Chapter 39 - A Long Way
The door to her room opened, revealing a tired-looking Eldrin. He had always looked tired, but never to this extent, as far as Lilly knew. He seemed to be in good spirits, though, smiling warmly despite the circumstances.
“Lilly, it’s good to see you again. I was wondering–”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lilly walked up to him and hugged him. “It’s good to see you too, Eldrin! I’m glad to see you’re still fine!”
She had to be careful not to crush him, considering the strength the aegis gave her, but she seemed to manage okay. Eldrin tensed up at first but slowly reciprocated the hug, just like last time.
“Of course I’m fine. We mages are very protected during the battles. The warriors, on the other hand…” His voice was heavy as he spoke, giving Lilly a sense of worry.
“How is Thoren? Is he okay?”
Eldrin sighed and broke the hug gently. “He lost a leg last week, so he’s unable to fight much anymore… He’s trying to make me teach him the floating spell, but I keep telling him it won’t work like he hopes it will.”
Lilly could feel the frustration and pain in his voice. She didn’t know Thoren well but remembered him as a kind and outspoken dwarf. But at least he was alive; she had feared the worst after hearing Eldrin’s voice.
‘Myndia, the staff won’t help with regrowing limbs, right?’ she asked to make sure.
‘Unfortunately not. It only hastens the body’s natural healing process. But some prosthetics can work quite well, using formations to move somewhat similar to a normal leg.’
“I’m sorry, Eldrin. Luckily, his spirit is still fine, though.”
Eldrin nodded as he looked down at the aegis. “That’s true; he’ll be fine in the long run. Say, is that palladium?”
Lilly smiled and tapped it with her knuckles, making a sound like metal hitting metal ring out. “It is! My best enchantment to date! It offers the best defense I can make, with warding and protective enchantments working together. It also has a strengthening enchantment to counter the negative effects of the steelwood core I used.”
“Hah, I see you’ve come a long way since I taught you. Well done.”
“I never would have gotten here without you, Eldrin! If you ever need anything enchanted, you only have to ask! And supply the materials, of course.”
He laughed. “I appreciate the offer! I’ll have to see what I might have use for after the war is over, but I doubt I’ll take up much of your time.” His words stopped for a moment as his face turned serious. “ Eolande filled me in on most of what has happened lately… You, Lilly…”
He seemed to struggle with his words, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You truly make me proud.”
Lilly smiled brightly, feeling a couple of tears appear in her eyes. It felt wonderful, to hear that her actions were something her teacher could be proud of. Especially when that teacher found it hard to say such things in the first place.
“Thank you, Eldrin. It’s… been a challenging period. But it has brought a lot of good, as well.”
Eldrin put a hand on her shoulder in a rare show of support. “You’ve grown much stronger, Lilly, and I’m not talking about the flame. I was wondering if you would join us in the war. And it’s damn good to have you.”
“I hope I can be of help! I think I can, at least. Has anything changed since yesterday?”
“No, we’re still expecting Dortfell to attempt breaking past our line of defense again. You’ll stay here until the fighting is over, right?”
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Lilly felt a bit useless, just waiting for the night to come. It was a good plan, and they would lose the element of surprise if she were to join earlier. But she still wanted to do something while the fighting was ongoing.
“Isn’t there anything I can do before then?” she asked, even knowing Eldrin probably wasn’t the right person to ask. She still saw him as a figure of authority, and a wise mentor.
Eldrin seemed deep in thought for a moment, but he quickly found a possible solution. “Well, I heard your staff could heal wounds rather quickly. You could go to the infirmary and help there. I’m sure they’ll have something for you to do unless you have problems with blood and wounds.”
“Ah, that’s a good idea! It won’t tire me much either, so that should be perfect!”
“Then you leave the fighting to us, for now. We’ll send them back today as well! We’ve set up a few defenses along the way now, so it should be easier to meet them, no matter where they go.”
“Then I’ll leave them to you guys! Do you know what Elly will be doing?” Lilly asked, feeling a bit apprehensive. Eolande had plenty of speed, but while it was a good defense, it was her only defense. Well, besides the teleportation plate.
“She’ll be under Dahn’s command, either used as a scout or assassin, picking off important targets like mages. So I’m quite certain she’ll be safe,” he replied, looking relaxed.
Lilly felt less nervous after hearing Eolande would be together with Dahn. No one would know her better, or be more worried for her safety.
“I’ll head over to the infirmary after eating. I’ll see you later, I hope?”
“Sure! I wanted to study your flame a bit, so that suits me perfectly. We might even test some attack spells to see what happens!” Eldrin looked excited at the thought. He was an experienced battlemage, so it only made sense for him to be curious about the flame. “See you later, Lilly!”
Eldrin walked out of the room again, leaving Lilly to put the finishing touches on her hair. After putting it on, she wanted to test the aegis a bit, but she realized during the meeting with Eldrin that it didn’t feel all that unusual. It's much better than the protective necklaces, at least.
Unlike the necklace, everything she wore could still be felt, albeit a much lighter feel than usual. Her strength was obviously enchanted a lot, but she had gotten used to that while testing her flame.
Taking a final look in the mirror, she felt satisfied with her look. The aegis still looked too big for her, but that wasn’t all that unusual. They usually had a standard size, making some soldiers look way too slim for theirs.
She left the room, eager to find something to eat, before heading to the infirmary. She was looking forward to using the staff for good again, and likely way more than she had been able to at the hospital in Thundrel.
Her day passed quickly, torn from hospital bed to hospital bed, helping several badly wounded soldiers in their recovery. Healing magic was rare, and especially ones with as much power as the staff, so she was warmly welcomed by the doctors.
The staff stopped glowing once again, leaving nothing but a long scar on the chest of a female soldier. There was an immense look of relief on her face as the process finished, stopping the itching and the pain she felt only a few seconds earlier.
“That should do it! The scar is unavoidable, I fear, but it gives you a certain charm!” Lilly said as she prepared to leave for the next patient. She had lost count of all the soldiers and adventurers she had helped so far, but she felt it was closing in on triple digits.
“Thank you so much, Lady Enchantress! This feels so much better! Can I go fight right away?” The female soldier asked, looking unusually eager to rejoin the war.
“I would wait a day, at least. The healing spell takes a lot of energy from your body, so you’ll need a good night’s rest and some nourishment to return to perfect shape. But then you can join again, no problem!”
She didn’t seem too heartbroken about waiting a day, still smiling as she stared up from the bed. “That’s fine, then. Thanks again, My Lady!”
Lilly was already walking towards the next room, waving her hand in response. ‘This feels great! I’m helping more people in one day than I did combined back in Thundrel. It’s obvious, considering there’s a war, but still!’
‘Yeah, I know how you feel. Even if it wasn’t the first enchantment I put into the staff, it’s the one I’m most grateful to have now,’ Myndia replied, thinking back to the past.
One of the doctors came up to Lilly, wearing a grateful smile. “Lady Lilly, the army is back! You can take a break now, and then we might need you for some of the wounded that returned.”
“Ah, they’re back? Then I’ll go meet them!” She replied, heading toward the exit. “I’ll be back later, so update the list of patients while I’m gone!”
The doctor nodded as he waved her off. Lilly had already saved the doctors weeks of follow-up treatment for each patient. The beds were well over capacity when she arrived, but now there might be enough of them for all of the wounded.
‘Gods, I hope they’re all okay! Surely nothing bad happened, right?’