Handling Adventurers (1)

A part of me regretted sparing the adventurers. It would have been easier if I had just cast a destruction spell, collapsing the cave and burying everyone in it. But I didn't. Instead I went and saved them.

Now I was stuck with four unconscious adventurers. Two elves, a dwarf, and a race I was unfamiliar with. At first I thought she was dragonkind, but she was more reptile than dragon.

That was both surprising and concerning. New races emerging without the intervention or guidance of the gods was a disaster waiting to happen.

But that was a problem for another time, if at all.

The four adventurers were tucked in fur beds, snoozing away as helpers tended to their wounds. We were inside a small cottage on the outskirts of the city, just a small distance away from the walls.

I reckoned the city would have been too much for these people. It would have given a bad impression since nobody else lived here except for me. Despite that, there were vast fields of farmland sitting between the walls and this cottage, tended to by my helpers.

It had been a few hours since I saved the adventurers. Their wounds, though numerous and deep, were healing. The elven healer was the worst off. She had been just a few seconds away from dying, but thankfully my healing spell was just in time.

The tier 7 healing spell I cast was potent and effective. Usually healing spells were directed at just one person since it required large amounts of mana and concentration just to cast any. Fortunately I possessed both. The spell swept through their bodies, working its way through every wound and damage they sustained.

I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly realized they felt much healthier than before.

Speaking of, the adventurers were malnourished. Judging by their weight and the bones pushing against their skin, they hadn't eaten well in months. How long were they away from civilization?

To remedy that, I asked the helpers to prepare some food in the coming hours. If my calculations were correct, the adventurers would wake up soon.

I had nothing else better to do. Frank and a hundred sentinels were still exterminating the green menace from the cave system. I had underestimated just how deep these little monsters had infested the tunnels. They built crude underground cities which stank and overflowed. My spell reached most of these places, obliterating everything. But some managed to survive, withstanding the blaze.

And to my surprise, and disgust, the little monsters laid eggs.

I had to send more sentinels to speed things up, hopefully they'd be finished before the sun went down.

It was midday and the sun was at its brightest. The birds sang outside, perching themselves on the branches nearby and blessing me with their songs. A bluejay flew through one of the open windows and sat on my lap. It was a beautiful bird, blue and majestic.

My eyes found themselves gazing outside, looking past the trees, across the fields, and over the walls. My keen senses activated, allowing me to peer through the land with impunity.

This ability was honed during those times of war and upheaval. The world was such a different place back then. Wars aplenty, destruction galore. If I lost an arm every time a continent split apart, I'd be armless. Remembering it at all gave me headaches.

Nature was my escape from these troubling memories. My keen senses made me appreciate how beautiful and complex it truly was.

It allowed me to see the breathing of trees and the lives of critters, just to name a few. The races of the world were intelligent, wise even, but the rest of nature's children deserved recognition as well.

There was beauty in everything. Except violence.

Which was why I didn't use it when I fought the dragonprince. If I did, it would have completely haunted me. I would've lost my mind. The same could be said when I rescued the adventurers from those abominations. The little green monsters were already too ugly without me peering too deeply into what they were. I didn't need my senses to see more than that.

The hour ticked by and I grew sleepy. The bluejay on my lap had fallen asleep, trapping me in my chair. I wasn't about to disturb a gentlebird's sleep now was I?

Dark clouds loomed over the cottage. It looked like the storm was almost here.

Then I remembered.

I forgot to check the weather barrier.

"Barleyon." I called softly, waving at the direction of the helper. Barleyon was busy tending to the dwarf when I called him and he immediately came to me.

"Please put this on the central spire, at the very top" I said as I summoned a weather crystal on my palm. The weather crystal would ensure than the winds would be kept at a minimum, and that the rain didn't pour too hard. It didn't mean the storm would be completely blocked.

My helpers were made of hay or barley or both. They weren't waterproof nor did they like getting soaked. Their bodies got heavy when wet, too heavy. If the rain did come, they'd need to shelter in place, traversing through the sewers if necessary.

Barleyon gave me a short salute and hurried off, bringing along a few helpers with him. I watched as the little golems sprinted over the grass, past the line of trees, and towards the dirt paths splitting the fields.

Why was Barleyon holding the crystal on his head?

Nevermind, maybe he was just happy.

Wheatley was absent from the cottage, and I would soon see why.

The little golem arrived later with a couple dozen other helpers, each bringing a plate of food.

It seemed like baked mutton and roasted chicken were the dishes of the day, paired with steamed potatoes, salads, and fruits of course.

The bananas looked particularly tasty.

The helpers graciously prepared the dishes on the tables by the bedside of the adventurers. They also gave me a banana.

The efforts of Wheatley and Barleyon in leading the other helpers and organizing this effort was to be commended. They were such an impressive bunch.

But just as I was peeling, one of the adventurers moved.

They were finally waking up.

I gently lifted the bluejay from my lap and laid it down on the table next to me.

It was time to meet the adventurers. Hopefully things wouldn't go south from here, it would be awkward.

And a waste of my time and their lives.

---

Dalinah slowly opened her eyes, finding herself staring at an unfamiliar thatched ceiling. She felt comfortable, refreshed even. Her body felt new, as if all her scars and injuries had been washed away. A delicious smell swept her nose.

She tried to sit, finding it easier than it should've been. Wasn't she just stabbed multiple times? She found her friends sleeping on their own beds beside her. They looked okay, thankfully.

Her eyes then fell on a weird looking creature. It looked like it was made of hay. It was small, had two beads of eyes, and was doing something to her leg. In fact, there were a dozen of them in the room.

She soon found out they weren't the only ones inside the room with her.

Her eyes widened as she saw the stranger in black. He wore a simple black hood and coat, with a pair of trousers and leather boots. Despite the humble attire, the man had a regal air around him. It demanded respect.

He was also sitting on a simple wooden chair, a peeled banana in his hand.

"I'm guessing you haven't eaten in awhile," The stranger said before pointing at the table beside her. "Eat. There's food". There was indeed, still steaming in fact. Did the stranger prepare this? Or was it one of the creatures?

"They're golems," The stranger suddenly corrected as he stood from his chair. Could he hear her thoughts?

She felt weirdly laid back. Finding herself and her friends under the roof of a stranger, tended by golems who somehow knew how to doctor, was definitely cause for concern, but it seemed absent.

Questions filled her mind about the mysterious stranger in front of her, but her growling belly reminded her of the most pressing matter at hand.

"Thank you." She said. And she devoured.