The large man unconscious to the left of the door was the first to stir. He groaned quietly, his voice muffled by the soft moss his face rested against. His eyes fluttered open slowly, and he groaned again rolling first onto his side, and then his back. He raised a large gloved hand to blot the sun from his eyes, and frowned quizzically. He didn't recognize this place.

Raikon slowly raised into a sitting position, resting his weight on one arm, the other hand still blocking the sun from his sleep filled eyes. "Joshua? Hector?" His voice was thick in his throat, and quiet. He coughed into his hand, squinting into the sunlight, and looks around once more. He remembered they were celebrating. Many of them, Joshua, Hector, Kayle, his whole band had been there. They had just received word of the full retreat of all Burean forces from the peninsula, and Alcuin had been kept free of their grasp. They had been fighting for three weeks with almost no rest, their morale had dwindled to a candle flame. But they outlasted the enemy and had prevented their resupply, allowing for a reprieve, and a chance to bolster their defenses to prevent another attack.

The celebration was fierce and well earned. Friends had been lost, and many of his comrades had held their grief until the end. They had a chance to let their emotions flow freely along with the mead. He had drank plenty on his own, and his memories grew hazy as the night went on. But he remembered being carried on a shoulder to his bed in the Gnarled Pine, laughing and swaying and singing. This place was not The Gnarled Pine.

He looked at the other bodies on the ground around him and lifted himself to stand on shaky legs. He realized he was still dressed in all of his armor, and his body was sore in many places, screaming at the pressure points from the belts and gear strapped to his chest and hips. He could tell this place was ancient, and his mind swirled trying to recreate the steps he had taken back to the inn. He had made it back to his room, hadn't he? Who had helped him back? The back of his head throbbed and he shielded his eyes from the sunlight again, frustrated.

He looked at the bodies again. They were breathing, alive, just unconscious or asleep. He didn't recognize them, and started to walk closer to the young blonde man closest to him. He took in the room once more as he crouched down. The building they were in looked ancient. He had seen overgrown ruins before, but nothing like this. The place almost vibrated with a force unknown to him, and he swallowed back his fear. He reached down and grasped the shoulder of the slender man next to him, shaking gently.

"Hey, you. Wake up, would you?"