I was shaken awake, my body aching with dull pain. Lyra's voice reached my ears, filled with concern and near tears. "David, oh gods David!"

I waved my hand weakly, "I'm awake... Bloody hell Lyra... I'm hurting, stop shaking me." My eye struggled to focus, taking in Lyra's tear-stained face.

She managed a small chuckle despite her tears. "At least they didn't break you. You need to get up, David. Malik is here. We're leaving."

Groaning, I struggled to sit up with Lyra's help, my back screaming in pain. Suppressing a scream took all my strength. Looking around, I saw Isabel's cell empty and no one else in sight. "What's going on, Lyra?"

She carefully helped me stand, avoiding my wounds. "They brought you back messed up, and soon after Malik arrived to see us. The guards were grinning at his expression when he saw your state... Then he went completely insane. I've never seen him like that."

Only then did I see the gruesome scene before us, with massive pools of blood and body parts strewn across the floor. I grimaced. "Alright... So what are we doing now?"

Lyra smiled, determination in her eyes. "We're getting out of here, of course. We can't stay here."

Lyra and I walked down the hallway, and I winced with every step. The pain was intense, and I knew that I wouldn't have been able to keep moving without her support. We finally arrived at an empty guard's room. The walls and floor were covered in blood, and I couldn't help but shudder at the sight. Lyra glanced at me, I managed a weak smile, and she grinned back.

Ignoring the blood, we continued to make our way towards the gate that led outside. As we approached, we could hear shouting and raised voices coming from the other side. Lyra shrugged and pushed open the gate.

On the other side, we found Malik and Isabel standing in front of a group of soldiers. Christof was there too, his face twisted with hatred and anger.

"You’ve signed your death warrant adventurer scum, we will kill you slowly for this!" Christof shouted.

Malik, calm as ever, held a huge battleaxe in his hand. Isabel was standing next to him, her sword at the ready. They were both covered in gore.

"I told you, if they came to any harm, you would come to regret it," Malik said.

Christof just laughed, "and what can you do eh? I have forty soldiers here old man, no matter how strong you are, you cannot hope to survive this."

Malik shrugged, "you know nothing of the world pup, I am about to show you just how large a gap there is between us."

Just as things were about to get violent, an armored carriage arrived. A man I recognized from a painting stepped out with a couple of guards. The governor looked furious as he surveyed the scene.

"What in all the hells is this!?" he bellowed.

I stood there, battered and bruised, as Christof stood at attention before the governor. "These prisoners tried to escape, my lord," he said. "We were just about to put them down."

The governor's eyes widened as he looked at me, taking in my battered state. Then he turned to Christof. "Why were they in prison in the first place? I know this man very well," he said, gesturing to Malik. "He is a trusted acquaintance of mine! You dared to raise your weapons at him!"

Christof did not back down, but instead grimaced in disgust. "They are murderers, my lord! They killed--"

The governor cut him off with a hard slap to the face. Christof's eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't dare to retaliate. "I am aware of who they killed, and why they killed them, captain," the governor said sternly. "In fact, I know a whole lot more than that." He gestured to two nearby soldiers. "Arrest Captain Christof and put him in the most secure cell we have."

The soldiers looked shocked, but at the governor's glare, they jumped into action. Christof turned his blade on the governor, but to my surprise, the man just slapped the blade away barehanded and sent a punch into Christof's mouth. Teeth and blood flew, and Christof dropped to the ground in a pile. "Take this trash away, now!" the governor barked.

As Christof was dragged away, the governor walked over to Malik. "Did you have to kill the guards, Malik!?" he asked, clearly unhappy.

The big man shrugged and gestured to me. "Look at what they did to him, Aldric," he said. "They took his eye, and for no other reason than he refused to admit to the murders."

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Aldric looked at me and winced, "Yes, well, perhaps they deserved their fate then. I find myself in a difficult position, old friend. A horde is approaching the city, I have a possible disaster ready to happen inside the city if the young lady here is to be believed, and apparently I have traitors in my own ranks." Malik nodded and said, "She speaks the truth, Aldric. I have seen the cores, the assassins. It's not good."

Aldric sighed and rubbed his face, "I will have the garrison deal with the horde, Malik. We can't allow the monsters to breach the city. I will ask for a few groups of adventurers too. Can I leave the internal problems to you for now?" Malik smiled slightly and said, "I don't work for free, you know that."

Aldric choked a laugh and said, "Of course you don't. You will be compensated, of course. Can I trust you with this?" Malik nodded and said, "We will do what we can, but we don't have much time. We need to get the lad patched up first though." Aldric glanced at me and nodded, "Probably a good idea. Shame about the eye. I am sorry about that."

Malik's expression hardened and he said, "Sorry is not good enough, Aldric. Once this is all over..." Malik let the words hang in the air, and Aldric took the tiniest step away from him. "I know. The people responsible will be dealt with, Malik, and the lad will be compensated." Malik gave only the tiniest nod, and the governor sighed, "Look, I have a lot to do. I do not mean to ignore what has happened, but it will have to wait. The city must be my main concern right now. Can I count on the guild to protect the city?"

Malik nodded again, and the governor gave a short bow to everyone before turning around and getting back into his carriage.

As the governor left, Isabel turned an angry glare on Malik and said, "Did you just agree to help the man ultimately responsible for this?" She gestured to me. Malik just nodded and said, "I did, which means we can now get on with our work and not have to worry about the guards."

Isabel rolled her eyes at Malik's words and asked, "we never should have needed to in the first place! Are you sure we can trust him?"

Malik sighed, "we are under an official guild contract now Isabel. As for trust, I have known the man for a long time. He can be a cold-hearted bastard when he wants to be, but he takes his role seriously. He knows what we are doing, he wouldn’t try to hinder us. He did not order this done to David."

Isabel remained skeptical, and I couldn't blame her. Having my eye cut out didn't exactly leave me feeling warm and fuzzy towards the man paying the one who did it.

"Um.. I am all for discussing all this, but could I perhaps get fixed up a little first?" I interjected, trying to get us back on track.

Both Malik and Isabel looked over at me, chagrined. "Of course, David. Sorry about that," Isabel said, coming to support me on the opposite side from Lyra. With Malik leading the way, we left the keep, the guards giving us the stink eye the whole way.

We arrived at the temple district where my favorite healer, the sour devotee of Inaya, awaited. She didn't look impressed as I was once again brought before her, and she had me go through the whole stripping thing again. I swear, this woman had a thing for me, despite her huffs of annoyance.

As she worked on my back, the healer spoke with Isabel. "These are nasty wounds," she remarked, "the knife must have been enchanted because it left subtle magic that would cause festering and slow the natural healing of the body."

"It doesn't surprise me sadly, but please do what you can for him, Honored Yala," Isabel said with a sigh.

The healer scoffed, "I already am! Go get those lazy disciples from the next room over, I am going to need some support on this one." I heard Isabel moving off, and I decided to lighten the mood a little. "So, how have you been?" I asked the healer.

She didn't look pleased. "Be quiet, fool. I need to concentrate on saving your worthless hide," she replied sharply.

“Rude…” I grumbled under my breath, but I kept quiet after that.

As more people arrived, there was a round of explanation, accompanied by some not-so-pleasant moans. However, the healing energy intensified as more priests joined in. Isabel soon appeared in front of me, crouching down so we were eye-to-eye.

“Stay here for now, David. I'll go talk to the others. Once you're ready, come find us at the house,” she instructed.

I nodded slightly, “Alright. I'll see you later. Oh, and Isabel?” She turned to look at me curiously. “Stop ogling my ass!” I teased. She chuckled and walked away, delivering a sharp slap to my rear as she did.

The healing process took a long time, and I must have dozed off at some point. I was awoken by a young priestess gently shaking me.

“Huh, um… What?” I mumbled, still groggy.

“We're done, David, but we need to talk,” she said softly, with a smile.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, only to realize that my right eye was missing. Not just damaged, but completely removed, and I felt a long scar running down my face.

“I'm guessing this is what you want to talk about?” I asked, gesturing towards my missing eye. The priestess nodded, a sad smile on her face.

“We were unable to save it, and were forced to remove it permanently,” she explained.

It hit me hard. I had expected that magic could fix almost any injury, and finding out that wasn't the case was a harsh wake-up call.

I sighed and sat up, stretching my back and wincing slightly. The priestess handed me a cup of water.

“As for your back, it's fully healed, but we couldn't avoid scarring,” she informed me.

I took the water, drained it, then shrugged. “Thanks for your help, priestess. I should probably avoid getting tortured in the future,” I joked.

She blinked at my comment, as I stood up, and she blushed furiously looking down. I grinned at her, “So, um… where are my clothes?”