Guild Of Zeroes

Chapter 34

The days after the last battle passed by in a haze. We were whisked away to a spacious room inside the keep and three beds had been laid out for us. We didn't do much more than eat and sleep. Mostly sleep. I had nothing left to give and all of the rest in the world wasn't enough. By some miracle, I had walked out of that hell mostly unscathed. One scratch on my side. That was it. One tiny mark of shame. One tiny scar that made me feel like I hadn't given enough.

On the morning of the fourth day after the battle, Javelin limped through the door and caught me sitting up beside Mouse's bed, feeling sorry for myself.

"Hey," she said. "Figured I'd drop in to say goodbye. We're heading out. Lots to do."

I shook my head. "Doesn't seem fair, does it? That we walk out without a scratch and they lose so much." I brushed Mouse's hair away from the bandage covering the space where his right eye used to be.

"Well, I did say I was damn hard to kill, didn't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, good for you."

"You really haven't changed have you? Still got that damned attitude."

Maybe sometime in a past life that comment would have pulled me into an argument or fanned the fire of anger inside my chest. Now, after everything we had been through, it didn't seem to matter at all. "I guess I do. Doesn't really like that's my problem though. You can like who I am or you can walk away. And none of that changes the fact that you and I walked away with bruises and Mouse lost and eye, Quin might never lift a sword again. I'm glad that you're so damned tough, but it doesn't make me feel any better."

Javelin's mask broke and the armour of bravado she wore fell away. "I know. None of this is right or fair. No one deserves to be torn apart like that. Trust me, I would know. But what good is sitting feeling miserable going to do for you? You walked out with barely a scratch? Good. That means you'll be strong enough to help them heal. That's my plan anyway." She fished a quest card out of a pouch on her belt and tossed it on the floor in front of me. "Orders came through today. They're calling most of the Phoenix Roost and the Blackstone to Tower Four to start rebuilding. I can help. So I will. That's all there is to it. No sense feeling bad for what might have been. We pick ourselves up and put the pieces back together."

She turned and walked away.

I stood and called after her. "Javelin?"

She stopped, looking at me over her shoulder.

"Thanks," I said. "For everything. We couldn't have done it without you. And I'm happy to have you on our side going forward."

She shrugged and kept on walking. "We're Guildswomen, Snip. World gets busted, we fix it. It's what we do."

I smiled to myself and sat back down. Picking up the pieces was easier said than done, but there was at least some truth to what she said. I left Quin and Mouse and wandered the castle halls until I found what was left of the library. It wasn't much, but I did come back with a book on healing and anatomy. The castle had one physician left alive and they were being run ragged by all of the other wounded that they had to care for. They had been helpful, but I understood they couldn't do much more than the bare minimum for us right now.

I read while Mouse and Quin rested. I learned what I could. Helped where I could. It was nearly another week of simply existing before we were ready to move. One long week of study, changing bandages, fetching meals. I wouldn't have it any other way. It was a small job, but it was all I could do to put things back together right now.

Mouse was up and moving after a few days, and he was helping in his own way. The wizard spent a good deal of time locked in council chambers and meeting overdressed people who wore far too much jewelery. Whenever I caught him heading into one of the palace's restricted areas, he was bowing and groveling to some lord or lady. I had no idea how he did it. If I had to spend more than a minute with any of those air headed peacocks, I would totally lose my mind.