Raine jolted awake, blinking in confusion as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. She was back in her room at the inn, but everything felt like a blur. As she struggled to piece together what had happened, a voice suddenly broke through the haze.
"Raine! You're finally awake! Thank goodness!"
Lyra's tearful face appeared beside her, relief and joy spilling over as she clung to Raine in a tight embrace. "I was so worried… I thought you'd never wake up."
Still groggy, Raine steadied herself and gently pulled Lyra back. "Wait… w-what happened? Why are we back at the inn?" she asked, confusion lacing her voice.
Lyra took a deep breath before launching into an explanation. She recounted everything that had transpired on Mount Draegnor—their near-fatal encounter with the frostclaws, the sudden arrival of an unfamiliar party, and how they had been rescued.
"Not only were they incredibly strong," Lyra said, her eyes alight with excitement, "but there were demi-humans among them. Real, living demi-humans!"
Raine blinked, incredulous. "What? Demi-humans are just fairy tales, Lyra. Like elves and dragons."
Lyra shook her head vigorously. "I swear, I saw them! They had beautiful fur and the most striking eyes!"
Raine raised an eyebrow, her skepticism evident. "Alright, alright… so what did these 'demi-humans' of yours look like?"
Lyra's expression softened, almost dreamy. "They looked fierce but so… adorable!"
Raine smirked and rolled her eyes as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Sounds like a tall tale to me."
Lyra pouted. "I'm telling the truth, Raine! They were real!"
"Sure, if you say so," Raine chuckled as she changed into her clothes. "By the way, did you catch their party's name?"
Lyra paused, frowning in thought before shrugging. "I don't think we ever asked."
Fastening her belt, Raine made her way to the door. "Guess that's that. Anyway, let's head to the guild. I'm dying to see the look on everyone's dumb faces!"
"Hey, wait for me!" Lyra called, scrambling to gather her things before chasing after her.
The city of Glacieshade stretched before them, blanketed in thick snow. At its heart stood the Frosthold Guildhall, home to countless adventurers who braved the unforgiving northern landscape. As they approached the towering structure, Lyra hesitated.
"Raine… you do know you were asleep for three days, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Raine replied with a shrug. "It's not like I came back from the dead or anything."
Lyra's gaze softened. "Well… in a way, you kind of did."
They reached the guild entrance, and as soon as they stepped inside, a loud voice called out, "Hey, look! Raine's back from the dead!"
The room erupted into cheers and applause as fellow guild members crowded around, greeting her with claps on the back and wide grins.
Raine, caught off guard by the enthusiasm, grinned. "Wow, guess I really missed out on the party, huh?"
"Raine!" A familiar voice called out. She turned to see Galen waving at her from across the room. "Over here! Glad you made it."
Crossing over to his table, Raine's smile widened as she took a seat among her companions.
Thorne smirked. "Back from the dead already, huh? And here I thought you'd finally kicked the bucket."
"Nice try, but you aren't getting rid of me that easily, dumbass," Raine shot back with a grin.
Thorne chuckled. "Whatever you say."
Two other guild members approached their table, eager to hear about their latest adventure. "So, I heard you guys ran into some serious trouble up on Mount Draegnor," one of them said, eyes wide with curiosity. "What exactly happened?"
Thorne leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the table with a dramatic flair. "Well, I'll tell you what happened. We climbed to the peak of Mount Draegnor, only to be surrounded by a horde of frostclaws that came out of nowhere!"
"We fought them off, tooth and nail, but just when we thought we were in the clear, we came face-to-face with a beast even uglier than the last ones we fought."
Raine's expression darkened as she absently touched the scar on her side. "It got me when I let my guard down."
One of the adventurers gasped. "Sounds like you barely made it out alive! You must have an amazing healer in your party."
Raine glanced at Lyra and smiled. "It's thanks to Lyra that I'm still here."
Lyra shook her head modestly. "Actually… we were saved. By someone else."
The adventurers frowned in confusion. "Saved? Saved by who?"
Galen opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer, the guild doors suddenly burst open. A powerful gust of wind swept through the hall, sending loose parchment flying and silencing the crowd.
In the doorway stood a lone adventurer, cloaked in a gray robe, his hood shadowing his face from view.
A hush fell over the entire room as all eyes turned toward the mysterious figure.
End of Chapter 9.