Age of Dragons Online

Chapter 19: Hospital

Chapter 19

Hospital

Nadran was carried though the town of Gornea on a makeshift stretcher made from branches, leaves, and some ropes that Aledro had happened to have. He rested as best as he could, but his mind had other ideas, and his thoughts wandered constantly.

What was with that guy back there? He was so weird, and his strength was ridiculous. Also, I feel like there was something strange about what he said, something I can use against him...

Suddenly, Nadran smiled (which turned into a wince as the smile caused pain to shoot through his chest). That should work, he thought. Next time we meet, things will go differently.

His thoughts soon drifted to a more immediate topic. Lunalia is helping me, and so soon after wanting to kill me. Does this prove that she believes me, or maybe is just a decent human being? Or maybe she's planning to turn me in to the other players for a reward or something. Well, there isn't really anything I can do about it as this point, so I guess there's no sense in worrying about it...

To Nadran's relief, nobody seemed to recognize him as he was carried down the streets. Although Cornea was a large town, the size actually worked in their favor. In smaller towns with less people, people's attention is more drawn to the few people around, and outsiders would be more easily noticed. In this large town that was practically a city, the three of them didn't really stand out, even carrying a stretcher through the middle of the street. For this reason, they were able to reach the town hospital with almost no disturbances.

The inside of the building had white walls and gave off a calm, sterile feel. They carefully set Nadran down on one of the chairs in the room, and Lunalia walked over to register him for an appointment. Other than the receptionist at the desk, the only other person in the waiting room was a boy in his late teens with his right arm in a sling. He had long, straight blonde hair that reached to just above his shoulders, and was fairly large and heavyset with the appearance of someone who spent time working on his muscle tone. He had tanned skin and blue eyes, and sort of reminded Nadran of some Hawaiian surfer dude. He was muttering under his breath, and Nadran was able to pick out a few words of what was said. "...I can't believe those guys... ...could have taken those giants... ...some "friends" they are..."

Suddenly, he turned toward them, and studied them all, particularly Nadran, which made Nadran uncomfortable, fearing discovery. After a few seconds of scrutinization, he asked "What the heck happened to you?" while gesturing to Nadran, whose skin was reddened by fire burns and who had a large makeshift bandage wrapped around his chest.

Unsure how to respond, Nadran shrugged, then stopped halfway through and winced as his ribs reminded him how much they hurt. He tried speaking instead.

"Um, well," he said with a pained smile, "I guess I'm just really bad at dodging fireballs."

"Looks like it," the blonde guy said with a grin. "Well, hope you get better - both your health and your dodging skills."

At this point, a woman walked into the room. "Korath?" she asked, and the other guy stood up, smiling to them one last time before walking out of the room.

Lunalia sat down next to him, having finished setting up the appointment, and the three of them sat silently for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. It was not long before another woman walked into the room, asking for "Nadran."

Nadran was lifted back up onto the stretcher and pushed toward her. As his friends pursued him along, he whispered in Lunalia's ear "Why did you tell them my real name? If-"

"Volzan never mentioned your name in his announcement, so people shouldn't know it. At least... I don't think he mentioned it..."

"That's so reassuring," Nadran replied sarcastically, eliciting a laugh from Aledro. Nadran glared at him, but Aledro just shrugged innocently and said "What? You've got to make the most of every situation."