Chapter 40

Sometime later Rain opened his eyes, or at least tried to, the moment he did he was hit with a blinding headache and he immediately snapped them back shut. He groaned and rolled over, pulling his paw from Lyra’s lap.

The pain wasn’t going away and he clutched at his head in the fetal position. This wasn’t a headache, it was a full on migraine. He belatedly realised he was healed as he was able to move his lower legs, though judging how his body felt it wasn’t a complete healing. It felt like someone had taken a meat tenderiser and gone bananas beating every inch of his body.

“Oh gods, never again, healing is the worst.”

He managed to crack open an eye and saw Lyra next to him. She was slumped against the throne, asleep with her mouth slightly open. A line of drool had run down her cheek.

He turned his head to see Opal approaching him. She carried a tin bucket in one hand.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Rain gravelled back, his teeth gritted through the pain.

“I tried to find something for you to eat but,” she shrugged her shoulders, “nothing seems to live here, I guess most monsters are savvy enough to stay away.”

Rain grunted in response.

“It’s all empty rooms and cobwebs and bones, I think this place is too old to have anything left but stone apart from what the boney bitch boy took from his victims. I did find a working well though, here I brought you water.”

Rain reached out a paw gratefully and took the bucket. He put it to his lips and gulped down the water in one go, the bucket being more like a large cup at his size.

“Thank You. I needed that.”

“Old Gobbo trick for headaches, drink it away with lots of water.”

“Mm, it helps, I think.”

Rain was feeling a little better and managed to sit up.

“How long was I out?”

“Dunno. A while.”

Rain squinted at the Goblin. She had changed her wear since he had fallen asleep. She now sported an ornate looking gold gladius underneath where her cutlass was strapped to her belt, and an emerald pommeled dagger beneath the rapier on the other side.

Sharp metal things just seem to sidle up to the Goblin and beg to be with her, she really was a Goblin shaped magnet for weapons.

She’d also found a couple of bejewelled gold rings as well as three earrings which now bedecked her knife ears. She’d clearly scoured the ruin for everything not nailed down, and probably some things that were nailed down too.

“I have to ask Opal, how are you going to use five blades?”

“Options, it’s about options, the right weapon for the right situation.”

If Rain could squint harder he would have.

“ ... Sure.” he deadpanned.

The Goblin turned away in a huff.

“I’m guessing you looted all the levelers who had become undead.”

“Well, I’m not going to leave all that stuff there.”

“Did you get any coin at least?”

She pointed at the Kobold. Rain’s eyes drifted over to him. Red was squatting on the ground with a slightly manic look on his face. In front of him were stacks and stacks of gold, silver, and copper coins that he was happily shifting around, and another mound of unsorted coin next to that which his claws greedily picked through and carefully sorted.

“I think Kobolds like money.”

“Oh.”

He looked at the Kobold’s digits which were crammed with rings.

“And the rings?”

“I figure I need my fingers mostly free to fight with and he has nothing on his claws. He’s my jewellery box.” She grinned.

“With that great big pile of coin we’re rich you know.”

The Goblin shrugged. “I can’t wear coin, even the shiny ones.”

“If we make it out maybe we can get Lyra to go into town to buy you some stuff with it. More swords perhaps.”

The Goblin’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Rain rolled his eyes, though doing so caused him another jab of head pain.

He rubbed his brow irritably.

“Get Red to pack up, I don’t want to spend longer than we have to here. If one group of levelers found us then so can another, the sooner we can use Lyra’s ability the better.”

The Goblin nodded and turned away to yell orders at the Kobold.

Rain sighed and turned to the sleeping Lyra.

He shifted over to her and poked her in the shoulder with a claw.

“Don wanna, jus’ one mo hour,” she murmured incoherently.

Rain poked her again and this time she blearily opened her eyes to see Rain’s big yellow eyes staring into hers.