I thought about cutting the dragon's body up into pieces so that it would be easier to carry, then I remembered what the guard had said about the bag of holding he gave me, that it would open big enough to accept whatever I wanted to put in it. I looked at the one foot wide bag and at the much larger dragon, then I looked at Maylia.

“You can try it.” Maylia said. “Although, a fraction of this thing's weight is going to be a lot for you to carry after a fight like that.”

I nodded and stood up one of the nearby barrels, then sat down on it to rest. I created a small Presence Hand and tried to absorb it, and felt pain in my head. I dismissed the hand and let the energy dissipate like I had with the protective barrier. I hadn't even tried to absorb it.

“I'm still hurt.” I said and sighed.

“Magical attacks can do that.” Maylia grabbed her own barrel and stood it in front of mine and sat down to face me. “I think it used a skill called 'Rend' to tear through other magically created things.”

“That's what it felt like.” I said and rubbed the side of my head. “Like it was tearing at me and not the Mana Presence Hands I was trying to hold it with.”

Maylia nodded. “You could be fine in a few minutes or it could take days for you to recover.”

I closed my eyes and looked at my Presence and mana reserves. They weren't refilling as quickly as they had the last few days. What had taken me two hours to fully recover looked like it was going to take about three times that. “Even my energy recovery is slower.”

“I'm surprised you're still conscious.” Maylia said and I opened my eyes to look at her with raised eyebrows. “I've seen people collapse when their magic either backfires or gets broken somehow.”

“Their minds couldn't handle the strain?” I asked.

“Or their physical body couldn't take the mental backlash.”

“Oh, it definitely hurt.” I said and twisted my back from side to side. “I've felt much worse, though.”

“Since we have some time, why don't you tell me about some of it while I look through all these supplies and see what I can scavenge.” Maylia said and stood up.

“We get to keep any treasures we find.” I said, and then smiled. “Gold. Jewels. Fair maidens.”

Maylia held a finger out and poked my chest as she said each word. “You. Have. Enough. Fair. Maidens.”

“All right.” I chuckled. “I'll sit here and be good. Go have fun rooting.”

Maylia moved over to the dragon's nest and started checking what she thought would be the most valuable things the creature would have kept close to itself, and I started to tell her of my months of captivity in my first life. Even though we were in a similar looking cave, I wasn't suffering flashbacks or even breathing heavy as I recounted everything. You would think that after a while you would forget things like that; but, you don't. For some reason, it's always the bad things that stick in your mind and you can remember them vividly, while you have to try to remember any of the good times you had.

I felt that I didn't need to recover all of my mana and Presence, since we needed to get back to the town before dark. I was a little skeptical about the bag of holding at first, then I levitated the dragon's body up just enough to put the edge of the bag underneath the head. Sure enough, the opening spread out to nearly twenty feet across and the carcass slipped right inside. I dropped the bag because of the weight, and I was sure there was no way I would be able to tie it back to my belt.

“We should take a lot of these supplies as well.” Maylia said. “Even after four hours, I've barely gone through a third of the things here.” She looked around. “I'm tempted to take all of the things that are intact; but, you only have...”

“I have a second bag.” I said and took out the one with the wrapped black tome in it. I put it inside a broken barrel, so I wouldn't lose it when I put it back in my bag.

“You can't lift one bag!” Maylia exclaimed. “How in the world are you going to carry two of them?”

“I'm not.” I said. “You can take this one.” I handed her the now empty bag and she caught her breath.

“Hunter, you can't... these things are valuable... and if I take it, then the things I put inside...”

“It'll take days to sort all of this stuff out, so don't worry about that right now.” I said and put the broken barrel with the wrapped black tome into my own bag. “Start filling it up.”

“Hunter...”

“Time's a wastin'.” I said with a crooked smile. “By the time you pack everything up, I should have recovered almost completely.”

“You're still hurt.” Maylia said.

“Yeah, and I probably will be for a while.” I said and twisted my back from side to side again, as if that helped at all. “Now hurry up. We don't have all day... well, we do... you know what I mean.”

Maylia smiled and took the bag, then started to load up everything she could. Unlike me, she organized while she did it and didn't just dump everything into the bag. She sorted and grouped similar things together as she added them to the bag. After an hour, all that was left in the cave were the smashed, burned, and ruined things.

“Good job.” I said and she nodded without blushing at the compliment. I made a solid Presence holder around my waist and levitated the bag of holding up from the ground to rest it on my back like a backpack and covered it up. I didn't use mana, since I still couldn't make it solid like I could with Presence, and hoped that whatever rules this world had about including mana in everything, could keep being skipped once and a while.

“Can you handle it?” Maylia asked, concern in her voice.

“A few hundred pounds is nothing.” I said and took several breaths.

“What if you took off your armor?” Maylia asked. “Wouldn't that make things easier?”

“Son of a...” I stopped myself from cursing and hit the button under my right armpit to turn on the armor. It's weight disappeared, and since I had Presence directly on the electrical field the armor created, it took me no effort to include it in the flow of energy and the weight of the bag of holding disappeared.

“I can be so stupid sometimes.” I said and turned to Maylia with a smile. “Thank you for pointing out my shortcomings.”

“You are a strange man to thank me for that.” Maylia said and returned my smile.

“Yeah.” I said and held a hand out to her. “How's the weight of your bag?”

“It's magic lets me lift an unimaginable amount of items.” Maylia said and took my hand. “I might be struggling with it by the time we reach the town.”

“No, I don't think so.” I said and made a similar holder for her bag to keep the weight more manageable, then I led her out of the cave and up the tunnel. Since we walked on the ground, our footsteps echoed twice, three times, then again. By the time we reached the mouth of the tunnel, it sounded like there was a dozen of us. I took Maylia into my arms and she looked into my eyes. I gave her a kiss and she closed her eyes while I levitated us down the twenty feet of the cliff face and we landed softly on the ground. I broke the kiss and she stared at me for a moment more before she nodded.

We walked down the path to get back to where the scuffle was and I took out the map scroll and went to get the half body we had found earlier. I wrapped it in a cheap sheet and put it in my bag, then we took our time and carefully made our way down the mountainside as we retraced our steps to get back to the safer part. Once there, we activated Mana Presence Run and took off at our best speed. Both my mana and my Presence drained faster, probably because I was still hurt magically, and we couldn't waste any time getting back to the valley town.

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Just as night fell, we reached the edge of town and slowed to a normal run. I was exhausted and breathed heavily, since both my mana and Presence were really low, and Maylia led me to the only place we had visited. The sheet covered bodies were still in the lot outside and all of the healers inside gasped when we stepped through the door.

“Do you have a healer that can tend to magic wounds?” Maylia asked right away.

“No, you'll need to go to the capital for that.” Gia said as she rushed over to us. “What happened?”

Maylia started to give them a description of the fight and I fought to keep my eyes open.

“I'm... tired.” I interrupted and stumbled. Maylia and Gia steadied me.

“Over here!” A healer said and pointed to a cot she had just set up. They took me over to it and I waved to have them move it out of the way. I dropped to my knees and managed to get my bedroll out and put it on the floor. I used a mental technique to enter a meditative state, hit the button to turn off my powered armor, then let the excessive weight of the bag of holding and my unpowered armor drag me to the floor and I promptly fell asleep.

*

“He just... there's a dent in the floor!” The healer with the folding cot said.

“He's carrying the garglemacer in his bag of holding.” Maylia said and took out her own bedroll and laid it beside Hunter.

“He's WHAT?!?” Gia yelled.

“I'll finish telling you what happened.” Maylia said, and everyone quieted as she told them everything that happened after they had entered the cave. Most of the patients had sat up and even moved to other people's beds to try and get closer as she talked. She said everything frankly and without exaggeration, and they were all spellbound by the tale. When she finished with Hunter cutting it's lungs to stop it from breathing fire, everyone was stunned.

“You weren't even afraid, were you?” One of the patients asked.

“I was beside Hunter. I had no need to be afraid.” Maylia said and yawned.

“You should lay down and get some sleep, too.” Gia said. “I'll make sure you're not disturbed.”

“We all need to get some sleep.” One of the healers said as Maylia laid down. “Come on, everyone. Get back to your own beds.”

The patients all hobbled back to their beds with a few needing help from the healers, since they needed more rest to recover their own strength, then the healers went around and turned down the oil lamps.

“I knew he would be back by tonight.” Gia whispered as she looked down at Hunter.

“He said he would.” Maylia turned onto her side and yawned again. “Thank god he... always keeps his word.” She closed her eyes and used a mental technique to enter a meditative state herself, then fell asleep almost immediately. She was almost as tired as Hunter was and her mana was low after that run.

Gia nodded. “Yes, thank god.” She whispered and carried a chair over to set it by the wall next to them and sat down. “Thank god he came here.”

It was quiet for several minutes and the other healers went to the back room to their own cots.

“I can't believe it.” One of the patients whispered. “We're actually getting a tooth.”

“Shh! We'll get in trouble.” The man next to him whispered back. “Do you want them to give us a rough sponge bath tomorrow?”

The man shook his head and rolled over and he didn't see Gia as she smiled.

*

“I'm telling you Imiryl, we need to get away from these people.” Allirynn whispered during yet another time where they were left completely alone.

“They... are... healing... us.” Imiryl's voice rasped.

“Only a little bit each day.” Allirynn said and tried to hide the disgust in his voice. “I would have tried to leave already if they didn't have all of our things.”

“Taking... us... to... capital.”

“Only because they are going there anyway.” Allirynn said. “They are barely giving us and our welfare a second of thought.”

“Can't... argue.” Imiryl said and smiled. Allirynn took her hand and held it tenderly, and they both completely ignored the lamia that sat across from them in the carriage.

Siada had gotten used to the cold treatment from them, mainly because she knew that she deserved it. She thought her current predicament with lack of speech had been the best thing to have happened to her, since she knew that they didn't want to hear her try to explain away why she had betrayed them and their trust. She didn't think she could properly explain it, anyway.

It didn't take long for the emissaries to return to the carriage and this time only Josh and Evangeline were unconscious.

“We're getting better at this.” Jessica said happily as they opened the door to the carriage and carefully put Josh and Evangeline inside. “It only takes two people to invoke the embodiment of the Goddess Chaiya now.”

“It's too bad we can't figure out how to stop them from staying that way for six hours.” Steven said and climbed into the carriage. “Hey, there.” He said to Siada, who perked up and let him sit before she slithered onto his lap and left more room for everyone.

“I don't like you doing that.” Kara said as she climbed into the carriage and sat down.

“Hey, I'm not hurting her and it frees up so much room.” Steven said, fully prepared for the argument.

“I meant giving her preferential treatment.” Kara said. “You don't see me trying to do that to Allirynn or Imiryl.”

“Maybe you should ask them if they want you to?” Steven asked and looked at the two people in question. Their angry faces gave him his answer. “Ah... never mind.”

“Let's head to the next place.” Jessica said and closed the door of the carriage. “If we're lucky, we won't have to wait long for Josh to wake up.”

Yes, lucky. Allirynn thought and stopped himself from frowning or sighing out loud. Maybe he'll give us another small dose of help before he falls unconscious again.

“Isn't there a town nearby?” Aimee asked. “Maybe we should stop for the night.”

Everyone looked at Kara, who looked out at the darkening sky. She nodded, and Jessica and Aimee mounted their horses with huge smiles and led the carriage to the town. It was also going to be near the next spot where they had fought some monsters, and they could tackle it after a good breakfast.

There were a few occasions where the monster encounters didn't have a corresponding crack to have sealed, and when they asked the Goddess for guidance, she informed them that some of the monsters were actually natives to the world they were on and didn't need to be cleansed like the others. That had been great news, because that meant their current job list was going to be that much easier to complete and they would get back to the capital city in only four more days and not the week they had thought.

*

“Uggghhh.” I moaned as I woke up with a splitting headache. I also couldn't see, because my Detect Presence technique had stopped. “I can't concentrate.”

“Just relax and lay still.” A woman's voice whispered. “It's still very early.”

I blinked my eyes and quickly checked to see that I was still dressed and that my mother's and father's Light swords were still attached to my belt.

“I said to relax, not to flail around.” The woman whispered, amusement clear in her voice. “I said I wouldn't let anyone disturb you.”

“I didn't hear that.” I whispered back and laid still.

“You were unconscious at the time.” The woman said. “Maylia is right beside you, too.”

I reached to the side and touched someone's foot, ankle, and then calf.

“The other way.”

“I'm sorry.” I whispered and let her go, then reached with my other hand in the other direction. My hand touched the thick leather of Maylia's pants and I let out a little sigh.

“You don't have to be sorry.” The woman said from close by and I felt a feather light touch on my cheek. I couldn't tell if it was her lips or her fingertips, though. I didn't react in any way, and I hoped that she understood what that meant. I closed my eyes and tried my best to push the pain in my head aside, that way I could use a mental technique to go to sleep and hopefully have less of a headache later. I managed to succeed for the most part. I took a deep breath, let it out, and repeated that several times, and let myself drift off to sleep without trying to meditate.

*

Maylia gasped when she woke up some time later. Hunter! She thought in urgency and immediately sat up, then felt small hands on her shoulders and turned her head to look at the healer.

“Shh.” Gia whispered. “He's right beside you.”

Maylia turned her head the other way to look beside herself and saw that Hunter was there and had his hand on her thigh. She relaxed, even though she couldn't feel it through the thick leather.

“He went back to sleep when he reassured himself that you were close by.” Gia whispered. “You should get some more sleep, too.”

Maylia nodded and let out a contented sigh as she laid back, put a hand on Hunter's, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep again and didn't need to use a mental technique to meditate, either. She hadn't even noticed that everyone else was awake and had been watching both her and Hunter.

*

“How much longer before he wakes up?” One of the patients at the other side of the room asked.

“As long as it takes.” The healer checking him said. “If someone like him says he's tired, he must have been completely exhausted.” She smiled. “You know what adventurers are like.”

The man nodded. “They hate to admit weakness, even among friends.”

“They are definitely a hardy bunch.” The man in the next bed said. “Me? I'm weak as a mouse and I need to stay in bed all week to recover.”

“We're kicking you out tomorrow, you lazy lout.” The healer said and the man chuckled.

“Ah, well.” He said and laid back with his arms folded behind his head. “I'm going to have to really enjoy my last relaxing sponge bath.”

“That reminds me. Where did I put that scrubbing brush?” The healer asked.

“You wouldn't!” The man exclaimed.

“You need to remember that this isn't a place where you can abuse the hospitality.”

“I remember, I remember.” The man said and nodded several times. “I'll even bring over one of my prize chickens.”

“Really?” The healer asked and rubbed her hands together to simulate the hard brush.

“All right.” The man said, defeated. “Half a dozen eggs, too.”

The healer stopped rubbing her hands together and pat the man's shoulder. “You're too generous.”

The man put a hand on hers and he looked up into her eyes. “You took care of me, even when there wasn't much hope I would live after being burned like that.” He said, and he put as much sincerity into his voice as he could. “I can't spare more. I would give you more if I could.”

The healer smiled and nodded, gave his hand a squeeze, and went to the next bed.