Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 87: To Escape

Toren Daen

I was awoken by a slight prodding at my shoulder. I groaned as I opened my eyes.

Dima was crouching by my bedroll. "Time to get up, Daen," she said. "You've slept for over twelve hours. We're having a meeting here soon."

Twelve hours? Damn, I was exhausted yesterday. My thinking struggled to catch up as my still-tired mind loped along.

"Can't you let a man sleep for a few minutes longer?" I asked, feeling my leg ache as I tried to move it.

"You're needed at the discussion," Dima said, standing up. "Considering your abilities are what will get us out of this hell."

I lay facefirst in the bed for a few more moments, absently wondering what in all the hells Darrin had seen in that woman to be her lover. Anyone who woke you up too early was not a good person.

I sat up, brushing my hair out of my eyes. I'd need to tie it back into a short tail soon.

Calling on my mana, I searched through my dimension rune for a very specific item. Finding it, I pulled it out with a flourish.

The first item I'd ever found in the Relictombs that resembled my earthen life stared back at me. The crisp aluminum can with a misshapen Dunkin' Donuts label stared back, a crude orange and purple resemblance to canned coffee from my previous life.

I popped the tab, savoring the satisfying hiss it made. I sniffed at the liquid inside, trying to see if it had gone bad in the month or so it had been since I'd picked up the coffee.

It smelled heavenly, the familiar caffeinated brew pulling at my mind. My mouth watered as I stared at the pale brown liquid.

I tilted it back, taking a sip. I closed my eyes in a bit of bliss as the liquid trailed down my throat.

Just like the can it came from, the coffee was off in a way. It tasted a bit too sharp, with the aftertaste not lingering as long as I'd expected. But the part that stung was that I knew there was more about this drink that was wrong, but the time I'd spent away from Earth had dulled my memory. I couldn't point out what was off about the coffee.

I downed the rest of it anyway. It presumably had caffeine, and I'd been living in a semblance of my previous life for nearly a week already. A bit of bean juice wasn't enough to throw me off.

When I finished the drink, I crushed the aluminum in my hands. I let the can sink back into my dimension ring before I slowly struggled to stand.

My leg didn't like that, however. I had to use a few steady telekinetic pushes to make it to my feet, then use Oath as a cane once more. I looked around the sparse living area the Aensgar Exiles had used, spotting the majority of the group conversing around a table a few yards away.

I slowly made my way toward them, the click-clack of my sheath on the tile alerting the group. Hraedel had been the one speaking, and I could see him pause as I approached slowly. Jameson and the Exiles' other shield–I'd never learned their name–hung behind their leader. The twins simmered on the side, sending glares my way. Jana stood several feet away from the twins, but she smiled slightly when my eyes passed over her. Alandra hung close to Jared, who leaned on his own shield. Darrin stood at the fore, seemingly taking charge alongside Hraedel.

Sevren leaned against a nearby support pillar, seeming disconnected from the whole thing. He gave me a nod.

"Since Dima seemed so happy to wake me up," I said, still feeling a bit grumpy about that, "I'm betting you all need my opinion on something?"

Hraedel nodded slowly, sparing a glance toward Sevren and Jana. "It's good to see you alive, Daen," he said before continuing. "Jana says you told her to burn Alun's body. You said... You said that was how the undead added to their numbers." The man seemed to force the words out. "Lord Denoir refrained from telling us what he knew, saying you would be able to do it better."