"Xerxes, is the power following us?" Elric was racing through the forest, trying to get as much distance between them and whomever had attacked Alcippe. He had also heard Damia tell Alf that someone was watching them and he didn't want to risk a second altercation.
"No, I still feel it over by the cave." Xerxes was holding onto Alcippe who was now covered in sweat from the pain in her leg. Even though he was forcing his magic through her, he was only able to do so much to put her at ease.
Damia remembered Elric say the village was still far away from their present location. "Are we going to make it, Elric?"
Elric hesitated for a moment. They could only keep the horses at full gallop for so long. They wouldn't be able to hold out as far as the village. All he needed was enough distance to ensure that no one else was near for what he would need to ask Castor to perform.
"We'll make it. Xerxes, do you sense anyone else around here besides us? I need the area clear."
"No, I don't feel anything."
Though he had not been asked, Alf spoke up as well. "The guardians that were following earlier have fallen back as well. I sent a message asking for space."
"Good." Elric slowed his horse and everyone else followed suit, but only down to a trot. He then glanced over to Castor who immediately knew what Elric needed.
Knights were known to only possess reinforcement magic. Castor was one of the rare knights that possessed reinforcement magic, as well as mage magic. Holding an open palm in front of him, Castor chanted a short spell, and a portal opened in front of the group. Elric was the first to go through and Castor urged everyone else to follow. He went through last, ensuring that no one outside of the group followed. Once he made it through the other side of the portal, he closed it behind him to prevent anyone else from using the portal.
"Why was that such a secret?" Xerxes felt a bit annoyed that Elric had treated the situation as some top secret, forbidden magic. It was more dramatic than he felt was necessary.
"I didn't want Castor opening a portal while a potential enemy was close enough to follow through before he could close the other side. That much should be obvious."
Xerxes rolled his eyes. "Let's go. This girl might not be bleeding right now, but that ice on her leg might give her frostbite."
The group continued following Elric, and in almost no time at all, they had arrived at the village. Elric rushed to the first person they saw to ask for the nearest healer. After speaking to a few people, they finally found one that led them to the village healer.
"Please Madam, can you heal this girl? She was attacked in the forest." Adi took lead in speaking with the healer.
"I need the ice removed from her leg first so I can assess the wound." The healer started gather herbs and potions to treat Alcippe.
Elric unsealed the magic on his ice which allowed Xerxes to use his magic to melt it off. The healer then quickly went to work to treat Alcippe. A few moments later, she had completed the work, and Alcippe's leg had been fully restored.
"The girl is fine now. She just needs to rest as the healing process consumes a lot of her energy. And she barely had enough left to complete the healing."
"Thank you, madam." Adi replied.
"Panacea, and you're welcome. What were you all doing in the forest anyway. Based on how this girl is dressed, I'd say she's a guardian. They don't generally get hurt, and if they do, I wouldn't expect travelers such as yourselves to rescue her."
Damia decided to speak up, hoping if she shared a bit of their story, Panacea would have some information that could help find the lycan king. "She was joining us in our journey to get to this village. We intended to stop for supplies, but she was ambushed on our way here."
Panacea was surprised by this story. With the number of guardians in the forest, it was extremely rare to hear of anyone being injured while traveling through it. The girl being a guardian would also mean that she's a skilled warrior. She shouldn't have fallen victim in such a manner.
"Were you able to find the attacker?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison to say no. Panacea found this curious. Just as she was about to continue with the conversation, Alcippe stirred in the bed and awoke to find the room full.
"You need to keep resting, child." Panacea tried to get her to go back to sleep, but Alcippe chose to sit up on the bed instead, swinging her legs to the side.
"I'm a fast healer. I don't need to rest as much as you may be thinking I need." Alcippe was curt with Panacea.
"Alcippe, show some respect. She just saved your life." Adi reprimanded her.
Though she did not like having Adi upset with her, she was still upset by the attack and she wanted answers on why the attacker looked like Damia if it wasn't her.
"I heard someone say that someone had been watching us. If I wasn't attacked by Damia, then how do you explain the attacker having her face?"
Something about the situation made Xerxes think that this had to do with the second power he could sense that felt like Damia's power. He had lost track of the second power while they had been at the cave. It was as though the power just stopped existing. But the spike he felt during Alcippe's attack was unmistakeable. It was Damia's power, only it was coming from someone else as he had seen Damia arrive at the stream before the spike occurred.
To everyone's surprise, Panacea was the first to provide some insight. "It sounds to me like you encountered a doppelganger."