Frostbound

Picking myself up took longer than I cared to admit. It was more than just my body I had to put back together. I had prepared for injuries, though, and potions to help with healing, my outburst... not so much.

Healing potions were stashed inside the keep to use and I had a few on me for emergencies. I had to keep a few stashed to make sure not all of them broke if I got pummeled a little too hard. If I kept all of them on me, like I did for the Vine Bears, there was the possibility of them breaking.

These healing potions were a bit better than normal because I anticipated needing a decently sized pick-me-up. Plus, we had plans starting not long from now that I needed to be fighting fit for.

I bought some of the more expensive materials for Conner to use and he managed to brew a batch of peak grade Common-tier healing potions out of them. They worked significantly better than the generic ones we bought from the store.

The pylons wouldn't conquer themselves and my body needed stitching back together. Ice wouldn't hold it together forever.

Still, I took a bit of extra time to get myself in order before meeting up with everyone. I wasn't sure how well they would have handled the wave but I didn't fear for their safety.

After feeling the wave for myself, I was confident that they would be fine. Jonathan and Austin together would be able to dull a lot of the force and the rest were strong enough to handle the leftovers. Only having to fight one wall worth also helped matters.

Tracy and the new group, on the other hand, would probably have casualties depending on how well they did. I suspected Tracy's group lost quite a few.

They weren't on the same level as us in terms of strength. Both in levels and experience fighting which would hurt them when it came down to it. They weren't prepared for what was going to happen.

Limping back down South gave me the answer I was looking for. 16 faces met me halfway into my journey and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. Even though I expected to see them, I couldn't help but hold doubts.

It was hard not to worry, even when I knew they weren't weak.

"It's good to see you," I huffed at them.