Curselock

Chapter 91: Touch of Regeneration

The cut on Leland’s arm healed before the frostbite did. Like a race, his skin reverted from black, blue, and lacerated to simply pale and smooth. It was a sight to see, one that Leland gawked at like a newborn playing with a new toy. Glenny, from a few steps away, held the same expression.

Most healing spells, or at least those of the Lord of Healing, were instant and potent. A cut like Leland’s would be healed in a matter of heartbeats, not over the span of about a minute. Seeing flesh knit back together was very surreal to the boys, yet Leland couldn’t help but shudder in delight.

Touch of Regeneration didn’t just heal. It invigorated. Leland felt good, like the morning after a bountiful night of sleep on a bed made of silk and clouds. His muscles regenerated, his joints softened. The tension left his shoulders and the odd crick in his neck disappeared with an audible pop. Seeing his skin move in such a way was a small price to pay in his mind.

“Glenny you’ve got to try this,” Leland said, clawing his way to his feet. He sat directly next to his rogue friend, holding his green-glowing finger out.

Glenny, as hesitant as he was to touch a strange unknown magic, reached out and nudged Leland’s finger with the back of his hand. “Oh. Oooh…”

Something deep within Glenny released. A knot or a torn tendon, or something. Whatever it was, the relief came almost instantly. It took a few dozen seconds for the deep wound to fully heal, yes, but the simple notion that it was being addressed eased his suffering. Frankly he didn’t even know he was injured, having grown used to the pain for so long, but now it was like night and day.

How did he ever put up with such a thing?

“It seems much more potent than your ring,” Glenny mused while stretching his tired muscles.

“I have to agree,” Leland answered in turn before standing. “Let’s just hope the quest I have to do is worth it.”

Glenny watched his friend slowly walk toward Jude and the small cub resting on his chest. The mother bear eyed the newcomer, a blank stare on her face.

While Leland was speaking with the Lord of Nature, the mother bear had hardly spoken to Glenny, only asking him if he was cold. Glenny, of course, was, and it was quickly suggested he build a fire. He didn’t have a great read on the mother bear, but it was evident she meant them no harm. After all, she could have easily killed them all like she did the horde of monsters just an hour earlier.

“What quest?” Glenny asked.

“A protection detail into an invested scorpion cave for a Legacy of Nature. I’ll fill you in later, for now…” Leland trailed off as he crouched next to Jude and Gelo. He pressed his glowing finger into Jude first, stealing a glance at the mother bear.

The bear looked interested, but wasn’t motioning to attack or anything. Even with Leland being in such proximity to her daughter.

He Touch of Regenerated Gelo next, earning a tilted head from her mother in response. Leland’s heart pounded at this, yet he stood tall and took a step forward.

“W-would you like me to—”

“Certainly.”

The word flowed from the mother bear’s snout like a gentle crash. Without adrenaline or the fear of losing Jude, nothing stood in the way to blunt the way she spoke. Power, authority, age, wisdom. Leland didn’t know, but he could feel it. Something was fundamentally different about Gelo’s mother, something that reminded him less of a beast and more of a Lord.

Slowly Leland stalked closer to the massive bear. A gradient of blue ice and white fur met him like chainmail on a knight. He searched for a location he could reach his finger through the frozen armor, yet always came up empty. Granted he had only searched a small portion of her front leg – everywhere within his reach.

The Guardian Spirit Beast, tensing his trepidation, shifted slightly, showing off a particular patch of bland fur. Leland didn’t hesitate, he would feel his contract’s timer running out.

With a gentle prod, his glowing finger touched the bear. The power and magic zipped into her body, disappearing deep within her very being.

“Oh… That feels quite nice,” She purred.

“Really?” Leland asked, his eyes split open like a puppy dog’s.

Gelo’s mother craned her neck to look down at him. She blinked long and slow before an odd expression overcame her snout. “No, that was a lie. I apologize, the spell is not potent enough to make any changes within me.”

“Ah.”

“Forgive me, while I’ve spoken with humans in the past, it has been sometime. My manners are not what they should be.”

Smiling at that, Leland said, “Gelo said something very similar when we met.”

“Like a butterfly chasing an eagle,” the bear said, leaning back.

“R-right…”

“You seem stressed.”

That’s an understatement, Leland thought with a bite of his tongue. He looked at Glenny, who was watching them speak while sitting by the fire, finding no solace.

“It’s been a long last few days,” Leland eventually said. “But then again, it’s been a long few months.” He paused.” It’s just been a lot, is what I’m trying to say.”

Mother bear relaxed, shifting her entire body. She laid down, head between her outstretched front paws. Even prone, she was double Leland’s height. “We have some time before Gelo and Jude wake, why not share? Maybe a different perspective will change your resolve.”

The boys looked at each other. Glenny gave a shrug. Leland then said, “We came to Frostford for an annual festival—”

She shook her head, interrupting. “I sense there is more before Frostford to your story. Why are you stressed, Leland?”

He flinched at his own name and looked back to Glenny for help. None was given, only a silent waiting stare. “It’s my Legacy,” Leland huffed out. “For a long time I was unable to use a spell, making it so that my friends ranked up without me. Now there is a big gap between us, even though I have access to the spell.”

From there, Leland explained all of his worries and thoughts about his rank and how he was slowing both Glenny and Jude down. Once he began talking, he spewed out information like a cracked faucet. Mother bear didn’t interrupt, nor did Glenny, even after the story stopped making chronological sense and became a mishmash of random tidbits of emotion.

He talked about his parents, their wishes for him to become a Legacy of Magic, and his subsequent betrayal. Glenny did object to that, stating that they only cared that he was happy, not what Lord he subscribed to. Leland ignored the statement, talking about being weaker now than he could be.

That was when Mother bear exhaled. “I understand you, young Leland. You and my little bird are not unalike. A natural progression of life, leaving the nest. Or den, in my case.” She chuckled at that. “Regardless, cubs leave and have to grow up on their own. Why do you think I allowed Gelo to leave the dungeon in the first place? It has been her home all her life.”

Leland frowned at that, thinking back to a previous conversation with the young bear. “I was under the impression she snuck out.”

Mother bear snorted at that. “A child’s imagination. I am the keeper of this dungeon’s core, nothing goes unnoticed. Even while asleep.”

That made Leland frown even harder. If she knew they were in the dungeon, why didn’t she help them with the worm or moose king? Why—

“Your expressions are telling, Leland. A sign of a trustworthy cub, rather than slimy pup,” Mother bear said. “I have faith in my kin, for I understand her like I do myself. As all parents should. Gelo entering or leaving the dungeon is her decision now, even if I believe it to be too early. The same reasoning applies to you three. Gelo trusted you to clear the dungeon to meet me, so I allowed it.”

“Then why interfere here? In the arena?” Glenny asked from near the fire.

Mother bear didn’t need to think about the question. “While I trust my daughter, she is still ignorant. There was a thread of fate that you three survive without receiving irreparable damage, but once you,” she looked at Leland, “activated that rage spell, the perfect threads all snapped. One, if not more of you, was not coming back after that. So I stepped in.”

Leland sat beside Glenny and began sucking down some hot stew. “I’m not sure what you are trying to tell me then.”

She took a deep icy breath. “You have time, Leland. You are young, powerful, brave, and trustworthy. Your slow to rank is not as big of a deal as you think, nor the silly notion that your parents have been betrayed. From the way you describe them, I expect them to be proud.”

As if to echo the Guardian Spirit Beast’s statement, the crow tattoo on his hand chirped with glee.

Leland stared at his hand for a long minute, too long, in fact. Glenny shied from the silence and spoke up, “May I ask your name, Guardian Spirit?”

Gelo’s Mother released a bemused exhale. “Frostford’s founder gave me the name, Floe.”

“It's wonderful to meet you, Floe. As you’ve already picked up on, I’m Glenny, that’s Leland, and Jude is the one with Gelo.”

Floe smiled at the late and redundant introduction.

Glenny continued. “You say you know what happens inside the dungeon, but do you know what happens outside?”

She subtly shook her head.

“Poachers. Ones that have already proven to attack on sight. And if the ones we faced off against are anything to go by, the ones remaining on the island are going to be just as potent. We suspect an ambush upon our exit.”

Thinking for a second, Floe nodded toward the opposite end of the sandy arena. “Maybe the items in that chest will help.”

Glenny and Leland both looked, finding an ornate golden chest sitting idle across the way. It had not been there prior to the battle, nor during. That could only mean one thing. Loot!