Damn Chap hated shopping. It didn’t matter if it was a pit stop at the BX, going off base to Walmart, or even online shopping. He still hated it.

At the same time, he was glad that it was done. It took them most of the day to run around the town, looking at different shops and stalls. Figuring out what they could buy, where to buy it, and then meet for lunch to discuss what to actually get with their limited funds.

It wasn’t as if any of them were getting paid. They had their somewhat ill gotten gains to spend and maybe some enchanted weapons and knick knacks to sell eventually. That was it for the moment, they were just lucky that it was more than enough to get them all through.

They now had native clothing to blend in, weapons, armor, bags, maps of the area, food supplies, canteens, and more. At some point soon they would be able to add potions to the list but they opted to wait until the unlabeled potions they’d looted were identified. They could use them in the bug out bags or just sell them to the alchemist to help cover the costs of the appraisal.

Then there were the magical items. Which had been passed off to a [Mage] that dabbled in enchanting because Ayaviri didn’t have an actual [Enchanter]. Still, the lizardfolk [Mage] swore that he’d be able to identify what most of it was and at a minimum be able to tell if it was cursed. He came recommended by the Mages Guild and even quickly identified the wands they had before they even left. Light arrow, Light, Repair, and cleaning. All pretty basic from what he’d said, though they could be recharged with time.

Chap actually grabbed one of them and got up in the middle of the night to go relieve himself. He wasn’t sure which one he grabbed, repair maybe after glancing at it, but it didn’t matter. He had to go down the road from the Inn to relieve himself and a wand was a wand. If there were questionable people on his route it would hopefully be like having the sound of a pump shotgun cycling through on his phone. Something that no one would want to mess with, a simple bluff turned deterrent.

Mainly he didn’t feel like carrying his poleaxe while taking a piss. It was in his bag of holding if he needed it but that didn’t mean he needed to have it out. It wasn’t like he was proficient with the thing. If anything the long weapon was a detriment to him and he’d already considered cutting the haft down so that he could at least wield it like he would rifle fighting techniques. It wasn’t a rifle with a bayonet but the basic movements they taught in basic could still be used.

Actually, he imagined some of the techniques would work better. Things like doing a buttstroke or a thrust would be about the same but slashing down with the axe part of the weapon would be a lot more effective than a knife at the end of a firearm.

Still, the preparations he took were worthless. He only saw a few guards and meandering drunks on his way to the public latrines down the road. Soon after he was back in the inn but he didn’t go right back to bed. He couldn’t because of who was sitting in the hallway.

“Karli? You alright?”

The girl was sitting in the hall with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Chap knew that the real answer was ‘no’ when he saw her no matter what she said but instead of playing it off, Karli shook her head for a moment and hid her face in her arms.

“What’s wrong?”

Again another dumb question but Chap still asked it. He’d give her a chance to talk to him if she wanted to but the brief look on her face was enough to tell him he could just walk away. So, he sat down next to her, close enough that their shoulders touched and he almost immediately felt some of her weight pressing against his shoulder. She leaned against him for a half minute or so before finally opening her mouth. Karli was barely understandable due to crying and having her face still buried in her arms.

“Just thinking about my parents… we’re never- I mean we… I’ll…”

Karli didn’t finish. Instead, she started crying but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was getting at. That wasn’t exactly the easiest thing for Chap to deal with but he remained quiet, letting her continue if she wanted to. After another minute she did.

“They just didn’t want me to get hurt… I know that. I just… I was so tired of it. Tired of them hovering over me and making sure I was their perfect little angel that needed protecting. Tired of them wanting to approve of every little thing I did… I miss them. If I never signed that contract… I wouldn’t have been on the bus and maybe I wouldn’t be here.”

Karli started crying harder and Chap reached over her and put his arm around her shoulder. She immediately rose from her arms leaned her head into him and started bawling. Not sobbing or crying. Chap knew that there would be snot on his shirt when she was done but he could tell she needed it. She was the first to really break down from what he’d seen.

Which wasn’t surprising. She was always thinking. Chap knew how to embrace a shitty situation out of practice. ‘Doza and Rick might have had moments together as far as he knew. Lindsey was fairly stoic like himself and Aydin. The kid had a mini meltdown on their first day but Chap wouldn’t call that the same thing that Karli was doing. Aydin had been shocked. While Karli’s shock had worn off and she was breaking down in his embrace.

They sat like that for a moment. She let out her frustration while he thought of what to say. It actually took him a minute or two to get something even vaguely right in his head but it didn’t seem right not saying anything so he went with it.

“I’m not going to say we’ll for sure get home one day-”

Chap flinched as he felt Karli grip tightly at his shirt and shake for a moment. He started rubbing her arm to try to calm her. Remind her that he was right there in her moment of need.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try. Hey… I promise we’ll try. We just have to…”

“Press on?”

Karli’s voice sounded weak and shaky but he couldn’t help but shoot a little air out of his nose in amusement. He was a broken record but his ‘lessons’ had at least caught on.

“We’ll press on. And try to keep surviving even if it means that we build something for ourselves here.”

“But what if we can’t…”

Go back.

Chap finished for her internally.

It’d obviously crossed his mind too but he knew he had less to go back to than her. There was his love for family, friends, hometown, and all that to consider. But in reality, Chap left most of it years ago and knew even his friends would come and go eventually. Someone would get orders to a new base or deploy or reach the end of their enlistment and get discharged. Even him. Chap planned on getting out and would have been looking at less than a year left. He was used to starting new in completely strange places. Used to starting over and rebuilding.

But still, he laughed slightly.

“Karli, as far as we know we’re just the first wave… Have you thought about that? That eventually everyone could be coming here?”

He wasn’t sure if he could really believe that but it had come up in the past. And not just in his recent thoughts. Chap had spent plenty of shifts sitting on post debating the destination of the Lost Generation and what it meant with his fellow Defenders.

Aliens abducting humans to let them colonize a new world or something was one of the ideas that came up on a regular basis. Anal probe experiments led the way with becoming an alien’s sex slave or being forced to fight in an alien gladiatorial arena by Jeff Goldblum only a short distance behind.

It wasn’t like they really took any of it seriously, it was a way to pass the time. In reality, the odds of joining the Lost Generation were tiny. Statistically, they were more likely to die in a car crash than getting whisked away to who knew where.

But at the same time, they collectively decided impish aliens using humans for experiments was just as likely as sexy aliens looking for some Earther action in some people’s eyes. And Chap couldn’t help but think of a few that were adamant that that was what was going on. Smithfield would have shit himself if he’d seen the stitchwoman stripper or a centauress walking around. The weirdo would have probably gone for the half horse women just to say he’d done it. Smithfield always had some questionable judgment when it came to women. Even worse than Chap.

Chap couldn’t see the writing on the wall while Smithfield was a lady’s man that would crawl into bed with just about anyone. Complete train wrecks, recovering drug addicts, prostitutes, Smithfield didn’t care. The Airman even bragged about the oldest he’d ever hopped in the sack with being over 60, the guy was 22. Smithfield was one horny little fucker.

Chap laughed a little at the thought of one of his drinking buddies.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just thinking of someone from back home. He would have liked it here.”

“Do you?”

Chap thought about it for a second before shrugging.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know. If you haven’t guessed I’m a little fucked in the head.”

It was a casual way to refer to a serious issue he had and for a moment Chap regretted saying it but it was said. It wasn’t like he was the only person in the world dealing with issues. He wasn’t even the only person in the hallway dealing with problems. The difference was, Chap wasn’t completely sure if he wanted to go back home.

Well, to visit his folks and friends back home, yes. But the rest of his life wasn’t going particularly well. A fresh start wasn’t exactly unwelcome, even if it was insanely stressful most of the time. He could just hope that it wouldn’t stay that way.

“You are not crazy.”

Karli said and Chap laughed again morbidly and shook his head.

“I am. Just a little. Macy fucked me up pretty bad.”

“What hap-”

“What happened?”

“Yeah.”

Chap looked down at the young 17 year old girl that was afraid out of her mind. Her cheeks glistened from tears and her red hair frayed from either tossing in bed or pulling at in frustration.

“I was deployed and we got home earlier than expected. We were supposed to have a layover in Baltimore but our team lead pulled a few tricks he’d learned and managed to get us on an earlier flight. At the time it was a good thing, we got home a day earlier… I could have texted Macy to tell her but I got it in my head to surprise her. I just wanted to see the look on her face when I walked in the door. See her smile and brace to catch her when she jumped on me… Her hug and kiss… But when I got home… I didn’t see her at first but could hear noises. So I ah… Kept looking through our place and…”

Chap shrugged.

“You caught her?”

“In the act, on our bed.”

Chap sat there for a minute just staring at the floor in front of him, the memory of seeing what he’d seen flashing before his eyes. It wasn’t easy to forget seeing the woman you loved on top of someone else like that.

Chap wasn’t even sure why he opened up about that, only a few people like ‘Doza knew the whole story. Maybe it was just to show Karli it was okay to talk about things. Maybe just because he hadn’t really talked about it much in the past two months since it happened and needed to vent.

“I’m really sorry… What’d you do?”

Chap’s memories flashed to seeing two naked people scrambling while he stood in the bedroom doorway. Claims of it not being what it looked like and accusations that he brought it upon himself were both thrown out. Even remembering it he could feel a pain in his chest while his breath caught in his throat. A pain that he was overly familiar with that had faded but still came back from time to time. Chap was too hurt to be angry though.

“I almost hit the fucker, not then. Later. I actually got written up for it because I knew him. We worked together. Same fucking unit… But nah, that night I left and got a hotel. Things were a little tense at work after that. At least until they moved him to a different flight after I cornered him. I didn’t hurt him though, just cussed him out… Can never trust fucking cops, I guess… Should have just clocked the bastard.”

A fake smile graced his lips but it didn’t matter. Karli wasn’t even looking and even if she did, Chap was focused on an interesting scuff on the wall in the opposite direction.

But the moment wasn’t about him. Chap pushed the feelings back like he’d done over and over again and looked down at Karli.

“So, yeah, I’m a little fucked but you’ll be alright if I have anything to say about it. I promise. We just have to get settled somewhere safe and we can start trying to put the pieces together. Alright?”

He squeezed her a little tighter for a moment.

“You really promise?”

“Yes. Not saying everything will work out but I promise I’ll try. Now go on, get back to bed. We’ve got things to do in the morning… But if you need to talk, just pull me aside, okay?”

“Okay.”

It was just a short conversation but at times those were what was needed. Chap got up off the floor and helped Karli to her feet before she gave him a hug and went back to the girls’ bunkroom. Leaving Chap standing outside in the hall. He was tired but sighed at the idea of going back to sleep.

“Fucking dreams.”

It wasn’t like most people could control their dreams and having someone that was a pinnacle part of your life was almost a guarantee that you’d dream about them. Even if the good dreams, the ones that brought back the good times, were still bad. Almost worse in a way.

Still, Chap headed back to bed. He noticed a slight reflection from the moonlight coming through the window on a pair of eyes that shifted to meet him but Vyk only gave him a nod and rolled back over to go back to sleep himself.

–

The night came and went quickly and Chap of course had the pleasure of dreaming about the good times again only to wake up and realize it was just a dream. Still, the day was new and he made a little promise to himself that he would try to make things better.

Although, Chap’s self promise had to wait. Thanks to a buff young man with a chip on his shoulder. Before Chap could do anything else, he found himself needing to put Rick in his place.

“Should have kept your mouth shut, Sarge.”

“Screw off.”

Chap stared at Rick’s eyes and took up a defensive stance while his fellow Earther shot him a shit eating grin. The two largest humans in the group were facing off while others watched and waited for something to happen. A tension started to build in the air around them. Just waiting for the moment of action to kick off.

And that it did.

Rick pulled to his dominant side first, his right, but Chap had his eyes on his opponent’s waist. He wasn’t a big enough of a fool to take Rick’s upper body movements as the absolute truth. It wasn’t Chap’s first rodeo.

As expected, Rick shifted left and pivoted, quickly swapping hands to overcome Chap’s defense while going on the offensive. Chap sidestepped rapidly at almost exactly the same moment. He tried to block Rick’s attempt to slip past his guard but had made a painful mistake.

Chap had read Rick’s every move and reacted accordingly but he had gotten tunnel vision and forgotten what else was going around him. He hadn’t noticed Aydin moving and setting himself up to Chap’s right, just far enough back to blindside the [Sergeant] as he turned.

But even then Chap kind of came out on top.

“Foul!”

Chap cringed as Aydin went down after he ran the smaller man over and almost tripped on top of him. Aydin went down onto his ass but thankfully managed to catch himself before the fall could prove to be an issue. With Aydin being alright the question was if he’d moved.

“Did he-”

“Ha! sorry, Sarge. Dipshit was set. Nice taking the hit there bro.”

Damn.

Chap looked down at Aydin and offered him a hand while Rick dribbled idly before passing the ball to Vyk for a lazy layup. Chap wasn’t going to argue with Rick. He trusted the man enough to believe he wouldn’t lie in order to win a pickup game.

“You alright.”

“I’m good sarge!”

“Hey, Vyk… You sure you’re not using a Skill?”

“No, I am not. As I have already said. I’m just better than you.”
The gnoll wasn’t the best dribbler thanks to a few detrimental differences in physiology, namely his shorter fingers on his paws.

They made it hard to dribble with his finger tips and limited his ability to handle the ball on the same level as his human friends. But even with that handicap, Vyk was a straight up MVP somehow.

The Gnoll could shoot!

“Alright… is that one or two?”

“One.”

Rick nodded and tossed the ball to Aydin who took up his spot at the ‘free throw line’.

None of the court was regulation of course and they had to make do with the closest thing to a basketball they could find while using an actual basket with the bottom cut out as the hoop. Considering the quick and slightly secret planning that went into setting up the game, it was actually really well done.

The court was an empty lot between two buildings in Ayaviri. A place already home to a makeshift soccer net and kids playing ball. After a quick but fun shooting competition against the kids, where the American’s lost, of course, Rick pulled out the basket and offered to teach them a new game.

Hence the game of basketball was introduced to Baleros thanks to Rick volunteering to run PT the morning after shopping and getting their bags set up.

Well close to basketball. The lot was relatively flat and smooth thanks to the kids playing around and taking turns trying to shoot goals on each other with a soccer ball but it wasn’t that big, so they were stuck playing half court.

And it probably wouldn’t catch on from a single game thanks to the area they were playing in and the time. Not many locals were watching. It was early morning, the best time to get hard labor done while it was still cool, and therefore most were off doing whatever it was that they did. Also a good time for a fun PT session.

That didn’t mean the mainly lizardfolk children didn’t sit back and watch the first game, which was only to 21 instead of timed. But it was far from a cultural phenomenon.

“Oh! It’s like a penalty kick!”

“You’re just now getting that?”

“Both of you shut up. If he makes it, they win!”

“No, they won’t! It’s only worth 1 point if it’s a penalty. They need three! They have to behind that line for three points!”

The small audience that consisted almost entirely of Lizardfolk children really liked soccer it seemed and kept comparing basketball to it where they could. All the while they were also waiting impatiently as both teams.

But, they were right, though. It was Rick, Aydin, and ‘Doza versus Chap, Vyk, and Lindsey, and both teams were nearing the win. Both teams tied up at 18 points a piece. A single freethrow wouldn’t end the game but if Aydin made the shot the other team would be within 2 point range of the win, making it that much easier.

They lined up and Chap looked across at Lindsey trying to get across quietly that she should back up in the event of a miss. Rather than snatch the rebound and have to deal with Rick and ‘Doza collapsing on him, Chap just planned to swat it towards the blonde. They had made the mistake of leaving her open before while they concentrated mainly on the two males. Lindsey wasn’t a bad player either, she was just overlooked when compared to her two taller teammates.

She seemed to get the gist of what he wanted, or at least Chap hoped. They didn’t have anything riding on the game but Chap was competitive. And he also wasn’t looking forward to comments from his opponent’s least valuable player, ‘Doza. Between her height, general lack of willingness to take the gamer seriously, and a bit of favoritism between Aydin and Rick playing off each other’s strengths ‘Doza had almost been relegated to their designated shit talker. A job she was more than willing to fulfill and it would only get worse if they won.

If that were the case, they’d find out soon.

Aydin dribbled the ball a few times and got himself set. He took up a shooting position as the small crowd of kids watching went silent. He shot. The ball arced through the air, banking off the wall the basket was attached to and…

“Hah! Take that Chap!”

There it was.

“What are you getting cocky for ‘Doza? You haven’t even scored.”

Lindsey’s remark caught ‘Doza’s attention, earning her a one finger salute.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a team sport blondie and you lost! You’re just ill because…”

“Nice shot, Aydin… ‘Doza, shut up. It’s not over yet.”

Chap corrected ‘Doza’s tirade and gave the younger man some praise.

He had to admit it was a good way to start the day and he was feeling better. He needed it and figured everyone playing did too. A workout that wasn’t running for their lives and a close game to boot to make it interesting. Even if it was Vyk and Rick leading the scoring. But Chap was alright with that, he’d had always been more of a defensive player anyways.

And he meant what he’d said. Chap snatched up the ball from under the basket and took it in under the hoop. Thanks to being half-court they were forced into dealing with a press while they moved the ball back to the midline. A slight complication in playing it right but it wasn’t like it was really that strange for anyone that played.

The game had been explained in its entirety to Vyk and the fact they were playing an altered version of it was told to the kids but they still explained the difference and tried to play as close to the standard rules as they could. There was no telling if basketball would pick up like soccer apparently did but they may as well explain it right. If nothing else but to get a few other younger players to fill out the teams.

But that could wait until later. The game continued on with Chap passing the ball into Lindsey, who was by far the best dribbler on his team and she worked her way up, juking out ‘Doza with a dribble behind her back and a half spin before making it to the centerline. Then turning to drive back to the basket immediately after.

Chap was being covered by Rick while Aydin attempted to cover Vyk but he was out of position after trying to steal.

Lindsey saw the opening and passed it to Vyk but the pass was intercepted by Aydin, who had sprinted to snatch it out of the air. The young man was probably the best ball handler on the court, period, and he had no issue getting around the much larger gnoll to bring it back to midline.

But rather than press his slight breakaway he passed it to ‘Doza who immediately bounce passed it to Rick. The toned, tanned man pushed forward to the basket and came up in a pump fake that Chap didn’t fall for.

Rick jumped again, already too committed to his jump fake then shoot plan to recognize Chap’s lack of reaction to it. And despite his physical fitness prowess, Chap had a power that Rick didn’t have when it came to vertical. He easily jumped a few inches higher than Rick with his hands up to block the shot. Rick again reacted too late, or just didn’t have any other options, and ended up stuffed!

The loose ball flew back behind Rick and almost bounced out of bounds only to be saved at the last second by ‘Doza, who showed a little more commitment now that they were in the last moments of the game. It flew back in and glanced off the outstretched paw of Vyk, who might have gotten it if he had longer fingers like a human but still it wasn’t enough.

The ball ended up in Aydin’s hands…

Chap had just a moment to turn before he saw Lindsey slipping in the dirt trying to turn around to get between Aydin and the basket before he could take a shot. But the dipshit was lined up for a three and wide open with Lindsey going down.

He jumped and took his shot. A moment later everyone knew it was probably game by the time the ball reached the apex of its arch. It came down and Chap couldn’t help but laugh and give a nod at the suddenness of their defeat.

It wasn’t a swish but the bank was staying open late, just for Aydin.

“Good game.”

The phrase was repeated by all of them in one form or another with ‘Doza deciding to smack Rick’s ass and Aydin’s back in a somewhat sportsman-like way. Aydin’s was sportsmanlike, she had given Rick’s backside a little more attention.

“Fuck, I needed that.”

Chap was tired but the game had quickly burned through a lot of stress. Which was probably why Rick pushed the idea of doing a group PT session and springing a pick up game on them. He wasn’t the only one in on it but Rick and Vyk had worked hard to set up the surprise for the group.

Of course it wasn’t that hard to get Vyk in on the plan.

The [Sergeant] looked around and saw Rick closest to him and gave him a low five before clapping Aydin on the shoulder in congratulations on his game winning three pointer. Lindsey gave him a rub on his shoulder and ‘Doza flicked him off while sticking out her tongue. It was like he expected except for the fact that afterwards a large number of small eyes were on him.

“I think we should clear the court.”

The game had ended and promises had been made. The various children who had been waiting as per their end of the bargain didn’t hesitate to ditch their places on the sidelines to try out the new game. It was all part of the deal for letting the Earthers and friends play a game. In exchange, the kids would be taught basketball and given some time with the ball to play around.

That didn’t mean the session was over though.

“Alright, let’s get actual PT out of the way. Everyone over there, that was a good warm up. You two ready to go?”

Rick led them to the place recently vacated by the children and everyone lined up. They’d done some warm ups before the game started and loosened up even more playing. All except Teena and Karli. Neither of which were really that into the sport with the latter not knowing what it even was. So they had been sitting to the side. It didn’t mean that neither one had enjoyed the game. Teena watched curiously while Karli sat with a smile on her face and gave Chap a thumbs up. His team’s own quiet cheer section to counter ‘Doza’s louder and more belligerent style.

It was kind of nice. It would have been really nice if ‘Doza had taken the same path as the quiet teen too but that was probably too much to ask for.

“I think we’re good as long as you’re not going to push us too hard… Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m still a little sore from the other day, big guy. And not in the fun way, you can tire me out like that later… if you’re lucky.”

‘Doza and Rick exchanged a look that told Chap their relationship was about to hit the next level but thankfully clothes stayed on that time, so there was no need for further talks. There was another issue though.

“’Doza… there’s kids present.”

“Calm down, Chap. We’re just talkin’ about some private cardio. Get some sweat goin’, maybe do some stretches and show Ricardo how flexible I am… Besides, the little snots aren’t even paying attention.”

The innuendos were thick and it got awkward but Chap looked over and realized ‘Doza was right, the kids had already divided into two teams of five with a third team of 4 and were busy playing. The two groups of five were using the ‘basketball’ while the four-kid group was just taking turns shooting with a couple of soccer balls while not doing much to stay out of the way of the teams playing. It was a chaotic mess but they were having fun.

After a moment Rick cleared his throat blushing a little and tore his eyes away from ‘Doza’s suggested activity. It wasn’t time for that.

“Just a light one today and I think we’ll focus on arms and shoulders as best we can. We haven’t skipped leg day this week.”

“Never skip leg day.”

There were a few light laughs at that due to having done enough of a leg workout for a month with that. Even more considering running was only primarily legs and endurance. Even on a flat, smooth surface it also worked out your core and to a lesser extent arms just from the swinging motion. But that was just basic. Running on a rough packed dirt road had made it even more strenuous.

“Vyk, do you have the weights?”

“Hrrmm. If you mean the rocks. Yes.”

It didn’t take long for them to each get their own small set of rocks pulled out of Vyk’s bag of holding. Each was roughly estimated to be a suitable weight for the one holding them. The largest ones going to Vyk, Chap, and Rick, and everyone else getting either light rocks or somewhere in the middle. It was a far cry from proper free weights but the rocks would do the trick.

“Push ups first. Start in the up position. One is down, two is up, three is down, and the fourth count we call out whatever number we’re on. Just doing twenty. If you can’t keep up, don’t worry. Just do your best.”

It wasn’t a surprise for any of them. They were all either military or going into the military with the exception of two. Even then the young, fit gnoll only had to see a demonstration of the exercise first, and Teena…

“Start. One… Two… Three… One! One… two… three… Two! One… Two…”

Well, the dullahan had some issues at first but no one was judging her. Aydin quickly showed her how to do modified pushups on her knees and she was good to go.

And Karli struggled to keep up but she tried at her own pace while Rick led them in their pushups and afterwards they did some light weight training with the rocks. Simple bicep curls, reverse bicep curls, lateral raises, ‘dumbell’ presses. Nothing too complex.

Rick had them all take it slowly, not just because it was their first workout together but also because of their less than standard equipment. It wasn’t exactly the safest thing to lift a heavy, irregular shaped rock over your head after all. It also was a benefit as a trio of children decided that they were going to try out what the strange group was doing as well. The addition required a little more safety and prompted Rick to add in some instruction like a personal trainer would. He was in his element.

“We should probably do this at least two or three times a week. Even if it’s light the benefits are there. And not just for strength, fitness isn’t all about muscles. It’s about the whole. Even regular light exercise can release endorphins into the body that reduces stress and improves mood including self-esteem. Those are the things your body produces to make you feel good. It can also be used to kick start neurogenesis, that’s the creation of new brain cells. So it can help cognitive function and-”

“The hell? Thought you couldn’t regrow brain cells?”

“Nope, That’s just a stupid myth. Over the course of years, your entire body regenerates, sis. A good exercise routine can help you think better. It’s been shown to help out a lot of people, like people with ADHD or people recovering from a brain injury. It’s one of the reasons why physical therapy is so important for people who have suffered a head injury. It’s not all about relearning to walk.”

Rick corrected ‘Doza as they finished up. The workout was already done but Rick, Chap, and Vyk had continued on for a little bit longer out of a bit of competition as well as a greater need. The rocks they were using were heavy but hardly the limit of what any one of them could lift thanks to the screwed up shape.

“Here that dipshit! You can get smarter!”

“Be nice.”

“And Chap can get less grouchy!”

Chap shot ‘Doza a frown. He was grouchy but still. Although he did get some amusement from Karli sticking out her tongue behind ‘Doza’s back while giving her the finger. An exact mimicry of ‘Doza’s previous stance before Chap threw in his own well thought out retort.

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe with a few more brain cells and a workout or two you can even get better at basketball! You might win next time, mister starting Center of his one room, country ass schoolhouse team, the Bumfuck Nowhere… The hell was your mascot, again? I don’t know what the hell you have in North Dakota. Grass, buffalo, and Hicks, right?”

She was partially right, they did have a college team that was known as the Bisons.

“Frickin’ better than your hometown team, the Inbred Swamp Dwellers.”

Chap tried his best to mimic her Louisiana accent. It wasn’t as strong as some due to ‘Doza being from a city but it was noticeable enough to make fun of.

“Hey, now. Don’t you be talkin’ crap, the Inbred Swamp Dwellers are from two states to the east! Good ole Bama. Nah fuck that, go Tigers! Oh and nice accent. Practicing talkin’ right? At least we can pronounce ‘bag’ without sounding like a knockoff Canadian.”

The banter continued on while Chap had to admit, he did actually feel a little better after all of that too. Although, he wasn’t going to admit that to ‘Doza. He didn’t doubt that she’d be secretly happy for him and might even show it. The issue was that showing any sort of thanks to her would most likely end up with ‘Doza giving him even more crap. She liked to double down on things like that.

So, Chap just let it slide while the banter shifted to his fellow midwesterner, Lindsey, who took up arms on the topic of the pronunciation of any word with an ‘ag’ sound in it. Somehow, to the rest of the country, the way people from the upper midwest pronounced ‘bag’ made it sound like ‘beg’ to their ears. As well as any other word with the same lettering. Hag, lag, nag, Ag as in agriculture, all of it. The general consensus was that people from the upper midwestern were dead wrong.

Of course, the rest of the country was of course wrong and could bit Chap’s ass on that one. Especially people from the deep south. They were the last ones that could talk about correct pronunciation. Not to mention the weirdos from the east coast that either dropped the ‘R’ sound or added it where it didn’t belong. ‘Hey man, you see my new ca’?’ or ‘I’ll be right there, I got an idear. Just gotta warsh some clothes first’.

But rather than reengage, Chap tuned out the debate.

It wasn’t just because he wanted to avoid the debate, which now included the people native to the Pacific Northwest. Rick and Aydin both insisted that the Midwesterners and lone southerner were all wrong.

But also because Chap took a moment for some introspection as he stretched out.

Mainly about something that he’d learned not long ago. The ‘four pillars of wellness’ a topic taught in Airman Leadership School, the training required before Airmen could ascend to the ranks of a junior NCO and become a Staff Sergeant. It was a metaphorical way to quantify personal wellness to some extent by maintaining each of the Pillars. Which were Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. And altogether not that different from Rick’s concept of total fitness.

Each of the Pillars supported the person but also supported each other at the same time. If one started to fail, the others would soon follow suit. Showing the need to maintain the whole.

It was the idea that if you had an emotional problem, you could identify it and quantify it under the Emotional Pillar before working out those negative emotions with the other three Pillars. Work off anger through the gym or sit down and give it some thought to actually solving the problem making you mad. A physical and Mental release respectively.

And if neither one of those worked, go for spiritual! Which wasn’t actually about religion.

Spiritual was about having a social net of like minded people around you. Simplified, you needed to have friends and peers. People who make you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. So it could be a religious congregation or it could just be the group of close friends you watch football with and trusted. Anger could be tempered by just venting to one of them and seeing what they had to say.

Likewise, if you were physically unwell? Use mental to build a plan, that particular pillar being about challenging yourself mentally, learning new things, setting goals, and pushing a healthy ambition. Then, once you have your plan in place, use the spiritual pillar and get support in your new workout and diet. All the while keeping a positive attitude.

Or if you were struggling mentally. You could work out to clear your head, get some advice, and focus on good emotions. Remind yourself you can do it.

If you didn’t have that spiritual network. Work on your self image and get out there and meet people in a smart way. Don’t just hit up the bar, go to places you enjoy and you will find like minded people. Join a chess club or volunteer at an animal shelter if that was what you were into. It wouldn’t be easy but you’ll find people you click with eventually, you just needed to use the other aspects of wellness to push yourself in the right direction. Get that pillar standing tall again.

Or in Chap’s case, it was his suffering emotionally that he needed to take steps to correct. Working out was a good way to clear his mind and with it came a reminder that Chap really should be taking better care of himself… again.

Chap kept himself in shape, studied and learned constantly through school or his hobby of breaking things in his garage, and had a few close friends he trusted… Even ‘Doza, although people needed to understand her to realize her shit talking was how she supported her friends.

So, he was fine Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually but Chap knew his Emotional pillar was leaning a little wonky… Maybe more than a little.

Still, he would keep trying. That’s all anyone could do… Karli might have helped him take the first step after taking a dozen backwards after arriving.

But being the person in charge just made it harder though. It wasn’t something he could just stop doing, even if the stress of it wasn’t helping. After clearing his head, he knew that was the reason why he was so angry at ‘Doza. He needed someone to back him up and take charge of things sometimes so he could focus on himself.

Having Rick take charge of PT and making it enjoyable without even needing to be asked was a good thing.

Spiritual and Physical Pillars for the win!

“You alright there, Chap? Learnin’ how to speak right screw with that country boy head of yours?”

“Really? Nevermind… Alright, let’s go get cleaned up and get back to the inn. Guardmount training in… I don’t know… Does an hour sound good? Should be enough time to wash our asses.”

Rather than respond Chap decided that the shit talking and banter had gone on long enough. He pushed his thoughts back again. It was time to get back on task.

“What’re we doing after?”

Chap shrugged at the question and opened his arms up to gesture at the group as a whole, indicating it was up to them. He wanted to see what everyone else was thinking. Even if it was obvious they still had to solidify their evac and shelter in place plans but their shopping trip to get ready wasn’t exactly a one stop shop the previous afternoon. There were still things they needed to find and reasons to go back.

Mainly he wanted to engage his troops to get them on the same page as well rather than just tell them what to do.

“That [Mage] should have the rings and stuff ready for us… Maybe the potions too.”

Chap nodded at that.

It was one of the things that made it necessary to go out shopping again or rather they had to go see if the services they paid for were finished. Plus shopping was still there, much to Chap’s dismay. But there was a silver lining with the day’s planned schedule after shopping.

“We still doing that fucking dungeon this afternoon? If we are, we should be quick with everything so we can make sure we’re ready.”

“Hell yeah, we are!”

“What’s supposed to be in there anyways?”

“Big spiders and bugs.”

Chap cringed a little bit at the revelation from Lindsey. She didn’t sound happy with it either and more than just Chap flinched. Even people that were okay with spiders would be wary of going into an underground dungeon filled with ones the size of dogs or even bigger.

“We still should. It’s a solid plan and we can level. Now, bathhouse?”

No one argued and they trudged away from their makeshift basketball court, taking their ball back from the children but leaving the basket hung on the wall for the kids to play with. Plus a sheet of paper that Karli had handed to them, no doubt containing the rules she’d written down as the groups [Scribe].

–

Hmmmm? Going into the ruins. Maybe I can get a bit more information on classes if I offer to guide them down there… Also-

Still in a female body, although a dullahan now, Amahle walked over to the children.

Most were somewhere between being hatchlings and young adults. Too big to just sit around at home, too small to start working while all together being just well enough off to prevent them from ending up as little terrors and pickpockets.

She approached with a few coins in her hand after standing far enough away for most of the game and only making her approach towards the end, acting like she was watching the children play.

She probably could have learned a bit more but she spotted the gnoll’s nose twitching and wasn’t sure if he could distinguish the smell of her true body from the smell of the corpse she was wearing. Or more importantly, if he could tell one silphid from another.

It was a complication that Amahle was having to find ways around thanks to not being used to being around a person with such a powerful nose. Gnolls were famous for it and were akin to certain beastkin such as the wolfkin and dogkin tribes in their abilities. Those she did know to an extent and it made her worry. All she could be sure of was that he might already know her scent in some way thanks to staying at the same inn.

At the same time, her information had sold and she’d gotten an open ended offer for more information with what she’d already provided being passed up her client organizations chain of command. Meaning the risks were worth it. Even the less relevant things.

“Five silver to whoever teaches me how to play.”

It was a simple offer and more than a few little heads turned to her and looked her up and down. Silver went a long way in the northern part of town. They weren’t exactly poor there, to an Earther, they were lower middle class, but to a child in a family dominated by labor classes and low level artisans, five silver was a lot.

Her cheeks flushed red with excitement as one of them handed her the sheet her good friend Karli had transcribed. She really did like this group, they were secretive but also efficient. Linc might even be interested in looking over the format that the young [Scribe] had written in. The neat list of rules was marked off with numbers and sub-letters in a clear and concise way.

Amahle read over it and handed the five coins to the one that had given it to her. The lucky one who had been holding the set of rules in the first place.

“So, shall we play?”

—

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

“Will you stop that!?”

Zosk snapped at Dess who was sitting in the back lightly smacking her tail against the side of the wagon out of boredom.

Thump.

Jenna smiled at her friend from where she was lying in the wagon with Sandy laying next to her. Once again, boredom had set in with the group. Or at least with Dess and Jenna. Zosk didn’t seem fazed at all about the trip or the fact they were still a few hours’ travel away from Sa’liquen.

Although that meant the area was getting a bit more populated. Both in travelers and small villages and even towns.

But they didn’t go into any of them, instead opting to just get the trip over with.

“Jenna, what do your people do when they’re bored?”

“Ahhh…”

Jenna hesitated at the question. Her mind immediately went to different road games. Some like the alphabet game couldn’t be played there due to a lack of signs but her mind immediately went to truth or dare.

But after realizing the danger of that particular game, Jenna went a different route.

“Ever played ‘I Spy’?”

“No, what’s that?”

Jenna quickly explained what was essentially a children’s game to Dess. It wasn’t that exciting of a game but it would still pass the time. A blessing for a bored lizardgirl.

“Oh. I’ll go first… I spy. Did I say that right? Yes, okay. I Spy with my eye. Something… green!”

Jenna looked in every direction that Dess had glanced from her position laying on the bed of the wagon.

Something Green…

There was only so much that was green in the desert and even less visible from inside the covered wagon. So, it didn’t take Jenna long to look at the back of Zosk’s head.

“Your dad.”

Dess nodded with a grin, although was clearly still bored but was anticipating the game becoming more fun as it went on.

“I spy, with my little eye, something blue.”

“Sky!”

Okay, that was probably too obvious, it was literally the only blue thing in sight.

They went back and forth with Jenna adding other descriptors like saying she spotted something fluffy when the target was the grayrock. Or something sharp to indicate the head of a spear.

It really wasn’t all that fun but the miles to their destination were slowly clicking down as they went.

“I spy with my eye, something… soft.”

It was Dess’ turn and Jenna looked around the wagon. There wasn’t much they hadn’t already used in there and whether inside or out, there were very few things that could be called soft.

“Sandy?”

“Nope.”

“The baby bird?”

“Nope.”

“That pillow?”

“Still no.”

Dess giggled to herself for a moment while Jenna stared around confused about what it could be. Most of the guesses only took one or two tries except when they agreed that saying they saw something tan wasn’t allowed unless it was generalized. It’d taken far too long to guess the specific hill that Dess had her eyes on.

“Need a hint?”

“No! I’ve got this. I just need to… Yeah, give me a hint.”

“It’s pink.”

PINK!

Jenna’s eyes almost crossed at the information. What was soft AND pink. There were soft things in sight, the obvious ones she’d already said. And there were pink things in sight outside of the wagon. But those pink things were anything but soft. They were just vaguely pink hued rocks.

Jenna looked around for a moment and then looked at Sandy.

“Sandy’s tongue?”

The dog was lying on her side with her mouth open, giving a slight view of the pink thing in her mouth.

But Dess only shook her head.

“I already said no. But you are close.”

“Close?”

Jenna wasn’t sure what that meant. She glanced down by Sandy’s back legs to double check there wasn’t a little pink thing poking out there. Everyone referred to Sandy as a girl but Jenna hadn’t really had a reason to check. Still, that wasn’t it, the female dog was missing those parts.

“Is it a tongue? Your tongue?”

“Almost. And no silly. I can’t see my tongue… Well?”

Dess stuck her tongue out. It was narrower than a human’s and different shape while also being longer. It didn’t take her long to get it into a position where she could see it.

“Okay, I can but it’s not my tongue.”

Jenna continued to look around but was still coming up short. That was until Dess scooted forward and jabbed her lightly in the face.

On her lips.

“Oh, that’s not fair. I can’t-”

Jenna stopped and puckered up her lips while looking down. Nope, she could see her lips plain as day but it was like she could really see the pink part of it. Just the slightly tanned skin toned part.

“I can’t see-”

Dess poked her in the lips again and gave her a pointed look before sticking her tongue out at Jenna.

OOOOH!

“Okay, you got me. I can see my tongue.”

Jenna stuck her tongue out to demonstrate and got it so she could look down and see the tip of it.

Wait a minute.

“You said it was soft! I mean… My tongue is soft but you… Was it my tongue?”

Jenna dropped her argument. Dess had obviously never felt Jenna’s tongue to know it was soft but who had ever heard of a hard tongue.

“Okay, fine. No, it was your lips. They were really soft when you kissed me.”

“When did I kiss you?”

Jenna was a bit confused and saw Zosk shaking his head in the front.

“When you kissed my head after we got the paper.”

Dess’ tone dropped when she explained and Jenna felt like a jerk. She remembered then, something more than a peck on the top of the head when Dess was upset after first learning about Patli. It was apparent that Dess had thought of Jenna’s lips while ignoring the context up until Jenna asked about it. Maybe a brighter moment to focus on for Dess. A friend consoling her rather than the reason why she had to be consoled.

Jenna sat in silence for a moment then leaned in and kissed Dess on the cheek. Her lizardfolk friend stared at her for a moment after and rubbed her cheek.

“My way of saying sorry. Plus, now you can say it was when I kissed you on the cheek. And really, Dess. I’m sorry.”

Jenna gave Dess a week smile. Though to her not so much surprise. Dess returned the favor, although she aimed at the corner of Jenna’s mouth instead of on the cheek proper, but Jenna didn’t care. They had started to learn the ins and outs of what was considered intimate for each other people. But that was hardly intimate in Jenna’s eyes. Her grandma kissed her like that.

Still, Jenna blushed a little bit, Dess wasn’t her grandma.

“Now we’re even!”

Dess said a little more cheerfully but quickly quieted down as boredom set in again.

“If you two are done kissing each other back there. Might I suggest looking up?”

Looking up?

Zosk’s tip for entertainment didn’t go lightly as both Jenna and Dess stuck their heads out the front of the wagon to do just as he suggested.

There was nothing.

At least until Zosk gently pushed Jenna’s head so her gaze was in the right direction.

“What is that?”

“Guess.”

“You don’t…”

Jenna looked up at the mountains again, not that it was hard to see them with them already pushing through the foothills and nearly at the base of the one that Sa’liquen was built nearby.

What she saw was like an explosion along one of the mid slope ridges of a different mountain. Dust and debris was flying everywhere creating a small plume.

“It’s an Amaru!”

Dess suddenly yelled out loudly.

Jenna vaguely remembered the drawing of the llama-lizard-griffin she’d seen in Dess’ book.

It was an apex predator of the mountains. A large winged beast that could both be built like a wyvern while other breeds were built like dragons. Their bodies even resembled long thin dragons with large feathered wings but the llama head was all but dragon like, so they were often compared to griffins. A popular but foreign species that was roughly the same size.

But even as she squinted Jenna couldn’t see whatever Dess had spotted. There was a distinct lack of any type of winged creature around the plume of dust.

“Maybe. Could have been anything.”

Zosk shrugged but still scanned the skies around them.

“No, that was an Amaru. What else could it have been?! What else is up there that could-”

“Natural stone golems, adventurers, bandits, maybe even kobolds.”

Dess looked at her father and shook her head while glancing back up at the mountains.

“Stop with the kobolds. They’re not even in the book!”

“Harpies?”

“Now listen here old-”

“Dragons?”

“Okay, that would be amazing but it isn’t like there’s any dra-”

“Big ugly pigeons?”

“Hey, now, I’m ser-”

“Drunk lizardfolk… soldiers… those lightning lizard things from the jungle… wyverns… griffins…”

Jenna grinned as Dess started to try to point out that Wyverns and Griffins weren’t found on Baleros except for some pygmy versions of griffins found in the north. But Zosk kept on going. Naming everything he could think of.

It turned out he was just as bored as they were and growing annoyed at the same time. So he listed off everything from traveling stones to Wilden Vines, whatever those were? Dess claimed he made up the name though, So they might have been nothing but Zosk denied the accusation.

A laugh escaped Jenna and her smile grew a bit more after catching a wink from Zosk. It wasn’t hard to figure out what he was doing once she realized he was doing it intentionally.

If there were any lingering thoughts on Patli in Dess’ mind. They’d just taken a back seat to the idea of some strange and powerful creature living high up in the mountains.

A masterful distraction.

–

“Louis! They’re here. Run!”

I am!

Louis watched Neeka and James sprinting ahead of him up the hill while he felt a pain growing in his side and a cramp starting to form.

“Louis, come on buddy. You can make it!”

“Just go!”

Louis yelled up the slope as the sound of horses came from behind him. Joined by the rapid speech of the horses’ lizardfolk riders wearing red. They were close.

And Louis… he knew he couldn’t outrun them but he tried, he really did. He waved at the others to continue moving up the slope that the horses couldn’t easily traverse but secretly hoped they wouldn’t leave him.

Neeka and James, the only two people Louis knew from home continued going.

“Come on, boy. You got this!”

But he didn’t Louis suddenly felt something wrap around his legs before something hard smacked into his calf and knee. A moment later he was falling forward onto the slope while screaming due to already sliding back down the hill to the waiting riders.

“We’ll find you and get you out!”

“Hold tight, big guy! We’ll find help!”

Louis barely noticed the last call out from the closest people he had to friends on two planets because he was tumbling down the side of the hill. Bouncing off from rocks and sliding through the dirt head first, desperately trying to keep himself from going face first into a rock.

When he stopped he lay there and cried. Only sparing a glance up the hill but he didn’t see any sign of Neeka or James.

“Get him tied up. The rest of you get moving and go for the other two!”

A lizardman barked orders right before Louis felt a heavy weight land on his back and his arms being ripped to join the weight before feeling something warm and hard being locked around his wrists. A feeling soon joined as a metal collar was locked in place around his neck.

“At least we got the fat human. Did you see where the dark skinned female and the Drathian went?”

“He wasn’t a Drathian. He only looked like one, you idiots. What Drathian would be running around out here without so much as a boot knife to fight with?”

Louis only managed to figure out they were talking about James thanks to the fact that the female was obviously Neeka. Louis couldn’t be confused for either one of them. He was just a slightly chubby white kid.

“Maybe an exiled one.”

“Fine, maybe. But quit calling him that! If people start talking and an information broker sells the idea that we were hunting a Drathian down in the hills. What happens to us when Drath finds out?!”

“Good point!”

“Alright, take the fat one and put him on the wagon when it gets here. We’ll figure out his classes later.”

Louis listened to the conversation while sobbing. He didn’t understand what was going on and he’d been left behind.

So much for watching out for each other!

“Wher- Ow!”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Hold up, now. What was he saying?”

Louis couldn’t tell from having his head forced into the ground but he had a distinct feeling that multiple sets of eyes were looking at him.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Shut up, [Slave]. That didn’t mean you could talk!”

“Slave? I’m a-”

Louis felt something heavy club him in the back of his head, slamming his forehead into the ground as well. His sight began to swim.

“Tougher than he looks.”

A second blow knocked the lights out for him.