The cave behind the waterfall was cold and damp, but it was safe, for now. I sat with my back against the rock wall, Lira’s head resting on my lap as I checked her wounds for the third time. The burns on her side were ugly, but the bleeding had stopped. Harlan lay a few feet away, his breathing steady but labored. He was also badly wounded, but he was in a better situation than Lira.
There wasn’t much I could do for either of them. I had dressed their wounds to the best of my ability, and they both seemed to be recovering just a little. I hadn’t gotten any healing ability, but the level-up from killing Thragor had given me a solid foundation. My body felt stronger, my mind sharper. Still, we were far from safe. Grimgor’s hunters would be scouring the mountains by now.
Lira stirred weakly, her fox ears twitching. "Antoine... we made it?"
"Barely," I said quietly, brushing damp hair from her face. "You still need to rest, your wounds are severe, and you’re healing slowly. We will move by dusk, so get all the rest you can."
She managed a small, pained smile. "You carried me the whole way... again. I’m becoming a burden."
"You’re alive, and that’s what matters, so don’t stress it." My voice was gruffer than I intended. In truth, seeing her like this, broken and burned because she followed me, stirred something I hadn’t felt in either life. Not quite guilt. Not quite attachment. Just the knowledge that I couldn’t afford to lose her.
She smiled at me, her cheeks burning pink as she slowly turned her eyes away from mine. She was shy, and that was understandable. I had come to grow a little soft spot for her as well, but right now, romance and emotions weren’t things I had the luxury to pursue.
Harlan finally sat up where he laid, I had patched him up as much as I could, but I could tell he was still in pain. Unlike Lira, he didn’t have any sort of advanced healing, he was merely human.
He winced slightly at the pain, before finally managing to speak. "We lost Thorne. He was a good man, I can’t believe he never got to live the life he’d always wanted."
I nodded slowly, fully understanding Harlan’s grief. He was closer to Thorne than I was, so his death was likely more painful for Harlan.
"He bought us the opening we needed. We will honor him by surviving."
Harlan nodded, wiped tears from the corner of his eyes, before resting his back on the cave wall. He was exhausted, both physically and psychologically, and it wasn’t just hum. I was too, but I wasn’t about to give up and become a slave for life, not while I had the power to change that fate.
The three of us rested as best we could while the sun climbed outside the waterfall’s curtain. I used the time to plan. The southern rebellion was our best chance. If they were as organized as Harlan claimed, they could provide shelter, allies, and resources. From there, I could rebuild, not just a small band of survivors, but the foundation of something greater.
When dusk fell, we moved. The journey south was grueling. We followed the river where we could, using the water to mask our scent from tracking hounds. The terrain shifted from rocky ravines to dense forest as we descended the mountains. Every snap of a twig made us freeze. Twice we spotted distant torches from Grimgor’s patrols searching the foothills.
During one rest break beside a small stream, Lira finally spoke more than a few words. She leaned against a tree, her burns bandaged with strips of cloth from Harlan’s cloak.
"My pack was destroyed during the Beast Wars," she said softly. "The orcs came at night. I was the only scout who survived the initial raid. I wandered for months before Karg’s slavers found me." She looked at me, her golden eyes steady despite the pain. "I followed you because you gave me something I hadn’t felt since then, purpose. Even if it kills me, I won’t regret it."
I met her gaze with a smile, happy that she had faith in me even after everything that had happened. "I won’t let it kill you, it’s a promise. I’m certain things would get better soon enough, we just need to survive long enough for that to happen.."
Harlan, cleaning his spear nearby, chuckled darkly. "You talk like a king already. But I’ve seen what happens when humans dream too big. The Beast Wars started with dreams too."
"And they ended with chains," I replied. "I intend to break more than just my own this time."
The conversation settled something between us. Trust was still fragile, but it was growing. I had come to learn that it was far better to treat them like humans than tools, perhaps it was the effect of being a slave or something. Throughout my life as an assassin, I hadn’t been put through so many life threatening situations like I have in the past month. And from those experiences, I had come to learn that some humans were good, and not all were out to exploit me or those around them.
A small conflict tested us on the fourth day. A Grimgor scouting party, four orcs and two war hounds, picked up our trail near a narrow pass. We couldn’t outrun them.
"Ambush," I had whispered to Lira and Harlan who immediately got ready for what was coming.
We took positions. I used my enhanced Perception to spot the lead hound first. When they entered the kill zone, I struck down the first hound with a single blow. Harlan impaled another. Lira, still weak, threw a rock to distract the remaining hounds while I finished the rest with cold efficiency.
[You have slain Level 3 Orc Scout. +12 XP]
[Minor Loot Acquired: Map Fragment, Dried Rations]
The fight was quick, but it reminded us how close the hunters were. We pressed on harder.
By the eighth day, the landscape changed. The dense forest gave way to misty wetlands, the edge of the Whispering Marshes. Fog hung low over the water, and strange glowing plants lit the way at night. We were close.
That night, as we made camp on a small dry island, the system chimed with an update.
[Quest Progress: Path of Vengeance, Reach the Southern Rebellion]
[New Objective: Make Contact with Liberation Forces]
I stared into the fire, the flames dancing in my eyes. We had lost the ruins. We had lost Thorne. But we were alive, and we were moving toward something bigger than any of us.