Kelsey, Gregory, Thadius and Gwen then all made their way up to Owen and Lisa who were still standing on the side of the canyon. As they arrived, Kelsey quickly explained the situation. They were understandably hesitant at first, especially Owen, who had just been stabbed by Gwen and still had a dagger lodged in his shoulder, but they gave her the benefit of the doubt after hearing about the oath Gwen had sworn.
The group then made their way up the stairs back up towards the base camp. With her domain, Kelsey was able to quickly find the scout she had seen earlier, the normal looking woman that had been watching them when they left the tent was sitting on a chair next to the entrance of the staircase that led down into the dungeon. Kelsey discreetly pointed the woman out to Gwen, who confirmed her suspicions. They decided that there was nothing they could do about the scout seeing them, short of simply murdering them, which Kelsey felt may be a bit difficult to do surrounded by hundreds of adventurers.
Eventually, the group had made their way through the base camp and found themselves standing in front of a large white tent that was large enough for 20 people to stand in comfortably. Kelsey saw inside the tent with her domain and her heart ached for the two sisters. She could see exactly what her sister was suffering from, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Let me tell her we’re here. Give me a minute.” Gwen said as she pushed in the flaps of the tent. Kelsey could see Gwen walk up to her sister and speak quietly to her while she gently stroked her hair in a comforting way.
A few minutes passed before she poked her head back out. “Come on in, she’s ready.”
Walking inside the tent, everyone else witnessed what Kelsey had already seen. Gwen’s sister was laying on the bed with clear signs of pain and distress on her face. Her body looked extremely weak, and her hands and feet were shaking uncontrollably. She was a young-looking woman, like her sister, but her skin was pale, and she was malnourished to the point that her bone structure was clearly visible through her skin. It seemed that she was unable to move very much as she didn’t even move her head as the group walked in, just her eyes. Using terms from Earth, Kelsey would describe the woman’s symptoms as something similar to a neurodegenerative disease.
Thadius and Kelsey looked at each other as they were both familiar with the experience of caring for a family member who suffered from a condition such as that one. In their case, it had been elderly relative. Kelsey couldn't imagine what it was like to be staring down the barrel of eternity with a condition like hers.
“These are my new friends Abby. They’re going to help us get out of here and back to a real city. They also helped me get out of that damn guild.” Gwen said softly to her sister.
“Ever been to Neim?” Kelsey asked the two of them gently.
“Yeah, we passed through a decade ago, before the poison had gotten this bad.” Gwen said.
“Okay, we’ll take you there.” she said before turning to Thadius. “Enchantments please. I’d like to warp from this tent rather than move her all the way to our tent. We'll draw less attention that way.”
“Not a problem sis.” he said softly as he got to work.
While he was preparing the enchantment, Kelsey went over to Owen, and they spoke quietly for a few minutes. Owen was doing pretty well all things considered. The knife had missed any bone, or vital spots. He said that he was doing fine and didn’t hurt much anymore. Kelsey told him that they would be able to get it healed the moment they were in Neim.
Lisa began arguing softly with Kelsey, saying that it would only take a few minutes for her to run and get a healer so that they could treat Owen before teleporting. Kelsey was firm though. “Listen. I don’t want to have to kill another assassin just because you want to get that dagger out of his shoulder 15 minutes sooner. He’ll be fine, I promise.”
As Kelsey said this, Lisa realized that Kelsey wasn’t taking the deaths of the assassins as well as she was letting on. “Hey, listen, it’s not your fault Kel, they made their choice. If it hadn’t been for you, we may have all died today.”
“I know. I’ll be fine. When we get to Neim and get everyone settled in, I’ll take some time to get my head on straight. I have to imagine Thadius isn’t doing well either. He killed more people than I did.” she said as she looked over at Thadius who was working on the last bit of his enchantments. He seemed almost completely unaffected by the events, and was acting completely normal, if a bit more somber than usual after seeing Gwen's sister and her condition.
A few seconds later, Thadius finished his project and gave Kelsey the go ahead to teleport everyone.
Kelsey looked around the room at the group, nodded, and then explained what was about to happen. “I’m going to teleport all of us to Neim. We will appear in a clearing about a kilometer from the south entrance to the city. We’ll unfortunately have to walk the rest of the way on foot to not draw any attention.” she said. “Everyone ready?”
Everyone in the room locked eyes with her and nodded. So, Kelsey wrapped everyone in a coating of stable mana, connecting them to her, and activated her warp skill. Neim was roughly three weeks of travel away if one was walking, which meant that the mana cost to teleport there was quite high. To teleport everyone and Abby’s bed it cost Kelsey somewhere in the realm of 4.2 million mana, it was the largest single use of magic she had ever attempted.
As the Warp activated and began drawing mana, Kelsey immediately realized that this was going to be slightly different than any other teleportation before. The mana seemed to have a mind of its own, trying to wrestle itself out of her control. As the mana bubble was filling up with spatial mana, she had to concentrate in order to maintain the stability of the bubble itself as it continuously wanted to collapse in on itself.
Kelsey focused, putting all of her attention and energy towards her task and a few dozen seconds later, once the bubble had been partially filled by spatial mana, the bubble stabilized and settled, allowing her to do nothing more than distribute her mana like normal.
She had never encountered an issue like that before when teleporting, and she had no idea why it had happened. The only thing she could think of was that the bubble was significantly larger than she had ever made before due to Abby and her bed. The skill had never been in any danger of failing, but she could see a world where trying to teleport more than seven people could become a real issue.
Well, I'm going to need to keep that particular issue in mind going forward... Damn...
Thankfully the rest of the Warp completed without another incident and the skill completed like normal.
Upon arriving at the outskirts of Neim, the group immediately began helping Abby to get inside the city. She was unable to walk by herself, so Gwen cradled her sister in her arms and carried her into the city while Kelsey stored her bed inside her vault.
Thankfully, getting in the gate was easy. Gregory was able to pull out his Guild Master’s card and flash it to the guards in order to bypass the line completely. It seemed that being a Guild Master had its perks.
After entering the city, Kelsey led the way, helping her group push through the throng of people so they could find themselves an Inn. Kelsey grinned as she saw her companions having the same reaction she did when she first saw the streets of Neim. They were all staring with wonder at the magical advertisements and the variety of street performers lining the road. It was clear that Owen and Gregory had seen stuff like that before, but it was also clear that it had been many years. It took them over half an hour to break through the outer ring and find their way to the slightly wealthier section of Neim.
Once the streets were easier to walk down, the party found an Inn and purchased five rooms for a few nights so people would have places to sleep while they were in the city. Everyone agreed that they would be taking a few days of vacation while they had the opportunity to do so. Everyone, including her brother, asked Kelsey for a little bit of spending money, which she happily provided in the form of giant bags of gold.
The group spent the next few days relaxing in Neim while Gwen and Abby got settled in. Each group split off to do their own things. Owen and Lisa went to get the dagger removed, Thadius and Gregory went out shopping, and Kelsey decided to leave the city and get some alone time so she could work through the fact that she had killed yet another person. She had spoken to Thadius, who as it turned out, had done more killing than she expected since coming to Anoura. He didn’t elaborate on the story, but he explained that he was once forced to kill over 50 people in a single night in order to protect a village he had been living in. After that, he very much came to terms with how common death was in Anoura.
It was nearly as easy for Kelsey to come to terms with those facts too. After leaving the city, Kelsey traveled into the woods with the intention to work through her emotions slowly. She was surprised to find that the process was quick and straight forward. She was all too aware that if she hadn't been there, those kidnappers likely would have taken Lisa, and killed the rest of the party without another thought. She wasn't exactly thrilled that she had killed yet another human, but it was certainly better than the alternative.
This time she didn't cry; she didn't even feel sick. If anything, she was mostly angry that those idiots had tried to take one of her friends in the first place. They would still be alive right now had they just decided to leave them alone.
Kelsey spent the rest of the night outside the city, casually testing some of her new abilities. She couldn't exactly do full tests with how close she was to a city as there was no telling who may be able to see her, but she was able to test a few things such as her Warp, and her Greater Creation and Manipulation skills. She only tested them with spatial creations, but it was still a useful exercise.
She had considered using her Warp to go to the Mageblood forest over night, but she wanted to stay close to her party and keep them in her domain. She didn't have much information on the Librarians yet and was worried they might send people after them.
They did kill several of their members, one of them being an Immortal. On top of that, they seemingly counter-kidnapped one of their other Immortals. At least, that was how it would likely appear to their scout.
There was a chance the guild would hold a grudge, and she couldn't risk her friend's lives just to test her skills more conveniently.
The next day the group got to know Gwen. They learned that she, and the mage Kelsey had killed were two of the highest leveled individuals in The Librarians, and now that they were gone, The Librarians would find it nearly impossible to continue carrying out assassinations and would hopefully be relegated to Information Brokers once again. Gwen explained that they hadn’t done much assassin work because there was already an Immortal Guild called ‘Death’s Embrace’ that took the vast majority of those kinds of contracts.
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Kelsey learned that Death's Embrace were infamous in Anoura and could be connected to nearly every single royal and noble death in the entire region. According to Gwen and Gregory, Death’s Embrace had an estimated 12,000 Immortal members across the five nations. Not all of them were on Combat paths, of course, but Classers made up a non-insignificant portion of their total members. By pure numbers, they were one of the strongest Immortal Guilds. Thankfully, they didn’t kill people for no reason. They were hired killers, not wild murderers. In fact, their code was so strict that a single infraction meant a death sentence.
Gwen, it turned out, was great. She was a kind and caring individual, having sacrificed everything for her sister. She explained that the main reason she had been staying with The Librarians was the threat to her sister. Apparently, she was worried that the leadership would have her sister killed if she were to run. Without the ability to teleport, there had been no way to get her sister away safely. Especially considering that taking her sister with her would have slowed her down.
Gwen was even a bit of a flirt when she wasn't focusing on her sister, which was totally fine by Kelsey who had always considered herself a bit of a flirt too. By the end of the three days, even Owen had grown to like her despite the stabbing.
They learned that when she had told Kelsey that she had never killed an innocent person before and avoided it ‘at all costs’ she wasn’t exaggerating. The scars Kelsey had noticed on Gwen's back were from lashings received for refusing assassination orders. She had told them that the lashings were the only permanent parts of the punishment, but the The Librarians would functionally torture her for days after a failed mission and heal everything that wasn’t those scars. Kelsey could tell from listening to her talk about her experiences that there were more than a few unresolved mental traumas that she was working through.
Kelsey offered to pay to have her scars healed, but Gwen said she wanted to keep them as a reminder of what her morals were really worth. If she hadn't been already, that single moment would have made Kelsey unquestionably attracted to the ex-assassin lady as it was a sentiment that Kelsey whole heartedly understood and agreed with.
On the second day, Gwen and Abby found and purchased a nice little house near the markets on the outskirts of Neim where they were planning on living for the foreseeable future. The house was made from stone and wood with a clay tile roof. It was small, only having two bedrooms, but it did have a fenced back yard which seemed to be very important to the sisters. Gwen had gone out to the markets and found some herbs and healing potions from a local herbalist that she administered to Abby, who was already doing much better. Her muscles were back under her control, and she was able to move around the house without much issue. She was even in good enough condition to go out and do things like shopping which meant that as long as she had the money, she would be able to live life similarly to a mid-level mortal.
Abby was by no means cured, and during their time, there were multiple instances of falls, slips, and accidents that caused her no small amount of pain and discomfort, but it was better than before.
After giving her sister the herbs and seeing how much better Abby was doing, Gwen confided in Kelsey that The Librarians had been supplying the herbs and potions that she had been giving to Abby the past few years, since the new leadership had taken over, and she had suspected that what they were giving her was just making things worse. This rapid improvement confirmed those suspicions for her. Kelsey could tell that Gwen was not planning on letting that particular fact go unnoticed and was already planning on how to get revenge for her sister.
Owen and Lisa spent most of their time with Thadius, relaxing and exploring the city. They spent one night going to a play at a local theater and they didn’t talk about anything except that play for the entire next day because of how great they thought it was. They raved and raved about how amazing the dancing and acting was, seeming to have fallen in love in a single night. I really need to go see a play one of these days. I bet they’re incredible when magic gets involved.
Kelsey on the other hand spent most of her time alone or talking to Gwen. When Gwen was busy doing things for her sister, Kelsey spent her time in the woods experimenting with her new skills. They were very similar to her ones from the original Magus class, just significantly improved in every conceivable way. All but her domain, at least. She still was nowhere near regaining the ability to create at a distance.
She confirmed that thanks to her Body of the Magus skill, she no longer got hungry, thirsty, or tired. But she also confirmed that she was still able to eat and drink without any negative consequences, which was the best news she could have possibly received.
Kelsey also spent some time exploring her new dimension, which to her absolute shock, was 100 square kilometers large and was an entirely separate world that she was able to control just by thinking about it. She settled on a rough recreation of her cabin and the surrounding forest with a large storage hall for the items she kept in her vault.
The inside of her dimension wasn’t exactly the same as the real-world equivalent of the forest. It just didn’t have the same feeling. There were no animals or creatures wandering around giving the place life. It felt empty and hollow. But it did give her a place to sleep in comfort, which was nice. The main benefit to the new Dimension of the Magus skill was that she was now able to stay inside comfortably without suffering from an extreme headache.
The time acceleration she experienced when inside her dimension was now so extreme that sleeping an entire eight hours was so close to instantaneous that she wasn’t able to determine if time moved at all.
She also found that she was even able to use magic inside her dimension, but doing so brought back that familiar headache she remembered from the first time she entered her vault. She was incredibly disappointed to discover this, as once she realized the time dilation was so extreme she had been hoping she was going to be able to get a few hundred years of practice with her skills over the next few days.
Kelsey was sure that there would be some use for an entire separate dimension as large as hers, but she had exactly zero ideas for how to use it at the moment. For now, she was just going to use it to sleep or read, or whatever else she might need to do that took an insane amount of time.
She did have one skill she was frankly unable to test: Senses of the Magus. She didn’t have any clue how it worked, and it had only activated when Gwen had been about to stab Owen. The only thing she could think of that may get the skill to activate would be asking Thadius to punch her in the face, but she decided she didn’t need to know that badly. She would learn how it worked in due time.
Gregory spent his time in Neim by finishing up some last-minute business with the Adventurers Guild. He went to the Neim Adventurers Guild and sent a message to Whitebranch that he was abdicating from his position as Guild Master and would not be returning to the city. He also sent messages to some of his staff explaining some of his plans and ongoing projects in order to ensure things would be running smoothly for whoever took over his position. While he was there, he also managed to update Kelsey’s Guild card to Platinum rank, which would give her nearly unfettered access to most cities across Anoura.
The decision to leave his post was one that he had come to without consulting anyone else, and everyone was caught completely off guard by the suddenness of it. His explanation however was easy to understand. He was now part of Shock and Awe, still the worst party name in existence, and had no desire to sit behind a desk anymore. He wanted to become an Immortal, and being Guild Master for a small city in the middle of nowhere just wasn't worth it.
On the third day, Kelsey, Gregory, and Gwen were sitting in the living room shortly after Gregory had sent in his resignation.
Gregory had done one final thing before coming to Gwen’s house. He sent a letter to the Queen, his mother, describing the sickness that Gwen’s sister was suffering from and told her where they were located. Kelsey and he were there to tell Gwen what he had done before they left for The Trial again.
“Hopefully the Queen will have a way to help your sister. I also told her Kelsey would be paying for any of the expenses, so money won't be a problem either.” Gregroy said, finishing his explanation to Gwen.
“Kelsey will be doing what now?” Kelsey asked with fake outrage in her voice as she heard Gregory’s words.
Ignoring Kelsey's outburst, Gregory continued formally. “She has a huge staff of healing specialists, if anyone in the nation can solve Abby's problem it will be one of them. My mother still owes me a few favors, and I'm sure she'll be putting everything she can behind your sister's recovery. Plus, I'd imagine that her condition will be a useful data point for their research. My mother created a small department, a bit over a century ago, that focuses on repairing permeant damage done to Immortals. Injuries are the number one reason for Immortal retirement, and fixing those injuries is one of her main priorities.”
“Wow, thank you... I can’t believe you guys would go so far out of your way for someone who literally stabbed one of your friends. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will mean a lot to Abby as well.” Gwen said as she stood up and hugged Gregory.
Once Gwen was done thanking Gregory, Kelsey stepped in with her question. "So, we're going to be heading back to The Trial today. Do you think we're going to see any resistance from your Guild?"
Gwen nodded solemnly. "It's possible... Favros, the mage you killed, and I were two of five Immortal Members that The Librarians had. Without Favros, the guild's ability to perform assassinations will be next to zero since the other Immortals also refuse to kill, but there is always a chance that the Guild Master himself comes after you. I can imagine he might be a little pissed. Plus, he has no qualms with murdering anyone in his path..."
“How strong is he?” Kelsey asked nervously.
“Last I heard is that he is over level 300. You’ll recognize him immediately if you see him though; he always wears a blindfold over his eyes. No one knows why, but everyone assumes that he has some sort of domain ability.” Gwen answered. "His name is Kaydeth."
“Our previous leader mysteriously vanished a few years ago. Most people think that Kaydeth killed him in order to take the spot for himself because when he took over, The Librarians began doing assassination work.” she added.
Kelsey nodded at her in understanding, “We’ll be careful, thanks for the heads up. I’m not too worried about some information brokers who fancy themselves amateur assassins though.” Kelsey said with a grin on her face.
“Also, I want to go with you guys.” Gwen said, the sentence bursting out of her in quick succession. “If you’ll have me, I mean.” she added a bit more awkwardly.
Kelsey stared at her with one eyebrow cocked. “Really? I figured you’d want to stay and help out your sister.”
“Well, that was the plan, but she’s fine for now. The medicine I got her is helping a lot. Plus, I kinda need money to keep paying for said medicine.” she said with a somewhat embarrassed laugh. “Neim is only a few days away if I’m willing to run it. So, I can come here to sell the cores I get and then buy medicine whenever she runs out.”
“Yeah, that's fine , you can join us.” Kelsey said. “It’ll be nice having another person around. Thadius was great, but I’m taking him home later today. Also, don’t worry about running it, I’ll bring you back whenever you want” Kelsey finished with a smile. "Also, if money is your only worry, don't stress, I can take care of any expenses you guys have."
Gwen considered Kelsey's offer for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Nah. I still want to go. Now that I'm free from The Librarian's thumb, I want to get back to adventuring. Plus, if Kaydeth does attack, I definitely want to be there to help kick the shit out of him." Gwen said with a smile.
The next few hours were spent in preparation for their return to The Trial. Kelsey took Thadius home and visited with Claire and the kids for a few minutes before returning to Neim. While she was there, she learned that Claire would be reaching Immortality in the next few days, and asked Kelsey to come back soon so they could all go out and do some adventuring. Kelsey quickly agreed, ecstatic that they would soon be having new full-time members in their little group in the form of Claire, Thadius, and the kids.
They were still planning on moving Thadius and his family out to the Mageblood forest, so she would be coming back to Whitebranch soon to take care of that too.
Once she got back to Neim, the group met at Gwen and Abby’s house where they said their goodbyes to Abby, who was out working in her new backyard. Abby told them that she was planning on growing a small garden. She explained that her skills were plant related, and she had always loved gardening, so this was a perfect opportunity for her to relax and enjoy a hobby. Kelsey and the group hadn’t spent much time getting to know Abby, as she was bedridden for the first two days of their stay, but she seemed like a nice woman, and it was a shame they weren’t able to spend more time getting to know each another. Abby also thanked Gregory for what he had done by sending that letter to the queen.
After saying their goodbyes, the group, now with one new member, and one member gone, left the walls of Neim and traveled out to the woods before Kelsey activated her Warp and teleported them back to her Tent inside the dungeon.