298: Interlude Lukas

Lying in bed, unable to move, had given Lukas a lot of time to think.

To think about what had happened, what he’d been through and what he saw, or thought he saw.

More importantly, time to think about what the lady had said to him. Jen was her name.

‘You’ve already paid a hefty price; don’t let your pride make the price meaningless.’

When she’d told him that, he’d wanted to argue. He really believed he could have made a difference standing at the front, and that she was being ridiculous.

Right up until her final words shattered a lot of what he’d thought he knew.

‘An ambush predator is most likely to hit the party in the back first. You were bait; you were never supposed to survive.’

Bait.

That’s the word that kept repeating in his mind.

He’d spent the entire time wondering why the party didn’t believe him when he told them he was a powerful swordsman. They even laughed.

But if what Jen told him today was right...

Lukas shook his head; he didn’t want to believe that everything was a lie: the orphanage, the training, the glory of adventuring.

Everything.

Lukas stared at the ceiling; he didn’t even notice that Amanda had entered the room.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

Pushing the thoughts of what Jen had said to him from his mind, he did his best to sit up.

“Yes, please,” he said.

Amanda had already started to portion a bowl for him, even before he had said anything.

“Amanda, how have you found everything since you left?” Lukas asked.

Amanda frowned. “Confusing.”

She handed him the bowl, which he happily took, hoping she’d elaborate.

“There has been a lot to learn about the world since I walked out the doors of that orphanage,” she said, taking a seat.

“About the temple?” Lukas asked.

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She shook her head. “Yes, but not just that. The temple life was easy to learn, honestly. No, I mean the actual world. We were taught nothing of the system, just expected to figure it out, or be told what to do.”

Lukas couldn’t agree more with this part.

Amanda continued, “But even outside of that, the head priest of this temple is from a whole other land mass. You have to travel by boat to get there, and he said that there are even larger, massive continents of land further to the east from there.”

Lukas started to feel small already.

Though he had to ask, “It’s true, isn’t it? We were not trained at all and just expected to fight or die.”

Amanda let out a sigh. “The most common people I see coming through here are orphans, and most of them can’t get the help they need.”

She left the rest unsaid, but Lukas knew exactly what she was implying.

There was another issue that was really bothering Lukas that he had to ask.

“Is Trevor really a noble now?”

Amanda laughed. “That came as a shock to me also, but yeah, it’s true too. I overheard an elder saying he is friends with the king.”

“And the Phoenix,” Lukas muttered.

Amanda looked surprised. “Phoenix?”

“Yep, I saw it myself. The Phoenix came to the inn at Dunhearth and visited Trevor,” Lukas explained.

Amanda just laughed, stopping when she realised that Lukas wasn’t actually kidding.

“Wait, the actual Phoenix?” she clarified.

“Actual Phoenix. He even had royal guards with him,” Lukas continued.

There was silence between them as Lukas ate his soup. It was nice, appeared to be a chicken and corn, a lot like they got at the orphanage, just with more chicken. It was a bit herbal, though.

This brought his attention back to the orphanage, though.

“Would you say I’m selfish?” Lukas asked honestly.

Amanda’s answer was immediate. “Yes, you’ve always been a little selfish.”

Amanda was quick to follow it up. “You were not a bad person by any means, but I’ve known you a long time, and it’s always been a thing.”

“It’s fine, I get it, I guess,” Lukas muttered.

Lukas continued to eat his soup in silence, thinking over what he was told.

After a long pause, Lukas asked, “Amanda, you’ve seen this before, right? The magical attachments, I mean?”

Amanda hesitated, seeming to really think. “I’ve not personally dealt with it. They are expensive to the point that acolytes are not really involved.”

“How long do they take to recover, though?” Lukas persisted.

“A month or two at least, usually, though rich people often go home once they are sure the body is not going to reject the attachment,” Amanda explained.

“Two months?!” Lukas groaned. The thought of being stuck in this bed staring at the same ceiling for two months was horrible. He’d only been awake for a short time and he was bored out of his mind already. Two months!

“How long if I don’t get the attachment then?” Lukas asked.

Amanda just frowned, her demeanour turning almost sour over the question.

“Lukas, people sell their fortunes for a chance at getting mobility and their life back. You’re getting it for free. You could be out of here this week with no leg, no job and no place to live. What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I, uh…” Lukas began, but he didn’t have an answer for it.

“Think for just a moment about what your life will be like if you left here as you are right now,” she scolded.

This line of questioning seemed to really make her upset as she quickly got to her feet and made her way to the door.

“Before you do something stupid, really think about your future right now,” Amanda said, leaving immediately after.

Lukas lay there stunned. He thought he was just being curious, but now twice in under a day, someone had told him to think about what he was doing.

I suppose, though, even if he wasn’t getting the leg, it was still a week of lying here. That was plenty of time to think.

Lukas finished his soup, putting the bowl to the side.