It took them until late afternoon to return to Ayleston, and by then, they were all starting to suffer from the sicknesses that the ratfolk had blessed them with. None of them had made it out of that last assault without a wound, and from the way Olivia was limping along by the end, it was going to be another very long night.

By contrast, Clay felt relatively well off this time. Perhaps it was the fact that he'd already fought the diseases off before, or it was the new [Experiences] and [Achievements] he'd gained, but it seemed like the others were suffering far worse. Herb had even started muttering resentful comments under his breath, even as he passed out potions and poultices to the group.

When they reached the village, Baroness Ayleston met them at the gate. She gave them a sympathetic look as they made their weary way through the opening. "Sir Clay, how did you fare?"

He coughed, feeling his stomach churn and his throat swell. "The Lair is dead." Her eyes widened slightly, and he glanced back at the others. "We'll need a place to stay, and my companions will need a few days to clean up the rest of the monsters, but then everything should be fine."

The Baroness nodded, her smile becoming a bit more sincere. "I'm… glad to hear it, Sir Clay. How long will the Lair be dormant?"

Clay blinked. He frowned. "Forever. It's gone."

She stared at him. "Gone? You mean…" Her eyes widened even further, and her jaw dropped open. "You destroyed it? There's nothing left?"

Mitchell spoke up, his voice rough. "There are still some remnants, but we'll get most of them cleaned up for you. A few days at most, like Sir Clay said."

Baroness Ayleston stared at him a moment, clearly searching for something to say. Clay cleared his throat; the action made him feel like his throat had been scratched raw. "Baroness? May we rest now? The illnesses…"

She nodded, a quick, almost instinctive response. "Yes, Sir Clay, of course."

He bowed in gratitude and staggered on towards the manor. The others followed after him with a collection of groans and grumbles. Behind him, he could hear hurried whispers and questions between the [Noble] and her [Guards], but he put it out of mind and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Everything else could wait until he'd finished purging the last remnants of the ratfolk's blight from his system.

The celebration that swept through Ayleston that night went largely unobserved by the heroes that had provoked it.

Almost all of the [Commoners] in Clay's group suffered for the entire night, and most of the following day. Out of all of them, Herb seemed to have things the worst. He was saddled with both bearing his own terrible burdens and tending to the needs of others. His hands shook as he prepared medicine, and his legs barely supported him as he tried to go from bed to bed. The [Guard] stubbornly kept at it, however, until Clay finally convinced Herb to let him take over.

Once the [Guard] had nearly collapsed into his own bed, Clay had done his best to care for the others. The illnesses had weakened and faded from him first, so at least as tired as he was, he could still move and help the others. Olivia had been the next to recover, followed by Mitchell. Scott and Hadley were still trembling and weak by the end of the next afternoon, while Herb didn't seem hale until the following morning.

All told, his team of [Commoners] spent nearly the entire celebration holed up in the manor, trying to keep themselves functional. By the end of it, Clay almost didn't want to ask them to finish purging the rest of the ratfolk, not if it meant going through the ordeal yet again.

Yet Mitchell and the others enthusiastically agreed, anyway. A burning desire for vengeance filled their words, even as Clay and Olivia bid their farewells. Mitchell warmly shook Clay's hand, thanking him yet again, and both Scott and Hadley had asked questions about what they would need to do to become members of the Guild themselves.

Herb, on the other hand, seemed the most unusually cheerful of them all. When Clay asked, the man had simply grinned and said that he was looking forward to seeing home again.

"I'm sure Amy will have a warm welcome for us." Herb laughed and shook his head. "For me, at least. She might send you and yours a pie, when you get back."

Clay snorted. "Looking forward to it." He paused. "Also, can I ask a favor? Olivia and I wrote letters for my family and the Rector. If you could…"

The [Guard] grinned and held out his hand. "Of course, Clay. As soon as I get home." He paused as Clay passed the parchment over. "Have you heard any news from there?"

With a shake of his head, Clay grimaced. "We've been… moving a little too much, and Andrew's group didn't have much to tell us."

"I suppose there hasn't been much to say." Herb shook his head. "The place is growing, and more and more people keep learning the [Chants], but aside from that, it's still Pellsglade. They'll be happy to have you home once winter starts."

Clay nodded, a small grin on his face. "And we'll be glad to be there." He looked to the road and sighed, thinking of the path ahead. "Unfortunately, we have at least one more Lair to deal with."

Herb nodded. "Ah, yes. You wouldn't want to keep the King waiting." He paused and then chuckled, shaking his head in bafflement. "I never would have thought that was a phrase I'd say, even to you. What a strange world we're in."

"You are not wrong." Clay shook his hand and grinned. "Don't have too much fun with the ratfolk. We'll have more work waiting for us in the spring, after all."

Herb rolled his eyes, and with that, Clay and Olivia turned to go. The Baroness had already met with them privately, thanking them for their help. She'd still seemed a little stunned, as if the reality of the change hadn't sunk in yet. Clay hoped that the relief would reach her soon.

He turned and started on the road south, this time at a much more sedate pace than before. For some reason, neither he nor Olivia wanted to run. At least, not yet.

The road to Eldsford was a long one, and it wasn't helped by the sudden arrival of a late fall rainstorm. If the world had asked Clay, he would have preferred for the downpour to wait. He knew it was needed; he was a [Farmer]'s son, after all, and a season without enough rainfall was a poor time for anyone who enjoyed food. It just would have been more convenient if the clouds had not rolled in until after he and Olivia had reached the shelter of the next town.

Unfortunately, the weather disagreed with his opinion.

It started late in the morning on their second day of travel. They'd woken in camp to find the clouds glowering over them; thunder had rumbled ominously, and the wind had picked up as they began their journey. Long before they managed to reach a place to eat lunch, the rain was already pounding the hard-packed earth of the road. By midday, their boots were already coated in mud, and the road was already covered in puddles from the water. Even once they had left the plains behind and reentered the forest, it seemed like the water dripping from the trees was still enough to make things unpleasant.

When they made camp, it was a miserable and rain-sodden affair with only their [Chants] and their equipment to make it bearable. Olivia grumbled for half the evening about having to use a mere candle to study her notes by, but the chill of the day made it that much better to snuggle together in the tent. They drifted off to sleep, hoping to find that the storm had cleared by the next day.

Fortunately, the last of the stormclouds spent their fury while they slept, and they started out on their third day of travel in a world blanketed in a chilly fog. The air was cold and clammy, but it was better than the continual soaking they'd endured the day before. Even though the roads remained a mud-ridden mess, at least they weren't getting steadily worse.

When the walls of Eldsford appeared out of the fog, Clay let out a quiet sigh of relief. The place wasn't fortified like Janburg or Ayleston had been, but a place big enough to be called a town instead of a village usually had some kind of protection. He looked at Olivia with a grin, only to find that she once again had her scarf in place. She still seemed to walk at a quicker pace, however, and they headed straight for the gates.

The last message he'd gotten from the King had said that he was expected to be in Eldsford by the final week of fall. They were cutting things just a little close, but at least they hadn't missed the deadline. Clay felt a second wave of relief, even though his muscles were weary from all the fighting and traveling. Hopefully, the King would allow him a day or so to rest before they started an attack on the Lair. Even if they didn't, the thing should still be relatively new. He wouldn't be throwing himself at something on the edge of becoming a Dungeon again already.

As they approached the gates, he saw a pair of [Guards] standing sentry. They were speaking with a few people perched on a cart full of barrels, but when they noticed Clay and Olivia, they motioned for the cart to pass through. One of them held up a hand as Clay approached. "Halt. Who are you? What is your purpose here?"

Clay looked at him, his fatigue bleeding into his tone. "My name is Clay Evergreen. I'm a member of the Guild, coming to address the problem with the Lair."

The [Guard]'s eyes narrowed as he looked Clay over. He looked at Olivia too, noting the mud on their clothing. "A hard road from Crownsguard, then?"

"From Ayleston, actually." Clay paused. "One moment." He recited the [Chant] of Pure Touch. The mud fell away in moments, and the [Guard] stepped back in alarm. Olivia echoed the words, and her own clothing was clean moments later.

With a sigh, Clay looked back at the [Guard]. "Has the King arrived? I was told he would be expecting us."

The [Guard] exchanged a look with his companion, who shrugged. "No, Sir Clay. They are yet to arrive."

He frowned. "What about the Duke? Or whatever [Noble] is in charge of responding to the Lair here?"

The [Guard] gave him a blank look. "A [Noble]? The best we have is the Reeve. They look after the town, but they aren't going out to fight any monsters."

Clay felt his frown grow deeper. "Then who is dealing with the Lair? One of them just appeared nearby, right?"

"Oh. Right." The [Guard] nodded. "We pulled everyone back from the place. Had to take in most of the [Farmers] too. A lot of them lost their crops, but I guess that's better than the ones who didn't make it out of there."

The words felt like an impact to his stomach. Clay shook his head. "All right. We're going to rest for a bit, and then we'll see what is happening."

As he spoke, the [Guard] started to shake his head. "Not yet. We're going to send… someone…"

He trailed off as his eyes drifted back to Olivia. She hadn't done much more than fix her gaze on him, but the man slowly grew pale. Clay watched him take a slow step back, his boots squelching in the mud. "What were you saying, Goodman?"

The [Guard] remained silent a moment. Then he swallowed. "Nothing, Sir Clay. Go right ahead."

Clay nodded in thanks. He walked past the [Guards], followed by Olivia. They remained quiet for a few more strides until the [Guards] were out of earshot. Then he spoke quietly. "Well, I guess that ability is kind of useful sometimes."

Olivia looked at him, her eyebrow arched. "Glad you approve."

He snorted and looked for someone who could direct them to the local manor. It had already been far too long a day.

"Sir Clay, huh?" The man folded his arms and studied them from his chair. "I'm not sure how convinced I am about this."

The woman sitting beside him snorted. "Come off it, Tom." He gave her a glare, and she returned his level look with one of her own. "You've known he's been coming for a while now. You might as well give them the hospitality they deserve. They're half-drowned."

He clenched his jaw for a moment. "Drowned or no, I'm the Reeve here, Larissa, and it's my responsibility to make sure things are handled properly."

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Larissa made a gesture for him to get on with things, and Tom huffed softly. Then he turned his attention back to Clay and Olivia, who were sitting on the couch and resting at last. "So. You're a [Commoner]."

Clay nodded. He felt Olivia shifted beside him and gave her a quick glance. She glared at him, but subsided. "That's correct, Sir…"

The Reeve shook his head. "I'm not a Sir. Not anymore." His hand drifted down toward the stump that made up the leg below his left knee. He blinked and snatched it back before giving Clay a sharp look. "Then again, I'm not entirely sure you are either."

Larissa spoke up from where she was sitting. "He was a member of the Guild before life took a different path. I believe the real title is Squire, since he's been made a Reeve here, though hardly anyone ever uses it." Clay nodded gratefully to her, and she smiled. "My name is Larissa Edels, his wife. Dame Edels, if we're being formal."

Even as Tom gave her another stern look, Clay spoke up. "Thank you, Dame Edels, Squire Edels. It's been a long journey so far."

"I'm sure it has." Larissa's voice was gentle, and she pointedly ignored her fuming husband. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Olivia was the one who answered, her voice almost lethally calm. "We were asked to come here by the King. Do you know if something has happened to him?"

The Reeve's eyes narrowed as he looked back at her. "The King keeps his own schedule. All I know is that you've been asked to wait here for him."

Clay nodded. Perhaps something had come up, though it was clear by Olivia's narrowed eyes she didn't believe it. He turned back to the Reeve. "Can you give us any details on the Lair? What type of creatures does it create, and how quickly it is expanding?"

Tom looked back at him for a long moment. Then he leaned back and grunted. "It's brand new, so it's expanding fast. We've tried to starve it a little by pulling everyone out of the area, but there's always a few fool hunters that think they'll be safe in the woods when no one else is." He shook his head, disgust plain on his face. "Between them and the [Farmers] who either stayed despite our orders, or the ones who never got the chance to leave, we've lost nearly thirty people."

Guilt and shame swept through Clay, but before he could answer, Olivia placed a hand on his arm. He looked over, and she shook her head silently. When he looked back, the Reeve was still watching him. "We hope to keep anyone else from suffering the same fate."

The Reeve's lips twisted in a grimace. "Even if you do, there's plenty of people who are going to have a hard season. They've lost crops, animals, family…" He trailed off and shook his head. "It would have been better if you had arrived earlier, but I suppose the Guild had other concerns. Fortunately, it seems like it is staying in the woods for now. The things are eating more wild animals than people at the moment; hopefully it stays that way."

Clay felt another twinge of guilt, but he pressed on anyway. "What kind of monster are we facing?"

"Snakes." The flat word fell from the Reeve's lips with a mix of anger and contempt. "Every account I've heard talks about large snakes of some kind. Only one type, for now, but that's enough to cause problems."

Olivia spoke up, still calm. "Are they venomous?"

Larissa answered, her voice seeming far too casual. "They seem to be, yes. Those who have been bitten do not survive."

The Reeve's lips worked like he wanted to spit. "They tend to paralyze people with some kind of magic, too. Either that, or the poor [Commoners] panic so badly that it amounts to the same thing." He shook his head. "By now, there's probably hundreds of them. Why didn't you come sooner, if you're so important?"

Clay felt Olivia stir again, but he answered in what he hoped was an even voice. "We were busy destroying other Lairs, as well as seeing to other problems."

"Nearer to Crownsguard, I'd wager." Tom snorted, his anger growing. "We're just not important enough out here to merit your gracious assistance?" Larissa opened her mouth, but Tom gave her a quick glare and she subsided.

When the man's angry gaze returned to him, Clay met his eyes calmly. "No, actually. The Lairs we destroyed were in Ayleston, Rettmore, and Glanwood. I trust you've heard of them?"

The Reeve's mouth opened as if he had an angry retort. Then he paused. "Rettmore? And Glanwood too?" He leaned back slowly. "Those were old in my time. You destroyed them? Not just dormant." His eyes sharpened when Clay nodded.

"And Ayleston as well, husband." Larissa's soft words made the man nod slowly. "Didn't you fight in Rettmore?"

"I did, once. A quick attempt, but our team took too many casualties." He shook his head. "Those reptiles were a bit too tricky."

Clay frowned. He exchanged a glance with Olivia. "Reptiles? Rettmore was full of shrooms."

A clever look flickered through the Reeve's eyes, and he nodded. "You're right, it was." Larissa let out an entirely undignified snort, and he sat back with a sigh. "I had to make sure you hadn't just come up with a convenient excuse. It's gone, then?"

"It is. And this one will be too as soon as the King arrives." Clay saw the Reeve and his wife exchange a quick look.

The Reeve's next words were careful. "I think that can be arranged, Sir Clay." He drummed the fingers of his hand against his stump. "The King did mention that he wanted you to rest here until his arrival."

Olivia's words were just as careful. "I'm sure he would appreciate it if we took a look at what was going on. Just to prepare. We would not want to waste his time."

Tom gave Olivia a wry look. "I suppose you could be right." He shrugged. "On the other hand, I'm not comfortable interpreting the orders of the King, so I will suggest that you stay here. In the meantime, feel free to get some rest. We are grateful for your assistance."

Clay nodded, and they rose from their seats. Larissa and Tom stood as well, with the Reeve leaning on a cane. He bowed to their hosts and then led Olivia out of the room. A servant gestured for them to follow her down a hallway to their rooms.

Olivia waited until the servant was halfway down the hallway before she looked at him. "We're not waiting for King John, are we?"

Clay snorted. He eyed the servant as if to double-check that she was out of earshot. "I say we wait until nightfall and take a look. It'll be dark, but we should still be able to handle a few snakes. Especially in a fresh Lair."

"We could always just destroy it tonight, too." Olivia shrugged. "It's not like it would take that much effort. Not with both of us there."

Clay gave her an exasperated look. "It would kind of ruin the point I was trying to make, though, and give the King an excuse to just toss us at Lairs he finds inconvenient. Better we convince him that he can handle them himself if it's an emergency."

She sighed. "If you say so." Then she shrugged and headed back to her room. "I suppose I could use the time to translate. Let me know if you change your mind."

"I will." He watched as she disappeared behind the door and sighed to himself. At least he'd have a short rest before it all began again.

Their hosts provided a perfectly adequate dinner, and then the manor had settled down for the night. Clay and Olivia had waited until the last of the servants had gone to bed, before creeping out through the windows in their rooms. They met just outside the manor and then headed for the walls.

A quick use of Mischief's Ladder had easily boosted them over the low wooden wall between the patrolling [Guards]. The concealing fog didn't hurt their situation either, and soon they were off through the forest on the way towards the Lair.

At first Clay had been worried that he would need to use the Gardener's Lament, but the Reeve had grudgingly provided them with a rough map of the area. It was enough to guide them in the direction of the problem, and after an hour or two of traveling along the mist-shrouded forest roads, Clay's ethereal senses began to clamor, letting him know they had arrived.

He slowed to a walk as he tried to locate where the monsters were hiding. Olivia glanced at him before trying to peer through the mists and the darkness around them. She spoke quietly. "We're close, then?"

Clay nodded. His eyes probed the surrounding fog, looking for signs of the enemy. At least one of them was close and moving fairly quickly. Had the monsters detected them somehow?

Suddenly, he heard a crashing noise in the underbrush. He slipped back behind a tree, and Olivia followed suit. They waited as the noises drew closer, a cacophony of rustling leaves and snapping branches. Clay's hands tightened on his spear as he pictured the size the snake had to be to make so much noise. Were they somehow the size of a horse?

He was still asking himself the question when a deer leapt out of a nearby bush. It was running hard, loping through the underbrush without a glance in his direction. Clay blinked, taken off guard by the fact that the local wildlife hadn't been slaughtered yet.

Then, right in the deer's wake, there was movement. He turned to see a dark form slithering across the ground. It looked like a ribbon of iron, sliding through the fallen leaves and hissing as it came. His eyes widened as it suddenly gathered itself and sprang, launching itself like a grey arrow through the air towards the fleeing deer.

Clay reacted almost on instinct. He lunged out from hiding, his spear extending in a single, blinding thrust that caught the thing in midair. The spearpoint punched straight through it, cutting the ribbon in two halves that flopped uselessly away.

The deer continued its headlong flight, redoubling its speed with Clay's sudden appearance. He turned to watch it go, even as the notification appeared in his vision.

{Hissing Agony slain! Soul increases by 10}

He looked down at the bisected snake for a moment, wondering at how easy it had been. Then he looked back at where Olivia was hiding. "Well, that's one."

She nodded, emerging from hiding to crouch down near the dead monster. "It's… odd being near a Lair that hasn't finished killing off the animals, isn't it?"

Clay nodded, still looking around the misty forest for more threats. His senses didn't detect anything immediately present, but the snake had moved fast. The fact that it was so relatively small didn't help him feel any better about it, either. "Yeah, might make hunting here a bit harder." He looked down at her. "Still good to continue?"

Olivia smirked up at him. "Of course. After what we've already seen? A few snakes aren't going to scare me away."

He grinned, and they set off together again, following his senses towards the next prey.

Another hissing snake threw itself at him, and Clay snatched it out of the air. It bared long fangs at him, trying to writhe closer to bury its teeth in his arm. The tail wrapped around his forearm in a desperate attempt to secure a better hold; Clay could feel it trying to squeeze.

The monster's efforts actually did allow it to strike at him, but its fangs simply scratched at his armor. Clay grunted and then clenched his fist. Bones crunched in his grip.

{Hissing Agony slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Achievement Gained! Vipersbane: 5% increase to all skills and damage against vipers. Bonus increases to 10% versus Hissing Agonies.}

Clay grunted and tossed the snake aside. Olivia grinned at him. "Finally got the [Achievement]?"

He gave her an exasperated look. "Yep."

"So you finally caught up to me, huh?" She grinned at him, clearly enjoying the moment. "Took you long enough."

Clay rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't realize that the key to killing them was just to walk out in the open and let them attack you." He shook his head; her reflexes and armor had been more than enough to keep her safe, but it still seemed like a bad decision. "Do we keep going?"

Olivia shrugged. "Why not? It can't hurt. We've only been here an hour or so."

He nodded. The snakes had been almost insultingly easy to find and kill. When they weren't hurling themselves in futility at the [Commoners], they were either distracted by chasing down the last of the wildlife in the area or feasting on recent kills. Using [Chants] beyond the occasional Heart's Light, Pure Touch, or Clean Heart was entirely unnecessary so far.

Of course, that might change the deeper they went, but if that was the case, it would be better to find out now rather than when the King was with them. Clay gestured for Olivia to proceed, and she started off through the woods with a confident swagger. He followed her with a sigh. With any luck, he'd manage to kill the next set of monsters before they got her.

An hour later, Clay was shaking his head over the dismembered corpse of a slightly larger snake, one that had horns sprouting from its head. Olivia was cleaning the blood from her scythe and chuckling to herself. "Better luck next time, Clay."

He gave her a look and then reached out with his senses again. There were more snakes coming, but they wouldn't arrive for a few more minutes. "You're just lucky that these things don't seem to have any real sense of self-preservation."

She shrugged. "I think you're just mad that I ended up getting to ten again before you. How many do you have left, anyway? Two? Three?"

Clay snorted. "Two, thanks." He shook his head. "You can't blame me for trying to be a bit more quiet than you are. After all, I want to actually know how these things work before we bring King John here."

"Well, I'm happy to help with that." He gave her a look, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really think that the King is going to try sneaking around in here? We'll be lucky if he leaves the trumpets and announcers home."

He grunted. "I'm sure he knows how to be subtle. He was in disguise at the Melee, after all."

"Until he got into a knockdown fight with you in the middle of it. Which was his plan all along." Olivia shook her head. "I think you might be expecting more from him than we will get. Are you absolutely sure we don't want to finish this off tonight?"

Clay sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure." Three of the monsters had suddenly turned towards them, either hearing their voices, seeing the lights they carried, or using some other sense he didn't understand. "We don't want to provoke a hunting party, especially not one that includes the Guardian. Better to wait and make sure we don't accidentally make it go dormant."

She grumbled a little, obviously having hoped for a different answer. He shook his head and prepared himself. With her having finished the [Achievement]'s second level, the next few would be his to kill.

The older snakes seemed to have a bit stronger skin, not that it stood up to their weapons any better. They moved faster, and their stare applied a kind of pressure that might have frozen him in fear if he didn't have his [Will] quite so high.

Even with those advantages, they still had the same way of attacking, however. When the three attacked, it was a direct assault, all with the same straightforward leaps.

Clay watched them take to the air and then moved. His spear lashed out in a swipe that snatched one of them out of the air; he smashed the life out of the second with the butt of the spear and avoided the strike of the third. When it hit the dirt, though, his boot came down on its skull before it could wriggle away, crushing it.

{Hissing Doom slain! Soul increases by 15}

{Hissing Doom slain! Soul increases by 15}

{Achievement Reinforced! Vipersbane: 10% increase to all skills and damage against vipers. Bonus increases to 20% versus Hissing Agonies and Hissing Dooms.}

{Hissing Doom slain!}

Clay paused, searching for more threats, but found nothing. When he looked up, Olivia was shaking her head at him. "Show off."

He snorted. "You're one to talk."

She laughed. "All right. Shall we head back? We could probably sneak back in fine, and I do have some work to do on my notes."

With an overdramatic bow, Clay gestured for her to lead the way out of the forest. She rolled her eyes and set off, still clearly having enjoyed herself. "What have you found out lately, anyway? Are you still on the stuff from the Dungeon, or did you switch to the new book?"

Olivia glanced at him as he caught up to her. "I moved to the new one. It's written in Old Balois, so it was a bit more familiar. Less time, and it had a few [Chants] in it." She sighed and shook her head. "Nothing we haven't seen before, though, and the author seems to recommend anyone looking for the more advanced versions to contact a Sealer if they want to learn more."

"A Sealer?" Clay frowned. "Is that some kind of [Class] or [Subclass]? I don't think I've ever heard of it before."

She shook her head. "I haven't either, though I wonder if it is someone who can use the Eternal Seal. Seems like too much of a coincidence for the same word to refer to both an expert in [Chants] and a [Chant] advanced enough to destroy a Dungeon."

Clay nodded, thinking over the possibilities. "That's true. No parts of the [Chant] itself, though?"

"No." A hint of frustration colored her words, now. "Still just hints. Maybe I'll find more tonight."

He smiled. "Well, if you find any, let me know." His smile grew. "In fact, even if you don't…"

She nudged him. "We want to give the appearance of propriety while we're in town, Sir Clay." Her cheeks seemed to have darkened with a blush, but she smiled to herself. "Though if we just destroyed this place…"

Clay groaned, and she giggled a little. Hopefully, once the King arrived, it wouldn't take long to finish things. Then they could head back home and maybe get a real rest before starting their fight again.

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