The days without Garrett were a blessing to Elissa. She enjoyed having the girl around without anyone forcing her into the forest for exercise. She trained with the girl every morning. Since Elissa had given the mayors the date of the harvest, they had also set the date for the festival of Harvest Thanks. During this festival, she would have to dance in a ritual for the spirits. For this, she needed to get back into shape, something that became harder and harder for her with every passing year. Because of this, she taught the girl as well. It would build her body control, tension and flexibility, all things Garrett could not argue against. The girl was now wearing a strong ward Elissa had made for her. It was an intricate stitching on a linen armband and made sure, that every spirit around the girl knew to stay away from her and if any of them should come close nonetheless, Elissa would know.
The two of them were doing their morning routine stretching and exercises when the spirits told her about three people coming down the forest path. She interrupted her exercise but told Nannade to continue hers, then she went to meet the visitors.
They had just barely entered the forest and waited at the entrance for Elissa, which was a good sign. As they got into view, Elissa could tell by their yellow robes with green and red borders, that they were members of the Communion of sanctified Trade, a relatively young church that focussed on far-reaching trade, and offered a well-established trade-network, exchange rates and access to a large market, so for those who wanted to sell their goods further away, they did bring prosperity. They did not however bless the fields and bring fertility to all the life in the land, so for the bulk of the population of Sturreland, they were not preferable to the spirits that accompanied the lives of many here. The Communion paid their tolls and needed the Arch-Druid's approval for most actions, but still, they were weakening the Lodge's monolithic authority within Sturreland, so many people within the Lodge resented Loganna for her leniency.
The three members standing at the entrance of the forest seemed friendly enough. They had an ox-cart with them, loaded with wooden crates and burlap sacks. The man in front, the tallest of the three, greeted Elissa.
"You must be the witch Elissa. My name is Lorenzus, and these are my two brothers in faith, Dougalas and Thomassus."
Elissa decided to return the pleasantries, it was too early to be snappish. "Greetings, how may I help you?"
"We wish to traverse through this forest with your guidance. We have handed in the respective inquiry with the Arch-Druid's office." Lorenzus produced a folded piece of paper from his satchel. It was a filled out and approved inquiry for usage of the specially protected infrastructure of the Lodge, which included the road through Elissa's forest. She quickly cast a simple examination spell and instantly saw that the seal and signature were genuine.
"I see no reason, but please give me some time to prepare. I will find you here again in a few moments, then we can head out."
She hurried back to the hut and told Nannade to get ready. She would have to come along. Faan would watch over the hut. She packed a bit of bread and fruit for lunch, the travel through the forest and back would take the better part of four hours.
The travel was mostly silent and Elissa didn't have to do much. It was a quiet day and the spirits were at ease. Honestly, the clergymen could have walked by themselves and be fine, but Elissa took her few responsibilities seriously and she did not intend to let up now. The three men tried frequently to make conversations, especially with the girl, apparently in an attempt to convert her or at least spark her interest, but Elissa blocked any and all such attempts. Churches were good at digging their claws into unaware minds. It wasn't until they had made it more than halfway to the exit of the forest when Elissa was contacted by Faan. Loudly.
"Someone's coming down the road, they're coming for the hut. Three people."
Contacting her with specific words was not easy, so Faan must have serious reason for concern. She concentrated hard and sent a mental message back. "Stay where you are, don't intervene."
Just a short while later, Faan contacted her again. "THEY'RE RUMMAGING THROUGH ALL OUR STUFF!"
Now Elissa was alert. Nannade noticed and tried to ask her what the matter was, but Elissa shushed her. She turned to the three guests and started to chant in the old tongue to the spirits.
Quickly, spirits of oak, birch and pine gathered and twisted roots out of the road and around the three men.
"What are you doing? What did we do wrong?" One of them protested. Elissa had already forgotten his name.
"I'm sorry, but as it turns out three assailants have entered my hut just as I was away leading you through here. You're under arrest." She turned to Nannade. "Come, we have to hurry back."
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you when there's time, DO NOT leave my side under any circumstance!" She took the girl by the hand and started running through the forest. How would they ever make it back there in time?
It took only a few hundred feet for the girl to start stumbling. Elissa had to drag her back up. She would never make it before the assailants would get what they wanted and Faan was not capable of facing down three people on his own. She stopped. The girl was gasping for air. "Why are we running?" she asked.
"There are bad people at the hut. The three men we were escorting are probably in cahoots with them."
"I can't run all the way back!" Nannade protested out of breath.
"I know. Neither can I. But there is something I can do." She went to Nannade, knelt down and beckoned her to get on Elissa's back. "Hold on tight!" She said and the girl wrapped her arms around Elissa's neck.
Elissa started to chant again. Long and loud. She felt the gathering winds around her. She wasn't technically forbidden to do this, but since she wasn't an officially sworn in druid of the Lodge, she could get in trouble for using it wilfully. She doubted anyone would try her in this case though.
As more and more spirits of air and birds gathered around her, she managed to strike an acceptable bargain. The time for payment would be later. Then she felt herself get lighter and lighter, then float up. The girl's amazement was audible. Then Elissa's body started moving forward, accelerating ever faster until the two of them were bolting through the air just above the forest's canopy at ear-splitting speed.
They took much less than half an hour to get back to the hut. Faan was sitting on the roof, waiting for them. Elissa and the girl landed behind the hut, without making a sound.
"Finally you're here. They have been through most of your study already." Faan told them as they touched down. The girl's face was still showing her amazement but also her fright of the speed. Her hair was wildly blown back and her eyes were red from the wind.
"Have you notified the Guardians?" Elissa asked Faan.
"Yes. Also told them about the three clergymen. Have you rooted them in place?"
"Of course! Now let's get in." She said while flipping through her palm book. "Nannade, stay behind me and fan, but do not leave our line of sight. Who knows what they might try?" She turned back to Faan. "Do any of them seem magically capable?"
"One of them has a crystal ball on a short stick, not even a staff."
"I knew I should have mine with me at all times, DAMN!" Elissa was furious with herself.
Elissa decided on drastic measures. There were no living plants in the hut, so she could not ask the spirits for much assistance here. But she could utilize the floor boards with an arcane spell. She tore a few Entangling Wood and several Freezing Bolts from her book. Then she cast a Shield of energetic Deflection on herself. She had quite a bit of flux powder with her, so she took and entire fist full.
"Standard routine, Faan. I take care of the spellcaster, you keep the ones with blades off me and Nannade."
Faan nodded. Then they went around the hut towards the entry. Elissa made sure the girl stayed back but in sight. They arrived at the door and ducked below the window. Elissa directed Faan to spy through the window.
"They're still in the study, going through stuff. One's in the cooking area, looking through some boxes."
Elissa nodded to herself. The Guardians would be here soon, but she could not get them away either. She decided to act.
She burst through her own hut's front door, papers in hand and loudly proclaimed "You have one chance to surrender!"
When none of them complied and instead drew their blades, she shot the first Freezing Bolt at the one in the kitchen. He was flung back against the wall and sunk to the floor, frozen in pose by an unseen force. With a puff of blue smoke, Faan turned from a grey striped kitty cat into a large black puma. The second assailant came for him with a drawn dagger, but Faan held him at a distance with quick swipes.
The third, still standing in the door to the study, held up a crystal glass ball embedded in a twisting wooden staff about as long as a dagger's hilt. It had no iron rings, so its wielder was most likely no accomplished and properly trained mage. He still managed to sling a fiery lance her way. It glanced off her shield, but took out a good chunk of the flux Elissa had invested into it. She leapt forward and flipped the table to take cover behind it. Quickly, she popped up and flung an Entangling Wood at him, but instead of growing out and grasping the assailant, the floorboards wildly twisted and broke into splinters. She could try another one, but he seemed to be protected by some kind of shield. This was exactly what Garrett was good at. She never properly learned Abjuration, so she had to keep flinging at him until something stuck.
Faan was still trying to keep the other attacker in check, with swipes and growling. He was around the corner from the caster, next to Garrett's bed, but the caster started to move into the room. If he got a clear line of sight to Faan, the two could overpower first him and then Elissa. Nannade was still cowering behind the door frame, only occasionally peeking in to look at Elissa.
Elissa had made a decision. She concentrated on a specific weaving, then she popped back up from the table and cast her spells.
All the remaining pots and books on the shelves in the kitchen area started to dart towards the assailant. He had to duck and jump back to avoid them, stopping his advance into the room, but as soon as he regained his focus, he started another attack on Elissa. Instead of letting the shield take the hit, she jumped out of the way, the fire lance shooting out the door and into the forest to scorch a tree's bark somewhere further away.
Elissa grabbed a knife on her work bench, held it out in front of her and cast another spell. It darted off towards the caster, whistling in the air while in flight. He didn't manage to dodge, the knife sank into his abdomen with a soft scraping sound. She could his ribs on the other side of his body crack.
He screamed in pain, calling out to his colleague, who turned around, ignoring Faan for a second and tried to throw himself at Elissa, but just as he set one foot in her direction, Faan pounced on him, pinning him to the floor.
The caster would quickly bleed out, but he had one more in him. Elissa was walking over to Faan, so she missed what the caster was doing. Faan cried out to her and she could throw herself back and out of the way at the last moment, not realizing where she had stood. As she hopped backwards, she saw Nannade standing in the door frame, just now daring to peek her head back.
The fiery lance emanating from the caster's crystal ball shot through the room, and hit the girl square in the face. She was flung back several feet. She came to a rest and now lay motionless on the ground.
"NO!" Elissa heard herself scream, she got back up and ran towards the girl. As she picked the girl up, she could see scorch marks and traces of burnt hair in her face. "No, NO! Wake up, girl!" But the girl did not respond. Elissa did not give up hope. She put her fingers to the girl's neck and searched for a pulse. There it was. Her heart was still beating.
Elissa sighed with relief. She checked under the girl's shirt and found the vial. It was empty, all the blood in it had been used to weaken the effect of the spell to a non-lethal level. Elissa laughed and embraced the girl tightly.
The Guardians of the Lodge showed up shortly afterward, in their light grey surcoats with the green edges and the crest of the Lodge on the chest, wielding spears and carried by the wings of the spirits.
They took the two survivors into custody and help Elissa go through all their stuff to find out whether they had taken anything.
After the Guardians had left, she got to writing a letter. Not to anyone within the Lodge, but to Garrett. The assumption that the Communion of sanctified Trade was behind the attack was obvious, but Garrett had once told her that the obvious is the best hiding place for the absurd. She knew that he had a safe house in Doessenhof and she knew a barkeeper he frequented for updates and messages. She just had to address it right and add the required fee.
The spirit coming after Nannade, the Communion distracting her, the absence of Garrett, the thugs searching her house, it was all convenient for anyone trying to hide something. And if anyone tried to hide something, Garrett would be able to uncover it. She trusted his abilities that much.