“No, clearly I’d forget about something like that.” I rolled my eyes.
Keras laughed. “Yeah, that was a good scrap. Been a while since I’ve had one of those. Anyway, after I frustrated him by not dying for a while, I talked him into a truce. Showed him I wasn’t involved in his brother disappearing and all that. He was still angry at me for helping Vera and Echion escape, so I agreed to do him a few favors. In exchange, he’d give me what I’d come to the tower for in the first place when I finished.”
He just called a fight with a visage a ‘good scrap’. I didn’t know if he was bragging or just some kind of foreign god. Possibly both. “What were you there for?”
“Wanted to meet your goddesss. We’ve got some business to discuss. I think Katashi is still going to make me climb the spires, but hopefully if I get this done he’ll at least write me a letter of introduction or something.”
“Spires? Plural?”
Keras nodded. “Pretty sure I need to climb all of them if I want to meet her. Seems a little excessive to me, but at least they’re good exercise. And I like the variety of monsters.”
I...didn’t even know what to say to that, so I changed the subject. “I heard that someone from Dalenos was trying to arrest you. Did you get that cleared up?”
The swordsman winced. “Yeah, Katashi called them off a few weeks ago. I believe they’ve informed the local government as well, but we’ll keep our heads down just in case.”
That would probably make dealing with my mother somewhat easier, but I decided I’d still try to keep them apart if possible. Assuming she was still on business in Dalenos that would probably be simple enough.
I did my best to smile. “Glad to hear you got that cleared up. So, when can we head out?”
“First thing in the morning. Your friends aren’t in any condition to move, and it’s a good five miles to the train station.”
I was not looking forward to that walk. Even now, my legs were barely functional. “Uh, right. You wouldn’t happen to have extra sleeping gear?”
“Oh, you cold? I’ve got a bedroll and a blanket you can use. No tent, sorry. I usually go without.”
I nodded, glancing at my unconscious companions.
Keras must have noticed my concern. “I wouldn’t worry about them. Your cloak should keep Sera very comfortable. As for the other guy? If he’s really a Hartigan, he’ll be fine.”
“You know House Hartigan?” I turned my head back to Keras in surprise. “Thought you were a foreigner.”
“Oh, I know House Hartigan quite well. Friend of mine learned quite a bit from Blake Hartigan, in fact. They’re pretty prominent where I come from, too.”
“Huh.” I’d always been under the impression that most of our noble houses had come across from the mainland in their entirety during some sort of cataclysmic event, but maybe that wasn’t accurate. “Fair enough. Well, good night, then?”
Keras gave me a smile that seemed very... genuine. Friendly, even. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll keep watch over the camp. You’re safe.”
Safe.
After the last day, I had a hard time believing that, but I decided to do my best to pretend.
***
I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up abruptly to the sound of clashing steel.
It took me a moment to orient myself. I found Derek and Keras staring each other down, blades crossed.
I stammered out words. “Woah, both of you, please calm down.”
Derek’s gaze flicked to me. “This man is a wanted criminal.”
Keras grunted. “I’m cleared of all charges, actually. I’d be glad to explain if you’d lower your weapon.”
“Not going to do that until I’m convinced we’re safe. Corin, what happened?”
I sat up. “It’s safe, Derek. Katashi sent us to Keras. We’re all on the same side.”
Well, more or less. But I’m not going to complicate things further by bringing up the political complexities of our situation.
Derek’s eyes narrowed. “You’re absolutely certain of this?”
“Yes, Derek. Believe me, if Keras wanted us dead, he could have easily killed us by now.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Derek took a step back, sheathing his weapon. “But if Katashi sent us here, I suppose it’s probably safe.”
Keras sheathed his own weapon. “I appreciate that you’re willing to listen to reason.” He reached out with his hand. “And you’re quick with those blades. I wouldn’t mind testing your skills at some point under friendlier terms.”
Derek hesitated for just a moment before accepting the gesture, grabbing Keras wrist. “I’ll look forward to it.”
With that resolved, I went back to sleep.
***
The walk to the train station was grueling, but not as bad as I’d expected. The ring had done wonders for my injuries overnight. I was still limping, and I had to stop frequently due to tremors in my right leg, but I felt mostly functional.
I’d kept the rock with Sera overnight, hoping it might do a bit to repair the damage to her lungs, but I knew it wasn’t likely.
Keras used some kind of magnetism magic to pull the remaining metal shards out of my right hand. It was painful for a few moments, but the ring worked quickly to repair the damage.
Sera and Derek were both up and seemingly in good health, for the most part.
Derek had a killer headache. I offered to loan him the ring for a few minutes to get rid of it. He just looked at me like I was a madman. Given his last experience with magic rings, yeah, maybe that wasn’t such a good suggestion. So, he just contented himself to complain a little bit here and there.
Sera was in the worst shape. She kept trying to talk, but not a sound issued from her lips. Occasionally, she’d still break into fits of coughing, and we had to stop on two occasions when she had trouble catching her breath.
When I went to measure the mana in her attunement, Derek and Keras both got a look at her mark.
“Never seen anything like it,” Derek offered. “It’s not a standard attunement.”
Keras leaned a little closer. “Huh. Haven’t seen many Dominion Marks with that degree of complexity around here.”