From Real to Realm

“Do you think we have anything to worry about?” Lynesia asked as the two of them walked down the main hallway toward the private medical rooms.

“Worry about what exactly?” Val asked in return. “If you mean with the other chapters…” She sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve been warned that politics will eventually come into play. Guess I didn’t expect it to happen already.”

Lynesia didn’t say anything else as they continued to walk through the hall.

“Their rooms should be up here.”

The two of them stopped in front of the door before knocking on it. They waited while no one came to the door. Val knocked again.

“Are you looking for the man who was being treated yesterday?”

Val and Lynesia turned to see one of the medical nurses with clean sheets in her hands.

“Yeah, we figured they’d still be in their rooms?”

The nurse shook her head. “Both of them are in the main medical wing. They were moved after being stabilized.”

“Oh wow. I didn’t expect them to be healed so quickly,” Lynesia said, glancing at Val.

“Neither did I.”

The nurse smiled. “Their armor did its job. Thanks to that, they both were in much better shape than we expected.”

“Thank you. Are they awake right now?” Val asked, turning away from the door.

“They were just given lunch,” the nurse said, stepping to the side for them. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to have more visitors.”

Lynesia tilted her head. “More visitors?”

“Their party stopped by early in the morning shortly after we moved them into the main wing. They just left a moment ago.”

Val smiled. “We appreciate the info.”

The nurse nodded. “Of course. Be safe.”

With that, Lynesia and Val started walking down the hall back toward the main wing. It was a surprise to hear that both guys were okay enough to be moved to a normal bed. Then again, they weren’t as bad off as Mina was back then. Val still remembered how dented and crushed Cain’s armor was, though. Surely he had some serious internal damage.

“Look who it is!” yelled Braun with a big smile. “Worried about us, Val?”

Val smiled as soon as she heard him yell. “I wouldn’t say worried. More like checking in to make sure you didn’t lose that bombastic personality of yours.”

“Bombastic?”

Val chuckled. “It means you’ve got a big personality. Lots of energy.”

Cain also chuckled. “I can promise you that didn’t change. It took everything the nurses had to convince him to stay in bed.”

Braun waved his hand at Cain. “Bah. I told them I felt fine, but they wouldn’t let up. They insisted I rest for another day.”

Val and Lynesia grabbed a few chairs.

“I mean, they have your best interest in mind,” Lynesia said, getting comfortable. “It’s not like they’re trying to keep you here forever.”

Braun scoffed. “I know that, but I’m itching to get back out there.”

Val winced a little as she sat down.

“Still feeling that hit you took?” Cain asked, sitting up a bit more. “You did get sent flying after all.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sore,” she said. “Not as bad as the two of you, though.”

Cain smiled. “True, but I’d like to think putting myself in harm’s way gave you the opening you needed.”

Val nodded. “Definitely. I don’t know if I can ever repay you for taking that hit for me.”

Cain shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything, Val. All of us were there for the same reason, and we beat him.”

“Does your party have a plan after the two of you finish recovering?” asked Lynesia.

“Not really. I need my armor repaired or replaced.”

Braun sighed. “Depending on how long that takes, we probably won’t be back in the dungeon for a while. Doesn’t mean I’ll be sitting still, though.”

Val smirked. “Can always train with whatever free time you’ve got.”

He pointed at her. “Exactly.”

Val chuckled. “Work hard to get stronger.”

“I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect to see anyone from your party checking in on us.”

Val looked over at Cain, confused. “Why not? Is it not normal or something?”

Cain tilted his head side to side. “Yes and no. Some parties only care about the push to make a name for themselves. Those who fall to the side are nothing more than dead weight.”

“That’s horrible,” Lynesia said, shaking her head.

Cain nodded. “I had a feeling you were different from groups like that.”

“I’d never leave a comrade behind just to make a name for myself. You put your bodies on the line to help us beat The Ashen King. I refuse to ignore the kind of sacrifice and risk that requires.”

“As I said, I could tell you were different from most others,” he said again, smiling.

From there, the conversation drifted to lighter subjects. Both parties were taking some time off after such a rough fight with multiple injuries. After fully recovering, who knew what could happen?

“Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to hit the middle floors together,” Braun said, shaking Val’s hand.

Val chuckled. “I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, try to recover.”

Cain smirked. “Sitting still isn’t easy for him.”

“See you guys around.”

With that, Val and Lynesia finally left the medical wing. Val gave a final wave as they disappeared into the hallway. Things were looking up, finally. Looking back, she wasn’t sure everyone would survive even after she finally killed the Ashen King.

“I’m glad to see they’re okay,” Lynesia said, sighing softly.

Val nodded, her mind torn from her thoughts. “I figured they would be, but it’s definitely good to talk to them. I guess their injuries weren’t as bad as we thought.”

“Either that or the healers were working on them all night.”

“That’s possible, too.”

They walked through the wing, passing a few healers along the way. Val didn’t see the one from Sunthread, though. It was possible he only helped in the healing wing on specific days, but she again had a nagging feeling he was there for a reason that day.

“We should probably stop by Stormveil’s hall.”

Val looked across the main lobby. “True. We haven’t collected our reward for beating the Ashen King.”

“Do you think Lyon will be there?”

Val scrunched her nose. “Possibly. I don’t really want to deal with him if we don’t have to.”

As the two of them walked across the lobby, a few people glanced at them. There wasn’t any staring this time, but Val still didn’t like how it felt. It all confused her. Her party wasn’t the first to beat the Ashen King and wouldn’t be the last either. Why did they get so much attention?

“To put it frankly, given your affinity test, your botched delve, and now this? You’ve got eyes on you. Some are watching to see what you will do, while others are hoping you crash and burn. Only time will tell what happens.”

Val sighed when she remembered what the recruiter from Hollowsteel said. She did her best to push those thoughts behind her as they made their way into the western wing. Even with the spatial warping allowing the wing to stretch further than it should, they didn’t take long to reach the Veilhold door.

They pushed into the room only to be met by a familiar controlled chaos. People were moving back and forth, while others were huddled in small groups around tables. It was a reminder that Val’s party was but one cog in a vast machine.

“I wondered when you’d drop by.”

Lyon slowly walked through the chaos and down the small stairs to the door.

“Here.”

He held out a pouch that jingled with the movement. As soon as Val placed her hand under it, he let it drop.

“This feels like more than it should be,” she said, feeling its weight.

He crossed his arms. “You fought a boss that almost killed three people. It almost killed you. Take the money.”

Val glanced at Lynesia. “Alright, thank you.”

“In case it hasn’t already happened, you’ll be approached soon.”

“By Stormveil? I thought you were already considering recruiting my party.”

He shook his head. “Not just us.”

He waited a second, letting the implication soak in. “My advice? Don’t answer anyone right now. No matter what they tell you or what promises they make. Rest, talk to your party, then consider who you might join, if anyone at all.”

Lynesia squeezed Val’s hand. “Do you really think we’ll get that kind of attention?”

Lyon chuckled. “Our sources say Hollowsteel has already contacted you, and Sunthread is at least aware of you. They might just be getting a feel for you, but they don’t ignore potential. Others are probably waiting for their chance to talk to you.”

Val groaned. “I don’t do politics all that well.”

“Well, you don’t have a choice. Being part of a chapter opens a lot of doors,” he said. “You’ve seen what some of that is like while working with us directly, but even then, you’ve only seen a fraction.”

She put her hands up. “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll keep all of that in mind.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just try and be serious when it matters, or you’ll piss off the wrong people. A chapter that doesn’t like you can be a real pain in the ass.”

Val went quiet.

“Thank you, Lyon. We’ll be careful,” Lynesia said, smiling at him. “If you’ll excuse us, I think it’s time we head home and rest.”

It didn’t take long to leave the guildhall. They made sure to avoid bumping into anyone and not giving anyone a chance to talk to them. Being approached by other chapters was not something they wanted to deal with right now.

Once they were walking along the cobblestone streets, Lynesia squeezed Val’s arm.

“You’re doing it again.”

Val looked up. “Doing what again?”

“Trying to carry tomorrow before it gets here. We can only take things a day at a time, stop stressing so much, please?”

Val sighed, then pulled Lynesia closer.

The chapters and politics could wait for now. Whatever doors the Ashen King opened could wait until tomorrow.

For now, Lynesia’s hand was warm in hers, and that was more than enough.

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