The camp outside the reservation area, which was ruined thanks to the many demons of Calypso stampeding through the nearby landscape, burned with life and noise now.

Makeshift tents had gone up wherever the ground was flat enough, marked with the sigils of Runewoven and Nova Circuit.

The air carried the smell of blood, antiseptic, and boiled grain.

Everywhere, people were moving.

Healers chanted short restorative incantations before fading into exhausted hands. Assistants fetched bandages, poured water over wounds, and tried to calm the panicked voices around them.

But most of those lying on the ground were not guild members.

They were the tribesmen, Kaiden's new people who wished to live under his rule.

These were the Native American men and women who had once lived under Varek's tyrannical rule.

Kaiden had asked Geralt, captain of Runewoven's field team, to take care of them while he went with Calypso to her dungeon. The man did his best, but even with all the supplies and training they had, the sheer number of victims was overwhelming.

Many of the rescued barely looked human anymore.

Starved bodies. Split lips. Infections that had never been cleaned.

Their "chieftain" had kept any nutritious food for his elites and left the rest to rot.

Now, guild members ran between rows of stretchers trying to undo years of neglect.

"Water, here!"

"Two more are running fevers!"

"We need another light healing potion!"

In the middle of that chaos, Naira sat on the dirt beside one of the stretchers.

Her bronze skin was smeared with dust, but she didn't care one bit. Her gaze was locked on her mother.

Lira lay motionless under a rough wool blanket, face pale and drawn. Her breathing was shallow, so much so that each rise of her chest seemed to be a fight.

Two awakened from Runewoven knelt nearby, assisting the healer working on the mother. The healer was a middle-aged woman muttering spells over Lira's body. The two assistants worked quickly, cleaning wounds that came to be thanks to the cruel whippings she received, preparing salves, and setting out mana potions for the healer to drain.

Naira could read everything from their expressions.

The tight jaws. The restless movements. The silence between commands.

Her stomach turned. She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms enough to make her bleed. She gritted her teeth together, stronger than ever before, as she forced the words out of her lips, words that no child should ever have to utter. "Will my mother live?"

The healer paused mid-incantation and looked up. Her face was tired but kind as she saw the great turmoil of the teenager. "She will, dear. But her condition is bad. I can only stabilize her here. She needs proper facilities, nutritious food, and time to heal."

Naira's breath escaped in a shaky exhale. Her shoulders slumped, and she reached for her mother's limp hand, holding it carefully as if it might break.

"I see…" she whispered. "So it's just like Kaiden thought it would be."

The healer raised an eyebrow but didn't ask what she meant. She returned to her work, whispering another spell.

Naira stayed there, unmoving, thumb brushing over her mother's knuckles.

Suddenly, something soft brushed against Naira's cheek.

Her head snapped up, startled, and she found herself face to face with a tanned woman with sharp golden eyes and feline ears flicking idly atop her head.

A long tail swayed behind her, the tip still poking Naira's face as its owner smiled down.

"Is everything okay?" Bastet asked with warmth in her tone. If one wasn't aware previously, they would've never been able to guess that a few hours ago, this gorgeous woman with the tenderest of smiles was busy torturing Elise, the old woman, showing utterly zero remorse on her face while she did so.

Naira blinked before her tear-stained face lit up in recognition. Her eyes immediately darted to the tail and its smooth fur. Instinctively, she reached for it.

But Bastet's tail snapped out of reach in a smooth motion, out of her grasp.

"Hey now~ I might've allowed you to touch my tail once," Bastet said with mock severity, placing a hand on her hip, "but that doesn't mean you can reach for it whenever you feel like it, young lady. Only my lover can."

Her grin widened as she added, "I am not a pet kitten, but the majestic desert queen, Bastet."

Despite herself, Naira let out a small laugh, which was half sob, half relief. The tension that had been crushing her chest eased a little. She wiped her cheeks, still clutching her mother's hand as if to make sure she wouldn't vanish.

Looking around, she realized the whole camp had turned its attention to the newcomers. Even the exhausted guild members had paused for a heartbeat.

Kaiden was back.

He stood a few paces behind Bastet, speaking quietly with Tessa, the leader of Nova Circuit, as the two assessed the situation. Around him were his girls, and all four of them dove straight into work without needing a word from him.

Aria and Luna moved as if they'd been doing this for years, assisting healers with deft hands and practiced grace. Nyx used her Telekinesis to help move bodies onto stretchers without anyone having to touch them, ensuring the bodies had the best chance of having nothing dislocated or worse. Even Calypso was kneeling beside stretchers, carefully carrying water and medical crates.

Of course, as a newcomer to this all, she wasn't the best at gentle work. A few healers had learned that the hard way when she accidentally snapped a wooden box handle clean off. Still, her enthusiasm and her raw strength made her invaluable for hauling heavy supplies across the camp.

Bastet remained beside Naira, crouching down to her level. "You've been brave, Naira. Now it's time for you to relax your strained heart. Your mom will be okay."

Naira nodded while biting her lip. "If… if Kaiden and all of you hadn't come, she…" Her voice cracked. "She wouldn't have lasted much longer. She hid how bad it was… she always smiled. Said things would be better soon."

Bastet's tail brushed against her shoulder this time. "Then she was right, wasn't she?"

Naira looked up at her and couldn't help but giggle. "Mom is not a seer; she just didn't want me to worry."

"I know," Bastet replied while sending Lira a glance of respect. "Mothers are awesome. That's what I learned from my time with humans."

"… I couldn't have said it better myself," Naira nodded with a tender expression, also observing her mother.

But then she noticed that behind Bastet, more figures appeared, men and women clad in dark black armor, their visors down and movements precise. Their presence was heavy, disciplined. Even the air seemed to grow quieter as they passed.

Naira frowned, watching them. She didn't know who they were, only that their appearance made even the guild soldiers stand straighter. She'd find out later that they were Kaiden's assigned escort team, an armed unit he managed to barter for thanks to his exchange of information with the President himself.

While they weren't permanent like Riven and Rae were, he could call for them and they'd appear to clear the surroundings of potential hostiles, then help him move to where he wanted.

…

A few hours later

The once-chaotic camp had grown still. Fires were being put out, tents collapsed and packed away. The cries of the wounded had faded to weary murmurs.

Those stable enough to move - almost everyone save for a few of the worst cases who had already been sent to the healing facilities maintained by Runewoven and Nova Circuit - remained in the camp.

When it came time for Lira's turn to be taken away, the healer stepped forward to oversee her transport. But Bastet raised a hand.

"We'll handle her recovery."

Her tone left no room for argument. The healers glanced at one another, then nodded. No one pressed her for an explanation.

Naira didn't either. She simply bowed her head in gratitude. Whatever Bastet meant by taking care of Lira themselves, she trusted her completely.

And so, as the camp thinned out, the banners of Runewoven and Nova Circuit were taken down, their teams preparing to head back to the city. Only Kaiden's group remained before the people, the hundred or so rescued tribesmen, weak but alive, looking to him for guidance.

Kaiden stepped forward. All eyes turned to him.

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