The next morning, Avani came by my room after her customary bath. “Has Dylas come to see you yet? He said he wanted to talk about some things with you after we had our discussion yesterday.”

“Yes,” I replied, “he came around last night. His syntax was a little crude, but he made his point.” She gave me a puzzled look, and I smiled at her, saying, “Don’t fret. I think it’s okay. Now it’s up to you to manage not one but two lovers.”

She blushed furiously—ye gods, she was adorable when she blushed—and changed the subject. “So… during all that time when I was trying to sort things out in my head and avoiding both you and Dylas, I also got a lot of work done at my forge. Do you want to come around and see what I have for you?”

“I’d love to come to your room and see what you have in store for me there,” I replied with a wicked grin. Avani rewarded me with another blush, and off we went.

She had indeed made substantial progress with her blacksmithing skills—she must have been at work night and day at her forge, hammering out metal while she likewise hammered out her feelings. She had forged a new spear for me—a sturdy, improved style of corseque that she said was imbued with both poison and with Light magic. She had also crafted some higher-quality armor, boots, and a shield.

As I tried on the gear to check the fit—which was perfect—Dylas walked in. He strolled up, giving me a not-altogether-unfriendly nod and smiling at Avani. “Hey, perfect timing!” Avani exclaimed. She turned back to the shelves where she kept her projects and materials, and after a moment, pulled out some massive, weighted gloves and tossed them to him.

He turned them over in his hand, complimenting her improved skill, and then tried them on. “They’re imbued with Earth magic and made using some special stones that increase your chances of landing a critically damaging blow.” She had new boots and armor for him, too—the same as mine, only sized differently. Dylas was taller than me by a few inches, and he had a bulkier build.

“Now,” she said, lifting a scale vest over her head and fastening a feathered talisman around her neck, tucking it down between her shirt and the armor, “if you’re both free, why don’t we go take our new gear for a trial run? I want to check out where this Maya Road is located, for one thing, and for another, I need to restock my supplies after doing so much smithing.” She fastened scabbards for her new long sword and her dual swords to her belt and looked up at us.

“I’m game,” I said with a grin, gripping my new spear.

“Yeah, sure. It’s a slow day at the restaurant anyway, so I’m sure Porcoline won’t miss me,” Dylas replied, putting his new gloves back on. Soon we were in the airship, heading for the Delirium Lava Ruins. Avani hoped to find some ore there in the volcanic caverns, and there were plenty of monsters there to test our new equipment on, too.

This was my first trip through the Ruins, and I was amazed that Avani was able to keep such a good pace through the rough terrain and the oppressive heat. Some caverns contained no more than stone bridges surrounded by pools of molten rock, and the heat was so intense in these that it was injurious to just be in the cavern. In some places, bursts of flame shot out of small cracks or holes in the ground. The denizens of these caverns ranged from buffaloos and palm cats on the upper levels near the opening, where it was coolest, to trolls and the malicious fire spirits known as ignes in the deeper, hotter caverns.

In one of the lowest, deepest caverns resided a type of large monster known as a rafflesia. It was a plant monster—sort of a mother of all plant monsters—huge, vicious, and capable of spewing toxins that could sicken, paralyze, seal magic abilities, or put to sleep anyone who received a dose of it. Long, slender vines snaked out from its base, whipping its opponents, while thick roots coiled around its opponents’ feet. Its head was a single massive bloom consisting of two huge petals, both edged with tooth-like serrations.

I started with my spear, but it seemed resistant to the toxins. So instead I fell back and started hitting it with an onslaught of spells, alternating between water and wind attacks. Dylas unleashed an onslaught of kicks and punches, and Avani whirled around it in a blur of motion, slashing the writhing vines and roots into pieces with her dual swords before attacking the main stalk. Before long, the battle was over and it was on its way back to the Forest of Beginnings.

Avani quickly ported us out of there, and we emerged from the suffocating heat of the caves into the cool, moist air of a perpetual autumn. She had found some decent deposits of ores in the ruins—enough to at least partly replenish her supplies—and was satisfied with the day’s efforts.

From the cave opening, we made our way roughly west along the Autumn Road until eventually we turned south to follow a new path. A ways farther along the road, we reached a bridge where we discovered a single Sechs soldier standing guard, who dashed across as soon as he spotted us coming. Before we could follow, however, he succeeded in triggering explosives of some sort, blasting the bridge to pieces and leaving us no way to reach the Maya Road just beyond the deep chasm.

However, that was of lesser concern right then. Avani had just begun to run across the bridge in hot pursuit of the soldier when the explosives went off, throwing her back in the blast. She landed some distance from the edge, unconscious but alive. I ran to her and did a quick examination for broken bones, and upon finding no obvious sign of breakage, told Dylas to lift her, very carefully, in his arms so that I could cast Escape—I didn’t want to run the risk of reinforcements arriving while trying to heal her, especially as I only had enough energy to cast it once at most, after spending the day engaged in magical combat.

We returned to her rooms, Dylas still carrying her gently while I followed with the items she’d dropped in the blast. He set her gently on her bed, and I cast a healing spell on her. That did indeed use the last of my reserves and left me drained and weak, but at least it was enough to make her more comfortable for the moment. Dylas removed her armor and scorched clothing, hesitating a moment as he looked at me, then shrugging as he muttered somewhat dourly, “Well, I suppose that if you haven’t seen her undressed yet, you will soon.”

She had some fairly painful looking burns, though I wasn’t sure which were from the explosion and which were from the fiery Ruins. None appeared to be too severe, though, and I knew I could heal her injuries—once I’d had some food and rest to restore my depleted energy. As Dylas gently tucked her into bed, she stirred as if awakening, but after opening her eyes briefly, she closed them tightly again as if the light pained her. A moment later, as we quietly discussed how to best keep an eye on her while still getting the rest we needed to recuperate from our own injuries, she said simply, in a low, rasping voice, “Please don’t leave me.”

We looked at each other, uncertain to whom she was speaking, and Dylas kneeled down next to her bed, saying, “Who, Avani? Who do you want not to leave?”

“Both of you,” she replied, barely above a whisper as she slipped back into sleep.

“Uhh… I….” he said, looking startled, first at her and then at me.

“Well… why not?” I said thoughtfully. “If that’s what she wants right now. It’s quite a large bed. You can sleep on one side of her and I’ll sleep on the other. I think there’s plenty of room. We’ve slept in close quarters before while camping, though admittedly not that close. And it’ll allow us all to rest while at the same time keeping her near enough to us to monitor her.”

He thought about it for a minute, then tersely nodded agreement. “All right. We can give it a try,” he said, standing.

“Then I’ll head over to the inn to pick up a few things, and I’ll also stop to fill Arthur in on the destruction of the bridge. I’ll be back shortly,” I said as I turned towards her back door.

After I stopped by my room to pick up some pyjamas and a change of clothing—mine reeked of smoke and sulfur from the Ruins—I headed to Arthur’s rooms, Sano and Uno following behind. He looked grave when I told him of the evening’s events—the soldiers blowing up the bridge and Avani’s resulting injuries. I told him that she should be better in the morning and could come discuss the situation with him then, but that I’d wanted him to know as soon as possible. He thanked me, and I returned to the castle.

When I arrived, Dylas was in the process of making a simple dinner for us. He’d broiled some fish for me and made some porridge for himself, setting aside a portion for Avani should she want it. Meanwhile, my foxes scurried around, yipping in concern at Avani’s condition, before finally settling down nestled up against her, their noses resting on their paws as they watched her in a silent vigil. Dylas, of course, was unable to see or hear them, but I wondered if Avani was aware of them on some level as she slept.

We ate, saying little as we both were near exhaustion by then. After we finished, I washed up while Dylas took some porridge and tried to awaken Avani enough to feed her. She was too deeply asleep though, so after a few attempts he gave up. We changed into pyjamas—apparently he kept some spare clothing there—and then looked at the bed and then each other.

“I’ll… umm, I guess I’ll take the side against the wall.” Dylas said, climbing in carefully on Avani’s far side. He gently pulled her nearer to the center to make room for me, and I climbed in on the other side. She lay partly curled into a semi-fetal position, facing Dylas. I spooned in behind her and draped an arm across her side; Dylas lay on his side facing her, his arm lying across her waist  below mine. “This, uhh… this feels kinda weird,” Dylas whispered over her head.

“Oh?” I replied with a yawn as my foxes settled down again at our feet. “Well, I expect we’ll adjust to it soon enough. Besides, we won’t even notice in our sleep.”

“I… guess not. G’night then,” he said, but I fell asleep even before I could form a reply.