The next morning didn't begin early; exhaustion or a hangover kept us all in bed until noon, but we all found ourselves in the Adventurers Guild at some point that day. Amethyst arrived last, of course.
Tia and I were the first, and we had time to discuss everything that happened last night with clear heads.
He was dressed in his priest robes, and the little green and gold skirt like he always did, but today I couldn't help myself from imagining the seductive images I saw of him last night. I wondered if he still wore those little white panties which did so little to hide his bulge.
He seemed to be in a great mood and smiled incessantly as we spoke.
"You seem a little hungover hehe." He teased me as we sat waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. Again, he chose to sit right next to me, which I didn't mind at all.
"Of course I am… are you not?"
"Hmm, nuh uh. I didn't have too much to drink."
"Really??" If that wasn't too much, I was almost scared to imagine what was.
"Mhmm, why?"
"I-uh, it's nothing." I blabbered out with a chuckle.
"Last night was so fun! I just feel.. So comfortable with you. Can we do it again soon?" He asked me, his face beaming with innocent joy.
Nothing in the world could have made me say no.
Around this time, Kyros joined us. He looked as if he hadn't slept a single minute, and he probably didn't. I could imagine him up all night, reading grimoires by candlelight, with new undead poisons brewing next to him.
Sometime after that, the receptionist came to inform me of what the expedition into the goblin cave had discovered on their preliminary search. Of course, she said, they had found the bloody sigils and uncovered evidence of demonic magics.
With a terrified whisper, she continued to tell stories of many similar occurrences happening all around the realm in the past few weeks. The same cursed sigils, and an increase in undead activity. Quite a few sightings of the succubus Aevrys had been reported, even as far south as Blackbone Bay. She was the main suspect of the necromantic activities, but so far she had evaded all attempts at finding her.
Tia seemed completely terrified at hearing this, and I could hear his shallow breaths trembling.
I placed a hand on his shoulder softly. "I thought you were going to save the world? You can't be scared of a single demon." I said with a smile.
He returned a resolute nod.
The truth was, even I was a little worried about all this, but Kyros was giddy.
Much later, Amethyst joined us, still half asleep.
And so I began my speech concerning the near future for our little party of adventurers.
"We have much to discuss!" I boomed out valiantly as we all gathered. "Firstly, with the completion of the Goblin King's dungeon, despite the hardships we endured, we were rewarded with more gold than we expected. Nearly 2000 gold coins!"
Tia let out the cutest cheer in response.
"Because of this, we won't need to accept any more quests for a while, and with the increase of the undead around here, well, lucky for us. For now, our focus will be to continue training our new healer. Tia has already proven himself as a valuable adventurer and a trustworthy ally, but he's still new; I don't want to put him in any unnecessary danger."
I directed my focus towards the priest, who seemed a little put down, and I tried to relieve his worries, to make sure he knew I was thinking about what was best for not only our party but for him as well. He was already too important to me to take any needless risks going forward.
"Tia, your true training begins today. Myself, Amethyst, and Kyros will each have 2 days a week to train you by ourselves. With me, we will focus on your healing and your battle tactics. Amethyst will train you on your druidic magic, and Kyros will tutor you on healing potions and salves. You'll have Sundays off to rest. I'm sure you'll be stronger than all of us in no time."
The pretty boy's face lit up in excitement. I knew that he truly did dream of becoming a powerful adventurer, and this would be his start.
"Tch, do I have to?" Kyros griped.
"Don't leave my little druid with that creep alone! I'll train him even more. I want him all to myself!" Amethyst chirped out, with some sort of sinful motherly love in her eyes.
"No, no, it's important he learns of healing alchemy; it could come in handy."
"Fine…" She responded, shooting spiteful gazes towards Kyros and me.
I again returned my attention to Tia Iris. He giggled at Amethyst's outrage, and I took joy in seeing him so happy together with all of us. I still couldn't keep from staring at each gorgeous feature he possessed.
"Are you ready, healer?" I reached out my hand towards him.
"I am!" He grabbed it, and together we made our way to the training grounds.