I slept all night on the ground, having the same recurring nightmare about the ghoul.

It only made everything else all the more unbearable. My armor was tight and uncomfortable, and it wasn’t like I could sleep without it. I could have changed… But there was a certain comfort to knowing I was protected to some extent.

The ground was frozen and bumpy, and the blankets we brought weren’t thick enough to block the biting wind. In short, it sucked. Everyone else seemed just fine though, waking up with the sunrise, stretching, and acting all too eager to get started, as I tried my best to just not fall down after I stood up.

‘I guess I technically got some sleep.’ I lay on my back staring up at the sky, honestly after a while, the nightmares became more annoying than anything else, after the fourth or fifth they didn’t even make my heart race anymore, even if they still woke me up.

“Siya, here. I think you’re going to like this.”

I rubbed my eyes as I tried to figure out who was talking, my groggy mind still lost in a daze. Suddenly I saw a giant chest flying towards me and quickly jerked out of the way with a yelp before I was crushed.

“Uh… Sorry, guess you’re still waking up.”

I swept my hair out of my face, resting my head in my palm for a second as my body readjusted to suddenly standing up so fast.

“I’m going to like what, I mean–” A long yawn paused my words as I moved my feet to keep my balance. “You already gave me the bow right, how are you not tired—” ‘I feel like I’m going to fall down…’ “Didn’t you stay up all night making it?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just open it.”

I yawned again, closing my eyes and tilting my head back. I was so tired my eyes were starting to water. ‘At this rate… It’s already looking like there’s going to be one more zombie in this dungeon…’

I squatted down messing with the latch for a bit. Just before I opened I realized the jewel centered in the middle of the chest. ‘Fire Opoal…’

It was A kind of smooth white jewel that had swirls as if an Orange wave was crashing against it on the inside. It was only ever used to mark things that were incredibly important to the house. Usually, it would be used in special formal clothing, or in weapons and armor, so that your house could be identified when you were on the battlefield. It was a little bit weird, but it made sense I suppose. Everyone there would want it to be known exactly who did what when it came to fighting.

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‘This is what it means to be a part of the family.’ I wasn’t sure what feelings that statement stirred within me, but I was too tired to dwell on it.

Flipping open the lid I discovered robust plate armor designed for my left arm. ‘If we don’t have an armorer then they would have had to get this weeks in advance… Did they start working on getting this after my arm broke?’

It was a full gauntlet that reached past my elbow, shining with a deep blue and holding a unique Damascus steel pattern on it. Combined with metal plates and a mix of hard and soft leather, it covered my entire left arm from my shoulder down. ‘Well, it’s not like it’s full plate, it shouldn’t weigh me down, and it would be good to have something I could use as a shield.’

I picked it up and quickly threw it on. Lu’s old jacket may have been durable, but it only covered my chest and my stomach, leaving everything below my shoulder exposed.

It made sense to an extent. I mean, it was designed to go underneath plate armor, it didn’t have to be that great, it just needed to protect joints, like the hips, and underneath the arms. That was probably why it was designed the way it was, having all of the potential gaps in the front and the back, where plate mail was intended to cover.

Strapping the metal to my arm it fit perfectly. “It's… not as heavy as I thought it would be.”

“It’s Vethrian steal. Should protect your arm a bit, didn’t get anything for your shoulder though, so just be careful not to strain it too much.”

After fastening the last strap I lifted it up to the sunlight, feeling the plates seamlessly shift as I opened and closed my hand. “This is more than enough,” I muttered. The phrase fits like a glove wasn’t quite enough to describe how perfect it felt.

“Everyone ready?” My father's voice bellowed through the camp. “For this first trip we will be in there for at least six hours, if things go well we will probably stay in till just after sunset so that you can get a feel for how different it becomes at night.”

“Sound’s like I should make things go bad…” I grumbled so that no one could hear me, grabbing my bowcase from off of Fritz and counting out my arrows. ‘And that’s 40, should be enough.’

I quickly fastened them to my belt and made sure I could still pull from them at least relatively fluidly. Still, I was starting to get bogged down by all the weight. ‘Maybe I should only take 20? Yeah, one quiver would be easier to deal with. I’ll have Airsidh carry the other in his pack.’

“What's taking you so long? If you don’t hurry I’ll drag you in!” My father yelled.

“We waited way longer for you before we left…” I grumbled, locking my bow in place around my scabbard and following them in.

Only at his sudden change of tone did I realize I had been getting lost in my thoughts again. ‘Right, I have to stay focused. No tunnel vision. I really wish we had more time to prepare though but– No, focus, don’t think about anything but the dungeon.’

My brother walked out in front of me. “Oh and check the inside of the arm guard I got you, I think you’ll like it even more.”

I flipped up my palm. It looked normal enough. The metal arm guard had a soft leather underneath it so that it fit snugly on my arm.

Looking it closer though, while most of the leather was soft, the area over my forearm was hardened leather, covering the scar I still had from when the war bow nearly took my hand off.

“Oh, how thoughtful,” I said teasing him. Regardless, it would be nice to not have to worry about cutting my arm off every time I drew my bow, especially with how much stronger I had become.

Airsidh suddenly lifted a finger to his lips. “Stay focused.” He whispered, lowering his voice.

“You the–” He covered my mouth with his other hand. As a gut reaction, I simultaneously heightened my hearing while grabbing his finger and bending it back until he ripped his hand away. There was nothing, no sound but our footsteps. “You know what, I’m glad I helped Lu kick your but before we left.”

I probably came off as salty when I suddenly walked ahead of him, but having his finger on my lips didn’t make me THAT annoyed, even though I already wasn’t in a great mood. Realistically I knew I had the best hearing with my magic… That was why I stepped ahead, it was the only reason…

‘Why do I hear the wind coming from inside the cave?’