Craning his head around carefully to not shock his body with the sudden movement and send cataclysms of pain rocketing down his spine, Jake was able to see he was resting comfortably next to a low burning fire. Beyond it, a few yards away, he could see the distinct glow of a second fire crackling away. Around the second fire, he could see the huddled figure of someone swaddled in blankets asleep on the ground. A second figure, the man in armor Jake guessed based on how the light danced and gleamed off his form, was hunched over the fire busying himself with something.


    He could vaguely see the shifting forms of pine trees, hiding beyond clear view. Next to his head directly opposite where the fires burned, he could see stone-carved bricks stacked into a wall. The wall looked like it belonged to a ruin, covered in scratch marks and missing several bricks in key places. Jake didn’t think the wall looked particularly old, but it certainly looked destroyed.


    Just as Jake was considering what to do next, the man across from him at the next fire turned round revealing a copper pot propped on rocks he’d been busying himself with. Their eyes locked, the man smiled at seeing Jake was awake and began making his way toward Jake. Then suddenly stopping, the man scooped something up of the pot into a wooden bowl before continuing onwards toward Jake.


    “Thank you.”


    Setting the bowl aside after finishing his soup Jake pointed across the way toward the sleeping bundle and asked,


    “What?” The man asked looking surprised for a moment, before bursting out laughing for a solid minute to such a degree he had to sit down, flopping to the side of Jake. The ground shook with his landing, and his outstretched armored legs now blocked Jake''s view of the fire, save for the top of its crackling glow. At last, the man stopped laughing, reaching up to whip a tear from his eyes with unarmored hands before saying,


    Jake could tell from the man’s reaction to his question that he’d missed something, as nothing about his question or the man’s response was funny. Jake also had no clue who this “Rick” the man mentioned was, but at hearing the efforts the sleeping woman across from him had made to save his life both while he was awake and unconscious, his gratitude for her grew even deeper than it already was.


    “That’s twice you’ve thanked me, and I haven’t done anything for you. It was Lala who had us make soup for you and Lala who stayed up tending to you.” The man said with a serious face suddenly “What are you thanking me for exactly?”


    “Good,” the man said as the usual jovial smile Jake had seen returned to his face “My name’s Leopold. I know they both start with L’s but hers is a lot shorter so you shouldn’t get us confused. Now, we’ve been searching for the last couple of days since we found you but just like you said we couldn’t find a trace of any monster capable of providing your injuries. Did you fight the monster that attacked you off before running away?”


    “I see,” Leopold said, his face hardening for a split second before he gave a shrug and said, “Anyway, do you remember why you were out here before you were attacked?”


    Leopold nodded at that and opened his mouth to say something else before the conversation was interrupted by the sound of a loud yawn. Looking over, Jake and Leopold watched as Lala sat up and unbundled herself from her blankets, her hair somehow more disheveled than the last time Jake saw it thanks to the bedhead that now plagued her.


    “Leopold, I’ve already told you to let him rest, he isn’t ready to WHY ARE YOU SITTING UP!” The last part of her cry was directed at Jake. As soon as she caught sight of him propped up sitting next to Leopold she hurriedly dashed over, spilling soup out of her bowl all over the floor. This reaction earned a giggle out of Leopold, which was ignored by Lala who was hurriedly inspecting Jake.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Still visibly pissed, she’d finished her verbal scolding''s but continued her inspections on Jake’s wrappings and at one point carefully moved him upward to examine his back. Once she finished examining him, she carefully laid him back flat on the ground. Then, just like yesterday, she placed her hand on Jake''s chest and enveloped him in a calm numbing sensation that stretched throughout his entire body.


    Jake gave a nod, lying still as possible as Lala worked enjoying the numbing feeling throughout his body. When she’d finished her work for the time being and removed her hand from his chest Jake smiled up at her and said,


    Lala had looked touched by his sudden thanks till the end when her face suddenly froze, and Leopold began laughing once again.


    “What, I thought that’s what you said your name was?” Leopold said with a shit-eating grin while catching Lala’s hand and holding it so she couldn’t continue swinging it at him “L-A-L-A”


    “I can’t let it go because you hate it so little Lala,” Leopold said, letting out one last snicker before he released her and endured her rushed punches to his side. Either she wasn’t trying to hurt him or couldn’t produce enough force to reach through his armor because Leopold simply sat there unbothered before saying “What, you’re just going to ignore the kid? That’s cold Lala.”


    “It’s no problem, honest. Just glad I found you when I did. And it’s Lana, not Lala unlike what my dumbass brother might have said. Only he calls me that.”


    “I see, I’m sorry then. I didn’t know your name was such a big issue.” Jake felt embarrassed and guilty at having been tricked into messing with Lana like that, and not just because he owed her such a massive debt. As the youngest sibling in his family, he didn’t appreciate being used like that. Especially without even being in on the joke.


    “So, how long have I been asleep?” Jake asked, hoping to break through the awkward fog surrounding them.


    “Then will the sun be rising soon?” Jake asked, looking up at the sky. He remembered it was pitch-black yesterday and so far, he’d only ever arrived in new worlds during sunrise, never at night. So, he must have been found early in the morning and first woken up after sunset. Having fallen asleep again yesterday, he must be close to his deadline for staying here.


    “Your pupils are dilated and unfocused, you need rest. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”


    “I don’t like him,” Rick said, jerking his head towards the passed-out boy Lana was currently tending to. At the moment, she was carefully funneling water down his throat so as not to choke him, trying to make sure he stayed hydrated while also allowing him much-needed rest.


    Rick glared at Leopold before saying,


    “Oh, he’s definitely hiding something.” Leopold said with a nod “But I doubt he’s a spy, he’s not a good enough actor for that. If he were a spy, he’d be a terrible one. His story makes no sense. Today he told both me and Lana he didn’t know anything about the sky being stolen.” Leopold said with a chuckle before putting his hand on Rick''s shoulder and saying “He’s hiding something but after talking to him I doubt it’s anything malicious. We all have our pasts right.”


    Rick grunted and shook Leopold''s hand off before leaving to go sit by the fire, knowing that convincing Lana would be impossible. With a victorious smirk, Leopold hoped Rick would get used to the kid quickly, as he was already getting annoyed by this. Looking over at Lana and the kid, though he wouldn’t admit it to Rick to keep the peace, Leopold would also stop him from leaving the kid behind. He’d grown fond of him during their short talks, he was so gullible! Leopold let out a laugh to himself, imagining what else he could get the kid to fall for next.