Chapter 7

With the momentum from the day lost due to the unexpected battle the party settled in to get ready for the night. While the still shaky Cony Farr went to his bedroll to lay down Pherein and Theme Winchell ensured the door the ghasts had come out of was secured again from any other intrusion. They then braced it with a stout beam to ensure nothing could push through. That done, the pair of fighters dragged the bodies of the monsters out and a distance away from the camp then burned them. That done, they could then relax.

As the sun began to drop below the horizon and night prepared to fall Pherein finally was able to get some food. He moved away from the rest, wanting to be alone with his thoughts before his time on watch. The Delorgan sat down and stretched his tired muscles. The adrenaline of the fight had bled off and now fatigue from battle and the effects of the ghast's poison began to take hold. Still, he was glad to be alive as things could have went far worse. He gave thanks to his god Latrell for protection then dug into his meal. He'd noticed a certain degree of tension among the three academics but that wasn't surprising considering what they'd gone through but allowed the thought to drift as he sat alone with his thoughts.

"Excuse me."

Pherein was surprised to see Lauren, the more outspoken of the professor's assistants, standing beside him with her plate of food.

"May I join you?" the dark-haired girl asked meekly, nervously pushing her oversized glasses up to the bridge of her slender nose.

"Uhmm, sure," Pherein answered, a bit confused. He motioned for her to sit down.

"Thank you…I wanted to thank you…for saving my life."

Pherein nodded. "You're welcome."

The young woman looked at him, hoping he'd say more, but the stoic fighter took another bite of food and looked off in the distance. She seemed to want to say something but couldn't figure out what. She ate some bread but was still in an agitated state.

"I have never been more afraid in my whole life," Lauren finally declared with a sigh. "When Travis pushed me in front of himself, I thought that thing was going to kill me," she shuddered.

"Well, it was a scary time, to be sure, but we came out of it."

"You saved my life," Lauren said again, this time barely in a whisper and looking down.

"That's what I'm here for."

"But you got hurt in the process," she protested, emotion beginning to creep into her voice.

"Not badly," the Delorgan said and watched the woman for a moment, her eyes becoming glassy.

Lauren took a moment to compose herself, wiping her one eye. "But you didn't have to risk yourself to help me. You don't know me. Why put yourself at harm? I am no one to you."

"That's not true, miss," Pherein answered evenly. Looking carefully at the woman as if trying to understand what was going on in this conversation.

"Please, call me Lauren," she implored. "I've treated you badly, was even disrespectful. Why would you put yourself at risk for me?"

"You do matter. You are under my protection." He could see the statement had an impact. Pherein had intended to say no more on the matter but looking deep into the woman's expressive hazel eyes he saw something so decided to take a risk. "And I do not believe you are no one. You have the spark of life in you and are unique. That makes you special."

A big white, toothy smile erupted as the young woman's face lit up in a joyful smile. She spontaneously reached out and put her hand on his thick forearm. Realizing what she was doing she sheepishly pulled it back.

"My friends call me Gigi," by the way," the young woman declared, avoiding the warrior's gaze.

Pherein looked at her more closely. He figured she was Latrellan so would be of above average height though she was slender. While the woman wore brown glasses, her dark hazel eyes had a light to them that shone when she smiled. Her smile though was something the man hadn't noticed before over the previous days but then it had likely not been directed towards him. It was warm and engaging yet had a certain degree of mystery, like there was more to the woman than met the eye. He looked at the woman more closely and realized she had a dark beauty he hadn't realized. She was stunning in fact. The Delorgan felt himself drawn towards her which concerned him after his recent sour experience with Lily.

Despite the man's inner turmoil, seeing the fighter wasn't taking the bait of being drawn into a conversation Lauren suddenly became reserved and asked. "You're going in there again tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Aye, that we'll be doing. But you will be staying out here with the lad and with a guard."

The woman looked at him with deep intensity that was reflected in expressive, dark eyes. "Take care in there, please," she implored.

"I will," Pherein stated, touched by the sincerity of the declaration from one who was now less haughty. He added, "Thank you for your concern. It's well met."

That seemed to satisfy the woman who smiled again. "Good. Well, I will leave you to your thoughts. I wanted to thank you for saving me today, I did not want to disturb."

"It was no bother and thank you for saying so. Few usually do," the fighter confessed feeling a smile grow on his own face.

That seemed to please the woman. Though it appeared as if she wanted to stay and spend more time with him, she wisely withdrew to give the man his space.

Pherein watched Lauren return to the professor and Travis. Horsewood smiled broadly and said something he couldn't hear but the male student assistant was rebuffed again when he tried to speak with her. It appeared there'd been a shift in the dynamic. The warrior had something else to consider.

Darkness fell and the camp settled in for the night, all had an anticipation of what the new day held though each to a differing degree.

Lauren lay awake in her bedroll as sleep escaped her. Images of what had happened that day haunted the student who prided herself on a confident veneer. The picture of the ghast hungrily coming towards her caused the thoughtful woman to shudder though the night was warm and she lay beside the fire. She looked up into the cloudy night and could see nothing. In many ways this reflected her life the last few years quite well.

How did I get here? She thought to herself for probably the fiftieth time this night.

The air was thick and foreign, unsettling the still shaken woman. Travis slept only a few feet away, snoring slightly but he may as well have been one hundred leagues away.

What did I see in this boy?

Then she thought of him.

Her breathing became involuntarily shallow and heart beat faster as she thought of Pherein MacDiarmidson. She knew he was out there, protecting them all in the inky darkness from whatever lurked outside the ring of his protection. She felt no fear for she knew in her heart no harm would come. She smiled to herself feeling strangely content despite the terror of the day and threat of what lay in store the next.

Lauren Ivanov came from a good family. Her father thought it was better than it was but that was his problem, not hers. She came from the capital of Latrellus, Remus City, but had chosen to attend university in the south-western city of Grantsbend. Why she was interested in archeology she didn't quite know. Her father certainly didn't approve. He'd wanted her to take business so he could expand his trade empire. She had nothing against economics it was just not something that made her heart sing. As the sensitive woman neared completion of her finishing school the prospects of serving her father's growing textile empire loomed heavy since she had no alternative.

Then she'd taken a tour of the Mausoleum of Heroes, the jewel of the capital.

Her life changed that day as she discovered the thrill of the past in the museum chronicling the heritage of her land and what could be learned from it. She dove deep into the history of Latrellus and began to study the ancient stories of the land's formation and heroic past. Names such as Latrell Eyebane, the heroic General Remus who her city was named after, the Golden Sisters and Radovic I, forefather of their current king, became common to her and her thirst to learn more and apply it to today took hold.

The university of Remus City had a fine program but it wasn't for her. She told her parents this and her father had not only forbid her from going but called her crazy and a disappointment. That was enough for the proud, stubborn woman who loathed being told what to do. So, she applied to Grantsbend University and began her study under the famed Professor Henrich Horsewood studying history and archelogy.

Lauren had done well, mastering her matriculation classes and moved up to master student and now at age 22 she found herself poised to move into the teaching ranks at the university.

Yet something was missing.

The more she studied the tales of the heroes and adventurers of the past the more she knew she wanted to experience something like that- to live the adventure, to write the story of her life and destiny, rather than read about someone else's. The problem was she didn't know how. The few friends she shared this dream with laughed at her, proclaiming she was 'not the adventuring type'. True, standing 5'8" and weighting under 120lbs she was slender and above average height for a Latrellan. She appeared frail but in fact she was not weak. She had a fiery determination that matched he big dreams. So when Professor Horsewood had suggested she accompany him on an expedition to the dangerous but exotic Dead Lands she jumped at the chance.

Her fellow student Travis Dannerman had thought she was coming to be closer to him but in truth that was, in her mind anyways, a secondary addition but she allowed him to believe that to not damage his ego. He had talked about the desire for adventure and had told many tales of his exploits which had drawn her to him. Yet when he'd shoved her in the path of the hungry monster bent on destroying them his true character was shown. He was all talk but was unable to back it up.

Unlike Pherein MacDiarmidson.

Lauren still smarted from the look he'd given her after the bandits had been discovered the previous day but there had been no word or even hint of rebuke. And then this day he'd stepped in the way to save her life without a second thought, getting wounded in the process yet brushing it off as nothing despite the disrespect she'd shown him thus far on their trip.

There was something different and intriguing about the big Delorgan warrior, and perhaps, if she dared admit it, something attractive about him.