Everything hurts. A lot. Last thing I remember is delivering the egg to Julie. The egg. I try to open my eyes but I am too tired. Hollis. I try to get up and my body reminds me that I am still wounded.

“Wow there, adventurer, try not to move so suddenly. You have been out for more than half a day.” Dad says.

I missed his voice. His low, growling voice is enough for me to feel at ease. I half-open my eyes and I see my room, full of sticks I use to practice throwing and deflecting strikes. My clothes are resting on the floor, tidy and clean. I sit up slowly.

“Listen to Dariy, Volt, you should take things slow after the day you just had. Just go to sleep.” Ean says. My other Dad. “Do not try to talk. You are already weak enough.”

“Wh-o is weak? I am just f-fine” I utter... weakly. Way to go. “Where i-is everyone? Are they okay? Meuko took some heavy hits as well.”

“Meuko is with everyone else, at the care house. Julie is looking after everyone, you do not have to worry” Ean says.

Both my parents are sturdy men since they work all day in the field, making sure we have enough food in the Village. It is easy to tell them apart though. Dariy is bigger and of darker color, even though they are both constantly sun-burnt.

Ean has a rather weak voice. It trembles quite often and it is accompanied by lisping. Apparently, he suffered a serious injury to the neck and throat. He even has a terrible scar to prove it. His voice never truly healed.

Ean also has long black hair, reaching all the way to his shoulders while Dariy is completely bald. I gesture a hug to both of them. They look… relieved.

“Oh, we were waiting so long for this, we barely slept all day.” Dariy says.

“So glad to see you better, buddy.” Ean says.

“When I was in the mountains… I just wanted to see you again… I just-” And I cry.

My parents just held me tight. They did not tell me to stop, to feel better. They just held me and made sure I knew they were there for me. After a few minutes, I let them go. Now, I have a few things to do. I lift my weary, bandaged body up, put on my clothes and reassure my dads.

“I will be okay.”

“Look.” Ean says. “The Hunters arrived during the night, but they are out there again, so you are safe for now, but...”

“Do not push it, kid, is what he is trying to say.” Dariy interjects.

“I am going to the care house. I have to see everyone.”

“We will be around. Feel free to ca-” Ean coughs a bit.

“I know, Dad. I will if I need you.” I say, waving at them and slowly making my way towards the care house.

The care house is Julie’s workplace, so to speak. The only reason we did not treat Hollis there is because we were all hoping nothing bad would happen, I think. The place has a double door, in case anyone needs to be carried through, and as soon as I enter I am greeted by the warm light of multiple candles on the floor.

The building is a bit weird, if you ask me. The entrance of this place is at the far right of the building instead of the center. I guess it makes it easier for Julie to navigate through. I know where I am going at least. A hallway stretching from the door to the far left of this place.

Candles are the only light source in here, kept inside small wooden boxes with a metal base for the candles to rest and carved openings for the light to shine through. I make it to the last room of the care house.

Julie is sitting between two beds. Meuko sits on the right one and Sylvar on the left. They are having a serious conversation.

“I told you, Sylvar, I told you. Look where you end up when you ignore me.”

“I am sorry, my friend Julielle, I could not sit by idly while everyone else was working.”

“I was not working.” I say as I enter the room. “What did I miss?”

“Look at him, trying to look strong in front of us.” Meuko says with a smirk on her face. “Took you some time to wake up. First adventure, am I right?”

“Oh, stop it Meu, it was your first one as well.” Julie says. “I am so glad you are better Vol. Come, sit with us.”

“Yes, my friend Volter, we have much to discuss.”

“Why is it so difficult for you to rest, Sylvar?” Julie sounds tired. Exhausted even. She must have stayed up all night just to make sure that all three of us and Hollis were stable. Hollis.

“Where is Hollis? Why is she not here with you? Did someth-”

“Calm down Vol.” Julie reassures me. “She is sleeping in another room. I thought privacy was better.”

“Travlon?” I ask, still worried about pretty much everything.

“He has not left her side, if you can believe it. There goes our theory.” Meuko was kind enough to include herself. You would think she would blame me.

“Does Julie know?” I gesture at Sylvar.

“Yes, she does. We had plenty of time and Travlon is not in a position to eavesdrop on us. I would hear him the moment he opened Hollis’ room door.”

“You did not hear me when I was walking before.” I say with a bit of irony.

“That is...” Sylvar looks genuinely worried for a moment there.

“That is because you are still recovering from serious head injuries. Your senses will sometimes feel… dull. Give it a week and you should be fine.” Julie says while checking his bandages.

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Half his face is covered with them. His right eye is also bandaged.

“Is that eye still working?” I ask, finally taking a seat right next to Julie.

“Yes, I can still see. Julie, however wants to make sure there are no infections. Besides, I use my left eye to aim, since I am left-handed.”

“My back is fine, thanks for asking.” Meuko pitches in.

“Hey, you are the strongest one in here. I can barely see any bandages.”

“That is because I did a great job applying them without them being a hindrance while she wears clothes.”

“Yes, Julie.” Meuko says. “You did an amazing job. I believe I speak for all of us when I say… Thank you, for everything.”

“Definitely.”

“My friend Meuko is right.”

“Well… Anytime you need me. Now if you will allow me, I will sleep in that empty bed next to Sylvar’s. I need some rest. Sylvar should tell you all about his foolish attempt to go back to Hollis’ cart on his own, while injured.” Julie says as she climbs a bed, probably meant for me.

Before I was taken to my home. Regardless, there are other things to focus on. Sylvar and Meuko both sit up on their beds, so that all three of us can lean in closer to talk quietly.

“So… Where do we start?” I ask, knowing that I was the one with the missing time. They would probably have much more to offer.

“Well, I have a few questions...” Meuko says. “First of all, Outsider, why did the griffin not follow us? We had the egg.”

“Which if I may add...” I interject. “Was actually not fragile and survived that fall we took.”

“And the goblins did seem to go after it.” Sylvar says. “I saw them attacking Volter but they were too careful. The egg is the only explanation I can think of.”

Sylvar has the same thought I did when that fight was happening. Focusing pays off, I guess.

“Now, about the griffin…” Sylvar continues. “I cannot be entirely sure, but I believe it was too busy grieving the death of its mate. You see, when it reached us, it wanted to kill us. I barely made it out alive after the first attack.”

“It did not seem to care about the lair.” Meuko adds.

“Exactly, my friend Meuko. But when the goblins appeared, it was almost entirely focused with them. I think we arrived at the end of a long struggle.”

“But… there was no one there.” I say, knowing Sylvar will probably explain anyway.

“I believe that the goblins attacked the griffin lair for the egg, killed the female, but the male chased them away before they could retrieve it. It must have picked up our presence through smell and turned back to make sure we would not take that same egg. When it saw the goblins, however...”

“It wanted revenge.” Meuko says. “Revenge was more important.”

“That appears to be the case. After I shot it in the eye, it must have decided that staying with its partner was more important.”

“That is probably the only reason we made it with those injuries.” I say. I know that my expression shows fear.

I do not want to hide it. I survived. No reason to pretend it was not my toughest day. Yet.

“Why did you go out, again?” Meuko asks, gesturing to Sylvar, who appears to be rather energetic, despite his bandaged appearance.

He really wanted to talk to us, as a group. I feel the same.

“Well, I wanted to see the goblins we faced when we rescued Hollis. I was looking for the same injury she suffered but… no such luck. Somehow, there was only one arrow that was cursed or poisoned. Maybe both.”

“Even the ones that Meuko used as a shield… clever move by the way. The ones peppered with arrows, they were not poisoned?”

“No.” Sylvar says, clearly confused.

I think I know what happened. It is far fetched though. No, I can trust them.

“That is why they wanted the egg.” I say. “They had a poisoned arrow, strong enough to kill anything. They needed the vital component of the cure. We were just… lucky.”

I am looking down on the floor, worried about everything that happened. I can feel Sylvar and Meuko looking at me. They know I am holding something back. I cannot tell them, not yet.

“What is it, Vol? What are you trying to say?”

“Trust me, not yet.”

“As you wish, my friend Volter.”

“Wait a minute, I just realized...” I say. “You did not tell me, Sylvar.”

“Tell you what?”

“Did I pass?”

Sylvar looks confused for a moment and then smiles in his usual kind way.

“You passed the athletic test, my friend, with quite some talent, I might add.”

We all look at each other for a minute and then… we all burst out laughing.

“I am sleeping here, you insensitive fools.”

“Sorry, sister.”

“Oops… I should let you all rest. See you tomorrow.”

I walk out of the care house, feeling definitely better than when I entered. Talking with friends is medicine, all right. It is night outside. I guess time passed faster than I realized. I make my way towards my home, thinking about what happened.

The egg, the goblins, Hollis, Travlon. All of that will have to wait until we get better. We also need to talk to the Hunters. I bet they have a lot of questions. I forgot to ask the group about them. There is always tomorrow. I am so tired.

My thoughts are interrupted by pain. A sharp pain to my side. I immediately turn in reaction to the pain. There is no one there, besides darkness. Sylvar would try to listen. I hear footsteps. Running away from me. I instinctively put my hand where the pain is. Blood. Someone just stabbed me. Too much blood.

I have to make my way home. I do not hear footsteps anymore. I guess no one else will stab me tonight. I hope. As soon as I reach my house, I slam the door open and shout to my parents. They both come over and quickly put me on our table.

“Ean, we need Julielle, now.”

“No.” I say, wincing from the pain.

There is also growling, but I can take the pain. Growling does not make me weak or anything.

“Not Julie. She just got to sleep. Let her rest. Just help me with whatever we got.”

“What?” Dariy asks.

“We cannot-”

“Please...” I interrupt Ean, possibly in tears.

“Okay, this will hurt however. I do not have healing magic. Dariy, bandages and water.”

“Right away.” Dariy says as he runs outside to fetch water.

We have small pods and containers made from bones and other material. I need to focus on something other than the pain.

“I will say this once, before he comes back… Who… Did… This? It is new and it is a stabbing wound.” Dad is serious.

More serious than I have ever seen him. I do not want to get on his bad side.

“Do not know… Dark outside… Could only… Hear.” I growl.

I avoided getting stabbed from goblins only to get stabbed in my own Village. Great. What an adventure I had. The stories I could tell. All I had to do was walk home.

“This will hurt. I will burn the wound and you better hope it will stabilize you long enough. If anything goes wrong, I will call Julie.” Ean has a decisive tone.

“No… Let her...” I cannot get the words out.

“Here you go, I got the water and the bandages.” Dariy says.

They give one bandage for me to bite into and then Ean uses magic. His hand turns bright red as it touches my wound. The pain is sharp and it forces my eyes open. As soon as it is done I spit the bandage they gave me.

“Look, no one can know. Please.”

“What? This is… unheard of.” Ean is sitting in a chair, trying to calm down.

He just had to burn his own son. I guess that brings a certain amount of stress.

“Why?” Dariy asks as he puts bandages around my waist where I got stabbed.

“I am already in enough trouble. Besides, whoever it was… They were too afraid… Ran away as soon as they stabbed me.” I try to sound as convincing as possible.

There is… Silence. They both look at each other, then me. They can see I am serious. Real question is… Is it enough for them?

“The Hunters would certainly ask too many questions.” Dariy agrees. Good. One more.

“If I see anyone trying to hurt you… I will not hesitate, understand?” Ean says.

“I love you too, dad. Now… I will go to my room. I will... try... to sleep.”

“Not on your own, you are not.” Dariy stops me.

They brought two chairs and slept in my room with me. They wanted to be able to hear me in case I started dying on my sleep. Let us hope I do not. I think I can finally rest today... The pain says otherwise.