Chapter 6 #3
“Let’s see what we’ve got here,” the priestess says.
We don’t need to lift the cloth; the priestess’s programming tells her exactly what the problem is. She waves her hands over the wound, and a pale yellow light spreads over Joshua’s chest.
In an instant, Joshua’s facial features, which had been twisted together in agony, relax, and he says in a dreamy voice, “All better.”
I take the makeshift bandage off, revealing a chest that doesn’t appear to have ever suffered a wound. This is the magic common in video games, but it still stuns me that I can’t even see a trace of a scar.
Cait slowly sets him down until his feet solidly plant on the ground. Then she slaps him across the face.
Joshua winces and rubs at the red spot on his cheek. “What was that for?!”
“You idiot!” Cait yells. “What were you thinking running in like that? You even did that whole Leroy Jenkins schtick again. Did you forget you can actually die here?”
I gasp.
We can die?
“We don’t know that for sure,” Tara interjects. “People don’t respawn. They could be alive outside of the game.”
Cait growls at Tara, who in turn lifts her hands in surrender.
“Come on,” Joshua says. “That quest is so easy for players our level that I thought I’d have a little fun with it.”
“Battles aren’t for fun!” Cait shouts in exasperation.
“Well…” Guy says with a shrug. “We’re all here because a game like this is how we had fun. I mean I get to do magic during our battles. That never gets old.”
Cait crosses her arms, turning her glare toward Guy. “Yeah, it was a good time then. Back when we could just go back to our last save when we died.”
Sylvia nods. “Or pause a battle to drink a healing potion when we got injured.”
“Ehhh…” Tara says with a non-committal shrug. “I mean something like this could have been how Joshua found out what his offering should be.”
“Whatever,” Cait says rolling her eyes.
I raise my hand like I’m in school and wait for the group’s attention before saying, “We can die here? Like really die?”
There’s a mixed reaction from the group. Cait’s face darkens with pain, Joshua and Guy look down at their feet, Tara nods solemnly, and Sylvia looks at me with the most compassionate expression I’ve seen since a doctor told me about Mom’s strokes.
Sylvia pats my upper arm. “I keep forgetting you’re brand-new. You haven’t seen the things we have.”
“It’s why we’re so happy to find a healer,” Tara adds.
“And I rushed us into a battle when I wasn’t prepared.” I shake my head, disgusted with myself. “I should have gotten a robe and a staff and learned at least one more spell before we went there.”
“It’s not your fault,” Sylvia responds. “Joshua was right that this quest is easy for us now. You should’ve been able to grab the locket and leave while we handled the harpy on our own. Joshua made his choice, knowing that you only knew Healing of Minor Wounds.”
Guy nods along to Sylvia’s statement and adds, “Besides, you were able to use your head and help Joshua even without having higher-level spells. That’s pretty impressive.”
I want to believe what they’re saying, but it’s a struggle. I feel so useless. This is part of why I don’t like playing a healer class. I can’t really do much to battle the bad guys.
However, as I remember the way the harpy had lain on the ground lifeless, I’m not sure if I could have killed someone even if I was a class that specialized in offense.
I know it was either going to be my life or the harpy’s, but the creature had a human face, one that reminded me of Mom.
I can’t help but wonder if she really was a monster or just a grieving woman that wanted people to leave the ruins of her home alone.
Sylvia puts a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get you a bath, some food, and a long rest. You need time to process everything that happened today.”
I don’t want to process anything, but I know Sylvia’s right. I give her a slow nod and let the group lead me to their camp on the outskirts of the village.
It’s a lot grander than I expected. Perhaps because they’ve been in this world so long, they have a large tent that reminds me a little of the kind you see with traveling circuses.
In front of it is a fire pit. Tara collects firewood, which Cait chops up and tosses into the pit.
Guy uses a small flame in his palm to light it.
Joshua plays his fiddle to lift everyone’s spirits, while Sylvia cooks up a pot of stew over the fire.
The smell of it is the only thing that keeps me awake as I soak in the bath that Sylvia drew for me.
Afterward, we all sit around the fire and eat.
The group chats away. I don’t know about what, and I don’t really care, as I chew my food in silence, thinking about the dead harpy and the wound I couldn’t heal.
Despite this cycle of disturbing thoughts, I fall asleep within a minute of resting my head on the straw-filled pillow Sylvia gave me.
However, before I drift off, I hear the disembodied say, “Cleric of Aphrodite: Level 2. Spell gained: Healing of Major Wounds.”