The sun cast dappled shadows as it passed through the trees. Raina leaned against a tree nearby while I mourned the loss of the sun warming the rock I’d been laying on for the past several hours. In the space of several minutes, I went through all the stages of grief as the sun bid its farewell and dipped below the horizon.

“Malzy?” Raina called, distracting me from the loss. “Do you think we got all the venom? She’s taking a long time to wake up.”

“It’s only been like, four hours,” I answered grumpily. “I had to wait much longer when we first met. She’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

In truth, I had no idea. I was fairly confident, after several hours of healing in the dungeon itself, that there was little more we could do. If the paladin pulled through it would be entirely up to her.

However, even with that knowledge, it bothered me some that I didn’t actually know how to tell if the venom had been cleansed from her system or not. Surely, there was some kind of diagnosis spell that might be able to determine that information, but without even knowing where to start, how could I figure it out?

Amsiii had said that part of the Affinity Titles would be dependent on my knowledge of the skill I was trying to learn…if healing my hench-humans was going to be a priority, maybe learning such a spell would be a good idea. Even if I couldn’t find it, maybe I’d learn something else useful along the way.

It would be critical to keep my little entourage of servants alive. The memory Amsiii had shown me had crept back into the edges of my mind to haunt my thoughts ever since we’d left the dungeon. I tried pushing it back, thinking about anything else: the sun warming me, the smell of wet soil and water from the slowly refilling spring, the birds in the trees around us. None of it kept the thoughts at bay forever, though.

I had seen my past life, and it hadn’t looked very good. Fear and desperation colored every moment as I examined the memory over and over again. Running, capture, imprisonment…but what came after? Surely, I’d ended up here somehow. Raina had given me an invitation, but how had I received it? Who was I that so many ugly demons hated me so much?

Whatever allies and servants I might have had in that life had abandoned me. There had been no one left to help little Malzy…or whatever my name was back then.

But, that wasn’t the case anymore. This time, I was not abandoned. This time, I’d been rescued from my sticky fate by my loyal followers, but…why?

“Raina?” I called. I sat up from my now cold rock and wrapped my tail around my paws.

“Hmm?” I couldn’t muster the will to meet her gaze.

“I…uh…” How does one actually ask the question, though? Why had she done what she’d done? Why come back for an expendable familiar?

“Everything okay, Malzy?” Raina’s brows furrowed with concern.

My nerve was failing me. My head lowered as shame filled me like a suffocating emptiness. In the end, I’d failed to save myself. I needed another’s help. The implications crowded among my thoughts like an angry mob, all loud shouts and forceful words.

I hadn’t been good enough to save myself…

“It’s…it’s nothing. Nevermind,” I muttered, turning around to look at the spring. Maybe from this angle, Raina wouldn’t be able to see my shame. Maybe I could at least do that much to hide it.

I needed to get better. I needed to become so strong that no sticky web would ever be able to hold me. No angry mob would be able to touch me, no long-forgotten enemies would chain me down and put me in a frozen box. I’d be safe, and I’d be content.

My ears pricked back at the sound of footsteps. A moment later, Raina sat next to me, pushing her skirts to the side as we watched the growing lake together. It was nearly a quarter full, now. This time tomorrow, it would probably be full and flowing into the river it once fed.

“I hope the boys are alright,” she said absently. “In truth, I just didn’t want the core around. Too much mana for my liking.”

“Even here, the risk of corruption is above average.” I paused before hastily adding, “Of course, it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve reached Corruption Resistance V, you know. How many familiars can claim that?”

She laughed. “Not many, I’m sure. I think my mother’s familiar only reached Corruption Resistance VII after being with her for decades.”

I puffed out my chest in pride and purred. I was still amazing, even if there was some room for improvement.

“Was your mother’s familiar as handsome as I am?” I asked. That earned me a snort.

“Hardly. Grimal was a grumpy old raven with no sense of humor,” Raina explained. “But, he was family. He was with my mother during her adventuring days before I was born. After they retired, he became the closest thing I had to a father, even if I couldn’t speak with him directly.” Her eyes lit up with amusement. “He used to do this weird head tilt thing when he was curious about something.” She tilted her head just a bit to the right and leaned in a bit closer before laughing. “Mother laughed so hard when I started copying that behavior. She called me their little golden chickadee after that.” She pulled her knees close to her chest. “I think she’d have liked you. You would fit right in with her and Grimal, black cat and all. She’d go on and on about your pretty fur and how it matched her and Grimal and generations of witches before us.”

“I take it you don’t get your looks from her?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No. I supposedly take after my father, not that I’ve ever met him.” She frowned. “I used to think that was part of what made Grimal so grumpy around me. Because I reminded him of someone he didn’t like.” She looked at me, fondness growing in her eyes. “But now, I think it much more likely that he was just being a grumpy old bird.”

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“Sounds like you miss him dearly.”

“I do. I miss them both.”

I left the sentiment to hang in the air as the night sounds wrapped around us. The night’s insects rose up in song alongside frogs and peepers who were just happy to have the water back. I watched them dart through the tiny pool of water, toying with the idea of trying to catch one. In the end, I decided that clean, dry paws were more worthwhile than a moment of entertainment.

“Raina?” We both turned at the raspy call of Aelisra. “Where are we?”

“You’re awake!” Raina stood and crossed to the paladin’s side. I followed shortly behind. “How do you feel?”

“Thirsty,” she said. I trotted over to our supplies while my witch took her friend’s hand. I pulled the waterskin free and returned, placing it in Raina’s waiting hand. She raised it to the paladin’s lips, and she drank.

“We defeated the spiders,” my witch explained. “The dungeon brought us back outside when we took the core. The boys went on ahead while I stayed back to help with the rite.”

“The rite…” Aelisra murmured, as if she’d forgotten entirely. “Oh! I still need to cleanse my spirit!” she tried pushing herself upright, but Raina put a hand on her shoulder.

“Easy, easy, give it a bit,” she insisted. “The water isn’t even back yet. Give it the night and you can do it in the morning.”

Aelisra relaxed. “Right. I suppose we can wait.”

Raina smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your rite completed. In the meantime, Malzy, would you watch over Aelisra? I’m going to try and get some of the dungeon dirt out of my hair.”

* * *

Aelisra recovered quickly from then on, apparently using some of her own magic to bolster her endurance and pain tolerance in order to get back on her feet. It was…an approach. She still cradled her broken shield arm carefully, and something told me that Matron Wilhemina would disapprove of the carelessness. However, the paladin wasn’t going to be convinced otherwise. Short of weighing her down with rocks, there was nothing Raina nor I could do to keep her down.

By the time the sun was at its highest point the next day, the spring had nearly filled entirely to its original state. It wasn’t yet flowing to the rest of the forest, but we didn’t need it to be. The mana nexus was strong, practically gushing water from the depths and making my skin prickle with the ambient mana. Nothing that Raina needed to worry about, not after the mana saturated hellscape that was the dungeon itself, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable to be around. The dungeon had fed on all that mana, and, with it gone, that mana was returning with a vengeance.

“Are you ready?” Raina asked Aelisra.

The paladin had stripped off her armor and changed into a pristine white tunic and trousers. They were thin and flimsy, and wouldn’t even hold up to my claws, let alone those of any monster that wandered by, but she’d insisted. Frankly, I’d been surprised that they survived the journey through the dungeon without a spec of dirt on them.

She looked up at the sky, holding the Emblem of Valencia tight in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

“We worked hard to make it here. Surely Valencia will approve the rite.” To me, it sounded more like Aelisra was trying to convince herself more than either of us, but if Raina shared that suspicion, she didn’t say anything.

“What will you need from us?”

“Just, watch for monsters, though I suspect most of them were driven off by the dungeon and its monsters.”

I winced. Any powerful monsters in the area would have been prime targets for the dungeon to eat. Even with the power of the water nexus, the dungeon had been greedy enough to send out the static moth as a scout. It may well have lured many monsters and travelers to their doom before we got involved.

Raina and I stood nearby as Aelisra dipped a toe into the spring. Cupped in both hands, she held the orb Ser Rivan had provided. The mana pearl sparkled in the sunlight, sporting no less magic now than it had back at the temple.

Slowly, the paladin stepped deeper into the waters until she was up to her waist. There, she paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

“Holy Goddess Valencia, lady of heroes, shining shield of Atria,” she began. “I come before you once again to present myself for your judgement. Cleanse me in the fires of your brilliance and forge me anew, should I be worthy.”

The mana pearl suddenly burst into a brilliant shower of light and magic which swirled like a tiny hurricane around Aelisra. Mana prickled my fur as corruption resistance responded to the power spiraling around the entire spring.

Without warning, the light began to dim. I looked up. A cloud passed over the sun, blocking out its rays to let the sparkles be better seen in the spring below.

A voice rang through the clearing. It resonated with power and authority. “Speak your name, tell of your achievements.” Was that the voice of the goddess herself? Did she grace every low-level follower with a personal visitation? Or was it just a subordinate of hers? Maybe it wasn’t real at all, but some kind of memory preserved in the mana?

“I am Aelisra!” she shouted. “I was raised by the temple and have no other name. I have served as an acolyte of your teachings and have taken up the shield in your name. I have bested the beasts of the wilderness in defense of farmers and caravans.”

A growling sound echoed from the edge of the clearing. I padded softly over to it. It was just a wolf, and not even a particularly scary one at that. My dagger flew, smacking it on the tail, and sending it racing off. Out of curiosity, I inspected it before it disappeared into the darkness.

Inspecting neutral creature: Level 8 Forest Wolf

A wolf that has increased its connection to the forest where it makes its home. Often travelling in packs, they are drawn to fonts of mana.

I chuckled to myself. The wolves weren’t even worth attacking. This was a trial meant for level 10 paladins, according to Ser Rivan. We’d leveled up so many times in the dungeon that I doubted that anything worth worrying about would attack anymore. It would be better to frighten them off to serve as experience for the next would-be adventurer to come to this place.

“To reach this place,” Aelisra continued, “my companions and I defeated a dungeon rife with monstrosities which would have deprived the forest of life-giving water. Each step of the way, I have strived to better myself in order to become a stalwart defender of the people. I come before you, offering these deeds as proof of my determination and resolve, and as a promise to continue my efforts in your name.”

The voice paused, the air thickening with tension as she contemplated the truth in Aelisra’s words. The swirling lights pulsed.

“Your words ring with truth,” she finally said.

Suddenly, the hurricane of sparkling lights froze mid-air. They spun slowly, appearing more like tiny constellations than anything else. Then, with a rush of mana that sent a ripple through my fur, they condensed on Aelisra, seeping into her skin and making her glow brightly.

For a moment, Raina and I beheld a beautiful angel where Aelisra was standing. Her hair was streaked with golden strands as wings made of pure golden light spread behind her.

Then the image was gone, and the lights faded. The cloud moved away revealing the sun once more, and we were left alone again.

“I did it! Valencia approved!” Aelisra cheered. She splashed back to the edge of the clearing. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you or the others, Raina!” she pulled the witch into a bone-crushing hug.

As they shared in the merriment, I stared at the water, my mind racing over the memories of the rite. Aelisra had been infused with the radiant mana of the pearl combined with the water of the nexus.

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. She had received a small amount of corruption. That meant it could be controlled, and I was determined to find out how and what could be gained from it.