— The moon hung high in the sky, and the chirping of crickets could be heard all around the camp. Kaelen stood in front of the campfire, next to his two unconscious companions lying on the ground and the woman tied up with her own clothes.
She slowly began to open her eyes, realizing with surprise and fear that the man was still by the fire, peeling an apple. She closed her eyes again, remaining silent —
"Why are you acting like you're not awake?"
— Kaelen stood up, knife in hand, approaching the bound woman. She began to break out in a cold sweat as the hand of the being who had frightened her so much she'd fainted was moving toward her face. She couldn't hold back and opened her eyes, screaming for help —
"HELP!!, HELP!!, someone help me"
"Calm down, I don't want to hurt you"
— Kaelen said to the woman with tears in her eyes, who was on the verge of crying —
"I rummaged through your things a bit, and I saw you had some pretty strange objects. Are you something like a shaman?"
"A shaman?"
"Yes, beings capable of using nature to fight multiple enemies at once or heal their allies.
Like in the stories they told me in my tribe—those who can control storms and tides."
— Upon hearing these words, the woman raised a single eyebrow, narrowing her tear-filled eyes.
She composed herself, taking a closer look at Kaelen. He had changed slightly; his forearms seemed more swollen, and he had grown more hair —
"Are you an anthropomorph?"
"Yes."
"And are you male?"
"That's right"
— The woman fell silent for a few moments, seeming to try to grasp the situation she was in. When she shifted her gaze to the other two lying on the ground—carefully placed not too far from the fire so they wouldn't be cold, nor too close so they wouldn't burn—her expression brightened —
"All right, I understand the situation. Perhaps it would be best if…"
"No"
— Kaelen replied, fixing the woman with an intense gaze; she sensed the danger instantly, sighing to relax without looking away —
"I'm a second-type mage"
"Something like a shaman?"
"Do you think we're gods who can control the laws of nature like that?
"No, but let's say we're not too far off either—it depends."
— Kaelen had a distant look in her eyes; she didn't understand what the mage was saying, or where she was going with this —
"I don't have all day, can you heal my allies or not?"
"Once again, that depends."
"I'm not very patient with lies"
"You should at least let me go if you want me to examine them,
how do you expect me to assess their condition if I can't even move?"
— Kaelen watched him for a long moment, pondering his words, looking him up and down, but in the end she untied him from her own clothes, not before making sure he was unarmed.
Kaelen showed Oberon that he was lying behind her; this time, his pallor was evident—his skin was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, his breathing was weak, and his forehead was cold. As for Krax, his clothes were soaked in blood, with open wounds all over his body; his breaths were ragged and irregular, and his skin tone had also slightly darkened. The woman saw this and understood the situation, while casting a quick glance at Krax's sword. Everyone in front of her was more or less injured; Oberon was in the worst condition, followed by Krax, who had been on the brink of death not long ago, and although Kaelen was in the best condition, he wasn't in the best shape either.
The woman approached Oberon first; he was the one who seemed closest to death. She knelt down and tapped her glasses twice —
"Wow, his internal injuries aren't any better either; he has several fractures in his back and ribs. Oh! Wait, one rib is almost broken. What happened to him? And the other one isn't far off either—several muscle tears and multiple hemorrhages. He's lost nearly 30% of his blood. What happened to you guys?"
"The one with the broken side fought a huge beast on…, what was it called? The hanging floor, I think. They slammed him into the wall. The one with the bleeding said he fought a fish."
"A fish, aahhh, these marks are from a trident; that explains the depth of their wounds. He fought a Lurien and left it in this state, but for the one with the ribs, there's something else—he shouldn't be in this condition from just broken bones"
"They fought an alpha wolf before passing out; by the time I arrived, it was all over"
"What were you doing while your companions were risking their lives?"
"I was fighting four wolves."
"No, I mean before that—it was a small pack of wolves, right? The younger wolves are usually more like apprentices to the alpha in those small packs, acting as teachers and thus being the most dangerous. But you, who were in better shape at the time, didn't jump straight into that small pack to protect your companions; you took the easy way out."
"It was a plan to…"
"A plan you didn't discuss out of laziness"
— Kaelen fell silent for a moment, lowering his gaze to the ground. He was thinking about all the situations they'd been through—from the children to the wolf fight—he'd always done the bare minimum, staying behind the group. The woman didn't let that opportunity pass; she lunged toward her bag. Kaelen realized what she was doing and tried to stop her, but before he could, she pulled out a ball that blinded Kaelen —
"Damn her"
— Kaelen, covering his eyes, ran toward her, but before he could even take three steps, she used another ball that ignited by absorbing the heat from the campfire, bursting into flames to create a fireball a meter in diameter, making it float right above Oberon and Krax —
"How about we calm down a little?"
— she said with a smile, forcing Kaelen to step back —
"Now we can really talk as equals. Do you want me to heal your companions? What do I get in return?"
— Kaelen could only clench his fists tightly as he shot the woman an intense look —
"We're new to the tower; we have nothing of value"
— Upon hearing his reply, the woman shot him a heavy look; it wasn't anger, it didn't burn—it was a cold stare. Her eyelids drooped slightly, and the overall expression on her face seemed to succumb to gravity. It was as if she had suddenly run out of energy —
"How disappointing. I had high hopes when I saw the boy with the red locks and his sword. In the end, he must have stolen it.
Fine, then. Let's just say we never met."
— You could see the rage in Kaelen's eyes; the veins stood out on his face, and he bit his lower lip so hard it bled. He was watching as that woman walked away, entering the forest—the only person he could sense around him. Even if there were someone else much farther away, the likelihood that Oberon and Krax would last more than two days was very low; their injuries were too severe.
In an instant, Kaelen slammed his head hard against the ground, prostrating himself before her. His action did not go unnoticed; the sorceress turned around, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. When she turned back toward Kaelen, she sat down on the stump of a felled tree —
"Is it really worth tarnishing your honor for these two?"
"Please save them"
"Are you begging me?"
— Kaelen didn't answer the question, remaining silent—a silence that amused the sorceress greatly —
"HAHAHA, just kidding. Fine, I'll do it, but it still won't be free"
"I told you we didn't have anything valuable"
"Don't worry, you'll just have to run an errand for me"