The sound of wagon wheels rolling across the unkempt dirt road began to stir Zycor from his unconscious state. The sound of the breeze and wildlife mixed with the rattle of the carriage, an incredibly soothing combination. However, the intense quarreling of Baz, Mylon and Aisha drowned out any sense of peace. Drifting into a more conscious state, Zycor began to be able to make out what they were bickering about.

“And that’s exactly why we should have taken a break in the town!” Aisha exclaimed with an intense amount of irritation and frustration in her voice.

Baz argued back, snorting, “Yeah doggy? Well that just shows you don’t know anything about senior sparky over there. He would have been fumin’ if we had delayed those three days.”

“Enough with the ‘dog’ stuff you brutish pig! And I’m a wolf!”

Baz leaned in aggressively and retorted, “Yeah? And I ain’t a pig neither!”

Mylon chimed in, hoping to diffuse the situation, “Yes yes, you both are very close, we get it, but I don’t think fighting about this is the right thing to be doing.”

Aisha and Baz, in unison, snapped back, “We aren’t close!”

Mylon couldn’t help but to chuckle, sighing at the end, wishing the two of them would stop being so difficult. While the two trouble makers continued hurling increasingly ridiculous insults at each other, Mylon took notice of Zycor’s eyes opening. He smiled and said loud enough to interrupt Baz and Aisha, “Well, look who finally decided to wake up! Glad to see we weren’t hauling around a corpse!”

Aisha and Baz’s heads jerked to look at Zycor, the former lunging for him, hugging him as she cried out, “You’re alive, thank the goddess! I don’t know what I would have done if you had died!”

Baz snickered, remarking, “Yeah? Wasn’t it your idea to kill him during the fight?”

Aisha fumed, “That was literally the only option open to us and you know it!”

He shrugged, “Yeah yeah, whatever you say. You humans care too much if someone lives or dies anyways.”

“Oh~? I seem to remember a certain brutish pig angry enough about the potential loss of his friend to tear down an entire city.”

Baz twitched and turned to face away from her and Zycor, mumbling, “Ya got no proof that happened, ya damn dog…”

Mylon patted Aisha on the shoulder and commented, “I am very happy that you are happy Zy survived… but he might not for much longer if you don’t let him breathe.”

Aisha looked back at Zycor who was weakly tapping on her arm, struggling to breath in her vice grip of an embrace. She quickly released him, his head landing on Novos who had been acting as a pillow for him pretty much the entire time. Catching his breath, Zycor looks around at the wagon, finally comprehending he was in one. He attempted to force himself up as he asked, strained, “Where are we? I thought our wagon was destroyed.”

Mylon nodded, explaining, “That’s right, the wagon and the horses were killed. When everything had finally calmed down, we had to haul you and Novos to the nearest town to pick up another wagon.”

“And it wasn’t an easy thing ta’ do ya know.” Baz interjected.

Aisha chastised him, “Oh hush, it wasn’t that big of a deal, especially since Novos woke up after only a few hours and gave us a lift.”

“Sure, but the ride with attitude over there immediately went back to sleep as soon as we landed.”

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Mylon let out a sigh filled with a slight, lingering irritation, “Ah yes, that incident. It was certainly fun explaining that to the guards… a whole hour wasted on convincing them we weren’t terrorists…”

He cleared his throat and continued, “Anyways, once we got inside, we found an inn for you to stay at while we looked around for a wagon, or someone who would take us the rest of the way to the dungeon. It took a while, and some negotiation with the local guild hall, but we were able to be cleared for a dungeon expedition officially and we were even given a ride to the outskirts of the dungeon. Apparently it’s a great place to get really good materials for armor, weapons and just to sell for profit.”

“I said we should have waited for you to wake up before we set off so you could rest properly.” Aisha added.

“And I told her doing that would have upset you,” Baz retorted.

Zycor nodded towards Baz, “That was a good call, I appreciate you know me so well.”

Aisha’s mouth dropped as Baz chortled, “Ha! Ya hear that?! I was right!”

Zycor let out a chuckle and reassured Aisha, “Hey, it’s alright. I do appreciate you thinking about me but we are really on a time crunch. After all, you heard what Mr. X said…”

His eyes widen as he scans the wagon, taking a mental headcount. There was Baz, Mylon, Aisha, Novos, himself and, temporarily, the wagon driver. But not Nalea, and no Lizali.

Zycor opened his mouth to speak, then quickly shut it, closing his eyes as he held back tears, unsuccessfully. Mylon lowered his head, placing a hand on Zycor’s back. Aisha reached out towards him, but hesitated, uncertain of what she would even say to him. Baz, catching on to what was going on, remarked plainly, “It wasn’t your fault, Zy.”

Aisha kicked him in the back and shouted, “What the hell is that?! You have to be more delicate with these things!”

Baz huffed, “You don’t get it, girl… there’s nothing else we can say or do other than make sure he knows what happened… wasn’t his fault.”

“I don’t agree! You can give him words of comfort!”

“Words of comfort won’t bring the dead back to life.” Baz coldly retorted.

Aisha held her tongue, unsure pushing the matter further was a good idea. She clicked her tongue and turned her attention back to Zycor, placing a hand on his leg while she reassured him, “Hey now Zy, it’s going to be alright. We are still here, aren’t we?”

Zycor reached out and took her hand, holding it tight as he replied with a shaky voice, “But… they’re dead… Nalea… Liz… a-and I killed Liz myself…”

On the verge of breaking down, a giant, rough hand started to pet Zycor’s head. Baz increased the roughness and intensity of his stroking, letting out a huff, “Don’t start with that ‘woah is me’ crap. I told ya, it ain’t your fault. It’s that bastard X’s fault, he clearly did somethin’ to mess with your head. This isn’t the time to break down, we have to focus on clearing this dungeon. It has information on killin’ that freak, right?”

Zycor smacked his face and nodded, “Right, thanks Baz. So, how far out from the dungeon are we?”

Having been listening, though not by choice, the driver called back, “It’s up ahead, we are practically there.”

Aisha and Zycor scooted to the front of the wagon and looked out the front while Baz and Mylon sat towards the back. Aisha’s eyes widened as they came over the hill and saw the massive operation set up outside the dungeon. The flag of various adventurer parties were being flown, base camps set up, recruiting flyers, and even a dedicated first aid tent. In addition, there were even area’s where adventurers were dueling each other in makeshift arena’s. Crowds shouted and hollered while sacks of coins were passed around, clearly payouts for lost bets.

Aisha got excited watching the spells being thrown around. Zycor, on the other hand, didn’t give the spectacle more than a glance. His sights were set on the dungeon itself, seeking the information he required. The wagon made its final approach and stopped on the outskirts of the encampment. Everyone disembarked, Mylon handing the driver a small sack of coins. Zycor, stood staring at the entrance to the dungeon. It felt far different from the few he had encountered previously. The dungeon itself seemed to give off a threatening air.

Aisha came up behind him, Novos asleep belly up in her arms, giving him a nudge, “Are you really okay, Zy? The way you’re staring at the dungeon's entrance, it’s…”

Interrupting her, Baz gave Zycor a rough pat on the back, causing him to stumble forward slightly. He chuckled, “Loosen up kid, save the frustration and anger for when it will be needed. Don’t worry, I don’t think you will have to wait too much longer. Just don’t let it consume you.”

Fixing his posture, the air around Zycor crackled with white lightning as he chuckled, “Don’t worry Baz, Aisha, I will keep my emotions in check. Right now, I don’t feel like I can lose. I want to clear this dungeon, get this extra power as a contingency, and then go work through these emotions. Physically.”