Shaw looked owlishly at Caleb. He slowly blinked one eye, then the other. Once he determined it was his left one that was causing the problem, he closed it tight.

The griffin made a fist with his forepaw. Then with a blur of movement, Shaw began hitting himself on the side of the head.

Tavia’s jaw dropped in shock.

“Wait!” Caleb cried. “Don’t–”

Shaw stopped. Again, he slowly blinked one eye, then the other. Both golden orbs settled into place and focused properly once more.

“Verily, the most pressing issue hath been remedied,” the griffin announced, as he studied Caleb again. “Thou art only ‘one’ where before thou hadst been ‘three’.”

“Uh, yeah,” Caleb agreed. “I’m glad you know how to, ah, mend yourself. At least in part.”

He quickly checked the relevant section of Shaw’s stat sheet.

Existing Buff / Debuffs: Individual De-Buffs (Existing): Physical Abilities Reduced by 25% from Age-Related Limitations. Physical Abilities Further Reduced temporarily by 8% from multiple torture sessions, soul drainings, and concussion. Skills related to Griffin-Specific Specialties reduced by 50% due to musket ball lodged in wing joint.

The ten percent de-buff from concussion is gone, he realized. I'm not sure how Shaw did that, but one thing’s for sure: griffins are the toughest creatures I’ve yet seen.

Tavia finally recovered her voice. “That was ill-advised! You could have worsened a head injury, or even killed yourself!”

She got a shrug in response.

“T’was necessary, unicorn,” Shaw said dismissively. “One wishes that mine own wing had an easy fix at hand. I cannot move it beyond the bend.”

Caleb considered that for a second. His eyes went to the last line of the listed De-Buffs.

Existing Buff / Debuffs: Skills related to Griffin-Specific Specialties reduced by 50% due to musket ball lodged in wing joint.

“Okay, I have an idea,” Caleb said. “Remember that ‘gift’ of mine I told you two about before? When I learned Shaw’s name without asking him?”

Tavia let out a skeptical-sounding snort.

“I have thought further upon that. Caleb, you might have heard Delacroix, Ravencrow, or Draymon mention Shaw’s name when they were outside your cell.”

“Nay, ‘tis not possible,” the griffin objected. “I never gave mine own name to the Myrkur, nor did they ever ask it of me. They merely dubbed me ‘The Beast’ after I slew two of them.”

“The point is,” Caleb pressed on, “I can see a little of your physical condition listed, on a kind of report. And it says that you have a musket ball lodged in your wing joint. That’s actually good news. Your bones aren’t broken, your muscles aren’t torn. If we can remove that item without damaging your wing any further, you should be able to heal quickly.”

Tavia brightened at that. “Once that object’s gone, then I can use the last of my healing magic to seal the wound and remove any corruption.”

That’s right, deep healing was one of a paladin’s sub-specialties, Caleb recalled, thinking back to Tavia’s own stat sheet.

Paladin Sub-Specialties: Dark Magic Resistance, Deep Healing, Armor Enhancement

A second idea occurred to him. As soon as it popped into his head, a new item popped up in his Quest Screen.

New Bonus Level Mini-Quest: Utilize magic spell or spells in conjunction with another spellcaster. XP Value of the next quest completed shall be increased by 50%.

“Tavia, the instant I get that musket ball out, be ready to put your Deep Healing to use.” Caleb stepped up next to the griffin’s crumpled wing and put his hands out. “Shaw, are you okay if I touch your wing? I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

“Griffins are not afraid of pain,” Shaw declared. Yet he did look uneasy as he added, “But…dost thou really intend to use thy fingers to pry the wound open?”

“I won’t be doing that. Just lie as still as you can.”

Caleb ran his palms along the leading edge of Shaw’s wing. To his surprise, the feathers were already dry after the griffin’s impromptu swim in the harbor. He sensed both Shaw’s and Tavia’s curious eyes on him as he worked.

He vaguely remembered studying basic medical practices at a school. Pulling from those dim memories brought up the basic anatomy of a human arm. Avian wings mimicked that structure.

The griffin’s shoulder joint and humerus were untouched. The second joint, similar to the elbow in a human, also worked fine. He then followed the twin bones of the ulna and radius up to the third joint, equivalent to a wrist.

Despite his brave words, Shaw trembled a tiny bit as Caleb’s fingers touched a space where the feathers had been blown askew. A swelling at the joint concealed the entry wound. Caleb moved to the wing’s underside and felt an iron-hard lump there, nestled against the bones and keeping the joint locked in place.

“All right, be ready,” he said to Tavia. The mare nodded, intent and curious as to what he was up to.

Caleb brought up the first spell he’d used back in the dungeon to escape his cell: Locate Metal Shard. This time, the interior workings of a lock didn’t appear in his mind. Instead he saw the wound channel the ball had dug in Shaw’s wing.

Next, he used Hold Metal Shard once again.

He smoothly drew the mass of the projectile out along the channel. He did it slowly, without damaging any more tissue along the way. A few drops of blood dribbled from the entry wound.

Finally, the lead ball from Delacroix’s pistol emerged with a liquid-sounding ploip!

It landed in Caleb’s outstretched palm. Tavia leaned in to touch the wound with her horn. With a bell-like chime, the unicorn’s horn emitted a faint golden glow as the wound sealed up. Shaw let out a long breath, either out of relief or amazement.

Caleb checked the griffin’s De-Buff section again, looking and finding the key sentence once more.

Skills related to Griffin-Specific Specialties reduced by 50% due to musket ball lodged in wing joint.

Before his eyes, that sentence blinked a couple of times and then winked out.

Caleb heard a soft round of applause.

He looked around to find that many of his impromptu crew had gathered silently to watch. Sienna looked on with open admiration, as did several others who’d been busy manning the sails. Even Donal did his best to peer down from his perch on the quarterdeck.

“We knew you were a master of monsters,” Sienna breathed. “We didn’t know you were a master healer as well.”

Caleb saw where this might get him into trouble in the future.

“I’m not a healer,” he said quickly. “I was able to remove a piece of metal from Shaw’s wing, but Tavia’s the one with healing magic.”

“Yet it took both to address my injury,” Shaw put in. He put a forepaw to his chest and did his best to make a bow. “I thank you both.”

Tavia bowed back in response. Even as she did so, an updated Quest Screen popped up square in Caleb’s vision.

New Bonus Level Mini-Quest: Utilize magic spell or spells in conjunction with another spellcaster: COMPLETE. XP Value of the next quest completed increased by 50%.

“All right,” he said, as he waved that message away, “I think we’re done here. Let’s give Shaw some room to rest and put our attention back on the sails or whatever task we have at hand.”

He got a chorus of Yezzirs at that. Sienna and the others dispersed, though three middle-aged women came up in their place. One held a bowl, while the other two brought up wooden buckets. Both bowl and buckets gave off fragrant clouds of steam.

“As you requested, we made something to serve on deck, Captain,” the woman with the bowl explained, as she handed it over to Caleb. He took it, savoring the wholesome scent of boiled grain and vegetables. “It’s pottage. A poor example of the dish, but it shall keep body and soul together.”

“Thank you,” he said, as the other two women placed the bucket-sized portions in front of Tavia and Shaw. Both unicorn and griffin dug into the food without question.

They hadn’t given him a spoon with the bowl, so Caleb simply drank the contents. Apparently, pottage was a thin gruel made of cracked grain mixed with some kind of stock, as well as tiny chunks of near-raw carrots and potatoes. At any other time, he might have complained about the lack of any seasoning except for salt. But he’d hardly quibble right now.

It was warm, filled his belly, and staved off the hunger pangs.

He and his two companions drained their portions in under a minute. The women took the buckets and bowl back, then touched their foreheads with their index and middle fingers. Then they lowered their hands and made a slight, quick bow before leaving.

“That was quite welcome,” Tavia sighed. “Quite welcome indeed.”

“Sustenance is always a good thing,” Shaw agreed. “Mayhap next time there might be some meat in it.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Caleb said. “In fact…”

Suddenly, he felt a strange surge of energy run through his body with a thrum. It felt familiar, as if a significant event was about to take place. He felt drawn, like iron filings to a magnet, over to the steerboard side of the ship.

He obeyed the pull. A few steps, and he found himself at the railing, looking astern. Both the unicorn and griffin followed alongside, watching concernedly.

“Might this be another episode of thy condition?” Shaw asked quietly.

“I think so,” Caleb finally said. “I’m not quite sure. You’re going to have to give me a minute or two.”

“Take the time you need,” Tavia assured him, as she glanced back over the deck. “Everyone’s busy right now, so no one should notice. Not unless you do something rash, like throwing yourself overboard.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I least, I don’t think so.” Caleb paused and considered a moment. “If I do try to throw myself overboard, do us all a favor and stop me.”

Far astern, the tiny bump that was Irongrasp island finally slipped below the horizon. A vast swirl of light lit up his vision hot, spicy aromas filled his nose. He felt the breathtaking tingle of euphoria as a series of lines that scrolled across his Quest Screen.

Veteran Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to escape Irongrasp Island aboard a sailing ship: COMPLETE.

Addition of Bonus-Level Mini Quest: The XP Value of this Veteran Adventurer’s-Level Quest has been increased by 50%.

Numbers scrolled past from bottom to top, flashing as if he’d won the big prize at a slot machine. One line remained in his vision a moment longer.

Double Congratulations are in order, Soul Traveler. You have advanced TWO levels and have now attained Level Nine!

As with many of the earlier entries on his Character Sheet, the new ones ended with numbers that glowed a soft gold. Caleb could hardly contain his excitement as he read the new lines of text telling him the additional spells and powers he’d gained.