When Chance opened his eyes, he jumped a mile; he was still using the corpse of the goblin-like creature as a pillow. "Sage?" He grumbled, giving her a couple of tough nudges. It took her a moment, but when Sage finally woke up, she gave him a gentle swat. "Did we use this beast as a pillow?" She chuckled under her breath before sitting up.

Her body was still on fire, her arms felt weak, and her legs felt like they might fall off. "My body is killing me." Sage ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes again. "So does mine. My leg still doesn't feel right." Chance groaned before sitting up and slowly standing. He wobbled side to side before resting on the wall, "We have to get back to the surface."

Sage put her hands on the floor and slowly rose from the dirt. The two gathered the bags and went back to the rope. By the time they got there, Chance had to drop the bag he was carrying. "Sage, I don't think I can climb that rope right now. I can hardly walk." Chance said before sitting down again. Sage turned her head to him; he looks sick. She placed one more bag down, "Okay. I am going to try and make multiple trips." Sage ascended the rope the first time with no problem, but going back down proved more challenging. Her arms began to burn again. Once she got down, she lifted another bag and climbed the rope.

-

"Sage?" Chance called when she didn't come down right away. He put his teeth together and heaved himself off of the dirt. "Say something!" Chance called as he stumbled to the rope. "I'm okay! Raymond is here, the guy who gave us our quest!" Sage called. "We are going to come and get you!" A man called to Chance.

Chance opened his inventory and took his dagger out, not taking any chances. "Okay." He replied. Chance grabbed the last bag and watched as two men in mining uniforms descended the rope. "We are here to help you back to the surface." One of the men said. Chance put his dagger back in his inventory. "Sorry, I wanted to make sure you were not a goblin or something." He let the men guide him to the rope; they slowly ascended together.

"Sage, are you alright?" Chance asked the moment he reached the surface. "Yes, I'm alright Chance, Raymond was just telling me about our reward." She crossed her arms. "Oh! Yes! I have your 500 gold right here!" Raymond said as he handed the bag of gold to Sage. "So we have to split the gold?" She asked. Raymond gave her a happy nod, "Yes! I can't thank you enough for clearing out the mine! I will also provide you both with a way back to town." Sage was not impressed but felt too tired to argue. She turned to Chance and took his arm, slinging it over her shoulder.

"How did you know the quest was finished?" Chance asked as he adjusted himself and the bag. "When a quest is completed, the poster gets told via a notification," Raymond says as he motions to the entrance of the mine. "Since I own this place, I wanted to come and make sure the job was completed and, of course, make sure you guys are still alive."

Sage turned away, "Thank you for the reward money. I need to get my friend checked out by a doctor or something. I assume the carriage is outside?" Chance turned his head to her. Is she mad about something? Her tone seems harsh. "Yes," Raymond replied before turning his attention to the rope. Sage and Chance slowly left the mine and made for the carriage.

"Are you okay?" Chance whispered once they got far enough from the entrance. "I have a lot of questions. We can talk about it after you get your leg checked." Sage mumbled and helped Chance into the back of the carriage before climbing in herself. "We need more information about all of this." Chance said as he placed a hand on his leg. Sage nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for the remainder of the ride.

-

Once they arrived back at the town, Sage helped Chance off the carriage. "We should check out the books we were given at town hall after we get you looked at," Sage said softly before turning her attention to a random man walking down the sidewalk.

"Excuse me, sir?" She called before approaching the man. "Can I help you?" He asked as his attention was pulled. "My friend hurt his leg, is there anywhere nearby I can take him to have it looked at?" Sage used her free hand to motion to Chance. "Brontico Clinic is right down the street. You can't miss it." The man replied before walking away.

"You don't have to help me the whole way." Chance sighed; I feel like I'm slowing her down. Chance shook his head. Sage didn't respond. Instead, she kept his arm over her shoulder, and the two began the long walk to the clinic.

Of course, I'm going to help him the whole way. Does he think he can hobble all the way there himself? What kind of person would I be if I left him to walk all this way? Sage pondered on her thoughts. What kind of person am I supposed to be? Who am I?

Eventually, they reached the clinic.

-

Sage brought Chance in and took him to a seat. Afterward, she went to speak with the woman at the counter. "My friend hurt his leg while we were fighting. I think it's serious. Can someone please check him out? We have coins or whatever." She placed a hand on the counter.

"Of course, please take this slip." The woman gave Sage a paper with the number five on it, "You will be asked to pay once the healing is complete." The woman put her head down and went back to her paperwork.

Sage turned back and sat with Chance. "She said a healer will come over. If I had to bet, your leg will be put in a cast." Chance groaned, "Well, that sucks. What am I supposed to do if my leg is all tied up?" He crossed his arms. "How does payment work?"

Sage shrugged, "she said we would be asked to pay after the healer was done." She crossed her legs and looked at the slip. "We can split the payment." Sage offered. "No, I'm the one who got hurt; I should pay for my own injuries." Chance said seriously. "That is so stupid." Sage shook her head, "What if you go broke? I have to pay for everything at that point anyway. Let's see how much it is, but we should split the bill."

Chance didn't like the sound of this plan. He felt bad enough as is.

Eventually, when the healer approached Chance, his body tightened. Everything felt like it was happening all at once. His mind was weighing him down. Everything seemed to pile up repeatedly. Although the quest gave him a nice break, he knew he had to start taking this seriously. The severity of the situation was beginning to set in when he noticed the blue mist swirling around his leg. "What is that?" Sage sat up and gave the healer her full attention.

"I am healing your friend, as you requested." The healer said before giving Chance his full attention again. "No cast?" Chance mumbled before grunting. The healing was quick, but it wasn't without its pain. Sage was amazed; she was sure this would take longer and be a bigger deal. Once the man finished, he took some paper from his clipboard. "That will be 250 gold." Chance did a double-take, "That's it? I thought it would be more expensive." Chance wiggled his toes. "No. I didn't even have to do a full run-up. You're fine now."

Sage took 125 gold from her inventory and handed it to the man. "Chance will pay for the other half." She said, hoping Chance wouldn't be mad. Chance opened his inventory and paid the man another 125 gold. "Thank you." He mumbled to Sage as he stood up. "Thank you for fixing my leg." Chance said to the man. His leg felt a little numb, but he made for the door anyway.

-

As they walked outside, Sage put her hands in her pockets. "We have a lot of work to do. The first thing should be getting a place to spend the night." She said to Chance, who seemed to be lost in thought. Eventually, he gave her a slow nod. "Let's go check out an inn or something. I'm starving anyway. Once we take a moment to relax, we can start digging into everything."

The pair adjusted their bags of loot and walked the streets in silence. Chance was proccing a lot, and Sage was coming to terms with being dead. Neither wanted to share their thoughts, Chance wanted a burger, and Sage wanted answers.