41 No News

2 days had past and Linri's body condition visibly got better. There were not any bruises left on his body. His mental state however did not get any better. He was afraid to go to sleep. Whenever he slept he was seeing the same 'dream' over and over again. He wanted to talk someone about this but there was nobody around him he could talk to. Jaime would get overly worried and possibly blurt something to his mother. If he told Lyra about it she would definitely confine him to home and would not let him go to Autumnfall until she found a cure to his power implosion. He could talk to Solas and Lozna but he was suspecting they were behind this and he was afraid of making a mistake while talking to them. Every discussion with them was a mental battle and he was afraid he would lose this one in this mental state.

All in all if he could not find a solution he was going to lose his mind. In these two days the only thing he figured out was that if he did not fight back Udcek would torture him and when he fights back he would get a quick death. This provided some mental relief but that was about it.

"Morning mom! So is there any news from dad?" Linri walked towards Lyra and asked her.

"Nothing yet, but he should get back before nightfall. What about you sweetie? Still having nightmares?" From Linri's state it was not hard to guess he was not getting any sleep. She was worried about him. At first she only thought it was a one time thing but seeing him like this she wondered if they should send him to a therapist after they return home. It was a big mistake that they let him come here.

"No worries mom, I'm fine. I didn't see any nightmares but no matter how much I sleep I still feel it's not enough" Linri made up a lie on the spot.

"Is that so?" Lyra looked at Linri as if she wanted to say something but refrained from doing so.

The three of them spent the day in the camp talking. By the time it was evening there was still no news from the expedition team so Lyra started to get worried.

"Mom weren't they supposed to return by now?"

"Well they should have but you don't need to worry. They must have found something so they are probably taking their time" She spoke as if she was trying to comfort herself.

Another 3 days passed.

There were still no news from the expedition team so they were incredibly nervous. At the morning of the third day Lyra left for the temple to search for them after giving Linri and Jaime some instructions. If there were no news of them after 3 days they were supposed to leave and go to a certain location she gave. She also especially told Linri that he was supposed to be courteous towards that person.

He felt confused but he agreed nonetheless. He was not gonna go there either way. If Lyra dies inside he was a goner too. She was the only person in the world who could cure Linri's affliction so he would do anything in his power to save her. Even if that was begging the deities.

"Are you worried?" Jaime was looking at the dreadful temple while speaking.

"Why should I be?"

"Didn't you say they were based on your parents? What if something happens?"

"In my background this was just a minor event so they should be fine. They have 'plot armor' after all"

"What 'plot armor' are you talking about? This is real world. Haven't you already changed your future? What if something happens to that?"

Linri's face became sour. This was exactly what he was worried about. He also had this thought but he had just pushed it to the back of his mind. He was afraid that what he did angered the deities and they were taking it out on his family. They were not essential to their plan so it would not matter if they killed these ants.

"It will be fine. Nothing will happen to them." After saying that he turned back and went to his tent. He was not in the mood to talk with Jaime.

In his tent Linri carefully laid down and started to think about his options. Before long though he was overcame with a sense of drowsiness. He was too tired to think. His eyelids felt like two giant mountain slowly closing. He fell a sleep just like that.

This time however he was not teleported to the 'dream world'. By the time he woke up it was already afternoon. He felt his mind was clear than it ever was. Linri got out of this state when he heard his stomach grumble. His head was aching like he was suffering from a hangover. He grumpily took out some rations inside his tent and wolfed them down.

Once he ate again his headache got better again, but he felt drowsy again. This was definitely something to do with the deities. Before sleep could overcome him he created a mental connection with the Solas and Lozna.

"What did you do to me!" Linri growled dizzily.

"Nothing, *giggle* this is something you did to yourself" Solas answered ambiguously again. There really was nothing he could learn from this wretched being.

Linri wanted to ask what did she mean but his consciousness started to blur. Before he could say anything he was sleeping deeply again.

He woke up at the nightfall again. His head felt like it was about to split. His stomach was grumbling again. He was feeling like he had not eaten anything for weeks. He hastily took out some more rations and ate all of them. There were not any left in his tent but he was still angry. He got out to check the nearby tents but there were not any food in them either. He went over to Jaime's tent.

"Jaime wake up!"