Tanca no longer hesitated, and he signaled to his people, and half were out the door the next moment, with the other half waiting to take up flanking positions. Dara and Eli followed as the group left the stone structure and a couple of guards again took up station at the building’s front door.

Tanca turned to Eyonne as they exited, “Head to the quest post and check the inn. See if there’s anyone there with healing, just in case Gifted Tal needs some backup.”

“Yes, Warmaster,” Eyonne said as she took a sharp left and disappeared into the village.

Tanca gestured to the fortress above. “Let’s move quickly. I don’t know how grave the injury is, but it was bad enough for Ghlan to almost throw me down the hill in his haste.”

In the market outside, the atmosphere had changed while they were inside and the area was now nearly empty with a few souls hastily closing the remaining market booths. The group marched past almost at a trot, and Eli was struck at how organized everything was, with little panic evident in the people around him. There was an efficiency to their work, an organization that reminded him of the military drills he’d endured years ago. Giant woven baskets were being filled by the fruit sellers in the big stall, while others covered other tables with various colored fabrics without bothering to take away all the food.

Shit, back home, at least half these people would be running around like their eyebrows were on fire.

It was only a few minutes before they left the small village behind, and Tanca increased the pace as they trotted towards the base of the stone path that wound its way up the steep hill. Eli glanced up, unable to see their goal with the sides of the hill’s slope hiding the fortress, but he could see the edge of the wall far above them. The pace didn’t slow as they hit the incline, the wider road of the village narrowing slightly. He expected his body to struggle more as they moved up the slope, but he kept up easily as the trail continued climbing under the late afternoon sun. The only struggle was the rising heat, with sweat stinging his eyes as he looked up, but there was no cover anywhere. Even as they turned sharply at the first switchback, there were no trees or plants on the hill. He couldn’t imagine trying to assault this position, forcing the way up a steep slope while wholly exposed to the defenders up top.

Small groups of guards were stationed at the switchbacks in the same leather outfits as the village. The majority held strung bows at the ready, though there were also a few with spears. The guards didn’t try to stop their progress but fell back towards the edge of the stone trail at Tanca’s gesture each time they approached their positions. All the while, the reverberating beat of the drum continued as if keeping pace with the group’s ascent.

They’d just turned at another sharp turn when the large gatehouse was suddenly in front of them, the road only leveling out a few meters before the wooden gates. One of the doors stood open where a half-dozen guards were lined up in formation, blocking the entrance and wearing a new type of armor. Instead of the light leather armor like those in the village, they had thick, darkened leather covering their torsos with articulated metal at their knees and arms. Their serious expressions were revealed by the open-faced construction of the leather and metal helmets while their eyes seemed to weigh him and his party at a glance. Their look reminded him of some professionals he’d run across in the war and how they could look relaxed yet simultaneously ready to commit violence at a moment’s notice.

As Tanca approached, the elite guards tightened up their formation even as a woman at one end saluted. “Gifted Tanca, I see your strength,” she said, her helmet barely muffling her words.

Tanca saluted in return. “Talent Pelesta, I found Gifted Easone and her companion, Gifted Tal, in the village. He claims a healing ability.” Pelesta turned and gestured to one of her guards, who disappeared inside the gatehouse. At the same time, Tanca and his guards stood patiently as if they had all the time in the world.

Eli stepped closer to Dara and lowered his voice to a whisper. “What the hell, Dara? Why are we waiting?”

“Custom and command, Eli,” she replied in just as quiet a voice as she folded her arms and gazed into the open gate. “The fortress commander must be summoned to let us in. Tanca is the exterior commander, while Eyonne is the village commander, so have little authority within the walls. It should only take a moment.” Contrary to her words, Dara’s hands were white-knuckled as she held her arms close against her body, and he frowned, looking from her to the open gate and the people that blocked their way.

A man came marching through the heavy keep door wearing some fancy armor, with little flourishes and designs inlaid into the metal, polished to a mirror shine. His whole outfit made a bit of a racket as he stepped out towards the guard leader still standing beside the elites, but his eyes widened when he spotted Dara. Eli breathed out slowly, the pressure in his head and chest fit to burst with his mounting frustration, though he was hoping they could finally get something done with the new guy here.

“Talent Pelesta, you sent word of a healer?” the fancy metal guy asked like they were talking about the nice weather, yet his eyes were shrewd as they panned around at Tanca and his group while they approached. Not finding whatever he was looking for, his eyes continued their search before narrowing on Eli standing beside Dara.

“Yes, Gifted Ghlan. Gifted Tanca reported that he’d found Gifted Tal,” she gestured to Eli, “in the village, and Gifted Tal claims to have a healing ability.”

Eli's temper snapped, feeling like his head was about to burst into flames with his impatience. “Finally!” he almost yelled and slashed the air with his hand. “Gifted Golan, do you have the authority to let me heal Dara’s father or not? If you don’t, go get the person who does!”

Dara stepped in front of Eli, one hand latching onto his arm as she faced the new guy. “Gifted Ghlan, I see your strength,” she said, emphasizing the name before continuing. “Gifted Tal has a strong healing ability, and I trust him with my life.” Her words seemed to only upset the fancy guy, whose eyes remained narrowed and fixed on him.

“Sorry, I should have said Gifted Ghlan,” Eli said lightly, trying on a smile that didn’t feel quite right. Taking a page from Dara’s book to cut short the bullshit, he said, “I didn’t know about the attack on Wybert. I only found out when Eyonne and Tanca told me down in the village.” He gestured towards Tanca and then down the hill, hoping to emphasize and move the process along. “Further, I have no intention of harming Wybert but hope to heal him. I will defend myself, but otherwise, I want to help. I swear this on the Oververse.” He tried not to freak out as the same probing feeling flushed through his body, and the late afternoon light couldn’t hide the brief flash around his body. “Now that we’ve got that done, can we move this along?” he asked, trying to mimic their casual tone like he was asking for a cup of tea. “You know, a life to save and all that?”

His words and oath were apparently enough as Ghlan immediately turned to the people behind him, calling out quick orders. The guards that had blocked the way almost disappeared with how swift they moved, and Eli and his group were escorted inside the gatehouse. He didn’t have much time to look at the shadowed interior, as Ghlan seemed to suddenly be in a hurry as they were out the other end and into the sunshine in mere moments.

Beyond the gatehouse was open hardened ground with stone footpaths leading to various buildings within the walled interior. One of the biggest, off to the left, caught Eli’s eye. It resembled a Viking longhouse with a flat front, long rectangular shape, and peaked roof but was built with the same stone and tile exterior as the other structures. Directly in front of them was the keep with two heavy doors guarded by two people in the same heavy armor as those beyond the gatehouse. Ghlan made a gesture, and the two elites hurried to open both doors before the group rushed past.

The cool dark interior was slightly disorienting after the bright afternoon sunshine, so Eli simply followed Tanca’s broad back. The group moved through the building, up some stone stairs, and down a short hallway towards a large wooden door. By the time they made it, Eli’s eyes had adjusted enough to see more of the elite guards in their heavy armor blocking the doorway, but they backed away at Ghlan’s gesture while one opened the door for them.

Inside was a sitting room, and beyond it was a large bedroom with the most oversized bed Eli had ever seen, outside of a movie anyway. Presumably, the man on the bed covered in bandages around his chest, stomach, and right arm was Dara’s father, Wybert “Wolf” Easone. From the sickly color of his skin to the blood already seeping through his dressings, he was in pretty bad shape. A man and woman were at his bedside, the man fiddling with the blood-soaked stomach wound while the woman stood beside the bed holding more clean bandages. Seeing them come in, both stepped away from the bed.

Bowing to Ghlan, the man spoke, “Gifted Ghlan, we’ve bound the wounds. The bleeding has stopped, but we think there is internal damage. I think with the right potion, we could help, but we can’t do much more,” he finished with his hands clenched in front of him as he bowed again. Straightening up, he glanced around and caught sight of Dara, and his face paled further as he bowed deeply to her. The woman healer almost squeaked like a mouse as she backed away with a bow toward Dara.

Done with all the delays, Eli toggled Manasight on as he walked towards the bed where someone had placed Wybert on a sheet over the blankets. Judging by the amount of red staining the sheet, there had been a lot of blood, and he glanced around the room, searching for any hidden dangers, and paused at the tiny glowing lights in the room, unsure why they were acting so strange. He was used to the clusters of colored lights, whether floating through the air or solid objects, moving along their own paths as they ignored the world around them. The glowing clouds of light here looked strangely reluctant to get anywhere near the bed, veering away in the air before getting too close – like the eye of a storm localized above Wybert. Frowning at the oddity, he couldn’t remember seeing mana react to anything except when he or Dara had made an oath. Even then, they only created a brief dance of lights or a bright flash and were nothing like the vortex in front of him.

Toggling Lifesight, his Manasight turned off, and a new filter overlaid his vision like augmented reality. He studied the nasty stab in Wybert’s chest, his ability letting him see beneath the bandages and skin. He was no doctor, but even he could tell it didn’t look good. Leaning closer, he touched Wybert’s left shoulder near the wound and triggered Identify.

Name: Wybert (Wolf) Easone

Species: Human

Race: Lurran

Level: 5

Evolution: Mid Mundane

Abilities: Greater Volk, Sprint

Status: Chest puncture, stomach puncture, arm laceration, poisoned, internal bleeding

The internal bleeding isn’t shocking, but that poison is gonna be a bitch. What is it with poisoning people here?

Eli thought about what he’d done the last time he’d healed Dara. The problem was that he still didn’t know how his healing ability worked, except that repeated waves of his energy had closed her wounds. With that thought in mind, he’d start doing the same here and juicing Wybert’s cells with healing energy. That should get them to work on beginning the healing process while hopefully holding Wybert stable, leaving Eli to work directly on the wounds.

There was a thump inside his chest like someone had rapped a knuckle lightly from the inside, and he triggered Manasight again. Wybert’s body and core lit up with a light shade of yellow while a slow wave of white color poured slowly into his tissues from where Eli’s hand rested near the wound. He concentrated, zooming in to look more closely as tiny white lights began sparkling throughout Wybert’s body wherever Eli’s power spread.

Switching back to Lifesight, the countless lights vanished. Trying to ignore his emerging headache, he focused his ability, trying to zoom his vision as much as possible, but he still couldn’t see the details he wanted. Like when he’d healed Dara, his Lifesight didn’t give him the same fine control he had with his Manasight.

I wonder if it has to do with the nature of the ability? Or maybe it’s just practice? I did use Manasight for a shit-ton of hours on the trail here and on my watch. Dang, do I need to level my abilities?

Pushing the errant thought away, he switched his abilities again, and Wybert’s cells lit up with a mix of white lights. Even as he watched, new lights appeared – then even more of the same repeatedly while fresh waves of Eli’s power flowed through the area. He could see a lot of activity, but he wasn’t a biologist or a doctor to know how well everything was working.

As if in response, the white lights suddenly started gradually disappearing, but within only a few heartbeats, nearly half within his sight was gone. Alarmed, Eli sent another energy pulse and leaned in closer as more white lights appeared but then vanished soon after. Leaning back again, he checked other parts of Wybert’s body and noticed that the disappearing lights were the worst near the wounds. Even as he poured more energy in, trying to increase the healing, Wybert’s body seemed to be losing the battle.

Toggling back to Manasight, Eli’s worry increased. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but then he remembered the poison status message, and his eyes narrowed in concentration. Whatever the poison was, it seemed to be doing something to the mana, somehow blanketing and smothering the energy in the cells, and he had no idea how to fix it.

Frustrated, he worked on the problem furiously. His Manasight and Lifesight couldn’t detect whatever was fighting him, so what else could be the culprit? What else did he know about the magic in this world?

Thinking about his options, he idly noticed that Dara stood nearby and Ghlan had moved to the foot of the bed, likely for a better view, with Tanca still standing in the same place. In contrast, the two apprentice healers stood against the nearest wall, yet both stared at Eli with fear.

The colored lights in the air swirling in agitation drew his eyes from the room’s occupants, again noting how they stayed clear of Wybert.

What is causing that? Could it be a side effect of the poison?

Eli tried focusing on the mana in the air like when he used his Tracking on various objects in the world, but the floating clusters of light were ephemeral, slipping away whenever he tried to exert any energy on a particular part of the room as if he was trying to grab a cloud.

Drawn by some instinct, he looked at Dara again and remembered when she’d taught him about auras that first night, and he’d seen the flash of a colored shell around her. Auras were supposed to be invisible, so could this issue be related to Wybert’s aura? Could someone poison it? Feeling like he was desperately grasping at straws, he tried to think of a way to confirm his theory. He already knew he couldn’t see auras, but was there a way to change that? After all, he’d created Lifesight, so why not something similar for auras?

He wracked his brains, thinking of the few details he had from Dara’s aura training. There was so much he didn’t know, but his gut urged him on like he was on the right track, and he paused with inspiration as his mind replayed those moments outside Herria when he’d struggled with retracting his aura. Auras were influenced by emotions, so what if he focused on what he’d felt when Dara’s aura touched his during their training and used that as a guide? Every time she displayed her aura, there was a current of energy, almost like that electric feeling before a big storm. Could all auras have that in common, maybe? It was worth a try.

Hoping his gut instinct was correct, he remembered the feeling of the energy and electricity in the air just before a storm. At the same time, he visualized a tiny piece of his consciousness reaching out like a ghostly limb, searching for that specific sensation elsewhere. Holding both ideas in his mind, he focused on moving energy outside himself to explore and find the same kind of spark.

There was a sharp pain in Eli’s chest as if some giant had just smashed their hand against his sternum from the inside, and he suddenly tasted blood. The pain in his head suddenly spiked into agony until tears formed in his eyes, but he remained focused on Wybert’s injuries while trying to feel the electric sensation in the air. Immediately, a strange sort of resistance materialized. Like trying to push against a rubber wall, there was a peculiar give to the barrier, but it held firm enough to stop him. Ignoring his body’s warnings and his badly bitten tongue, he continued searching, reaching for the spark of energy that he knew was almost within his grasp.

ERROR

User has gained ???

Partial evolution detected. Report immediately to the nearest Sanctioned Temple. Authorities will be contacted at the earliest opportunity.

Bright flashes of light interspersed with moments of deep blackness crashed around him as his vision blurred.

Oh no.