Eliona's War 2: Veiled Healer

Chapter 13

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When he logged in the next day, the first thing Severance did was look at the intricate brickwork that covered the ground of the Veiled courtyard. To his immense relief, everything was pristine, as if Parvath hadn't been bleeding out all over the ground just the day before.

That nightmarish event had haunted him even when he returned to the real world. He'd been horribly queasy, unable to eat anything all day. At least it was a Sunday, so he didn't have to work.

The whole day sucked, though perhaps the one good thing was that his sense of coordination continued to improve. He didn't break anything in his apartment and he only tripped over his own feet four times. Plus, no cops showed up for him. That was always a bonus.

Shaking his head, Severance gave a humorless smile. Now that he was back in Eliona, things had to get better, right?

Rather than head straight into the House to see if there were any more quests for him, he stayed out in the courtyard, and brought up his Inbox. There were two messages waiting for him. One from Awesome Dude, and one from MissMe.

He made a face. Why did she have to answer? Now his curiosity demanded he open it and see what she had to say. He did, although he was somewhat disappointed. All she said was to go to Two Bridges and she'd meet him there.

That was worse, he decided, then her not answering at all.

Why did she want to meet with him? Why at Two Bridges? Where in Two Bridges? And more importantly, when? Was he supposed to just show up whenever and she'd be there, waiting for him? The idea made him snort.

She's gonna be waiting a long time.

He navigated through the System window and opened Awesome Dude's message.

"Hey Sev, what's up? Looks like I'm stuck doing Clan stuff today again, so we can't meet up. Sorry! But let me know if you need help with anything, okay? I can ask around and see if anyone can help out."

Severance smiled wryly. It seemed like his friend was really determined to earn his own Gift.

He was just finishing a reply when a familiar figure walked out from the side of the Clan House.

"Ho there, Sev!"

Looking up, Severance saw it was Rasin. He quickly sent the message, and closed the System window.

"Hey. Is that guy doing okay? The one that lost a hand?"

"Parvath is in good health." Rasin flashed an amused smile. "As is everyone who was in the Courtyard the other day."

Severance felt relieved. "That's good. Do you know what happened?"

All traces of amusement vanished from the Veiled man. "Yes. It was the Free Traders."

"What?" Alarm flew through Severance and he stared at Rasin. "Was it because we took their caravan?" I knew MissMe was up to no good!

"I think," Rasin furrowed his brow, looking somewhat troubled, "that was more of an excuse."

"What do you mean? They didn't even know who we were before, did they?"

"No," Rasin's frown deepened. "But the Free Traders, the Chosen, and most likely the Fallen Knights, as those three are often tied together, have become more aggressive lately. Especially towards anyone who dares to stand up to them. I heard of a merchant the other day who refused to drop their prices to below cost for a Chosen, and that very night, the merchant's entire shop went up in flames."