Then, Talina broke that magic spell and raised herself to stand up with her handing to rest on his shoulder.


    “You know these things,” she continued, “but if you should evere to me when I am alone in my tent, then I shall show you many things that you do not know about me, but that I suspect you’ve always wished to discover. There will be no price. We will be friends, meeting together between work. So, would you like to be my friend, Torren?”


    “I would like that above all things, Talina.” Torren nodded slowly and looked up to her with the silly smile of a man very much in love.


    “Good.” She stepped back before having a second thought and returning her attention to the smith. “Oh, and Torren?”


    “Hmm?” He still watched her as if entranced.


    “I’m going to turn and walk away now. I’m afraid you won’t be able to look into my eyes anymore, but don’t let that put you off looking altogether.”Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    “I w-won’t!” He almost choked.


    Talina licked her lips to taste the remnants of his kiss there before letting out a pleased littleugh and turning to walk back to her tent. She swayed her hips for Torren’s enjoyment as his eyes fell down to her magnificent rear, encased in little else but a small golden triangle and some string pulled between her firm cheeks. He watched her all the way until she disappeared into her tent.


    – – – – –


    A few days after Gregory had roused himself from the sweet and painlessnd of unconsciousness, he found himself sat up in bed and staring down at a book written in gibberish. In truth, it was written in the humannguage of a dialect found in the central empire. He was wearing his medallion to trante the words but finding that the words simply didn’t trante unless spoken aloud. This meant that he’d spent the better part of fifteen minutes looking at the illustrations. They weren’t frequent enough to be able to follow the story properly, but their intricately detailed designs made him wish he could. There was a collection of the pantheon of human gods all standing together in the heavens, high above mankind where they all watched the happenings below. He saw gods of war, of love, of crafts, farming, feasting, and the mighty god of the great eastern ocean. Then, above them all, was a figure garbed in ssical armour, holding a zing sword towards the sun. The god of gods.


    The book was filled with such images. Rudd had loaned it to him earlier that day before taking his leave and wishing him a rapid recovery. Gregory wasn’t so sure he wished himself a rapid recovery, as it would doubtless mean a trip back to the proving grounds. Though, perhaps Algra and Jte had been right. It might be better to simply collect his things and leave.


    That thought troubled the young man far more thanmon sense probably should have.


    It was only when he heard a small sound of a woman clearing her throat that he looked up from his book to see Valise stood at the foot of his bed. Like Talina, she had something of a habit of appearing out of nowhere. Despite the beauty of the woman and her halo of silvery-blonde hair, Gregory found himself rolling his eyes and groaning out loud.


    “What now? Jte and Algra already helped me wash up this morning.” Over the past few days, Valise had been in charge of making sure he didn’t injure himself again. Her constant watchful gaze and assessments had been quite a pain. Gregory was an active person by nature andying still did not do his temperament any favours at all.


    “Oh? Where are they?” Valise smiled diplomatically.


    “Algra’s gone to pick her usual fights in the Great Hall and Jan is floating about outside somewhere. I told her to go get something to eat since she stayed with me through dinner and I wasn’t hungry.”


    “You need to eat to build your strength,” Valise chided.


    “I had a heavy breakfast.” Gregory red at her.


    “Well, today I thought we could see about getting you walking again.”


    His eyes brightened up considerably at those words. “Really?”


    “Yes. But no rushing. I don’t want you falling over.”


    “Alright.” Eager to get any small victory he could, Gregory slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed his arms down to bring himself up to stand.


    “Easy now.” Valise hurried around the bed and settled her hand on his bare shoulder. In all his timeying down, the strong muscles he’d developed over the years certainly hadn’t gone soft.


    “It’s alright.” Though he had stood up and walked over the past days, it was always with the assistance of someone else to lean upon.


    At his assurance, Valise took her hand away and Gregory quickly found his bnce. The knock to his head had thrown it off considerably but time had done its healing work and he only felt a little light-headed before the world fixed itself again. His well-rested muscles ached for him to run out of there, through the camp and into the forest at a full sprint. That particr urge was suppressed when he thought of some orc going off to tackle him to the ground on Valise’s orders. Sure, the pretty-faced, fair-haireddy looked kind and reserved until someone’s life was in her hands at which point she turned into the equivalent of a drill sergeant.


    So he started walking instead of running. Keen, crystal-blue eyes followed him around the room as he walked slowly before his growing confidence picked him up into a light jog around his main table. He finished the impromptu tour of his tent standing right before his strict doctor and opened his arms out as if to say tah-dah!


    Valise’s gaze was still sceptical. “You feel no dizziness?”


    “A little at first but I figure that was with lying down so long. Nothing now.”


    “And your chest?”


    “I can still feel it. I wouldn’t want to take any massive deep breaths, but it’s a hell of a lot better. Doesn’t feel like someone’s jabbing a knife in my lungs when I move anymore.” He smirked, feeling good about the small victory. “Although I’m d I had someone with the skill to knife my lungs in the first ce.”


    “That isn’t funny.” She folded her arms and gave him a rather stern look.


    “Hey, I’ve beenid out for days. I’m sorry my wits aren’t as sharp as they should be.” He shed a handsome smile, though his cheeks still looked a little paler than they should have.


    “You shouldn’t be joking about such things in the first ce! You have no idea how I…” Valise trailed off, catching herself about to admit something she thought best kept quiet.


    “How you… what?”


    “It is nothing.” She shook her head and looked away, out of the tent and through the gap in the cloth to the camp outside.