Throat dry...thirsty. I push myself off the mattress. Shadow scrambled off of the small of my back and Clio fled as I rolled over into a sitting position. I put the glass bottle to my lips and drained the last few drops of Walker clinging to the bottom of the glass before casting Coalesce and filling it up with clear water. I take a deep drink of it and lower the glass bottle. My head throbbed something fierce, and my vision bordered on black as I nearly fell down on my attempt at standing. Once I’m to my feet I stumble off the mattress and take a deep drink of the water inside of the bottle.
The cool liquid rushing down my throat feels like the most sweet thing in the world. I finish half of the water by the time I step outside. It’s slightly brighter today than it was yesterday. It was as if the ever-present fog that blocked out most of the light of the moon and the sun was slowly fading. Impossible. This world was dead, and the fog was a symptom of that. I take a deep drink of the water; wishing it were something else. Perhaps I’ll ask someone to go to the store for me again today. I have nothing better to do, after all. I can’t leave the cove unless under the cover of night, and only then I couldn’t leave the orchard that surrounded the entrance into the cove. I couldn’t go hunting for more dives, either. My bones itched, and my soul yearned for combat. Filling the days with mundane activities had been good up until a point, but the thought of stagnating again had gotten into my mind. Doing nothing didn’t sit right with me. Most of my life was spent doing nothing, and continuing that, even if forced through circumstance, felt as if I was betraying all of the progress I had made.
I step down toward the town and toward the door that would lead to Earth. Clio followed me out, and Shadow darted across the roof to find something to do.
I came across Fen, Dylan, and Paul getting ready to head out. Paul carried the pole sword that I had gotten from the minotaur in the dive I had rescued him from, and Dylan carried a short scimitar, currently dangling off her hip. There was still a pang of guilt I associated with her being sent out. What had I done? She was a child being dragged into war, and all because I didn’t have the wherewithal to say, ‘no.’
Dylan wore some chain mail cut down to her size over a tunic made of minotaur skin and a backpack strapped to her back filled with healing potions and other things they would need in case something happened. I had written her a short journal of certain spells she would need — she wanted to focus on wind spells and swords because she had seen how Monica fought and wanted to emulate her. I gave her some pointers about using magic; to not mingle earth and wind magic, or waters and fire magic, and wrote down a few wind spells to help her so that when she leveled up, she could go right into some of the higher tier spells.
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Seth, on the other hand, seemed set on forging his own fighting style away from his father’s: instead of using swords, he was set on using polearms. “It looks cooler,” he said.
“Ah, Lawrence.” Fen said, “We’re about to head out. Do you need anything upon our return?”
“No…, hold on. Do you have a wand or something I can use, I forgot my staff at the house.”
Fen reached into the folds of his robe and handed me his wand; an elaborate thing carved of a marbled minotaur horn, with two gold bands — one around its base, and the other around the tip, and gold filigree lettering in the Efran's script going up in chains connecting the two.
“How are you two doing? Alright? Any injuries?”
“Nope, none!” Dylan said enthusiastically.
Paul shook his head.
Just in case I cast Lesser Healing on both of them.
“How’s Reynard treating you? Alright?”
“Yeah, he’s really nice.”
Yeah, I don’t believe that for a second.
“What level are you guys now?”
“I’m level 21,” Dylan said enthusiastically.
“25,” Paul responded.
“We’re almost done with the doors along the river across the bridge.” Fen said, “Afterwards, we’ll begin on the residential areas surrounding it.”
“Okay. Just...be safe.” I say.
“Of course,” Fen answered.
Before they leave, I cast a Repel on each of them, and watch as they step into the veritable fort that had been built up around the door to Earth, and watch as Fen leads them into Earth. I meander around the town a bit, making my way to the shore to watch the rolling tides before Seth comes up to me.
“Hey, how are you doing?” He asked.
“Bored,” I answered.
“I can understand. Just wait a little longer and you’ll be able to go out.”
“I know. It’s...it’s childish of me to complain, but I really want to get back into the swing of things.”
“But if you do that, you’ll have to kill a few soldiers who aren’t associated with Roki.”
“I know,” I answered.
More than finding out where I am, if they found out that I was being harbored somewhere, then, needless to say, none of the people here in the cove would be safe.
“When is the militia going out again?”
“Two nights from now. Some of the new people never shot a gun before and we’re training them by our house."
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Seth thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“Can’t really think of nothing. Just rest up, bud.”
He slapped my shoulder and walked away.
How much longer was I expected to rest? My mind could only worry during these times with nothing to do. I needed to fight. Fighting was all that I was good for. I meander around for a bit before finding a cache of beer, vodka, and whiskey. I took a few bottles and cans and left a couple of dollars as recompense as I wandered back to my house to whittle away the hours until I could be useful again.