Chapter 4: Return

“What?” the woman asked, brushing past me. She went and knelt over Elizabeth, examining the little girl. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” I said, brushing off my growing concern. Now was not the time to address the nuances of quest rewards. “I assume you killed him?” She nods but says nothing else.

“Nice. Great talk.” I muttered as I walked over as well. I had just reached them when I remembered something.

“Fuck! I forgot about Marley!” I raced to the tent flap and looked out into the camp, deliberately ignoring the bodies strewn about. Despite not wanting to, I noticed that Joltin now had a new accessory; a spear tip in his throat. I took a deep breath and hollered out into the woods as loud as I could.

“Marley! Get in here! Elizabeth’s hurt!” I saw some brush on the other side of the camp move and Marley stepped out, his black and white feathers allowing him to blend expertly with the forest. He raced towards me, face wide with worry. I ducked back into the tent and was reminded, once again, that this was not Earth. Lavender Eyes was glowing a soft gold and pressing her hands to Elizabeth’s stomach. Some sort of black liquid was sucked out of Elizabeth’s skin and gathered into a floating ball off to the side. The mass of blackness swirled as more and more of the stuff was removed. Rose held her sister’s hand tightly, eyes closed and mouth moving silently. I watched in awe as Elizabeth’s mangled legs, shrouded in golden light, molded themselves back into place, the bones resetting by themselves. Elizabeth sighed as her legs took their normal position.

When all the nasty was removed and nothing but pink skin remained, the glow faded from the woman. She collapsed to her side, dry heaving. She crawled over to the corner of the tent and curled into a ball, coughing and heaving. Rose cradled her sister, rocking and crying. I figured they were tears of happiness, based on the relieved smile on her face. I went over to the woman, placing the sword down and kneeling beside her.

“Miss, I’m going to touch you now.” I said as I put my hand on her shoulder. She nodded, her breathing slowing as she recovered. She rolled onto her back, taking a few deep breaths before opening her eyes. She sat up with my assistance, and I finally got a good look at her. She was thin, but not malnourished, with deep lavender eyes that just seemed to captivate me. The longer I stared, the more they seemed to draw me in, almost like her irises were... swirling. But that couldn’t be right, could it?

“Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to be a gentleman and help me up?” Her voice was strong and commanding, the complete opposite of her refugee looking state. I blinked, breaking my stare and coming back to my senses.

“Um, yes, I am. Sorry about that, I got lost in your eyes. Are they swirling?” I said as I helped her up. She looked at me oddly. “Ah, sorry. I’ve been told I can be a little blunt.”

“Hmm. At least you’re aware of it. Yes, they are. Happy?” She crossed her arms over her admittedly pretty nice chest. She cocked her hip out to the side and looked me up and down, assessing me. “You’re big, but you fight like a fool. I lost count of how many times I saw you get stabbed in the back.” Her eyes went wide with worry and fear and her stance completely changed. “Gods, you must be in agony. Lie down, I’ll heal you.” The woman tried to pull me down, but I waved her off.

“I’m fine.” I said with a chuckle. “I only got stabbed twice. Don’t worry about me. It seemed to take a lot out of you to heal that girl and I wouldn’t want to...” I stopped talking as the woman glared at me with enough venom to kill an elephant, or whatever Sehal’s equivalent was.

“Lie. Down.” She said, her voice leaving no room for discussion. I sighed.

“I’m fine, honestly. Look, my wounds are healed.” My jacket had been destroyed by the fireball. Well, not destroyed so much as the bottom half got burned away. I shrugged out of it fully and set it on a table. I then turned around and pulled my shirt up, exposing my back. “See? No wounds.”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and concentration as she examined my back. She reached up and touched the places where blades had sliced open my olive under shirt, but there was new, unmarked flesh where there should have been wounds.

“How is that possible?" She whispered. "You cannot fine, you would need magic to heal wounds like that.” I smiled at her, standing up and replacing my clothes. I left my jacket on the table.

“I don’t have magic.” I said firmly, turning to face her.

“I do not believe you. You must have some sort of power for you to be completely healed without help. Let me give you some advice, young man. The Starnil Empire forces all magic users to serve the Emperor in his army or contracted out to sponsors as private contractors. I highly recommend that you find a sponsor before the Empire catches wind of you. Or leave entirely."

I consider her words for a moment. I have always wanted to live by the water and fish. Hell, I had a little cabin on the Mississippi lined up to buy when I got out. And the fact that there's a delta here means that a river has to be somewhere near by.

"Is there a river nearby? How far are we from the ocean?"

"I have no idea. I am not from this place."

"Ok," I said, waving my hands in front of my face and taking a step back. "let's start from the beginning. I'm Micheal. I'm here to rescue the girls and whoever else I can. Are you coming with us?" She nods.

"It is nice to meet you, Micheal. My name is Avalina." My brow furrowed at her words.

"Hold on. Your name isn't Lily?" Avalina shakes her head, blond hair jostling as she did so.

"No. How did you get that name?"

"It was a reward for your quest." Avalina stares at me, slack-jawed. I stand there for a few moments, waiting for her to speak again, but she continues to stare. I wave my hand in front of her face. "Miss? Are you alright?"

"Did you say 'quest'?" Her lavender eyes were wide with shock, and she'd raised a hand to her neck, grasping for something that wasn't there. She shook her head and looked around the room, making sure no one else heard me. She leaned in closer and I followed.

"Um, yeah." I whispered, trying to keep my voice low. "Doesn't everyone get quests? Don't y'all have stat sheets and everything?" Avalina nods her head.

"Yes, we have our status sheets, but we do not get quests. Only those blessed by the gods get quests." She swallows hard, a lavender hurricane storming across her eyes. "And you said Lily was your reward?" I nod.

"Yeah. The reward when I got the quest was listed as Unknown. I killed the guy, and the thing popped up that said my reward was an extra stat point and a Lily. I am going to make the assumption that it is talking about a person, not the plant. But you know what they say about assuming." Horror filled her eyes as she looked at me. It faded as her expression grew shrewd, and she scanned me like a buyer looking at a piece of meat.

"Lily is my daughter." Avalina whispers. My eyes go wide at her words. "I begged the gods to send someone, anyone. I told them that I would give anything if only someone would save me. But to think I would have to give my daughter..." I raise my hands and take a step back.

"Hey, I don't want your daughter." I said, putting my hands up. "I just got here, and I am not staying. I am getting the fuck outta dodge and heading south. Find me an ocean and do some fishing for a few years. Try and process some of this shit."

"If she is the reward, she is the reward." Avalina said. Her voice held a certainty that I couldn't ignore. I frowned and pulled up the quest completion message and read it over again.

Woo-Hoo! You have completed a quest: Kill That Slaver

You have successfully killed the slaver Arno Adler.

Reward for Completion: 75 EXP. One additional stat point. Lily Winterfoot.

Huh. The message was a little different than before. For one, the contractions were gone and Arno was now listed as a slaver. For second, there was a last name next to Lily. I sighed. Man, I so did not want to deal with this. This is my afterlife, and on the first day I have already killed at least two men. I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to clear my head. I looked down at Avalina.

"Is your last name Winterfoot?" She nods. I sighed again.

"Well, fuck. Looks like you were right." I read the notification out to her as quietly as I could. Her face got paler with every word, until she was white as a cotton field by the end of it. She started to pace when I finished. I watched as the woman, clearly not just a regular woman, stalked around the tent grabbing a few things. She snatched a coin purse off a table and came back to me. She thrust it at me, looking impatient. I looked at her, and she glowered at me, her swirling eyes going stormy.

"For me?"

"For you to hold on to. For me." I took the bag from her. She nodded and went off in search of the next thing. I peaked into the pouch and found fifteen gold pieces and whistled under my breath. Damn, if the fantasy economies were anything to go by, which they aren't because why the fuck would they, I had just been handed no small amount of money. This lady was loaded. Avalina came back, this time dressed in a blue dress that was stained pretty badly. The hem was torn and there were splotches of mud all on it, but it still looked fantastic on her. The blue of the dress accented her long green hair that was tied back into a pony tail. I blinked. Hadn't her hair just been blond a second ago?

"Wasn't your hair blond?" I asked. Avalina rolled her stormy eyes.

"A glamor. I couldn't have that bastard knowing that I'm actually a wood elf." I looked closer and sure enough, her ears tapered off into points. i imagined what they must feel like and had to force myself not to reach out and touch her.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Sir Micheal." She said 'Sir' like it was title. i mean, I guess it was. Isn't that what knights were called back in the Dark Ages? And weren't they part of the nobility?

"Sure. What's up?" She sighed.

"Do you always talk like that? So casually?" I grinned.

"Yes, ma'am. I had my fill of all that mandatory respect bullshit in the Corps. I'll show respect to those who've earned it, but I ain't doing that whole bend-and-kiss-the-ring shit." Avalina nods, making a noise of assent.

"Hm. Well then, Sir, I would ask something of you. I would like for you to escort me back to my home. I am willing to contract you to my family as a Hired Hero when we arrive if you so desire." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Hmm. Why should I trust you? I'll get you home safe, sure, but not because you asked. It wouldn't be right to rescue you then leave you stranded. I'll see all three of you home safely."

"Then you can think about it while we're on the road. My home isn't far, only a month or so on foot. In the city of Rilmon." A message popped up.

You have been offered a quest: Accompany Avalina

Avalina Winterfoot has asked you to get her to her home in Rilmon safely.

Reward for Completion: One additional stat point. Housing?

Cost of Failure/Refusal: None.

None, huh? Hadn't seen that before. Did that mean there were no downsides to ignoring it? And what the fuck was with that question mark after housing? I shook my head, trying to get things under control. Avalina misunderstood and took a step towards me. I held up a hand and she stopped.

"Alright. I still need to get the girls back home, but we can leave after that." I frown and check the inside of my left forearm. Bare, bronzed skin looks back at me and I swear. I didn't have a watch anymore. "Hmmm. Maybe not. It might be too late, but I don't know. Regardless, the girls come first." Avalina nods.

"I agree. We need to stock up on rations as well. And a cart if we can afford it. I would prefer not to walk the entire way." I held out my hand for her to shake. She stared at it, then looked back at me, her eyes questioning. She limply puts her hand in mine, like she expected me to kiss it. I laughed.

"No, like this." I shifted my hand to grasp hers in a handshake. I distinctly ignored how soft her hand felt in mine. It definitely didn't fit perfectly, nor did that cute little flush on her cheeks draw out her smoky lavender eyes, nosiree. I cleared my throat. "This is called a handshake. Where I come from, when two people come to an agreement, they shake hands. It used to be about weapons or something, I don't know, it's more about the symbolism and the finality of it now." Avaline gaped at me openly, but allowed her arm to be pumped twice. I grinned at her and accepted the quest. The prompt disappeared.

"Where are you from?" She asked, incredulous. I smiled.

"A very long way away. Anyway, let's get moving. I'm tired of being in this tent."

I brushed past Avalina and made for the tent flap. Everybody else was already outside and milling about in a clump, looking lost.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Marley jumped and turned to me.

"Micheal. Glad to see you're alright. The Striders ran off with the explosion, and I can't remember which direction we came from." I stared at him.

"What? Don't you live here?" His red chicken thing bounced as he jerked back.

"I'm a bartender, asshole. I've never been in the woods except to come talk to Arno." He snapped. I held my hands up.

"You're right. I apologize. I just figured... you know what, forget. Let's just focus on getting back to Milania." Avalina gasped. I whirled around, expecting danger. Avalina was holding up a different blue dress, her face a mask of joy. She glanced over at us, then down at herself.

"I'm going to get changed." She said. She marched back into the tent. I turned back to Marley.

"Alright. So, we're lost, right?" I looked over at the girls, who nodded.

"I have no idea where we are." Rose said. Elizabeth nodded her agreement from behind her sisters legs.

"Awesome. Well, we know we came North, right? Then that means all we gotta do is go South." I looked up at the sky, The sun was directly overhead. I groaned.

"Man, fuck. Y'all really don't have watches here?"

"Of course we have pocket watches." Avalina said, returning from having changed. I turned around to look at her, and I have to admit, she did look pretty good. It was the same kind of blue dress she had been wearing before, but without the stains. Something about it seemed different, and as I looked closer, I saw that the dress was actually a shade or two darker than the other one. This one was more of an ocean blue, whereas the other was a lake blue. Close, but the difference was noticeable. The darker dress brings out more of her eyes, turning them from lavender storm clouds over a calm lake to dark thunderheads roiling over the ocean. Her green hair sparkled in the sun. Actually sparkled. Like there were gems hidden within the locks. I stared at her, not bothering to hide it. It had been a while since I'd seen an attractive woman. Yes, we had the Barracks Bunny, but no way in hell was I going to get caught with her. A man's got to have standards, after all. Avalina, though, she was more than attractive; she was gorgeous. I couldn't stop staring, even as she came up to me and closed my mouth for me. She giggled and sauntered over to Elizabeth, crouching down to check on the child. I tore my eyes from her, focusing on Marley.

"LandNav was never my thing." I told the chicken man. The Marines taught me how to find True North if I was ever without a compass, but who knows if those methods would work here. He looked at me questioningly but I moved on. "'I'm going to check the surrounding area for anything. You get started on getting a wagon loaded. Whatever you can salvage or think is worth taking."

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"And the bodies?" He asked. I considered for a moment.

"Leave the brothers. Put the others in a different wagon. We'll come back for them." Marley nodded and set to his grim job. I walked into the woods about fifty yards, then made a circle, always keeping the camp to my right. I did come across a road, but other than that nothing. I sulked as I walked back to the camp. I entered the clearing and hid my feelings, walking over to Marley and assisting him with the body he was currently putting in the back of the wagon. He stood and rubbed his back.

"Thanks." He said. He stretched and groaned. "Mmmm, I'm getting to old for this kind of stuff."

"I'll handle it from here. How are the wagons looking?" I asked as I walked over to where the bodies had been covered by sheets. I bent down and picked one up. It was light. Extremely light. I had braced myself for a literal deadlift, but it felt like I was picking up twenty-five pounds instead of two hundred. I almost lost my feet, the body was so light. I stumbled, but held. Marley glanced at me, but shrugged.

"Not my problem." I heard him say under his breath. I nodded to him and easily put the body in the back of the wagon. It took maybe a minute to load the bodies. Marley handed me a water skin. I looked at him, and he gestured with the skin.

"What?" I asked him.

"Wash your hands, boy. You've touched the dead. Bad luck to touch the dead and not wash your hands clean of it." I nodded and smiled at him. He was right, if the reasoning was a little off.

"Thank you." I poured some water over one hand and then the other. I handed the skin back to Marley and rubbed my hands together, droplets flying off. Marley poured a little more over my hands as I did so. I nodded to him.

"Alright. Let's check in on the girls." We walked back over to where Avalina was struggling to get a box into the wagon. She was pushing it from behind, but the wagon was just a little too tall for her to get good leverage. I walked up right as she lost her grip on the box. Avalina cried out as the box came crashing down on her, and I rushed forward, catching the box before it could hurt her.

"Whoa, there. Need some help?" I asked. She turned around and glowered at me, blowing a stray strand of jade out of her face. I looked down at her. I hadn't realized it earlier, but Avalina was short. Not as short as the Rabbituans, but certainly shorter than Marley. She was maybe 5'5". On a good day. Hang on, aren't elves supposed to be tall? All the elves I played back home were tall, dexterous people. I mentally chastised myself. This is a magic world, Micheal. Crazy shit is normal here. Avalina has the beauty thing down, but the height? I shoved the thoughts aside before they drove me mad and focused on her magnificent eyes instead, which wasn't hard. They were entrancing. I could see separations in her pupils, lines of black that seemed to swirl and move as her eyes did. Her eyes were like a smoky crystal ball, deep and contemplative. Avalina snapped her fingers and I blinked, coming back to myself.

"I appreciate the fact that you seem to find my eyes entrancing, but we must focus on getting back to the village. Now, will you please let me go? I have asked you four times." I blushed, the situation we were in coming to me. I had literally come up behind her and caught the box, trapping her between me and it. She was really close. I instinctively inhaled and the scent of pine filled my nose. It smelled exactly like a Christmas tree, woody and thick and nostalgic. My eyes watered. It was the smell of the last Christmas we spent together as a family. It was a rough one, but we were together. Mom and Dad fought and Annabeth and I ate Christmas dinner without them, but we were still a family. I still had hope.

"Micheal?" Avalina asked. I came back to my new self. My stronger self. I blinked tears out of my eyes. When had I started crying?

"Um, I'm sorry." I let go of one of the corners and let her out. I chose not to address my tears. She, however, seemed not to notice my discomfort and asked anyway.

"Why were you crying? Did I say something?" I turned away from her and pushed the box into the wagon, drying my eyes with my other hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine. it's just... It's been a long day." She nods.

"I know what you mean. I know you wanted to get moving, but it may be smarter to stay the night in the village."

"You're right. But to do that we gotta get back first."

"That's the last of it." Marley said, coming up to us. "The girls are ready to go. I sure hope you have a plan for this wagon. The Striders all ran off." I grinned at him, forcing the feelings of loss and sadness down.

"Y'all two hop on, and get the girls ready. I found a road a little ways off, and I'm pretty sure I can see the cart tracks, so as long as we follow those, we'll be fine."

"That is all well and good," Avalina said, climbing up to where the driver normally sat. "but how do you plan on moving the wagon?" I smiled as Marley got up next to her with Rose and Elizabeth in the back. The wagon was uncovered, and as I moved to the front, I could feel their eyes on me. It was a full sized wagon, meant for two horses. One horse could do it, but it would be a challenge for it to pull a fully laden cart from here to the village by its lonesome. The wagon alone probably weighed close to a thousand pounds. Thankfully, it wasn't fully loaded, and I'm not a horse. I walked around to the front of the wagon and thanked God that it had a harness and looked ready to go. The sky darkened, clouds covering the bright blue sky in an instant. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I got the distinct feeling that it was somehow my fault. Then it clicked.

"My bad. Thank you, John Boy." I whispered, hoping the others couldn't hear me. The sky cleared up, the sun coming back to its full strength.

"What the hell was that?" Marley asked, voice thick with wonder. I remained silent, but could feel Avalina staring a hole in my back. I ignored it and fumbled with the harness a little bit. I got it relatively comfortable, then leaned into the leather. I was taking a huge gamble here, acting like I had a plan. I had no idea how strong I was. Could I even pull the wagon? I had to try. The Marine in me grinned at the thought of the challenge. This was what I had lived for. Throwing myself into a physical challenge was easy. Familiar. I took a deep breath, settled on a tree in the distance, and pulled. At first, nothing happened. Doubt twinged at the edge of my mind. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I couldn't do it. I growled and redoubled my efforts, pulling with all my might. The wagon lurched into motion and some dried mud was flung away from the wheels. I drove my feet down and the earth met me. I heard people gasp as we started to move, and I heard Elizabeth laugh. It was high and pure, the laugh of a young girl without a care in the world. It reminded me of Annabeth as she was before things got really shitty. I shook the memories from my head and placed my feet where the horses, no, the fuckin' whatever Marley had called them.... Gah, fuck it, I'm calling them horses. I giggled at my own little banter, no doubt looking insane to my passengers. I followed the hoof prints back to the road, which finding wasn't nearly as hard as we were making it out to be. The tracks turned left, so I turned left.

I continued to take deep, measured breaths, basking in the pain in my legs. They shook with effort, but I kept going. We had just gotten the cart onto the road when I closed my eyes for a moment, and I watched as my stamina bar emptied. It flashed red around the edges and I felt my lungs start to burn. My health started ticking down and I almost stopped to catch my breath, when my health jumped back up to full. I grinned and laughed out loud, throwing myself into the work. It was agony. Pure, blissful agony. Everything hurt. My shoulders bled from where the leather bit into me but I ignored it. I chanted an old boot song under my breath.

"How you feel

Real good

Ah-Ha

Feelin good

One

Two

Three

Four Hey"

Each word was a foot fall, each breath a metronome, working in sync to keep me on pace. The cadence continued, their words meaningless as the agony tore through my mind. I lost track of time. All that mattered was getting the four of them back to the village. My breathing was ragged and my shirt was soaked with sweat and blood. A bead of sweat dripped into my eye, and as I was blowing it away, I tripped on a rock in the road. I roared my defiance. I would not fall. I was a United States Marine, and by John Boy I was going to live up to that standard. Above and beyond. Excellence above all. Semper Fi. I drove my foot down and regained my balance, continuing my march onward.

Eventually, the trees cleared and we were back in the delta. I didn't let that affect me. I kept my head down and my feet moving. My health had started to really dip, my regeneration unable to keep up with the strain I was putting on my body. I had seventeen health left. I looked ahead at the town gates and nodded inside. I could do it. I would get them there. I marched on, my feet devouring the road and body screaming in agony. I dropped to hovering around fifteen. I looked up. The walls were closer. I pulled. Chanted. Breathed. Hurt.

Ten now. At my lowest I was getting down to four. My lungs were on fire and it was getting hard to see straight. I looked up. The gates were opening and people were flooding out. I marched on, not stopping for them. I saw my health hit two as Marley's inn came into view. I put my head down and marched. someone guided me, and I pulled the wagon into a side yard next to the inn and finally stopped. The pressure on my shoulders relented and I took a deep, unladen breath. And then promptly collapsed, my legs giving out. I lay on my back and stared up at the afternoon sky. Judging by the shadows and the sky, it was around four in the afternoon. I think we had left around noon. Avalina's beautiful face appeared above me, a strand of her jade hair falling free from her pony tail. I groaned, wanting to stay still and down, but I was alive, and work needed to be done. My health was back to full and my stamina was halfway there. Not to mention my muscles themselves needed to be stretched. I sat up, my abs screaming in protest. I winced, holding my stomach, and Avalina put a hand on my shoulder. She crouched down on the grass next to me.

"Micheal," She started. I cut her off by standing. A terrible roar of agony tore itself from my throat as my legs took on my weight. I stumbled, scowled, and caught myself, standing upright under my own power. I inhaled and settled myself, nodding as I brought my body under control.

"Alright. Time to unpack." I started walking. My legs almost gave out, but I grabbed the side of the wagon and held myself up. Avalina came up along side me and put my arm around her shoulder. She was small, barely coming up to the middle of my chest, but it made her perfect leaning size. I could use her as assistance while still bearing most of my own weight. I shifted from the wagon to her, and together we limped me through the gate and into the inn. The inside was exactly as I left it, dusty and dark. The table I had smashed earlier was still in pieces against the wall. Maurice was passed out at the bar, a bottle held in his hands. He snored loudly as we came in. Marley peaked out from behind the bar, saw us, and grinned.

"The Meltir arrives. I'm putting you in our best room, and Martha is making her famous Meltir sandwiches." I smiled and gave a loose thumbs up. My head lolled down. I could have stopped it, but it was fun to play it up a little bit. And besides, I was fuckin' TIRED. I thought Paris Island had exhausted me, this was ten times worse. My eyes began to close as I stood there. I started to slip out of Avalina's grasp, and she had to readjust before I fell.

"Whoa, there, big man." She said. I righted myself and resumed leaning against her, smiling down at her. She smiled up at me, a cute blush illuminating a dusting of freckles on her cheeks.

"Where'd that fancy lady talk go?" I asked as Marley lead us to... some stairs. I groaned.

"Marley, do you have any first floor rooms? I just had a killer leg day, and I don't know if I can go upstairs right now." I nudged Avalina at my joke. She looked pale and stricken at my words. I straightened, about to ask if she was alright, when Marley answered me.

"We do. They're the drunk rooms, though. No bed and no window. I'll help you up." Marley came down the stairs, took my other arm, and put it over his shoulder. I took a deep breath, nodded, and raised my leg. I moaned as my muscles responded, but it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. I nodded and let go of Marley, hobbling up the stairs. It was slow and we took every step one at a time, but we did it. We made it to the second floor after a solid two minutes of climbing. It felt like an hour. We hobbled over to the first door, the one nearest the landing. It was open and I made a bee-line for the bed, but stopped before I laid down.

"Micheal? What are you doing?" I grimaced and looked down at Avalina.

"My shirt." I said, voice heavy with exhaustion. "It's bloody and sweaty. I'm sure my pants are as well. I should have bathed before this." The hot water would have felt good on my quivering muscles as well. Right as I finished saying it, Marley walked in with a large metal tub. He set it on the ground and a second chicken walked into the room. She was pure white. That's all I could tell you, as she rushed in, filled the tub with some kind of red jug, then rushed out just as quickly.

"That was Martha." Marley says. "My wife. She's nervous around new folks. Hides in the kitchen most of the time, but makes the best damn Meltir sandwiches you've ever had." He grinned at that, then backed out of the room and shut the door. That left only Avalina and I. We were alone in a small room with one bed and a tub. I opened my mouth to say something when a message popped up. I jumped and Avalina gave me a look.

Woo-Hoo! You have completed a quest: Save Some Sisters

Rose and Elizabeth have made it home safely, all thanks to you.

Reward for success:

New Title: Unbroken. Effect: Stamina no longer applies to you. The prayers of a little girl and the machinations of a god have resulted in this unique quest reward.

I checked the top left of my vision, and sure enough, the green bar was gone. Only my read health bar and blue mana bar remained. I shook my head.

Huh. That's neat. I've been here for less than a day and I've already broken the system. A grin spread across my face. This was going to be fun.

"What are you smiling about?" Alavina asked. I stifled a yawn, my arms howling in protest. I grabbed the neck of my standard issue olive under shirt and pulled it off as I answered.

"I finished the girls." I said as I tossed my shirt onto the floor, brushing my hair out of my face. She seemed not to have heard me, as Alavina was busy staring at my chest, her magnificent eyes roving over my body. I stood a little straighter under her gaze. I smiled at her as I limped over to the bed. I made many grunts of effort as I sat down and pulled my leg up and undid my boot. I let out a sigh of relief as my foot popped free. I thought about taking the other one off first, but the pain in my leg was terrible, and I really only wanted to do that twice, not four times. I groaned in pleasure when I took my sock off. I quickly pulled my other leg up and freed that foot. I sighed as I threw both boots and socks into the corner by the door. I looked up at Alavina, who was still looking at me with a salacious look in her eye.

"I appreciate the fact that you find my muscles entrancing," I said, gritting my teeth through the pain as I bounced my pecs. I am proud that my smile didn't waver, either. It hurt like a bitch. "but help me up." Alavina's cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she looked at me. Her eyes were wide and with her cheeks flushed like that, and the way the dress hugged her body... whoo, I had to readjust how I was sitting. She shook herself right and came over to me. I reached my hand up and she grabbed it. Her soft hand felt perfect in mine,

"One, two, three." On three, Avalina pulled. I pushed off the bed with my other hand and made it upright. I stumbled into Avalina, but she caught me. I smiled down at her, and she blushed. She patted my chest with her small hands and I reached up and held them there. I could feel their warmth seeping into me. Avalina looked up at me, her stormy eyes searching mine. She cleared her throat and looked away.

"The water will get cold if you don't get in soon." She said. I nodded. The steam rising from the water did look pretty enticing. Sighing, I turned around and undid my belt, the metal clinking as I unbuckled it. I briefly thought about asking her to leave for some privacy, but the memory of her looking at me, and the way her dress had clung to her legs flashed in my mind, and Little Micheal won out. It had been a while since I had last had some fun. I took a deep breath and undressed. Stepping purposefully, I walked to the tub and got in. The warm water on my feet felt fantastic. The groans of pleasure mixed with the groans of agony as I got down into the water. When I was settled, I looked around and saw a bar of soap. On the other side of the tub. I groaned in exasperation, looking up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes, bracing my body for another bout of pain, when soft, supple hands started rubbing my chest. They were dry at first, but grew slick with soap as they caressed me. A rough wash cloth brushed against my skin, following the soft hand. I sighed, especially when the soft hands followed for a second time after the rough wash cloth.

"Were we at the manor I could get you a proper wash cloth." Avalina muttered. I only caught it because her mouth happened to be passing my ear as she did so.

"You live in a manor, huh?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed. Avalina's hands faltered as she made a strained noise.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." She hissed. I laughed.

"I would have figured it out anyway when we get there. I'm taking you home, remember?" Her hands started moving again as she nodded.

"Yes, you are correct, I suppose." She was quiet for a moment as her hands lathered my shoulders. "Thank you." Avalina whispered into my ear. She kissed my cheek, then continued to wash me.

"Don't worry about it. I was just doing my job. I should have saved all of you. I let so many people die today. I should have been smarter than that, taken my time and analyzed the camp but..." I stopped myself before I said anything too bad. I shook my head. "You're welcome, Avalina." She continued to lather me, dragging the soapy wash cloth across my chest and down my stomach. She avoided my crotch, but got my legs nicely. I groaned as she massaged them. She stopped, but I shook my head.

"Feels good." I grumbled. She resumed, but stopped after a moment.

"I'm no masseuse." Avalina said as she came back up to my head. "Now, dip down. Let me wash your hair." I took a deep breath and dropped my body so that my head went under water. I held myself there for a moment, letting the water get in my hair, when Avalina started moving my hair about. I came back up and allowed her to soap my hair. I closed my eyes and my breathing deepened. Avalina's hands felt so nice in my hair and my eyelids were so heavy. The door opened and words were exchanged but I didn't hear them. The door closed and I felt warmth once again return to me.

"Micheal." An angelic voice whispered in my ear. "It's time to get out. I can't have you falling asleep in the tub." I nodded, eyes still closed. A fist hit me in the side. I grunted and shifted, but kept my eyes closed. "Come one, you big oaf. Get out." I remained in the tub, a smile playing at my lips. "I can see you smiling." Avalina said. Soft lips brushed my own. Just a touch but it was electric. I opened my eyes to find Avalina's lavender clouds staring back at me.

"Beautiful." I mumbled. I slid down into the water and Avalina scrubbed the soap from my hair. I grinned at her and rose from the tub, forgetting that I was naked. "Oops." I said, flushing as Avalina and Little Micheal came face to face. I hopped out of the tub and grabbed the towel that was lying on the bed. I wrapped it around my waist and dashed back to the tub, getting back in. "Would you turn mind turning around?" I asked the nearly drooling Avalina. I shook my head. She was almost as bad as some of the guys on base. I sighed. Whatever. Want to see that bad, fine. I undid the towel and began drying off. I forced myself to stay down, drying off as fast as I could while not looking like I was rushing. But I was tired so I have no idea if it worked. I can tell you it took all of my will power not to show my attraction. I grabbed the set of underwear that had been brought with the towel, but there were a bunch of frills and I couldn't find where I was supposed to put my legs.

"Fuck it." I said, throwing the garment at the door. I stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it. My back hit the bed and I almost fell asleep right then. I would have, if not for the weight landing next to me. I opened my eyes to find Avalina settling in next to me. She was in her underclothes, a simple shirt and pant number. Her emerald hair was down and it glistened like gems in the candlelight. I was at a loss for words. All I could do was stare as this beauty blew out the candle on the bedside table and rolled over to face me. I could see her face in the moonlight that shone down through the window. Her lavender eyes looked almost indigo in this light. They still swirled, but I could barely see the movements. Avalina shivered, and I fought to sit up. I grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed and pulled it over us, collapsing back with a sigh. Avalina rested her head on my shoulder, and I held her close. I let my self control go, not caring anymore. I was too tired and she felt too good. Avalina looked up at me, her lips slightly parted. I leaned down and kissed her. She moaned and melted into me, kissing me back with more passion than I thought she'd have. I would have kept going, but the exhaustion was too much. I broke the kiss and placed one on her forehead.

"Good night, Avalina." I said. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Good night, Micheal." She kissed my cheek and settled into the crook of my shoulder. Outside, a cat yowled and a dog barked. Something out in the delta bellowed and something screeched in reply. Inside, I held a wood elf with naturally green hair in my incredibly strong arms.

"What a weird fuckin' world." I thought as I drifted off to sleep.