Charlemagne touched down as gently as he could manage on the ruined concrete next to Ndiogou. Phatagin and Sirius landed a moment later, their unconscious bodies landing unceremoniously on the hard ground. The rooster sank down into a resting position, his strength utterly spent, and closed his eyes for a moment. A moment later, there was a soft sigh and a grunt as the human plopped down next to him. One of the rooster’s eyes popped open by instinct. Although he was no expert at human facial expressions, Charlemagne could tell that the human was in serious pain. But, since Ndiogou said nothing, the rooster was content to rest for a few minutes longer. Instead, he used his preternatural senses to track the rapid rise and fall of his Party members’ chests, the rhythm reassuring him that both the canine and the pangolin were still alive.

  It had been awfully nice of them to come and watch him defeat the asteroid.

  Speaking of the asteroid, the Squiggles finally arrived to deliver his rewards for overcoming the enormous rock.

  Charlemagne was pleased with the extra attributes but was disappointed by the lack of levels. He knew that something good was going to happen once that number reached a certain level since the Squiggles had told him that his Class would get additional benefits at some point. He wasn’t sure exactly how long that should take, but he was eager to make progress.

  “Get anything good?” Ndiogou asked eventually. Charlemagne turned his attention to the human, scanning his ruined shoulder and noting the small bits of mana that were at work inside it.

  “Bawk,” he said as he activated his Ember Core, ignoring the sharp twinges of pain that still accompanied the action. The human said something else, but the rooster was already deep in a trance, concentrating on the joint. It was strange-looking and very inefficient for flying. In fact, the structure was missing a very important canal that enabled the rooster’s pectoral muscles to raise his wings using a sort of pulley system. But what it lacked in sheer flapping power it made up for in enhanced mobility.

  After taking a few moments to examine the different bones, tendons, and tissues, the rooster stimulated the mana contained within the human’s body to congregate in the most-damaged areas. There was a considerable amount of innate resistance to this manipulation, and Charlemagne found that a gentle nudge in the right direction was more effective than attempting to force anything. It took a few long minutes of intense focus, but eventually the shredded muscles and tendons began to mend themselves, while the numerous cracks and chips in the surrounding skeletal structure were patched up. Although full healing would still take a while, Charlemagne had set the human on the road to recovery.

  Ndiogou had remained quiet while the rooster worked, although a few times he had sighed or grunted as the process unfolded. Once the ministrations were over, he tentatively rubbed at the still-sore joint before wincing and pulling his hand away.

  “Thank you, you didn’t have to do that,” he said. “It would have healed up eventually, I think.”

  “Bawk,” Charlemagne answered.

  Ndiogou smiled.

  “I suppose you have a point. Since our business here has concluded, I would ask that we head straight to Niamey after this, track down the men who killed my family, and complete our agreement. After that, I will do my best to help you build your own family.”

  The rooster’s thoughts turned toward the future. Perhaps he could finally rest and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He had grown strong, found allies, and saved the planet. Now he was ready to settle down with as many hens as he could feasibly gather in one place. The only limitations were his time, the size of the farm, and the amount of chicken feed he could gather. With a flash of insight, he realized that the size of the farm was no longer a limiting factor: he could have multiple farms in different areas. This would also reduce the risk that he would lose all of his hens and chicks at once. Truly, it was a genius plan.

  “Is there anything that you can do for them?” Ndiogou asked as he gestured toward Sirius and Phatagin, both of whom were still unconscious. It was a good question…Charlemagne wasn’t sure why his Party members had yet to wake up. The answer became clear once the rooster reached out with his mana sense to examine their bodies.

  Their lungs were leaky.

  The rooster wasn’t really sure how exactly lungs worked. He knew two things: they took in air and then pushed it back out, and the air was supposed to stay inside the lungs during that process. The second thing wasn’t working so well, allowing the air to escape into parts of the body that Charlemagne was pretty sure weren’t supposed to contain air. The Squiggles rewarded this insight with a new skill.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  A rush of knowledge accompanied the skill gain, forcing itself into the rooster’s brain and giving him a searing headache for a few seconds. When the pain cleared, he understood what he needed to do.

  Taking care not to cause any additional damage through his actions, he stimulated the repair of the tiny sacs meant to hold air and aided the mana naturally present in breaking down the compressed gases that were accumulating inside the chest cavities. This last step was extremely important, as the escaped gases were building up within the body and slowly collapsing the pair’s lungs.

  While this was occurring, the rooster also stirred up the ambient mana around Sirius and Phatagin, increasing the natural flow of energy into the unconscious Party members. The mana was slowly absorbed and converted to energy by their bodies, thus making it available to be used for regeneration.

  Charlemagne entered into a state of focus deeper than he ever had before, so completely engrossed in his work that he barely heard Ndiogou’s questions as the minutes ticked by. Eventually, the human became so persistent that Charlemagne had to bawk at him. Thankfully, Ndiogou understood the first time, because the rooster came dangerously close making a fatal error during his momentary period of distraction.

  The situation became even more fraught when both Phatagin and Sirius started coughing up a combination of bright red blood and maroon clots. The powerful contractions threatened to re-damage the delicate air sacs and undo all of Charlemagne’s work. Ndiogou moved like lightning and in just a few moments had gently positioned the pair on their sides, allowing for the fluid to drain out rather than get stuck in the airway. The rooster continued his ministrations as best as he could under the circumstances. But the coughing had changed the entire dynamic, the very act of trying to purge the lungs of the obstructions causing more damage than was being healed.

  Eventually, the rooster realized that Sirius and Phatagin were slowly dying, and he wouldn’t be able to save them on his own.

  “Bawk,” Charlemagne said as he pulled what little mana remained in his Ember Core out of his body and spread it over the pair like a blanket. Despite the warm temperatures and bright sun overhead, he could sense that his allies were growing cold. They were running out of time.

  “I…I don’t know. Do you have anything else that could heal them?” Ndiogou asked as he stroked the unconscious form of Sirius. “Maybe a reward from your deity?”

  Charlemagne asked the Squiggles if there were any rewards he could claim.

  He quickly told Ndiogou what the Squiggles had said.

  “The Boon Tokens!” the man cried. “Use those!”

  Charlemagne hesitated as he considered what he was about to do. Using a Dungeon reward for items that would go to help others, and not himself, was something completely novel to the young rooster. It was, frankly, not in his nature. While that didn’t mean he couldn’t make the choice to be selfless, it did give him pause. But, in his moment of indecision, a flash of memory surfaced – a piece of a conversation he had forgotten because he wasn’t sure it had even occurred.

  "The first is someone that you’ve already met, one that is powerful but has little love for battle. The second is much like you, hunting the powerful, but unlike you leaves its victims alive. The third will remind you of your first true friend."

  Charlemagne realized that he had been interpreting these flashes of remembrance all wrong. Bridget, may she rest in silence, hadn’t been part of the equation at all. While normal mosquitoes left their victims alive, Bridget didn’t. No, that line had been about Ndiogou. And that meant…that meant that Sirius reminded him of his first friend, Francois. As the rooster thought about their similarities, he realized how true that was. Both were loyal. They each operated according to some internal code that determined their behavior. Both worked well in groups. And, best of all, both hadn’t hesitated to put themselves into danger for Charlemagne’s sake.

  It wasn’t that difficult of a choice after all.

  Charlemagne chose the 2 Intermediate Boon Tokens and used them without any further hesitation. He then listened with satisfaction as his allies’ breathing started to deepen.

  “What did you do? They seem to be getting better,” Ndiogou said as he looked on with disbelief.

  “Bawk,” the rooster answered. “Bawk, bawak bawwk.”

  “That was, that was amazing,” the human said in amazement. “In fact, whatever you did caused my Extra Sensory Perception to level up. It hasn’t done that for quite a while.”

  Charlemagne allowed the human to continue to praise him as their two allies slowly recovered. Although the Tokens had repaired most of the damage, it still took a while for the pair to regain consciousness. Once they did, the Squiggles had another pair of surprises from Charlemagne.

  The rooster was still reading his messages when Phatagin groaned and shut his eyes tighter.

  “Just, just five more minutes, all right? I promise I won’t fall back asleep.”

  Ndiogou chuckled as the pangolin shifted about, trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard ground.

  Sirius snorted herself awake a moment later and tried to leap to her feet. She wobbled, fell, and then managed to push herself upright.

  “What I miss? Oh, an Achievement!” she barked. “Ahh, Dog gone it, no levels, though.”

  Ndiogou laughed harder as he patted the canine on the head.

  “This…this has been quite a day, hasn’t it?” the human said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am starving. Let’s head back to that lake, get a nice long drink, and I’ll cook us some dinner.”

  At the mention of food, even Phatagin sat up and took notice. There was no reason for the Party to stick around the ruined airport, so they headed out without further delay.

  They had almost reached their destination when Charlemagne received a message from his Patron.