Eliona's War 2: Veiled Healer

Chapter 63

Severance barely kept the dismay from his face. Of all people, it was her? The woman was crazy!

"Awesome."

***

They met up by the usual fountain in Tomorrow's Edge. Before Awesome Dude could say anything, Severance quickly moved in close and whispered, "Don't say anything about yesterday. Keep it a secret, okay?"

"Ah? But I already told Ironhide." The Shade pointed across the court, to where a sturdy-looking tank was gesturing and talking to thin air. It looked kind of funny, but obviously the player was leaving a message for someone.

"That's okay, but don't talk about it while I'm with you. Someone might be listening in." He could only hope that his friend could manage that. His shadow today was Nedra, and though he couldn't see her, he knew she was out there, watching.

"Ooh, got it." Awesome Dude nodded seriously. He pretended to zip up his lips, while looking around them with exaggerated wide eyes, like he was searching for eavesdroppers.

Severance sighed. It had been impressive yesterday with how sneaky the Shade had been yesterday, but this? The guy wasn't being subtle at all.

"So, what's happening today? Are we running a dungeon?"

He watched Ironhide, who was no longer talking, but tapping the air lightly. If the tank was here, then that seemed to be the most obvious conclusion.

"Nope! Even better." Awesome Dude grinned. "We're raiding the Chosen Den."

"Ah."

Severance hid the sudden apprehension. He hadn't been in a dungeon with players or in any real conflict since he'd returned to Eliona. Even if he'd been training with Batin, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. What if he got hurt in front of everyone?

Pain is inevitable, Batin's came back to him. It's how you handle it that matters. Will you let it rule you? Or will you embrace it?

He sighed softly. Running from his fears was no longer an option. And Nedra was out there to watch his back, at least.

"Sounds fun," he said, and squashed the growing unease.

Steady footsteps alerted him to Ironhide joining them. The tank gave Severance a friendly nod.

"Dude fill you in?"

"I think so. We're hitting the Chosen Den?"

"That's right. We've got a group together, which we'll meet up with shortly. The plan is to clear out the guards and open a path for some of our teams to get into the Den." Ironhide looked pointedly at Awesome Dude. "Stay off the Chat. We don't want to alert the Chosen."

"I'm not even on the Chat though," Awesome Dude whined.

"Good. Stay off it."

Severance fought a smile. Some things never changed.

A little while later, they were trekking down a narrow path north of the city of bridges. Imposing walls of rock hemmed them in on either side. There were multiple trails like this winding through the Canyon, some natural, some man made, but time had eroded them down to the point where it was hard to tell which was what.

Long shadows cast across the path, courtesy of a low hanging sun, making their journey shaded for most of the time. Severance appreciated this, since he'd already had his fill of hot desert sun.

Ironhide's heavy boots crunched through the loose gravel of the path, while Awesome Dude and Severance made no sound as they walked. No one talked. For once, Awesome Dude held his silence. He seemed to be taking this seriously.