The sight of Theorn landing his pegasus on one of the designated landing zones and hopping off caused Asher's head to whip around so fast he felt his newest skill nearly flicker and die from the sudden movement.

What is he doing here?!

Theorn was not only the heir to the Frent family estate, the noble family in charge of Whikoga, he was also the one Asher had used as living cover in order to infiltrate the Frent estate and track down the person who had been making Eight's ink. Asher had known he was a pegasus rider, which meant he obviously got around, but he hadn't considered the fact that he might run into the friendly noble again outside of Whikoga.

Putting his plan to hunt around blindly for the Frent estate on hold, Asher decided to instead take advantage of this unexpected opportunity. Presumably, Theorn would make a beeline toward wherever the Frent family resided when visiting Dormaul, which would hopefully lead Asher right to Leighann's missing finger. He still didn't know if all the noble families maintained smaller holdings in each of the eleven cities across the Noala Kingdom, or if they had guest areas they stayed in, but he supposed he'd find out soon enough.

Asher silently watched as Theorn patted down his pegasus, a beautiful steed with a shining white coat who actually nodded appreciatively as he did so. Curiously, Theorn didn't seem to use a saddle, which seemed like quite the choice for a rider that was soaring through the skies. A small tumble could very well be a total death sentence.

Once he had checked on his steed, Theorn stepped around to the lightweight wagon, straightening his outfit and opening the door for whoever was inside.

Out of the wagon stepped a woman in a luxurious violet gown that was covered in so many gems, Asher wasn't sure if he could even see any of the fabric. The effect was hypnotic, as the setting sun transformed the woman into a living lightshow. Asher could barely even make out her long, snow-white hair that trailed down almost to her ankles, or the bright white eyes that swept across the first level and almost seemed to pause on him for a moment. He already had a sneaking suspicion he knew who this woman was, and his Identify confirmed it.

[Healer] - 3/3 Elements

I guess that explains why Theorn's here…

As the heir to the Frent family, Theorn would no doubt be trusted to keep something like this a secret. From what Asher had gathered, the Frent family was hiding the fact that Leighann had died in the first place, presumably because they didn't want to seem weak. While her dying wasn't all that uncommon due to her rather volatile alchemical experiments, admitting she'd died this time would potentially mean admitting someone had snuck past their estate's defenses. In a world filled with truth-magic, it was always better to avoid having to lie whenever possible.

Thus, Theorn must have been the one sent to retrieve the Healer from the capital and bring them to Dormaul for the resurrection.

I wonder why he couldn't just bring the finger to her, Asher pondered as the woman gave Theorn a genuine smile and thanked him for the hand as she hopped down from the wagon. For the life of him, Asher couldn't place the woman's age. Her face looked like that of someone in their mid-twenties, but from the way she carried herself and how Theorn acted, almost as if he was afraid of hurting her if he moved too quickly, she had to be far older than she seemed.

The two of them kept their voices low, so Asher couldn't make out the actual conversation, but Theorn said something that caused the woman to laugh and gently bat his arm, almost as if she were admonishing him. Theorn couldn't help but grin in response, and after offering her an arm which she graciously accepted, they slowly headed out of the landing zone, meeting a guard as they did so.

Asher cursed his inability to hear what was going on as Theorn and the guard exchanged words. The pegasus rider held out his arm and received a stamp that must have been the magical tattoo that would denote him as having permission to access the first level. But when the guard shifted to give one to the healer as well, Theorn shook his head. There was a brief argument, before Theorn nodded toward the healer with a frown and said something, causing the guard to do a double take. Asher didn't know what was said, but immediately, the guard's entire demeanor and even how he carried himself changed, as he withdrew into himself and bowed deeply to the healer. For her part, the woman didn't seem embarrassed so much as resigned as she motioned for him to straighten. Rather than stamp her arm, the guard waved them both through, and they began walking in Asher's direction.

Well that's good to know… I guess the tattoos aren't linked to any sort of defensive measures, they truly are just for identification. Otherwise that woman would set off whatever traps were in place. And I knew there were only a few healers capable of resurrection within the entire kingdom, but I guess I never stopped to think about just how much of a big deal that made them…

Asher watched as Theorn and the healer drew ever closer, until finally, he could make out their conversation. The words were warbly and echoing in the astral as per usual, but he could understand them at the very least.

"…can't believe the High Prince wanted you on standby for so long. Standby! As if you didn't have more important things to be doing!"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"The High Prince is a wise man," the healer replied, her powerful and ancient voice confirming without a doubt that this woman was far older than she appeared. "I have no doubt he had his reasons for making such an unusual request."

"I know he's the High Prince, but you're you," Theorn argued, sounding genuinely upset. "You could leave the Noala kingdom and go anywhere. Any kingdom would scramble to find a place for you if you decided to leave!"

Asher cocked his head as he eavesdropped. From the way Theorn spoke and acted around the woman, he got the vibe that Theorn viewed her more as a respected elder than some powerful figure he was afraid of, like how the guard had reacted. In response to Theorn's claim, the woman merely smiled, shaking her head.

"The Noala Kingdom is a far smaller part of the world than you understand, little Theorn. While many within it view me as one who has climbed to the tallest heights imaginable, all that means is that I have a better seat to witness the celestials soaring further yet above us all."

"You say that, but you refuse to give me any details on these supposed celestials of yours anytime I ask," Theorn huffed, making it sound like this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. "Come on, Gran, just give me a hint!"

"One must swim their own way through the rivers of advancement. If I were to throw you a rope and drag you partially upstream, I would be doing you a disservice in the long run," the woman said, gently patting Theorn's arm.

"I'm not asking for a rope, just a small hint," Theorn grumbled, earning a soft, delicate chuckle from the healer.

"It's because of the fact that you are willing to argue with an old soul such as myself that I do enjoy our chats, little Theorn," she smiled as they walked directly underneath where Asher was hiding, her words causing Theorn to blush. "In fact, I would love the chance to continue our earlier conversation over some tea tomorrow, prior to the resurrection ceremony. Sadly, these old bones have grown weary from travel, and I'd like to spend the evening relaxing in my room. Could you be a dear and ensure I won't have any unexpected visitors?"

As she made this request, the healer turned her head and looked directly at Asher, her piercing white gaze meeting his own. Despite the fact that his heart was currently frozen from his False Death skill, Asher swore he felt it miss a beat as he realized he hadn't imagined her gaze lingering on his position earlier. Only this wasn't like Leonard smelling him within the astral, or Bordan sensing his general location. From the way the woman stared at him, meeting his eyes directly, it was clear she wasn't just aware of his location.

She could see him.

"Of course, Gran, I'll make sure everyone knows to leave you alone for the night," Theorn hurried to reassure her. "Once your luggage is brought to your room, I promise you won't have any further disturbances. You can count on me!"

"Thank you, dear," the healer said, giving Asher the smallest of smiles and tilting her head as if saying, 'follow me,' before turning and focusing on Theorn once more. The two of them continued talking about more obscure, random things, but Asher didn't catch any more of the conversation.

He was far too busy freaking out over being discovered.

How can she see me?! I'm in a different realm of existence! he thought, trying his best not to panic as his largest trump card was effectively neutralized. Admittedly, while he was very much freaked out about someone having the ability to see him while he was hiding in the astral realm, he wasn't worried too much about the healer specifically. The woman's hidden message that she wanted to chat with him tonight had been quite clear, but he didn't detect any sort of hostility from her. In fact, her aura was quite literally the purest he'd ever seen, enveloping her as if it were a blanket made from pure white snow.

Judgement - Lvl 10

No, it was the fact that if she could see him within the astral realm, that meant others would be able to as well.

I can't keep relying on the astral realm hiding me when infiltrating places where people have rare elements or skills that have been evolved to the third tier, he realized. Granted, from Theorn and her conversation, it sounded as though the healer might very well be one of the most powerful people within the entire Noala Kingdom. But the healer herself had come straight out and said there were plenty of people in this world far beyond even her.

Never before had Asher felt like such a tiny fish, swimming around in an ocean filled with sharks and who even knew what else lurking down below in the darkened waters.

Still, there would be time for existential dread later. Right now, he had a meeting he dared not miss.

But how to find the Frent estate, let alone get into it…

Seeing as he'd already worked out the timings of the guard patrols, he briefly contemplated trying to follow along behind the two of them on foot, before tossing that idea to the wayside. He still had no idea what abilities Theorn had, but seeing as he was the heir to the Frent family, it was safe to assume he had some rare elements to his name. Despite the fact that the healer had subtly invited him, he had no doubt she would refuse to admit to doing so if Theorn discovered him tailing them and he tried to explain what was going on.

As Asher worked on a plan, something Theorn said stuck out to him. The promise he'd made immediately after she'd requested to be left alone for the night.

'Once your luggage is brought to your room, I promise you won't have any further disturbances!'

Grinning, Asher turned back toward the small wagon sitting there, just waiting for someone to unload it and bring its contents back to their rightful owner. A worker was already leading the pegasus off to a nearby stable, but nobody had touched the wagon or its contents just yet. Asher didn't know if the Frent family would send their own runners to collect the healer's luggage, or if the porters were just running behind, but either way, his method of finding and gaining entry into the Frent estate had just gotten a hell of a lot easier.

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