When they stepped from the pool both of them felt…refreshed. Ethan stumbled to the healers and got examined by them once again. After they saw that all his wounds were healed he could get dressed again and was sent on his way. At the entrance to the healing quarter he saw Lorena again, this time dressed in some new clothes. Ethan's robe also had repaired itself again, glad for that enchantment. They said nothing, both of them coming to a silent understanding that what happened, happened and wouldn't be talked about.

She guided him to the barracks where she picked out something that looked like a scabbard you could attack to your back but it had just a ring of leather instead of an actual scabbard. "For your staff, I saw you walking around with it all the time, which is bad if you need both hands for something." Lorena explained and pushed it against his chest. After that she gathered a light chainmail shirt, some leather bracers and a leather vest.

"I find it interesting how long you survived without a piece of armor on your body so we need to change that immediately." She threw a pair of sturdy leather gloves on the pile. "Here if you need a firm grip on something, we need to scale a mountain after all in the worst case scenario."

Multiple times Ethan opened his mouth to say something or ask a question but the elf was always faster than him. In the end he just nodded along and waited patiently for her to finish. What landed on the pile in front of him was the armor she picked out, throwing knives, a few potions he had no idea what they would do and so on. Most of it was unnecessary, who needs throwing knives when you can shoot spikes made from ice? Still he appreciated the help and went to the back to put the armor on.

It was very straightforward, the vest he could just throw over and tighten with the laces that were in the front, then he put the chainmail over it and pulled the gloves over his hands. The bracers came next and covered his entire forearms and kept the chainmail shirt from shifting back and forth along his arms. To finish it off he put his robe back on and looked for Lorena.

She was waiting for him and let her gaze wander over his body. She nodded and smiled. "Good you look a lot more prepared than before we should go meet the others and then it's almost time to head out. We just need to wait for the beastmaster."

Ethan raised an eyebrow and hoped for an explanation but she just walked away. It seems after the healing pool…accident she was a lot more brazen with him. It wasn't a bad chance, quite the contrary actually.

He shook his head and followed her, the added weight was something he had to get used to but he was glad to have some protection. Remembering some past injuries that totally could have been avoided if he had proper equipment.

They made their way back towards the elevator that would carry them down to the ground. Ethan already spotted the elves that he traveled with before and brought him here. But there was someone new with them, another elf but she was nearly as tall as him and her eyes were completely white. Next to the tall elf stood the matriarch.

"I was wondering when you would show up!" the older elf exclaimed, a disapproving tone in her voice. "At least you look more presentable now. Well let's get down to business, the necromancer is one the move towards the mountain and we need to catch up to him." She waved towards the tall elf.

"This is Vanya, she will help you locate the necromancer at all times. She is currently connected to her familiar, a falcon keeping watch over the necromancer's movements. She usually stays here but as you all can guess these are extraordinary circumstances." She looked even more pissed off than before. "As discussed, Ethan here will engage the necromancer with Lorena's scouts as support. The others are already on their way through the forest, trying to reach a good position for an ambush if that becomes necessary."

The matriarch tapped her staff on the wooden floor and for a moment her face became soft. "Return to the village alive, okay?" Slowly she made her way back up the road to her hut, she looked older with each step she took until she was out of sight, her slumped form vanishing around the corner.

Ethan looked at the others before his eyes lingered on Lorena, she gave him a nod and the scouts prepared to move out. The beastmaster, Vanya, was still not moving but Ethan guessed she would snap out of it if there were news to report. For now Lorena guided her to the elevator, her body moved almost like a robot when pulled along.

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He didn't think about it too much and stepped onto the platform with the others, they all looked ready for war. Wearing more complex armor, their bows looked freshly oiled, their quivers filled with new arrows, their blades sharpened and ready for combat. Ethan looked down, inspecting his own body and then the staff in his hands. He could already feel that the magic was moving through new cracks in the black polished wood, it would surely break soon, hopefully after the fight was concluded.

The elevator carried them down to the ground where the pack of wolves was already waiting. Pale, the large white wolf happily approached Ethan and they shared their emotions freely with each other. Even then it felt so limiting compared to Nora, who was still out there but actually getting closer to them. Pale could feel that Ethan was in a bad mood because of the upcoming fight, nudging him with his big wet nose. He smiled and patted the wolf on his fluffy head.

"I think it's time buddy, thanks for carrying me on this journey." he gave the wolf another pat before jumping on to his back, his fingers digging into the soft fur on his neck. While he was supposed to fight the necromancer he was glad that he wasn't in charge of the actual operation. Once everyone was sitting alone or in pairs on their wolves Lorena gave a signal to move out. She herself was sitting with the beastmaster on one of the larger wolves.

They moved out but instead of the neck breaking pace from the before they were basically on a leisurely walk. While speed was off the essence they still had to wait for more information, so they approached the general direction of the mountains while the others teams got in position.

With time the mountain got closer and a sudden gasp was heard from the wolf Lorena rode on. Vanya was back, her eyes now an emerald green instead of the disturbing white. She grabbed Lorena's shoulder to keep herself steady, she was still coming to her senses and took a few deep breaths. The tension was thick in the air, all of them wanted to know what was happening.

When she finally talked the news was a relief. "The necromancer stopped near the mountains, for now he just stands there mumbling something while drawing symbols into the ground. Most teams are in position and we should be able to catch him off guard, the only thing that worries me is the lack of undead creatures but the teams couldn't find any signs of them, not with mundane or magical senses."

Ethan turned towards here. "Did anything stand out about him? His body, maybe a weapon or something like that?" She turned to him, only now registering that there was someone she hadn't seen before but she didn't look too fazed by it.

"No, nothing of that kind. He didn't hold anything and his body was covered in black robes so I couldn't see anything from above. That he was mumbling about something was caught by a ground team that almost got close, the language he spoke wasn't known to any of us."

"Alright…thank you." he gave her a reassuring smile, at least he tried to, his thoughts were a mess and the upcoming fight made him shiver. He knew he could take James, he just wasn't prepared to lose someone…again.

They continued on their way, Ethan asking to change the route, glad that Lorena didn't question him about it. Once Ethan felt it he urged Pale to speed up, they approached a tall tree and the moment Ethan stopped under it he felt the connection between them. Emotions and memories got exchanged at an incredible speed and before he could look through them he already felt the familiar weight on his shoulder, the soft scales on his pale skin.

It seems Ethan you had quite the adventure yourself while I was gone. Nora whispered into his thoughts.

"That's true and it seems we are approaching the end of this adventure faster than I expected."

As long as we clean up the mess in front of us and start fresh on your homeworld.

He laughed and his fingers glided over her body. "Let's show this necromancer fuck to not mess with us one last time."

Pale turned around and they got back to the others where Nora was introduced to the rest, none of them found it weird that he had a companion and they quickly continued on their way. Now that they knew where to go the speed increased once again to ridiculous levels.

I will get you this time James…

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