Chapter 10
I woke up not knowing where I was, or what had happened. Upon sitting up, I was greeted with a strange pain in my back. It was then that the memory of Flameking popped into my head when he slashed through my armor and into my skin. I let out a brief groan of pain, which was intended to let my companions know that I was awake.
"Ah! The little human lives!" cried a gruff voice that I knew to be Dwarf
"Yes, finally he has woken up." Came another voice; Seltris. With her statement arms were flung around my neck.
"Hey…" I whispered with nearly no strength in my body at all. "What happened?"
"Oh nothing really. You just tried to kill our little brother using a fire wave, that's all! Do you know what could have happened had we not shielded everything? I'm surprised that Flame could even leave through that attack! No doubt the people in Port Sarim are wondering what just happened." Dudester carried on "I mean, it pretty much killed Mage and not to mention everything around us! What were you thinking?"
I groaned with pain again. That's the thing; I don't know what I was thinking! How could I have pulled such an insane stunt? When I learn magic, I vow to never use it until I put an end to this Delrith threat. Even after I do I won't use it. I'll just go back to work on Dudester's farm. "I'm sorry Mage. I do thank you for protecting everything around us, and I don't plan on using that spell any more. I would be honored if you still taught me magic even though I abused the ability before"
"Of course I will still help you! I must. I think a good night's rest would be the best for the both of us." Mage replied weakly
"Ok." It was almost nighttime. The sun was going down over the water. Once more I groaned with pain making me realize that I wouldn't be able to sleep long with the wound on my back. "Where are we going to sleep?"
"Hmmm, I guess that we could set out some blankets and we could sleep out here. I'll set up a fire." Dudester replied
"Alright, but with this cut on my back I don't think that I'll be able to sleep on just a blanket. Or anything at all." I looked around at the surroundings. All there was around was Dwarf's house, a hammock, and a palm tree or two. The hammock! "Dwarf, can I use your hammock for the night?"
"Sure! Go ahead!" he replied in a hearty, but still filled with gruffness, tone.
"Dudester, may I borrow your knife?" I asked by sibling
"Sure. What for?" he asked while retrieving the knife from his bag
"Just a little something." When he protruded the knife from his bag I took it carefully.
As I got up pain shot through my back. I let out a small yell of pain, but still got up. I carried the knife toward the hammock, and when I got to it I cut a slit in it. The slit wouldn't break under my weight, but would be used as a place to put my back where the injury was. This way nothing would go into my wound and cause any further pain. Dudester ran over and helped my into the hammock so that I wouldn't keep falling out if I tried alone.
"I'm going to run back to Falidor and see if I can buy any bandages." Dudester said. He walked towards Mage where he conversed with him and something was exchanged. Dudester stepped back a bit and started to say something.
"You can teleport!?" I exclaimed
He stopped saying the spell "Ugh, yes I can! I didn't take magic lessons from Mage for nothing you know!"
"I want to come with you." Seltris said "Dwarf can stay here while I go with you Dudester. I'll help buy supplies for our trips. Please let me come with you!"
"Fine." He restarted the incantation. A ball of energy filled his hands; he thrust the spell towards Seltris. She soon disappeared in a small flash. When she was gone Dudester started a new incantation and through his arms in the air. He grew tiny, and then disappeared.
"Well, he's gone. Do ya need anything? Either of you?" Dwarf asked
"Could I get a blanket or two?" Mage asked
"Aye. Right away." Dwarf walked inside his small house. After about five minutes he cam back out with three folded blankets in his outstretched arms. He brought me one and laid it over my body. Next he brought Mage the other two. Mage wearily stood up allowing Dwarf to place one blanket where he was to lay. When Mage was back on the ground, Dwarf put the blanket over Mage's body. "Anything else?"
"I'm good. Thank you though." Mage said gratefully
"Could I get a small thing to eat?" I said "But if you don't have anything that's fine
"Well, I was saving this last piece of redberry pie for later, but I guess you need it more than I do. Wait there. Well then again where else would ya wait eh? Ho ho!" he walked back inside. I heard the scrape of a metal tin coming off of a table. He brought it back outside with a fork in the middle of it. "Here." He handed me the tin with pie in it. I carefully ate it over my blanket. When I finished I gave the empty tin back to the Incando dwarf who took it back inside and through it away. "Well, I'm gonna go back in and go to sleep. You just yell if ya need me. Night!" he said with a wide yawn.
I could hear the slight snoring of Mage as he slept soundly. For the next half an hour I lay there looking at the night's sky. I knew I was tired, but I couldn't sleep. Soon I heard the soft noise of two people whispering to each other. Well, at least now I know that Dudester and Seltris made it back ok. The soft crunching of sand beneath their feet told me that they were drawing closer and closer to where I lay in the hammock. They were moving fairly slowly which I guess meant that they had, in fact, bought supplies.
When finally the crunch of sand stopped, I knew that my two companions were most likely getting ready to lie down for the night.
"I'm going to stand watch. Now that Flameking knows where we are and that we can take out a whole troop of Delrith's warriors, he'll most likely try to send more while we sleep. If something happens in the night, I'll wake you up and we'll take out the threat together without having to wake up either Bex or Mage. They'll need their rest. You need sleep too Sel. I thank you for helping me get the supplies, but now you need sleep." Dudester said in his tough tone that used to make me shiver in fear.
"Ok. But if at all in the night you get tired, just wake me up and I'll take the watch for you." Seltris replied in a pleasant but tired manner
"What ever, thanks." Dudester replied sweetly.
Is he hitting on her?! I thought
"Right… can you scooch over the other way… you're getting kind of close…" Seltris said
Oh my god! He is hitting on her!
"Oh, sorry. I thought I saw a bug." He said in his cool voice
What the heck?! Stop it!
"Stop it!" I yelled out. Then I realized that I was dreaming. Seltris and Dudester had returned, but they were far apart. Dudester took one quick glance at me, then walked over to me
"What's wrong?" he said in a loving voice that I don't remember ever hearing
"Nothing, just a really strange dream." I replied
"Ok… night" he said ending the conversation. He walked back over to where he had been laying to keep watch.
Once again I sat there staring at the sky. The once pitch black night was now a pastel pinkish orange. I got up to find that my back hurt only a fraction of what it had when I had woken up the day before. I started walking around the sandy peninsula, thinking to myself. I needed to learn multiple skills in only a few days. Once more I found my thoughts cluttered with the imagination of a grand battle between me and Delrith, only to find myself killed, and the world turn to darkness.
"That won't happen." I told myself "That won't happen"