B2 Chapter 28: A Bone to PickWhen Tiberius came to, everything hurt. His shoulders, side, and ribs were the worst, aching as though he’d been repeatedly smashed with a battering ram. But the rest of his body wasn’t faring much better. As the initial haze of unconsciousness faded, Tiberius felt another sensation come to the forefront of his attention. A pair of soft hands, one on his forehead and another on his chest. Their warmth pulsed through him as twin bright spots amidst the haze of aches and pains.He cracked open his eyes, half expecting to see the green fields of Elysium. Or perhaps fate had a different destination in mind for him, like the fiery pits of Hell of that new Christian God. Just as he been a more passive follower of the gods, he’d never claimed to be certain about the afterlife, either.But rather than flames or paradise, Tiberius found himself looking up into the eyes of a familiar female face. Behind her stretched a clear blue sky with the observation tower reaching up toward it, a splintered section of railing near its top.He coughed and tried to sit up, wincing with the effort. But the girl’s hands were like iron, firm and unyielding.“Lie back,” Eleonora told him. “Relax. It’s going to take some time before you’re ok to move again, even with healing.”Tiberius obliged, allowing his head to settle back onto the earth. Ignoring the [Healer] ’s orders for the sake of his pride was an exercise in foolishness.He tried to speak, only to be racked by a series of heaving coughs. Eleanora rolled him painfully onto his side, where he spat (...)