Matthias

I can handle this, I thought, holding tight to my staff and looking around for monsters.

I heard something around the corner and froze. This is it, I thought, bracing myself. I crept slowly toward the sound, hoping to catch them by surprise, but there was a reptilian monster too close to me, and it turned toward me before I could fire off a surprise attack. It lashed out, raking a claw down on my arm. I cried out in pain and surprise and alerted an undead creature to my presence.

Shit, shit, shit, I thought, backing away and trying to think of a spell to cast. I swung my staff at the lizard in front of me with all the might that my bleeding arm would allow, and it was knocked back. In my brief respite, I conjured a lightning illusion and aimed it at the undead. The real damage done by the illusory creature was enough to take out the monster, but I wasn't ready to deal with the reptile that was approaching again.

"Look out!" Out of nowhere, a man with a rapier swooped in and slew the monster. When he was sure it was dead, he turned to look at me. His pointed ears and sharp eyes marked him as Kjari, and the stains and frays on his clothing suggested he was from South Estamir rather than North. "Man, ya gotta be more careful down here."

Still dazed from the ordeal, it took a moment before I could respond, before I could stumble through a vague apology to this stranger.

"Your arm's bleeding pretty bad," he said, and pointed to the wound I'd managed to forget about.

"Shit," I muttered. I tucked my staff under my arm and turned my attention to the wound that was beginning to burn slightly.

"Ya might wanna get that checked out," my savior added, peeking at the torn flesh through the hole in the fabric.

I shook my head slightly. "I have healing magic; I'll be fine." I concentrated and cast Healing Water on the wound, which sewed itself back up. My sleeve was still bloody and there was still a dull ache where the wound had been, but the wound itself was gone.

"That's handy," the man said appreciatively.

"I'm Matthias," I said, holding out a not-bloody hand for the man to shake. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Saving your life? I don't know about that." He looked me over then smiled. "I'm Jamil. Nice to meet ya."

"Is there anything I do to repay you? I mean, gold, something else? I hate the thought of letting you go without really thanking you," I said. Judging by the state of his clothes, he could use a gold reward.

He thought about it for a moment, then a smile dawned on his face. "Actually, yeah, there is something."

"What do you want?"

"I've been trying to scrape up enough money to get myself to the Knight's Dominion," he started.

"Of course," I said, knowing that the affair couldn't amount to much more than two hundred gold. "I don't have that much on me, but if you wanted to come to my home, I could get it." As I said the words, I realized that they could have been read as predatory, but I was sure Jamil felt confident that he could take me in a fight if it came to that.

He nodded. "Sure thing."

We started back up the stairs toward North Estamir, and he asked, "So, Matthias, what were ya doin' down here anyway?"

"I..." I felt my face get hot. "I've never left Estamir. Wait, I should rephrase that. I've never left North Estamir. And it's not that I don't like it here; it's a nice place to live. But I want to see Mardias."

"So ya came down here to test yourself?" Jamil intuited.

I nodded. "But look how that turned out. So I guess I'll never leave this city." The words stung because I knew they were true. A moment passed in silence before I asked, "What's in the Knight's Dominion?"

We walked through the door out of the sewer and into the sun, and Jamil said, "A friend. She left a few years ago. I want to go find her."

"When you say friend, do you mean love?" I asked, feeling a palpable excitement growing in my chest.

Jamil laughed, and I heard a tinge of embarrassment in his voice. "I mean, we were kids when she left, so, I don't know."

I threw a glance at the Temple of Amut as we passed and silently thanked her for this opportunity. "Jamil, I know that I haven't done much to prove that I'd be useful to you, but please allow me to come with you."

"Uhh, I dunno, Matt," Jamil started.

"You wouldn't have to worry about money on the way, and at the very least you know I'm good for healing magic," I added, ignoring the nickname he'd given me. When he still didn't seem convinced, I continued. "Listen. I've lived my life devoted to Amut. All I've ever asked of her is be able to travel. And then you show up and save me, and you just happen to be searching for a long-lost love? Helping you find her is the price Amut is asking of me."

He still seemed skeptical, but I could tell he was softening. "Look, I dunno if I believe in all that, but it might be nice to have someone else around."

I grinned. This is it. I'm really going to leave.