For the second time in only a few hours, I sat up, heart pounding with worry for someone I’d met just hours before. I remembered Nyssa following me to the inn, but once inside… I had no memory of her actually coming in with me.

  I focused on our bond. It felt fainter than before, distance dulling our connection. I had a good sense of her direction and a vague sense of the distance. She didn’t feel very far, still somewhere within the fortress. She noticed my attention and sent back a mixture of amusement and annoyance. The bond didn’t allow direct communication through words, but it felt like she was judging me.

  you’ve

  I felt a pang of guilt. She was out there, fighting alone. An answering guilt returned to me, slight though it was. She didn’t blame me for needing rest. I took a breath and tried to banish my guilt, but it lingered. I reassured Nyssa, sought reassurance from her that she was safe, and received it. I did wonder at her ability to judge her own safety well enough for her assurance to mean anything, but there was nothing I could do. She was alive and obviously not in immediate danger.

  What had she accomplished during the night? I opened my character sheet.

  Name: Henry Harding

  Age: 28

  Height: 6’6”

  Weight: 360 lbs

  Class: N/A

  Race: N/A

  Bonded Companion: Nyssa - Onyx Griffin

  Fragments: 674

  Level: 3

  Attributes:

  Body: 6

  Mind: 6

  Faith: 0

  Luck: 10

  Affinities 0/1

  Passive Abilities 1/3

  Rescuers Intent - Level 1

  Skills 3/4

  Heave - Level 2

  Heavy Weapons - Hammers - Level 3

  Demolition - Level 1

  Spells 0/2

  Six hundred and seventy-four fragments! The last time I’d checked was before we’d entered the keep of the goblin vampires. Then I’d had two hundred and eighteen. I cocked my head, reconsidering my surprise. We had killed of goblins, and I was pretty sure I’d stomped a few to death in the mad rush through the boss chamber. Still, I was sure Nyssa must have added quite a few fragments of her own.

  I felt a giddy anticipation. I could level up again. I rushed from my room and down the stairs, my mind only on the extra attribute points and the power they’d grant. The day before had been a testament to how much of a difference they made. I would have failed miserably at everything if not for the boost in my attribute points.

  “Henry!”

  I stopped and looked around. I had been so consumed by getting to Delilah that I hadn’t noticed the two people sitting in the common room. Jeff was standing, staring at me with wide eyes.

  “Uh…” He took in my tattered clothes and appearance. “Are you… okay?”

  I looked down. My hardened-leather armor barely clung to my torso with one buckle still fastened. My shirt, torn to shreds, left my back completely bare and only stayed plastered to my chest because of the armor. My pants were tattered and completely torn away beneath my knees. It was a miracle that I wasn’t walking around naked. If my clothing looking like I’d been thrown into a wood-chipper wasn’t enough, it was all completely stained in blood, a mixture of the pale blood of the vampire goblins and dark, dried blood that I could only guess was my own. All of my exposed skin on my legs and arms was also stained with blood.

  “Oh my god,” a woman sitting beside Jeff, whom I vaguely recognized from work, said, staring at me with wide eyes.

  “Yes,” I responded to Jeff’s question. I was okay. I ignored the woman.

  Jeff raised his eyebrows, then came over to me. The woman stared but kept her distance, even leaning back a bit as if the mess covering me could jump the twenty or so feet to her table, but not an inch more.

  Jeff stopped a couple of feet in front of me, looking at me closer, eyebrows never coming down. “You’re okay?” He asked again.

  “I’m okay.” In fact, besides the unpleasant feeling of dried blood on my skin, I felt great.

  “Ha!” Jeff said, shaking his head. “You need a bath.”

  “Indeed!”

  I turned to see Clark standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding two plates of steaming food. He was staring at me with wide but concerned eyes.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  Jeff grinned. “You’ll need clothes as well, I’d say.”

  “Indeed,” Clark said again. “I can nearly see your ass.”

  I felt my cheeks, the facial ones, grow warm. I leaned in toward Jeff, who stepped closer to hear. “I don’t have anything else to wear.”

  “No worries,” he said, going to slap my shoulder before grimacing and pulling back. “There’s a clothier next door.”

  I nodded. There were a few buildings in the little hamlet I had yet to explore. It made sense they’d be merchants and other services.

  “If you weren’t headed out to take a bath or get new clothes, where are you going?”

  “I’m going to see Delilah,” I answered, looking at the door.

  Jeff nodded and winked. “All right, go.”

  “I’ll have a bath ready for you when you get back,” Clark called, still standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

  “Thanks,” I said, then I hurried out the door into the morning light and across the small village circle to the ever-burning fire. Delilah wasn’t there. I frowned, but then I remembered her instruction.

  I spoke her name softly, feeling a little embarrassed. “Delilah.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek as I waited, my discomfort growing. It was early in the morning. What if I’d woken her? I should have waited until later in the day.

  Only seconds after speaking her name, I was pacing back and forth, feeling like I was going to throw up. I wanted to go hide in my room, but then she’d arrive and there’d be no one. Surely, she’d know who called her, waking her so early. I should have just waited. Maybe I could go get Jeff and act as if—

  “Henry.”

  I whipped around, startled. Delilah stood by the fire, looking at me with pleasant expectation.

  “Oh… uh… sorry,” I mumbled.

  She frowned. “For what?”

  “I don’t know.” That made no sense. My heart thudded in my chest.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  What’s wrong with me?

  “I mean, I do… For calling for you so early in the morning.”

  “No need for apologies. My purpose here is to serve you. Feel free to call upon me any time of day or night.” She reddened. “Of course, only for help with questions and leveling.”

  I didn’t quite understand why she was acting like she’d done something wrong, but it settled me a bit. I swallowed and took a breath. She didn’t seem mad or even annoyed. I was overreacting. I took another long breath.

  “Do I, uh… do I have enough fragments to level up?”

  “Come here.” She held out her hand, poise having returned.

  I stepped forward, obeying but feeling incredibly uncomfortable with my appearance. I should have taken a bath first. I must have stunk horribly.

  Delilah didn’t react to my appearance in any way, reaching out for my hand when I was close enough. I winced as she placed my blood-covered mitt between both of her hands. She held on briefly before smiling. “You have more than enough, and I see that you have bonded a companion. Very good.” Her voice took on a more official tone. “Would you like me to consolidate your fragments into power?”

  I nodded quickly, excitement crowding out my embarrassment.

  “Very well.”

  I felt something being drawn from me. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it still felt like a loss. A moment later, it was returned, structured, the feeling familiar.

  “Did you follow me up the mountain?”

  Delilah looked down. “I did. Please say nothing to the others. I… I broke the rules.” She looked up, meeting my eyes. “My place is .” She gestured to the fire.

  I pulled my hand back and let it drop. “I won’t say anything.” I was about to turn away, but I had to ask. “Why?”

  Delilah shook her head. “I’m not sure. I saw you fleeing the inn, and I knew that you’d need whatever advantage I could give, so I followed. I don’t know how you gathered so many fragments so quickly, but when I reached you, I was glad to help.”

  I still didn’t really understand. “Thanks.”

  She took me in with a slight smirk. “I see it helped.”

  I looked down, then took another step back. “Yeah. Sorry about… this.” I gestured at myself. “I would have died without your help.”

  “I’m glad it made a difference.”

  I was sure she didn’t understand how much her help mattered to me. I knew that death wouldn’t be the end, that I’d simply respawn in the very spot I now stood, fit and healthy. Knowing it only made a marginal difference in my feelings toward mortality. The idea of death still filled me with a deep, existential dread.

  “I’m glad too,” I said, starting to turn. “Thanks again.”

  “Would you like me to level up your companion?”

  I turned back. “Can you?”

  She nodded.

  “Then yes.”

  I stepped back, still feeling uncomfortable as she took my hand, but a bit less so. I felt the power leave raw and unorganized, again returning structured. However, this time, instead of settling, it passed through me, traveling along the bond toward Nyssa. A moment later, surprise then excitement came back. I smiled. “Thank you.”

  Delilah nodded. “The clothier,” she pointed to a building beside the inn, “will come if you ring the bell on the counter.”

  I must truly have looked and smelled horrendous. I nodded and turned to head to get new clothes. I had to get cleaned up immediately.

  I entered the building desperately hoping this interaction would go smoother than with Delilah. The room was small but well-kept. A wide variety of draping cloths hung across most of the wall space, displayed for perusal. A few mannequins stood in different poses and states of dress. The clothier, a kindly looking older man, looked up from a book, his smile freezing halfway to forming as he took me in.

  “I need some new clothes,” I said quietly.

  The man laughed, low and deep. “I’d say.” He hopped down from a stool. He came around the counter and approached, stopping a good three feet from me. He looked gentle and kind, stooped with age, but still able to easily move about his shop. He gripped his chin with index finger and thumb, studying me with exactness.

  “I assume you’d like a rush order,” he said with a half grin.

  I nodded.

  He gestured me further into his shop. I reluctantly stepped forward, trying to move little enough that dried blood wouldn’t flake off onto the floor.

  “My name’s Arthur,” the clothier said as he walked about me in a circle. “And yours?”

  “Oh, I’m Henry.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Henry.” He completed his circle and stopped a few feet in front of me. “Do you have any preferences?”

  I shrugged. “Not really. Nothing bright, I guess.”

  He nodded. “Wise. Wouldn’t want some baleful creature spotting your bright red shirt amongst a sea of gray stone. I’ll have something ready for you in twenty minutes.”

  I was both surprised by how quickly he’d get me something new to wear and frustrated that I’d need to remain covered in blood for another twenty minutes.

  Arthur went behind the front desk and started flipping through what appeared to be an index. After a few moments, he looked up and frowned. “Are you going to stand there and wait?”

  “Oh, no. I don’t have to.” I stepped back toward the door. “I can wait outside.”

  Arthur shook his head, rolling his eyes. He was less official than Delilah and less awe-struck than Clark. He felt more , which was a nice surprise, and a surprise at how nice it was.

  “Go back to the inn. If Clark hasn’t already drawn you up a bath—which, if he’s seen you, I’m certain he has—have him do so, and tell him about the clothes. He’ll send someone over to collect them. Please, by the high seven, don’t sit around looking like an ancient specter from the lost continent, waiting for me to tailor your new clothes. I’d try desperately to get your clothes to you as quickly as possible, making a dozen mistakes along the way. Your pants would end up falling in the middle of a fight, leading to your pantless demise.”

  I laughed, nodded, then slowly backed out of Arthur’s shop. “Thanks.”

  Just before the door closed, Arthur called out. “After you’re all clean, make sure to come back to pay me. Unlike Clark, I’ll give no freebies. Wide-eyed rule breaker.” Arthur muttered the last just as the door clicked shut. I was sure he didn’t intend for me to hear. I was also pretty sure he wouldn’t care that I had.

  I stood there with a slight grimace, staring at the closed door. I had no idea what Arthur would charge me for his services. Should I go back in and check? What if I didn’t have enough? Would he demand the clothes back?

  Instead of the potential confrontation, I headed back to Clark’s for a bath, putting the cost of the new clothes out of my mind.

  Clark was waiting for me at the door, a genuine if a little tense smile on his face. “I expect you’ve visited Arthur?”

  “I did.”

  “Fantastic! And when did he say your new clothes would be ready?”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  “Even more fantastic! Now, let’s take care of,” he gestured at my whole body, “this.”

  He led me to a doorway near the back corner of the common room. Through it was a short hallway with six doors, three on each side. We entered the first, and the most glorious site I’d ever witnessed blessed my eyes. A tub, more than large enough to accommodate my size, steamed.

  “Now, of course, you’ll want to rinse off before you get in the tub.” Clark pointed to the room's corner where a shower head hung from the ceiling, a drain directly beneath. “The water’s not hot, but it’s warm enough. After you’ve rinsed, there’s soap there beside the tub.”

  “Thank you,” I said, the words more genuine than anything I’d said for years.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Clark said, beaming. “If you need anything, anything at all, pull this handle here, and I’ll come as soon as I can.” Clark bowed, then exited.

  The process of disrobing was far from enjoyable. I had to forcefully peel the armor from my chest. Apparently, that the final buckle was still clasped made no difference to the armor staying attached to my body, the coagulated blood acting like a morbid glue. I could see tufts of my chest hair clinging to the inside of my torn-free shirt after I finally pried it off. My sandals and pants were luckily much easier to remove. The shower was nice, but it took what felt like an hour of scrubbing before I deemed myself clean enough to enter the still-steaming bath.

  The feeling of pure bliss the warmth imparted through my flesh and into my bones was indescribable.

  Eventually, and only because of a growing emptiness in my stomach, I soaped, stood, dried, and dressed. Clark must have snuck my new clothes in at some point, as they were waiting for me, neatly folded on a stool beside the tub. If I had noticed, I would have been highly embarrassed. The shirt and pants were similar to the old: simple, light, and loose. The pants were beige, but the shirt was a dark green, and both were made from a much more comfortable fabric. I’d washed my sandals while I’d showered, and I now slipped them on. Their dampness, slightly annoying.

  I looked back at the steaming water and sighed. By the pruned state of my hands and feet, I must have been in there for quite some time. .

  “Cool.”

  For a moment, I considered undressing and getting back in, letting the heat of the pool soothe me for some time more, but the growing need of my stomach pulled me away and out to the common room.

  Jeff, Cynthia, and the recognized but unnamed woman sat at one of the tables. They leaned in close, talking in low voices. I obviously had nothing approaching a sneak skill, as all three sat up and looked toward me when I was still a good thirty feet away.

  “Henry,” Jeff said, gesturing me over. “Come, we have a lot to discuss.”

  I thought about running back to the goblin’s keep and throwing myself into the boss chamber. That seemed preferable to this, but I sighed. I was the one who had gotten them all into this mess. Surely, I had some obligation to do more than to only seek solitude.

  I slowly made my way through the room, pushing chairs out of my way to make a path. I pulled out a chair as far from my companions as possible on the round table and sat, staring at the woodgrain of the table’s top.

  “We’re deciding how we can best work together,” Jeff said. “We think it would be best if we discussed each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and figured out our next step.”

  I gritted my teeth. Yep, I preferred the goblins.

  Everysekai

  by Bluesycobalt

  > Female Lead with cast of developed side-characters

  > A lot of poking at Isekai tropes

  > Rational and Underpowered Protagonist fighting for her life

  > 1500-2500 Word Chapters

  Updates MWF at 7:10pm EST