Ember went to retrieve his sword from the troll on his way to check on Chris. His back hurt, and bruises were already starting to appear on his arms. Walking itself hurt, but the pain was starting to recede. The ground was covered in the monster's blood, but Ember was so focused on Chris that he didn’t even notice.
When he pulled the sword out, only a quarter of it came. The rest seemed to have snapped off. He tossed the weapon aside and ran over to Chris, propping him up on a knee. He was unresponsive.
Ember grimaced as he looked at his shield arm. It was bent in an odd direction. He had taken courses in biology, so he knew a good bit about the human body, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t natural. Reluctantly, he reached out and touched it.
“It’s swollen,” Ember murmured to himself. “He probably broke it. God knows what happened to his elbow.” He flinched as his back twinged, but ignored it. The pain was manageable.
With reluctance, he pulled the shield off of Chris’s arm and tore part of his own shirt off, going to a nearby tree and chopping off some of the wood from the sequoia using Chris’s sword to make a splint for his arm. After making the splint, he half-carried, half-dragged Chris back to camp. The injured man never even muttered a word or showed any signs of waking.
For Ember, every step was hard. His entire back was bruised after the hit he took, and his right side was scraped from sliding across the ground. Even so, he gritted his teeth and walked.
After setting Chris up, Ember got to work on his arm. I am not a doctor, Ember thought to himself as he took Chris’s shirt off to inspect. But even I can tell it’s probably broken. His forearm was badly bruised and completely swollen. Ember kept the splint on; he wasn’t really sure what else to do. They didn’t have supplies for injuries like this, so all he could do was make sure Chris was sitting up. Ember sat down against a tree and sighed, reflecting on what had happened.
Chris was reckless. I don’t know why he didn’t dodge more of the attacks. He just took them head-on. What was the point behind that? And him wanting to be a king, you’d think for someone who wants that, he’d be a little more risk-averse. Ember sighed. I guess I can only wait for him to wake up.
While he waited, he thought about activating the sword’s ability when he fought the troll. It was surprisingly easy. The visualization really helped. But it was also nerve-wracking, because he knew he was on the edge of overflowing.
Ember took his own shirt off and grimaced. His right side was red with blood, though it had stopped. Reluctantly, he used a wet cloth and slowly cleaned his wounds. His right forearm was also heavily bruised from the troll’s fist, but unlike his companions, his wasn’t broken.
Over the next several hours, he spent time checking on Chris, inspecting the horses, and sitting there. He couldn’t do any more training because he’d lost his training weapon. Chris specifically told him not to train with his sword because his cup wasn’t big enough. So all he could do was work on his sword movements, footwork, and stance using a branch. Even that was a chore because of his side, but it was that or sit there being bored.
The sun was already starting to dip, and the forest was coming alive as night arrived when Chris finally groaned awake. Ember was just setting up the fire. He didn’t say anything, just watched him get his bearings.
Chris looked at his arm and grimaced. “Well, that’s broken,” he muttered.
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“Why would you just take those hits like that?” Ember asked, an edge to his voice. He poked the fire several times, letting the embers dance into the air.
Chris looked over at Ember and winced at the movement. “I made a miscalculation. I didn’t realize the troll was that strong. If I had known, I would’ve overflowed first. Most trolls aren’t typically that powerful. At least I think. There were no indicators that it was so strong, though I won’t lie, I’m not entirely sure what those indicators would’ve been. I only know what I’ve read in books. This is my first time actually being in the Frontier and fighting monsters like that.”
Ember paused. He took on a troll with as much experience as me? Is this guy serious? He didn’t voice the criticism, not interested in starting an argument. “At least you’re alive.”
Chris nodded. “Thanks to you. I very well could’ve died there.” He looked down at his lap, eyebrows scrunched together. “I underestimated the Frontier. That’s a mistake I won’t make again.”
“I would hope so,” Ember said, “especially if you want to be a king. I don’t know much about ruling, but if you die, you won’t even get a chance to rule.”
Chris sighed, his eyes gazing at his now mangled arm. “You’re right.”
“So what now? Your arm’s broken. There’s no way we can travel like this. I’m not experienced enough to do this stuff. Are we just gonna have to go back to the city?”
Chris laughed at the thought. “No, there’s no way we can go back. I’ll be fine. A unique mechanic of overflow is that it can help you heal faster. So I’m going to let you drive the cart while I focus on overflowing and healing myself.”
“Is there anything overflow can’t do?” Ember grumbled, stoking the fire. The more he learned about the ability, the more he wanted to learn how to use it.
“Of course, there are things overflow can’t do,” Chris said. “But if it involves the body, chances are overflow can achieve it. My arm should be healed by midday tomorrow if I keep a constant overflow state. But when I’m done, I’m going to be pretty much exhausted, so hopefully we don’t encounter anything that wants to kill us.”
“Great,” Ember muttered. “So I’ll basically be alone.” He pointed at Chris accusatively with his fire poker, “That was really fucking reckless. I’m not even from this world, and even I know you should never underestimate an enemy. Maybe next time you should think before you actually go in and fight.” Ember couldn’t believe he was chiding him. This man was supposed to rule people, and he needs a stranger to chew him out?
Chris hung his head. “I know. It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
“I hope not,” Ember barked, “because if I’m left alone here…” He shuddered at the thought. “I’ll die immediately. You’re my only lifeline right now.”
Chris was silent at that admission. Ember’s honesty seemed to strike a chord with him.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I know.”
Ember couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated at the risk Chris had taken. He busied himself making supper. Stew again. Ember was getting tired of the same stuff every day. Books and games rarely went into how uncomfortable daily travel was.
If I ever find toilet paper again, I will never take it for granted. Leaves and moss are not fun. Chris stood slowly and walked over to the fire.
Ember handed him a bowl and sat. “Why don’t we wait till you heal? That way, we don’t have to risk fighting with you out of commission.”
His blue hair swayed as he shook his head, “We can’t do that. If we were part of a party, sure, but with just the two of us staying in one place too long is a recipe for disaster. And with that dead troll not even two hours away, it’ll attract other creatures. It’s best if we leave quickly.”
Ember went silent at the thought of other monsters. It was enough to elicit a shiver from him. Suddenly, his food looked less appealing than usual, and he set it to the side. Another question popped into his head.
“How do you know so much about the frontier?” It was curious to him. The frontier was supposed to be some undiscovered, untamed hellscape, yet Chris knew a LOT about it.
His companion's eyes dulled, like he was looking far away, “I spent a lot of time studying everything. Every book, rumor, and survival tip. Of course, I would know a lot. This was not a decision made on a whim.” Chris turned his gaze back to his food. The conversation was over.
Ember tossed his food away, the image of the dead troll now a part of his meal. It made him lose his appetite. He decided to go to bed. Or at least try.
