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Caleb trailed as far behind the others as he dared as they began to make their way back to the surface, eyes locked on the ground, and shoulders hunched. After they’d rested, and he’d successfully managed to turn off the abyssal key, they’d broached the heavy silence that had hung over the camp once they’d woken up. The conversation that had followed hadn’t been as awful as the one he had built up in his head, not aided by the nightmares that had haunted him throughout the night. Memories of flames past and present – of his family, both his parents and this strange, scary one that he had been building for himself, destroyed with his own hands – leaving him sick to the stomach, and waiting for the blame. For the rejection that should have come when he had first told Beau and Nott what he had done to his parents, or later when he had told the entire group who he had once been.It hadn’t come. Between the self-recriminations, and not just from him and Yasha, who looked as sickened as he felt about what they had done while charmed, even though he had been quick to reassure her that she wasn’t to blame. After all, it was what he had deserved, and he didn’t want her to know that kind of weight, that guilt, not when they already knew some of the burdens she carried. And from Nott as well, who had been drunk before they’d even finished their silent breakfast, breaking down in tears as she’d apologised to Caduceus, trying to refuse his forgiveness, before he’d pulled her into a hug and warned her, in his usual relaxed way to just be a little more careful in the future. He had come to realise two things, one that none of them blamed him for what had happened, despite Jester’s ire the day before and her and Beau’s scolding him for holding out on them – apparently, he had been hard to defeat, which brought him no comfort.And two, that they should… He hadn’t voiced the second thought, knowing that if he did then the conversations would continue for a lot longer, a clock ticking away at the back of his mind. They needed to finish this job, restock their healing supplies – and he didn’t want to think about how much of those could have been saved if he’d been stronger-willed if he hadn’t caved to someone else’s control as though nothing had changed. Then they needed to move because Nott’s husband was waiting on them, and that was a mission that Caleb had to see through, even above his own goals, because even now miles away from Felderwin, and with things back to normal between them…at least before this miss… all he could hear was her hissed accusation ‘your people did this’. They might not be ‘his people’ any more, but they had been once, and you had to atone for the past, and that meant finding and rescuing Yezza, and at least giving Nott a chance to reclaim her old life. To let her be free. So, he’d stayed quiet. Mumbling a final apology, before Beau and Fjord had growled at him in frustration to knock it out, while Caduceus patted his shoulder and Jester had pulled him into a tight hug, giggling as she told him that she was glad that he had his cat back in his heart. But the thought had taken root, growing stronger as they packed up, allowing him to sneak furtive glances at each of them, sharp eyes tracking the streaks of soot and singing on their clothes. Proof of what he had done, and how close he had come to losing…no, they weren’t his to lose, not anymore because he didn’t deserve that…“Caleb?” Nott’s voice broke through his darkening thoughts, and he blinked startled to find that he had come to a halt at some point and that the rest of the group had paused and waited for him. They daren’t leave you alone after last time, they don’t trust what you will do, a voice that sounded a little too much like the Succubus’ sensuous voice whispered in the back of his mind, and he clutched at the material of his coat, refusing to move his hands, to give them more reason to distrust him. “Caleb, are you okay?” She sounded soberer now, and he wondered which of the Clerics had decided to give her a hand, almost wishing they hadn’t when she looked at him with much too knowing eyes, and with difficulty, he forced a smile for her.“I’m fine, just a little tired still,” he murmured, and it was true. Although he knew that the exhaustion tugging at him had little to do with the fighting the day before, even though he could still feel the lingering echo of his wounds, of falling so many times. No, this weariness ran deeper, a weight that couldn’t be seen. Guilt. Fear. Anger. Doubt. It all weighed on him, stronger than ever and he glanced down, not wanting them to see the lie or the truth. “Sorry, I did not mean to hold us up.” There was an exasperated sigh from Beau, and he risked a glance at her, not liking the fact that she had a similar expression to Nott – far too knowing, and he had a feeling that she would be far more on point that his little friend was if she broached the subject.“We’re going to talk about this once this job is complete,” she muttered as she caught his gaze, before turning and marching away before he could reply, and slowly the others followed, although Nott only moved when it became clear that he was going to follow. He made more of an effort to keep up as they moved into the central part of the cavern, still more humid than it had been when they’d first arrived, the cavernous mouth illuminated by Caduceus’ staff more intimidating now that he wasn’t ensnared or focused on staying alive. However, it was nothing compared to the sight that met his eyes as they headed towards the entrance to the tunnel they had come from, his eyes widening as he took in the scorched rock. Several areas shimmering, where the heat had turned the sandy parts to glass, and the sickening feeling that hadn’t abated in the slightest, intensified as he traced the path of the Fire Wall and for a moment all he could see was flames dancing in front of his eyes. Sparks danced across his fingers, his magic yearning to be free as his emotions surged, and he clenched his hands. No. Please stop. He looked up, half expecting to find that the others had stopped too, or even to find weapons pointed at him, but apparently, he hadn’t faltered as much as he’d thought because they were still moving, murmuring amongst themselves now that the prospect of reaching the surface was closer. He followed, numbly putting one foot in front of the other. I could have killed them all, he thought as he crossed the scorched rock, and there was a tightness in his chest as he reached the mouth of the tunnel. Jester was already disappearing around the corner, Nugget who had carefully avoided him all morning trotting alongside her, tail at half-mast although beginning to wag as they moved away from where he had nearly died. The others were following, showing no hesitation at moving past scorched and damaged walls, Beau even teasing Fjord as they splashed through puddles left behind from his magic.
Light them up pretty…
Burn them, Bren…
He was going to be sick. The two voices were worlds apart, and yet despite everything, he hadn’t changed. He had still bowed to that command. He didn’t care that the rational part of his mind knew that the others could have been charmed as well. That Yasha had, albeit later, and after being the one to force him back to himself. All he could see and feel was the fireball forming in his hands, the utter certainty that he was right to follow that command.
There was heat on his face…
Voices screaming and pleading…
He clawed at his arm, sparking fingers leaving painful gouges on the skin, but the pain grounded him, stopping him from drifting into the past. Not that the present was much better, he realised, as he took a trembling step into the tunnel and then another.* His stomach settled a little the further into the tunnel he got, and he even managed to join in the conversation a little as they headed back towards the surface as Jester threatened to stop and chop up the second Quasit body as they passed the point where they had fought the little creatures, seemingly a lifetime ago. A quiet comment that she would give poor Yarnball a stomach ache with that old meat had her abandoning that idea, before turning and promising Nugget that she would also find him something ‘yummy’ to eat after all this. It was fine. Everything was fine, or rather it wasn’t, but at least Caleb had managed to perfect the illusion of what passed for normal for the time being. Then Jester slipped and stumbled as they were climbing back through the well, and as he’d been right behind her, he hadn’t hesitated to reach out to stop her from landing on her face.“Steady, it’s….” The words died on his tongue as his mouth went dry, because the second he had lifted his hand, even before he had caught her to steady her, Jester flinched. He steadied her, before snatching his hand back, nausea bubbling up as she immediately looked at him with a horrified expression as she realised what had happened.“Caleb, I…”“Don’t,” Caleb cut her off, trembling as he stepped back as she reached out as though to hug him, even though he had just scared her…again. He was barely aware that the others were there, or the worried silence stretching out around him, or how Nott was moving forward, reaching for him to, or how Beau had started to move into his escape route as though sensing what he had in mind. He noted her, a blur of blue in the corner of his eye, even as his hands moved, slipping into Zemnian as he cast the spell, he had prepared but hoped against hope that he wouldn’t need to use. “It’s okay,” he whispered as he felt the magic taking hold, returning to common as he met Jester’s stricken gaze. “I understand, I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” There was so much more that he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come, just a litany of apologies.“Caleb, what are you…?” Fjord asked, stepping forward, trying to stop the situation from getting even more out of control than it already was, falling silent as Caleb shook his head.“I’m sorry…” This apology was for all of them, and for a second, he met golden eyes as he glanced at Nott, and then he was gone. Bolting past Beau, and he sensed rather than felt her trying to stop him, but he was too fast, magic simmering beneath his skin and lending him unnatural speed as he fled, but not quickly enough to escape Jester’s anguished shout.“CALEB!”*“Dammit, we need to go after him,” Beau was the first to recover from her shock, turning to look at the others, and Jester, tearful as she realised that her instinctive reaction had caused this mess nodded already stepping forward when a protest came from an unexpected direction.“Maybe…” Nott began hesitantly, fingers trembling as she took a quick swig from her flask, needing the courage as she realised that Caleb had left her behind…and that for the first time, a small part of her wasn’t sure that he would come back, before continuing quietly. “Maybe, we should give him some time.”“Normally, I would agree,” Beau admitted with a grimace, knowing that she had the worst track record for pushing conversations with Caleb before he was ready, although they had always managed to bumble through them more or less intact. “But considering what happened yesterday, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”“Because of the fire?” Fjord asked, glancing at Jester who had tensed at the reminder, her tail lashing behind her as she was caught between the memory of what had happened and the fact that she had managed to scare Caleb away.“That, and because it was us… because it was his ‘family’ that he was forced to target,” Beau didn’t want to say more, after all, Caleb had still only entrusted her and Nott with that part of his past, but she had to say something. They needed to know just how bad this could be, even as she cursed herself for not broaching the subject the second, she had realised that he wasn’t as okay as he was pretending to be. “Plus, that bitch was controlling him, that will have dragged up some memories of his own from what he told us about his past as Bren.” At least that much she could say with confidence, seeing the dawning understanding as they remembered how he had faltered, voice wavering and breaking as he spoke about what had been done to him, and it was easier than confronting the truth of her earlier words, although they haunted her. ‘Family’ she had called them, and looking around them now, seeing the pain and the worry, she couldn’t help but think that was what they were, trying not to think about Dairon’s warning about friendship.“I…”“There’s also the fact that he’s just run off without disguising himself,” Caduceus was the one to interrupt Nott’s protest, a rare frown on his face as he glanced at where Caleb had disappeared. “And I don’t think Mr Caleb is in any state to remember to do so, even when he does stop running.” Beau did curse then, loudly, in every language she knew, because she hadn’t even thought about that, and now their squishiest member was running around with a target painted on his back, and in no state to defend himself.“We need to find him now.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Don’t run...
Beau’s plea echoed through his mind, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t think. All he could see was that moment when Jester had flinched away from. That split second when she had finally realised what he’d known from the start, that they should blame him for what had happened. She had been through so much since they’d started travelling in a group, and yet she rarely seemed to falter, and yet today she had pulled away. He had done that. He had been the one thing that she couldn’t just bounce back from, and he felt himself break a little more at that realisation, pushing himself forward, not allowing himself to falter. He couldn’t run from this. He had run from Trent, from what he had done to his family, from what he had been destined to become. But he couldn’t run from what he had done to his friends. However, he could run from them. He could make sure that his flames wouldn’t hurt anyone else.That he wouldn’t hurt anyone else. It didn’t take him long to leave the well far behind him. And he was blind to where he was going, following the twining streets and side-alleys of the city as he tried to get as far away as possible, distantly aware of voices around him, people pressing close and then scattering as they realised that he wasn’t going to stop. Something tugged at the edge of his awareness, a fear that was trying to make itself it known, but he buried it. It didn’t matter what lay in front of him. It didn’t matter what happened to him, just as long as he was far away from the rest of the Nein…no from the Nein, because he wasn’t one of them anymore. Another thing burned to ashes by his own actions, and there was ash on his tongue once more, the heat of the flames on his skin once more, and his eyes were burning as he stared ahead, trying to stave off the memories before they could overwhelm him and render him more useless than he already was. He was faltering, steps beginning to slow, and he hastily recast the spell before he could come to a halt, but there was a flicker around the edge of his magic. He was exhausted. His heart pounding in his chest, and lungs beginning to burn. The spell could give him speed, but it couldn’t strengthen his body, and when his vision started to darken around the edges a few minutes later, he knew that he had to stop or risk landing up in a crumpled heap on the ground. He’s so weak, Nott’s teasing came back to him, only this time it had a sharpness, a mocking, that had been missing before, and even as he stumbled to a halt, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it out. His breath wheezed in his chest, as he let himself slump against the closest wall, a roaring sound filling his ears. It’s not far enough. He had covered a fair distance, and he wasn’t sure that the others would even bother looking for him this time. He had certainly given them no reason to come after him, and yet it still didn’t feel far enough. Maybe it never would. However, it was an itch that couldn’t be ignored, and even as he struggled to catch his breath, he pushed himself upright and forced himself to open his eyes. Move. Keep moving. It was fear speaking, he knew that much, and yet that didn’t stop it from taking hold and moving forward. Now that he wasn’t running blindly, he became a little more aware of his surroundings, and the fact that he didn’t know where he was. It didn’t feel like he’d gone far enough, and yet the streets stretching out around him were unfamiliar. Not that, that was hard because they hadn’t managed to explore much of the city before they’d ended up caught up in the events that had led them down that cursed well. Still, there was something oddly comforting about the unfamiliarity. He could lose himself here. Blend in. Because it was clear that he had made his way deep into the outer areas of the city, the buildings here, squat and poorly built, as though they had been scraped together from whatever materials had been left over from the rest of the city. Filthy cloths covered windows and doors, stirring lightly in the breeze, while the narrow streets were cluttered with piles of junk, and there were strings of what looked like meat although he didn’t want to hazard a guess of what kind hanging out of some of the windows.He couldn’t blend in… As his mind cleared a little, grounded by focusing on the small details around him, clarity returned and with it came a different kind of fear as he remembered where they were. The City of Beasts. He’d forgotten in his need to get as far away as possible, but now the reality of where he was slammed into him. As did the realisation that he wasn’t alone. A low noise bubbling up as he realised that he’d stepped out of the half-cover of a narrow gap between two buildings, and right into the middle of a bustling street, stopping all movement, as eyes… far too many eyes, that were too hungry and too close, focusing on him. He shrank back. An instinctive reaction to being the centre of attention, but there was something more to it this time, a sensation that crept beneath his skin and made him tremble.The fear of pretty that knew it had caught the predator’s attention. He stumbled back, hands groping for his component pouch. He had to move, to get away before that choice was taken from him. However, he had barely taken three steps back, before he bumped into something solid, and warm…and much larger than he was, and the fear deepened, locking him in place as a huge, heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder, blunt nails biting into the material of his coat and threatening to break through to flesh and bone.“What do we have here?”**** Caleb was long gone by the time they’d emerged from the well, as they’d delayed just long enough to disguise Beau, not wanting to be slowed down by people taking an unnecessary interest in the fact that they were travelling with a human. It was Beau who cursed now as she glanced around, searching for any side of red hair and filthy brown, already knowing that she wasn’t going to find anything, before turning back to the others with a defeated slump to her shoulders. “He’s long gone…” It hurt far more than she was willing to admit because she’d thought that they’d got beyond this. That he’d realised that he didn’t need to hide from them. Part of her knew that this different, that the past and the present had mingled too much for the wizard to make sense of, but it was easier to focus on her anger, than the worry and fear that lay beneath. “I’m going to punch him when we find him.” When, not if, because the latter didn’t bear thinking about.“Maybe you should hold off on the punching, if you want to convince him to come back to us,” Fjord muttered, rolling his eyes at his words. Before she could retort, he had stepped forward, stepping into the path of a lumbering Ettin carrying a worryingly moist looking sack over one shoulder, and a blood-encrusted club in its other hand. “Excuse me, friend,” Fjord spread his arms wide, showing that he wasn’t a threat as he dropped into the Orc tongue that he tried to use as little as possible, even as he turned on the charm as both pairs of squinty eyes focused on him. “I was wondering if you’d seen a rather skinny human bolt past here a few minutes ago?”“Human?”“There is a human here?” The second head asked, leaning in to peer at him.“He did a runner on us,” Fjord pretended not to notice the hungry look in the eyes. Tried not to imagine what they would look like if Caleb were in their sights, keeping his voice as even as possible, as he tried not let his worry for their missing wizard bleed into his words. At least the harsh, guttural language helped with that, making his next words sound more like a threat than the hope they really were. “And we’re rather keen to get him back.”“Should we be saying that we’re looking for a human?” Jester asked anxiously from where she was hanging back with Nott and Caduceus, twisting her hands together as she glanced around them. It had been fun to be in a place where the fact that she was a Tiefling didn’t stand out in the slightest, but now it had lost its appeal because Caleb was out there somewhere. On his own, and worryingly human, all because she hadn’t been able to control her reactions.“Jester,” Nott spoke up for the first time since they’d emerged, reaching out to pull on Jester’s sleeve until the cleric looked at her. “Are you scared of Caleb?”“I’m not scared of him,” Jester replied at once without hesitation. She couldn’t imagine being scared of Caleb. He was stinky and awkward, but he was also kind in his own way. Her eyes stung as she remembered how he had traded Frumpkin to the Kobolds because she had wanted to free the scruffy creature in the cave. It didn’t matter that she knew that he could snap his familiar back in a second, it had been the gesture that had mattered. “I could never be scared of him,” she added fiercely. Not when he had looked so close to tears when she’d joked that he must have a ‘big heart’, or when she remembered how his voice had cracked and broken when he’d told her he was glad that she could see some good in him. “I don’t know what happened…” “It’s not even been a full day yet,” Caduceus pointed out, ever the voice of reason, although the tight grip he had on his staff betrayed his concern. “And a lot happened yesterday. We’re all still dealing with that, so no one expects you to just bounce back.”“But…”“Caleb was already a mess,” Beau had joined them now, although her gaze was locked on Fjord who was still talking to the Ettin, and apparently pressing some gold into a sizeable meaty hand. “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened because the idiot refused to believe us when he said it wasn’t his fault.”“It’s not that simple,” Nott snapped, immediately rising to defend Caleb.“I know that,” Beau snapped back, not backing down in the slightest. “That’s not what I’m saying.”“Then what are you saying?”“That I’m…”“Our friend there…” Fjord interrupted as he joined them, jerking a thumb back over his shoulder, only the faintest grimace around his lips, revealing how distasteful he found the word. “Saw, a Caleb-colour blur heading off in that direction.” He tilted his head towards one of the side streets. “However, I think beyond this we’re going to have to rely on what we’ve got because the word ‘human’ seems to get a little too much interest around here, and not of the sort we want.” The Ettin was still watching them, even as he ran a thumb over the gold in his hand, and from the way, he was licking his lips it was easy enough to work out what kind of interest he had in Caleb.“Let’s move,” Yasha murmured, one hand shifting to the hilt of her sword as it looked like the Ettin might try and follow them. For a tense moment, it seemed as though he might ignore the threat, but then he grumbled under his breath and turned away, although she didn’t move her hand until they’d moved onto the street that had been indicated and passed out of sight. As they moved, pushing themselves to walk not run, although more quickly than they would typically, Beau fell back alongside Nott when she realised that the goblin was still glowering at her for her earlier words. “Nott, I’m not blaming him. Not really…” She hesitated for a moment, still not great at admitting her feelings, but she could see that Nott wasn’t convinced and they really didn’t need to be bickering amongst themselves right now, and she sighed before admitting softly. “I’m just worried.” Really worried, she added silently, remembering the expression on Caleb’s face before he had bolted. It had been terror and hurt…and understanding. He had felt that Jester’s reaction was utterly acceptable – which it was – but it was more than that, he had expected it and absorbed it, and she knew that there was no way he was going to come back to them of his own accord. Her thoughts must have played out across her face because there was a pause as Nott studied her before she nodded.“Maybe you should say that to him when we find him.” It was clear that Nott was skirting that ‘if’ just as she had earlier. “He tends to listen to you.”“Maybe…” Beau muttered, not sure she was ready to talk about her emotions again so quickly, but she knew even before she moved away to lead the charge, that she would. Because the awkwardness of saying ‘I’m worried about you’ paled in comparison to the idea of losing the man, that had somehow become a friend, if not family.
Damn it, Caleb, I asked you not to run…
**** Caleb wasn’t running anywhere at the moment. He’d tried. A quick murmur of arcane words and a hand in his component pouch reconjuring the speed that had got him to this point, but he hadn’t been given a chance to use it. The blunt nails had been teetering on the edge of breaking through his skin, had tightened, not enough to draw blood yet, but it felt like the joint was seconds away from being shattered beneath the force of it. It held him in place. Leaving him unable to do anything but tilt his head up, trying to get a look at the looming threat, fear becoming terror as he found himself looking into burning, carnelian eyes. It was a Giant, but not like any of the ones they’d seen before, it’s skin a deep vermillion, crisscrossed with faint golden lines where the skin had knit back together, a thicker, ropey line of gold winding its way up the arm holding him in place. The deep-carved face was pulled back in an ugly grin as it leered down to him, and as it breathed, Caleb found himself gasping for breath as a cloud of thick, noxious smoke poured forth with each breath. His lungs, still recovering from his earlier exertions ached as he struggled to breathe, and he felt strangely light-headed as the Giant lowered its head to study at him until it felt as though he was engulfed in the smoke. This is bad. Spells rushed through his mind, his component pouch a weight at his waist, but there was a haze settling over him now as he coughed and spluttered, fighting to catch his breath. It slowed his thoughts, made him falter, fingers clumsy as he tried to find the right components that he needed, knowing that he needed to do something now or this was going to be the end of him. Unfortunately, sharp eyes caught his fumbling motions, and with a growl that he felt more than heard, his captor’s grip tightened. It was like being caught in a vice, and the haze became white-hot noise, as bone splintered and broke, a cry of agony rising in his throat, along with blood, and he choked on it, his vision blurring and darkening. He was helpless to do anything, as another hand, this one scorching to the touch tore the pouch away from his belt. A low, whimper of protest bubbling up, as he felt belts and straps tear, the weight of his books disappearing too, a dull, muffled thump telling him they had been tossed aside, holding no interest for the creature holding him. Then he was moving. Being hoisted into the air by his ruined shoulders, and he screamed now as bone shifted and tore beneath his skin, tasting blood on his tongue as he somehow managed to focus enough to meet the burning gaze that met his. There was a hunger there that terrified him, and a cunning that left him feeling cold, and he saw the wild grin growing, a split second before he was slammed down into the ground and the world disappeared into a whirl of pain and darkness.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It transpired that Caleb hadn’t been trying to hide his tracks in the slightest, which was a blessing as they tracked him through the city, but also terrifying because it meant that he had been wholly focused on getting as far away as possible. Which hurt to think about, but also worried them, because they’d all had ample experience of how oblivious an utterly focused Caleb could be, having lost count of the near misses that they’d had because he’d had his nose buried in books. But that was different, because they were usually with him, and they’d learned to make sure that someone always had at least half an eye on him. Now he was alone, and apparently paying no mind to the fact that they were in a place where he was even more of a target than usual, and with an unspoken agreement, they found themselves speeding up. They were careful not to say ‘human’ again, particularly as the further they found themselves delving into the twisting, side streets of the city, the more the population seemed to shift towards the more hostile races. Many of their inquiries being answered with a snarl, and a threat, if they were answered at all. However, the size of the group and the thunderous expression on Beau’s face, as her worry morphed into anger the longer, it took, meant that the threats hadn’t become violence yet and that they’d received enough information to keep them on their wizard’s tail.“Do you think he’s going to listen to us?” Jester asked in a small voice after they’d been directed into a narrow street, between strange, squat buildings. She had been the quietest during the search, which was so different from her usual bubbly self that it added to the feeling of wrongness that had wrapped itself around them as they moved further into the city. Beau glanced at her now, taking in the drooping tail, and the way Jester had wrapped her arms around herself in a tight, self-hug, barely looking at them even as she spoke. It reminded her forcibly of Caleb when he was forced into a conversation that he wasn’t ready for, and without thinking, she closed the gap between them and wrapped an arm around the shorter woman’s shoulders.“He’ll listen, even if we have to sit on him first.” I can’t say that he’ll believe us though, she added in the safety of her own thoughts, but from the knowing look on Caduceus’ face as he met her gaze over Jester’s head, he knew exactly what she was thinking. And not for the first time, she wondered just how much more he knew about them just from watching them, before dismissing that thought, not quite sure how she felt about being read like that.“I don’t think he would appreciate that…”“Probably not,” Beau admitted, pleased to hear Jester sounding a tiny bit more like herself. “But, considering he ran off and scared us all to death, I’m going to say that his vote doesn’t count this time.” Plus, it will stop him from running again, she thought, biting her tongue as she stopped her hands from clenching. It was that, even more than the fact that he hadn’t talked to them that rankled because she’d thought they had got past the point of him running from them. Maybe she had been too trusting, letting herself believe that they were something more than they were. It was an unpleasant thought, and one that had been growing as they moved, and as much as she tried to tell herself that this was different, that the situation had just brought too many emotions to the surface, she couldn’t quite convince herself. She hoped that finding him, and making him listen would ease that feeling. Otherwise, she wasn’t quite sure what they were going to do.“Let’s just focus on finding him first,” Fjord interjected, and there was a warning in his eyes as he met her gaze that had her scowling and glancing off to the side, even as she jerked her head in agreement. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, there was no point in winding herself up with ‘what ifs’ and doubts until they had Caleb safely in their clutches. “Although, I am in favour of banning him using this spell again because it makes catching up to him a nightmare…” His expression darkened, and for a moment she could almost see flames reflected in his golden eyes and knew that he was remembering how Caleb had gone down scarily far from them when they had gone against Avantika. That had been close, and they’d been more prepared that time. They lapsed into silence again after that, not knowing what else to say without recycling their previous conversation and going in circles with their doubts. Beau left her arm slung around Jester’s shoulder, not sure which of them was drawing more comfort from the contact at this point, and she kept half on eye on Nott who was at the front with Fjord. She was clutching her flask tightly, but so far Beau hadn’t seen her take a single sip, and she wondered if Caleb knew that Nott still held his well being above everything else, even after everything that had transpired in Felderwin. It might be something to bring up in the conversation they clearly needed to have with Caleb when they found him.“What’s that over there?!” It was Caduceus’ deep voice that eventually broke the silence that had gripped them, and Beau was immediately turning to see what his sharp eyes had spotted. Feeling as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach as she spied the familiar holsters, and the precious books they contained abandoned in the dirt on the far side of the road thirty feet or so ahead of them.“Is that…?” “CALEB!” Nott screeched, any hopes for stealth lost in that instant as she bolted forward before they could stop her. Beau cursing under her breath as she followed, determined not to lose track of any more friends today, drawing her staff as she moved, not trusting this not to be an ambush, even as she prayed that it wasn’t, knowing that it would be just another thing for Caleb to blame himself for. “CALEB?! CALEB!” Nott was calling, frantic when there was no reply even as she skidded to a halt beside the pile of abandoned belts and holsters, hands shaking but gentle as she scooped them up in her arms, turning to look up at Beau with huge eyes. “Where is he?!” Beau shook her head mutely, not having answers for any of them right now, her eyes scanning the ground. Spying the familiar leather pouch that held Caleb’s components lying further against the wall she moved across to retrieve it, trying to will her hands to stillness as she picked it up, even as she was cursing up a storm in her mind. It was one thing to know that their squishy wizard was running blindly through the city, it was a completely different beast to know that he was now all but defenceless as well, and her stomach was tying itself in knots as she straightened and showed the others who had caught up what she had found. Jester gasping as she also grasped the importance of what they had found, hands in front of her mouth.“Caleb…” Fjord was cursing too, only his were aloud as he scanned the ground around them. “Look at this,” he muttered, drawing their attention to where the ground had been disturbed a short distance away, and Beau knew that she wasn’t the only one to make a noise at the sight of blood in the churned-up patch. Her hands clenched so tightly around the component pouch that her knuckles were turning pale. Caleb, what the hell have you got yourself in to?“There were torn off him…” Nott’s voice was smaller than any of them could ever remember it being as she held up the belts and straps that had held the books in place. The leather that had held firm through countless battles, even with Caleb’s lousy luck at ending to end up in the middle of it, was stretched and torn. “What could do this…? Who did this? Who took my boy?” Her voice was rising, her panic taking hold, and Beau was quite tempted to join her at that moment because this was bad. Hell, this was worse than the ‘bad’ scenarios that she hadn’t been able to stop her brain from conjuring up as they searched for Caleb, as most of those had involved them actually finding Caleb, no matter how bad a state he was in.Not this not knowing.“There’s not too much blood here.” It was Caduceus who was the voice of reason, as he crouched to study the ground, only the tight grip he had on his staff betraying his concern as he sounded as calm as usual. “Whoever took him clearly wanted him alive.” Beau knew that it was supposed to be reassuring, but right then all she could hear was ‘for now’, not sure whether he had been implying it, or whether it was her own dark thoughts, but she didn’t say that, seeing that Jester at least had been bolstered by the Firbolg’s words.“Then we just have to find him!” Jester declared, as though that wasn’t what they had been trying to do all along, and as though that task hadn’t become a whole lot harder, and at that moment, Beau loved her for it.“But…” Nott’s interjection was lost, as water sprayed across the ground as Fjord’s falchion appeared in his hand, just as he sent a blast of eldritch blast across the road. The crackling eldritch energy slamming into the wall next to a narrow doorway, covered in a filthy cloth that Beau only now noticed had been twitched to the side.“Come out.” It wasn’t a request, and there was green light gathering Fjord’s hand even as he spoke and took a step forward. The others stepping into place behind him, weapons ready, apart from Nott who looked as though she wouldn’t be letting go of Caleb’s books anytime soon. There was a long pause, and Beau could see Fjord shifting, shoulders tensing as he prepared to unleash his attack again, but just before he could give in to the temptation the cloth twitched again, and a narrow, pointy face peered out at them. “Don’t hurt us…” The shrill voice was deafening in the narrow street, and Beau could have sworn that she saw some of the other cloths covering the windows and doors of the nearby buildings twitched at the sound.“Head’s up, we’re being watched,” she hissed in warning, tilting her head ever so slightly to where she had seen the movement. It didn’t seem as though their ‘audience’ were ready to leap out and attack them, but she kept half an eye on them, seeing Caduceus doing the same, while the others remained focused on the tiny, sallow-skinned Goblin that was now visible in the doorway, staring at them with wide, frightened eyes. Beau felt rather than saw Nott twitch, and tucking Caleb’s component’s pouch into her belt, she reached out and caught the back of Nott’s cloak, not trusting her not to leap at the other Goblin if she thought that they had anything to do with her boy being taken.“There was a human here,” Fjord took the lead, and Beau winced as he said ‘human’ even though she knew that there was little point in lying if the Goblin had seen what had happened. “What happened to him?” He didn’t waste his breath warning what would happen if the Goblin lied to him, the threat threaded through his voice, and in the spell still ready to be unleashed.“Humans shouldn’t come here…” The Goblin hissed. “That’s not what I asked,” Fjord growled, and they shrank back with a whimpering noise, which did nothing to ease their worry. If the creatures that lived here were this terrified, then what the hell had Caleb walked in to? “Look, we’re not looking to hurt you, we just want to know what happened to the human, and where he is now.” To mirror his words, he let the spell fizzle, although he didn’t put his blade away in case the fear was an act.“He’ll kill us if we tell, he’s killed us for less.”“He?” Beau demanded.“He…” Terrified eyes, the colour of burnt umber flickered to the other covered windows. “I can’t say. I won’t say.” It was deliberately loud, and Beau cursed, sensing the lead was slipping out of their hand as they watched.“Tell me.” Nott had taken advantage of Beau’s momentary panic to slip free and step forward, teeth bared in a fierce snarl. That seemed to startle the other Goblin, their eyes darting from Nott to the rest of them and back again, as though trying to make sense of their group. “What happened to him? To the human, and where would he have been taken?” There was the same underlying self-loathing that came whenever Nott had to use Goblin to speak, but it was lost beneath the fierce intent in her eyes, and Beau didn’t need to understand the words to know what she was asking. “He’s mine. My family. My clan.” Whatever Nott was saying now was having an impact, the other Goblin recoiling and looking torn, and Beau held her breath, hoping in a way that she would never have thought herself capable of, as their narrow shoulders fell and they raised a bony finger and beckoned Nott closer.“Nott…” “You can come with me,” Nott said, warning the other Goblin not to argue with a single glare and Beau fell into step behind her, making no effort to hide the fact that she had her staff at the ready as she trailed Nott across the road, and past the cloth. Inside, the dwelling was little better than a hovel, and there was evidence that multiple people lived there, although none of them was in sight as they found themselves stood in a small, room that seemed to serve as bedroom, kitchen and living area at once. Beau wrinkled her nose at the stench that assaulted her as soon as she stepped inside but immediately forgot about it as Nott spoke, in Common this time, for her benefit. “Tell me what happened.” Somehow, at that moment, she was far more terrifying that Fjord at his most threatening was, and Beau knew it was the mother in her surging to the front. “Or I will tear your throat out.” The threat when it came was delivered so calmly, so softly, that Beau did a double-take. This wasn’t the Nott they saw on a daily basis, and she swallowed back the urge to say anything, realising that this was between the two Goblins right now as they stared at one another.“Your human came stumbling into the street, not paying any attention to where he was going,” the Goblin spat, and Beau half expected Nott to lash out there and then at the disgust and derision in the other’s voice as they spoke about Caleb. For Beau, it was an unsurprising confirmation that Caleb hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings and that this time they hadn’t been there to keep his scrawny ass safe, and guilt burrowed its way through the anger and worry, even as she knew that it wasn’t that simple. “Ran right into Fayal.” There was no mistaking the terror in either their expression or voice as they whispered the name, eyes flickering around as though someone else might be listening.“Fayal?” Beau asked.“A Giant that claimed these streets a few months ago.” Beau blanched at that, and so did Nott, neither of them ready to forget their encounter with Giants in the Burrows. They had been lucky to make it out of that alive, and they had been doing everything they could to avoid a fight, which Beau had a feeling would be out of the question in this situation. “No one goes up against him and survives…”“You lost someone?”“We all have,” the Goblin gestured, and they knew they were referring to the entire street, and Nott’s expression twisted into a complicated mixture of understanding, and the strange half-pained, half-vindictive expression that came up whenever Goblins were involved. “Sometimes or no reason, other than he’s in a bad mood.” Well, there went any hopes that Beau might have harboured about maybe being able to talk with the Giant and negotiate Caleb’s relief, and not for the first time she cursed the wizard’s lousy luck.“Where can we find him?” She asked instead of voicing that thought, deciding that they could work out what the hell they were going to do when they were back with the others, and knew what the situation was. And whether Caleb was still alive…“You don’t want to find him.”“Yes, we do,” Nott snapped. “We have to.”“The human will probably be dead soon if he isn’t already.” For all that they had lost people of their own, there was no sympathy in their words, instead despite their lingering fear they almost sounded gleeful, especially as they added. “You’re wasting your time.”“That’s for us to decide,” Beau retorted, stepping in as she could see Nott’s muscles bunching as though she was preparing herself to attack the other Goblin. As much as she could understand the desire, wanting nothing more than to punch the creature for talking about Caleb like that, they needed answers first. “Now tell us where he is.” A mutinous look appeared for the first time, and Beau narrowed her eyes, fingers tightening on her staff. “Tell us. Otherwise, I tell everyone around here that you told us everything…and when we find Fayal, I will make sure he knows who led us there.” She could see that the Goblin was weighing up the threat, and the chance that they would get the opportunity to carry it out, knowing that the odds weren’t exactly in their favour, especially if they were going up against a Giant. However, she didn’t let that show, staring them down and after a moment the Goblin cursed.“He lives a couple of miles outside the city, he doesn’t like being confined. You can’t miss it, you’ll smell it first.”“And he’s the only one?” Beau demanded.“You think something like him would tolerate another? He’s the only one, now get out…” Any pretence at friendship disappeared then, as the Goblin looked at Nott, lips twisted up in a mocking smirk. “Good luck finding your pet. I hope you enjoy the mess that you’ll find.” Beau didn’t understand the words, but she didn’t like the tone, and she reacted before Nott who bad frozen in shock could even think about retaliating. A quick step closed the gap between them, and her staff cracked out before the Goblin could dodge. The noise it made was satisfying, but not as much as the way they collapsed in a broken heap, eyes already rolled up in their head.“Maybe, I’ll let it slip anyway,” Beau spat as she turned away. “Nott…” She came to a halt as she saw the look on Nott’s face, pure fury mixed with terror. “We’re going to find him, Nott.” She didn’t let any of her doubts to bleed into her voice. “We’re going to get him back, patch his scrawny ass back together and then kick it for putting himself in danger.” Beau put as much determination into those words as she could, making it a promise because she wasn’t sure what any of them were going to do if they couldn’t find Caleb, or if he was…“I know,” Nott whispered, trembling before she took a deep breath and straightened. “But, maybe kicking his ass isn’t the best idea… we don’t want him running off again.” It was a weak stab at humour, and it fell flat, but Beau still smiled and nodded, even as she promised herself that she was still going to kick his ass…just maybe when Nott wasn’t there to glare at her.“Let’s get the others,” she said, shepherding Nott back towards the door without a backwards glance at the pole-axed Goblin they were leaving behind. However, as Nott turned away to lead the way back onto the street, the monk let her expression fall, because as much as she wanted to believe that this was going to work out all right, she was terrified that they were already too late.
Damn it, Caleb, hold on…
Please.
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Caleb was barely holding on, and not for any thought that the others would come for him. In fact, he was praying that they wouldn’t as he watched through half-lidded eyes as his captor twisted the spit set over its campfire, focusing on the sheer size of it, rather than the worrying question of what the meat might be, trying not to let his eyes linger on curled, charred fingers. It had been that smell that had raised him, the stench of burnt flesh forcing him back into the present and leaving him hovering somewhere between the past and present, memories blurring together. There were other smells too. Ones that had his stomach rolling, bile rising in the back of his throat – the same, noxious smoke that he remembered from the alleyway permeated the enormous cavern they were in, stealing his already struggling breath, and he was fighting not to choke on it, not wanting to draw the Giant’s attention back to him. Beneath that, there were traces of something worse, decay and rotting flesh, and buried beneath it all was traces of rotten eggs. He was trying desperately not to breath through his nose, but he had little choice, the smoke, and the deep ache that had taken root in his chest leaving him fighting for each breath as it was. However, that ache was the least of his concerns. It might have been the smell, and the sound of the Giant lumbering past, shaking the ground that he had been dumped on that had dragged him back to consciousness, but it was the pain that kept him there. The worst was in his shoulder, a fire that blazed hot and cold with each ragged breath that he took, and he hadn’t found the courage to even look at it so far, let alone contemplate moving it. Still, he couldn’t miss the blood staining the material of his coat, and he could feel it pooling beneath him, the dampness the one spot of warmth against his cool skin, and some distant part of him that was bad. There were other pains. His head throbbing in time with his heartbeat, and he could feel blood beginning to dry on his face, while every inch of his body seemed to ache in some way. As though he had been dragged along, and as his hands drifted towards the spit once more, he had to choke back a bubble of hysterical laughter at the thought that maybe he had been dragged along to tenderise him. The effort hurt, burning in the back of his throat, and he tasted bile and blood as he swallowed. Only to freeze as the figure of the Giant paused for a moment, looking up and across in his direction, it’s eyes seeming to burn in the half-light of the cavern. Caleb held himself perfectly still, heart hammering so loudly now that he thought the creature must be able to hear it, his entire body protesting the tension. Please. He had no idea who or what he was praying to, certain that there was nothing out there that would be willing to listen to his pleas. However, apparently, the world liked to prove him wrong, because after a moment the Giant looked away, reaching up to pick at something between its teeth, lips smacking together as it’s focus returned to the meat on the spit. Caleb finally dared to breathe again, biting already bloody lips to hold back a whimper as he relaxed, and his body throbbed with the release of tension. He couldn’t take much more of this, and there was no relief at having survived a little while longer because he knew that he was only prolonging the situation at this point. He doubted that he could move, let alone get to his feet, his strength ebbing even as his mind raced, filled with a thousand quicksilver thoughts that were going nowhere. Even if he could, he had nothing to fight with, the loss of his books and components a blow almost as painful as the one that had ruined his shoulder, and there was no way he could run fast enough to escape the Giant.He was trapped. But as terrifying as that realisation was, there was also an undercurrent of relief. Because this way he couldn’t hurt the others again, he wouldn’t scare Jester again, and it seemed as though wherever they were now was beyond the walls of the city, which meant that if they had decided to try and follow him, it was unlikely they would find him. Or, if they did, that it would be too late.
If they had followed him.
He almost laughed at the thought, even as some small part of him knew that they would have. That even though he didn’t deserve it and that even after he had come so close to killing them, they wouldn’t abandon him, even though they should. A terrible, tearing noise drew his attention back to the fire, spit and Giant, his vision dotted with black this time. And his stomach rolled violently, as he watched the Giant wrench an arm off the figure strapped to the spit and lift it to its mouth and as he fought the urge to vomit, he dared to send up another plea.
Don’t come after me…
****They were following him. Nott and Beau had relayed the conversation even as they’d shepherded the group down the street, knowing that time wasn’t on their side. Which was always going to be a terrifying thought, let alone in this situation where it was their squishiest member alone out there, without any the tools that he needed to defend himself. If he was even in any position to defend himself at the moment, the blood that they had seen on the ground haunting them, as they moved as quickly as they could.“If we can get him out of there without fighting then we do it,” Fjord was saying, more to fill the awful silence that was wrapping itself around them, dread pooling in the spaces between words. “If not, then we go hard and fast, and get him out of there as quickly as we can.” He was flexing his scarred hand as he spoke, and Beau glanced at it and then him, before deciding that now was not the time for that discussion. Although she knew that it was something they were going to need to talk about at some point, preferably when Caleb was neck-deep in trouble. Instead, she fell back from where she had been leading the way, leaving Nott to guide them, knowing that nothing was going to stop the Goblin at this point, and moving to Jester’s side.“Are you going to be okay?” She hadn’t been the only one to notice that Jester had been frantically checking her components, fingers lingering a little too long on where she had previously kept the diamonds, before moving to clutch her holy symbol, trembling as she held it.“I’m fine.” Beau didn’t bother questioning the audible lie in those words; instead, she lifted an eyebrow and waited, knowing that in this at least she was way more patient than the Tiefling. Apparently, Jester had realised it as well because she huffed a sigh, tail swaying behind her before she looked down and shook her head. “If we lose him because of what I did…”“We’re not going to lose him.” It was Caduceus who replied, as calm as ever, although he was still frowning and his grip on his staff was a little tighter than normal. “Bodies can be healed, and everything else can be talked about.”“But what if we’re too late?” The question tiptoed out, as though Jester was afraid that say it aloud might make it true.“This is Caleb,” Beau was the one to reply, slinging an arm around Jester’s shoulders and hoping that she couldn’t see the uncertainty swimming in her eyes or the way that Caduceus’ eyes had tightened a little. “He’s stronger than that, even if you wouldn’t believe it when you look at him.” The attempt at mocking fell flat, it was easier when they had his skinny, weak form nearby, preferably in the middle of the group but at least close enough for them to get to. Not when he was so far away that she knew they might be too late, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it and her grip tightened against her will, and Jester sniffled a little and glanced up at her, but there was a light in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.“I’m going to tell him that you said that,” she teased, voice wavering a little in the middle. Still, it was better than the previously defeated tone, even if Beau did grimace at the thought of Jester relaying her words to Caleb. Not that she didn’t want him to know that she cared… or maybe she didn’t, but again that was something to worry about when he was there for them to talk to. And shout out. And punch, because while she knew that Nott would probably take the huff if she did, she knew that she would end up doing it anyway. If only to reassure herself that he was there, and in one piece, but she wisely kept that thought to herself as the three of them caught up with Fjord and Nott in the lead, Yasha following behind, keeping an eye behind them to make sure that they weren’t being followed. The silence fell over them again, but this time, it wasn’t quite to intimidating. They were still worried, still scared about what they were going to find, it had just been masked by teasing and reassurances that none of them was quite sure they believed. But it was better than focusing on the bad, even if it was still there.** At the pace they were using, it wasn’t long before they emerged beyond the walls of the city, faltering for a moment to scan the desolate landscape stretching out ahead of them. For the most part, it was flat, but there were rock outcrops that rose into the sky here and there, and the odd stunted bush and tree making a brave stab at life in this area. It looked inhospitable, which did little to reassure them, because anything that could eke out an existence out there, even with the city in stone’s throw, was likely to be tough.“Here…” It was Caduceus, as perceptive as ever, who guided their attention to blood on the ground just to the side of what passed for a road, a trail of drops highlighting a twisting path down between some of the rocks and out into the wilderness. Mercifully it wasn’t enough to suggest that it was too late, but Nott’s face had taken on a pinched expression, and Jester was clinging at her holy symbol again. It was Yasha that moved across and crouched beside it, touching it briefly before glancing up at them. “It’s barely dried, we’re not that far behind them.” We’re not too late. She straightened and drew her sword, before stepping down to onto the narrow trail and taking the lead, and one by one, they mimicked her action and followed. The path had clearly not been meant for a giant, as some of the rocks had been shoved forcefully out of place to make room, and here and there, there were places where a great heat had melted the edge of the rock, leaving it scorched in places and glistening like glass in others.“A Fire Giant?” Fjord muttered, resting a hand on one such patch for a little while before moving on again, all of them sharing uneasy looks. Nott shivering, fingers finding her arms, no doubt remembering the pain of when she had fallen into the lava, and they were unsurprised when she sped up, practically shoving past Yasha in her hurry. It was Beau just behind them who spied the thread across the path ahead of them, almost lost against the ground.“Watch out!” She sprang forward, using her weight to shove Yasha to the side and knock Nott to ground, just as a rusted blade swung out from between two of the rocks. It might have missed the Goblin, just, but it would have certainly struck Yasha, and for a long moment they were all frozen in place. Then Yasha was there, ripping the blade down and tossing it off to the side with a low growl, while Beau climbed to her feet and helped Nott up. “Looks like it might have been expecting company.”“Us?” Nott asked.“No, this has been here a while,” Yasha replied, brushing the rust off her hands. “But if there’s one, there’s likely to be more.”“I’ll be more careful,” Nott sighed, and they shared her disappointment, knowing that it was going to slow them down if she had to check for traps. But it was better than one of them ending up too injured to help Caleb when they eventually tracked them down, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow, and the silence was rife with tension as they moved onwards.**** Caleb was drifting, not fully unconscious, but unaware of anything beyond the pain or how long he had been laid there. The terrible eating sounds had faded a while ago, and he thought that the Giant had wondered off for a while, but he lacked the energy to even check on that. Even the smell seemed a little more distant now, as though he was smelling it from a great distance. It hadn’t made it any easier to breathe, in fact, it was getting harder, as though a great weight had settled over his chest, leaving him to fight for each breath. I’m going to die here. The thought crept in between one struggling breath and another, and what was more startling was the fact that it didn’t come with the terrifying realisation that he wasn’t going to find the answers he needed, or be able to make amends, that usually flooded him in those moments. Nor was it relief, because as much as he wanted to believe that the others wouldn’t follow him, that they wouldn’t keep caring for a monster like him, he knew that they did and that if he died now, it would hurt them more than it did him. No, it was acceptance that washed over him, a quiet feeling that stole over him as he lay there. He had almost drifted off when he became aware of the ground shaking beneath him, and he blinked, heavy lids slow to move, and immediately wished that he hadn’t when the grinning maw of the Giant filled his vision. It grumbled something to itself in its own language, the harsh, guttural sound an assault on the wizard’s ears, but it was a small concern in comparison to the thick fingers that had just been wrapped around his leg. He didn’t try to fight, lacking the strength or will, instead just staring up at it, trying to brace himself for the pain that he knew was to follow.He wasn’t prepared. The fingers tightened, and bone crunched beneath the bruising grip, and Caleb screamed. The noise seemed to excite the Giant, its fingers flexing, the brief moment of relief immediately quashed as the broken limb was immediately squeezed once more. Caleb squirmed now, the quiet acceptance fleeing in the face of the pain, unable to think about anything but getting away from the pain, but he might as well have been pushing at a mountain for all the effect he had. His voice breaking and giving way to a strangled keening noise as the grip shifted again, and he found himself being dragged across the ground once more. Everything hurt, his shoulder screeching to life once more as it caught on a pebble and his vision went white for a long moment, dark spots crawling on the edges as his head bounced on the ground, but still he wasn’t granted oblivion. And as the world came back into tilted focus, terror gripped him as he realised that he was slowly, inevitably being hauled towards the fire.**** There had been more traps scattered along the path, but with Nott’s focused searches, they had escaped unscathed apart from Fjord who had taken a dart to the shoulder. Although he had managed to shrug off whatever it had been coated with without either Cleric having to intervene, and he had waved Jester away when she had moved to heal the cut. Telling her to share her magic for when they found Caleb, although he had allowed Beau to wrap a bandage around it without complaint before they’d moved on again. The city was still in sight, a ragged line on the horizon when they first began to pick up on the smell that the Goblin had warned them about. There was a trace of smoke in the air, although they couldn’t see any darkening the sky above them, but beneath that was the smell of rotten eggs and a deeper stench of rot that had them gagging and pressing hands over their noses. “What the hell is that?” Fjord demanded, grimacing as it seemed as though he could taste it on his tongue.“It’s like that lava river, but worse,” Nott muttered.“It means we’re close,” Beau interrupted, noticing that the Goblin was shivering at the memory of what had happened to her. She was right though, the smell had been a lot weaker there, spread over a greater area, allowing them to ignore it. Not that they’d been in any position to worry about smells back then. Now, it was overwhelming, and it took everything she had to pull her hand away from her nose, curling it at her side as she fought the urge to vomit. “Which means…” A distant scream silenced her midsentence, and they all froze, the colour draining from their faces as they recognised the voice, and the agony in the sound.“C-Caleb…” Jester whispered as the noise cut off, breaking into something quieter and yet more terrifying, and before anyone else could speak or react, Nott had moved, darting forward with her crossbow in hand, and with a muffled curse Beau gave chase.
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Beau was the first to reach the cave, having easily outstripped Nott’s much shorter legs and she didn’t waste time waiting for the others, because she could hear Caleb again now that she was closer. The wizard was no longer screaming but making a softer noise halfway between a keen and a whimper, and in some ways that was worse than the scream, because there was a weakness to the sound that terrified her. A vulnerability that promised something more and gritting her teeth she charged inside before she could second guess herself, trusting the others to follow her without even thinking about it. The smell had been bad enough from a distance, inside it was overwhelming, and Beau almost staggered under the force of it. It was fire and brimstone, with that same hint of rotten eggs, but now there was something else. A deeper stench of decay and rot. It was as though something, or maybe many things had crawled in here and died, and as something crunched underfoot, she refused to look down, even as she shifted, trying to move more quietly as she inched further in. It was warm, a heat that radiated not only from the fire that was illuminating the area but from the rocks itself and she grimaced. Nott wasn’t the only one remembering their last encounter with Fire Giants, only this time there was no wizard to toss polymorph at the giant this time. Damn it, Caleb, she was almost impressed with his ability to find trouble, even as she shifted so that her staff was in one hand, a dart in the other as she heard movement up ahead. Heavy footsteps that shook dust from the ceiling and made the ground beneath her feet reverberate, the things she didn’t want to think about rattling ominously. The sound of something being dragged across the ground, and that awful, soft keening that spiked up into a cry, and it was the last that spurred her into movement.“CALEB!” She shouted as she flung herself out into the open. Gaze immediately darting between the towering figure of what had to be Fayal, the giant seeming even larger in the confined space of the cavern. This is a terrible idea. The fire that was clearly his target and more importantly, the wizard that he was dragging along the ground. Dazed eyes drifted towards her at the shout, enough to reassure her that not only was he alive, but he was awake and aware…and apparently not relieved to see her, because there was dismay in his face, and she could see him opening his mouth and somehow, she doubted it was to shout for help. Before he could shout anything, if he was even able, she was moving forward, her aim unerring as she flung the dart at the Giant aiming for one of the amber eyes that had shifted towards her at her shout. It was quicker than she’d anticipated though, managing to bat the missile out of the air just before it struck home, and turning towards her. However, it did have the desired result of making it release Caleb, although in the manner she wanted as it glanced down at the wizard before tossing him across the cave, towards the fire. Caleb missed the fire, but the sound of something breaking and the strangled cry that followed had Beau’s stomach tying itself in knots, and she shifted course, aiming to get to him, but the Giant had moved into her path, scooping up a large, metal-studded club that she hadn’t noticed as it grinned down at her. Each breath it took released a noxious cloud of smoke, and Beau wrinkled her nose even as she fell back into a ready stance, relieved to hear a commotion behind her as it heralded reinforcements, even as she met the burning gaze. There was intelligence in that gaze. A cunning that made her uneasy, especially with Caleb still in the mix, knowing that the giant could get to him before she would if she made that play. But there was also a glimmer of anger. Whether because they had managed to get through the traps, or because she had interrupted whatever he had been planning, she wasn’t sure, and she didn’t particularly care. What she cared about was that anger, because it was a weakness that she could exploit. A way to get him away from Caleb, and…“B-Beauregard…go…” The barely audible voice had been the last thing she had been expecting, eyes flicking across to Caleb as he tried to push himself up, dazed blue eyes seeking her out even as he slumped, voice breaking as his body refused to cooperate. A dozen different retorts – most of them insults and curses flashed through her mind, but she bit them back. The last thing they needed right now was to fight amongst themselves, but that didn’t keep the steel out of her voice.“Not a chance.” She wasn’t looking at him now, but at the giant, and then she moved. Darting forward. Ignoring Caleb’s voice as it rose again, alarmed this time. We’re not leaving you behind you idiot. It hurt in a way that she hadn’t expected that he seemed to think even for a minute that they would.
We really need to talk.
Later. The club was swinging towards her now, rushing to meet her charge and Beau took a deep breath and jumped, using it as a springboard to launch herself upwards. Channelling that hurt, and the anger stirring beneath – both at Caleb for believing that, and for what had been done to the wizard – as she sprang upwards, bringing her staff down in a two-handed blow on the giant’s nose. It didn’t do much damage, but the bellow of rage and pain was music to her ears, especially as she managed to get in a second, clumsier swipe as she fell. She landed neatly and had to fling herself to the side as forgetting the club, the giant smashed a fist down at where she had been stood moments before. Then he remembered the club, and this time she wasn’t quite as lucky, although she managed to dodge the worst of the damage. Still, the blow stunned her, driving the breath out of her body and for a moment she saw stars, a roaring in her ears even as she willed her body to move, knowing that she couldn’t afford to stand still.“Beau!” The others were there now, Fjord launching two bolts of crackling green energy into the Giant’s face as it lumbered towards her, making it falter with an angry bellow before he glanced at her with a scowl. “What happened to the plan?”“I’m improvising,” Beau retorted, somewhat breathless as she pressed a hand to her side. “Nott, get to Caleb!” She added as a luminescent lollipop shimmered into existence above the giant’s head, coming down with a tremendous crack that had Beau almost wincing in sympathy. Almost. And Caduceus was there, a hand on her shoulder, warmth spreading from the touch and down to her side, easing out the ache that she had been trying to ignore, as Yasha moved to cover them. There was rage simmering in her eyes as she glanced at Beau, and then across at Caleb, but it hadn’t taken over yet – although, from the way her sword quivered slightly, it wouldn’t take much. There was no reply from Nott, but when Beau looked for her, there was no sign of the rogue, and she hoped that meant she had got the message.“Caleb…” Jester had spotted the slumped figure of the wizard on the far side of the cave, the small voice saying everything, but before Beau could try and comfort her the Cleric had straightened, tail lashing behind her. “You hurt him.” There was infernal tinging those words, making the hairs on Beau’s arms stand on end, but she didn’t miss how much that ‘you’ had sounded like ‘I’, and then Jester’s symbol was flaring green, as she flung sacred flame at the giant, forcing it back into the path of her spiritual weapon as it swung again.“I guess we’re going with the second plan,” Beau called to Fjord as she moved in again. She recognised the expression on Jester’s face – she wasn’t going to walk away from this – and Beau was in complete agreement. Fjord grimaced, but apparently, he had reached the same conclusion because light flared, and there was an echo of waves against a distant shore as water sprayed across the ground, hissing against the warm rocks, the falchion materialising in his hands.“Hard and fast…”“…And we get Caleb out as quickly as possible.” It was Yasha that finished Fjord’s sentence, her voice deathly quiet. Then the calm shattered, and she roared a challenge as she took off after Beau, while Caduceus dropped back to Jester, even as the soothing warmth of his magic washed over them all, blessing them.They would need it.**
They had come for him…
Caleb had thought that he was hallucinating when Beau had first appeared. No, he had hoped that he was, almost praying for it. A prayer that hadn’t been answered. Why? Why would you come after me? There had been a small part of him that was relieved. The same part that had started to trust that he wasn’t alone anymore, that it wasn’t just him and Nott against the world anymore. Unfortunately, it was lost beneath the larger surge of guilt, and fear, especially when Beau had immediately rushed the giant, as though it was nothing.As though he was something. He hadn’t expected to be tossed aside, and the momentary relief that had come from having the vice-like grip removed from his broken ankle had been short-lived. For a terrifying moment, he had thought that he was going to land in the fire and wouldn’t that have been ironic in a really terrible way, but he had narrowly avoided the flames, and he’d hit the ground hard. Something had broken and shifted, and there had been no holding back the cry of pain, although it had taken a few seconds for him to locate the fresh pain in his arm, amongst the throbbing agony that was his entire body at that moment. His vision wavered, unconsciousness beckoning, and it would have been easy to give in and drift off, but Beau was there, he could hear her moving…and there was more movement and other voices. Familiar voices that tugged at his heart and drawing on the last of his strength, he tried to push himself up, vision clearing just enough to see Beau squaring up against the giant.“B-Beauregard… go…” It hurt to speak, and as he slumped, quivering arms giving away beneath his weight, he thought that maybe she hadn’t heard him.“Not a chance.” The words warmed and chilled him in equal measure as she charged, and he hadn’t missed the anger, the hurt. Why can’t you see that I don’t want you to get hurt? He thought desperately, stomach lurching. “Beau!” The shout ignited a sickening fire in his chest, and Beau wasn’t slowing, let alone stopping, and his vision was wavering again, and frustration bubbled up, as he reached for where his components should be, only to close on empty space. He took them, he remembered belatedly, sluggishly turning his head back to the fight on the other side of the fire as he heard Beau cry out.
You shouldn’t have come for me…
** Nott had led the charge into the cavern, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of Fayal. Logically she knew what they had been facing, still feeling the echo of lava against her skin, but there was something different about seeing the giant with her own eyes as he loomed over Beau. The monk wasn’t moving, and Nott was reaching for her crossbow before her eyes had landed on Caleb. On her boy. And she was glad that Fjord had barely been two steps behind her as he immediately moved to cover Beau because she couldn’t move, her heart a staccato beat in her chest. Caleb was alive, stirring weakly, but clearly in no state to get up let alone fight. Alive, he’s alive. The relief was overwhelming because she had been terrified that they were going to be too late, for all that she had tried to believe the others when the had said they would get to him in time. Then came the worry, and the anger. Because her boy was hurt, and she didn’t know how badly, but the fact that he wasn’t up and trying to help Beau was a bad sign. For all that he claimed to be a coward, he would never have stood aside, no matter how shaky things might be between them. “Nott, get to Caleb!” Beau’s shout broke through the daze that had gripped her, and she nodded, sparing a glance for the others – realising that they were all moving in to place, Caduceus’ hand falling away from a healed Beau, ready to fight for her boy and she needed no further urging as she melted away into the shadows.
Hold on Caleb…
** This was why they had tried so hard to avoid fighting the giants in the burrows, Beau thought, as she stumbled back, just avoiding the club as it tore a deep groove in the rock in front of her. The last few seconds feeling like a lifetime, as they flung everything they had at the giant, trying to lead it away from the fire and Caleb. Jester and Caduceus providing covering fire as best they could, as Beau, Yasha and Fjord darted in and out of the wild swings, trying to lure it into following them. Fayal was having none of it, well aware that its trump card was the wizard behind it, and they’d already had more than a few near misses. Yasha was bruised and bloody from a direct hit, although she had brushed it off in her rage, slicing deep into the giant’s leg in retaliation, and sending it careening into two synchronised bolts of sacred flame, chased by an eldritch blast that had him bellowing in frustration.“Go for the eyes!” She shouted as the club swung for her again, one of the studs scraping her shoulder and leaving a bloody furrow in its wake. The pain barely registered. There was no time, because growling furiously Fayal had kept moving, slamming the club into the rock above its head, and there was an ominous rumble before several boulders fell loose, scattering them. “Fuck.” Beau dodged out of the way, throwing herself at Yasha who had been ignoring them in her rage, just knocking her out of the way in time. The others had scattered too, but Fayal had caught one of the boulders and using the distraction he launched it at the two Clerics, Caduceus managing to nudge Jester to the side, as he took the full force of the blow and went down hard. Fjord was cursing as he yelled for Jester to help Caduceus, flinging more bolts of eldritch energy at the giant, and releasing Yasha who bared bloody teeth at her, too enraged to appreciate being helped now, Beau charged forwards again. This time cracking her knuckles together, lightning sparking around her hands, which she sent rushing towards the giant. Between them, they had forced him back a couple of steps, which was the opposite of what they wanted, especially as Beau spied Nott appearing above Caleb. She was just opening her mouth, ready to shout or do anything to keep Fayal’s attention riveted on them when there was a burst of heat and the world in front of her eyes disappeared behind a wall of flames. It hurt, it burned and even as she tried her best to dodge the worst of it, failing as the uneven ground made her stumble, she couldn’t stop her mind from screaming Caleb. Even before, the flames flickered and faded, leaving her scorched and coughing, she knew that it wasn’t him, hating herself for immediately leaping to that thought, even after what had happened down beneath the well. Blinking, and swiping at stinging eyes, she stared up at the grinning giant, the plumes of smoke drifting from its nose and mouth an indicator of where the flames had come from. “We need to get out of here,” she coughed, glancing at Fjord. As much as she wanted to make Fayal pay for what had been done to Caleb, she was learning that there were some fights they couldn’t win, especially when their wizard was already down.“I’m open to suggestions,” Fjord retorted, patting out an ember on his shoulder, before springing aside as the club whistled towards him. Yasha lunging into the opening that gave her, sword biting deep as she shouted her rage, and above her head, Jester’s spectral lollipop swung into Fayal’s face, and there was a resounding crack as his jaw dislocated under the force of the blow, as bugs materialised around his eyes.“We take him down,” Jester interjected, and Beau glanced back relieved to see that although they had clearly caught the flames as well, both Clerics were standing again. “And…” She was cut off as the giant bellowed, and turned, beginning to lumber away from them towards the fire.Towards Caleb.* Nott’s heart had been her mouth all the way around the cavern, especially when part of the roof had crumbled, and only a desperate roll to the side had saved her neck. She wasn’t even sure what she was going to do when she got to Caleb, because they hadn’t had chance to replenish the potions they’d used during their last fight and she didn’t have any healing spells, and it wasn’t as though she could carry him out of there. But at least he wouldn’t be alone, which was probably even more important than usual after what had happened. A burst of heat had her glancing back in alarm, eyes wide as she watched fire gush out of Fayal’s mouth, roaring towards her friends. This is bad. She didn’t stop though, because if Caleb saw the flames… Then she was at his side, a soft, distressed noise bubbling up in her throat as she got a good look at the damage he had taken. There was too much, and her hands clenched helplessly at her side, before Caleb seemed to realise, she was there, stirring, dazed eyes drifting towards her. “No,..t?” His breathing was laboured, her name gasped between a groan and a breath, and she dropped down, reaching out for him.“We’re going to get you out of here,” she promised. Part of her wanted to scold him for running away from them, from her, but there was a spark missing from his eyes. He wasn’t entirely with her, and the words would probably do more harm than good at the moment, especially as his gaze was drifting back towards the sounds of fighting as he shook his head, mumbling a protest. “Caleb,” she tried to get his attention, not wanting him to see the flames or the damage it had done. “Caleb, look at…” She wasn’t sure which of them had noticed it; first, Caleb stiffening even as she trailed off as the ground beneath them shook, and she lifted her head to see Fayal lumbering towards them, burning eyes fixed on the wizard. Her crossbow was up and firing before she’d even fully registered what she was doing, the first shot going slightly wide as she had moved at the same time, trying to shield Caleb as best she could, knowing that it would be a futile gesture if he reached them. Her second bolt took out giant’s left eye, his bellowing scream shaking the cavern, and the crossbow fired automatically again, this time, the bolt buried itself deep in the vermillion skin of its cheek. Then she was fumbling to reload because he was still coming towards them, one foot in the fire now, unflinching as he reached for them, and Caleb was stirring and trying to push her off as the danger penetrated his haze. Realising that there was no time, Nott dropped the crossbow and dropped across Caleb with a defiant shout at the giant, terror taking root.He never reached them. There was a roar. It was a human voice, but it echoed and rumbled across the cavern like distant thunder, and then Yasha was there, darkness creeping around her as the skeletal wings stretched out behind them. And when she struck, blade leaving another bloody gash across the giant’s leg, a sickly green-black with purple flickers crept down the blade and seeped into the wound. While at the same time, lighting crackled and slammed into Fayal’s head, framed on one side by the vivid green of eldritch blast, and the white-blue of sacred flame. While a flash of blue caught Nott’s attention as Jester appeared, moving to flank with Yasha, as crackling dark energy gathered around the hands that she slammed against its leg just beneath its leg. The giant staggered backwards, bellowing and howling in pain, as Jester’s magic seeped into its skin, the blackness spreading across the skin visible through the gashes that Yasha had left. He abandoned his attempts to reach Caleb now, instead turning to flail, swiping wildly at them with the club. Yasha and Jester sprang back just out of reach as the club smashed a path through the fire, scattering coals, embers and burning wood in every direction. Nott frantically patting out the ones that hit Caleb’s clothing, not wanting to risk more injuring, ignoring the sting and burn against her palms. Attention drawn back to the giant as there was the sound of rushing feet, as Beau charged into the space left by the other two, lips drawn back in a snarl, as she let loose with the staff, using all her strength and momentum to drive it into the space between the giant, tree-like legs. The howl this time was almost human, and he teetered, eyes threatening to roll up, the club slipping out of his hands and hitting the ground with a loud thud. Then there was a whistling noise, as the spiritual weapon rushed through the air. It had just reached the highest possible speed when it slammed into the giant’s head with a sickening crunch, and there was a brief pause that felt like an eternity, as Fayal reeled, eyes finally rolling back before he collapsed, falling across the remnants of the fire and narrowly missing Nott and Caleb. The entire cavern shaking from the impact, the damaged area, crumbling further, cracks spreading out across the ceiling, creaking and groaning ominously before falling silent. There was a split second of relief, Jester letting out a triumphant whoop while Fjord and Beau shared a relieved glance, knowing how lucky they were to have got out of this one, as Yasha finally lowered her sword, breathing deeply through her nose as she started to try and calm her rage. Nott was just as relieved, smiling at Caleb as she began to move off him, although it dimmed as she realised, he had paled further in the last few seconds, and she turned to shout for Jester or Caduceus to heal him when there was a blast of heat. It was so intense that it sent the others staggering back, as the air itself seemed to be on fire as Fayal took one last shuddering breath. A gout of golden-red flame leaping into the air from his mouth, stretching out hungrily to the only people left within reach. Nott couldn’t move, locked in place by terror and disbelief, and then something caught her, throwing her clear just in time, the flames snatching at the tail end of her clothes before she hit the ground and rolled, screaming as she watched Caleb disappear briefly from view.“CALEB!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Why was it that the good things in life seemed to be over in moments, fleeting seconds that could never be grasped, but the bad things, the ones that threatened to tear your world apart seemed to last a lifetime? Nott had wondered that before, but not as sharply as she had at that moment as she rolled to her feet, one hand flung up in front of her face to protect herself from the heat flooding in the air. It was a hundred times worse than what Caleb had done to the others in the cavern under the well, and she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, as for a moment everything narrowed down to the golden-red flames filling the space in front of her.The space where Caleb had been. Rationally she knew it had only been seconds before the deadly flames receded, revealing the bloody, scorched remains of the fire giant. Harmless now. She spared him no mind, only having eyes for Caleb and for a terrifying moment she feared the worst as her eyes landed on her boy. He was still, too still, smoke rising from his tattered, scorched clothing. He was facing her, arms outstretched still from where he had pushed her to safety, and she could see that his eyes were closed, mouth open and twisted, as though he had been shouting her name, the sound lost in the roar of the flames and for a moment she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. He had been scared and hurting, and yet he had still protected her in that last moment, and now…her heart was hammering in her ears, a roaring sound that threatened to swallow everything.
I should be the one lying there…
The thought burst through the shock, cutting through the terror and allowing her to move, stumbling forward as her legs threatened to buckle. “Caleb?!” She was on him in a heartbeat, voice shrill in her terror. Please don’t let him be dead. They’d found him, they’d beaten the giant – something that she knew would have been beyond them not long ago – so they couldn’t lose him now. She knew that the world wasn’t fair, that even the most precious things could be snatched out of your hands without any warning, but she couldn’t believe that the world would be cruel enough to take the wizard away just like that. “Caleb?!” She was trembling, shaking as she pattered a sooty cheek, before leaning in to press an ear to his chest, focusing through the roaring in her ears. For a moment she heard nothing, her terror honing to a brittle point that threatened to shatter at a moment’s notice, and then she heard it. A tiny, flutter of sound beneath her ear. Too quiet, too fleeting, as though it could be extinguished at any moment, and she lifted her head. “Caduceus! Jester!” She didn’t care about their previous problems or arguments, or who got there first as long as they saved her boy. Not that she had to wait long, because there were rushing feet as the others converged on them, and she didn’t fight as Beau pulled her back so that the Clerics could reach him. The bruising grip on her shoulders, telling her that Beau felt the same at the sight of Caleb, and they waited, barely breathing as Caduceus reached out to stabilise him, the warmth of his magic and the stirring of the Wildmother in the air letting them all breathe a little easier. Especially, as Caleb took a deeper breath, still unconscious but no longer slipping down a slope that Nott didn’t want to think about. Then Caduceus was stepping back, and Nott thought that it was too let Jester in to finish healing him, as she was practically vibrating with the need to heal for once, tail lashing behind her and cheeks suspiciously damp. “Wait!” The Firbolg had paused, leaning forward and reaching out to lay a hand on top of Jester’s before she could reach for the symbol of the Traveller, shaking his head when she looked up at him. “Not yet”.“But!” Jester protested, at the same time as Nott hissed at him.“He…”“I don’t believe Mr Caleb will have very fond memories of this place,” Caduceus continued, seemingly unperturbed by their reactions, although a slight tightening of his eyes betrayed him. “Let’s move him away from all this before we wake him up.” That took the wind out their sails, Nott glancing around at the scorched ground, flames lingering in places and the body of the giant, and Jester flinching as more of the ceiling crumbled off to the side.“Is it safe to move him?” It was Fjord who asked, not arguing exactly, but worried. His eyes a little too bright as he glanced down at Caleb, and Caduceus softened.“As long as we’re careful.”“I’ve got him,” Yasha was there, calm once more, although a quick look at her eyes betrayed the fact that the storm was still raging beneath the surface. Jester opened her mouth, no doubt to argue that she could carry him, but then she ducked her head, but not before they caught the anguish that flashed across her face as she pulled her hands away as though burnt. The silence was awkward, as they watched Yasha keel beside the Caleb and gently scoop the wizard up into her arms as though he didn’t weigh anything. Which was probably true, because at that moment, without the keen intelligence and arcane aura that he carried with him, Caleb seemed worryingly small and lost as she cradled him close. Then she was rising to her feet, caution written in each movement before she turned and strode towards the entrance without a backwards glance, Nott breaking free of Beau’s restraining grip and scuttling after him, while Caduceus had moved to offer Jester a hand that she took slowly, as though bracing herself for the admonishment that she clearly felt that she deserved at the moment, instead, he squeezed her hand.“Let’s go take care of him.” It wasn’t forgiveness exactly, but it was permission, and Jester took a deep breath before nodding and letting him guide her after the others. Fjord was about to follow them, when he realised that Beau hadn’t moved, turning to look at her, frowning as he took in the hunched shoulders and the hands that had curled into fists at her side.“Beau?”“I’m going to see if I can find anything useful in here,” Beau replied after a moment, turning away before he could respond and stalking off in the opposite direction to the rest of the group. Fjord sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. They had come a long way from the disparate group that pushed and pulled and threatened to break apart at the drop of his hat, but right now, with the previous day's events looming overhead, they were closer to splintering and shattering than they had been in a very long time. He wasn’t sure how to fix it either, although he knew that letting it all fall apart wasn’t an option, not anymore. He couldn’t help Caleb right now, but he could at least make sure that Beau didn’t get too caught up in her own thoughts, and with another sigh, he turned and followed her.“I’ll help.” They worked in silence for a few minutes. Fayal had been somewhat of a hoarder, and it seemed as though he’d held on to the trinkets and items that his unfortunate prey had carried when they’d caught them, and trying not to imagine how close they had come to finding Caleb’s relatively pitiful things amongst them they pocketed anything that might be useful. A sharp intake of breath eventually broke the silence, and he lifted his head to see that Beau had found a tatty book buried beneath another pile, and she was staring down at it, nose flared and an unreadable expression on her face. Fjord waited half a moment, just studying her before dropping the bag he had been starting to rifle through, and taking a step forward, refusing to falter even when Beau’s eyes snapped to him, burning with an emotion that he couldn’t put a name too. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” He asked, voice deliberately mild. It was Caleb who pushed her, their relationship a strange one that Fjord didn’t pretend to understand half the time and knew better than to try and imitate right now.“No.” He ignored the predictable refusal, waiting and watching until Beau huffed out a growl and pressed the book to her chest, looking away from him. “He told me to leave him behind.” Fjord frowned. He could agree that that was frustrating as he’d thought they’d come far enough to know that they weren’t going to leave anyone behind now, but at the same time, it was almost understandable. Caleb had been reeling from being turned against them, and Jester’s unfortunate, instinctive reaction on the way out of the well, and between that and the pain he must’ve in, it made sense that he wouldn’t be his usual rational self. And yet, he could tell from the rigid way that Beau was holding herself that there was more to it than that, and so he waited, knowing that if he pushed right now, she would automatically push back. It didn’t take long for Beau to break, the words bursting out of her in a shout that echoed through the cavern, and he spared a quick thought for the group outside, almost hoping that Caleb wasn’t awake to hear the anger in her voice. Not sure that the wizard would be able to tell that there was more hurt than anger in those words and that the frustration was born from concern more than anything else. “He thought that I would, that we would… hell, he probably didn’t think we were going to come after him in the first place!”“Well, we always knew he was an idiot about those kinds of things,” Fjord replied after a moment, voice deliberately mild, as he didn’t want to feed into her frustration. His tone seemed to take her by surprise because she finally looked at him, eyes blazing.“He…”“Is an idiot,” Fjord finished, knowing that wasn’t what she had been about to say, and wanting to stop her from saying something she would regret later. It had come out a bit more forceful this time, his own emotion bleeding through because while he had reacted mildly to her words, and had even expected it to some degree, it was frustrating to know that even now some part of Caleb was wary of them.“But…” Beau subsided, glancing down at the book she was clutching like a lifeline, shoulders slumping as the fight drained away.“Come on.” Now, Fjord closed the gap between them, trusting that he wouldn’t get punched at this point, and draping an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go make sure that he’s okay, and then we can all work on making sure that he realises he’s not going to be left behind. Ever.” He’d meant to emphasise the ‘all’ so that she didn’t feel as though it was all on her shoulders, but the ‘Ever’ had slipped out too, almost a growl in its ferocity, and ironically enough that seemed to be what broke through as Beau nodded and let him guide her forward, still holding the book.“Can I punch him?”“I think the others might object to that,” Fjord muttered, hiding a small smile because it was such a Beau question to ask. It was also probably one of the few things that Caleb would believe more than their words, and he hesitated before adding quietly. “However, if he's too stubborn…”** Fjord had almost become used to the stench in the cave, and it was startling to be reminded of how strong it was when they stepped outside, where it lessened enough that he managed to take a deep breath without gagging too much. It was a relief to be outside that cave, especially as they’d heard more rock coming down as they left, and he had a feeling that it wouldn’t take much for the entire thing to come crashing down. Maybe, they should do that before leaving, if only so that no other monster could take over the place, and to bury the place where they had come very close to losing their wizard. It was a thought for later though, because Beau was pulling away from him, and hurrying across to where the others gathered off to the side under cover of a half-scorched tree. They’d settled Caleb out of the ground, nestled amongst their cloaks and a bedroll to protect him from the rocky terrain, and Jester was crouched beside him, hands poised above him, although she seemed to have paused at their appearance.“Everything okay?” Caduceus asked as they joined them, a little too knowing as he glanced across at Beau who didn’t answer as she circled around to crouch on Caleb’s other side, before looking back at Fjord who rubbed a hand over his face before shrugging.“As okay as it’s going to be until we deal with this.” This was more than the injured wizard, the blood and burns standing out more lividly now they were outside, and the air was tense as Jester looked down, her lashing tail betraying her agitation. Caduceus frowned and nodded, before looking at Jester and waiting, speaking up after a moment as it became clear that she had frozen, although she hadn’t pulled away from Caleb this time.“Jester,” he encouraged.“But…” “Caleb would want it to be you.” It was Nott, curled against the wizard’s side, her eyes locked on his chest, watching it rise and fall with frightening intensity who spoke up, glancing across at the Tiefling and dredging up a strained smile. “I know he would.” In fact, at some point, it had almost become an unspoken badge of pride when Jester decided to heal you, but Nott wisely chose not to mention that because Jester had looked up and seemed to be gathering herself. Quietly, Fjord, Caduceus and Yasha who had been hovering a short distance away, fanned out around the group on the ground. Beau immediately noticed, and lifted an eyebrow in question, although it was clear that she wasn’t moving from where she was. “He’s stubborn, and the cleverest idiot I’ve ever met, and I don’t trust him to run off again,” Fjord explained with a shrug. “And I think we’ve had enough of that for one day, don’t you?”“I’m not sure you should put it that way,” Caduceus mumbled, frowning disapprovingly before adding quietly. “But I agree.” Nott looked as though she wanted to speak up in Caleb’s defence, but her attention was diverted by Jester taking a deep breath and laying a trembling hand on the wizard, while the other went for the symbol of the Traveller. None, of them, commented on the way her knuckles paled as with the force of her grip, or the fact that there was a pause, her hesitation manifesting in her magic as it was slow to form the familiar glow and even slower to spread across the wizard. However, if she was aware of it, she didn’t let it show, gritting her teeth and focusing. It took a while, and not just because of her struggles, and it was sobering to realise just how close things had been. If they had been a little later, a little less determined. It was a sobering reminder that despite how far they had come there were still things out there stronger than them, and they’d had two such reminders in close succession, and in a series of shared glances, it was agreed that they needed to find time to regroup if they could. However, despite the slowness, it was clear to see the progress. Caleb’s breathing, which had still been laboured evened out, some of the tension bleeding out of his expression. Pink skin crept across in place of the cuts and scrapes. The burns were more stubborn, the new skin still reddened and irritated looking, and it would likely take a few more sessions before they faded altogether, especially as it was clear that Jester’s strength was waning in the face of the sheer amount of damage, her magic flickering around the edges as it finally reached the broken bones. There was a flash of green, a cloak caught in the breeze, although when they looked closer, there was nothing there, but Jester’s magic flared a little brighter, as she poured everything she had into those last injuries.It wasn’t enough.“Caduceus,” Jester whispered, sweat beading on her forehead and the Firbolg immediately moved to drop down beside her, Fjord moving to cover his spot too. Caduceus’ magic joined Jester’s, supporting, guiding, looping it around the injured limbs and guiding it deeper, the rock beneath them, briefly alive as fungi emerged and then faded away as its life funnelled into Caleb. Caleb who was beginning to stir now, his forehead furrowing, acknowledging the lingering discomfort as Jester and Caduceus continued to work, the latter adding his hand next to Jester in the hope of stopping the wizard from moving before they were finished. Caleb’s breath hitched at the contact, fear breaking through the pain, and Beau was there, the book falling forgotten to the ground as he bolted upright with a terrified cry. He was blind to the fact they were there, eyes wild and unfocused, breathing speeding up as panic gripped him, solely focused on getting away.“Caleb!” Beau didn’t shout, although it was clear that she was fighting the urge, worry colouring her words as she struggled to keep it soft and soothing as she reached out to grip his shoulders, mindful of the lingering damage. “Easy, easy, we’ve got you.” For a long moment, it didn’t seem as though he’d even heard her, still straining against the hold that she had on him, and she risked tightening her grip just a little, enough to draw a hiss of pain from him despite the disapproval and worry she could feel radiating from the Clerics. The pain did what her voice couldn’t, and she tried not to focus on that when his eyes shifted towards her, the blue clouded by confusion, fear and pain, but slowly gaining some clarity as he blinked at her.“B-Beauregard…?”