Thousand Hands of Relief 1.1

Wasn't expecting to get this done so fast, but I had a really nice night of work last night. I essentially tabbed into it to get a thousand words done or so, but I got really into it and did 4.5k lmao. As mentioned, this is a 100% rewrite of the ghost writer's draft in my style. They added a lot to my outline and I kept pretty much everything they added, so I think we work quite well together now that we've done a full chapter like this.

PLEASE let me know what you think. This is a new series, these are new characters, and I need your early impressions.

That said, I'll be back to working on Coye. It remains my main focus, but I think a second thing on the side will be good for me. Especially when I'm mainly doing rough drafts.

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Chapter 1 - Man on the Grind

Rinzer Vosk might've been a rough and tough young man born and raised on the streets of South Scroungetown, but he was nonetheless getting tired of the endless dusty dungeon rooms full of nothing but worthless junk and long-decayed security golems.

This was the seventh day he and his partner had spent exploring the Archives of Farrazir- a recently unearthed dungeon hidden within the east Odarri Mountains. Belonging to an ancient wizard of the same name who lived in the time before Karnalle's founding, it sounded too good to be true. An informant at the famed Imperalis Adventurer's Guild had told them all about it, and it didn't take long for them to make up their mind. Deciding to head off before anyone else could get a crack at the dungeon, they'd set out hoping to get their fill of any kind of treasure they could run off with.

So far, all they'd found was junk.

Nellie Holcott, who was all at once a thief of remarkable skill, Rinzer's partner and his childhood companion, claimed it was a matter of perspective. Where he saw junk, she saw a bunch of little things that added up over time.

So far, they'd mostly found small trinkets, arcane jewelry, and loose gems and crystals, which hardly took up any space in their loot bags. There was a market for all those if you knew who was looking. Dusty tomes of magic lore with words faded by the ravages of time and scrolls detailing forgotten spells were scattered throughout the dungeon, and some were still in decent condition. Surely there was a scholar somewhere in Imperalis who'd be interested, all Nellie had to do was track them down.

One of their most significant findings was a room dedicated solely to storing the ingredients and materials that Farrazir hoarded before his untimely demise. While many alchemical reagents were useless thousands of years after first entering his collection, others were perfectly preserved and into the bags they went. The old man must've had quite the interest in alchemy because they found his laboratory shortly afterward and scavenged up a good chunk of his potion-making tools and some glassware.

All in all, they were doing better than Rinzer believed. He wasn't the type who was easily satisfied, however. Rinzer was a man who always believed himself capable of doing more, which was as admirable as it was foolhardy.

Whenever the day was done, Rinzer and Nellie would backtrack their way through the dungeon, combating any security golems they managed to reawaken on their way. They'd set up a camp not too far away from the big, rune-inscribed stone doors that led to the Archives of Farrazir. It was up in the mountains, where the air was cool and fresh and always welcoming after a long day of work in a poorly ventilated dungeon.

At night, they would eat a simple dinner around the fire and go over their haul, maybe share a drink or two if Nellie managed to get Rinzer to loosen up and enjoy himself. They slept in different tents, and in the mornings, they'd run through their routine, eat breakfast, gear up, and get back to work.

They'd keep doing this until the dungeon was picked clean or close enough to satisfy them. The two had explored many other dungeons during their adventures, so they knew how this went by now.

Rinzer was the type of adventurer who preferred helping people with their problems. He was silver-rank, but rarely took on matters befitting that rank. His interest was more in helping the little people wherever he could. Thus, he tended to take on issues like mediating disputes, escorting desperate people in need of protection, finding lost items, or punching troublesome monsters into oblivion.

Nellie couldn't have been more different. She was self-interested, preferring jobs that made her a profit regardless of who it helped. More so, she preferred dungeon crawls. The reason for that was simple- more gold, and you don't have to give the Guild a lick of your findings. Sure, they try and get you to sell it to them at offensively low prices, but Nellie knew better than to fall for such bullshit.

Rinzer tagged along on every last one of Nellie's excursions. He couldn't let her go without him in good conscience, and he knew that the money they'd get from a week or two of dungeon diving was worth the occasional time spent away from his main pursuits. It was rough work and incredibly strenuous at times, too. Even so, Rinzer always came through with a broad smile whenever he remembered what it was all for.

Now, at the start of the seventh day, he and Nellie were making their way back down through the archives as they passed decrepit passages they'd already been through. Their goal was to head back to the place they'd left off the day before and see if they couldn't dive a little deeper. The only light within the archives was magical crystal implements placed sporadically along the walls and ceiling. Installed thousands of years ago, these lights were dim and fading. They relied on torches to further their vision, which proved just enough for them to stumble forward.

Just as with their personalities, the two looked like quite the odd pair when viewed side-by-side. Nellie was a petite girl with messy, short, tomboyish hair the color of dust and golden eyes full of distrust, whereas Rinzer was tall and well-built, with a head of cropped black hair, a scar on his upper lip, and friendly green eyes. Nellie wore light, black leather armor, a magical bracer on her right hand, had knives strapped all over her body, and kept a green scarf over her face. Rinzer wore a steel breastplate, bulky steel punching gauntlets, metal greaves and kneepads, and a short, tattered black cape fastened to his armor. His scar-covered shoulders and upper arms were fully displayed- thick and bursting from using those massive gauntlets long before growing into them.

The two were drastically different, but that was another reason they worked so well together. Nellie made up for Rinzer's weaknesses while he did the same for her. She'd never openly admit it, but they were perfect for each other.

Despite the potential presence of infuriating artificial guardians, Nellie and Rinzer carried on a small conversation. Their hushed voices filled the deafening silence as they traversed deeper and deeper still.

"Y'know, far be it from me to say we've got enough loot, but I'm thinking we should really pack up and head back to town tomorrow..." Nellie expressed her concerns. "We've already filled up our vastbags, and we're running low on normal loot bags, too. Don't think we can reasonably carry much more home with us, Rinz."

"Hey, you're the one who dragged me this far. Don't say you're giving up now!" Predictably, he laughed off her reasonable worries with a wide smile. "And don't you worry about the trip back- I'll carry all of it if I have to! Besides, we're probably pretty close to the end. You're the one who always says the best treasures are found in the deepest part of a dungeon, aren't you?"

"Sure," Nellie conceded with a bit of irritation. "But... I don't know, aren't you getting tired?"

"What do you mean?" Rinzer played coy, but as he did, the faintest spell of weariness took over his senses. He fought against it- admirably, at that- but immediately reached for the nearest wall and leaned his shoulder against it.

"That's what I mean, you dingus..." she huffed and cradled her forehead. "You look like you're gonna fall over any second now!"

Trying to save face, Rinzer patted the wall as if checking for a secret door. He gave it a thorough search and pressed on numerous bricks, only to click his tongue and give up. "My bad, I thought there might've been a hidden room..."

All these years, and he still hadn't learned you couldn't bullshit a rogue...

"If there was a hidden room, I would've noticed it. That's my job, in case you forgot!" She laid into him, and he shrank back, though Rinzer still had that same cocky smile she loved and hated in equal measure. "Even putting that aside, we're running pretty low on supplies. There's gonna be nothing left for the road if we don't get a move on as soon as we can."

"What about the golems?" Rinzer asked, stepping away from the wall now that his willpower had won out over his tiredness.

"What about the golems?"

"I don't know. I bet they've got a nice, earthy taste to 'em, is all I'm saying!"

"Gods. If I weren't here to stop you, you'd actually try and find out, wouldn't you...?" Nellie grumbled, her voice harsh as she shook her head. Then, her anger seemed to flutter away, and a feeling of warmth overtook her from the insides of her heart.

She laughed, and Rinzer laughed along with her.

Whatever tension was building had faded for the time being, and the pair of adventurers continued until they reached the hallway where they'd called it quits yesterday. It was a wide hallway with three large, magic-looking doors on either side of the hall and six large pillars arranged in a row. In lieu of handles, these doors opened whenever someone placed their hands atop a dusty inlaid crystal slotted into the structure.

Nellie moved toward the nearest door on the right and turned to face Rinzer. "You know the drill by now. Head in, grab whatever looks good, and call me if there's trouble. I'll do the same."

"Yeah, sure," Rinzer fidgeted. "Except..."

"...Except?" Nellie's eyelid twitched reflexively, wise to his ways. She quickly glanced at her door and had her worst suspicions confirmed. The dusty crystals all had his handprint on them.

She knew- and Rinzer knew that she knew. There was no getting out of this, so he owned up to it and decided to just get it over with. "We don't need to check any of these rooms."

Nellie held back a sigh and leaned against the nearest wall. Her gloved hand grabbed onto a fistful of her short, messy and pulled it in frustration. "No? Huh. And why might that be, Rinz? Did you, oh, I don't know... sneak in last night while I was sleeping and do a little dungeon crawling without me? Is that it? Did you clear this whole damn hallway yourself, Rinz?"

With a meek shrug ill-befitting someone his size, Rinzer suggested, "Couldn't sleep."

She left the wall she was leaning on to swiftly slam her fist into his shoulder, which didn't phase him in the slightest. "Well, no wonder we're running low on bags! Where'd you hide the loot, huh?"

"I may have dug a small hole outside the dungeon..." he admitted.

"Of course you did. Fuck..."

"Hey, hey! I might've snuck out, but I didn't stay for that long. Promise. I'm not tired at all!"

Nellie pulled her scarf over her face to cover her scowl. Fucker might've been more believable if he wasn't struggling to keep his eyes open. She moved in closer and pointed her finger at the taller adventurer in accusation.

"You think I fell for that 'looking for a hidden room' bullshit? Hell no. I was almost against going back in today, but I knew you'd argue if we didn't! Gods. This is like... basic dungeon-diving misconduct right here. What if you fell into a trap, and I had to go looking for you, huh? Or what if you slipped up during a fight? You'd be as good as dead, and I'd... I'd be all..."

Rinzer could be pretty thickheaded sometimes, but he always knew when he'd sincerely upset Nellie. It happened more than he liked to admit, and he was disappointed in himself every time it did. The problem was he was in a rush to get back home where people needed him, but at the same time, he was the sort of man who never took half-measures. He pushed on despite any roadblocks- including his well-being- and often despite the feelings of a certain someone.

He sighed heavily and was on the verge of apologizing. Only several panels built into the hallway started opening up here and there in response to Nellie's shouting. Behind these panels were a number of the dreaded golems they'd seen no shortage of during their exploration. They were simple artificial constructs made of clay, spherical in shape but with interconnected spherical limbs that ended in sharp metal claws. At the center of their body was a red crystal that looked like an eye but was actually their core.

Dust scattered as they left their storage panels, each and every one turning their gaze at the intruders.

Nellie shot an accusatory look at Rinzer. "And here I thought you cleared this place out?"

"I thought I did," Rinzer replied, sizing up the threat. "Maybe they didn't activate because it was quieter when it was just me?"

"Oh, of course. Naturally, it's my fault. Nice." Nellie huffed.

Rinzer shrugged off the accusation with a smile. "Your words, not mine."

He moved past Nellie, slamming one of his fists into the palm of the other. He heard her huff again over his shoulder, but now wasn't the time to worry about upsetting his partner. Now was the time to fight.

Rinzer adopted his familiar boxing stance, advancing towards the nearest golem. He didn't give it a chance to react further to his presence. Far faster than he looked, Rinzer slammed his metal fist into the construct as soon as it was within arms-length. He missed the core, but his sheer strength cracked the rest of its body and launched it several feet away. After another step in and a devastating right straight, his fist exploded the core, and soon after, the golem itself.

Taking her cue, Nellie also went to work, and the partners began a deadly dance of flying knives and powerful punches.

Both of them knew what to do by now. They already had experience fighting artificial guardians even before their excursion to the Archives of Farrazir. This wasn't their first dive into the ruined stronghold of some long-forgotten mage, and security golems were a common sight in many dungeons. Their work was efficient; after only a few minutes of fighting, Rinzer counted only two remaining.

The one nearest to him readied a magical beam of light, red particles congregating in its core before shooting off straight at him. Rinzer ducked under it and used the chance to step in, slamming a tremendous uppercut infused with his body's energy into his opponent. The golem launched into the air from the force of his punch, and Rinzer immediately prepared one of his signature arts.

Registered as a brawler by the Association of Adventurers, few titles were more apt for describing Rinzer. He was entirely self-taught, learning everything he knew about battling on the streets. He picked up most basic arts like Steel Soul and Quick Step simply by making up his own versions of them, and for everything else, Rinzer improvised.

His fist started burning and pulsing with his energy's destructive crimson color. Ducking down again and kicking off into the air, he followed the golem and unleashed the power of Buster Fist. It was a tremendous punch- and that was all. It didn't inflict any status ailments, and it didn't inflict extra damage when hitting weak points or anything like that. No, it was just an absurdly powerful punch, with its only unique property being a monumental explosion of sound that came along whenever it hit.

The boom echoed throughout the entire hallway and would've staggered Nellie if she wasn't already used to this randomly happening often enough during battle. Rinzer landed safely on the ground, as did countless pieces of debris. Golem parts rained from the sky, and he couldn't have looked more proud of himself if he had tried. He swatted an oncoming chunk of earth away from his head, then noticed that the last remaining golem was about to fire off its own laser at him from a greater distance.

There were only precious few seconds to react- his magical defenses all but nonexistent- but in those precious few seconds, he glanced around him and noticed Nellie had disappeared. Rinzer smiled confidently, knowing things were under control and he had nothing to worry about.

Sure enough, Nellie leaped out of the obscured shadows brandishing a dagger smoldering with bright purple energy in her right hand. She landed on the golem's back, clutching its spherical body with her free hand and both legs. With skillful skittering, she reached around the back and aimed her dagger straight at its core. The golem was frantically trying to wrestle her off it, but Nellie's aim was true, and her weapon sunk in despite its protests.

Nothing happened aside from some minor core cracking- at least not at first. Nellie's blade was no ordinary dagger. Its power was just shy of Rinzer's when certain conditions were met. The energy surrounding the dagger burst outward, her initial stab transforming into a fatal strike. Its core now nothing more than sprinkles of dust, the golem fell lifelessly to the ground as Nellie stood mounted atop it. Rather than proud of her work, she looked annoyed.

The battle was over as far as Rinzer was concerned, and he walked toward Nellie with a wide grin. "Not bad, not bad at all! You'd think after a while you'd stop impressing me, but-" Rinzer stopped midsentence out of tiredness.

His mind trailed off, losing focus as he yawned deeply. It was only for a split second, but he dropped his guard. Behind a nearby pillar, a previously unseen golem stepped forward and raised its mighty hand over its head. It aimed to slam down on Rinzer before he knew what was coming, squashing him like a bug.

Nellie understood that he didn't see it and panicked, instinctively raising her fist at the golem to activate her bracer. The magical tool summoned three knives between her knuckles which she then filled to bursting with energy. Nellie let them loose, aiming them as effortlessly as if they were darts and she was going for a hat trick. Each one hit the mark, impaling the final golem's core until it exploded, and the hallway fell into silence once again after it collapsed in defeat.

For several moments, Rinzer was shocked. Embarrassed, too. He looked over his shoulder at the threat he'd somehow missed, wondering why he hadn't noticed it. Rinzer had been fighting all his life and typically would've never overlooked an enemy- let alone one so big and bulky.

Rinzer was of two minds and waged war with himself as he struggled between them. One part of him told him that Nellie was right and maybe he was too tired. The other argued that it was just a mistake, one rare slip-up that could've happened to anyone. It didn't mean anything. He was fine and could definitely keep going.

It was sad, but the rational part of his mind stood no chance against the workaholic half. Rinzer shook off his shock, put on another smile, and convinced himself one last time that he was fine. Now, he had to persuade Nellie.

"Whoa, thanks for that. I totally didn't even see that one coming! You've always got my back, don't you?" Rinzer joked and closed the distance between them, reaching out to tussle her already messy hair. "I owe you, Nellie. Who knows where I'd be without you?"

Nellie swatted his hand away as a dark red blush colored her face. There were butterflies in her stomach over the praise, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to get past how irritated she was with him. "You'd be dead, asshole! This isn't the time to be cute with me and ruffle my hair or whatever- you just... fuck, Rinz. This isn't no big deal like you're trying to make it out to be!"

"I would've been able to activate Steel Soul in time," Rinzer shrugged. "I was this close-"

"Yeah, to death!" She snapped back. "And what do you do? You laugh it off, same as always... ugh. Y'know, if you keep working yourself to the bone, that's what you'll end up as. Bones. Bones that I'll have to fucking carry home and bury, you... you-"

"Nellie..."

As much as Rinzer wanted to prepare a long speech about knowing his limits to persuade her, he couldn't. Not when he saw the devastation on her face and heard the anxiety in her words. This bothered Nellie so much that he could scarcely conceive it. Rinzer felt ashamed that he was even planning to lie again as soon as he saw the little tears in her eyes threatening to break free. For a moment, there was only silence between them and nothing else.

"I shouldn't be trying to brush you off like this."

Nellie was surprised by his admission but tried not to show it. "No. No, you shouldn't."

"I'm sorry if I made you worry, and I'm sorry for ignoring your concerns. I'll be more careful from now on. I promise."

"More careful about brushing me off or about taking care of yourself? That's the real problem here, Rinz..."

Rinzer scratched the back of his head and looked away. "Both."

Nellie knew noncommittal when she saw it. Her stubborn resentment almost bubbled over for him right then and there, but she held back. This wasn't the time or the place. "Just saying it isn't good enough. We need to talk about this more."

"And we will," Rinzer agreed, sighing. "When we're home."

"Promise me, Rinz. Promise me you won't ignore me again and pretend this whole thing never happened." He opened his mouth to argue that he would never, but Nellie held up her hand, cutting him off. "Nuh-uh, I don't want to hear it. This isn't an isolated incident, y'know. You've been making all kinds of fuck-ups lately. Remember that trap you sprung yesterday?"

"I tripped-"

"Because you were tired."

"And when you forgot all your rations three days ago?"

"I woke up groggy-"

"Because you've been sneaking off at night, raiding the dungeon without me!" Nellie got so frustrated that she kicked Rinzer's shin. It didn't hurt, but it was a symbolic gesture that got her point across. "Give me your word that we'll have a nice, long discussion about this... please? A promise is all I want."

No one in all of Karnalle knew how to guilt Rinzer to the extent that Nellie could. The guilt she installed was so radical that he hated himself for ever trying to pull one over on her. He knew then and there that he had to take some responsibility. If not for his actions, then for making Nellie cry. She was his best friend, always looking out for him and trying to take care of him even when he made it hard for her. A life without Nellie was one he didn't want to live. She was his partner, his family, and he couldn't stand it if she was truly, deeply mad at him.

Now was the time to be a man. Rinzer stepped forward, invading her personal space as he took her tiny hands into his massive, gauntleted ones. Squeezing them tight to reassure her, he looked straight into her eyes and refused to look away.

"I promise, Nellie. I won't push it off, ignore you, or wiggle out of it, whatever else..." he pledged, then added, "And to show you I'm not bullshitting, I won't put up a fight over leaving tomorrow. Even if we don't finish the dungeon today, we can pack it up in the morning."

Nellie burned even brighter their contact, her stomach betraying her yet again like a bastard with all those butterflies it sent her way. She couldn't look away from Rinzer's eyes and struggled for anything to say.

"Yeah? Well... that's good enough for me, I guess..." was all she could manage to come up with. He smiled at her in that stupid way he always did, and Nellie squeezed his hands back tighter while unintentionally smiling back at him after a moment's hesitation. She didn't let go of his hands for a suspiciously long time, but Rinzer let it happen for as long as she needed. She'd always been clingy like that, not that he minded one bit.

With their mutual smile sealing the deal, the pair of adventurers got back to work and delved into the rest of the Archives of Farrazir. Because bag space was increasingly limited, today, they had to be pickier about all the treasure they stole. Lucky for Rinzer, his partner always knew what was or wasn't valuable.

More books and scrolls were added to their inventory. Gems and jewelry, if they were lucky, including a sizeable uncut emerald. When Rinzer wasn't looking, Nellie stumbled onto a small statuette of a couple embracing in the nude that made her heart hurt with yearning just by looking at it. She hurriedly shoved it into a bag without considering whether or not it was valuable, keeping it primarily for good luck more than anything else. The coveted final spot in their loot bags was taken up by an ornate gold hand mirror discovered in what had to have been a room for Farrazir's visitors of the female persuasion.

Rinzer didn't notice it, but Nellie snagged several pieces of three millennia-old intimates. These were also for good luck.

Treasure wasn't all that Rinzer and Nellie found. In every other room, it seemed there were more security golems to dispatch activated by some noise or unintentional movement they'd made. These were taken care of as easily as the rest, though Rinzer had to admit Nellie did more fighting than him. Not by choice but simply because she was already there with more of her knives every time he turned to face a new golem.

It was the same with any traps they ran into along the way. Rinzer didn't miss or set any of them off, but Nellie made him step back while she deactivated each one with her tricky expertise. She was babying him, almost like he wasn't capable. He would've been annoyed if he wasn't grateful for Nellie and everything she did for him.

True to his word, Rinzer didn't push to finish the dungeon, and they left at a reasonable time before either of them started getting worn out. By the time they made it back up to the entrance, the sun was beginning to fall. On the walk back up, Rinzer's gratefulness had been somewhat subdued and replaced by his customary disappointment. Compared to his upbeat self, Rinzer was quiet as they headed back to camp. He was upset that they didn't reach the deepest depths or the best treasure, but through sheer willpower, he forced himself to accept it was more than enough.

They'd been exploring for a week straight, after all. They filled up multiple vastbags and even more standard loot bags than most people would know what to do with. Still, he couldn't wipe the disappointed look from his face, much to Nellie's annoyance. She didn't want to challenge him or try to make him feel better, knowing that she couldn't change his stubborn-ass mind anyway.

After reaching camp, they set up a fire in the pit and started stripping off their gear. It was almost like a practiced dance as they each went piece by piece in tandem, tossing their armor and weapons into their respective tents before they'd been whittled down to their small clothes. Rinzer and Nellie both grabbed something fresh to wear for tonight, then took turns going to the nearby stream for a quick wash.

As always, Nellie went first. She learned the hard way not to let Rinzer wash up before her long ago. If he did, he'd almost certainly return partially wet, wearing nothing but his pants. Rinzer always said he liked feeling the air on his perfectly muscled chest, which was far too much for Nellie. Not only couldn't she handle it, but it led to recurring 'visions' throughout the night. She blushed bright red remembering the time he came into her tent after one such occasion, wondering why she was 'crying' so much.

Nellie had tried so hard to keep it quiet, yet... gods, Rinzer was a fool.

After they were both cleaned up and Nellie avoided any sights that would lead to her overstimulation, they settled down for the night. Rinzer and relaxation had an adversarial relationship. He didn't find relaxing to be all that, well, relaxing, and he'd always found other ways to wind down while technically making progress on something.

One of his favorites was doing inventory. He'd empty their bags into a pile on the ground and run through them. It was a tedious affair but relatively simple, and it always slowed his body and mind down after a day's excitement. Above all else, it helped him feel like he wasn't wasting time. He could look at the treasures like this and think to himself what needed to be kept and what could be sold, planning out what item was going where and who it would help the most.

Across from him on the other side of the fire, Nellie sat and cleaned the dagger she'd used since she was a little girl. It didn't need it, but the repetitive motions helped calm her. There were other things she could be doing that she enjoyed much more than polishing daggers, but she could do this without thinking, meaning all of her attention could secretly be on Rinzer. As she purposefully hunched her back over in her lap, she gazed at him through the fall of her hair.

Nellie could tell what was going through his one-track mind as soon as he inspected each item. It was infuriating to see him like this. She could make him sleep, eat, and take a break, but she couldn't change the fact that he was always on a grind. Anything she did to calm his restlessness was only ever temporary, and simply knowing that made her all the more disappointed in herself.

More than anything else, Nellie wished she could help him in a way that mattered.

Half an hour of winding down made them both calm and ready to eat. To Rinzer's surprise, there was nothing left in their rations except water and a couple of days worth of dried meat and hardtack- enough to get them back to Imperalis and not much else. Shame filled him when he realized that Nellie wasn't kidding about running low on supplies, but thankfully, she didn't taunt him over it even though she very well could have. Supper might've been meager, but it did its job, which was all an adventurer could ask for.

After supper, they settled down directly next to each other before the fire and watched the sunlight fade over the horizon. Neither spoke much, instead taking the time to enjoy each other's presence. It was calming and comforting after a day of exploration, stealing from ancient ruins, and golem battling. Occasionally the silence would break when someone, mostly Rinzer, would make a passing comment, tell a joke, or reminisce on a happy memory.

It didn't last long. Soon enough, night had swallowed the world, and both longed for their beds.

"Night, Nellie." Rinzer smiled at her from the entrance to his tent.

"Night, Rinz..." Nellie replied from hers, though it looked like she had a lot more she wanted to say. As was typical of him, this not-so-subtle body language flew over Rinzer's head, and he ducked inside his shelter without realizing her desire. Not that she expected anything less of him.

Rinzer's mind refused to yield in the face of slumber. He laid alone in his tent for hours and hours, only for sleep to pass him by. He tossed and turned, his restless soul giving way to a restless body. He wasn't doing enough. There had to be more he could do. There had to. The people back home needed him, and he couldn't keep up with it all, yet he couldn't stop trying. He was wracked with guilt, but that guilt soon turned to nihilism.

Rinzer had been trying for years and years to improve the lives of the people around him, but nothing ever got better. Not really. Whenever he looked at the town he called home, it was still the same old shithole he'd grown up in. Maybe some of its inhabitants were a tad better off than they used to be, but the difference was still marginal at best. Rinzer couldn't settle for marginal.

He couldn't settle at all.

These depressing thoughts continue to torture him without end, leaving him to seek some measure of relief. His first thought was to scream into his pillow, but that wasn't an option. Not when he could've attracted the attention of some beast of the night or, worse, woken up Nellie. Instead, he tried punching his pillow, hoping it would wear him out. No such luck. Rinzer ran through a small list of things after that to try and lull him to sleep, but nothing did the job.

He sat up amid the darkness, his mind turning in an equally dark direction. The Archive of Farrazir was still unfinished. Maybe if he did a little solo diving, he could clear it out before the morning? Yeah, that might not be such a bad idea. Even if he couldn't finish it, it would at least make him tired, right?

But... he'd promised Nellie that he'd try and cool it. He stared in the direction of her tent, yet another new sense of guilt eating him as he did. Then, he heard the rustling of her tent followed by footsteps. Soon afterward, his own tent flap opened up.

Nellie was squatted over at the entrance, holding the flap open over her head as the moon and stars illuminated her body to him. She was wearing nothing except a simple shirt and panties. Suddenly taken by surprise over it, he couldn't resist giving her body a cursory glance. Nellie was an even five feet tall, slim, and athletic with medium-sized breasts that were exceedingly perky and currently free of the confines of a bra. Gods, she was cute sometimes.

Rinzer forced himself to look up at her face. It didn't do well to think of Nellie like that, and he tried his best never to do so. If she noticed him checking her out, she didn't say a word. Rather, she looked too upset about something to care.

"Hey, Rinz."

"Nellie. Can't sleep?"

"I could ask you the same thing, y'know."

"I'm trying," he admitted. "It's not going too well."

"Yeah, I noticed. You're thinking of sneaking back in there, aren't you?"

Rinzer silently laid back onto his bedroll and said nothing in response. He couldn't lie to her, so he elected not to incriminate himself further.

"I knew it..."

"I'm sorry. Really. I can't help it."

"I know you can't, dummy..." Nellie fully entered the tent and secured the flap behind her before sitting at the foot of his bedroll. "I'm not mad at you."

"I don't believe you."

"Okay, fine. I'm always a little mad at you. It's not at a level you need to worry about right now, though."

Rinzer got a cheap smile out of that. "Sorry."

"Not like I'm not used to it..." she sighed. "So, do I have to sleep in here to stop you from sneaking out, or what?"

Rinzer blushed at the suggestion, even though it shouldn't have been that embarrassing. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Nellie. We're not kids anymore."

"I fucking swear, you've been so weird about this ever since I started growing tits!" She accused, rolling her eyes. "I don't think it's weird for us to sleep together, so why do you?"

"Because I-"

"What, are you gonna get horny and lose control of yourself?" Nellie laughed at him mockingly. She knew the answer painfully well. If Rinzer was the kind of man who easily gave in to temptations, they wouldn't still be packing a second tent on every adventure.

"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable," Rinzer weaseled his way out of admitting anything. "That's all."

"Uh-huh, sure. Why do you keep using that excuse if that's the case?" She waited several moments for him to answer, only for him to predictably skip out on one. "That's what I thought. Come on- you know I don't mind sleeping together if it helps you calm down, Rinz. I trust you not to do anything weird, and hey, if maybe you want to do something weird-"

"Don't joke about that!" He barked back so abruptly that Nellie's very soul itself cringed in rejection.

"Oh, shut up. You know I'm just fucking with you..." Nellie said, laughing away the pain. "Now, make up your mind. Do you want to cuddle, or what?"

Rinzer was silent as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind. Truthfully, there weren't any cons- which was why it was a problem. He always liked it a little too much, but whenever Nellie pushed him on it, he always caved in. She was just lucky he genuinely needed it tonight.

"Get in here," Rinzer sighed in defeat as he raised his blanket.

Where once there was nothing, now a rather smug and satisfied Nellie rested. She took her usual position without any hesitation- and just like that, they were both on their sides as she nuzzled her back and butt into him as the perfect-sized little spoon. Again, Nellie couldn't help thinking it was like they were made for each other, but she kept that to herself.

"Don't stop now," she teased. "You gotta go all the way."

"Please don't put it like that," Rinzer grumbled as he hooked his big, muscular arm under her neck to use as her pillow while his opposite arm hugged her tight to his body.

Nellie wanted to ask why she shouldn't phrase it in such a suggestive manner, but she was too strung out on happiness to even dare risk this. At that moment, everything was perfect. He was hers, and she was his. Maybe not in the way she wanted to be, but at least this was something.

"Do you have any idea how much I miss this? I get lonely at night, Rinz. Real lonely."

Rinzer nodded silently. Just having him there behind her with his hot breath on her neck brought chills to Nellie's entire body. There was more she wanted to say, more she wanted to ask of him, but she didn't. Nellie always took what she could get, just like always.

"I'm sorry, Nellie..." Rinzer managed to mumble after some time had passed.

He was able to calm down with Nellie by his side. His mind no longer raced but was brought to a standstill by how nice it felt to have her in his arms. She was so small and petite compared to him- soft, too- and felt wonderfully warm against his bare chest. With every breath, he was treated to the deliciously sweet smell of her hair, still fresh from her earlier bath in the stream. Everything about her presence was comforting, and she gifted Rinzer the peace of mind he couldn't dream of without her.

It only took a few minutes into their embrace before he gave in to his exhaustion.

When Rinzer's breathing became slower and deeper, Nellie knew he was out cold. With a heavy heart, she sighed in disappointment. Nellie got what she wanted, but it wasn't enough. She wished she could do more for him, even though helping him get a good night's sleep was a great start. If only she could make him feel even better. Then, maybe the both of them would get to sleep tonight.

As things stood, Nellie was taking one for the team.

His big, strong arms constricted around her, and she felt so small wrapped up in them. Her heart beat incessantly, so loud that it was almost thundering her ears. Then, there were her unending desires. If catching Rinzer after bathing was enough to inspire an all-night rub-a-thon, then this? This would be on her mind for months. It took monumental self-control not to grind her ass backward even a little bit and pretend it was just an accident, but the last thing Nellie wanted was to wake him or make Rinzer feel uncomfortable. Not when it meant it might stop him from letting her do this again.

Above all else, she was happy to be helpful to him. Rinzer worked endlessly hard to make everyone else happy, never caring or thinking of himself. This was the least she could do. He deserved to relax as much as anyone else, if not far, far more. If that meant she had to stay awake all night knowing that his groin was right behind her, then so be it.

Nellie's efforts didn't go to waste.

When morning rolled around, Rinzer was more well-rested than he had been in days. He was ready to go and exited his tent with a smile on his face- a real one. One that wasn't just a mask to hide his exhaustion. Nellie wasn't in his tent any longer, so he left to find her. She was sitting outside her tent, polishing her dagger as she'd done the night before.

"Morning, Nellie. I feel great today, how about you? Did you sleep alr-"

"No." She answered him with a sudden grumble.

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that? I hope I didn't bother you somehow."

"You didn't."

"Then why are you-"

"Just sit down and eat breakfast, Rinz. We've got a lot of work to do."

It was hard to argue with that, so Rinzer held his tongue and sat across from her as he drank from his canteen and nibbled on dried meat and hardtack. Rinzer watched her do the same, unable to understand why she was so grumpy at him. Sleeping together was her idea, and it ate away at him that it wasn't as good for her as it was for him. He reasoned that it must not have been comfortable being trapped in his arms all night and tried not to think about it. Over time, this proved successful. His worry slipped to the back of his mind as his excitement to get back on the road increased.

As for Nellie, the guilt ate her as she ate her breakfast. She didn't like making Rinzer worry or appearing angry at him, but she didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. Her foul mood was simply because she'd spent a long time being tortured that morning. Plagued by lack of sleep, temptation, and an absolutely enormous case of morning wood. Nellie had somehow never gotten a look at what he was packing, but she'd felt it pressing against her on more than one occasion. It must've been something, to say the least. That's what it felt like wedged between the crack of her ass, anyway.

Huge... thick... hard as steel...

Nellie bit her lip just remembering it. It was impossible to ignore when it happened, and she didn't want to wake him by crawling out of his embrace, not when she had worked so hard to get him to sleep. The worst part of it was having to keep absolutely still. Even a slight movement might've set him off, or worse- riled herself up further. Rinzer's early morning stirring was a long-awaited relief because she could finally get up and out of his arms. She'd struggled to look directly at him ever since.

It was time to break camp with breakfast out of the way and with tensions slightly cooled. Their bedrolls were rolled up into their tents, their loot bags were filled according to Rinzer's compulsive desires, the fire pit was cleared, and they refilled their water skins and canteens in the nearby stream. This was just another routine they knew by heart after years of adventuring together, each moving independently yet perfectly in sync with the other. In no time at all, they'd gotten everything in order and were able to put on their packs and bags. Rinzer carried most of the loot because, even with the added weight of his armor and gauntlets, he had plenty of strength to go around.

"I feel like I could carry a bit more, honestly," Rinzer gave her a playful smile as they set off from their former campsite. "Want a lift?"

"You asking if I wanna ride you?" Nellie looked at him with a scowl, the first time she had made eye contact with him all day.

"Maybe not in those exact words, but-"

Beneath her scarf, Nellie's expression softened ever so slightly. "Don't make promises you can't hold yourself to, Rinz. It only gets a girl's hopes up."

Dense as ever, Rinzer tilted his head. "I meant it, though. I'll carry you if you want!"

Nellie sighed and started walking away from him. "I know you would, dummy. Now come on."

Rinzer felt like he couldn't ever win with her sometimes, but that was okay. She'd feel better soon enough. At the moment, his mind was too focused on the journey ahead. Luckily, it would be reasonably smooth. They were only a few days from Imperalis, and the land between them and their destination wasn't remarkably dangerous. Sure, they might have to deal with a stray monster or two, but nowhere in Karnalle was truly safe.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Rinzer said as he followed after her. "We've got to make good time. Everyone's waiting for me! Think you can keep up?" He teased, playing on her pride.

It had the desired effect, causing Nellie to snort and reply with significant sarcasm. "Oh, I think I can manage. Let's not keep them waiting, then. Shall we?"

Then, she set off ahead of him with a newfound spring in her step. Rinzer grinned with pride over his success before hurrying after her. Even then, the pair continued making quite an image as they walked together. They were different in more ways than similar, yet their bond was more genuine and more profound than any. Despite any misunderstandings, sexual tension, or occasional drama, nothing could pull them apart after eight long years at each other's side. Their hearts and minds united, and the duo made way for the capital of Karnalle itself- Imperalis. The city of a thousand kings.