Chapter 7

Once they were out of earshot, Rohea turned to Puccar and said, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now, for what you did to the king."

Puccar laughed, and said, "All I did was to create an opportunity for Maes to clear her name. You should give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

Maes replied, "No, you mustn't kill Sir Rohea!"

Puccar glanced at Maes, then at Rohea, and chuckled. He said, "I see, you have special feelings for him. What about this mage here?"

Pyar paled.

Maes said, "You shouldn't kill her either, she is a friend."

Rohea narrowed his eyes and asked, "He listens to you, Maes?"

Puccar laughed. "I answer to no one, but it is in my current interest to follow Maes' instructions for now."

Maes asked, "What are your plans in Wolle?"

Puccar shrugged. "I am a knight, so I will live a knight's life."

Pyar sneered and said, "Am I to believe that you will not cause countless deaths like Trevaq's wight?"

Puccar replied, "Funny that you should say that. It was the mages that caused most of the deaths."

"How so?" Rohea asked.

"Trevaq sought to live peacefully with his returned wife, but the mages caught wind of it, and destroyed the entire town they lived in. Everywhere they went, the mages followed and destroyed," Puccar explained.

"And we should take your word for it?" Pyar questioned.

"Why not ask Trevaq himself?" Puccar suggested.

"What do you mean?" Pyar exclaimed. "Trevaq and his wight were stopped many years ago."

Puccar laughed. "Is that what the other mages told you? Trevaq and his wight still exist today. Why, I can feel their presence in this very city."

"What?" Pyar said. "That's impossible!"

"It appears that there is much you do not know, young mage," Puccar taunted. "Trevaq is under watch by mages, and I'm sure one or more of them have enjoyed the benefits of a wight."

"Benefits?" Pyar asked.

Puccar laughed, but kept silent.

"Mastery over death," Maes stated.

Puccar nodded.

"Why don't you go back to where you came from?" Rohea asked.

"Why would I?" Puccar questioned. "There are so many things to see and do in this plane of existence."

"We can't let you stay here," Rohea stated. "Return, or we will have to kill you."

"Kill me?" Puccar laughed. "I can't be killed." Puccar narrowed his eyes and glared at Rohea, and continued, "If you try, I will kill you, even if that is against Maes' wishes."

"I will find a way," Rohea stated, and walked away.

Maes followed him, glancing back at Puccar. Puccar gave an evil smile, and turned to walk in the opposite direction. Pyar walked towards Rohea and Maes. The trio walked into Rohea's chambers, and closed the doors to discuss their plans.

"I must inform the Mage Council," Pyar said. "They will know what to do."

Rohea shook his head, and said, "The Mage Council cannot be trusted. Let us seek the help of Groba."

"The Mage Council only has the interests of the land at heart!" Pyar replied defensively. "But alright, we can first hear what advice Groba has."

"How old is Groba?" Maes asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Rohea replied. "Since I've known him, he has always been an old man."

Maes continued, "Grizol was much older than he looked, and he admitted that he was around at Trevaq's time, and so was Groba."

"Hmm," Rohea said. "So you think Groba would know where Trevaq and his wight are?"

"I believe so. The question is whether he will be friendly to me, if he knows that I am a healer," Maes said.

"Grizol did say that Groba is a healer-hunter," Pyar said.

"I do not believe Groba would do anything to you, since you are under my protection," Rohea stated.

"Where can we find Groba?" Maes asked.

"He wanders around Wolle," Rohea said. "He tends to find me whenever I need him."

"What should we do then?" Pyar asked.

"I have an idea," Maes said. "Groba hunts healers, so maybe he can sense when I heal. Give me your hand," she continued, reaching for Pyar's arm.

Pyar initially held her arm out, but recoiled it when Maes pulled out a dagger from her clothes. Maes held tightly, and cut a deep gash across Pyar arm. Pyar yelped, and blood flowed steadily from the wound.

The soft warm glow emanated from Maes's hand and flowed around the wound. The wound quickly closed and the bleeding stopped.

"Do you think that would work?" Rohea asked.

Maes shrugged, and said, "I don't know, but I hope so."

Just at that moment, they heard a knock on the door. The door swung open slowly, and Groba walked in unceremoniously.

"So, Rohea," Groba started, "I hear that your squire is a healer."

Rohea nodded, and said, "I heard that you hunt healers."

Groba chuckled and said, "Yes, indeed I do. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for a reply, Groba glared at Maes and said, "Because healers summon wights, just as Trevaq did, and as Maes did!"

"You know about Sir Puccar?" Pyar asked.

"Of course, I sensed him when he arrived in Wolle," Groba replied.

"Why didn't you stop him then?" Rohea asked.

"Ah, wights are a tricky matter," Groba said. "There is little I could do," he continued, stepping closer to Maes. "Now that Maes is here, there is much I can do."

Groba suddenly gripped onto Maes' arm. Maes struggled but could not break free. Before Rohea could react, Groba muttered a few words, and a puff of smoke appeared around him. After the smoke cleared, both Groba and Maes had disappeared.

"Maes!" Rohea called.

"They've teleported away," Pyar stated.

"Do you know where they've gone?"

"No, I cannot sense it," Pyar said.

Rohea cursed and said, "We must find Sir Puccar, he might be able to sense Maes."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Pyar asked.

"We don't have much choice," Rohea said. "From what I can tell, Sir Puccar will want Maes to be safe as well."

When they arrived at Puccar's room, he was pacing back and forth, obviously fuming.

"There you are!" Puccar said. "I leave Maes with you for a short while and you can't even protect her?"

"You know?" Rohea asked.

"Of course!" Puccar replied. "I should have seen it coming. Ugh, how stupid of me."

"What does Groba want with Maes?" Pyar asked.

"Me, of course. Apparently Trevaq and his wight isn't enough for you mages. I should just kill the lot of you," Puccar said angrily.

"Killing the two of us won't solve anything," Rohea said diplomatically. "All of us want Maes to be safe. Let us help you."

Puccar scoffed, and said, "You will be more of a hindrance than help."

"I have put an end to many mages," Rohea said, patting the sword sheathed by his side.

"And yet you didn't do anything when Groba took Maes," Puccar pointed out.

"Why would Groba capture Maes to get you?" Pyar asked.

"He knows of my weakness, likely through Trevaq and his wight," Puccar said. "We must hurry and free Maes before it is too late!"

"Have you brought me another lowlife to absorb, Groba?" a female voice called out weakly from the darkness. "It is too soon for you to feed again."

Groba stepped into the light, still holding on to Maes. He smiled and said, "Oh no, this is not for feeding. She is a healer, much like Trevaq."

The dark figure in front of Groba turned and glanced at the body laying down on the ground beside it. "There is little a healer can do at this point," the wight said. "Trevaq is much too weak to go on for much longer. Even a healer's blood will only sustain him for a month at most."

Groba laughed, and said, "You misunderstand. Maes here is not any ordinary healer, she summoned a wight too."

The wight looked surprised. It turned to Maes and said, "Run, run, while you can! Or you will suffer the same fate as Trevaq and I."

Groba laughed again. "There is no escape from here. No one can come in here except me."

"What do you want with me?" Maes narrowed her eyes and asked.

"Nothing, really," Groba replied. "All I need from you is to stay alive, while your wight serves me, just like she has done," he continued, gesturing at Trevaq's wight.

"Never!" Maes shouted. She blinked, and her eyes turned pitch dark. The dark aura swirled around her, and headed towards Groba.

Groba stood still defiantly, and crossed him arms across his chest. The dark aura surrounded him, but could not make actual contact. Instead, it hovered above his skin, swirling faster and faster.

After some time, Groba chuckled. "Do you think I would bring you here if you could do any harm to me?" he taunted.

"He is protected from our powers," the wight explained. "He has ingested so much healer's blood that he is immune, just like you are."