It was definitely the blood loss.

I had fallen unconscious as the Juggernaut laid dead on the ground, awaking only a few minutes later as Rachel furiously shook me awake.

I was resting leaning against Dosor's, her having curled around us protectively and resting her head next to me.

It took me a while to get my bearings and figure out what exactly was going on.

Rachel practically sat in my lap, administering first aid and feeding me a weird kind of tea as she mumbled about what she was doing.

Ethan and Eva were resting next to me, half-awake but fully taken care of. We would definitely need to restock on bandages after this seeing as we were all covered in wounds, even considering Rachel's medicinal expertise, but we had time.

“Hey,” I croaked out, my throat as dry as parchment even with the tea she forced me to drink. “Did everyone-”

Rachel stopped me as I fell into a coughing fit, forcefully patting my back and offering me a drink until I calmed down.

Once calmed down, she glanced at the others and nodded, pulling me into a careful hug. “Yes, everyone survived…” she trailed off, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, “even you with your stupid, idiotic, moronic, dumb, asinine-”

“I get it, I am sorry,” I stopped her, returning the hug.

“No, you don't get it!” she insisted, pulling away briefly to hold my gaze. “I watched you stab yourself, twice! You gave me no explanation and- and so much blood came out! I thought you were dead! I was seconds away from giving up when you came to…”

She tightened the hug like she was afraid I'd do it again if she let go.

I hugged her back, trying to ignore the pain throughout my body for just a moment. “I am so sorry. My lungs were full of blood and I didn't know what to do, I was barely conscious.”

“Fuck!” she yelled out, desperately burying her fists in my tunic for a better grip.

She relaxed slightly, settling into my embrace more comfortably, her voice now a quiet murmur that quickly gained back in volume as she continued “Promise me, Promise me you'll never do something that ridiculously stupid ever again!”

“I promise.”

Dosor growled lowly but I didn't care if Thymisca wanted to talk or not, she could wait.

“Ethan, what happened when I was out?” I asked him, keeping Rachel close as she drifted off, the rampant emotions and exhaustion catching up to her.

Her breathing steadied but her grip only tightened as I gently combed a hand through her hair.

“We did it,” he declared with a triumphant grin before getting more serious, “I don't remember at what point you fell unconscious but the Juggernaut basically fell apart at its seams from the acid you threw into its mouth and the hundreds of cuts. Dosor made sure to shred it up- she appeared pretty aggressive and quite terrifying honestly- and then curled around you and Rachel protectively. We joined you shortly after and Dosor let us join you, shutting out Thymisca and the others- even Bruel.”

I patted Dosor's snout, keeping a hand around Rachel and running it through her hair. “That's good… Sorry for making you guys worry…”

Ethan's bright smile immediately dispelled all my worries as he raised his hand. “I wasn't worried for a second, you're the most tenacious one of us and Rachel was right by your side,” he dismissed me, leaning back with a groan. His smile faltered for a moment as he glanced at Rachel. “But I have to agree with her, you shouldn't do anything that stupidly risky again without warning all of us.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile. “Of course, as long as I have the time to, considering I was on the brink of death there,” I said, a twang of guilt racing through me as I realised how I sounded.

“The immediate action you took to save your own life, trusting in Rachel to bring you back is admirable,” Eva simply said, a tiny smile gracing her lips. It was good to see her emoting.

Ethan patted her shoulder, smiling gently. “You weren’t bad yourself, you took out almost all of its eyes before it died. And not to mention how you kept distracting it. It was very brave.”

“Thank you.”

Rachel stirred, squishing her face flat against my chest as she slowly woke up. She murmured something unintelligible.

My grip tightened slightly on her as a wave of protectiveness washed over me.

“We should talk about the battle while it is still fresh in our mind, an after battle report,” I proposed, scratching Rachel's scalp to help her wake up gently. “Go through our mistakes and what we could have done better.”

“I should have acted sooner, paced myself better,” Ethan immediately said, it already having been on his mind. “I could barely move at the end and acted too late, after Boldrin died… I barely did anything. My cuts were useless and I used acid too sparingly. I thought we might need the acid later but that almost got us all killed.”

“My arrows were only useful when I hit a vital spot when it was coated in acid, my usefulness was limited since before the battle began so I tried to distract it. It almost killed me in one swing when I let my guard down and the majority of my arrows missed or didn't do much even then. I should have prepared better,” Eva added, not meeting our eyes.

I nudged Rachel to make sure that she was awake but went next to give her some time to think about it. “I immediately got disabled by that wave of blood- I mean, Boldrin- and stumbled around blindly… I almost died there and then if Rachel hadn't warned me. I didn't do much damage either until I managed to do the stunt with the last acid-”

“Which was all kinds of dumb,” Rachel groaned, eyes fluttering open. “But… well done.”

I planted a kiss on her cheek as an apology. “Yes, it was very risky. I wasted mana on the devoured when the dwarven duo had it handled but I didn't have a use for it as I didn't know any spells that could have hurt it.”

She slowly sat up and settled further into my lap, claiming me as her seat. “I guess I'm next,” she sighed playfully, “I wasted potions on Caleb because I didn't properly examine him, I panicked, and I didn't have any good approaches to healing Dosor. Neither did I conserve my Blessings for any lingering injuries, but I guess my potions are better suited for it.”

I looked at the others and sighed. “I don't have anything else to say, you got pretty much everything. ”

“Of course we did, Lasse taught us well,” Ethan replied with a big grin, taking a swig from his waterskin, “but I think Dosor could have been more passive, she was most effective when she used her breath weapon… and Eva could have moved more, letting the Juggernaut run as much as she could have.”

“Caleb's potions broke when he got flung across the room, so did mine when I got smashed against the wall,” Eva added, an open suggestion thrown into the room.

That sounded like a large project, making a new harness or something that's smash safe.

I nudged Rachel, a smile spreading on my face as I said “That sounds like something we have to work on. We'll talk about it in more detail once we get back to our workshops.”

“Anything else?” Rachel asked, looking at the others.

Dosor yawned, showing off her glinting teeth and fangs in the dim lights.

Ethan pulled out his sword, or what remained of it. “I need a new weapon.”

“I'll work on it, I… I didn't think about us coating them in magical acid but I'll adjust enchantments for that,” I answered, making a mental note.

We continued to go around and talk about the battle, pointing out things we could have done differently and what we are doing now. Eva appeared particularly insightful, nitpicking stuff I never would have noticed.

It took a while but we got through the majority of the fight before I reluctantly brought up what was on my mind.

“Did anyone notice anything weird during the combat?” I asked, resting my chin on her head.

Ethan scowled, looking at me. “Like what?”

“When the Juggernaut swiped at Eva the first time, it felt like I pulled her away…” I tried to explain, looking at my hand and trying to figure out myself what that was. “It felt like I was tugging on a string.”

Ethan looked deep in thought, staring at his feet.

Eva hummed with an impassive expression. “I felt that too, like you dragged me by my belt.”

“It sounds like a spell- telekinesis,” Rachel offered, idly grabbing my hand and running her fingers over mine. “You broke your middle phalange in your index finger, but not the others. I was curious but thought you just landed badly…”

“Now that you mention it…” Ethan spoke up, “I felt like my Candlelight shouldn't have lasted nearly as long as it did. My mana should have run out long ago but I still feel full, like it's replenished.”

“That's… odd, did you pass out at any point?” I asked.

Maybe he just passed out and naturally replenished it or one of Rachel's potions malfunctioned.

He thought about it for a second, wanting to make sure. “Nope, I was conscious the entire time, even then it wasn't quick enough.”

I looked down at Rachel but she glared at me, speaking up before I could infer anything “No. Don't even start. If I had materials for a mana regeneration potion, I'd have given you two a dozen each. You're spellcasters.”

“Spellsword,” Ethan simply corrected her.

I looked at Eva, but she simply shook her head.

Rachel grabbed a small vial and fidgeted with it, turning it over in her hands as she answered “Nope, nothing weird happened with my Blessings and I didn't cast any mundane spells.”

Ethan nudged me. “Are you okay? You've been more impulsive recently, that's my thing.”

I laughed awkwardly, unsure what he meant. “Maybe you're just rubbing off on me,” I deflected, “but I hadn't noticed.”

“You bent a solid steel blade,” Rachel mumbled, her fidgeting only intensifying.

I put a hand on hers, stopping her fidgeting. “I'm fine. The blade was barely enchanted and I heated it to make it malleable.”

“Heroes…” came a hesitant call from outside of Dosor's safe cocoon.

Dosor shifted, sticking her head out from under her wing to snarl at whoever dared interrupt us.

A yell, and a loud thud later, I lifted up her wing to look outside.

A servant girl was scrambling away, a tray of now shattered cookies lying on the ground. She looked utterly terrified, her breathing ragged.

“Dosor! Stop!” I scolded her, trying to push her head away from the poor servant girl. “They're allies.”

“S-s-s- Sorry,” the servant girl stuttered out, tentatively crawling closer to the tray to clean up.

“It's alright. What did you want from us?” I asked, emerging from beneath Dosor's wing and standing up, muscles screaming.

My muscles still felt like they'd tear, even with the potions in my system.

She looked like she was seconds away from crying, picking up the bigger pieces and placing them back on the tray. “I… I wanted to thank you with these cookies, and- and… the Pri- Queen Thymisca wants to talk with you.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Thank you for the cookies,” I replied with a smile as Dosor unfurled, revealing the rest of my crew. I picked up a mostly intact cookie and bit into it. “We'll go talk with her.”

Ethan stepped forward with a smile, his charisma immediately relaxing her. “Are you the newest servant by any chance?”

“Y-Yes…”

He chuckled, a mischievous grin spreading on his face as he replied “So they were hazing you? Would you like to get back at them?”

She looked up at him in shock but replied after a few seconds of consideration. “Yes… please… ”

Rachel grinned wickedly as she bounced over to the servant girl, pulling out a thin vial of something. “If you put this in their drink, they'll itch for hours! Especially-”

“No, we shouldn't just jump to poisoning them immediately,” Ethan interrupted her, walking over to pull Rachel away from the servant girl before she could accept it.

Rachel struggled against him, but resolutely kept hold of the vial. “It's not poison! It's just a mild irritant!”

I walked over to the two and kept them away from each other and the servant girl. “Stop it, you two. We still have to meet Thymisca.”

I turned to the servant girl and told her “Please don't poison them, hazing among recruits is pretty normal from what I've heard. Take it in stride and they'll get bored.”

“That'll never work,” said Rachel with a scoff.

I shrugged, but had a slight smirk on my face as I replied “It worked for me.”

Both Rachel and Ethan looked at me confused.

Ethan's eyes widened and he took a step back as Rachel asked “How did it work for you, you never got hazed or bullied?”

“Oh, but there's this girl who constantly-”

“You-” She cut herself off after slapping me, silently glaring daggers at me and fuming in indignation as she realised what I had been insinuating.

I pulled her into a hug and simply smiled at the servant girl. “Be the bigger person.”

She nodded hesitantly but pointed toward the door leading out of the throne room. “Should we go? Queen Thymisca is waiting.”

“Yes, of course,” I said, motioning for her to lead the way.

She quickly did so as Rachel still seethed in my arms, squirming out of my embrace and grabbing my hand as she walked beside me.

Dosor staggered a bit as we walked but followed.

The servant girl led us into a smaller but still majestic room with a huge table in the middle. The table showed a three dimensional map of Khazur, hundreds of markers spread throughout the tunnels. I didn't have the time to check them all but they appeared important.

“Ahh, Dragonriders, please join us,” Thymisca waved us over, simultaneously pointing at a spot on the map. “I want twice the regular patrols there to fend off any devoured that show up.“

We walked over to stand next to Bruel, a subtle nod being the only sign that he acknowledged us.

She quickly finished her reports, catching up the others and reaffirming her control.

Subtle allegations, political plays far too miniscule for me to notice, and brazen insults from the others, filled the time as we simply stood there and waited.

Once the last people filtered out, it was just Bruel, Thymisca and us.

I decided to break the silence, noticing that Rachel started to fidget. “How can we help you?”

“You've done plenty,” she said with a gentle smile, procuring an ornate dagger and my breastplate. “We believe these might be yours. We found them in a pool of blood, your blood.”

I gracefully accepted the dagger and breastplate, quickly stowing them away. “Thank you.”

Not wanting to appear disrespectful or impatient, I waited for her to speak up again. It was the safest option for me to not appear disrespectful, I thought.

“My uncle has left our treasury in a more dire state than I anticipated so your reward is still getting collected, but please feel free to rest up in one of the guest chambers,” she said, eyes focused on the map in the middle. She pressed a button on the table and the map disappeared.

“Oh, we couldn't possibly accept a reward for doing our duty, please,” I insisted, glancing at Bruel.

His impassable expression didn't help me at all, leaving me wondering what he thought about this.

Thymisca's lips twisted into a gentle smile as she walked over to one of the servants and filled the mug on the tray with a clear amber liquid. “ I insist. We would have lost far more people if you hadn't been as insightful and decided to aid us in our endeavour. At least accept a token of our gratitude. ”

“Please, we had a duty and completed it, there's no need for a reward,” I insisted, “We get paid by the Order.”

“Then at least allow me to share a drink with you in good health,” she replied, raising the mug and taking a deep sip before offering it to me.

I accepted the drink and took a sip, handing it back. “Of course. We'll be in town for a few more days if you need any assistance but we'll stop by on our way out.”

“Feel free to rest in one of our rooms for as long as you need, we have an abundance of free rooms now that the majority of our staff was killed in a heretical ritual, ” she offered casually as she handed the mug back.

I nodded and turned to leave, my crew trailing right behind me.

We quickly claimed a huge chamber for ourselves and cleaned up, chatting animatedly as we cleaned our armour and removed the scaffolding from Dosor.

Rachel quickly ushered Eva into the bathroom, yelling back at us to not peek under any circumstances.

Ethan and I shared a look, then shrugged and continued talking about the mission and what to do in Khazur while we found a second bathroom and cleaned ourselves up.

I did wonder why Rachel thought we'd peek but assumed that it was just a joke.

We finished cleaning ourselves up just to find that the other two still weren't done so we started cleaning up Dosor in comfortable silence.

Rachel came out of the bathroom with a crimson face, flushing brightly as she stomped to the bed and flung herself onto it.

Eva exited the bathroom completely serene, simply joining us in our cleaning without a word, humming.

“So…” I tried, looking at Rachel.

“No.”

I shrugged and continued my work, Dosor purring as she got cleaned. It was probably something private.

Dosor stayed behind and took a nap as we left to explore the city.

Once back in the heart of Khazur, the inner city surrounding the bastion, I spoke up, looking at the others over my shoulder, “Okay, what do you guys want to do now that we have some free time?”

“Shopping,” Rachel immediately called out, bouncing up to me and claiming my arm. She squished herself against me, making me stumble.

Eva turned to Ethan and took his hand, pulling him away. “We'll leave you two alone. Have fun.”

I barely had time to protest before they vanished behind a corner.

I slowly turned to look at Rachel, who was sporting a huge grin. I decided to roll with it and simply asked “Are you sure? That doesn't really sound like you- it sounds pretty… girly.”

“I can be girly!” she insisted, pulling me down to stare at me properly. She held my gaze for a few seconds before pulling back, a tint of red on her cheeks. “It doesn't matter. Let's just go.”

“Alright, did you see any place you want to visit?” I asked, having a few places in mind myself.

I definitely wanted to talk with some smith's and enchanters but I knew that Rachel probably wouldn't care about it.

She hummed thoughtfully, bounding alongside me but never letting go.

After a few seconds deep in thought, she got distracted by a food stall and pulled me over to it, looking at the skewers the stall owner sold.

“Oh, what's this?” she excitedly asked the stall owner, eyes locked onto the skewered vegetables.

The tall dwarven woman running the stall looked at us with a kind but condescending smile. “It's a special root that grows in the mines, most people get used to eating these and crave them when back here. We decided to make it a business and got a steady supply!”

Rachel pulled out her coin pouch and handed her a few coins. “One… Uhh, Root please.”

“They're called Stoneroots,” she explained, freshly spicing one skewer before handing it over. “Be careful, they're piping hot!”

“Thank you!” Rachel beamed back with the same enthusiasm, taking a bite of the roasted root. She called out to the stall owner, waving the skewer as we continued down the road “They're very delicious!”

The stall owner waved back.

Rachel handed me the skewer after two more bites, smiling happily. “Here you go!”

I took the skewer and bit into it, enjoying the earthy and spicy notes dancing across my tongue.

It wasn't as good as Eva's cooking, but it was great.

“Here, thanks,” I said, trying to hand her the skewer.

She shook her head and pushed it back to me, grinning as we travelled down the road. “Nope, all yours. I gotta keep my figure.”

I knew whatever I said about her figure would be wrong so I stayed quiet, simply holding her hand and enjoying my snack.

“So, is there any place you saw earlier that you wanted to visit?” I asked, finishing off my skewer.

I felt a slight sense of a deja vu wash over me as Rachel once again got distracted by another stall and dragged me over.

This pattern repeated itself a few times with me deciding I'd pay for her snacks as soon as I realised that she'd only take three bites and then hand me the rest.

After the fourth stall we visited, I just went with it and pulled her to a few stalls of my own.

One that immediately caught my interest was a coppersmith who made jewellery right there on the street.

An old dwarven woman ran the stall with two teenagers in the back, making simple rings and bracelets for cheap while the old woman focused on more expensive jewellery.

“Ahh, if it isn't the Dragonknight!” she called out as we approached, bending thick cold copper wire like it had been heated in a forge. “What brings you to my humble establishment?”

“We're browsing, exploring the city,” I explained as Rachel fawned over the pretty jewellery on display.

The woman nodded sagely, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders as she spoke “I see, relaxing after overthrowing a necromancer king? I must say, I didn't expect Boldrin to resort to necromancy…”

“A shame, really,” muttered Rachel, eyes glued to a pair of matching rings with amethysts embedded in them. “How much are these?”

The woman grabbed the box the two rings were in. “Ahh, a fine eye you have there. These two have matching enchantments, courtesy of my late husband- some of his finest work. The two wearers can communicate with each other just by supplying mana through the engraved spell formula.”

“Do you want a ring? Are you sure you won't just break it during practice or while brewing?” I asked, looking at the pair of rings sceptically.

They were nice rings, expertly crafted with an exotic enchantment, but I doubt that they're very resilient.

The old woman chuckled, placing the box back onto the table, she countered “They're quite resilient and will survive most mundane means of wear and tear. It's a different story if you plan on dealing with strong acids or magical explosives.”

Rachel's smile strained and she turned to look at a pendant, choosing to not explain what she casually worked with. “How about this?”

“I think those would suit you very well,” I added, pointing to a pair of emerald studded earrings.

They were small and couldn't really tangle in her hair or get caught during a fight but I thought that they'd look great on her anyway.

Being unenchanted only helped sell them, making them cheaper and allowing me to enchant them myself. My head was already swimming with ideas for enchantments that I could make small enough for jewellery.

Rachel and the old woman looked at the earrings in unison, probably not having expected me to recommend anything at all.

“May I?” I asked the old woman, stretching a hand out to the earrings. Once she nodded, I grabbed one and held it up to Rachel's ear, a pleased grin on my lips. “Yes, I think they fit very well. Do you also pierce ears as a service?”

“Not as a service, but I'll gladly do it for our dear heroes,” the old woman said with a gentle smile, pulling out a needle from beneath her table.

Rachel fidgeted slightly, looking very torn and consistently glancing at me.

A few seconds later, she decided to go for it, nodding decisively as she squeezed my hand.

The old woman chuckled at Rachel's sudden determination, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Alright then, dearie, have a seat. We'll get those lovely ears of yours adorned in no time."

Rachel took a seat on a small stool as the old woman prepared the needle, heating it to disinfect it.

I stood by her side, holding her hand reassuringly as the two coppersmith apprentices paused their work, glancing curiously at us.

Rachel’s nervous excitement was palpable as she stole glances at the needle and the earrings, fidgeting on her stool with surprising restraint for herself. She normally didn’t sit still very easily.

The old woman, whose name I discovered was Orla, carefully examined Rachel’s ears as she raised the needle. “Lovely ears you’ve got here. These emerald earrings your… Knight picked will complement them perfectly.”

I wasn’t sure why she hesitated but found myself smiling, knowing that I made the right choice.

Nervous laughter bubbled out of Rachel's throat, her eyes darting between the hot needle and my face. “Yeah, I think they’re nice.”

Orla winked at me. “A good eye for beauty, this Dragonknight has. Now, let’s get those ears pierced, shall we?”

With practised hands, Orla disinfected Rachel's ears and marked the spots where the piercings would go. Rachel's grip on my hand tightened slightly, but she remained determined. Orla, noticing the tension, patted Rachel's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't you worry, dear. It'll be over in a heartbeat, just take a deep breath and it’ll just sting for a moment."

Noticing Rachel’s nervousness, I offered words of encouragement, whispering, “It’s alright, you’ve faced a Hydra and a Necromancer, this is nothing compared to that- or the poisons you tested on yourself.”

The needle glided smoothly through Rachel’s earlobe, eliciting a wince to flash across her face in a combination of pain and surprise.

Orla quickly secured the emerald earring in place. She declared with a warm smile, picking up a mirror to show Rachel her reflection “There we go, all done. Beautiful as ever.”

Rachel grinned, relief evident in her eyes. "It does look good. Thanks, Orla."

The old woman beamed at us. "It was my pleasure, dear. A little bit of jewellery always adds charm to life, doesn't it? Now, what was that about testing poisons on yourself?"

A bright flush spread on Rachel’s face as she jumped up, trying to drag me away to avoid the question. “We have to go, there is a lot we need to get done!”

“Wait, I need to pay,” I reminded Rachel, laughing as I firmly held her back by her hand. “So, twenty coins for the earrings, and how much for the piercing?”

“Ah, nevermind that. It’s a gift from me, a thank you for rescuing our Princess,” she waved me off as I handed her twenty one coins.

I pulled Rachel close to check her earlobes, seeing how nicely they complement her. “Very well done Orla, thank you. I hope we’ll see you around!”

She waved us off with a gentle smile, already turning to another customer.

“Thank you,” Rachel said, grinning widely, “not just for getting me these, but for everything.”

“Hey, I look out for my crew!” I tried to wave her off, moving down the street with her. “And you deserve something pretty.”

“Let's get something for Dosor,” Rachel suddenly exclaimed, taking charge and pulling me along.

We spent the majority of the day going around town, checking out shops and dozens of stalls. Our path was less than optimal, mostly driven by Rachel's curiosity and my insistence to talk with some of the talented craftsmen that had stalls littered around the streets.

It pained me to admit that we spent an absurd amount of coins on trinkets and various foods that Rachel only tasted before handing off to me.

Once she found some iced fruits, she got a bunch of different ones and offered me a taste before eating the rest herself, reversing our roles.

We found Eva and Ethan shortly after, eating some skewered meats while Ethan regaled a large crowd of dwarves with tales of our adventures. Eva nodded along politely, adding a few comments.

“And there he is!” Ethan yelled, waving me over as he stepped onto a barrel, “Our valiant Knight, Caleb Interita!”

Oh, no…

Only a few dwarves turned around, looked at me, and then turned back.

Ethan laughed boisterously, shaking his head as he reassured them “No, no, this time it's really him… but I shouldn't take up more of your precious time, have a great day!”

He jumped down from the barrel and confidently strode through the dispersing crowd.

Eva followed shortly after, a small smile on her lips as she greeted us “Hello, how was your date?”

Rachel almost fell on her face, a blush creeping onto her face as she looked up at me with expectant eyes.

“I bought her some pretty earrings,” I stated, slightly confused by her violent reaction, “and we ate a bunch of different foods.”

“I- Yeah, I thought it was… good,” Rachel mumbled, glancing at me nervously.

I piled on “Very good, I had a lot of fun.”

Ethan glanced at Eva but didn't say anything.

We went to an Inn, shared some drinks and chatted until Ethan started to rope other people into the conversation.

The night ended with me and Eva carrying Rachel and Ethan back to the bastion, the two having drunk way too much.

The next two days passed just as mundane.

We prepared for our departure, got Dosor a few exotic snacks, and filled up our pouches before visiting Thymisca. Interim equipment was a must for all of us.

She didn't have any missions for us but bid us goodbye and good luck.