Chapter 19 #3
Luna walked barefoot through the cobblestone streets without apparent discomfort. She’d been barefoot for six days and hadn’t complained once. A couple of passers-by stared at her feet. She ignored them.
Garrett led them to an inn near the adventurer’s guild. Not the same one where Alsen had started before. A quieter place, with a courtyard and a well. He paid for rooms without consulting anyone, pulling coins from his own share.
“Let’s clean up,” Garrett said. “Rest. Eat something that didn’t come from a ration pack. We’ll meet in the common room tonight.”
They scattered.
Alsen’s room was small, plain, and had a bed. That was all that mattered. He dropped his pack, sat on the bed, and stared at the wall for a long time. Then he went to heat up the fire under the bath.
Luna only passed through the room, climbing on the rooftop through the window, as usual.
Actually, when he thought of it, she slept up in a tree or on a tall rock away from the group, even on the way back. He filed it away into his memory as her normal.
An hour later, scrubbed raw and wearing clean clothes for the first time in over a week, he sat in the common room with a plate of food in front of him. Finally, some real food. Roasted meat, bread with actual butter, a cup of ale that tasted like civilization.
Luna appeared from the stairs, also cleaned up, wearing a new set of clothes she’d packed. Her hair was loose, still damp. She’d acquired shoes from somewhere. New ones, leather, simple but functional.
Did she climb on the roof, set herself up, and then leave for shopping and baths?
Apparently. Or at least Alsen lacked a better explanation.
She sat across from him, ordered food, and they ate in comfortable silence. Theron joined them, then Marena, her eyes still red but her expression composed. Garrett came down last.
They ate together, the five of them, and the empty spot at the table was louder than any of them.
After the meal, Garrett cleared his throat.
“I want to say something,” he started, then paused. He ran his hand across his jaw, finding the words. “What you two did in that dungeon was beyond anything I’ve seen in my time of adventuring. It was an honor to fight alongside both of you. I mean that.”
Alsen nodded. Luna didn’t react, but she didn’t look away either.
“But we can’t keep doing this.” Garrett’s voice stayed warm, but his eyes were steady.
“The level of danger you two can and do walk into would get the rest of us killed. Not because you’re reckless, but simply because of the raw difference in power.
You two are too much for us, so we cannot continue as a group. ”
Theron nodded. Marena stared at the table.
Alsen frowned. On second thought, were he not to blast through the statues at the entrance, they would have never gotten in.
Luna got them through all the traps and physical barriers.
Alsen solved the puzzle to deeper levels, and so on.
From the start to the final boss, Alsen and Luna cleared the dungeon with barely any assistance.
Garrett and his group barely hung on, losing Sonja in the process. He only nodded.
“We’re going to take a few weeks off,” Garrett continued. “We will rest, recover, and figure out what comes next for us.”
Alsen felt the weight of the farewell settle over the table. He instinctively wanted to argue, but he knew Garrett was right. “Thank you,” Alsen said. “For trusting us and taking us along on this trip.”
Garrett shrugged. “You didn’t disappoint.”
Theron stood. He extended his hand across the table toward Alsen. Alsen took it. The handshake was firm, brief, and final. Then Theron turned to Luna and gave her the same handshake. She took it without hesitation.
Marena’s goodbye was longer. She hugged Alsen, which surprised him. She hugged Luna, which surprised Luna even more. “Take care of each other,” she whispered. Her eyes were wet again.
Garrett walked them to the door. He shook Alsen’s hand. “If you ever need a sword, you know where to find one.”
“I do.”
They returned to their room to pack. Once they did, they found themselves out in front of the inn. They could have stayed the night, but it felt wrong. Plus, it wasn’t like the city had any gate it could close for the night.
“So,” Luna said. “Got anything you want to do? My schedule’s kind of open.”
His too. “I need to hit the Oak Library to research a spell. The one I used to finish the architect off.”
“The one where you summon the balls to go with your lance.”
He snorted. He walked straight into it. “Yeah, that one.”
“Why are you researching a spell you already know? You should really figure out some shields.”
“My shield is in development.”
“I saved you from three mortal hits in the scorpion ambush. Develop it faster, because it doesn’t look like anyone’s coming with us to die in our place the next time around.”
Alsen rubbed his face with his palm. Luna had been awfully silent since Sonja’s death. He thought she was mourning. No. She was stopping herself from saying something inappropriate. “Point taken. I still need to go there… does the name Pellicle tell you anything?”
“Nope. Sounds like some mage bullshit.”