MAZE - The endless Quest

The first thing she had to do was a thorough cleanup. However, she wasn't sure if she would stay in this place for much longer. Hera was already at level 4, as far as she knew, the first layer only had creatures up to level 5. She also had made quite a bit of money. Maybe renting a place in Brinefront could be a good idea. Better than spending every night in a hotel, at least.

As Hera was changing the sheets, she realized that getting her own place would mean either doing chores in the house or paying someone to do that. One of the main reasons she was considering renting was to have a safe place to leave her belongings. For now, aside from some rations and a first aid kit, she didn't have to carry anything around. That wouldn't last long. It was already clear that as time went by, she would have more and more items. The guild has a storage service, but it wasn't the same as having her own place.

After a couple of hours, she finished cleaning her flat. This wasn't how she pictured spending her first day back, but it wasn't all bad. She had forgotten about the books she was reading and took some time to read a bit. Still, she was anxious. It would be the first time her family would see her now that she was an explorer. She was sure grandma Triss would be over the moon. The problem was her mother.

The last time they spoke was before the test. They were never on good terms, but storming out like that was new. She dreaded her mother's reaction. The last time they had a big fight, Hera left the house for good. But Stella wouldn't cause a scene on Triss's birthday, would she?

Her tablet buzzed. Blue was asking for her opinion on the clothes she was packing. It was a welcome distraction. Hera spent a couple of hours talking with the controller and helping her remember to pack everything. She also received a text from Helena, just letting her know that she was already in the city but that she would have some stuff to do during the weekend. On Monday, they could meet and talk.

On Sunday, Hera went to her hometown in the morning. This time she didn't ask her father to pick her up at the station. She was still uncomfortable talking to him. Taking a cab, she arrived at her grandmother's house in the afternoon. The party was a barbecue, and Hera was sure that the party was already going. Her family was fond of gatherings that lasted the whole day.

The door opened, and a thin girl with brown hair was on the other side, "Hera!" the girl gave Hera a tight hug.

"Hey, Amelia! How are you?" it was nice seeing her cousin. While Hera helped her study for the college entrance exams, the two got close.

"I'm great. School is awesome. But I was worried about you. What's this about you being an explorer now?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah. A lot happened. Let me talk to grandma Triss and I'll tell you all about it."

As Hera walked into the house, everyone stopped talking and stared at her. Even Amelia seemed uncomfortable with the scene.

"There she is, my beautiful daughter," Stella came out of the kitchen and headed towards Hera, giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, "So brave, so strong. Come, come. Sit down and tell us all about the MAZE."

Hera wasn't sure how to react. Her mom never was this supportive. Stella guided her daughter to the couch, sitting by her side and holding her hands. Everyone was still staring at her, with an expression that Hera couldn't decipher.

"Humm...Hi everyone. Where is grandma Triss? I got a gift for her," Hera tried to break the silence.

"I'm here. Hang on. The old legs are not as fast as they used to be," grandma Triss came from the kitchen with her cane. It has been a while since she started to have some difficulty walking around. Hera remembered that she once asked her dad to look for the price of healers to fix her legs, but it was too expensive for them.

Hera got up and helped her grandmother sit on her favorite chair, "Here grandma," she gave a small box to Triss.

"Hera, you didn't need to get me anything," the elderly woman kissed Hera on the cheek.

"You deserve even more. Now open it."

Triss opened the small box showing a transparent plaque with a single white circle on the edge, "Just touch that circle," Hera explained.

Her grandmother touched the circle, and above the plaque, a scene appeared. There was a lion cub, a boar, and a weasel walking through a tree trunk, with the moon behind them. The three were bobbing its heads in the same rhythm, and as they moved, the cub grew larger until it became a fully grown lion with a red mane.

"Hera..." Triss's eye's started to water.

"I know how much you love that movie, and that this was grandpa's favorite part. You would be surprised how quickly they made this one. The plaque can work anywhere, but there is a base that you need to plug in an outlet to recharge it. But it recharges really quickly and can last 10 hours of playing if I'm not mistaken."

Triss gave Hera a big hug, tears rushing down her face, "This is amazing. Thank you so much, dear."

"What happened, grandma?" Michael, one of Hera's little cousins, asked.

Triss didn't let Hera go right away. But after a few moments, she released her granddaughter and turned to little Michael.

"Grandma is just happy," she pressed the button, activating the illusion, "This scene was your grandfather's favorite bit. Every time I see it, I remember his goofy smile when he sang the song," she turned towards Michael. "I'm sorry you weren't able to meet him."

The party kept going. Everyone seemed both excited and careful around Hera. The kids were in awe about talking to a real-life explorer, and even the younger side of the family seemed interested in her stories. However, Hera noticed two very odd things. First, Silvia, her aunt, seemed very conscious of what she talked about near Hera. Second, her mom was being very nice, way too nice. She grabbed food or drinks for Hera on multiple occasions and wouldn't stop singing her praises. She even went as far as saying that the two were so close that sometimes it felt like having a little sister. That gained some stares from Silvia, her actual younger sister.

The party kept going until some people started to leave. Hera still had to take a train before going home, and she had the meeting with Helena in the morning. Before leaving, she looked for her grandmother to say her goodbyes.

"Grandma, I'm going now. I have some things to do tomorrow."

"That's ok, dear. Thank you so much for the lovely gift. I wasn't expecting something so beautiful," Triss replied, getting up to hug Hera. Watching her grandmother have so much trouble just to walk those few steps broke Hera's heart.

"Grandma, do you remember how much was the healer to help with your legs?" the explorer asked.

"I'm not sure, dear. I think it was 15 000 gold or something. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I know I just gave you a birthday gift, but I can give you another," Hera smiled.

"Hera, you don't need to do that. I'm fine, just as I am. I don't want you saving every gold you make for years to waste on me," Triss said.

Hera picked at her tablet and opened her bank account. "What if I told you it would be just another month?"

The older woman looked at the tablet, she blinked a few times and even put on her glasses before sighing, "I knew explorers made a lot of money, but this is just unfair," grandma Triss pouted.

"Well, it's a good thing you have a very caring granddaughter that can pamper you," Hera chuckled.

Grandma Triss hugged her once more before letting her leave. Hera walked away and told her goodbyes to everyone. Stella was a bit dramatic about her daughter not staying the night, but it was very different from her usual behavior. Eridan offered to give her a ride to the station, Hera accepted that. She had been avoiding her dad, but it was time to change that.

Sometime after midnight, she was back in her flat. The day wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, and tomorrow she would meet Helena. Not only Hera missed her friend, but she was also worried about what happened with the mage. Helena was too cryptic about the entire situation, and that was bugging her.

Hera did her best to try to sleep early, giving up after a couple of hours. She opted by watching TV until she passes out.

Even after sleeping late, Hera woke up early the next morning. The first thing she did was send a text to Helena, letting her know that she would be ready to talk whenever then Hera went to take a shower and get her breakfast ready.

After leaving her bath, Hera saw Helena's reply. The mage was also anxious about their discussion and wanted to get out of her house. Apparently, some family came to visit her, and she needed a break. She asked if she could go to Hera's place. The discussion had to be in a more private location.

Hera quickly replied with her address and a couple of directions before realizing that she had nothing to eat in her place. She rushed quickly to the grocery store to buy some food and coffee for the two.

In less than fifteen minutes, Hera had her basket full and was waiting in line to pay. She got some fruit, bread, jam, some pre-cut vegetables, cheese, coffee, and a bottle of wine. The store still sold the new dawn oranges, but Hera wanted to stay clear of that.

"Next in line, please!" Amanda, the teen who was working as a cashier, called.

Hera placed the basket on the counter, "Hi Amanda."

"Hey, Hera! Long time no see. I'm great. What about you? Oh, silly of me to ask, you are probably amazing being an explorer and all. How was it inside the MAZE? I bet it was awesome. What brings you back?" Amanda spoke in a single breath.

The girl was never that energetic before, and the way she talked was frantic. Hera stared at Amanda. There was some weird translucent, shiny smoke coming out of her body. Almost like she was sweating glitter.

"Amanda, what did you eat today?"

"That's a weird question. What did I eat? Oh no, is my breath bad? Or can you tell me what I ate now that you are an explorer? That is soo cool. Or Brilliant, as the British would say. At least that's how they speak in shows. Do you think they are right? The tv shows I mean. It's so fun! Ace, Cheers, Blimey," Once more, the girl spoke in a single breath. It looked like she was having trouble focusing on a single thing. Hera knew some people were like that, but a change happening this fast was weird.

The explorer asked to see Mrs. Kahele, Amelia's grandmother, with the excuse that it was just to catch up. Amelia could be very stubborn when something was wrong. While she waited for the elderly woman to come to the shop, Helena sent a text letting Hera know that she had just arrived. Hera asked her to come to the store just before Mrs. Kahele arrived.

She asked about Amelia's eating habits and found out that the girl had been eating new dawn oranges. According to what Hera remembered, they shouldn't affect people at level 1, and Amelia was still 17. She couldn't be above that. While Hera was talking to Mrs. Kahele, Helena walked into the store.

"Lena! Great to see you, but first. Amelia here could use some help," Hera said, trying not to agitate the girl. She didn't know how she would react to any bad news at the moment.

"Hello, sweetie. I can help, sure, but what is going on?"

Hera explained the situation, and Helena quickly called for an ambulance.

"Can't you do the thing you did with me?" Hera asked, confused about Helena's reaction.

"I can't. The best thing I can do is call the right kind of emergency. Those symptoms are from mana overdose. It's when our body consumes more mana than we can handle and has no way of letting it go. We need someone who can take that away. What level is she?" Helena asked.

"Level 1, she is 17," Mrs. Kahele replied.

Amelia, who was talking nonstop since Helena arrived, stopped making a sound, but her mouth was still moving even faster than before. Her nose started to bleed while her eyes rolled back.

"Hera, quick! Grab her wrists and focus your mana. You know how to cycle it, right? Do that, but with the mana inside her body. Like you were using a mana stone," Helena commanded.

Hera grabbed Amelia's wrist but paused before starting to use the girl's mana, "Isn't this dangerous? What you did to me seemed hard."

"It was, but just because you were already level 2 and had your own mana. She doesn't have it. You can just pull everything that is there, and it won't affect her growth. Even if it ends up happening, is that or risk her dying."

Hela took a deep breath and started to pull the mana towards her. She activated all her buffs and kept using pulse after pulse to spend the mana. It was much different than using a mana stone. The energy wasn't still and would just come as she asked. It was like a rushing river that would try to flood her and escape her grasp.

In less than ten minutes, an ambulance had arrived as well as a couple of healers from the guild. They took over the situation and put Amelia inside the vehicle before driving off to the nearest hospital. Hera and Helena stayed for a few minutes in the store until Mr. Kahele arrived. He thanked the two and checked Hera's purchase out before closing the shop and heading to the hospital.

"Lena, what is going on?" Hera asked while carrying the groceries in front of the store, still unsure of what just happened.

"Let's go to your place. We need to talk."