Mikal and Jeze frantically studied the tomes they gathered from the Frost Hag. They were books on Runes and magic, and the two searched for a way to break the spell that was on Rainbow and Swordslayer.

“They are still alive, right?” Jeze asked. This was probably her third time.

Mikal rubbed the bridge of his nose. He wanted to scold Jeze for asking the same question over and over, but he also recognized how hard this was for her. Mikal took a deep breath.

“I believe so. They both had strong bodies and Wills. We may be able to save them,” he answered.

Jeze put her face in her hands and sobbed. Mikal gripped her by the shoulders and gently shook her.

The Healer scolded, “They will not be saved with crying, now help me figure this out!”

Jeze nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. She turned and focused on her two friends that lay before her. They had exited the Spire and were in the camp, where there was a buzz of commotion and activity. Lower-ranked adventurers and soldiers scrambled about to set up the Safe Zone. Rolfe, Helga, and Dunar had rushed off in search of more help. In all the confusion, Jeze did not pay any mind to the Imperial soldiers who were present.

With trepidation, she extended her Will toward her friends. Jeze didn’t know what to expect and was afraid that she would somehow trigger them to rise up as zombies. Based upon all of her Runic knowledge, that made no sense, but it was hard to remain rational when two close friends were on the brink of death.

“I sense the Affliction aspect,” Jeze said.

Mikal, while reading the tomes, nodded. “I also detected the Water aspect, but there is more. Maybe one or two other aspects.”

Jeze tried to Shape and pull out the Affliction aspect that was inside Rainbow and Swordslayer. It was really hard and it strained her Will to the limit. It felt like pulling at a string that was wrapped up tightly in a knot with several other strings. Jeze gasped with fatigue. She failed. The Will of the Frost Hag was immense and the evil monster had made this a strong curse.

“We know two of the aspects, Water and Affliction. Let’s try together,” Mikal suggested.

Jeze took a deep breath to recover her Will and with Mikal, they both tried to Shape the Runic aspects out of Swordslayer and Rainbow. This time Jeze felt like she was able to grasp the Affliction aspect and tug it. But at some point it got stuck and as hard as she strained she could not pull it out. Mikal gasped and gave up.

“It’s too hard. We need to find out what the other aspects are,” Mikal said.

“What about the purification ritual you did?” Jeze suggested.

Mikal shook his head. “They would need to be conscious to follow my breathing instructions.”

“But what if we inscribed those Runes around them?” Jeze asked.

Mikal nodded gently. “It can’t hurt.”

The Healer inscribed the circle of Runes he used for the Purification Ritual around the two. The two tried again but with little success. They both fell over, panting from their exertions. Despair gnawed at Jeze like a pack of wolves. It was like a physical pain. She felt helpless, and every minute that they failed, her friends were closer to death. Jeze’s hope reignited when she saw Helga, Dunar, and Rolfe return.

“We found the Spirit Walkers,” Dunar stated.

Helga and Rolfe each hugged and squeezed Jeze’s shoulders.

“Ya, your friends will be alright. Have hope Jeze!” Helga exclaimed.

Miss Heng approached, and she rolled up her sleeves. “Tell me everything that has happened,” she ordered.

Jeze’s lip trembled. Mikal placed a gentle hand on her arm and answered Miss Heng. He explained their encounter with the Frost Hag and what had happened to the other adventurers.

“Jeze and I detected the Water and Affliction aspects. We know there are others. We think it is the Necromancy aspect,” Mikal answered.

Miss Heng scoffed, “The Necromancy aspect is the Spirit Aspect, but used in a way to force spirits to do your bidding. Mostly to trap them as an energy source. Spirits may be barely conscious, but they have long memories and hold grudges. It’s nasty business.”

“I sense the Spirit aspect,” Rainia said.

“Let’s all Shape it out of them!” Jeze exclaimed.

“No,” Miss Heng said.

Jeze had hope and a plan of action. She could do something, but the Amber Guard took that away. This caused despair to boil back up within Jeze’s chest. This made her angry.

“You don’t want to help them,” Jeze accused.

Miss Heng looked at Jeze with her dark, narrow eyes and a face like a mask of ice. “I don’t have time to play childish games, and neither do your friends.” The Amber Guard turned to Mikal, “The books? Where did you get them?”

Mikal jumped into action and gathered the tomes. “From the Frost Hag’s lair.”

“Good, give them to me,” Miss Heng motioned for the books to be handed to her.

Jeze sat down and hugged her knees. She rocked back and forth. Dunar, Rolfe, and Helga patted her shoulders. Mikal studied the tomes with Miss Heng.

“It will be alright,” Rainia promised. “I sense their spirits are weak but still present.”

Jeze’s eyes went wide. “Is there a potion we can brew?”

“I know of a recipe that strengthens the Spirit. Lucky for us, I was able to find crystals from the fourth floor that will help,” Rainia said.

“That is good, you two work on that,” Miss Heng ordered and she pointed at Mikal, “You help me find information in these tomes.”

“That was what I was doing,” Mikal growled.

“Work faster!” Miss Heng snapped.

Jeze pulled out her alchemy tools. Dunar helped with creating a fire as Rainia gathered the ingredients. There was a lot of activity and commotion coming from deeper within the tent city. Jeze saw Irvin rush over. The old man with bushy white eyebrows looked sad at Rainbow and Swordslayer.

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“Damn fools, traveling the fourth floor without a full team,” Irvin grumbled.

Jeze rushed over and embraced her old friend.

“They will be alright, girl. Don’t you worry,” Irvin assured her.

The Guild Official pushed himself free from Jeze and went over to Miss Heng.

“We have a problem,” he said.

“What type of problem?” Jeze asked.

Irvin looked at her with his sad, pale eyes and shook his head.

“Spit it out already. I do not have time to play a guessing game,” Miss Heng snapped. She never looked up from the book she was reading.

Irvin shook his head and decided to answer in front of everyone. “The Imperial Prince has arrived and heard about Rainbow and Swordslayer.”

“Why is he here?” Miss Heng asked without looking at Irvin. The Amber Guard directed Mikal to read the pages in the book she had and turned to Jeze and Rainia.

“Where are we at with the potion?” Miss Heng asked.

“It’s almost finished,” Rainia answered.

Jeze hurried back to work and mashed the ingredients to throw into the boiling pot. Irvin cleared his throat.

“Master Couzart sent word out to the Elites,” the Guild Official answered.

“So?” Miss Heng asked.

“The Prince wants Rainbow and Swordslayer turned over into Imperial custody,” Irvin said.

“What? On what grounds?” Miss Heng demanded.

“With Couzart in the Tower, the Prince is the ranking Guild member,” the white-haired official answered.

“He has no jurisdiction,” Miss Heng answered.

“Oh, but I do,” a deep voice replied.

Jeze looked up and, for the first time, paid attention to the crowd around them. A small contingent of Imperial Soldiers in heavy armor stood at attention. In the center was a broad-shoulder man with neatly cropped blonde hair in a thick dark navy jacket of the Imperial Legion. He was a little shorter than Dunar and had a square jaw that looked like it was chiseled out of stone by a sculptor. Jeze guessed this man to be the Prince as he had an aura of power about him similar to Master Couzart. This was another Elite!

Miss Heng stood to face the Prince with narrow eyes. Jeze wanted to scream that they didn’t have time for this! But she could not find her voice. It got lost deep within her chest.

Miss Heng bowed. “Greetings, my prince.”

The man simply nodded. Jeze felt that his arrogance dripped off him like venom.

“These two are wanted criminals,” he said.

“In the Golden Empire, and we are not in the Golden Empire,” Miss Heng stated.

“You need me for the Spire. I will refuse to provide aid if the Guild harbors fugitives,” the Prince replied.

Miss Heng scowled. “If matters of the Empire are so important to you. Then you may wish to reconsider since it is a former Captain of your Legion that has been seen supporting our enemy, the Cultist.”

The Prince glowered at the Amber guard, and the situation grew tense. His contingent of soldiers gripped their weapons. Jeze’s hands edged toward her axe and sword, and the Proven stood tall and ready for a fight. The growing crowd of onlookers took an unconscious step back. Jeze saw that the Prince wore a heavy padded jacket with armor plates on the shoulders and the glint of mail underneath. Jeze guessed that he had over a dozen enchantments across all of his Rune-etched gear, but where were his weapons? Jeze searched and saw that a young squire stood just behind the Prince with a massive sheathed sword. The squire was too small to wield such a weapon as it was longer than he was tall! That had to be the Prince’s weapon. For the first time, Jeze doubted that this was a fight that they could win, even with the aid from Miss Heng. Irvin cleared his throat.

“Couzart and the other Elites should be arriving shortly,” the Guild Official reminded everyone and he added, “Perhaps your Highness would like to get settled before the meeting?”

The Prince chuckled, but to Jeze, his eyes showed zero mirth. She sensed that he was calculating the risk involved. In this fight, he could probably win with his power, but at what cost? Also, would the other Elites turn on him?

“That is an excellent idea, but so you know, this matter is not yet settled, “ the Prince said, and with that, he and his entourage departed.

“Whew,” Mikal sighed.

“No time to rest! We have work to do,” Miss Heng snapped.

Everyone jumped back into action as the Amber Guard snapped out orders as fast and harsh as lightning.

“You, give me the potion,” Miss Heng ordered Jeze and Riania. The dark-haired Adept turned to Mikal, “You, remove their shirts.”

Mikal took off Swordslayer’s shirt but hesitated when he got to Rainbow.

“By the gods!” Miss Heng snapped, and she removed Rainbow’s top clothes.

The two cursed adventurers were incredibly fit, and their bodies were laced with scars from a hard life of adventuring. Rainbow had Rune chains tattooed on her arms and shoulders, and Swordslayer’s entire chest and arms were riddled with scars from being cut and stabbed hundreds of times. Jeze knew that was from his harsh tutelage under the Vampire Lord, Vornicus. Very few students survive the lessons.

Miss Heng turned to others and stated, “Based upon what we know, the Frost Hag’s curse is a complex one. It is a mixture of the Water, Spirit, Mind, and Affliction aspects. They are all intertwined, with the base being the Water aspect. Each of us will need to pull out each of the aspects.”

“I thought we couldn’t shape the Mind aspect in others,” Mikal pointed out.

Miss Heng shook her head and snapped, “We can not shape another’s internal Will, but once they Summon it and Shape it into a spell, then we can also manipulate it.”

“Will this work?” Jeze asked quietly.

Miss Heng glared and responded, “Only one way to find out. No more questions! We are running out of time.”

They went to work. Each Rune caster shaped Glyphs to Shape the aspects that were tied into the curse within Swordslayer and Rainbow. Rainia Shaped the Spirit aspect. Mikal Shaped the Water aspect. Jeze Shaped the Affliction aspect, and Miss Heng Shaped the Mind aspect. This time, Jeze felt that she was able to draw out the red, greasy energy. She gritted her teeth, and eventually, she was able to pull out the energy completely. Through the corner of her eyes she saw Mikal do the same with mists, and Rainia pulled out a sliver energy. Miss Heng’s efforts went unseen.

“It is done,” Miss Heng said.

Mikal checked the pulse for Rainbow and Swordslayer. “They are alive, but there is no way to know if they are full with us.”

“What do you mean?” Jeze asked. Her voice tinged with panic.

“You saw the other adventurers. They were mindless and under the complete control of the Frost Hag. They were alive but no longer who they were,” Mikal responded.

“Like Thralls?” Jeze asked.

Miss Heng shook her head. “For Thralls, the person’s mind is still in there, just buried under the madness. This curse is much more complex and worse. I would be impressed if the two can return to us.”

Rainia gripped Jeze’s shoulder. “Your friends are strong. Believe in them!”

Jeze gripped Rainbow and Swordslayer’s hands, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Swordslayer’s eyes snapped open. Mikal gasped. The muscular sword fighter sat up. His expression was blank, like a piece of wood.

“Swordslayer?” Jeze asked.

The man groaned, and it broke Jeze’s heart.

“Perhaps they were not strong enough,” Miss Heng stated.

“Swordslayer, stop it!” Rainbow growled. She rubbed her head.

The man chuckled and he winked at Jeze. The teenager was conflicted between wanting to strangle her friend or hug him. Jeze hugged them both.

“Easy, we almost died. And can I get a shirt? My lady bits are hanging out,” Rainbow said.

Swordslayer’s smile faded, and somberly, he said, “You have my thanks.”

Miss Heng nodded. “You owe me.”

Swordslayer snorted. “That’s a surprise. Just so you know, I would have recovered on my own. But, your help is much appreciated.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes as she put on her shirt. The two slowly stood up.

“Easy, you need to rest,” Rainia said.

“Bah, we are fine. In fact, we have Frost Bitch to kill,” Swordslayer growled. He looked around and added, “Anyone have two swords I can borrow?”

“Jeze killed the Frost Hag,” Dunar said.

Swordslayer blinked, and he said, “Our Jezie? Killed the Frost Hag? Wow, our little girl is all grown up.”

Jeze punched him hard in the arm. Swordslayer chuckled but rubbed his shoulder while muttering, “That hurt.”

Rainbow looked at Jeze with her dark eyes and said, “It is true. You have come a long way since the day we found you at Maddie's.”

“This does not change anything. You still owe me an ale,” Swordslayer stated.

Jeze laughed, and she hugged her friends a second time.