MAZE - The endless Quest

Hera rang Triss's doorbell early in the morning, and her grandmother was ready to go. It's been a few years since she went to Brilansis, where Hera lived, and she was excited to see the big city once more. They took the express train to the town, cutting the travel time in half. The tickets were a bit expensive, but it was better for Triss.

A couple of hours later, they arrived at the hospital. As much as Triss wanted to look around the city, she struggled to walk. Hera considered that and made the appointment early. That way, they wouldn't have much time to walk around.

The healer was already waiting for them. His name was Ian, and he was a short man in his forties, with brown hair and chestnut eyes. He greeted his patients and got a wheelchair for Triss, leading her to a body scanner so he could see her situation. Hera and the healer were in the room beside the scanner behind thick glass while the machine worked.

"Don't worry. You know how healers work. I can see that she isn't close to death," Ian said as the machine worked.

"Well, I hope so. I mean, healers can only see people who are about to die, right?"

Ian chuckled, "At first, yes. But since I'm also a doctor, my skill changed a bit. I can tell if they have any terminal conditions or diseases that would end their life. I still can't say when someone will die of old age or because of an accident, but your grandmother is a healthy 80-year-old."

"Thanks. I'm glad to hear that," Hera smiled at Grandma Triss, who smiled back.

"Also, if you don't mind. I just want to say. You are incredible."

Hera froze for a moment. The healer was a nice man, but that felt weird. Still, she had to be polite. After all, he was still going to treat her grandmother. She cleaned her throat and asked with a smile, "Sorry, what do you mean?"

"I saw your interview about how you faced the Wendigo. It was incredibly brave of you to fight that monster, especially being so new at all this."

Hera was relieved when she heard him speak. However, it still felt weird to be recognized by a random person, "It wasn't bravery, more like desperation. The monster was following me and didn't want to let me go."

"Will do," Triss replied.

Hera waited for the healer to let go of the microphone before going back to the subject, "Sorry, but what pictures?"

"The guild published some pictures along with the information they have about the Wendigos. There was a large hole in the wall of Brinefront. A weird rock formation in Hazelpond and a tunnel under the Frog Valley campsite, if I'm not mistaken."

"Shit, they were even in the campsite? I hoped it was just the cities," Hera said.

"Oh, you were there? Damn, you fought one and wanted more?" Ian laughed.

"Not really, but a friend of mine was stuck in the room during the rampage. I wasn't about to let her be there alone."

"That's even more impressive. I know many people who were glad they ran after hearing about the Wendigo."

Hera thanked him again and looked back at her grandmother. There were more problems with the rampage than she realized. It was weird because Brinefront seemed fine when she got there, but people might have prioritized fixing the hole, maybe even calling some high-level crafters to do it. The exam ended, and Ian led Hera and Triss towards his office to discuss the result. As they walked through the hall, Hera noticed a door that had a tag with a familiar name.

Amanda Kahele

"Oh," she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Triss asked.

"Nothing, I just have a friend here," Hera said, walking by the wheelchair.

"Do you want to stop?" Ian asked.

"I have to get permission for a visit, right?" Hera looked around, searching for a reception of sorts.

"Yeah, but that can be arranged. If you want, I'll help you later. Let's check the results first," Ian said as they kept walking.

Checking the exam, Ian confirmed Triss's diagnosis, "Ok, it's not bad. There are quite a few issues, but they are all caused by your arthritis that triggers tendonitis and other muscle pain. There are also some small issues with your eyes, nothing major, but we can have that taken care of. Now, we can set up a date for the treatment, or we can do it today."

"Today?" Triss asked.

"Yes, the treatment will take a couple of hours, but since we are dealing with a silver explorer, I cleared my schedule for the day," Ian smiled while speaking to Triss.

"My, my. You are moving up quickly in the world," Triss held Hera's hand and leaned on her shoulder.

"Only because you have my back. Now, do you want to do the treatment today, or are you busy?" Hera asked.

"Will it hurt?" Triss turned to Ian.

"Not at all. You might feel a bit woozy, but we can give you some painkillers if you would like. It helps you if you are awake, but it won't be a problem if you sleep," Ian proceeded to explain the procedure. He would use his mana to help Triss's body to regain some of its ability to regenerate. Then Ian would guide the magic to the places where the disease was stronger and remove the ailment. For Hera, he explained that the room would have a few mana crystals to fuel the spell for the duration.

"If you want, we can set up a television or an audiobook for you as long as you are ok with using headphones. Too much noise might be a distraction for the procedure."

"Can I be there with her?" Hera asked.

"Yes, but if you want to be holding her hand. I'll give you some gloves that block mana. Having another mana source touching the patient can create some disturbances with the spell."

"Oh, don't worry. You can visit your friend while I'm here. I'll be in the good hands of the handsome doctor," Triss winked at Ian, who responded with a chuckle.

"If you would like, I'll show you the room where I'll be treating her, so you know where to find us after checking up on your friend," Ian offered.

"Well, if you are ok with this, grandma."

"Of course," Triss turned to Ian, "One more thing. How is the recovery? Will I have to be committed?"

"Not really. We will do another exam after the procedure to see if everything is ok. I expect that you will feel much better after the treatments and will be ready to move around. Although, I do recommend light exercise for the first few weeks since your muscles won't be as strong as they used to."

Ian reinforced that he used the word treatment because the disease would be significantly reduced almost to a point where it wouldn't be there but, in the future, it could return. It wasn't a complete cure or a vaccine, but he expected an improvement of at least 80%. After a couple of minutes of talking, Triss decided she would do the treatment today.

The room where Triss would stay wasn't like a surgery room, or a hospital room, for that matter. It looked much more like a shrink's office. There was a very comfortable-looking chair in the middle, some paintings on the sides, a television, a cucumber water jug and some and a small fountain on the side. Ian explained that if Triss wanted water or to go to the bathroom, it was just to let him know. There was no problem stopping it in the middle, but she would only feel the effects after completing the procedure.

Hera stayed there until the spell started, and after some insistence from grandma Triss, she headed out to meet Amanda. The girl was feeling better. She got afflicted by mana overload because of the New Daw Oranges. The healers had to keep pulling mana from her body for a few days since she couldn't control it. When it stabilized, she would still need to drop by the hospital to have the mana drained every few days.

That would last only until her birthday, a couple of weeks from now when the New Dawn would pay for her level up even if she didn't want to be an explorer. At level 2, she could get her mana stat, and the issue would solve itself, just giving her an increased starter mana pool. The New Dawn was also willing to pay for any degree she wanted to pursue or to fund her early years as an explorer, no strings attached. She could even start working for one of their competitors. This was all a way to apologize for what happened to her.

"Speaking of which, what happened?" Hera asked.

"I don't know. They said that a product from an R\u0026D lab ended up mixing with the products for sale. It was supposed to be a part of an experimental crop that could grow anywhere or something like that. But one of the crates ended up being taken to the farm distribution center, and some bags had these oranges with way too much mana," Amanda replied while eating her jelly.

"Wait, a full crate? Doesn't that mean that a lot of people got sick?"

"I have no idea. I wasn't exactly looking for other people who got infected. I can say that I'm the only case here in the hospital. Or at least that's what they told me. Not that they would tell me the truth anyway," Amanda replied.

Hera chuckled, "I'm glad to see you're still the same."

Amanda laughed, "What, you expect me to change just for that? I thought you gave me more credit," there was a moment of pause, "Hera. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you regret becoming an explorer?"

"No," Hera replied in a heartbeat.

"Really? I mean, it's much more dangerous than I imagined. Like, the guild lifted the ban on info, right? I saw a video about the assault on a wall or something. And after it, these weird white monsters appeared and started eating everyone. It was terrifying."

"Oh, tell me about it. If I had figured out the one I fought was a Wendigo before killing it, I would have frozen. I guess it is like they say, ignorance is bliss."

Amanda's eyes went wide as she stared at Hera, "You fought one of those things?"

"Two actually, one on my own and another as a group. But here is the thing. What you saw was on the 25th Layer. It's like very deep inside the MAZE. These monsters, called Wendigos, are appearing everywhere, but their strength matches the layer they are on. So if you just started, you won't face something as quick as the ones in the video," Hera explained.

"So... it's not that dangerous?" Amanda asked.

"It is. Very much so. A few days ago, twelve people died during a quest. Most of the time, I'm fighting for my life, but honestly. I can't imagine doing anything else. I know it sounds crazy, but being there, exploring, finding new things. It makes me feel... alive."

"You sound like my grandma," Amanda said with a smile.

"Well, I can finally understand her. Although, I'm still not interested in jumping from a plane, even with a parachute," Hera chuckled.

The two spent some more time talking until Hera decided that it was better to stay with her grandma. As she was about the leave, Amanda stopped her one more time.

"Hera... Do you think I would be a good explorer?"

"You know how your grandpa always says that you act like your grandma?" Hera said after thinking for a moment.

"Yeah," Amanda replied.

"If he is right, you will be great. Just be careful. If you need anything, I'm just a text away, ok?"

"Ok, thanks," with the reply, Hera went back to Triss, wondering if it was normal to be so excited about being in the MAZE even after everything she went through.