Chapter 148

Just Wait

(Gwen)

The alert came loud and imposing. As a dedicated healer with not much else to her name, Gwen of course jumped at the chance of leaching both skills and experience from helping the higher up members of her guild.

For months they had been searching for the secret entrance, to the realm of the elven king that had all but declared war on the guild when they first established a presence here.

Ever since that first encounter, there was nothing, until finally word broke of not one but two different groups of roaming patrols going missing while exploring the lands and fully mapping out the territory.

Gwen stood there dumbfounded by the fact that her mother was the first to enter the uncharted lands.

Of course, it should come as no surprise as her mother was always the first to risk herself for others.

“Tell me everything.” Mallory stated, to the now quivering Captain of the Guards who had apparently been the last person to speak to Cass, before she made her entry into the instance.

“The Doctor came, got the details that there were four missing patrol guards and then said she would go in to look around.” The Captain stated.

“You didn’t stop her?” Mallory hissed.

“We were following your orders. Where we were to wait for her and to take orders from her. Especially, when it comes to the spirit world,” he states while gesturing to the portal that clearly leads to the spirit realm. Then before Mallory could state anything to the contrary, he continued, “we were also told to defer to her judgement on anything remotely magical. That was when we asked her to tell us what to do.”

Hearing that Mallory bit her lower lip, realizing that those were the directions given. It was meant to avoid future clashes with other mages trying to exert authority over her. But this, this was beyond the pale. The monsters in the spirit realm were much higher than Mallory herself, while she had been grinding away at levels, she knew she was not prepared to face the king of the elves.

Seeing her face, the guard continued on. “She did ask if she was to sign anything, I told her no. Was that the wrong answer? I had not been told of a document to sign for entry…”

“What, you think this amount of anger is over a bureaucracy slip-up?” Mallory asked, then went on. “No of everyone here, that girl is hands down the most capable creature of going in searching the area and coming back out alive.”

“So what is the problem?” The guard captain asked.

“The fact that she has not come back out alive, obviously.” Mallory hissed, then gestured to the portal.

Mallory looked lost for a moment, then turned to face Gwen. At this point Gwen locked gazes with Mallory, or at least tried to, apparently her mother had this act down to a science, while she was still learning the intricacies of interacting while blind, while trying to appear like you weren’t.

Of all the people, Mallory was the only one who would notice the way Gwen was off in her eye contact. Granted Gwen could use her third eye to correct the positioning of her gaze, but that was cheating. If her mother could do it, then Gwen knew that with enough time and practice, she too could emulate sight.

Still, despite having lost the slight battle of appearing to have true vision, Gwen stated what she needed to.

“I don’t feel any measure of hostility, also I can tell that the portal is a spirit realm.” Gwen stated, using some of the more subtle intuitive techniques that her mother had been stressing to her. Using her active auras due to her awakened Legendary bloodline to detect that it is a spirit realm. Then using that extra sense to determine if there was malicious intent on the other side. From everything she could tell, her Spiritlight last name, the one that marked her as a friend to all spirits with at least a neutral rating told her that there would be no danger for her if she entered the realm before her.

Hearing that, Mallory paused, then muttered to herself. “Figures that she would find a way to sneak into one of the most dangerous realms ever discovered and be welcomed in with open arms.”

“I wouldn’t say she would be welcomed with open arms.” Gwen said, then stopped before realizing she might have said too much as Mallory was clearly feeling better about this level of information.

“No, she has a way of doing absurd gestures to make friends. Knowing her, she is likely working out some type of crazed plot to free our guards as we speak.” Mallory stated.

“So what is the issue then?” The guard said, at the exact wrong time. He had clearly been able to lower himself from Mallory’s radar for the moment but had to once again interject himself into the conversation and gain Mallory’s threat rating.

While she was never mean to Guild members, Gwen could see the tension in Mallory, the tensing of her muscles, the clenching of her jaw. All were signs of her holding back severe frustration for what was happening around her. Worst of all, the guard seemed to be completely unaware of just how close he was to getting on Mallory’s angry list.

“The issue is that I am not able to do anything at the moment to help. Meaning I have to wait for her to come back and inform me of the situation before I make any movements and potentially lose any good will she has built up, or even more simply, I have no clue as to the scale of forces we will find on our way into the portal. Because, while those with the last name of Spiritlight, might be naturally neutral to spirits, I can guarantee that I am not.” Mallory stated, wit that she paused clearly angry with herself for likely stating too much about Cass’s and well the entire Spiritlight lineage, but it was not like it was a trade secret, at least not anymore, thanks to Rob, well Trenton now.

Silence.

There was a note of silence, as the guard finally took the hint and decided once again to try to lower his threat rating, and get forgotten by Mallory. Unfortunately for the guard, Mallory was not quite so ready to dismiss him this time.

“Did she say anything else to you? Did she give you any other directives?” Mallory asked, staring at the portal and half wondering if she should go in guns blazing form the start and try to get her healer and best friend back.

Honestly, looking at her now, Gwen realized just how deep the love Mallory had for her mother was. It was kind of reassuring in a way, as they clearly had an organic mixture of trust and respect that meant that even when looking at a portal that led to a realm where most everyone would have their damaged reduced or even halved in most cases, it was clear that Mallory knew that Cass would come back alive.

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The guard paused, trying to remember something, then a surprised look came to him as he finally recalled something else.

“She did warn me not to mess with her spirit dog if it came.”

“Kujo?” Mallory asked.

There was a pause, then the guard shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe I hear the name, but that does seem familiar.”

“It should, that dire phase wolf is off limits, anyone so much as harming that dog or looking at it with evil intentions will likely first be torn to pieces by the wolf, let alone its mate. Then you will have to convince our healer to heal you after offending her dog.” Mallory stated.

As that happened , Gwen gave a wide look around and realized that Kujo was there, just phased in between realms.

Seeing Gwen’s reaction, Mallory asked. “Did you find him?”

Gwen just nodded, then pointed right next to the portal. “He is right there, sitting patiently with his tail flapping against the ground.”

Everyone looked in the direction that Gwen was pointing, but no one could see anything.

Mallory for her part stared at the spot intently but gave up after a few seconds. It was clear that she believed the dire phase wolf was right where Gwen had stated but was unable to see any indications that an apex predator was sitting right there in the middle of all her soldiers.

“What should we do?” One of the head logistics officers asked. This was a mage that was in charge of one of the major leveling teams, and one that Gwen often went with to gain splash experience from helping and observing.

“We wait.” Mallory said, a note of steely resolve filling her voice as she clearly hated the command but knew better than anyone about charging into an alternate realm blind.

“For how long?” The officer asked.

Silence.

There was a pregnant pause that filled the area, then just as Mallory opened her mouth to speak, the sound of magic sparking off could be heard.

Whoosh!

Suddenly a tear in space appeared, it was clear that this was a portal that led to the nearby spirit realm. The spell was very familiar to Gwen as it was one of the three class spells she started with, for her odd healer class. A class that really didn’t get the chance to heal until level twenty-five, when her class’s Trait of Omni-Heal activated. Until that point, she was subjected to the whims of anyone who would take her on as a charity case.

In a way, the class was amazing, so long as you could get to level twenty-five, regardless of your magical affinity, or ability to use magic, you would by default be a true healer. Not just able to heal humans, but one who was able to heal anyone. Thinking on it, Gwen was both happy and relieved to have gotten this class.

Most of the time, if you didn’t start off with a magical aptitude, just getting a mage class would be a waste as there was no way for those who had not been born with a mana core to learn to cast magic. Which is why this class was so amazing, as it clearly gave the ability to use magic.

Going into this world, Gwen knew that she was going to be a spellcaster, so she spent her points accordingly. While she didn’t go as wild as her mother had, she never needed to, as her mother had made all of those sacrifices herself and now, she was able to reap the rewards of such a sacrifice.

Even now, there were talks that Gwen could take over as the sole owner of the class, particularly with her rate of leveling and the massive amounts of experience possible from the area they were in. Yet, she chose not to, partly because she didn’t want to steal this amazing gift that had been granted to her by her mother, but also there was the fact that her mother had a way of getting the most out of any class she held. Unlocking Traits at level caps and building classes that worked in unison with her bloodline.

Honestly, just thinking about the different components of this world and how Cass had managed to seemingly weave together completely different strands of knowledge to form the basket case that Cass was now, was impressive.

This was why Gwen had been working so diligently on trying to unlock a second class. Just like her mother, she wanted a martial class to help shore up her weaknesses, which as a caster would be her physical weaknesses. In her mind she saw herself as being some form of combat medic.

A medic who would go beyond enemy lines, one who can go anywhere and save anyone. Just as she had the thought, she realized she was following in her mother’s footsteps, and while that would have previously put her in the looney bin, where she would want to do anything to change her life progression. Over the last seven years of watching her mother go anywhere and do anything she put her mind to, Gwen came to respect her mother. Realizing that being compared to her wasn’t as painful as it used to be to her own ego.

Then just as she had that thought, the first missing guard made their way through the portal. Within seconds Gwen found her feet pulling her forward, as she began casting both Healing, and diagnostic spells on the person. They were fine, beyond fine as they even seemed to be continuing to be healed, despite coming from the spirit realm, a realm where most people would take continual damage.

Looking at the first guard, Gwen realized that her healing was superfluous, as it was just throwing mana at a problem that had already been fixed with mana.

Then the next person came, and once again Gwen was among the people sent to greet and heal this individual.

“Make way.” The second guard said, trying to clear the area right behind the portal, as it was clear that other people were trying to make their way through the portal as well.

With that, the rescue team cut off the onlookers, while quickly grabbing and half pulled, half helped the missing guard members make their way out of the exit area.

Four people, all four missing guards were accounted for. Not only were they accounted for, but they were in perfect condition, at least as far as Gwen and her understanding of Healing Magic went.

Thumbs up.

The signal that Gwen had performed her healing on the guards and they were all safe and free of any lingering after effects of the spirit realm. It was clear that the only person that could do this was her mother.

Granted Gwen was a bit biased where her thoughts of her mother’s capabilities came into play, but she still felt her thoughts were warranted.

Then just as soon as they arrived, the portal that led them here abruptly closed.

“Where is she, where is my Cass?” Mallory asked, her voice frantic as she cut through the lines to talk to the guards, only after she had received the thumbs up from Gwen.

“The Doctor?” The first guard out of the portal asked.

Mallory nodded.

“The Doctor, that was a high elf that saved us.” The second freed guard stated.

“Yeah, but she opened her glowing green third eye during combat, before flicking the opponent unconscious in a magical duel. I think if that described anyone, it would be the Doctor.” The first guard said.

“What?” The crowd of onlookers asked.

With that the guards began to speak, where they told a fantastical tale of how an elven princess came back to see her father after overcoming the terms for exile and banishment. Then how that same elven princess challenged a mage to a magical duel, where they were so handicapped that they couldn’t fight with offensive magic, more than one Trait, and couldn’t use Dispels.

With that most people began to think of the story as a bit preposterous, only until the manner of victory was noted where the princess waved a glowing hand at the mage that ate, the ambient mana. Before walking over to the exhausted mage, whereby the duel was won by a singular flick, to the forehead.

The four looked first to each other, then back to where portal that had closed stood, trying to find out what actually happened to Cass. That was when Holly, the last to exit the portal spoke.

“There was a commotion at the end. I couldn’t tell whom, but there was clearly the presence of at least three high level undead.” Holly said, a note of panic filling her words.

“Undead?” Mallory asked.

“Yes, well they were all spirits, but I swore I could make out the burning skull and glowing green eye sockets of a powerful necromancer.” Holly continued.

“It was a Lich.” Jake added, furthering the knowledge of the exact type of undead.

Silence.

For a moment everyone that had been talking, going over rescue plans and operations that would normally follow the successful evacuation of four missing prisoners from hostile territories.

Hearing that, Mallory looked to where the portal that had been active a moment ago, now stood vacant. Then a look of determination filled her gaze as she looked back to the main portal entrance that was over a hundred meters away.

Then she began marching her way towards the entrance.

Chills.

It was clear from her look and determination that she had one thing on her mind. That she was going to go and storm the spirit realm herself and go in to protect her healer.

“Wait, you can’t.” The officer that had been speaking to her moments ago said, as he cut her off and began trying to prevent her from charging forward.

“The hell I can’t.” Mallory snarled as determination filled her face as she began to push her way past the mage.

“Wait!” Gwen cried out, her own feet running quickly, trying to catch up to Mallory who was moving remarkably quickly, despite just tromping along.

It was clear that Gwen, despite her momentum and blatant attempts to increase her speed would not be able to stop Mallory before she too entered the spirit realm.

Fortunately, Gwen received help from an unexpected source.

Poof.

Kujo, the giant dire phase wolf appeared right in between the entrance to the spirit world where Cass was currently residing and Mallory.

“Move.” Mallory hissed, trying to demand the loyal wolf to get out of her way.

Grrr.

At that Kujo began to growl ominously. This was the growl of a big dog that was warning the little yippy dog not to bother it, and to go away.

Still, despite the warning it looked like Mallory was going to push her way past Kujo, until Ms. Kujo also appeared.

Blinking.

Gwen tried to see where Ms. Kujo came from. It was clear that Ms. Kujo was another power level above Kujo, and she even knew that Kujo’s levels were quite a few lower than his mate, yet hearing that and then seeing, or rather not seeing the difference between the two was hard to fathom. As Gwen had absolutely no way of tracking the whereabouts of Ms. Kujo. In fact, after seeing the actions, it almost felt like Kujo had purposefully made himself visible to Gwen.

In a way, that thought made Gwen feel happy, as it meant that Kujo somehow saw her as a trusted friend, or maybe Kujo considered himself to be part of her mother’s pack.

Grr.

Ms. Kujo said, and it was clear that while Kujo had been a little more sedate with his interactions with Mallory, clearly not wanting to rock the boat. Ms. Kujo on the other hand was not having any of it, and blatantly stared down at Mallory.

Mallory who was a known powerhouse of the world actually balked at the sight of being stared down by not one, but two dire phase wolves.

Seeing them, and their firm stance that Mallory was not to enter, Mallory locked gazes with the two beasts, before finally looking away.

“Okay, okay.” Mallory said to the two beasts, then she held up her empty hands as if to say she was done. With that Mallory began walking away, while the two dire phase wolves just sat down, their backs to the portal entrance while everyone looked on in shock.

“So what do we do now?” The mage officer asked as Mallory came back to the group.

“We wait.” Mallory said, a note of annoyance filling her words.