[Player Log Start!]

[Log Holder: Gideon Tench]

[Level: 2]

They were a tightknit crew. A well-oiled machine. A toolbox with just the right pieces. Tench had truly believed that when he had entered Level Two.

And now even Asadullah had started keeping secrets important enough that Terry had forgone their implicit trust of one another. He was almost afraid to hear what this secret was. Lucky seemed unafraid of how severe this might be, instead just frowning a little and gesturing for the young man to continue.

“We saw something, coming back.” He explained, jaw clenching and unclenching as he thought over the words, “We think we know where this Realm’s humans are living.”

He let out a breath, almost unconsciously. He’d forgotten Michael’s revelation about humans still being alive. Okay. This he could deal with. It was nowhere near as catastrophic as what he had built up in his head after a few short seconds, after all. This wasn’t bad. It was just unexpected. Hopefully.

“What made you think so?” He asked, “Any proof? Remnants of a camp? Or did you make contact?”

Terry straightened up a little, shocked into motion by his rapid-fire questions, “The crows we ran into- shit, did we mention the crows?”

“No, you have not.” Lucky crossed her arms disapprovingly, “I was choosing to assume that you killed all of them once Michael was a sufficient enough distraction.”

“That… didn’t happen.” He replied, as brightly as you could when saying something like that, “We made a deal with them. Because Asad’s magic. So they thought all of us were magic.”

Ha. What a joke- oh, no, they were dimension-hoppers fighting off apocalypses one at a time using mysteriously granted powers. All of them were magic.

He took a breath, as if he had not just made an earth-shattering realization, “You know what? This is fine. They took the deal?”

“Said they would talk it over and come back in ten days.” Terry replied, “But we’ve got time to deal with that. The issue is that they were dismissive of the idea of humans existing and seeking-”

“WHAT!” Screeched an outrage call, so earsplitting and animalistic that Tench didn’t even register that it was spoken in English. Feathertooth leered from its cage across the cove, wings flapping in alarm, as if it were about to fall from its perch, “What means you by saying that humans exist? They categorically do not. No corvid has seen one, otherwise it would surely be reported to me.”

Oh, would you look at that. Tench and Lucky exchanged glances. Even Terry seemed to pick up on the budding scheme, this loose thread waiting to be exploited. You didn’t need to have Jared’s conniving mind to spot the insecurity in that statement. And now it was time to snap.

“Guess they didn’t tell you.” He shrugged, “Sorry bud. And you’re sure you’re a high-ranked member in their army? Because this seems like intel they would inform ravens like you of.”

“I see what you’re doing.” Feathertooth told him drily, “And you will not turn me against my sworn flock so easily.”

That’s what they all said. Tench was content to sit and wait and…

“But tell me more. What were their exact words, moldy human?” Feathertooth commanded.

Terry frowned, self-consciously running his hair through brown hair tinged green with remnants of months-old dye that… okay, looked kind of like fungus, especially with his jacked-up hand, “They said that humans seek asylum from them. A lot. And they’re denied. Michael said that already, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he did.” Lucky agreed, “It… must not have been listening.”

“It is hard to parse what you are always blabbering about.” Feathertooth dismissed, “But now I demand answers. How are there people native to this land that I was not informed of? You simply must be mistaken. Where could they possibly be hiding?”

“Under an island.” Terry told him simply, “If the plaque we found declaring them to be there was accurate in anyway. Which I think it is, but we should still go and check that out if possible.”

A plaque. Declaring their presence. It was so stupid that he might just scream. What would have happened if anyone except their Party had found it.

“We need to get there and seek help from them.” Tench decided, “Or maybe we should offer them help? These people don’t seem to have a lot of caution on their end.”

“Perhaps we must.” Lucky agreed, looking pained, “Who will go out with me to make first contact?” This question was directed out towards the whole party. Verity, normally the first in line to volunteer for such things, shook her head, pulling out knives and guns from various pockets in her coat. Why hadn’t they stripped off all the weapons while she was incapacitated? It was a massive security risk.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

He continued looking around, trying to see anyone who would willing to go. Michael didn’t seem interested, Terry was dead on his feet, Asadullah had just popped out to be violently sick and would definitely be a no-go, and Ben was… well, she looked stressed. A good adventure would soften her up, he hoped.

“Ben?” He asked, “How would you like to tag along?”

She shrugged, tying her hair back, “I… we can’t leave the others like this. It’s too risky.”

Tench nodded in agreement, reviewing his options, “I’m going to say something that you may not agree with. But… it’s the easiest way to solve at least some of our problems.”

“What?” Lucky asked, frowning.

“We Heal Jared, getting him back on his feet faster than he’d be regularly.” Tench explained, “Have him use his knowledge of the Compulsion Cards to train Lucky and give her pointers. And then try and drag him along on this expedition to find the world’s last humans.”

Lucky laughed, harsh and disbelieving. It died as quickly as it came, however, as it seemed to sink in that this was not a joke of some sort. The humor transformed into a disdainful frown, “We’re not doing that.”

“I can see why you might have… reservations.” Tench allowed, “But come on, it’s Jared. We can use this as a test of sorts. See how he conducts himself there now that we know what his modus operandi is.”

Lucky did not seem to find this acceptable, but Ben and Terry were thinking it over, “It might work.” Ben allowed, “He’s not physically a threat, so it might be fine?” Her voice cracked at the end, belying her uncertainty about that claim. Lucky reached over with her metal arms and poked her shoulder.

“Do not do the disservice of lying to yourself.” She chided as Ben gasped indignantly.

“But Jared was the guy who managed to win them over.” Terry argued, “Asadullah was the linchpin, but Jared made a pretty big impression on them. If he’s not there when we reconvene…” It wouldn’t be pretty; the implication was clear. They needed to pull together now.

“This’ll be a good way to have a trial run for him.” Ben added.

Lucky crossed her arms, slumping into her wheelchair, “I cannot believe that this is being seriously considered.” She sulked, “He’s dangerous.”

“I can’t believe we’re speeding up his recovery while we let Verity waste away for a week.” Asadullah muttered, “Michael gets it, doesn’t he? He should be just as mad-”

That train of thought fell flat as the boy turned to look at Michael, who looked distraught and completely disinterested in picking up the fight that Asadullah had so pointedly put in front of him. He sat on a stool, chin resting on the heels of his palms.

“Hm?” He asked, lifting his head a little, “What am I mad about? That both of my friends have been lying to me for the entire time we’ve known each other? Or the fact that they’re both not being offered medical assistance?”

Silence reigned, broken only by a sullen shink of metal as Verity threw a knife onto the rock floor, looking unconcerned about replying to Michael’s outburst.

“If you must know…” Ben awkwardly told him, “Vera couldn’t receive Healing because her body was suffering from internal exhaustion, and she might have imploded if we Healed her from severe oxygen depletion.”

“People can implode?” Verity asked, rubbing her arms awkwardly, “Thanks for not doing that.”

“Not literally imploding. Think more like… shrivel up into nothing.”

“Urgh. Thanks, anyway.”

“But the same isn’t true for Jared, who got his head bashed in a little.” Ben replied, perhaps too dismissive for the extreme situation she was describing. Tench didn’t correct her, though, because she was too smart to actually be unaware of the dangers of a concussion, “I’m sure we can Heal him quickly. I’d give him a single session, I think.”

“Might as well.” Tench agreed, wringing out his wrists, “I’ll do it.”

“No, I’ll do it.” Ben offered, “Give me a chance, Tench? I wanna try.”

“This isn’t a game. And he isn’t expendable enough to be used as a test subject.” Tench argued weakly.

“That is the literally the point of this entire operation.” Terry reminded him, “Let her take a crack at it. She Healed you just fine back when we were fighting the crows, remember?”

He was right, Tench knew that, but it was still hard to reconcile that with her class as a strictly Animal Healer. They had never even healed animals once during this escapade, so why was that Class even a thing? Just another question to add to the list once he got an audience with these so-called Developers.

But there was no one to ask such questions, so he took a step back and allowed Ben to step forward, rolling up her sleeves and pulling on disposable gloves. Lucky watched the proceedings with mild interest, but the screech of her wheels when she rolled back was… a little distracting.

“I shall work on finishing the rubber treads on the wheels. To stop the infernal screeching.” Lucky decided, “Good luck to you in your healing journeys, Ben. Hopefully he comes out more intact than he went in.” Ben smiled at her nervously, very little hope in her eyes as she brought her hand forward, making delicate contact with the base of the injury on Jared’s skull.

It wasn’t properly broken, Tench had made sure to check for that. It would bump a little, and was bleeding a lot, but in the grand scheme of things wasn’t nearly as serious as other head injuries could be.

[Benedict Carrey is Applying Healing!]

Just as expected, out came the glow from the palm of her hand, arcing through her fingers and drifting through the air to rush to the injury in question. There was no visible change at first, as all the light drifted into the poor boy’s head, but that seemed to be only because of all the primary healing being internal. Soon enough, it was beginning to spread onto the congealed spot at the back of his head, stitching up broken skin and retracting scabs that had already begun building up.

Jared jolted in his unconscious state, which was a problem because he had been positioned face-down, head tilted at just the right angle to allow him to breathe, and the movement would disrupt that arrangement. Tench rushed forward to hold him down steadily, but the thrashing only increased.

Until finally the light died from Ben’s hands and she was pulling away, an uncertain look on her face, “You think I did it right?”

“Why’re you asking me? It’s not like I know what I’m doing during a Healing.”

“So, who should I ask?”

“How about the patient?” A snappish voice asked, drawn and rusty, but no less aware of his surroundings. Even after being pulled out of a concussion hard enough to knock him out, Jared Caliber was able to give a falsified air of complete control as he turned over and gave them all a weathered smile, “Hey, guys.”

[Player Log End!]