packs.

Nulrok was still sitting crossed-leg, but he was no longer meditating. He looked tired and weak. Gilreg walked over and placed his hand on the shaman in training’s shoulder.

“How are you, my friend?” The warrior asked.

Nulrok looked up with his pupilless black eyes and gave a weak grin.

“The cost to weave and control reality is a heavy one, but I am fine. Thank you,” the mage said weakly.

Nulrok’s eyes opened wide as he saw the packs, and he exclaimed, “We have supplies!”

Also in the packs were cheese, dried meat, and fruits.

“Wine! Oh, I love wine,” Nulrok said joyfully as he held a wineskin.

“Don’t hog it!” Shaymus growled.

Gilreg smiled. Supplies were good because they had at least one more day left on this assignment before their replacements arrived.