Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

open, and I could see the supple black fabric with silver embroidery of my cloak folded inside.

“Thank you.” I took a step forward, then paused. “How did you know this was mine?”

“It has the same number on it as your cell door did. I just sort of figured it would have your things.”

“Right. I...don’t remember what yours was.” I felt a bit embarrassed by the admission. A week in that cell and I didn’t even notice writing on the door directly across from me? I thought I was more observant than that. “Sorry.”

Lia shrugged. “It’s alright. I didn’t have anything with me when they took me, aside from my clothes.”

“In that case,” I said, setting the torch into a nearby holder, “Why don’t you start looking through the chests for your clothes while I take care of…” I pointed to my shoulder. “This situation.”

Her eyebrows were drawn tight with concern, but she simply nodded and went to work looking through the few dozen chests against the wall. I half sat, half collapsed into a chair and gently poked at the wound. The pain was immediate with the numbing effects of adrenaline fully gone. Okay, standard medieval style crossbow bolt. Puncture is through the lower shoulder muscle, luckily avoiding the major arteries. Most likely a plain metal tip, but in the case those fuckers were using barbs...I grimaced at the thought of what was to come.

Scanning the desk I sat in front of, I replaced the bowl of coins I currently held with a small, leather bound ledger. The words on the front were, as usual, alien to me, but I wasn’t interested in reading them anyways. I put the journal into my mouth and braced my feet solidly on the floor. My right hand slowly raised to my shoulder and I rested my fingers gingerly on the tail end of the bolt. I took in a deep breath and counted down in my head. Three...two…

I gripped the bolt and twisted hard, sending a shockwave of pain through my arm and chest. Involuntarily, I let out a loud moan, biting down hard into the leather. The taste was unpleasant, a mix of old dust and new blood. Lia spun to face me, worried, and our eyes met for a moment. I knew that she wasn’t okay, with the trauma of the night obviously still filtering through her head, but neither of us had the energy or desire to talk about it. She turned back to the chests, continuing her search.

Although it had increased both the bleeding and the pain level significantly, I was pleased with the overall situation. The bolt had spun mostly unimpeded, signalling to me that it was neither barbed nor lodged directly in the bone of my shoulder. Without delay, I gripped the tail end hard and ripped it from my arm. I let the bolt clatter to the floor, the pain too severe at the moment to do anything but bite into the book and try not to scream.

Blood was pouring from the now-open wound, and I was beginning to feel light-headed. As quickly as I could, I reached out and pulled for my sword, which drew a small clatter from the open chest in front of me as it flashed into existence. “Major Sustained Self-healing, Wounds,” I muttered, spitting the leather notebook out into my lap. My sword and shoulder shimmered a bright green, overpowering the light from the single torch. There was a lurching feeling in my gut like I had missed the last step on a flight of stairs, and I almost lost control of the mana flow. This spell pulls a lot of energy.

I monitored the wound as the magic worked. Bit by bit, the gaping hole sewed itself shut, flesh mending back together as though it had never been split. My head was spinning, though if it was due to an overuse of energy or a loss of blood, I couldn’t tell.  As soon as the cut was closed, I dropped the evocation and began to pant heavily. The wound is closed, but...I rolled my shoulder gently, but stopped with a groan when it spasmed in pain. That’s going to require a lot more healing than I can give tonight.

“Hey,” I managed to rasp out through my labored breathing. “Did you find it?” She stood, holding up a blue dress with white lace cuffs and a pair of shoes. “Okay...good. We’ve got to...get changed and then...we can get out of here.” I stood and stumbled my way over to the chest of my belongings. “We can’t be...walking around the city...in prisoner’s clothes...right?” I smiled weakly.

She blushed, and it took my dazed brain a few extra seconds to figure out why. “Lia...I just killed seven guards...and you’re worried about me...seeing you naked?” I let out a wheezing laugh. “I think we have...bigger problems right now...don’t we?” Lia reddened even more, either from continued sheepishness or embarrassment for it being pointed out. She nodded and set the dress down on the floor, beginning to disrobe.

I turned back to my crate of possessions, doing my best to give her some privacy. I guess modesty about one’s body is the same everywhere. Using my sword as a support, I pulled the roughspun pants off and kicked them away. Luckily, the guards had allowed me to keep my underwear which, with their anti-fouling enchantments, were by far the cleanest part of me. Oh, to be in a warm bath right now…

As I bent down to pull the cloak from my chest, I felt a sudden rush of dizziness come on. My legs folded under me and I toppled forward, bouncing hard off of the wooden chest and onto the stone floor. My vision swam with stars as I rolled to my back, trying to take stock of myself. What a pathetic showing. Only seven guards and I’m already as good as dead. I’ve fallen out of practice.

Somewhere, I heard Lia calling out to me. I looked from