It feels like this road will never end. As they go around yet another bend of the path which leads to Luton, Nedoma is left only with his thoughts as neither him nor Jana say anything as they press onward. Now with a fair amount of distance between him and Ayrith, the growing sense of personal safety corrodes the mind which begins to conspire with how to cope with the day's events. It begins to write off all the conflict and tragedy as though it were a passing nightmare.

Yes, he would wake up any time now, in the middle of being yelled at for having overslept once more. He would get out of bed and return to the monotonous and only life he ever knew: that of a farmer. A cycle that felt never ceased. Preparing. Sowing. Growing. Harvesting. Over and over again. Never leaving the shallow comfort of a farming village nestled up against lands teaming with monsters. A life with no joys, only bare-minimum survival. Like a tasteless fruit. But could that peasant's purgatory be considered boring once she appeared? Although appeared is quite a terrible way to describe someone who you had known your entire childhood. She had always been there. The parent's friend's daughter. Two children who entertained themselves with the idea of a large world which centered itself around their small village. But as they both continued to age, development incurred developments in their relationship. Nedoma's life, which had seemed betrothed with boredom from the start, had found a new engagement.

And that new engagement was something that he vowed to protect. To see the emotions of a girl who lost her father to goblins spurred the still youthful boy to desire the path of an adventurer. He took opportunities to talk to them whenever they visited the remote village, hoping for any insights they might lend him. He began to practice the basic motions of combat using whatever tools that were available on the farm. The garden fork like a spear, a kitchen knife like a short sword, these tools would hopefully grant him at least a basic level of proficiency when he had planned to set out on his seventeenth birthday.

But in that vow to protect Jana, he feels as though today he had forgotten what event had started it. The proof of this remains limp next to him as he continues to drag her. In his decision to kill the goblin assaulting Jana, did that mean he chose to forfeit her mother's life? As he readjusts his grip on her arm which coils behind his neck, he cannot help but think about her current condition. If I didn't feel a slight heartbeat from her I would have thought she's dead. The scene of the fight still toys with him. What would have happened if he had assisted Emi first? Since she knows some form of healing magic, wouldn't she have been able to heal any of Jana's injuries after we dealt with the remaining goblins? His immediate instinct had been to simply protect Jana, but now it seems that it might have not been the right decision.

And that decision now weighs on him both mentally, and physically. What started as supporting Emi while they walked regressed to quite literally dragging her along as the three of them continued down the road. All they could do is hope that the injury could be healed by either adventurers on their way to Ayrith, or that they make it in time to the church within Luton so that she could be healed. Nedoma silently prays for either, both out of care and guilt.

But before either of those things will happen, I need a break. Nedoma was beginning to feel the accumulation of fatigue from the day. Although he has built up what he considers a decent reserve of stamina from the daily role of a farmer, fighting goblins, running through the village and assisting Emi have all left him fairly drained by now. The heat of the sun feels especially overbearing right now. He imagines what it would be like to perhaps lay down somewhere near the road and try to regain some of his energy.

Speaking up, he asks “Hey Jana... huff.. do you think we could take a short break?” A mistimed breath seems to convey that he is much more tired than he truly is.

“Sure.” Jana motions towards Emi. “Lets lay her down on the grass, I can check her bandages too.”

They both move towards the side of the dirt road and pick a spot near some shrubs. After laying down Emi, Nedoma watches as Jana begins to check her bandages. Seeing her check each one to ascertain that they remain in place filled him with a mix of emotions. He gently places one hand on her shoulder, and says “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.” A silent nod is all he receives in response as she continues her work. Receiving her affirmation, he falls down onto his back into the grass and stares upwards at the sky. The sun floats directly overhead as he moves his hand to block it with his palm. Huh, it's already noon? I don't think it's been more than three hours since we left Jana's, we must have overslept again. A calm breeze blows, causing the grass nearest him to slightly touch the outline of his body with their tips. I just want to sleep here. His fatigue begins to unwind itself, as if how tired he had really been was a well kept secret now spilling out its contents. As he closes his eyes, all that can be heard is the sound of the forest swaying in the breeze and the rustling of Jana next to him. He is unsure of how much time passes in this position, but he then hears another sound. A small rustling noise, coming from what seemed like across the road. In a sleepy daze he slowly sits up as he squints to try and make out what was going on. A staff begins to wiggle out from the opposing brush, and for a moment he wonders if Emi had somehow gotten better and moved to the other side of the road. It looked for a moment as though the brush were growing toward him, it's green surface beginning to reach out to him. Suddenly Nedoma's eyes opened wide as he realized what was going on. As the sound of unintelligible incantations began to fill the air, Nedoma could only utter two words.

“Oh fuck.”