[Title earned: What is dead may never die. Your vital organs took a small rest. +2 to vitality.]

[Title gained: Poison Schmoison. You survived at least one direct, full injection from a Tier 2, {Deadly} poison. Your resistance to poison is increased considerably.]

Mason blinked awake and immediately tried to stand, no memory of where he was.

"Woah.” Rosa jerked beside him and put her hands on his chest. “You were just...I think you should…take it easy."

"How long have we been in here?” Mason failed to shake away a terrible headache. He remembered the beach, the battle, then the dream. “Where are the others?"

Rosa looked pale in the gloom of some cave. She was breathing hard and seemed shaken. "I don’t know. There was orcs coming and I brought you here so they wouldn't spot us."

Mason didn't remember any of that. He blinked and took a good look at the girl. She was covered in sweat and some of his blood. As he stared he remembered the poison and the antidote. She’d probably just saved his life. Sort of twice.

"You did good, Rosa.” He took her hands and smiled. “You were quick and clever and you saved us both."

Rosa looked close to breaking down in tears, but instead she smiled bravely. "One day I'll collect."

He touched her cheek, then felt a pang of nausea and fought it down. Not to mention an overall exhaustion and dull ache throughout his chest. And gut. And legs.

"We need to find the others. Make sure they’re safe."

Rosa looked…skeptical.

"You can’t go anywhere. I doubt you can fight like this."

Mason felt a stab of stubborn pride, but she was likely right. At least for a minute. Improved Regeneration and an increasingly ridiculous Vitality weren’t really subject to the normal rules. But still, he decided camouflage with his Nature’s Sleeves was wise. But he’d seen it worked better without clothes.

"Um...what are you..."

Rosa’s eyes went a bit wide as Mason stripped down entirely. Her inspection wasn’t remotely subtle, but he didn’t mind. And quite the opposite.

"Easier to hide,” he explained, then touched the wall and watched as his skin changed color. Rosa kept on staring.

"Oh."

"Stay here. I'll come back and get you if it's safe."

He walked out without another word, forcing his limbs to wake the hell up and start pumping blood. His chest hurt, but pain was nothing to him now. He moved as quietly as he could from tree to tree and looked for his enemy.

Orc tracks were everywhere along the riverbank, and many more in blood all around the snakes he'd killed. He looked far down the river and saw another group of orcs on foot. Looked like an advance party, maybe scouts. No more than ten, probably sent just to follow and watch.

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So, he decided, more are coming. This was more than revenge or just aggression. These things wanted to wipe out every human they could, and were willing to suffer losses and expose themselves however much was required. Why hardly mattered.

Would they bring enough to threaten Nassau?

First things were first. Those scouts had to die. And quickly. But he couldn't leave Rosa in the cave on her own, who knew if more orcs might wander by or if she’d get frightened and leave.

Could he carry her? Yes, probably. He was exhausted and ill but feeling stronger by the minute. Not for the first time he thanked robo-God for improved regeneration, not sure if he meant it sarcastically anymore.

He had to get Rosa.

"Oh thank God,” she said as he walked back into the cave. “Don't ever do that to me again, I..."

"We need to go. I’ll just carry you. We'll move through the trees and circle around some orcs, then get back to the others."

"Carry me?” Her eyes went over his naked body again. “Um, like that?"

Mason glanced at himself and shrugged. His body was getting so strong and hard, clothes just weren't worth the trouble. And he might need the camouflage again.

"I’d say we’re past worrying about that. Just....think of me as a two-legged horse."

Rosa grinned. And despite the rather extreme circumstances, and unfunny mortal danger, he started picturing her riding him in an entirely different situation. OK, maybe clothes had some use…

He cleared his throat and turned to kneel.

"All aboard."

He helped Rosa get into a comfortable position, and stood with ease. "Can you put this in your storage?" He handed her his bow, which instantly vanished. "Dejavu," he muttered quietly, and stepped from the cave. "OK. Hold on. Here we go."

* * *

Mason raced through the rocky terrain, using the sparse trees to hide him as best he could as he ran. His camouflage seemed to linger, so he touched them as he passed and tried to time it to the next. He couldn’t hide the 120 pounds of Mexican girl on his back, of course, so he mostly hoped no one was looking too carefully.

It didn’t take long to reach the scouts. The trees were getting thicker, at least, and it was a bit easier to hide. The orcs, it seemed, had already caught Carl and the others. They lingered behind them and watched, either choosing their moment to attack, or waiting on reinforcements.

Circling them wasn't as easy as Mason hoped without considerable effort. They were in a small valley now, and though the trees were getting thicker they still weren’t really thick enough, and he'd have to go around for a mile to stay hidden. He decided on option number two.

"I'm going to kill those orcs." Mason set Rosa on her feet. "You'll need to stay in the trees."

She looked at the small pack of greenskinned humanoids, then back at Mason with obvious concern.

"There's a lot of them."

"Not for long. Just wait here until it's over."

Rosa frowned. Then she leaned in and kissed him, which was maybe not a great idea since he was stark naked.

"For luck," she said, and Mason grinned, grabbing her ass and fighting the obvious signs of lust.

"I may need more luck than that."

She rolled her eyes but failed to fight the smile. "Go on then, and don't get poisoned again."

"Do you see any snakes?"

"They might put it on their weapons."

Mason stopped smiling at that. They might very well. This particular venom was apparently extremely potent, but at least he’d gained some resistance. And a bit of the stuff from a weapon would be far different than a full injection from a couple bites. Right?

Just don't get hit, he thought wryly, then gave Rosa a little push towards the trees before turning to his task.

He glanced at his mana bar and practically gaped that it seemed almost filled. He used to have a lot less mana, and still it took hours to fill from empty. He hadn't been unconscious that long.

Apparently Gaia's Avatar had not only increased his pool considerably, it also helped regenerate it. He noticed a small green aura around the sphere and wondered if that had something to do with being in a natural environment as well.

Either way, it changed what was about to happen to these orcs.

Mason moved as close as he dared and inspected his foe from the trees. Exactly ten, just as he'd counted before. They carried a motley assortment of spears, bows, axes and vicious looking clubs, and looked strong. In fact they looked like weathered soldiers, alert and confident. Mason was starting to expect they weren't like the ordinary orcs who'd attacked Sanctuary, and wouldn't die so easy.

But he didn't have much choice. All he could hope was that his spell would get Carl and Streak's attention, and he might have some help shortly.