Malon kept fighting for the sake of getting more experience, and he didn't spare a single one of the monsters while they crossed the swamp. He could feel himself getting better, but at the same time, he was starting to get hurt a bit too often. Cailen healed him whenever possible, but she was starting to get exhausted… even her mana had limits, after all.
"Urgh, I am starting to feel sick…" Malon said while feeling like his head was splitting.
"Well… technically, the poison still is inside your body, and I am only nullifying its effects," Cailena said while looking around and noticed that the swamp was starting to thin out. "Your body is trying to fight the poison and make sure that it will be expelled eventually."
"Expelled?" Malon furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, you know… when going to the toilet," Cailena forced a smile. "Sorry, I didn't think that you would try to fight so much… I can't use my magic that often if you keep getting hurt."
"It is fine… one more lesson learned," Malon said and then sighed. "We should be leaving the swamp soon enough. In this kind of situation, we need to look for more help… I have a friend that I can count on. What about you? Relatives?"
"... None," Cailena replied after a few seconds of silence.
That seemed like a heavy topic, so Malon decided not to pry. Besides, while their situations were similar, Malon didn't know if he could count on Cailena for long… she was a good person at heart, and her goal was to heal people. Would she pursue revenge under the guise of justice with him? It was hard to say… Besides, he didn't tell her about her mother yet… he conveniently lied to her in order to make her leave the dungeon faster.
In any case, soon they left the swamp, and it was starting to get dark… they would have to consider camping somewhere nearby, and that would be troublesome since they were in an area filled with monsters. Maybe they had to keep going… but Malon was starving, but not enough to eat poisonous frogs. Maybe a good night of sleep could help them fool the hunger for a while longer.
When the sun was almost setting, they found a grove nearby that seemed thick enough for them to hide. Making a campfire was out of the question since they were still close to the enemy territory, so they had to use the trees not to endure the cold wind of the night, and considering how damp and wet the region was, they could see that the night would be really cold…
Unfortunately for them, before they could reach the grove, a carriage appeared in the distance and began to approach the grove… there were no roads nearby, so maybe the people there wanted some snacks that they could find there.
"Act naturally," Malon whispered.
Cailena silently nodded, and then they slowed down to see what the carriage and the driver would do. Much to their surprise, the carriage turned in their direction. Malon clicked his tongue since he couldn't see the driver yet because of the two large horses pulling it.
Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of them, and Malon felt that he should wound the horses as soon as possible in order to avoid them from being chased.
"Well, well, well… when did you become this popular?" A voice coming from the interior of the carriage echoed.
"That voice…" Malon opened his eyes widely, and then Ailen jumped from the top of the carriage since he was resting there.
"Hey, it has been a few days only, but it seems that you have already been in a lot of trouble," Ailen said. "Well, at least you are in one piece."
Malon smiled and felt relieved that his friend was fine, but then he took another step and then collapsed on the ground. It was annoying, but Aion couldn't see anything while Malon was unconscious… that was his memories, so that made sense. It still was annoying, though.
Malon woke up the next day in a different room and in a different bed. It was comfortable, too comfortable, so he found it weird since the last few days had been intense in a bad way. Malon got up from the bed and then left the room and found himself in a large mansion…
"What is this, one day waking up in a prison cell and then in a mansion…" Malon frowned.
Soon enough, Malon found some stairs and then a living room with two people talking. One of them was Cailena, and the other was a middle-aged man wearing a dark cloak. Malon recalled that he had seen him a bit behind the horses of the carriage.
"It seems you are finally up," The middle-aged man said.
Malon approached and then saw that Cailena looked pretty comfortable around the guy, but Malon didn't have many good experiences with strangers lately, so he kept his guard up. The guy had a few strings of white hair, and he looked pretty smart while he looked thoughtful. The living room also had a shit ton of books, but it was hard to say anything else about the guy.
"You must be Malon," The middle-aged man said. "My name is Ervan… I am somewhat of an acquaintance of your father and her mother."
"Really…" Malon said.
"You have all the reason to be suspicious… but you shouldn't be that nervous when your last bad experience was thanks to your own naivety," Ervan said while shrugging. "Regardless, I heard what happened to your hometown and went to check your father and Ailen's, but then I only found your friend there, and he explained what happened. By the way, he is practicing his archery in the garden."
It looked like ages had passed since the last time heard some good news, but they sure improved his mood. With his friend there, things were looking up.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel