“It was a hard-fought battle, but the day was won,

We’d lost much blood by the time it was done.

A years-long night brought forth a new day,

And now it was time for us to walk away.”

“It’s… over,” Garassk panted, coughing blood. “We won.”

“Aye. We did,” Arra said.

“Well that’s all well and good,” Rathorn grunted. “Except for the part where I can’t even feel anything past my neck. We’re stuck here!”

“We can rest for the night if we need to,” Garassk said. “We should probably consider leaving if anyone approaches the castle though.”

“Completely agreed,” Rathorn said.

“Leaving?” Arra said. “But where will you go?”

“Home,” Garassk groaned. “We were trying to get home before all of this happened.”

“Hold up a moment,” Arra said. “I think I hear something.”

Garassk paused to try and hear it too.

“It’s… it’s raining,” Arra said.

“Zaroth must have worked to keep that from happening while he was alive,” Garassk guessed. “It looks like the land is healing.”

“Good,” Rathorn grunted. “Let’s do the same.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Garassk asked.

“By sleeping,” Rathorn growled. “Or at the very least, not talking for a few minutes.

Not another word was spoken as the three of them drifted off to sleep. Garassk awoke first, struggling to get up from his wounds, but he eventually managed to do so. Arra and Rathorn weren’t far behind him.

“That’s the best sleep I’ve had in weeks,” Rathorn yawned.

“Same,” Garassk said. “So, Rathorn, you were awfully quick to be ready when we got in the castle. Did you know he was a vampire?”

“No,” Rathorn grunted. “I thought something was off, but I couldn’t put my claw on what exactly. I just broke out of my room at the first chance I got, and did my best to find the barracks.”

“Now then,” Arra said. “Shall we go?”

“Not yet,” Rathorn groaned, staggering and regaining his balance. “We’re not going anywhere in a hurry like this.”

“What do you mean?” Arra asked before clenching her teeth and clutching her side.

“Zaroth beat us pretty bad,” Rathorn said. “We’ll need time to recover.”

“Or not,” Garassk said. “We found healing potions on the werewolves.”

“Right,” Arra said, coughing. “I forgot about those.”

“We’d best find some other supplies first,” Rathorn said. “Potions like that should be used alongside bandages, and other healing supplies. I’ve seen what happens to soldiers who rush this sort of thing, and it’s not pretty.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The three of them spent the next few hours trying to find where Zaroth would store such things. Once those were found, they began applying herbs and bandaging their wounds as best as they could. Their injuries meant that this process took longer than it normally would. The bandages were far from perfectly applied, and it hurt to put them on, but they eventually managed to use everything Zaroth had provided.

“That should do it,” Rathorn said. “Now we drink.”

Arra handed him a potion, and the three of them opened the lids on the bottles.

“Well,” Garassk said, raising his glass. “Cheers.”

His companions raised their glasses and echoed his sentiment, and all three of them drank. The potion tasted like honey on Garassk’s tongue. He felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, most prominently around the aches and bruises that Zaroth had given him.

“Oh… wow,” Arra said, as if she’d been shocked. “That’s… really strange!”

“Yes. They’re like that,” Rathorn grunted. “I suggest that we save the rest of them for the road. Once the buzz from this one dies down, we should get going.”

“Yes, but first, let’s find where Zaroth kept his treasure,” Garassk said.

“What?” Rathorn barked.

“He’s dead now,” Garassk explained. “It’s not like he’s using it. Or deserved it. Only fair that we take some for the road. Only as much as we can carry. Perhaps Arra can find use for the rest. The gods know that this land needs it.”

Neither of his companions could argue his logic. They combed through every room of the castle, swiping gold coins and various jewels. They took as much as they could keep on their persons and still walk with. Which was probably enough to buy a small kingdom somewhere, assuming any of them felt bold enough to try for such an endeavor.

“Done?” Rathorn asked.

“Now we can go,” Garassk said.

The three of them limped back toward where they’d first entered the castle. Despite their wounds slowing them down, the walk out seemed livelier than entering had been. Without Zaroth’s presence, the entire castle seemed to be waking up. Color poked through the layers of dust. It was obvious to Garassk that nobody else was in the castle, but somehow that made it feel more welcoming. He was almost sad to leave it. Almost.

The inside of the castle was nothing compared to the land on the outside. The ground was shiny from the fallen rain. Plants appeared to be in the process of blooming.

“Things really are looking up,” Garassk said out loud. He’d seen combat, and won battles, but it had never felt this good.

“Aye,” Rathorn said. “We really are leaving this place in a better spot than it was when we found it.”

Arra gasped.

“What?” Rathorn asked. “What is it?”

“The sun,” she sighed, pointing. Small lines of light started seeping through the cracks in the dark clouds until a bright night sky slowly became visible. All three of them shielded their eyes, and then took a moment to let them adjust to the light.

“Now that you mention it, it has been a few weeks since I last saw the sun,” Rathorn said.

“Weeks?” Arra cried. “How lucky you are! I’ve never seen it in my life.”

“What?” Rathorn squawked.

“I’ve told you before. It hasn’t risen in this land for centuries.”

“You’re right,” Garassk said. Despite everything he’d been through, hearing it out loud made it sound so unbelievable.

“Well, if that’s the case, everyone’s bound to know that something has happened here now,” Rathorn said.

“I’m sure you’ve heard stories about the sun, yes?” Garassk asked.

“I have,” Arra answered.

“Does it live up to your expectations?”

“Yes. It’s beautiful.”

Looking at it now, Garassk certainly couldn’t argue.

“Well you’re going to see a lot of similar things for the rest of your life,” Garassk said.

“I hope so,” Arra said. “This is magnificent.”

“It will get better once the people around here start working the land,” Rathorn said. “There will be food. Shelter. A proper society. But we won’t be here to see that. We have to get going.”

“I understand,” Arra said. “Good luck. And thank you for everything.”

Arra’s awe at a sunrise was a small thing, but it made leaving Zaroth’s lands feel a little more rewarding than entering it had been.