When everyone woke up from their nap, they found that they had three more visitors to their group. Jill was sitting and waiting for Dana to wake up, while Colonel Valerie was entering with a dark haired young woman whose light chocolate skin was completely covered in tattoos, visible through the lace sleeves of her floor length black dress, and all along her chest and neck.
“Good morning, sleepy. I brought you your new advisor. I think that you two might already be acquainted in a way. You took over her old room after she graduated. Meet Morgana, the Witch Doctor, the newest member of the Bureau of Elite Development.” Valerie greeted Karl in her business tone.
“It’s honestly a pleasure to meet you. While I haven’t been home to take proper care of the balcony, it has got to be the best room in the entire Academy.” Karl greeted her.
Karl was going to give her a handshake, but when Remi came out on his shoulder to check out this odd woman, she pulled him into a hug, which put her face centimetres away from the snake.
“She’s beautiful. What is your name, lovely?” Morgana asked.
“She’s Remi, a Shaman Class Naga Spirit Snake.” Karl explained.
“A shaman? You know, Witch Doctors are a type of shaman as well.” Morgana replied.
“I thought that you were a witch? The others said that it was a Goth Witch in the room before me.”
Morgana laughed. “That’s because they’re idiots. I’m a highly fashionable Witch Doctor, not a Witch and a Doctor.”
She gave a little twirl, showing off the lace back of her dress, which exposed even more tattoos, and then summoned a small cloth doll, which she gave to Remi.
The snake coiled around it and hissed happily as she examined her new toy.
“Don’t worry, it’s not bonded to anyone. It won’t cause any damage if she plays with it.” Morgana assured them.
Karl gave her a slight bow, then addressed the Colonel, who was waiting patiently for them to finish.
“Are you certain that there will actually be time for lessons? From what I hear, they want us back on the lines again soon.” He asked.
Valerie nodded. “There will be plenty of time. After the scare that you gave High Command, who didn’t realize that your group had been tasked to take out the Royal Rank target alone, they’re not going to let you go scouting alone again.
The group that you found was not sent to hunt the Royal Rank Giant, at least not officially. They were supposed to be scouting the region for a buildup of Giants because the cold was preventing us from high altitude flights over the Frost Giant nation. Losing them while you were tasked to the region hit the Command Group hard.
So, you’re going to have to suffer in a main line camp with us and the Seniors from the Academy. It won’t be attached to the army as you have been, instead it will be treated more as an Academy mission, with teachers present. Plus Bureau Agents, of course.” The Nature Priests all made sympathetic gestures toward them, and the Colonel glared at them.
“You know, you could join them if you wanted.” She informed them in a snarky tone.
“We’re happy working here in the hospital. But I suppose that moving to a triage camp might be more in tune with nature. We will discuss it, and see if there are enough others available to balance out our movement.” One of the Nature Priests replied.
From what Karl had learned last night, they specialized in treating elemental damage and mental health. With so many young Elites facing mortality for the first time, the hospital wasn’t going to send away half their mental health staff.
Karl nodded toward the door. “I take it that you talked to the staff before you got here? I get the feeling that we’re not going to be leaving anywhere in a hurry, so I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”
“That is true. They’re not planning to let you out of here without at least a few more counselling sessions. I offered to take over for them, but apparently they doubt my credentials as a trauma counsellor.” Colonel Valerie complained.
Most of the doctors who had been assigned to them were twice her age, and Karl wasn’t certain that she had actually taken any higher education classes at all, so they might have a point.
Remi crawled down Karl’s arm to go sit on Morgana, who was making soothing gestures, and holding out bits of food for her.
[Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not safe to take food from strangers?] Rae asked.
[But they just said her name is Morgana, and she’s the new advisor.] Remi countered, staring at the large bug in the witch doctor’s hand.
[And how long ago was that? You have to know them for long enough to trust them before they’re not strangers anymore.] Rae warned her.
Remi considered it for a few seconds, while Morgana gave her a curious look. The snake definitely wanted the food, but she wasn’t taking it.
“The others are telling her not to take food from strangers. Remi is still very young, and doesn’t know all the practical advice. She did manage to make some lovely totems, though.” Karl explained.
Morgana put the food away and stroked Remi’s head. “That’s fine, we will get to know each other better, and then you can try the snacks.”
Lotus smiled at the Witch Doctor. “Nature lovers are taking over. First we get two Nature Clerics and a Cerro Knight, now we’ve got a snake charmer.” Morgana got excited about the comment. “The Cerro has a Knight? Does Karl ride him into battle? It sounded like he preferred to fight on foot or from a distance.”
“The War Priestess, actually. She rides the Cerro into combat, so they can spread their buffs along the front lines. She’s pretty good with a spear and a shield, but with Thor’s barrier, they’re quite durable.” Lotus explained.
“A Red Dragon Priestess, riding a Lightning Cerro into combat? Now that is not what I had expected.” Morgana replied, becoming even more curious.
“Riding monsters is fun. Sometimes Rae will let me or Dana ride her into combat, but more like an accessory, depending on if she wants to equip more damage or healing.” Lotus added.
The clerics all laughed at the thought of equipping a priestess, but Karl thought she might be right. Rae liked them best because they were smallest and easiest to carry, and she traded between them depending on her need.
She liked sleeping next to Dana better, but playing in the woods with Lotus.
Mostly, she didn’t play favourites as much as Thor did with Tessa going into combat, but in Tessa’s case, she was the only one suitable for the role.
Colonel Valerie waited while they got sidetracked before giving them the update that she had come to deliver. “Karl and Dana will be taking classes with their tutors beginning this afternoon after your session with the doctors. They’re still concerned about Karl’s head and arm, in particular. Then after a week, they will reassess the situation and determine how much longer you need to rest for.” The Colonel informed the room.
Lotus cheered. “Oh, that works out wonderfully. If we get Rae to set up hammocks for us here, we can all hang out in the lounge during our off time and unwind.”
“Rae makes hammocks?” One of the clerics asked. They had folding cots in the break room, for when they were too busy to go home after their shift, but Spider Silk Hammocks sounded pretty good.
Rae happily came out, and Morgana did a double take when she saw how big the Bloodbath Spider was.
“You know, when they said ‘spider’ I was thinking Wolf Spider, or a tarantula. It appears that I have vastly underestimated what the word spider can mean.” She mumbled.
Insects, spiders and snakes were involved in many of her spells, though not like Karl’s. The Witch Doctors often used them to deliver curses and poisons, so the summoned creature was nothing special, but the magic on it was deadly.
Rae used the corner of the room to make racks of six hammocks with a climbing rope attached to the walls, and then made a large webbing net along the ceiling that you could climb out of the top bunks and play in.
The Nature Priests always appreciated a good spot to relax, and being at ceiling height meant that anyone wanting to bother them would have to come up to them or risk being ignored. Plus, it was a stretchy web, so it was soft and more comfortable than the floor.
Hawk flew up into a larger hole in the net, and took a perch to watch the people, just seconds before Karl heard cursing in the hallway.
“This is a staff break room, not an animal sanctuary. Where did you even find them? Is that a Bloodbath Spider? Dammit, I am filing a complaint with the Deacon.” Someone was shouting, while the nature clerics laughed.
“I guess I should bring everyone back inside in a few minutes.” Karl chuckled.