Brixaby waited for a beat. "Just kidding, of course. I'm going to consume the card!"

"Hold on there," Arthur said, slightly alarmed. "Let's wait until we get back to our room. We don't know what will be waiting for us." Or how Brixaby would react after consuming a Legendary, especially since his Personal Space was practically popping at the seams.

He looked around at the dark, still landscape. It was so quiet and peaceful that it was easy to let himself believe they had gotten away with their theft. But that was an illusion.

"I don't even know what day it is," he admitted, and with those words, the weight of exhaustion once again settled on his shoulders. They'd faced too many battles in too short of a time: first the dungeon waves and then the four dragons, one of which was still alive and needed interrogation. It felt overwhelming to think about what he still needed to do. "Let's just… get to our room first," he said on a sigh, dreading the long walk ahead.

"I can take us," Cressida said. "I can sense the shadows, and there are a lot back in that room."

"Are you sure? What about those monsters? Your mana?” She might have regained some mana in the last few minutes, but it wouldn’t be enough to completely replenish her.

"Well, I won't be good for much after," she said, "but neither will any of you if we spend the next couple hours walking. As for those shadow monsters," she shrugged. “Like I said, I wouldn’t want to teleport multiple times within a few minutes, but they seemed far enough away the last time.”

"Cressida, I don't think—"

She cut off his argument by placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on Joy's. A second later, they were enveloped in shadow. Shadow that seemed to last and last.

From the corner of his eye, shapes turned to look their way. They started moving closer.

“Cressida?” Arthur wanted to say, though no sound came out. His alarm grew. What if this was too much for her? What if they were stuck in this place?

Well, he decided. He had combat cards now. He’d fight their way out if he had to.

But then they emerged in a room that was nearly as pitch-dark as the shadows, save for a couple of vague outlines.

That was when Cressida collapsed into Arthur’s arms.

“Cressida!” Joy shrieked.

"Brixaby, get the light," Arthur instructed. His arms supported Cressida’s legs and back, holding her close. Despite being unconscious, she wasn't very heavy. Cressida was petite, but her personality always made her seem larger than life.

Brixaby acted fast and buzzed to the front of the room to pull back the curtain to the balcony. The scattered anchor lights from other balconies and walkways provided a soft illumination. It was enough for Arthur to make his way to Cressida’s cot and lay her down.

“Will she be okay?” Joy asked, coming over, and knocking over a few pieces of furniture along the way. “Will she? Will she?”

Before Arthur answered, Joy halfway climbed up on the cot – but she was too heavy. Rope lines that held up the mattress frame snapped, as did some wood. The right side dipped alarmingly.

“Joy, get back! She's fine. She's breathing. I need you to give me some space," he said, pushing back her head, which was about twice the size of a horse's.

The pink dragon did fall back, but still managed to hover. "But she's not waking up. She's not saying anything!”

“That last jump must have drained her vital energy, but it's not permanent. It can be replenished with rest," he explained. Joy was intelligent and familiar with mana replenishment, but she was also panicked and not thinking straight. “You haven't received a quest to save her or anything, right?"

"No, I haven't gotten a quest for some time," she replied. "I think I might've skewed the reward system a bit by getting so many great cards all at once."

No doubt, he thought with a sigh. Then he remembered his healing card.

Without another thought, he withdrew it from his card anchor tattoo.

Moderate Self Repair

Healing

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The wielder of this card will be granted the ability to repair minor to moderate wounds and injuries. Severe, crippling, complex, or mortal wounds may be only partially healed. This is an active effect and requires the use of mana.