Rodentia Adventures

CHAPTER 22: FAMILY REUNION

"Did you know that she was so frightened of the sight of blood?" Rowan asked the injured mouse with a whisper. 

"No. But back when the village was attacked... well, there was a lot of blood that day. Mostly hers. I guess that it's not so surprising." Aaron replied in an equally quiet voice, not wishing for Jerin to overhear. "This could be a problem. What should we do about it?" 

"I do not believe that it is. If anything, this entire situation is a sterling example of just how well our journey has gone thus far." 

"Huh? How do you figure?" 

"We have battled two dark lords, and faced many other dangers, seemingly been on the verge of dying time and time again, and yet throughout all of that, this is the first time any one of us has spilled so much as a single drop of blood." 

"Good point." Aaron said, after giving the matter some thought. That didn't really solve the problem at hand, but it was helpful for keeping things in perspective. Still, he couldn't say that he was pleased with this discovery. Even putting aside the fact that they most likely weren't done fighting, it was upsetting to accept that she still bared such mental scars from that trauma. Not surprising, but still upsetting. Well, one thing at a time, as always. Once the current situation with Theos was resolved, he had fully intended to repay the monster that had caused this, ten-fold. 

Behind Rowan, Jerin sat upright, looking more than a but little embarrassed. "Sorry. I guess I was just a little more tired than I thought. It's been-it's been a long night." 

"Are you sure you're okay? We could rest a little longer." Mathias replied. 

"I'm fine." She said gruffly, looking away from him and rising to her feet. "And I'll be even better once this is finished. We've still got work to do." 

Even aside from the fact that a sizable portion of the tower had been completely destroyed, navigating Jerin's over-sized sword through the stairway had posed its own serious difficulties. She had simply run up the side of the tower earlier, but going back down the same way, especially considering the shape that the structure was currently in, felt a lot less feasible. 

"Okay, since nobody else is going to ask, what's the deal with... that?" Aaron asked, pointing at the sword. Due to its sheer size, it was nearly impossible to point in Jerin's general direction without also pointing to the weapon. 

"I already told you!" she replied. 

"No, not about what the sword is, although that explanation was also a little unhelpful, but how you can carry it with one hand like that without even getting tired." Aaron said. The blade dwarfed his old hammer in every regard, and being almost entirely comprised of solid metal, it was clearly much heavier, yet she hardly seemed to notice its weight. Trying to maneuver the shape and size of it through the narrow stairwell was another matter, however. it was almost a blessing that half of the wall was destroyed, occasionally giving them a little bit more space to work with. 

"I've been training hard ever since I was gone. I guess I've just gotten stronger!" Jerin grinned. 

Aaron stared blankly at her for a moment. "You were gone for six hours." 

"Wow, that long, huh?" she replied. "No wonder my neck is a bit stiff." 

Jerin, of course did not become so powerful from six hours of training. Counting the discussion with the king, the transport time, the encounter with Midnight, the trip back and regular breaks, it was actually significantly shorter. 

There was a distinct air of relief when they had finally reached the bottom. It was slow going, the remains of the tower constantly threatening to crumble beneath their feet every step of the way. The trek was tense, uncomfortable and very, very tiring.