A few hours later Tepo opened his eyes again. Glaring light welcomed him. He blinked rapidly as he rose his hand as a shield.
Suddenly the young man stocked. He carefully turned his head left and right, followed by his upper body. Strangely he only felt a bit of numbness, but all his pain was gone.
Tepo was bewildered. Had he slept for so long? After his eyes got used to the light, he trailed his body. A white shirt and trousers were the only clothes he was wearing.
Still in disbelief, the young man carefully rose his shirt. Was this really his body? His skin was flawless, not showing any signs of his former injuries. How was this possible?
Purposely taking a few deep breaths, Tepo concentrated on his ribs. But everything felt normal. Was this a miracle?
"You're welcome."
Tepo shook in surprise. Only now did he realize that he wasn't alone. Next to him stood a burly man in white uniform. He had a sharp face and only a single arm. A bloody, intimidating aura radiated from him.
"Sorry. Where you the one who healed me?"
"Mhm."
Seeing the surprise on Tepo's face, the brawny man rolled his eyes.
"What? Think I don't look like a healer?"
"I never said that.", answered Tepo calmly.
"Hmm, lucky. I still have to fix your wrist, so hold still."
With those words the medic stepped forward. Tepo was confused, though. What was the man going to do? He had no tools in his hand. How did he heal the rest of his body so far.
But a second later Tepo stared at the medic's hand. His mouth gaped open as a feeble, golden-orange light emitted from the man's palm. A comfortable warmth fell on Tepo's wrist.
Was this magic? Was this also a spell? Tepo sighed faintly. This was such a versatile power.
But a moment later Tepo suppressed a scream. His eyes bulged. He could directly feel his bones healing. But this definitely wasn't a pleasurable sensation. Luckily his wrist wasn't hurt much. He couldn't fathom how much pain his ribs would've caused him. The medic must've given him some tranquilized beforehand.
After only a few seconds the spell stopped. Pulling his hand back, the medic nodded in satisfaction.
"Thanks for your work. Especially on my ribs."
"Mhm. At least you know how to be polite.", acknowledged the medic with some exhaustion in his voice.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Guess so. Sure."
"Thanks. I'd like to know if this was a spell you used just now?"
"Of course. What else?"
"Where did you learn it?", continued the curious Tepo.
"When I was in the army. I always wanted to be part of the first strike team, but the slots were filled. Only healers were still in demand, so I decided to take this path.
That was, until some ugly monster swallowed my arm. Afterwards, I settled down here."
Tepo listened with relish. It seemed the medic suddenly became talkative as the topic shifted.
"So, you went to many dungeons?"
"Of course!", exclaimed the medic proudly.
"We were always the first to go in. Me and my buddies explored over fifty dungeons together. Back then, we also had our fame!"
Basking in memories, the brawny man smiled dreamily. Now he was just an unimportant medic, but all those years ago he was a valiant warrior. He traveled all over the world and experienced a lot.
"Can you tell me something about dungeons?", asked Tepo with bright eyes.
"Sure. The first lesson we as members of the first strike team got drilled into our brains was: all dungeons are completely random!
This means from the outside you only see a portal, but you never know what awaits you inside. It might be a harmless hallway or brutal beast waiting by the entrance. You…"
Suddenly the medic was interrupted by an opening door. The chief warden entered in a bad mood:
"What takes you so long?! The director wants to see the boy. Have your teatime another day!"
Tepo narrowed his eyes. Why did the warden have to disrupt their conversation when it was getting interesting?! And why did the director want to see him?
"Ohh, sorry I forgot.", responded the medic apologetically.
Meanwhile, Tepo's eyes darted left and right. Only now did he register that he wasn't surrounded by stones anymore. This room was made of clouds again. The sun shone brightly through a window. But unfortunately, it was barred by metallic rods.
Maybe the furniture here could offer Tepo a chance?
Suddenly the young man felt the chief warden's eyes on him. He quickly focused his thoughts. He still had a lot of time.
Surely the wardens wouldn't heal him only to let the director kill him right after. Whatever their purpose was, Tepo realized that it was an opportunity to learn more about the prison. In the future this would help his escape plans.
"Let's go, boy!", ordered the chief.
"Can you first tell me what the director wants?", asked Tepo suspiciously.
Seeing that the young man didn't move, the warden grew impatient. With a fast movement, he grabbed Tepo's wrist and shoved him towards the door.
Gritting his teeth, the former soldier didn't resist. He knew that he couldn't do so anyways. In passing he noticed the medic's stoic face. Eager to build more connections he hastily yelled:
"Hey, medic! You haven't told me your name yet."
"Narreck!"
"Great, Narreck. Let's talk again sometime!"
With an angry snort the chief warden pushed Tepo out of the room. If it were any other prisoner, he wouldn't be this lenient, but the warden knew that Tepo wasn't really a prisoner anymore.
Just wanting to be done with his job, the warden pushed Tepo along.
Despite his best efforts, the young man couldn't buy much time. He was trying to map out the building in his mind as he followed the hallway. Multiple doors led to different storages. All of them were patrolled by wardens. The windows to their left were barred with solid metal.
Tepo sighed melancholically as he saw the brown cloud and quaint garden outside. How ironic that he, who was used to imprisoning criminals, would yearn for freedom after a single day.
Finally, they arrived in front of a big wooden door. It wasn't specially decorated, but a sign hung on it reading 'directors office'.
"Go in! The director awaits you!"
Taking a deep breath, Tepo slowly opened the door. He still didn't know why he was brought here, but under the warden's sharp gaze he didn't have much of a choice.
Closing the door behind him, Tepo arrived in a typical office. Two desks covered a major part of the room. A younger man was sorting through some papers, before handing them to an older man sitting down.
Suddenly they heard the door's sound. Their heads turned towards Tepo. Immediately the older man showed a wide smile.
Taken aback, Tepo didn't know how to react as the older man stood up, walked around his desk, and spoke with wide opened arms:
"Ahh, Tepmodus te Avatio, right? Indeed, a valiant young man. I'm the director here. You can call me Mr. Thogas. Nice to meet you."
The enthusiastic director forcefully grabbed Tepo's hand. Not having expected such a welcome, Tepo immediately grew suspicious. But for now, he had no choice but to go with the flow.
"Tepo. What can I do for you, director?"
"What YOU can do for ME? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Not getting any answer from Tepo, the director continued smoothly. His sunny smile never left his face.
"I have to apologize, Tepo. In the name of the whole city administration. We shouldn't have put you in jail!"
Tepo's forehead wrinkled. He didn't understand what was going on.
"Yes, after you arrived here the mayor felt incredibly guilty. He acted in the heat of the moment, not taking your possibly unstable emotions into consideration. You sentence has already been revoked!"
"You mean it?", asked Tepo in bafflement.
"Of course! How could I lie to you? We even offer you something in compensation!"
Tepo's sharp gaze studied the director's face. All of this sounded too good to be true, but the director looked amazingly genuine. Could Tepo have been mistaken? Was the mayor not targeting him? Did he really regret it?
"Aren't you curious?", asked the director teasingly.
"I guess you'll tell me anyways."
"Alright. Then I won't hide it form you any longer. We offer you the unique opportunity to enter a dungeon together with our floating rain guards!"
Immediately Tepo's eyes lit up brightly. This was indeed a big chance. But only a moment later he grew wary again. He remembered the medic's missing arm.
A dungeon contained unpredictable dangers and he was too weak now. Contemplating for a few seconds, he shook his head.
"Thank you, a lot, for the offer. But I have to decline."