Chapter 42

Unlike my stay with the healers when our party was unfortunately wiped on the fifth floor, I was awake for the healing they administered this time. As I suspected, it ended up being something rather simple and I wasn’t surprised that they operated like clerics from Dungeons and Dragons. The healer closed their eyes and began a soft chant that I couldn’t fully pick up, but I noticed that their hand began to glow. As the healer placed their hand on me, I could feel a kind of electricity fill my body, invigorating me as the aches and pains left my body. I looked over at the others and watched as their injuries healed with a simple touch from the other healers. I could begin to understand why the Council decided that, if they were not to be in the Dungeon parties, it would dissolve the risk of adventuring all together. Still I wish that there were something an adventurer could do, other than potions, to refill one’s health. I knew that those I worked with were trying to come up with various means, such as those arrows, which could prove useful in the future.

Once everyone was healed, the food was brought in, and I began piling food on my plate. Between the exertion of the challenge along with the aftereffects of the healing I received, I was starving. I glanced around and saw more of the same with the other members. We all sat down and for the next twenty minutes not a word was said as we ate our food with wild abandon. Even Katie, who was normally reserved when eating, was eating as if it was her last meal and someone was about to take it away. Once our plates were emptied, most of us sat back, happy to be full. Dilbar and Ilthvana however went over for seconds. I shook my head with a smile and turned to check on Katie, who had the same contented smile on her face.

I caught her eye and said, “So now that we are nice and full, why don’t you tell me what happened with you guys?”

“Ah yes,” Katie said, adjusting her position to face me. “Well, after we decided to converge at one spot, I realized that I was near two of them. It didn’t take long for me to reach them and find Dilbar and Ilthvana. We took positions to wait for the others and after about a half hour, Darius and Grishta arrived. Where we were was a bit too exposed for our liking, so we figured to head towards you.”

“We decided to spread out,” Darius said, continuing where Katie left off. “It was to ensure we were not clumped together just in case we ran into one of our adversaries. What we didn’t expect was that there would be a trap waiting for us. As we entered the area where you found us hiding, we triggered some explosive sigils that had been carved into the ground. The sigils had been fed mana and covered to ensure that none of them were noticeable.”

“The blast knocked us all off our feet,” Ilthvana added, placing her fresh plate of food on the table. “Katie quickly used her vines to catch us, but the damage from the blast left us disoriented. Before we could get our footing, scarlet lightning shot out from a nearby tree, hitting all of us in a chain. The pain was excruciating, but they weren’t prepared for our response. Katie stomped on the ground, and it felt like the earth was going to erupt underneath us. There was a shriek of surprise as someone darted out from the tree, we had seen the lightning originate from.”

Dilbar laughed, “By the time the dwarf turned to look at us once again, I had unloaded an entire magazine out of my heavy crossbow. I watched, with great pleasure, as all of the bolts stuck home in the dwarf. They didn’t embed themselves into his armor, due to the chainmail he had on underneath. However, that distraction gave Katie enough time to use her abilities to wrap him in the limbs of a nearby tree. Once immobile, Darius ran forward and struck the side of his head with his maul.”

Darius scratched the back of his neck and said, “If it weren’t for the magic, they had used to prevent death or permanent injury, I would have probably killed him from the force of the strike. He disappeared in a flash of green light a second or two later and we decided it was too dangerous to just keep running as a group. Instead, we worked together to figure out suitable hiding spots with the help of Katie and Ilthvana’s natural abilities to ensure we wouldn’t be noticed unless we wanted to be. When you arrived, we saw that you couldn’t even tell where we had chosen to hide.”

“I had figured that you would have tried to find us,” Grishta muttered into her tankard of ale. “Instead you listened to Katie’s idea to use you as bait, turned your focus to the area around us, and we watched as you moved on and drew the focus of the remaining members of the Quetzalcoatl Pact House. It was foolish yet inspiring as you took on the archer, knowing there was still a heavy hitter in the midst. I was on pins and needles as you got into trouble, wondering what you would do, but when Katie and Dilbar left their hiding area, I knew it was on. You, of course, know the rest, and we were glad to help you out at the end. I am just stoked that we will be at full strength for tomorrow, though there is still the chance that at least one of their two injured members could be back into the fray.”

I nodded, “Yeah, you are right, though it would depend on what the toll of their injuries did to their bodies. I have a feeling that the healers would be able to help them, but I think there are limits to what they can do. The blast the druid was in had to have done a lot to them and I am sure they are still recuperating. The same with the onslaught that the female warrior received from the Fujin Pact House when they tried to win their challenge. Still, we need to assume one of two things. The first is that they could come at us with a full team, and the second is that they could be only four. If they have only four members, we need to decide who will be part of the party should the Council force us to keep two members back.”

We talked, over the next hour, about who we thought would work best against the remaining members of their group. Given the remaining members, we agreed that Katie, Dilbar, Ilthvana and myself would be the best option. Dilbar and Ilthvana could double as both melee and ranged fighters. Katie can do both, as well as use magic, with my ability to use magic augmenting my natural fighting abilities.

Darius smiled and said, “Well, I wish I would be in that group, but I need to become more versatile in order to do so.”

“Well, that is only if we are limited in the members we can bring,” I said as I slapped my hand on his shoulder. “I want us all to either succeed or fail together. I am proud that we have come this far together, and should we not make it past the finals, it has been an honor fighting alongside you. That said, I hope we win this thing and show everyone that we are a group not to trifle with.”

Cheers erupted in the room, and we sat and chatted for a while longer. We needed to de-stress for a little while before we went to bed, especially given all that we had to deal with over the past few days. It was great to talk to all of them and I couldn’t help but smile at the comradery that had been born by this challenge. I knew that we had been lucky in the last battle, and I had had too many close calls. A feeling of unease washed over me, wondering what would be waiting for us when we face the final round tomorrow. I knew that we would need to be careful as there would, no doubt, be a great threat waiting for us. Once the revelry was finished, we turned in for the night to get as much rest as possible. I wondered what would be waiting for us tomorrow as sleep came to me and I let my mind drift off into slumber.

When I awoke, I had expected to find myself in Freyja’s room, but was surprised to find myself waking back in my own room at the amphitheater. I looked at my bracer and saw that we had indeed slept the night without incident, and I felt a bit of disappointment that I wasn’t able to see my ladies before today’s finale. Katie was already out of bed, and I looked at my bracer to confirm that she was either showering or in the dining hall. She was indeed showering, so I gathered my clothes and went to shower myself. She was just leaving as I arrived and gave me a quick kiss before heading off to the dining hall. I had only a quick shower before I headed to the dining hall to join the others. I entered to find Katie, Tyr and Dilbar were the only ones in the room at the time. I went to collect my food for the morning meal and took my seat next to Katie. Tyr approached the table and handed me a letter, giving me a brief smile before going and taking his seat at the table. Glancing at Katie, I opened the letter and began reading its contents

I had to wipe a tear from my eye before passing the letter to Katie to read. I saw her get just as emotional as she finished it herself. She handed me the note and we began to eat our breakfast meal while we waited for the others to arrive. It was another ten minutes before the rest of our group filed into the room and collected their meals. I could see that everyone was slightly apprehensive about what today would hold for us.

“How is everyone?” I asked, trying to cut the growing tension. “I hope you all had a decent night’s rest?”

Darius nodded, “Yeah, I slept okay and wrote a letter to Cassandra, but I would be lying if my nerves were not a little frayed about what today would be.”

Ilthvana shrugged, “I slept fine, and I know today will be a big deal, but I just plan to do my best and let the fates decide.”

“I slept like a baby,” Grishta said with a smug grin. “I don’t know what you are all worrying about. We have been kicking ass so far, and, even if we don’t win this thing, we gave it our best. That is all we can do, so worrying about it will only put us off our game.”

“Aye, you speak true lass,” Dilbar said with a nod. “I am proud of what we have accomplished so far, and, if this is as far as we get, I say it was a job well done.”

Katie smiled at me and said, “I am just glad to have shared this experience with you and made these new friends. It has meant the world to me and even if we don’t win, I will treasure this time with you all.”

I glanced at Tyr and saw him smiling, but he added nothing, knowing that we were attempting to calm and support one another. When the meal was nearing its end, there came a knock on our dining hall door. It opened to reveal two guards who entered and gave a slight bow to Tyr before turning to us.

“Once your meal is completed, you will need to come with us,” announced one of the guards. “You are to be escorted to the Council’s balcony for the final announcements to the spectators before your challenge.”