The Wandering Spire

The sounds of battle came from a squad of Legionnaires battling the two Goreraptors. Jeze hoped that she would see the Proven when she and the Ironfist Kingdom team turned the corner and encountered the enormous beasts. The Legionnaires were desperately trying to keep the Goreraptors at bay with spears and shields, but the giant monsters rampaged through them like children through a pile of leaves.

"Mina with me, Cris and Joff up front. Alcard, take the middle. You all know what to do!" Lady Kalina barked.

The Ironfist team sprang into action. Viel sighed and leaned against the wall, and Jeze blinked at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Resting. What does it look like I am doing?" The tall man answered.

Jeze motioned to the chaos in the hallway just a few meters from them. "There are Goreraptors!"

Viel casually glanced and shrugged. "You heard that Kalina lady. She gave the orders and it looks like they can manage it. Besides, I have to conserve my energy. My promise is to aid you, not them."

Jeze realized how tired she was and that she had not recovered from their ordeals. Lady Kalina and Mina were a sight to behold! They gracefully weaved in and around the giant beasts like hunting cats. For Jeze, it was fascinating to watch the two as they danced along the thin line between life and death. The two sisters looked small and delicate next to the enormous monsters. The Goreraptors charged with their horns, snapped with their jaws, and swung their thick tails at the two sisters and barely missed each time. In return, Mina and Kalina sliced and slashed with their swords and left tiny gashes.

"They are such a contrast to each other. Hey, do you have any more of those potions?" Viel asked.

"How do you mean?" Jeze responded and handed Viel a recovery broth without taking her eyes off the battle in front of them.

"Lady Kalina weaves Rune magic into her swordplay. Mina relies on her armor, buckler, and raw skill," Viel observed.

Jeze arched an eyebrow. "Lady Kalina has tremendous skill."

"Of course, you would say that. Her fighting style is similar to yours," Viel retorted.

Jeze narrowed her eyes at the man and returned to watch the fight. A part of her felt bad that they were not helping. Another part acknowledged that they might not be needed. Between the five Adventurer-ranked Ironfist team members and the remaining dozen or so Legionnaires, the two Goreraptors should be handled in time.

Was Lady Kalina an Adept rank? Jeze wondered and watched the Amber Guard tap into her Channeling Tools and Summoned piles of dirt. Lady Kalina gracefully weaved the Runes into the air as she Shaped the Dirt into stone walls that forced the Goreraptors to move or retreat. Kalina Shaped and Controlled giant stone hands that formed out of the dirt and grabbed the Goreraptors. The giant beasts were able to break free but were held long enough for Lady Kalina to evade or slash them with her sword. Jeze was in awe as she watched the Amber Guard seamlessly weave swordplay and Rune magic as if they were one and the same.

Mina, on the other hand, hacked and slashed with her sword and remained dangerously close to the Demons. Jeze understood what Viel meant by raw skill. Mina did not Summon, Shape, or Control any Runes. Instead, the Ironfist warrior dodged, deflected with sword and buckler, and countered with sharp slices of her curved blade. Jeze observed as Mina relied on her armor. One Goreraptor charged with its horn, and the Ironfist fighter deflected with her buckler and evaded at the same time. The beast landed a glancing blow to Mina's steel shoulder pauldron, but instead of being thrown off balance, she rolled with the attack and countered with an overhand chop of her blade that slashed the Demon in its eye.

"That's a good hit. A game changer," Viel observed.

Whenever Mina was in trouble, Alcard, Joff, and Cris were there to aid her. The three thickly armored Ironfist Templars engaged the Goreraptors head-on. They blocked snapping jaws with their heavy shields and smashed with their axes and hammers. They rolled out of the way whenever the giant beats tried to stomp them or impale them with their horns. They had a grace that belied their bulky bodies. But, the fight was not without incident. One Goreraptor caught Jof in its jaws and slammed the Ironfist fighter to the ground. Alcard healed him as Cris and Mina furiously attacked the Demon to draw it away. The Legionnaires provided assistance with their spears and, with an occasional crossbow, fired at the Demons. Jeze felt it was feeble at best and figured the Legionnaries to be Prospect ranked, maybe with one or two Initiates. Viel snored gently to her side.

"Are you sleeping?" Jeze asked.

Viel sputtered awake and blinked his eyes. "I was. Not anymore, thanks to you."

"How could you sleep in a time like this?" Jeze demanded.

Viel scowled at her and snapped, "Don't judge me. Us Dragons have tremendous power, but we need to sleep and eat a lot. Can I have another recovery broth?"

Jeze's eyes went wide. Did she have enough? With a shrug, she gave him her last jar.

"You have my thanks," Viel muttered.

"Even in your human form you need to sleep?" Jeze asked.

Viel nodded. "Not as much. Bloody ironic, huh? This blasted curse the Ones from Before put on me allows me to be awake for much longer. I suppose this small body uses less energy. But all that healing you saw me do comes with a price."

"How long do you need to sleep?" Jeze wondered.

Viel slurped up the potion and glanced back at her. "A few months."

"What?!?!" Jeze exclaimed. "You will miss the Spire!" She observed.

"It may still be around. The last one lasted over a year," Viel replied.

Jeze blinked and asked, "How did you travel with my brother?"

"With Daverious, I was with a team. I didn't run into a blasted curse and fire Rune trap by myself. I didn't take crossbolts to my chest, fight Swamp Demons, or have a scrap with an annoying girl!" Viel growled.

Jeze nodded. Viel had been through a lot even before they met. "After we find my team, will I see you again?"

The man with the red eyes shrugged. "Perhaps two incredible people like ourselves will surely run into each other again."

Lady Kalina gracefully weaved her Rune magic into her swordplay. The Amber Guard stood in front of the massive Goreraptor and weaved a Boulder to strike it in its horned head. The beast roared as it stumbled to one side. Lady Kalina slid underneath it and sliced the back of its legs with two sharp strokes of her sword. She flipped out of the way as the creature attempted to slam its tail on her. As Lady Kalina spun back to face the beast she had weaved Glyphs to Control another Boulder to smash into the Goreraptor. With its wounded legs, the blow knocked the beast down onto its side, where Alcard crushed its head with a powerful chop of his two-handed hammer.

"One down," Viel observed.

Jeze turned her attention to Mina, Joff, and Cris as the trio fought the second Goreraptor. Mina faced the monster head-on as it tried to impale her with its deadly horn. The Ironfist warrior deflected with her buckler and dodged while countering with her sword. The creature was blind in its wounded eye and was unable to notice Joff and Cris flanking it. The two templars slammed their heavy hammers into the beast's knees and crippled it. It howled as it stumbled, but not before it struck Joff hard with its tail. The Templar was sent crashing against the wall, and he landed in a heap that sounded like folding metal. Alcard was there in an instant to heal his colleague. It was just a few short, bloody moments before the second Goreraptor was put down.

“For Glory!” Jeze roared.

The others looked at her. Viel snickered.

"They are not your team," he observed.

Jeze sighed and imagined Ziplocke would have enjoyed this moment.

"You have our thanks," a senior Legionnaire stated in a deep voice that reminded Jeze of rolling rocks.

The man saluted with a fist to his golden armored chest. Lady Kalina nodded and surveyed the troops.

"What is the situation?" the ranking Guild member barked.

The Legionnaires looked amongst each other, confused. On one hand, they served the Immortal Emperor and were soldiers of the Empire. On the other hand, they were also Guild members. The confusion was clear on their battered faces.

Finally, the senior looking soldier with the deep voice answered, "We encountered Demon worshipers up ahead, and were forced to flee as the two Goreraptors gave chase. We lost a lot of men."

The Ironfist team struggled between empathy and scorn. Their kingdom had long standing disputes with the Empire. But, these Legionnaires were also fellow adventurers. The Guild cared not for empires, kingdoms, and disputes.

Lady Kalina nodded, "Your losses will not go without purpose. Show us to the chamber, and let us defeat these Demon worshipers."

The Legionnaires saluted her with their fists to their chests. The officer commanded them into formation, and they marched alongside Jeze and the Ironfist team. They were led into a massive circular chamber with a monstrous statue in its center.

"Is that a Fiend?" Jeze wondered.

Viel cocked his head and replied, "Yup. That's what they look like, but a real one is a little bigger."

“Bigger?” Jeze gawked.

Viel gripped her shoulder and replied, "Get stronger, kid. The higher you go up, the harder it gets. Remember, this is only floor three."

Jeze nodded but immediately forgot about the Fiend when her eyes fell upon a group on the other side of the chamber. Dozens of emotions and feelings bubbled up from within her chest. Excitement, worry, concern, and joy. They churned and rolled within her like a hurricane. Jeze found her team! But they were in the middle of a pitched battle against dark-robed cultists!

"Legionnaires attack!" The commanding officer barked.

The chamber thundered as the two sides clashed. The cultists were lightly armored and fought with sword, bow, and Rune magic. Skill-wise, they were evenly matched against the Legionnaires. But, with the Proven and the Ironfist Kingdom team, it was only a matter of moments before the cultists were routed and defeated.

"Jezie!" Helga cried.

The teenager was lifted in a powerful embrace by the warrior maiden. As Jeze got closer more details began to emerge. They looked battered, especially Dunar. The Leader was pale and had his left arm in a sling.

"Are you alright?" Jeze asked.

Dunar smiled weakly. "I'll be fine."

"He lost his arm! You should have seen it! It was spectacular!" Ziplocke shrieked.

The Goblin ran up to Jeze's shoulder where she patted him on his small green head. She turned toward Dunar with worried eyes.

"Do not worry about me. Mikal healed me," Dunar said.

"Only temporarily. My Summoned Life aspect will only last an hour at most before it wears off. Dunar requires more treatment if he wants to keep his arm," Mikal stated. The dark-haired Healer gave Jeze a gentle hug.

"Move aside Mikal. My turn," Rolfe said. The giant Protector lifted Jeze and twirled her around. "You had us worried! We are now all together!"

Jeze laughed and cried, "For Glory!"

"Hurrah!" The team cheered back.

"Easy, Dunar, you don't want your arm to fall off again," Mikal admonished.

Jeze remembered something the Healer said and asked, "You didn't Shape his flesh together?"

Mikal scowled at her. The sweet reunion was already over, and the Healer reverted back to being cynical. "His arm was severed. We are talking about Flesh and bone, to Shape that would be impossible."

"Then how?" Jeze asked and looked again with worry. If Dunar lost his arm, would he still be able to be their Leader? An injury like that could retire any adventurer.

Mikal rubbed his face and shook his head. "I Summoned Flesh and Bone with the Life aspect," he snapped.

"Aww," Jeze nodded in understanding.

She knew that the body wanted to remain together, so Shaping Flesh native to this realm to mend wounds was possible, though difficult. Using the life aspect to rip Flesh can not be done as the body does not want to be apart. Just like it would be extremely difficult to Shape a shadow into the light. Shadows wanted to remain in darkness. One of the reasons why Jeze and her brother preferred the Earth aspect was because a rock did not care where it was. It was still difficult to Shape native rocks, but easier than other elements because the Earth did not have a preference. It was stubborn, but it also did not care. Fire was hard to Control due to its erratic nature, but it was always hungry. It was much easier to Shape fire when it was moved toward a fuel source, and impossible to Shape fire away from something it was consuming. It was best for Rune casters to Summon the Aspects from other realms. Their time was limited in the material plane, but much easier to Shape and Control. That was what Mikal did, but if the spell wore off, would Dunar's arm fall off?

"Do you need to keep Summoning the Life aspect? Can't you stitch his arm together?" Jeze asked.

Mikal gave Jeze a look that could curdle milk. "I don't have time to give you a lesson. I need you to find us a portal out of here so we can save Dunar's arm," he hissed.

Dunar cleared his throat and said, "Stop the fighting. I will be fine." The Frostsworn Leader nodded in greeting to Lady Kalina and her team.

The Amber Guard skipped the formalities and simply said, "Let me see your arm."

Dunar obliged her despite Mikal's grumbling objections. Lady Kalina motioned for Alcard to look at the arm. The Templar studied the wound.

"This is good work," he intoned.

"Anything we can do?" Lady Kalina asked.

Alcard tapped his chin and said, "I hear the Empire stocks its troops with special bandages."

Lady Kalina nodded and barked orders to the Legion. After seeing her prowess against the Goreraptors, the Empire soldiers gave no resistance. In moments, a young soldier, just a few years older than Jeze came by.

"Here," the young man fumbled with bandages that were lined with Runes.

"This is ingenious. Gotta hand it to Empire," Alcard muttered.

Mina snorted in disgust while Mikal's face softened as he studied the bandages.

"These should extend my spell long enough for Dunar's body to mend itself," the Frostsworn Healer observed.

"That's bloody genius, right?" Viel said.

The tall swordsman appeared behind Jeze, and she had forgotten about him in all the commotion. The Proven looked at the newcomer with stoic faces. Jeze had traveled so long with the Frostsworn that she had forgotten how intimidating they could appear. Viel grinned and waved. Jeze quickly introduced him, and the tension melted away like ice over a flame. Mikal and Dunar watched as the Legionnaire applied the bandages to Dunar's arm and completed the Glyphs that snapped the Life magic into place.

"Keep these on for a few weeks. Be sure to clean and rebandage at least once a day," the soldier said before quickly departing.

"A few weeks? Maybe for an Empire Soldier, but I give it a few days for a Frostsworn," Rolfe boasted.

"Oh ya!" Helga exclaimed.

Viel pulled Jeze to the side and said, "I have completed my promise. You have returned with your team. I still owe you Jeze Zanchi. Trust that I will repay my debt in full to you."

Jeze smiled and hugged the tall sword fighter. "You don't owe me anything, but I would like for us to stay in touch."

Viel wiped his eyes and departed without further words.

"Where is he going?" Dunar asked.

Jeze thought for a moment and replied, "He found his answers and is done with the Spire."

"Ya? We are only on Floor Three!" Helga said.

"He has no team," Rolfe observed.

"Why do we care?" Mikal snapped.

Ziplocke snickered. "You are all fools!"

Jeze grinned. She was back with her team.