Inside the fourth wagon, Eric, Jun, and Ryan were lamenting the deaths of their companions.

"I still can't believe Mark and Rob died," said Jun.

"But Griffin's death is totally believable? Eric asked.

"Of course, Griffin's a s.h.i.tter."

Ryan laughed, "I mean, he did save Mark and Eric with that attack of his. I didn't even think killing four goblins in one strike was possible."

"Yeah, Griffin went out like a boss. Killing multiple goblins, saving the healer, saving me. What a hero," Eric sighed.

"Hey, Mark went out well too. That double heal on those two scouts was clutch. He probably could've survived if he hadn't tripped."

"Mark needs to work on his mechanics. First dying to Barns, then dying here. Dude needs to step it up," Jun said harshly.

"True, but as a healer, mechanics aren't as important for him as they are for the rest of us. Plus his decision-making and awareness are top-notch," Eric argued.

"Yeah, I guess he did save my a.s.s near the end there," Jun conceded. "But Rob's was definitely a dumb death."

"No arguments there. I half feel that Rob died on purpose just to avoid having to travel back to Tonbura," Eric suggested dryly.

"Sounds like something he would do."

Ryan just laughed awkwardly at this, not deigning to comment upon the likeliness of his best friend using death as a way to avoid the walk back. As the trio continued to discuss the battle, Astrid was staring awkwardly at Jun, as if deciding how to approach her p.r.i.c.kly fellow archer. Gathering her courage, she leaned forward, interrupting the conversation as the trio turned to stare at her.

"Ummm. Thanks for saving me earlier," Astrid stammered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem. Don't worry about it," Jun said dismissively.

"I know I probably wasn't worth saving. But I'm thankful you did. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Astrid asked.

"What? No, I just saved you because I could. Don't overthink it," Jun replied.

Before Astrid could press further, Eric leaned in.

"He saved you because you're strong and he knew you could help us win. Don't worry about repaying him, you already did more than enough," Eric said with a smile.

"But…"

"No buts, you did great. I saw plenty of your arrows sticking out of goblins as we were cleaning up."

"Really?" Astrid asked.

"Really. I'm sure everyone else saw plenty of them too, I don't think any of the other archers use white-feathered arrows."

This got a chorus of agreements from the other inhabitants of the wagon, causing Astrid to blush scarlet.

"You did great, Feathershot," Owin said from the front, giving Astrid a warm look before turning to the rest of the wagon. "All of you did great. I'm proud to have fought alongside you today."

"Bet you were even more proud to lie behind us as we saved your sorry a.s.s," Eric teased, causing Owin's fellow scouts to burst into laughter as Owin regarded Eric with an annoyed look.

"You know, Kystfyr, technically I'm still your commander right now," Owin warned.

"Big words from a man with two healers attending to him right now," Eric retorted with a smile, watching as two healers worked on Owin's wounds, golden light flowing across Owin's injuries as they worked.

Pointing towards Eric, Owin was about to retort when one of the healers slapped his arm back down and scowled at him.

"Stop moving if you want me to finish healing you," she warned, causing Owin's companions to burst into laughter from beside the healers.

"You better listen to Lara, Owin. I saw her leave a corporal's wound open once when he wouldn't stop moving. Poor guy had to crawl over to the medical tent to get someone else to heal him," one of Owin's squad members teased, causing Owin to stare at him resentfully as he went still.

"If he's still acting up, feel free to come attend to me. I'd give up my left arm for treatment," Tanix chimed in from the back. "I'd give up my right, but that one was taken by the hobgoblin earlier."

This comedic act lightened the air in the wagon, as they laughed at Owin's misfortune. Giving everyone a wounded look, Owin pretended to act hurt, giving off the perfect picture of wounded pride as laughter filled the air.

Turning to Tanix, Eric looked at the mage curiously.

"How do you plan to get your arm back? Are you just going to have to die?"

"That was my original plan. But the healer from Alistair's squad told me that a more advanced healer could actually regenerate it for me. So I'm just planning to look for a good healer once we get back to civilization. Plus I heard that dying after level twenty is a lot more severe than dying before it was, so I'm kind of trying to avoid dying if I can," Tanix explained.

"Yeah, we noticed our friends had dropped more of their stuff than usual. We grabbed it all this time, but if we'd all been wiped out then I can imagine the drops would've been pretty bad," Eric admitted.

"How good do you think a healer needs to be to regenerate your arm? Will Tonbura have anyone good enough?" Ryan cut in.

"It requires an Advanced Healer or better to regenerate lost limbs. There will be some at the militia encampment outside Tonbura. Once we get there, follow me and we can get you fixed up," Lara interjected from Owin's side.

Nodding gratefully to the healer, Tanix turned back to the trio, engaging them in conversation as the wagons trundled through the forest. Occasionally, other members of the militia would join in on the conversation, adding their thoughts about the battle and their thoughts on what the rewards would be like as the group bonded. The only one who refused to partic.i.p.ate in the conversation was Seryllia, who simply sat at the back of the wagon, staring at the trees as they pa.s.sed. Despite Seryllia's reluctance, the rest of the group quickly became friends. There were some things that just couldn't be done without growing closer to each other. And fighting nearly half a thousand goblins was one of them.