Zalia's next few hours were spent sitting in the tent as the people around her slowly healed from their wounds. Each one who left gave her thanks, some even going so far as to kneel to her, which she very quickly stopped. One of the last few to heal was a man who had lost his leg below the knee. The whole limb grew back over the time of her sitting there, amazing her at the power her ability provided. As she sat, she looked over the messages she had received during and after the battle,
Congratulations! Protection of the wilds has gained five levels reaching Tin 10.
Congratulations Healing presence has gained seven levels reaching Tin 15.
She was happy at her progress but sort of ashamed of the power she gained through others' misery. Throughout the process she had to remind herself that the levels were happening because she was helping. The other healers ran out of mana every so often and had to rest which really brought into perspective how strong her healing ability was. It didn't necessarily heal a huge amount but in a situation like this it really came through. The other healers would definitely out heal her in the short term but survival and the long term were her home court.
Afterwards, Zalia found Knight Alara in what she came to understand was the command tent. Inside was a long table with a map along with a few different people, some still in plate armour and very obviously other knights, well dressed officials, people standing nearby to serve if required. All in all it looked exactly how she imagined a mediaeval command tent would look like.
As Zalia entered, Alara gestured and the other people left the tent, some giving nods of recognition presumably for the help she had given.
"Alright then, I guess I've gotten their gratitude, now how can I use it," she thought, immediately feeling a tinge of shame at the thought of using the soldiers pain for her own gain.
She came and stood next to the map where upon looking down she realised her theory about being in a different world was most likely the truth. The section that the map showed didn't include the north she had come from, only having a faded area listing it as such. The rest of the map showed some couple hundred kilometres of land south before it was cut off, listing the land further south as 'Central Endaria'. She also saw quite a few markers of each the flag of Endaria and the flag of the splinter faction. She assumed each marker was where warriors were known to be due to scouts and such. Now that she was closer she could see that the Endarian flag had a crown with a sword and staff crossed beneath it. The colours were split down the middle, red on the left and yellow on the right. The other flag was the same except with dark green and brown and the crown was broken in half underneath the sword and staff.
There was a few seconds of silence before Zalia spoke,
"What happened to the elemental?" She asked
"Dissipated once we moved far from where it ripped itself from the ground," Alara replied.
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Zalia nodded slowly.
"What are you doing here, Zalia?" Asked Alara.
"I was actually on my way down south to find some human civilization," she said.
"You said that you were from the north before, is that true? I don't see how you could have survived up there with your rank," Alara said matter-of-factly.
"It's not so bad once you get used to it, quite nice actually. I only nearly died three times in the past two weeks," Zaria said, giving a small smile.
"Sounds lovely," Alara said sarcastically with a deadpan expression.
"In all honesty, I need some new clothes, a smith and I'd love to find a magical bow. Know any good bowyers who could make one?" Zalia asked, gesturing to her well made but quite mundane bow.
"Well, I very highly doubt you're some kind of spy or you would have left us all for dead. Here, I must insist I pay you for your help, maybe it can buy you some of those new clothes you want. Also, no, I don't know a bowyer," Alara said, handing her twelve shining golden coins.
"How much are these worth? We don't really trade in coins where I'm from," she said.
"Well it's not enough to get a master crafter to make you an enchanted bow but it'll do you just fine for some good quality clothes and possibly some light armour if you were looking for it," Alara said
"That's a good idea," Zalia thought.
"Well, I won't look down on a gift. Thank you, Alara," she said.
She pocketed the coins before moving to leave the tent. Just as she left she waved over her shoulder at the knight,
"Good luck with your war, remember to keep mercy in your heart," she said as she left.
Zalia started moving towards the nearest town she had seen on the map, a small place called Alston. It was pretty much directly south west of where she was, slightly more south then west, and maybe a day more of travel away. Well, a day's worth of travel at her pace which had significantly increased as her attributes did in kind.
After about an hour and a half of her fast walking her instincts started to feel something. It wasn't her magical abilities triggering in any way; she just caught an odd shadow over her shoulder or an out of place sound every now and then. Once she entered a forested area she decided on a course of action she suddenly burst into a sprint. After about thirty seconds of sprinting through the undergrowth she ducked behind a particularly wide tree and pulled out the long bladed dagger she had taken from the dead man on the battlefield. A few seconds later, a shadow fluttered past the tree she was hiding behind and she quickly reached out and grabbed it. The form solidified into a human, a man, as she held her knife to their throat,
"I don't take kindly to being followed," Zalia said in an angry tone, "go back and tell them you lost me, if I catch you again I'll have to deal with you in a harsher manner."
"Probably just tie him to a tree if I have to," she thought, hoping he wouldn't realise she wouldn't really harm him.
He didn't say anything but she could hear his fast breathing and heartbeat. She let him go and pushed him away in the direction of the camp she assumed he'd come from.
? - Tin rank
"Oh hey, there are other Tin rankers, some kind of stealth magic maybe," she thought.
As the man ran away into the trees she started out at a much faster pace towards Alston.