I Hate Dungeon School

I winced a bit as Eira applied something cold and creamy onto my poor sunburnt body. I wasn't even aware I could sunburn. I mean, I understood it in an abstract sense, but it wasn't something that had ever happened to me, so I didn't think about it too much.

And now I was very much regretting it. However, the ointment or whatever it was Eira was applying was helping, and she seemed to be whisper-singing something as she did so, channeling some kind of healing magic.

Healing magic was a fascinating thing, and a bit of a misnomer in a way. For those who don't know anything about magic, they assume that you can use it to heal all kinds of wounds. And sure, it is possible to heal some very grievous injuries, but all healing magic is really doing is kick-starting your own natural healing. The application of potions, salves, and such things is to help the process along.

Elves have the advantage of having a bit better of a healing factor than many of the other races. Not amazingly so, but enough that potions work a bit better. It gave rise to all kinds of myths about elves in the old days. That we were immortal, immune to pain, and all kinds of nonsense.

Sad to say, elves are mortal just like humans. We even have similar lifespans. We just don't really show off the effects of aging until we hit our seventieth year or so. And then we turn into wizened creatures almost overnight. It's a shocking thing to see. Beautiful and gorgeous, and then one day, walking prune. I had that to look forward to in a few years. Once you hit your thirties, your appearance is pretty much locked in. That's fine.

With Eira's ministrations, the pain and redness had calmed down significantly, and it was no longer a living agony to be in my own skin anymore. Thanks to all the gods above and below for that mercy.

"How are you feeling?" Eira asked gently.

"I'm doing ok. Mostly. Feel ridiculous. Can't believe I forgot the sun salve." I chided myself.

"It's ok. You're not the first to make that exact mistake, and you certainly won't be the last. Thankfully, it looks like you tanned as well as burned. I think if you swig a few more healing draughts with one more application of the salve, you should have a nice tan in the morning." She said, letting me use her lap as a pillow as she petted my hair.

"Can we have food brought here? Or something like that? I really don't feel like going outside looking like this." I said with a pout.

"Absolutely. Would you be ok while I go get something?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere. And don't worry, I'll be drinking more water. I'll be nice and hydrated." I assured her.

"Good. Now behave while I'm out. I'll pick out something really good!" She very gently kissed my forehead as she got up and left the hut.

I was all by myself. It was nice and quiet, nothing but the sound of the ocean, the wind, and my own heartbeat to keep me company.

I just lay there, splayed out on the bed, eyes closed, and trying to ignore any stray pain from my skin or my poor, exhausted muscles.

It was nice. It was calm. It was peaceful. It was boring.

I sadly was never one to be very good at relaxing. I didn't much feel like reading, and there wasn't much else to do.

I decided to practice my own healing magic. Perfect opportunity.

Casting healing magic on oneself was usually easier than casting it on another person, as you typically have a better idea of your own body and injuries than another would. That's why healers were considered so valuable. Holy magic healers especially, since the connection to the gods let you bypass a lot of the mana regulation needed. It was complicated, and I never really learned much beyond very basic stuff.

However, healing yourself involved focusing and shuffling the mana around to the most damaged spots. Admittedly, that was difficult when your injuries were basically everywhere that wasn't covered by the swimsuit.

I nudged the healing magic that Eira had cast on me, plus the healing salve was working hard, so even then I didn't have much to do.

Even working magic was boring.

This was not ideal.

I sat up, wandered over to our little bathroom, and looked in the mirror. I looked ridiculous. Just as Eira had said, the redness of my skin had faded, and I was left with a tan. Except where the swimsuit had been. There my skin was pale as it had always been. I looked absolutely ridiculous.

I put on some simple clothes, the most I could handle with my tender skin, which amounted to a chest wrap and a makeshift skirt made from a towel, and wandered out onto the balcony.

Thankfully, there was an overhang that hid me from the sun, and I just stared out over the water.

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It just went on forever. Reaching past anything I had ever even thought about. There was a whole world out there past the Mortal Kingdoms, untold places and wonders just sitting there. Part of my brain marveled at the idea of seeing those sort of places for myself, seeing things I would have never considered before in my wildest dreams.

Then again, the idea was scary. I was blown away by things in my relative backyard; how would I possibly handle the truly unknown? Could I handle it?

So much of my life had been dedicated to the petty machinations of my family and the nobility, and then by survival in the city, and then by learning my craft as a dungeoneer, and compared to the rest of the world, it felt like such a minor thing. But maybe that was okay. It was okay to have smaller dreams.

I had vague ideas about my future, but far from anything concrete. It felt like my original plan of being a rich and famous dungeoneer had drifted over time. Things other than riches became increasingly important to me. Eira, for one.

Sure, we were just dating, and it was getting more and more serious. She was introducing me to her family, getting their approval of me. When Eira used the cover story of us being married to get cheaper rooms at that inn, I pretended I was amused, but my heart did a little dance for joy. It felt right. I wanted that.

But the idea was scary. I wasn't that old yet. Not really. I was an elf with a bit over two decades of life. Hardly anything in the grand scheme of things, even if it did feel like forever. Hells, dungeon school feels like it had been going on for a small eternity, and I had only been there three terms. And I only had three more to go.

"So, do you always look mournfully into the distance with your backside barely covered?" I heard Eira ask from behind.

"Not really, but it seems to be a popular pastime. Might take it up professionally."

"Ha ha very funny. Now get over here and eat something. That healing magic is going to burn through your nutrients in no time." She said, setting down a basket full of delicious-smelling sustenance.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in our hut, and just being generally lazy. For the first time since the trip started, we didn't decide to get amorous. Little hard to be sexy with peeling skin and sore muscles. Not impossible, mind you, but neither of us really felt like it.

We had been all over each other for this trip so far, and it was nice just to be together without any plans or goals. Just relaxing, reading, chatting, and the like. I was dressed in some nice, relaxing short pants that ended just above my knee, and a loose sleeveless tunic. Perfect for lazing around in without being overly underdressed.

Better yet, it covered up most of the ridiculous tan I had ended up with. Just one more thing to be self-conscious about.

Soon enough the sun went down, and the darkness of night settled in. The little glowing globes in our room lit themselves unbidden, something I was very curious about, but I made a mental note to look into it later.

After we ate dinner, which someone had left for us outside our hut, something for which I was grateful, I had an idea.

"I'd like to do some stargazing if that's ok," I said.

"I mean, sure, do you want to be on the balcony, or what?" Eira asked, just before she knocked back a glass of the sweet fruit juice whose origin I didn't know or care about.

"I think I want to sit out on the beach. Just enjoy the whole experience, you know." I enjoyed seeing the stars, and seeing the stars this far from anything would be fascinating.

"Alright, sounds good. I do want to go to sleep after we get back though. I can imagine you want to as well. You have got to be wiped out." Eira said, concern clear in her voice.

"Yeah. Do...do you mind if I went by myself? I just need a little time with my thoughts. I just need to sit and think and clear my head a bit, and I think the fresh air and open sky might do the trick." It was absolutely true, and I think Eira understood, because she nodded her head.

"I getcha. Well, take your crystal with you, and call me as soon as anything happens that you weren't expecting, ok? I'll come running immediately." She said, standing and pulling me into her arms.

I nestled there for a moment, enjoying the warmth and scent of her.

"Thank you, Eira. You're the best."

"You're damn right I am. Now go, have some alone time." She waved me towards the door.

Soon enough, I found myself walking across the sand, this time wearing sandals. I decided that the feeling of grittiness between my toes was not welcome right now.

I wandered for a while, just at the edge of where the lights of the beach huts and resorts reached, finding a perch on a rock that sat a little ways out into the ocean.

I sat there, pulled my knees up to my chest, and stared at the ink-dark sky, looking at the bright points of light twinkling softly. I always wondered what the stars were, and what made them shine so.

A mystery for those more learned than I to explore, I suppose.

The red star hung there as it had for some time now, shining like a bright ruby in the sky. Something deep in me felt unease at it, but also there was familiarity that comforted me. It was hard to explain.

It seemed to wink at me sometimes. Part of me wondered if it was the eye of one of the gods above in their strange heavens. It was no matter, I suppose.

My mind had calmed itself from the turmoil that had plagued me earlier. There was time enough for introspection and worries about the future. There was just me, the sea, and the sky.

The atmosphere was as relaxed as I could hope for.

I shifted my position, crossing my legs, and resting my hands on my knees. I took a deep breath.

I began to make my mana flow, trying to focus it, feeling it move around my body. I tried to focus it into the shape of a spell, trying to keep concentrating on it, forcing myself to guide the energy without needing the use of the spell poem. I try, and I try, and I just release the energy, directionless.

I just didn't have the will today. After everything else that had happened, trying to practice magic felt pointless. I just didn't want to do it.

"Seems to me you're having a bit of difficulty there, kiddo." An unfamiliar voice said from the darkness to the side of me.

I turned to see, on a totally separate rock nearby, a stranger. An elf like me, dark hair and a face that was at once beautiful and scruffy in equal measure. He sat there in a loose shirt open to the wind, and there was some kind of tattoo on his chest that I couldn't quite make out.

"Can I help you?" I asked, feeling wary. I didn't care much for strangers, and random people kept seeming keen on talking to me.

"Nay, I don't think so, kiddo. However, I might be of help to you." He said, lifting a bottle in a sort of salute.

As much as I was tempted to just leave, I was kind of curious. Besides, Eira was just a quick signal with the crystal away. And if I was being honest with myself, I could use some help.

I sighed and shrugged to myself. Might as well. I could use all the help I could get.

"Sure. Why not?"