-Callen-

  I wake up completely fresh. There was no sign of the residual soreness typically left over after being hastily healed. Just a lingering peaceful feeling that faded softly into the background. Looking around, I noticed the room was packed with temporary cots and injured soldiers. I pull myself out of bed and carefully inspect myself but find no sign of the chaotic deadly encounter leftover. I reach over my bond and feel Callia alive but unconscious. Looking at the window the reason why she was unconscious becomes clear as the moon hangs quietly in the night sky.

  I carefully move one of the soldiers onto my bed. Since I didn’t need it, I might as well let someone else use it. The memory of Reesia getting impaled by a javelin crawls back up. I shift my attention from myself to the people in the hospital. Carefully moving not to make a disturbance, I begin looking for her. However, my search wasn’t long as she lay in the bed of the neighboring room. I let my sense check her condition, but she’s in a similar state to me. A complete and perfect recovery with no residual damage or weariness. I only really had one guess for what might’ve happened: whoever or whatever had healed Callia when she reached skill level 100 had now helped Reesia.

  My thought is interrupted as a voice from a nearby couch softly speaks up.

  “Glad you're up, kid. It was a near thing for the both of you, but the skill cap blessing hit at just the right time.” I noticed Sir Torulf awkwardly pushing himself up off his side on the bench. His legs were still missing, but somehow he had survived. “My case was a lot closer than the two of you, but I didn’t want my apprentice to be alone even if I’m a bit short now. Nightshade bound up my severed legs, keeping me stable until the healers got me treatment.” I nodded and sat next to him, thankful for the information.

  “How are the others?” I didn’t have any hope for Gunther, but Fullart’s condition was hard to tell. Then the circumstances of the paladins and the general force of guards also needed to be considered.

  “Just the three of us and one of the regular paladins. The captain Korin fought on until bloodloss took him while standing. He really lived up to the legends, but I still can’t believe that they would be willing to give their lives for a town like this against odds like those we faced.” I nodded quietly; before this I had never even heard about them. If Callia hadn’t convinced them so quickly, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. I continued listening as Torulf got back on topic. “A bunch of knights calling themselves the Imperial Guard showed up and have been keeping an eye on the forest. Though they seemed impatient on returning to the capital. The best advice we could give them was to wait for you to wake up.” I nodded along since I was the connection between Callia and Nightshade. I was essential to signal the other side to open the gate. “The guards mainly suffered from injuries since the elves didn’t deem them dangerous; they targeted the weapons. Still, we lost a couple as bits of wood and stone from the stronger impacts caught the operators.

  “Give me some time and you’ll be back on your feet. I promise to make it my best work yet.” I gave Torulf a pat as I got up from the bench. He snorted derisively from his seat.

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  “It better be better quality then whatever you did with that arm because it seems like your devices have an unfortunate tendency to break.” I noticed the fragmented remains of my most recent arm dangling uselessly. I get the feeling I’m going to be busy making new limbs not just for me but for the guards and Torulf as well.

  “I can’t guarantee it’ll last, but I’ll make you new ones whenever they give you problems. If I knew how to make invincible limbs, I wouldn’t be missing one.” Torulf just dismissively waved me off while lying back down on the bench.

  “Right, right, now go see your lady. I was dragged off to the hospital rather quickly, but it seemed like the Imperial Guard knights and Crescent were rubbing each other the wrong way.” I nodded in appreciation as I quietly left the hospital. Making my way outside, I took a deep breath and let out a tired sigh. I didn’t know Sir Fullart particularly well; he always struck me as an upright person worthy of respect. I did, however, know Sir Gunther; we had fought together at the river fort. He had accompanied us while we hunted the frog in our early-model quadcopter. He had been the knight I most wanted to convince to teach me magic, but now that doesn’t matter anymore. We’ll likely have a funeral similar to Dad’s for them, but the town was beginning to feel a bit empty with so many familiar faces disappearing.

  I slowly trod down the road and towards the town hall that still had dim light flickering in the office. On the way I noticed Callia reaching out to me. It seems she had woken up early. I took my time sharing the details of how everything had gone down while she gave me an update from her side. After the Imperial Guard left, soldiers had rushed Karia’s office and arrested everyone in the residence. Everyone was dumped into a dungeon to await questioning, but she felt the attitude and feeling of the guards was more of a foregone conclusion. Luckily Callia had stored the Void Gate before her arrest so she could send everyone who was willing to Port Town. However, it wasn’t the time to rush those circumstances before every other option was considered. I didn’t want Port Town to be considered in rebellion on a royal level. First we needed to understand the circumstances then we could act.

  I opened the door to the mayoral office and smiled, seeing Crescent unharmed with an adorable pout on her face as she reviewed damage reports. With her so distracted, I took the opportunity to sneak up behind her and envelop her in a surprise hug. She was startled but it quickly switched to happiness as she leaned back into the hug.

  Yeomarr

  Yeomarr wheezed in exhaustion as she dropped down from the wall surrounding the human settlement. Her mind was a complete mess as the events of the last several weeks dripped back into her awareness. The voice that she thought she had escaped had actually always been there, feeding on her spirit like some kind of leech. Her body was frail and withered. She had seen her companions in similar states. The moment the voice was banished, Yeomarr knew she couldn’t stay because of this battle inspired by the horror that controlled her, but she also feared what might happen should she return.

  If she returned, would it take control of her again? However, if she couldn’t go north because of the horror and the south was filled with hostile humans, where could she go? Maybe the best option was in fact neither. Freema had left the village before the voice seized control, and Yeomarr hadn’t seen her in the pre-invasion movements. All Yeomarr wanted was to find her daughter and live somewhere quietly in peace.

  The illusion of choice was crushed when a human knight wearing white armor entered the clearing Yeomarr had chosen to rest. The human had been recently healed, but she remembered how he and his kind had held off the combined assault of multiple tribes. Now she was alone and in the worst condition of her life. With no strength left to resist. She fell to her knees, accepting the inevitable, while her thoughts turned back to her daughter. She recognized the look Freema had given her upon her return now. The horror of seeing someone she loved dying. Freema was free of the accursed voice, and that was enough for Yeomarr.

  The man moved quickly but didn’t strike with the blade; instead, he hammered his pommel into the back of her skull, knocking her unconscious. She slumped to the ground before he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Turning back, he set off on the return to Port Town to see if the elf might provide insight into the motives of the invasion and the strange power.