DOOM WALKED UNTIL he nearly tripped over his own feet in exhaustion. He leaned on a tree by the clearing he stumbled into. A nearby, spring-fed pond poured into a stream, bubbling soothingly. Before them lay an ancient tree. Uprooted during its youth, it thrived where it had fallen atop an up-swell of bedrock. Lush grass covered the protected depression between tree and rock.

His eyes followed the topography and he realized that the slope continued to rise beyond their position. “The foothills of Dragons Gate,” he said to his unconscious friend with relief. “Oh, thank gods.” He laid Tiwaz on the thick grass, took out their sleeping mats, then shoved the backpacks in the narrow space between the tree trunk and the ground. Making her bed first, he put her on the more comfortable space, covering her with his much bigger and heavier cloak.

He put his own sleeping mat on the rise and inclined beside Tiwaz under the shelter of the old tree. Holding her hand in his, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to give into exhaustion at last.

“Doom!”

Tiwaz’s alarmed shout startled the gromek awake. He sat up and hit his head on the tree so hard the leaves rustled. He fell back for a moment, holding his head and swearing colorfully under his breath. Her agonized sound as she held her ribs drew him out of his own misery as she flopped back. His hand on her brow calmed her. “Relax, Ti. I’m here.”

Eyes dazed and glassy, she struggled to get her bearings. Her hands clutched his tunic, focusing on him. “Doom, are you hurt? Wyverns are too stupid to realize they’re dead when you’ve killed them.” She grimaced, putting one hand to her aching head. “I missed the artery to bleed it faster and broke my sword on its spine, damn it.”

He could not help but laugh in utter relief, more at the odd look she gave him. “Gods, Ti, I have never been happier to have you back to normal.” She frowned in confusion, closing her eyes as he stroked her hair out of her eyes. “You always worry about me before yourself. You damned near got killed when it threw you off.”

“A stupid, novice mistake. I forgot where I was,” she admitted. “There aren’t rocks in arena sands.” She looked back up at him. “You are unhurt?”

“Only casualties are your sword and my quarterstaff. I can easily make a new quarterstaff. You are going to have to make do with a knife for now.”

She shook her head, sitting up with effort, her arms around her tender ribs. Green eyes scanned the clearing their shelter faced. “Where are we?”

“The foothills of Dragons Gate,” he replied. He chuckled at her stare. “Yes, I carried you the whole way. I would have gone farther if I wasn’t about to fall over.”

“But the wyvern how did you kill it? You can take their head off and they’ll keep going until they’ve lost enough blood.” She narrowed her eyes at his hesitation, reaching out to turn his face towards her, searching his eyes. “I suppose you have a reason to hide the answer from me.” She lay back on her sleeping mat with a grimace. “But you are alive and unhurt. That is what matters.” He started to speak when she interrupted. “I am sorry about your staff. I know you liked it a lot.”

“My staff? What…? Oh.” He chuckled. “A warrior would worry about weapons. It’s fine, honest. It was just a good stick. I’m sure there is something out here I will be able to find as a suitable replacement.” He took the water skin from his belt, taking a long drink from it. “You really fought those things? I do not remember this.”

“Maybe five or so years ago. You were with your trainer a lot then. Alimar would give me healing potions when you were not there to bind my injuries.” She said, sensing his frown. “I refused to allow anyone but you to touch me, and that was one thing he could not make me yield to, no matter what. He was not willing to let me escape him through death. And he could not punish you for my disobedience before I would have died from my injuries.”

“I see.” Without a word, he unlaced her bracers, then slid both off at once. She sat upright when cool air brushed across the bandage-free skin. He put his hand between her head and the low ceiling of their shelter. Not that she would have noticed, staring at her horribly scarred but otherwise unmarred wrists.

“The glyphs are gone?” she whispered. “But how?”

“A dragon. It did not tell me its name, but it was the color of grey stone and had very green eyes.” He added with great reluctance, “I agreed to you owing it a debt in exchange for removing them. It said it would return one day for you to repay your debt.” She said nothing, just staring at her wrists. Concerned, he touched her shoulder. “Ti?”

Slowly, a tear rolled down her cheek. Then another. And another. She sounded choked as she spoke. “I am…really…free.”

“Yes, you are really free, my beloved friend.” He pulled her against him, holding her tight as she cried, stroking her hair and back. “I understand now,” he murmured. “Why you kept hinting I should abandon you. Why you threw yourself into every fight even if it could have killed you.”

He stroked her hair gently. “You didn’t want to tell me what those glyphs were doing to you. You didn’t want to tell me they were killing you because I would have attacked Alimar and he would have punished me worse for it.” Her sobs only increased at his gentle words. He held her more tightly. “I hope you can forgive me.”

She managed to get her crying under control, pulling away to rub her eyes impatiently before looking up at him in confusion. “I do not deserve an apology. I kept secrets from you. We are supposed to trust each other.”

He chuckled weakly, rubbing the tears from her cheeks with his huge thumb. “Not because you did not trust me. Because you knew me well enough to know I would have done something Alimar would have punished me for.” He looked down in shame. “You suffered this burden alone because of me.”

She turned his face back towards her with a gentle hand. “I suffered it willingly because you gave me reason to fight to live.”

“It is the past,” he stated after taking a deep breath and exhaling. “Now we both have a future to look to.” Watching her with confusion as she got up and, despite the pain of her barely healed injuries, she moved her sleeping mat closer to his. Understanding, he lay back and let her curl against him, putting his arm around her protectively. “You are not mad about owing a debt to a dragon?” he asked.

He felt her shrug her shoulder. “I am not happy about it. Dragons are very strict with their honor, but it is their honor, not human honor. But, I am truly unshackled. I owe it my life.”

Doom did not speak for several minutes. “I asked it what your race was. All it would tell me was that you were not human. Alimar had hampered our natural growth, but we are not restricted any longer. I don’t know what that means, but…”

“We’ll figure it out later,” she said in a sleepy voice. “Rest. It should be safe enough for us both to nap a little while.” He smiled, closed his eyes, and felt at peace for the first time in a very long time, letting sleep claim him. Her eyes remained half-open, keeping watch as she put a protective hand over his heart.