I split this chapter in half, I wanted to do a 2 parter, but it was getting longish so eh.

Leave a review if ur reading *heart*

"The Guide? Hah, not that twinky little bastard. Even I could snap the brat in half if I wanted to. There's nothing remotely special about him. Slightly above average in the cerebral cortex, but that's just about it. If you really want to do this, then he's not your issue."

The Nurse yawned, plucked her mug of hot tea from the table and took a sip of it - relishing the comforting scent and the feeling of caffeine running through her system. Across from her sat the kindly old man who had attempted to 'escape' this place upon her arrival yesterday afternoon. Evidently he had failed, and looked downcast as he watched the tea-leaves swirl in his drink. He had returned about an hour ago, ragged and exhausted, and The Nurse had no doubt he'd spent all of last night skirting the undead and probing the borders of this mysterious "confinement".

Hm… Old fart's not senile, is he?

Now, the two of them were lounging in the outdoor pavilion, enjoying the coolness of the morning and having breakfast - which somebody had left hot on the griddle. There was a small fire crackling in the outdoor fireplace that warmed whoever drew near. Birds flitted about the trees as they chirped their morning songs. A family of rabbits wandered in by the open front gate and began nibbling on the grass a couple of paces away.

Hmmmm…I bet this is what retirement feels like.

Just being in this peaceful forest soothed her ravaged nerves. After ten years of hectic work at The Capital Hospital, then three days of non-stop travel, this was the respite she so dearly needed. She adjusted herself against the smooth wooden chair and took another long sip of her drink. If not for the crazy old man spouting nonsense at her, things would be perfect.

"You mean The Monster Knight? True. He seems to be the brawn in their little partnership, but I'm convinced The Guide is the one who planned this nefarious snare. I do admit that taking out the Monster Knight would be beneficial, but-... (etc)"

Ugh…

The Merchant was sitting across from her, ruining her peaceful morning with nonsensical ramblings. He was trying to rope her into some harebrained scheme to flee from this little paradise by forcing The Guide to release some spell he had supposably cast on them…. What a fucking loon. The entire thing sounded like a tremendous conspiracy theory, and The no-nonsense only Nurse tolerated it because she had no cash on hand and The Merchant provided tea leaves so long as she participated in his little charade. She had a rather severe caffeine dependency to feed, and would kiss anyone's ass to obtain her drug of choice.

As such, here she was, spending her morning lounging in luxury and listening to The Old Merchant blabber on and on about how their benefactors were dreadfully evil. She listened to The Merchant with a bored expression as he gravely lectured her.

"It doesn't matter whether it was The Guide or The Monster Knight that cast the spell on this place, we still need to contend with The Guide. The Monster Knight is nothing but a henchman. Perhaps he's even being controlled directly by some spell- (etc...)"

The Nurse did her best to tune him out and not roll her eyes. The theories got worse the longer she listened. That Guide was apparently some ancient wicked sorcerer who had cast a spell on this place to trap innocent travellers? Are you fucking kidding me? Hell, if The Merchant wasn't old, frail, and the keeper of the caffeine, she would've boxed his ears.

Riiight...Fucking rich. Little brat blushed red as a tomato everytime he caught himself staring at my tits. Now you're trying to convince me he's the Ruler of The Underworld himself? Hah!

The Merchant had also applied similarly wild theories to The Slayer, whom he called 'The Monster Knight'. Unfortunately, many of the things he said were … actually reasonable. The Nurse had done a tremendous amount of major surgery on him last night, and for the entire duration of the procedure, it took every ounce of willpower to keep a professional demeanor.

That kid… what the fuck is he...

The Slayer had come in with about three holes driven straight through him. Some dragon must have tossed him around like a chew toy before he escaped, and franky - The Nurse had no idea how he was still alive.

Must be some really fucking powerful spell… holy moly I've never seen anything like it.

It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with healing magic. She had treated people with accelerated recovery before. Many warriors carried healing charms with them, had ingested Regeneration Potion or had a mage cast a spell to boost their recovery time. As much as The Nurse hated to admit, those 'non-scientific' methods did prove effective. Patients could slash their recovery by half if they could pay for such services...

But watching somebody's organs actively writhing about, fighting to arrange themselves back into their original places, was an entirely different experience. Frankly, the moment she opened him up - she thought she was looking into a pit of slow moving snakes. She faked bravado when she went in to help the guts detangle themselves. She had watched a ruptured spleen un-rupture itself. She stitched up some holes in the piping. Fixed a pierced lung, dumped in a bottle of healing potion, sealed him up… and done. The Slayer was as good as new.

Fucking ridiculous.

So perhaps 'Monster Knight' was an appropriate title - but The Nurse was boldly convinced he wouldn't lay a finger on her. Last night, even through what must have been an immensely painful procedure, The Slayer had hardly shifted his face from that stupid, dead-eyed expression… yet when she had mentioned brain surgery, she saw pure terror in his eyes before he shoved her away and fled as fast as his feet would carry him.

"Nurse?"

And so that evening as she slipped between her sheets for the best sleep of her life, The Nurse had rather naively concluded she was now firmly established in this little community. This place was exactly what she needed, somewhere she could lay low for at least a couple of months whilst the King's men searched for her. The compound was comfortable and boasted all the basic amenities (save coffee) and was an opportunity for her to express her creative mind… in the practice of experimental procedures of course. Her hippocratic oath didn't apply to non-human entities, so The Slayer was fair game for whatever she wanted to try on him. She had already edged into the unorthodox during last night's procedure and was eager to expand her horizons.

I always wanted to know what happens if you injec-

"Nurse?!"

"N-uh? What?!"

She snapped back to attention to see the old man frowning at her. He must have realized she wasn't listening to his conspiracy theories, and looked betrayed. After a moment, he shook his head gravely and stood to his feet. His voice was disappointed and held just enough flint to indicate he was planning something dangerous.

"Well, Nurse. It seems you're not particularly interested in escaping this place."

The Nurse took another sip of her tea and shrugged.

"Damn Right."

"You had mentioned treating the Monster Knight's wounds last night. Strange that they're so quick to consider you an ally. Are you sure you haven't met them before? Perhaps you're an accomplice?"

The Nurse froze as the air grew stiff. Was… was that a threat? Was this fucking geezer threatening her? Her temper flared. She narrowed her eyes at The Merchant and snarled at him - jabbing a chipped nail in his direction to punctuate her words.

"I'm a nurse, Old Man. I have no idea what bullshit you're spouting, but I treat the injured that are brought to me. That's the long and short of it. I don't give a shit about your crazy theories, but leave me out of it. Go fucking fistfight The Guide or something - I don't give a shit! Just don't give me this sass when I'm patching you up, fucker!"

She stood to her feet and quickly downed the rest of her tea before casting a final glare at The Merchant. The Old Man watched her silently as she clacked back to her townhouse, plans brewing behind those old, kindly eyes.

"Hahaha!"

*Hahaha!*

He grinned and planted his hands on his hips as he gazed down at the smoldering ruins of the prison's stronghold. He was supposed to die there. That's what everyone told him. He would grow old and die without ever tasting freedom again... but look at him now! Standing atop the great blue mountain, satchel loaded with stolen firearms. He was a free man, and well armed. Who would've ever thought he'd traffick weapons again?! Certainly not him.

"I'm free!"

*I'm free!*

His voice echoed back to him from the valley beneath. He laughed joyfully then turned his back and began his trek along the disused mountain path. Oh, how wonderful! How gorgeous! The bright morning sun! The fresh mountain breeze! The Junipers were heavy with sweet indigo berries. Their needles were the greenest thing he'd seen in years. Their roots were stubbornly embedded in the stone, tenaciously drawing life from the merciless crag. The Arms Dealer felt a kinship with the plants. He too was tenacious.

He swung his arms like a little child. He grinned at nothing, marveling at the clouds which slowly traversed the sky. Marveling at the feeling of lightness in his limbs, the heavy ball and chain having been removed from about his ankles. He was a free man...a fugitive, yes, but free regardless. He was going to travel. Not run, travel.

And he was heading South.

Nurse is totally a caffeine creature. She judges the men she likes by how nice their veins look. U know the arms dealer has got some gorgeous veins lol:0 (all my nurse friends get so happy when they see nice veins, cuz easy to inject lmao. they be cray)

So we got factions now. Time to add new chars.

drop me a note if ur reading. Talk to me I'm lonely