Chapter Fourteen

 

They spent the week mostly training, with Vulk leading them in boxing, Trish handling weapons, and Stern leading martial arts. It helped ease Vulk into the crew, and there was less disdain from him toward Stern.

 

Because they stayed at the inn for a while, the other Walkers mellowed more to Stern. There was even a handful of people that asked to pet Pawly. Stern was fine with that, but warned them to not pet her belly. One person didn’t listen to the warning, and Pawly drew blood. Stern made sure to salve the wound, and the guy wasn’t terribly upset, agreeing that he’d been warned.

 

Now, it was time to leave Waterrock behind— they’d collected Cammie’s armor and had double-checked their gear and supplies. They spent the last night enjoying one more good meal, and even spent time in the taproom sharing stories with the other Walkers.

 

For the trio of lovers, they did their best to not cause problems for the siblings. They kept their intimacy to the bedrooms, outside of kisses on the cheeks. Trish spent a couple of nights with each of the other two, and the three of them spent one more night together, but didn’t go further than they had previously.

 

~*~*~

 

Stern woke to soft lips on his, and he reached out to hold the one kissing him. Cyra let out a happy sound as she let the kiss linger, resting her hands on Stern’s bare chest. After a few minutes, Cyra pushed away from him to sit up, looking down at him with love and yearning.

 

“Good morning, my dearest bunny,” Stern murmured.

 

“Good morning, dearest,” Cyra murmured back, the words making her feelings of love surge higher.

 

“Time to move on,” Stern sighed as he sat up.

 

“Yes, on to the next city and dungeon,” Cyra agreed. “And maybe… more?”

 

Stern gave her a smile. “Perhaps, if you’re ready then. During the trip wouldn’t be right.”

 

“No. Just cuddles during the trip itself,” Cyra agreed. “I already talked with Trish about the trip and after. I’m wanting to do a little more with you... she’ll be there with us.”

 

Stern cleared his throat as his imagination was spinning into overdrive. “Yeah...”

 

Cyra giggled, then leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I didn’t mean to tease you.”

 

“Trish must be rubbing off on you.”

 

“When she isn’t with you,” Cyra giggled again.

 

Stern chuckled. “True. I’ll be out there in a bit.”

 

“Okay.” Cyra collected another kiss on his cheek before she left the room.

 

Stern swallowed when she left, forcing himself out of bed. She does feel happier and safer around me, he thought. Maybe this is working in the right way, after all... I’m glad she wants to do more, but I’ll have to keep a close check on her emotions to make sure she doesn’t press too far...

 

~*~*~

 

The group broke their fast with the breakfast soup the inn always served as the first meal of the day. Saying their goodbyes to the staff and the few Walkers hanging about, they left the inn behind.

 

Entering the Walkers’ hall, Trish led them to the quest board. They found a collection quest for more dark willow shoots, along with a kill quest for scurriflies.

 

“Hmm...” Trish mused, looking thoughtful. “Might be a wild boss for them, considering the number we killed on the way here.”

 

“Agreed,” Stern said.

 

“I thought those were rare?” Cyra asked.

 

“They are,” Cammie replied. “A quest hasn’t been posted, but if we find and kill it, we should get a reward.”

 

“It would be the second wild boss for Cyra and I,” Stern explained, “and yes, they should be rare.”

 

“That would make it irregular, like you,” Vulk said.

 

Stern laughed. He caught the current of humor from Vulk, even though he’d said the line without giving away any. “True.”

 

Seeing Stern was okay with the banter, Cyra and Trish relaxed.

 

“It’ll take us longer to get to Springwater if we take the quests,” Cammie said, “but money is always welcome.”

 

“Yes, it is,” Trish grinned.

 

Stern nodded, thinking he might need to visit a bank in the next city— he’d taken a chunk out of what he’d been carrying, with Cyra and Cammie needing gear. However, he put the thought aside for later.

 

Trish touched the pages and accepted the quests. “Okay, let’s go.”

 

As they turned to leave, a few people called out wishing them well, and they returned the standard Walker reply. As they went down the road toward the city gate, Stern was quiet.

 

“Stern?” Cyra asked softly.

 

“Think I might miss it here,” Stern told her. “They’d mostly started accepting me.”

 

“And more will,” Cyra said, taking his hand.

 

“You’re always more optimistic than I am,” Stern smiled.

 

“That’s true,” Cyra said, “but I also know how selfless you can be. Us pulling the shards out helped a lot.”

 

“It was good,” Stern said softly, thinking back to the rebirth. “I’m not surprised he decided to retire.”

 

“He was dead longer than I was,” Trish said. “It can take a toll on you.”

 

“How bad of a toll?” Cammie asked.

 

“Depends on the person, who’s there for them, and how long they were dead,” Trish said. “Most retire if it’s been years. Their crew probably split apart if they weren’t pulled out… or the entire crew was killed.”

 

“Walkers, may the road be smooth for you,” one of the guards on the gate nodded to them as they left the city.

 

“Have a good day,” Trish replied.

 

“Half day on the road, then into the woods?” Vulk asked.

 

“That’s the plan,” Trish agreed. “About two weeks of travel to Springwater, collecting all the dark willow shoots we can while killing scurriflies. Should be pretty straightforward... at least we hope it is.”

 

~*~*~

 

Settling down for the night, the group had to divide up the camp work again, since they had new members. With five of them, they had more people than tasks. Cyra was the cook every time— that was clearly set by Trish and Stern. For hunting, Stern went with Pawly to bring down fresh meat if possible. That left Cammie, Vulk, and Trish to handle the other tasks; gathering wood and setting the camp. The three of them came to an agreement that they would rotate which of them had what duty each night.

 

When Stern returned with a few rabbits, he found the camp all set. “Looks good,” he said as he took a seat beside the cutting board. “I’ll have these ready in a few minutes, Cyra.”

 

“Okay. You gutted them already?”

 

“Wanted to make sure we keep the camp as clean as possible. Besides, Pawly wanted a snack.”

 

Pawly, the size of a small tiger, bumped Stern’s back, nearly bowling him over.

 

“Easy,” Stern chuckled. “If you make me ruin the meat, Cyra will be upset.”

 

Pawly sat down, looking away as if she was innocent.

 

“You’re going to skin them?” Vulk asked.

 

“Yeah, then debone and slice them for Cyra,” Stern nodded. “She’ll get them cooked enough for travel food tomorrow.”

 

Vulk shifted over to watch. “Never seen it done before.”

 

“I’ll go slower on the second one,” Stern said as he began skinning the first rabbit. “I want Cyra to be able to get the food started.”

 

Cammie took a seat on Stern’s other side. “We’ve never hunted and cleaned game before.”

 

“A learning experience, then,” Stern said as he kept his eyes on his task. “Once you do it enough, it’s pretty easy. Cyra can manage it easily now with all the work she got during our bunnicorn hunting.”

 

“Oh? How did that go?” Cammie asked.

 

“Good. That’s where Trish’s helmet came from.”

 

Trish chuckled as she patted the helm beside her. “He brought it into my shop and asked me to make a helm out of it. He was going to use it, but it suited me better, he thought.”

 

“It does make for a striking piece,” Vulk said. “The horn is sharper than it should be, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes. When it was plated, I asked my friend to give it a good point. If needed, it can do the job. Of course, if I have to use my helm, I’ve probably made numerous mistakes.”

 

“Or they got the jump on us,” Cyra said.

 

“True, but that means we all failed to see the ambush.”

 

“Which would be terrible,” Cammie said. “If the ambush goes for you, that’s better for the rest of us.”

 

“There is that,” Trish chuckled.

 

“Tea is ready,” Cyra said, pulling the pot off the fire.

 

“Pour for me? I’ll get to it after I’m done and cleaned up,” Stern asked Cyra.

 

Cyra nodded as she passed around a cup of tea to everyone. “I’ll get a second pot on after dinner.”

 

Cammie sipped the steaming tea. “Mint… very relaxing.”

 

“Dark for the morning, mint for the evening,” Cyra said.

 

“You’re quick,” Vulk said, his eyes focused on Stern’s hands.

 

“Years of practice,” Stern explained. “My family always went camping and hunting. We all learned… well, most of us. Some of my siblings refused.”

 

“Why?” Vulk asked.

 

“They don’t want to kill people or animals,” Stern said. “Oh, they don’t mind eating them, but the blood bothers them. They’ll clear the first three dungeons, but probably stop there.”

 

“Soft,” Vulk snorted.

 

“Not everyone is suited for being a Walker,” Trish said. “Most people clear the basic three and no more. Only Walkers and the serious crafters clear more.”

 

“A few don’t even do a single dungeon,” Cammie added. “I never understood that. Few die in the lowest three if they go in with others.”

 

“But they can still die...” Cyra said softly, visibly recalling her own death.

 

Cammie jerked, clearly hearing the sadness in Cyra’s words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—!”

 

“It’s fine,” Cyra said, cutting her off.

 

“Your story?” Vulk asked cautiously.

 

“Yes,” Cyra nodded as she took the first pieces of rabbit meat from Stern. “It’s how I met Stern, in fact.”

 

Stern’s hands stilled. “You don’t need to tell them.”

 

“It’s fine. It might help me,” Cyra said. She set the meat into the hot pan, the sizzle and smell filling the air. “I went in with five others…”

 

~*~*~

 

Vulk and Cammie were aghast and angry when Cyra finished the tale.

 

“That thing deserved to die. Good job,” Vulk told Stern.

 

“Too quick,” Cammie said tightly. “He should have suffered more.”

 

Pawly chuffed, staring at the sizzling pan.

 

“Yes, it’s ready,” Cyra said as she pulled the meat and vegetables from the pan. “Anyway, Stern offered to take me into the dungeon, and, well, we’ve been together since.”

 

“Why?” Cammie asked as she took the plate Cyra offered her.

 

Stern finished cleaning his hands, having prepared the second rabbit during the story. “She wanted to be a Walker. I understand the drive to be more than how others see you. After the first one, we both had to get out of Bloodstone, so it just made sense.”

 

“And Trish?” Vulk asked, giving Cyra a thankful nod as he took his plate.

 

“They met me in Darkstone,” Trish said. “Cyra charmed me and Stern impressed me. Friendship grew into something more.”

 

Cyra gave Trish a kiss on the cheek as she passed Trish the plate of food. “And we’re glad for that.”

 

“Very glad,” Stern smiled. “Thank you, Cyra,” he said, taking his own plate.

 

“And for Pawly,” Cyra grinned as she set a bowl down beside herself. “You need to be smaller, though.”

 

Pawly chuffed, sitting up and staring at Stern.

 

Stern chuckled and shrunk her down, also removing her other improvements. “Eat up, fur-face.”

 

“This is good,” Cammie said as she finished her first bite. “How did you manage that in a camp?”

 

Cyra smiled broadly. “Spices.”

 

“And she’s magic with food,” Trish added.

 

“Yes, she is,” Stern agreed.

 

Cyra blushed a little, smiling as she ate her own food.