Lafrenia

“I’m sorry,” Tav said, breathing heavily, and gave a weak smile to Airlys, who was providing first aid. “It seems I won’t be able to repay my debt to you. Unless…” The elf tensed and, after some effort, pulled a rather ornate coin from his pocket. “Perhaps I can repay you with this.” He placed the coin in the kaolik’s palm. “Maybe it will bring you more luck than it brought me.” Tav’s attempt at a laugh quickly turned into a fit of bloody coughing. “I told you it was dangerous,” the girl said quietly, with a hint of sadness, but without reproach. “You did,” the lily-elf confirmed. “But I still expected to die someday in a ditch, beaten to death by a couple of gorillas. At least this way…” The man looked around and smirked, then coughed up more blood. “…well, I guess that’s pretty much how it turned out.” As Tav left this world, Airlys finally noticed that one of the girls who shared the name of her deceased comrade was trying to save the life of one of the monkeys. It was hard to say what motivated the young lily-elf, but the kaolik found it difficult to attribute it to anything other than a temporary lapse in judgment. She had expected her to rush towards the demons, given the recent events. But even in that case, the swordswoman couldn’t afford such a luxury right now. The medicines purchased by the squad were too limited. She understood what might have driven her defeated opponents to such a path, but their actions did not justify it in any way. They didn’t even demand payment for passage; they attacked immediately, fighting to the death. And now they had paid the price for it. In another situation, innocent and defenseless travelers could have been the victims of the bandits.