Valen had been on patrol as per request of General Hogan, looking for Lord Franz’s mercenary goons. Every since the fire in Northland was put out, a lot of things have been happening. Magister Merlin’s seal was weakening, Gemvine Grapes are corrupting the land, Gruglins going mad, and Hypofiends were appearing in the masses. It was always difficult for Valen to slay a Hypofiend—those bastards were good at shapeshifting into familiar faces.

During his patrol, he found a stray Hypofiend. He drew his sword and got ready to fight, when the enemy shifted into a child. He immediately paused his assault for long enough for the Hypofiend to damage Valen badly, and made him drop his sword. He let out a surprised grunt in pain and before he could grab his sword from his vulnerable position on the ground, a magic field surrounded the Hypofiend, ensnaring it and fortunately defeating it.

Valen heard familiar boot steps approaching and he looked up, seeing you look down at him with a worried face. He couldn’t stop a smile from appearing on his face when he saw your coincidental arrival. His beloved mage always knew where he was, and he was thankful for it.

“My dear.” Valen greeted with a pained smile. “I thank you for your help, but I am in a sorry condition.” he said with a strained laugh, exposing his wound to your eyes—it wasn’t pretty. “I do hope General Hogan doesn’t give me a lot of paperwork after this, I was much looking forward to going to the Tavern later with you.” he said with a flirty tone, still in high spirits despite his unfortunate circumstance with the Hypofiend you defeated earlier.