Journey to Volmyr (12)

The sunrise arrived fast, without delay, as if urging the party to continue, so close to their goal.

With the new day arrived, Garrick, Grensyl and Meetle stand near the grotto entrance, watching the sunrise, eating some dried jerky as a new development occurs to start the day,

"...What bastard's been touching me up putting these bandages on me?"

A female voice is heard. Clearly female and with such a stern tone, It could only be Kyra.

Garrick and Meetle rush to the carriage while Grensyl stays back for two reasons. The first is to give the space to enjoy their reunion, and the second is that Grensyl IS that bastard who put the bandages on her, and never having heard her speak before, he already knows too well the type of woman Kyra is and is in no rush to approach that right now.

"Kyra, you're awake!!" Meetle gleefully shouts as his head barely reaches the opening into the carriage.

Garrick stands with a smile, not wanting to speak as he feels a lump in his throat and would probably tear up trying to say anything. This woman, who is so rough around the edges, manages to make his heart melt with her bluntness.

Kyra looks at them both and then focuses on Garrick.

"You enjoy knocking out a defenceless woman? I Was on the brink of death, and you take your golden opportunity to give me a good hit while I can't fight back?" Kyra says it so sternly.

Garrick's smile drops as he tries to explain himself but is tripping over his words, flustered.

"Alright, you've suffered enough. It was my fault anyway, shoulda made myself known. Besides, my anger is directed at that bastard Moreland anyway."

Kyra takes notice of her surroundings a little more.

"Where are we anyway?" She curiously asks.

"We're just a week or so from Volmyr! You can tell us the story of what happened in Darow when we set off." Meetle happily says while most of his face is obscured by his large nose poking into the carriage.

"So which one of you two copped a feel then?" Kyra gets back to the main point.

Garrick and Meetle look off to the side toward Grensyl as he sheepishly walks into view of Kyra.

"I...uh had to...I'm a doctor...I didn't see a single thing! Did it all no my eyes closed!" Grensyl, much like Garrick, is flustered, unable to finish his sentence.

"Who the fuck are you?" Kyra bluntly asks as she tries to adjust her seating position with great discomfort.

"Grensyl, mam-"

Kyra furls her brow.

"Mam? Do I look ancient? The name's Kyra. Can we get out of here and give me some of that food? I'm starving."

The three guys give each other a look and then set off for the day, with Garrick sitting beside Kyra and Grensyl sitting upfront with Meetle again.

"So what happened in Darow? How'd you get this injured? Why'd you decide to join us? How did you find us?" Garrick babbles, still a bit emotional with Kyra finally waking up.

"Okay, take a breather. I'd rather knock myself back out than deal with that racket." Kyra raises her hand and turns her head away slightly due to the noise. "I stayed in Darow after we got kicked out, and Moreland didn't take kindly to me sullying the good name of his town with my presence, I guess, so he sent the village guard on me."

Grensyl raises his eyebrows.

"Does this mean there's a bounty on your head? It might be a problem once we get to Volmyr. A bird would've reached there by now."

Kyra waves his concerns away. "Nah, it's fine. The village got involved, so he'll be busy dealing with all that, If he even still has a job there. It was quite the situation."

"Never liked Moreland, more worried about himself than the village he was elected to protect." Garrick spits with venom.

Kyra points at Garrick and nods in agreement.

"Oh, and as for finding you two losers, it wasn't hard at all. I'm a tracker, and you're the slowest prey I've ever come across. I was dying of blood loss in a storm, and I could still track you two." Kyra shakes her head and gives a slight chuckle.

Silence falls on the party until Grensyl decides to break it.

"Meetle, I thought you were crazy hanging around with Garrick, but I know you're crazy now for hanging out with both of them. You must attract a special sort of person." Grensyl laughs, Meetle has a little snigger and Garrick smirks.

"I heard that dumbass! and don't you be laughing, you big-nosed Gnome!" Kyra shouts back.

Despite their current physical conditions, the party is in full spirits, and even though Kyra tries to mask her more 'unsightly' positive emotions, she, too, is happy.

The day goes by fast. Kyra, for the most part, sleeps with much difficulty as the rest of them speak and laugh with each other, but she doesn't let it bother her despite the laughter waking her up more than a few times. Eventually, the sun hangs and dips down to sunset, just as they reach a patch of grass, the plateau!

"Right on schedule. There's a river just an hour further down the road. We can camp there." Grensyl states.

They Reach the river that is fifteen feet across without issue. Many different fish are seen swimming downwards towards what would connect to the ocean. Trees and shrubbery are back in full swing; no more rocks and caves. However, the famous red leaves are long gone; generic shades of green cover the trees now.

As the party set up for the night, Garrick decides to stretch his legs. His wounds have all closed up but are still tender to the touch. But now that he is 'mostly' healthy again, he can feel his body yearning for exercise; he has spent too long being inactive. Be it fate or just bad luck, something has come knocking in the form of three bandits. They are sloppy, dirty, disgusting and gaunt. Two men and one woman, humans by the look of it, but hard to tell in the dark and with them being so filthy.

The party is taken off-guard. The pleasant times were too good and made them sloppy to potential evil willing to do them harm.

"Don't move a muscle!!" One of the bandits shouts with fervour as he points to them with a chipped sword, clearly used and abused over the years.

"Yeah! Stay still and do exactly as we say!" Another adds with a similar sword of their own.

Meetle is the first to display a reaction, 'fear'. He quivers and is frozen in place. Garrick stands watching, heart beating fast, hands trembling, fear? Excitement? He doesn't stop to think, but his body calls for violence. As for Kyra, she tries to move but, in doing so, aggravates her wounds, causing them to reopen and bleed.

"You'd be best to fuck off before you end up drowning in your own blood!" Kyra shouts from the carriage. In her current state, fighting isn't on the cards.

But Grensyl is calm. Hands raised, palms towards the bandits in a passive manner, and decides not to fight but speak to them.

"There are four of us, and three are injured. If you take our belongings, we might not safely make it to civilisation. As a man who abhors violence, please do not do this." Grensyl pleads to the bandits, but he pleads in vain, for all the bandits heard was "three injured".

"Three injured? Easy pickings, then. Now, my kind associate will carefully approach you and empty your pockets. In doing so, if you move a muscle, then he will stab you to death, and let me tell you, it's a painful way to die." The bandit has his gaze hooked on Grensyl and Garrick, who are surprisingly calm.

"There isn't anything valuable with us. It's some food and bandages." I ask you one last time: please do not do this." Grensyl pleads once more.

"Shut it, dwarf! Ugly, short little bastard, where's your beard anyway? Makes you ten times uglier, I bet!" The bandit giggles.

Garrick's body tenses up as the bandit slowly walks towards him. He has a flashback to when his powers were unleashed when he saved Meetlemire from the bandits. The runes begin to glow faintly under his ragged and dirty clothes, which Grensyl immediately notices. He throws his hands towards the river and then back to the bandits as they shout.

"HEY! DON'T MOVE!!! KILL HIM NOW, DARCY!!!" The bandit screams as Darcy, the closest bandit to Grensyl, charges forward. A massive torrent of water is whisked from the river as it engulfs the bandits and pulls them into the river, causing them to be dragged downstream, unable to get out.

"Garrick, settle down. It's dealt with; don't let your emotions get the better of you." Grensyl quickly moves over to Garrick, who calms his breathing down.

"You're a mage?" Garrick asks, dumbfounded.

"He's a mage?" Kyra asks, unable to see any of the commotion that just happened.

"I know. I'm far too handsome to be a mage. I tend not to use magic anymore, but desperate times, I guess." Grensyl replies.

"That was a close one. That was impressive, Grensyl." Meetle was wowed by Grensyl's safe yet effective diffusion of a situation.

"I can't see a goddamn being stuck in this carriage. Someone wants to explain what just happened?" Kyra angrily calls out.

"Grensyl moved the water, and the bandits are stuck floating downstream, more than likely ending up in the ocean." Meetle replies.

"Another magic bastard, just what we need. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned swordfights? Whatever, I'm going to sleep." Kyra says bluntly.

"Garrick, try not to use any magic until you know how to control it. It'll be difficult, but It can be done. You'll feel like you're suffocating, but just try and breathe." Grensyl puts a hand on Garrick's shoulder as he looks at him with a serious look.

Garrick takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you guys."

"I know, I trust you." Grensyl smiles warmly. "It's a lot of magic in someone untrained, and magic is dangerous for everyone learning. Just keep breathing is the best advice I could give."

The group settles down for the night, with Garrick and Grensyl keeping watch in turns, but thankfully, the night has no 'interruptions'.

End Chapter