The Sword Saint (FateRoute!Shirou in Danmachi)

"He wasn't really my dog, y'know?" Ann said softly, her eyes not leaving Jonas' still body. She was kneeling beside him, petting his head with care. "He was the town's dog. Everyone pitched in to keep him fed, and gave him a place to sleep if it was too cold outside…He liked to play with the children and sometimes even went on patrols with the guards…though he seemed to think that they were just taking him on a stroll. Just like today, when he came with me."

"It sounds like he lived a loving life," I noted, my voice as soft as hers. "He didn't deserve to die like this."

"No, he didn't," she answered, her voice breaking a little. "I was the stupid one who wanted to gather stuff for dinner, Jonas just wanted to accompany me, so why did this have to happen to him?"

"I'm sorry," I said, looking away from her heartbroken face. "He was still alive when I found him, but I was too late to help him… My magic is not good for healing." And what an irony that was. I always said that I wanted to help people, but the only thing I was good for was violence. What a joke of a hero.

Kotomine must be laughing at me from the grave I put him in.

"No! It's not your fault! It was my decision to come here even when I heard about the goblins. You… you saved me. Please, don't fucking apologize for that."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I am glad I got to you in time, but I wish I could have done more."

"Stop apologizing, hero, you did more than enough."

I opened my mouth, froze for a second, and sighed. "...right."

"...You were about to apologize again, right?" 

"...yeah."

Her lips quirked upwards and her eyes brightened a little in amusement. "Idiot…"

…Tohsaka, I found you another friend.

"We… should go," I said after a few minutes. "We don't know if there are any goblins remaining, and we definitely need to get someone to look at that sprained ankle. If you want I can come later and pick him up."

Ann shook her head. "No, it's okay. My brother's gonna come anyway here to patrol later, I'll tell him to do it." She petted Jonas a final time and took the blue handkerchief tied around his neck. "Let's go, Shirou."

I nodded, and promptly picked her up with a small grunt of effort- ignoring the spike of pain in my shoulder-, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back.

Yes, it was the famous Princess Carry.

A little embarrassing, but if we get attacked on our way out of the forest, I prefer running away without Ann on my back to receive the attacks meant for me.

The normally spunky girl fell into silence just like the first time I picked her up like this, a small blush on her cheeks that was gradually growing to cover her face.

In the meantime, I started to make my way out of the forest, following the path I used to reach Jonas in the first place. We were about to reach the edge of the forest when Ann seemed to find her words again.

"...are we really going to go back like this?" she asked, gritting her teeth, a mortified expression on her face. "C'mon, my brother's gonna tease me. I can walk the way back, I must be heavy."

I looked down at her extremely swollen right ankle and back at her face with a deadpan expression. "No." She pouted. "Not even if you make that face. Suck it up. I think your brother might have other stuff to focus on instead of teasing you. And you're not heavy, I lifted sacks of rice heavier than you."

"...right." she fell silent for a moment, though I heard some low grumbling "Comparing… rice… -mantic at all."

We were making our way through the fields when Ann chimed in again.

"Hey, Shirou. Can you try not to kill my stupid brother if he gets the wrong idea and tries to defend my honor or something? Please?"

"What? Why-?" Then I realized what she meant, her coming back in my arms, wearing my clothes might send the wrong idea. "But you are clearly wounded! How on earth would he get that idea?"

"Oh, it's kinda obvious nothing like that happened, but my brother is really overprotective and really stupid, he might think we just had a really rough fuck or something."

"R-rough fu-! Ann!"

"What?" she asked, rolling her eyes "Not like this doesn't look like the last scene from a bard's tale, where the shiny hero saves the princess and they go off to the sunset, or something. And we're not kids, everyone knows they fuck afterwards, that's how that stuff goes."

"Buh-! Wha-? Why are you…?" I spluttered, unprepared for the word onslaught, but trailed off when I saw her face. My eye twitched when I caught the smug smirk on her face and her mirthful eyes. "... you're teasing me." I did not pout.

"Oh c'mon! Don't pout!" I wasn't. "Just a little teasing is what you deserve for comparing me to rice of all things. That's not how the hero in the stories gets the damsel to put out, y'know? Not romantic at all," Ann said, shaking her head with a cheshire grin.

My eye twitched once more at her wording, but I decided to take her teasing for what it was, a way to distract herself from the events in the forest. She wasn't coming onto me. Nope. Not at all.

I sighed, considering how resilient the people of this world must be to survive with literal monsters hunting them, it may be both.

"Well, sorry that instead of a shiny hero, you just got the guy with the shiny shirt. Not sure if I can compare to your tales." Which was just the moment my Reinforcement chose to sputter off, the green glow fading away to nothing. "Formerly shiny shirt. Now just a guy." I corrected myself

"Hm… You're doing just fine, I think," she answered, her husky voice sending a shiver down my back. She made it worse when she circled her arms around my shoulders and rested her head on the crook of my neck. "Hey, Shirou…" she whispered. "Thank you, again."

Tension left my shoulders, and I shook my head softly. "Don't mention it."

The moment was ruined, though, when I felt Ann's back go stiff as a board. I looked at her only to find her looking back to the direction we came, her face white.

"Oh shit- Shirou, look." I turned around and I felt my blood go cold at what I saw near the now distant forest.

Goblins.

Between the distant trees there were ten- no, more than that. Fifteen? Sixteen?- goblins staring in our direction. Most of them were the shorter, green version, though they were not as sickly thin as the ones I faced, but there were a couple of the bigger brown goblins as well in their midst.

But the thing that caught my attention the most was the one standing tall and proud in the middle of the hunched creatures.

Was it even a goblin? Its skin was an eye-catching red and it was tall. It was a little hard to tell from this distance, but it was as tall as me, even taller maybe. Its shoulders were broad and its arms were thick and muscled.

Most of the goblins were holding crude or old weapons, but the red creature had an iron greataxe resting on its shoulders with familiar ease.

Like I said, there were not many details I could catch from this distance, but I could tell that this creature was looking straight at me. And for some reason I could tell that it hated me, even more than I once hated Kotomine Kirei.

I did not have much time to inspect the group before they retreated back into the forest as one. They are letting us go? It surprised me a little. The way it had been looking at me, I had expected it would want nothing more than pursuing me.

"Was that… a fucking hobgoblin?" Ann asked, disbelief coloring her voice, making me frown in confusion.

Hobgoblin? That thing? I had some passing knowledge of English literature and folklore, thanks to Fuji-nee roping me to help her prepare her classes, but that hulking creature looked nothing like the fae creature mentioned in those tales.

I did not think it strange when I faced the goblins, as they were as cruel and malicious as the ones I had heard of, but hobgoblins were supposed to be mischievous fairies, not that.

It seemed that for all the similarities I've found between this world and the myths and legends of mine, there were some differences as well.

"Was it? I've never seen one before," I admitted.

Ann nodded, her eyes still stuck to the empty forest. "I think so, I mean, I've never seen one either but the big guy was just like the stories, wasn't it? A bigger, nastier, red goblin that leads the others."

I nodded back, not trusting my ability to lie if I spoke, better to just shut up and accept it. So hobgoblins were bigger goblins. Ok, I can deal with that.

Better that than the fae being a thing here.

"Those adventurers from Orario better get here fast. Hobs are bad news."

"We should hurry back and warn the guards, then." I resumed my walk back to the town, an urgency to my steps that wasn't there before. "They need to know that there is such a big group roaming the forest."

That was close. If we had delayed our exit a couple of minutes more, we would have been overwhelmed by that many monsters.

Soon enough, the town walls were in sight and I heard Ann let out a relieved sigh. My shoulders lost some tension too when I caught sight of the two gate guards approaching us.

We made it back alright.

-Line Break-

Luckily the guards had been on top of things and after a few questions to Ann, who they seemed to know–probably because of her brother–, and some suspicious looks sent in my direction, they decided that we needed to go to the guard station and report directly to the captain, mentioning that there was a healer available to treat us there.

They seemed to be taking Ann's words seriously, as their faces had paled when they heard the number of goblins and that there was a hobgoblin leading them.

Of the two guards, one stayed at his post and the other promptly led us to a big stone keep, just a couple of blocks from the gates.

I looked at the building curiously, having never come to this side of the town. I had explored a little, but this part was full of guards 24/7. As an outsider to this town, it looked like an easy way to get arrested for loitering.

I expected to be led directly to the guard captain's office or something, but the guard escorting us turned around from the keep's gates and led us to a wooden building right next to it. Barracks, if the beds that welcomed us inside were any indication.

"You can wait here, Ann, hunter." Ah, right. I hadn't introduced myself. Rude. "I'll tell the captain and the healer to come. And Aaron," he added with a grimace, and Ann nodded with the same expression. "Just lay down and rest, kid. Everything's gonna be fine." And then he left.

I laid down Ann on a nearby bed and a relieved sigh escaped me when the strain in my wounded shoulder lessened.

"Hey, that's rude. You told me I didn't weigh much." She pouted. "Something about rice sacks being heavier?"

"They are," I remarked, feeling a smirk appear in my face. "But have you tried carrying a protesting sack of rice for such a long distance? Kept squirming too," I added. "Much more difficult."

"Hey! Who are you calling a prote…" her voice trailed off once she got a good look at me. "Shit, right, you were hurt too. And I had you carry me all this way like a bitch. Sorry."

I huffed in amusement. "Don't worry about that. It doesn't hurt much," I fibbed a little, it hurt quite a bit. "It isn't even bleeding anymore." That, though, wasn't a lie.

I didn't know if it was Avalon's influence or something else, but small wounds like this were always quick to stop bleeding.

"So… Aaron? I'm guessing that's your brother?"

"Got it in one. I'm sure he'll be the first through that door, the big doofus," she answered with a fond smile.

We waited only for a few minutes before the door was slammed open, and a big burly man with a bushy beard wearing heavy armor entered the barracks, followed by a young woman wearing a light blue and white dress, a caduceus embroidered on her chest, and a young man, familiar bright red hair and green eyes, clad in a leather cuirass with steel plates here and there.

"That you, Little Red?" "Ann!" the two men said at the same time, and the red haired man -Aaron, I presumed– rushed forward to Ann's side. The woman followed more sedately.

While Aaron kept fussing over Ann – "Are you all right, Annie? Who did this to you? Your older brother will take care of it, I promise you" "Aaron, stop! I'm fin- ouch, don't touch my face, idiot!" – I kept my eyes on the more experienced looking guard so I could see how his expression turned hard, how his shoulders tightened with tension and how the hand holding the grip of the sword sheathed on his waist went white-knuckled.

"You look like shit, Little Red." His voice cut through the siblings' arguing like I parted that goblin in half just a while ago.

And he wasn't wrong. The multiple scratches and the slight swelling that began to settle on her face, the hair in disarray, and the fact that my shirt, while covering her modesty, was not enough to cover up the fact that she was wearing only the lower part of her dress.

Ann snorted. "Heh, I feel like shit, Cap'n."

"My men told me some of what happened, but I need to hear it from you. The events in the forest, and what you saw. The numbers and the fucking hobgoblin. I can't just believe anyone that comes to us with such claims. Not even you, Little Red," the captain said as he sat heavily on a wooden chair, the seat straining with the weight of his armor. "Both of you, I haven't forgotten about you, hunter." I met his hard gaze with a neutral one of my own, then I nodded.

Ann started. "I fucked up, that's what happened," she said, lowering her eyes in shame. "I went to the forest to pick up some stuff for dinner." She cringed at the disappointed looks she got from that. Her brother made to talk, probably to berate her but she interrupted him before he could. "I know, I know! I already said I fucked up! I… didn't take the goblin warnings seriously."

While Ann talked, the young woman who had been silent since she entered the room approached me, and tilted her head. I looked at her puzzlingly, and she pointed at the caduceus on her chest and then to me. Ah.

Curious how they use the same symbol for medicine. If I remember right, the caduceus was connected to the Greek god Hermes, right? Was this woman blessed by him or was it just a symbol every healer used in this world?

I shook my head, and pointed at Ann with my chin. "I'm fine, start with her, her ankle looked bad."

The woman tilted her head to the other side, looked pointedly at the wound on my shoulder, but then shrugged. She gave me a beautiful soft smile and left for Ann's side.

… I don't know why but that smile sent a cold shiver down my back, like she was telling me "I will be back for you, don't leave."

For a seemingly mute woman, she sure knew how to convey her thoughts.

"-wouldn't have noticed if Jonas hadn't started barking, but by then it was too late, the goblin was already jumping at us," Ann continued, hands shaking, and I couldn't help notice the murderous expression on Aaron and, though a little less obvious, the captain. "Jonas protected me, he put himself between me and the goblin and I just… ran. I thought he would follow me, but Jonas covered for me, he fought the goblin. I heard growling and then a loud yelp, and I- I just didn't look back. I left him there..." Tears started to gather in her eyes, her voice choking with grief.

"Is Jonas…?" Aaron asked, and Ann just shook her head, the words not leaving her mouth.

"He's dead," I answered from the side, inserting myself in the explanation. I wouldn't let Ann handle all of the talking, she didn't deserve to tell everything herself when I was there too. "He was alive when I found him, but he had a stab wound on his side." I grimaced. "It was too late for me to do anything and, when I heard Ann's screams, I decided to focus on rescuing her… so I, too, left him." I deserved some of the blame as well, for my inability to save him when he was right in front of me.

"Screams?" The deep voice of the captain asked. I nodded, meeting his narrowed eyes, and let a small humorless smile form on my face.

"She was cursing quite a lot. Guided me right to her side." The captain let out an amused huff, and I could hear Ann giggle wetly. My smile faded, however, when I continued. "I found her in a clearing, some distance away, a goblin with a bloody spear right on her. I heard some stories about the viciousness of goblins so I didn't hesitate to kill it."

"Just like that, huh?" the captain asked rhetorically. "You an Adventurer, boy?"

"No, just a hunter." I ignored Ann snorting in incredulity. "I had a bow and the goblin was almost inviting an arrow considering how open its back was." I huffed, almost offended. "Hares are harder to hunt, at least they pay attention to their surroundings."

The captain did not react outwardly, he just watched me impassively, but I could see Aaron look at Ann with his eyebrows raised in what seemed to be disbelief. Ann just shrugged, looking almost exasperated. Even the healer stopped her treatment to send me a curious look.

I wonder what that was about.

"Then, the others appeared," I continued, wanting to get this over with. "Three more came from the forest, most likely attracted by the sound. Ann couldn't run with her ankle like that, so I had to kill them too."

This time the captain snorted, mirth filling his eyes. "I'm gonna need more details than that, son."

I sighed, I wanted to rush through this so I could go back and wash up, but I guess I was too prompt.

Ann seemed to have calmed a little while I was talking, and she decided to pitch in.

"It was incredible…I was panicking a little when they appeared, but Shirou took care of them in a moment. Like, two seconds at most!" Ann explained, her growing excitement drawing a slight tutting from the healer treating her.

Aaron snorted, disbelief clear on his expression. "Really? You expect us to believe that a hunter of all things took care of four goblins on his own?"

"Hey! I just told you what I saw!" Ann protested, incensed. "I'm not lying!"

"Hey, I'm not saying that. It's just that… it's hard to believe isn't it? He's just a brat."

"That brat just saved your sister, you know? Asshole."

"Stop."

The captain's voice stopped the brewing fight before it got worse, the two of them straightening and their faces palling as soon as he spoke.

I smiled. He has them well trained.

"Like I said, hunter, I want to hear your side before I decide whether to believe your claims or not, so more details and any proof would be appreciated," he said.

I gathered my thoughts for a moment, trying to be as succinct as possible would not help, so I would just be straight.

Well, as straight as possible.

I spent the next few minutes clinically explaining the fight with the goblins, the way they fought, their tenacity and how I killed them one by one. I felt no pride in my ability to kill those beasts, it was just something it needed to be done. I placed a hand on my shoulder, feeling the cut I received from the last goblin. If I hadn't, Ann and I would be dead.

Questions about the weapons I used to fight were answered by a simple "They broke during the battle."

I know magic here is widely accepted as something Adventurers can do, but that was the problem. I wasn't an Adventurer, and I didn't know if there were non-blessed mages, or if me knowing some spells would raise uncomfortable questions.

Ann was silent throughout the explanation, for some reason not calling me out on my lie.

It was when I described the last goblin, the outlier one, that the captain decided to speak.

"A brown one, you say?" he asked, intrigued. "That's an old one. Ten years old, at the least, so no wonder it was smarter. You were lucky, boy, goblins get craftier as they get old. If that cut was all you got, then you got off lightly."

I nodded, I hadn't expected even basic planning from them after the stories, and I got punished by it.

"And as for proof… would these be enough?" I took out the three magic stones I got from the goblins, two small ones -the size of a pinky finger's nail- and a bigger one. The purple crystals seemed to shine with their own light, and I was still slightly surprised by the amount of magic they contained, even the smaller ones.

Enough to fuel a couple of my mysteries, if I ever managed to find a way to use them for that. Tohsaka would be in her element here.

The captain looked at the stones in my hand, still speckled with blood, and sighed deeply, his eyes dark.

"And the others? The hob?"

"We were halfway through the fields when we saw them. Fifteen or so goblins, mostly green ones but there were a few that were brown, and a hobgoblin leading them."

The room fell silent for a moment before the captain sighed again. "Aaron, muster the forces. I want double the guards on the gates, double the patrols. Spread the word around town, no one is to approach the forest. The Adventurers are expected to arrive either tonight or tomorrow, we're going to need to be on high alert until then. Get to it."

"Yes sir!" Aaron stood up and gave a salute, crossing his right arm over his body and placing a closed fist over his heart. He then kissed Ann's brow, making her grumble in embarrassment, and muttered something in her ear. He turned around and went to the door, stopping before he opened it to glance at me. "Sorry for being a dick, brat… and thank you for saving Annie." And then he left.

Ann and the captain both let out an exasperated sigh when the door closed. "Told you he was stuupid," Ann groused.

"He is." The captain agreed. "I apologize for him as well, it was nothing against you. He was just… angry that someone else had to save his sister in his place. I hope you can forgive him."

I shook my head, a sad smile on my face. "I understand, there's nothing to forgive… I wasn't as close to her as Aaron and Ann seem to be, but I had a little sister too." I knew first-hand what it was to feel useless as the last member of my family died. I wouldn't wish it on him, rude as he was.

Ann let out a sad "...Oh." and seemed to curl into herself, hugging one knee to her chest and hiding her face. The other leg was left extended as the silent healer was rubbing some kind of ointment in her swollen ankle.

"You're a good lad." The captain gave my shoulder a couple of pats -luckily, it was the unharmed one- with a bright grin. "Now, I think we are done here. You are welcome to use the beds if you need to rest, my boys will be too busy to use them for now. Ah! And before I forget…" he took a pouch from his waist, and placed it on my right hand. I opened curiously and found it full of coins. "For taking care of those goblins… and for saving the little girl of a good friend of mine. Thanks, hunter- no. Shirou, was it?"

I nodded, feeling a little conflicted. I hadn't done what I did for monetary gain, so it felt bad to accept coin for it.

But…

The crux of the matter was that… I was in debt, and I hadn't hunted anything today. I have to pay Astraea back before she leaves… I glanced at my ruined shirt, stained heavily with blood and torn at the shoulder. And buy new clothes.

The magic crystals would help, but I had to find where to sell them first.

I sighed, closing the pouch. I would be selfish for once and take it as a pest removal fee.

The captain nodded once more and left, likely to oversee the guards' movements.

The healer worked on Ann while she was in a pensive mood for a little more before finally switching back to me.

My treatment was fast in comparison to Ann's, the healer only cleaning my wound and adding some ointment before bandaging it.

It was, though, a little awkward. I had to slide my arm out of my T-shirt and Ann seemed to take that as permission to… pretty much ogle any exposed skin.

I didn't know what part of all of this she found attractive, considering I was covered in dried blood, but she seemed to enjoy the show nonetheless.

Once the healer was satisfied she helped me back to my shirt, much to the redheaded pervert's grumbling, and nodded at us both before leaving.

"Do you want me to carry you back to your home?" I asked her while moving my left arm a little. Huh, it didn't hurt anymore. Maybe that ointment was a pain reliever of some sort.

"Nah, that's fine. Aaron told me he'd tell mom to pick me up. You already did more than enough for me in one day, Shirou." She grinned, her tone a mix of thankful and exasperated. "Oh! Are you going to need this back? Mom's probably bringing a change of clothes so you can take it then," she asked, tugging at the shirt she was wearing.

I shook my head, "It's okay, you can keep it. Just… be careful. It's not an actual shirt, it's just my magic energy taking that shape."

"Huh, really?" She tugged a little harder, like she was testing how real it was, and unintentionally exposing a little more cleavage. "Is it going to disappear or something?"

I glanced away, ignoring the cheeky smile on her face.

Right, unintentionally.

"Ah, I don't think so? There's some stuff back home that I made years ago and never disappeared, but I wouldn't trust it, just in case." It's the first time I made an object to last here, maybe the rules are different.

"Ahh~ what a shame. It's really comfy." She sighed mournfully. "Well, I can always use it for sleeping…" she muttered before perking up, like she got a good idea. "Hey! This one smells nice but can you make another with your smell in it? Y'know, for reasons."

My eye twitched.

This girl...

-Line Break-

My walk back to the inn was tense.

I've been living here for a little less than a fortnight and the town always had an air of… tranquility.

Part of it was because half of the rather sparse population worked in the mines during the day, leaving the children and housewives, and househusbands, house-sitting as it were. The gender norms were a little looser here with the addition of physically strong races like dwarves and beast-people- and hadn't that been a shock, the first time I came across a cat-eared person.

Of those remaining, some would be working on the few crop fields outside town and tending the cattle, or cleaning clothes in the river nearby, or attending some stalls.

It was busy, for sure, but there was no sense of urgency in the townsfolk. No stress and no worries, aside from putting food on the table.

It was, as I noted before, slow.

Or, rather, it had been.

I was a little shocked to find the town full of people at such an early hour.

News about the goblins must have spread rapidly as there was an air of tension and fear hanging over the town. Folk who would usually be either in the mines or the town outskirts were congregating in the small square where the stalls were standing listening to the words of the guard in the middle.

I didn't hear much, but warnings about the forest and even the nearby fields were made, mentioning the possibility of a strong monster being the leader of a big group of goblins. It was only the mention of the Adventurers from Orario arriving soon that made the townspeople relax a little.

I tried to pass without attracting too much attention, but my bloody shirt made that an impossible task. There were some wary looks sent my way, but luckily most of them were focused on the speaking guard. Still, just in case, I promptly left for the inn.

It was when I entered said inn that I realized that word might have spread a bit too fast

Pressure filled the lounge of the inn and I felt my shoulders tense for a moment before I recognized the familiar warmth of Astraea's divinity.

I glanced around the deathly silent room. Finding the source of the divine aura wasn't hard, the goddess was a beacon in my senses, but even if it wasn't, I would only need to follow the awed looks from the other patrons.

I wondered for a second what was happening. Seeing a god shouldn't be such a shocking thing, right?

But then I realized that if Astraea's godly aura that is usually hidden deep inside her was noticeable enough for these people to feel, then they might be feeling the full presence of her divinity, of a deity's divinity, for what may be the first time.

I approached the goddess sitting on the same table we shared last night, feeling her blue eyes inspect me from head to toe, stopping for a moment on the wound on my shoulder, her focus sharpening to the point that she seemed to stop breathing, until her whole body seemed to sag in relief.

"I'm okay, Astraea. Most of this blood isn't mine." I smiled awkwardly, gesturing to my bloody t-shirt.

"But some of it is," she said, standing up and approaching me. Her hand hovered over my shoulder, as if she was afraid to touch my wound.

I felt goosebumps rise on my skin at her proximity. Being exposed to her unfiltered aura was almost smothering. "I heard that a hunter was wounded and had to be rushed to the guards' healer covered in blood. I… didn't want to believe it was you, but when I didn't find you in your room, I expected the worst. What happened, Shirou?" For just a moment the sorrow she expertly hid in her eyes was clear as a day.

Shamefully, warmth filled my chest. The concern this deity could show to a person she just met wasn't something I expected to see from a god before I met her, and it made me wonder: were all gods like this? Or was it her that was special?

"A goblin happened. I underestimated it, and paid for it- but I'm fine!" I added hastily when her expression twisted in concern. "But more important than that… Astraea, your…Divinity."

Astraea looked confused by my words, but then she saw the state of the people around her "Oh! Oh my, how sloppy of me," she muttered, covering her mouth in embarrassment, her face flushing.

I let out a sigh when the pressure abated, the goddess' essence… not disappearing, but was constrained once again. I smiled. "That's better."

The rest of the patrons seemed to shake themselves out of their reverie, and returned to their drinks, their eyes glancing at our direction every now and then.

…Though that could be because I'm still covered in goblin blood.

Astraea cleared her throat. "Right, I'm guessing you need to change?" she asked rhetorically. "How about you wash yourself and we meet in my room?" Now that the concern for me had faded, a giddy smile bloomed on her face. "Now that I know you are alright, I want to hear all about your first Adventure here!"