Friends didn’t have to wait long for the arrival of the medics. Barely had the emotions stirred by Agnes in Martha subsided, when two adult wizards knocked on the door of the bedroom they were in. The medics tended to Deirdra’s wounds and, with the help of the magic they received from Ely, which was healing magic, they pieced together Martha’s friend’s broken rib, making it whole again. Magant was fascinated by the powers he could see. The sight of healing stirred immense emotions in him, as he couldn’t believe the tremendous gift the medics received from Ely.
“Thanks to them, witches don’t have to suffer, they don’t feel the pain of illness. They don’t have to worry about the illness of loved ones. The forest was so generous to them,” thought the monster.
With bated breath, he watched as one of the medics placed his hand on Deirdra’s body where the fracture was. Magant saw how the wizard’s eyes changed color from grayish-blue to purple as the medic whispered his spells. What Magant couldn’t experience was the immense warmth suddenly emanating from the medic’s hand. However, he managed to sense a delicate scent, similar to burning heather. This scent was emanating from the wizard’s hand.
After a moment, the wizard stood up, adjusted his bear fur cloak, and left to talk to Agnes. His colleague followed right behind him. Martha and Magant remained in the room the whole time; they didn’t want to leave Deirdra alone with two strangers. Martha was also worried that they were medics sent at her sister’s command, and Martha didn’t trust her sister at all. She was still upset with Agnes for her inappropriate behavior and sharp criticism in front of Magant. Deirdra was still unconscious. Martha wanted to fetch the medics again because she was still worried about her friend’s condition not improving. As she stood by the door, Deirdra opened her eyes.
The emotions that suddenly arose in Martha overwhelmed her so much that she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed towards her friend and hugged her. She began to cry into Deirdra’s shoulder and silently thanked the medics for their help. Deirdra was dazed and very disoriented. The last thing she remembered was leaving the giant’s cave, and suddenly she woke up in a strange house. Martha, crying, tried to say something to her friend, but all that came out was incomprehensible babbling. Deirdra looked at Martha with an unfocused gaze and tried to ask what had happened, but when she took a deep breath to speak, she felt a sharp pain in her throat. She started coughing to get rid of the unpleasant feeling.
“I’ll bring you some water,” said Magant and quickly rushed to the kitchen.
Deirdra was unaware that he was in the same room with her. She was surprised when she heard his voice, but at the same time, she was very glad that he was with her.
“Martha…” Deirdra tried to speak, but another coughing fit seized her.
Martha wiped her tears with her dress sleeve and immediately stood up to pat her friend on the back. Her face was swollen from crying. Her red eyes merged with her red hair. Deirdra’s coughing subsided, and the witch tried to speak again, but Martha stopped her.
“Wait, it’s better not to speak. Let’s wait until Magant comes back with a glass of water,” Martha requested. Deirdra nodded in agreement. Martha sat beside her and said, “I know you have many questions; I’ll explain everything to you shortly.”
Martha briefly told her friend how they ended up here, how they were attacked by hooded figures, and how Magant had to bring them to Agnes’s house. Deirdra was shocked by the story. It was hard for her to believe that all this happened while she was unconscious.
“Well, well, the most interesting things always happen when I’m not around,” she thought bitterly.
In her mind’s eye, she saw herself defending her friends from the hooded figures. Deirdra swung her legs off the bed but didn’t get up yet. She preferred to wait for a moment because she was still weak. Nevertheless, she was very happy that she could finally breathe normally and didn’t feel any pain in her chest.
Meanwhile, Martha got out of bed and approached the door. She cracked it open slightly to see if Magant was returning with a glass of water. But he was nowhere in sight. Agnes and the medics were also nowhere in the cottage.
“Where could they have gone?” Martha wondered.
Not wanting to worry her sore friend further, Martha pretended that everything was fine. She approached Deirdra with a smile on her face and announced that she was very glad to see her friend’s health improving.
Deirdra didn’t know that during this time, Martha’s difficult emotions had started to resurface. Various scenarios began to form in the forest guardian’s mind.
“Maybe they kidnapped Magant?”
“Agnes could have brought those hooded creatures to kill Magant.”
“Are they all okay?”
“Or maybe someone kidnapped them both?”
Unable to bear the flood of thoughts, Martha addressed Deirdra:
“I’ll go look for our friend.”
Deirdra nodded and stayed in the room. Meanwhile, Martha quietly left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen. She kept looking around all the time to make sure she was safe. She tiptoed through the living room and entered the kitchen. No one was there. She returned to the living room and thought that maybe Magant was outside. She headed towards the exit door, which suddenly opened. Magant entered with a bucket of water.
“Did something happen?” he asked.
He went to the kitchen with the bucket, took a clay mug, and scooped water from the bucket into it.
“No… where were you? You were gone for a while, I started to worry,” Martha said softly, following him.
Magant looked at his worried friend.
“Martha, I was only gone for a few minutes. I had to fetch water from the well because there was none in the kitchen,” he said calmly.
Martha nodded. She scolded herself for letting emotions take over her thoughts again. She took the mug from Magant and took it to Deirdra. Meanwhile, Magant sat in the living room and began to contemplate.
“We are at Agnes’s. We achieved our goal, but what now? She knew all along about what happened in Ely, but did nothing about it,” the monster wondered how they would save the forest now.
He feared that they had lost their only hope. The monster stood up and began to pace around the living room. He walked back and forth, hands folded behind his back.
“Maybe there’s still a chance? Agnes mentioned something about the Sabbat; maybe they will help us?” Magant thought.
After a long moment of contemplation, the monster heard the bedroom door opening, and Deirdra and Martha came out. Magant was very relieved to see Deirdra healthy. He smiled at her, and she, embarrassed, lowered her gaze to the floor. She was dirty from the difficult journey, and her hair was messy. At that moment, the cottage door opened, and Agnes walked in. She glanced at her friends. Scrutinized Deirdra in particular to check if her condition had indeed improved. She noticed nothing alarming in her, so she sat at the table and gestured for the group to join her.
“Because my irresponsible sister briefed you on the situation in Ely, you’re in trouble,” she said in an almost military tone of voice.
Martha looked at her, surprised, widened her eyes, and exclaimed:
“Trouble? What trouble? Why should they get in trouble because of me?”
Agnes gave her sister a look that said she should keep quiet.
“Because, silly, neither you, nor Deirdra, nor even Magant defended the forest from the invaders,” Agnes gritted through her teeth.
Martha looked at her sister in disbelief for a moment. Then she lowered her gaze.
“Like I said, you’re in trouble. But before that, we would like to examine Magant,” Agnes glanced towards the monster.
She stared at him as if she wanted to X-ray his body. Deirdra turned her head towards her friend. She didn’t want to part with him. She felt safe with him, so she asked, “Why do you want to examine him?”
Agnes rolled her eyes, feeling as if she were talking to a bunch of idiots.
“And aren’t you interested in how Ely created him? Perhaps through the examination, we’ll find out how it happened,” she said sarcastically.
Deirdra was grateful to Agnes for her help, but she was slowly becoming irritated by the witch’s arrogant attitude.
“And maybe before you sink your claws into Magant, you could ask him how it happened? Have you thought about that?” Deirdra’s voice betrayed her nerves.
Deirdra and Agnes locked eyes. Both of them strongly disliked each other since they were teenagers. Both had strong characters, and neither of them wanted to back down.
“I see that living in a triangle suits all of you. None of you can bear to part with Magant even for a moment,” a smile appeared on Agnes’s face.
“That’s enough! How dare you treat us like this? Just because you hold a high position doesn’t mean you can treat everyone like garbage!” Deirdra suddenly stood up from her seat and began yelling at her friend’s sister.
Agnes found it amusing how easy it was to manipulate the group of friends, especially Martha and Deirdra. She sat on the bench, arms folded, and watched with a smile as Deirdra hurled insults at her.
When Martha’s friend finished, Agnes said casually, “You’re allowing yourself a lot of words, considering that at any moment I can dismiss you or throw you into the dungeon for insulting a Sabbat member.”
Hearing these words, Martha stood up and whispered to her friend, “Let it go, it’s not worth arguing with her. Even if you’re right, she’ll twist the situation so that it’s your fault.”
Deirdra didn’t want to give up. Her emotions were reaching a boiling point. She couldn’t control them.
“Deirdra, she’s just toying with you, playing on your emotions,” Martha continued to whisper. She took her friend’s hand and looked deeply into her eyes. Martha’s gaze begged her to let it go. But her friend was too agitated to relent.
“If that’s how you see the situation, then by all means. Fire me. Throw me into the dungeon. Whatever. But someone has to tell you that you’re acting like a spoiled brat!” Deirdra gritted her words through her teeth.
Agnes’s smile vanished from her face at those words. She fixed a murderous gaze on Deirdra and said, “Shut up. Don’t you dare speak to me in that tone.” Each word was spoken slowly, with a threatening tone of voice. Deirdra locked eyes with her and asked, “Did I hit a nerve?”
She tried to make the same sarcastic smile that Agnes had done earlier. Seeing how emotions in the room were reaching their peak, Magant stood up and said in a loud voice, “Enough. Your argument is pointless. I want to know if there’s a way we can save Ely?”
His firm and resolute voice resonated in the witches’ ears. Deirdra looked at him surprised. She expected him to stand up for her and for their group. She didn’t like Magant’s calm attitude towards Agnes. Averted her gaze from him and walked away. She stood far from the table, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Magant looked at her, but he sensed that it wasn’t a good moment to talk to Deirdra. Agnes, who was trying to control her emotions, looked at Magant. After a moment, which felt like an eternity for everyone, she finally spoke. This time, with respect.
“There’s something you could do. If you manage to accomplish it, I think the Sabbat would pardon you, and none of you would face consequences. That includes you too, Martha,” Agnes glanced at her sister.
“What would we need to do?” Magant asked seriously. He placed his hands on the table and listened attentively.
“You would have to approach the elders. Witches and wizards who are retired but still support us with their knowledge. However, it won’t be an easy task. Each of them is located in a different area of our kingdom,” Agnes tried to illustrate to the group the challenge that awaited them.
“You also need to bear in mind that not everyone from the elders will be willing to help you; many of them, due to their age, may not remember certain things or won’t have the strength to assist you,” she continued to explain.
“It would be best if you first approach the closest one, which is Wanda. She’s a powerful witch, despite her age; she’s still as strong as she was in her youth,” Agnes, when she finished speaking, looked at Martha. She waited for her sister to say whether she decided to undertake such a journey.
Martha first looked at Magant, then at Deirdra. She sought help in making the decision. Deirdra was still angry and had her gaze fixed on the ground. Magant, on the other hand, encouraged Martha to take on this mission. Martha had mixed feelings about it, but facing the vision of punishment and the dungeon, she preferred to risk the difficult journey.
“Okay. We’ll do it. Tell me, where is Wanda? And what powers does she have?” Martha said, her voice slightly breaking.
She was afraid that since she couldn’t defend the forest earlier, such a mission would be too difficult for her.
“Wanda lives in the royal town. From what we know, she tries to pass as an ordinary mortal. In the Sabbat, it’s said that she has always been fascinated by human culture. It doesn’t concern me,” Agnes said.
“Her powers, however, fascinate me. She can replicate the magic of another witch or wizard,” Agnes’s expression changed as she said this. It seemed as if she was lost in thought for a moment.
“Do you realize how powerful Wanda’s powers are?” Agnes asked.
“I’m afraid I don’t fully understand the essence of Wanda’s magical abilities,” Martha said, embarrassed. Agnes looked at her sister again, causing mixed emotions in Martha.
“She was nice at first, and now she’s back to how she used to be,” Martha thought sadly.
“It’s because Wanda doesn’t have powers like you or me. In everyday life, without contact with other witches, she can’t use magic. But if she met you, she could copy your powers and have nature magic. If she met me, she would have ice powers. If she met Deirdra, she would have water powers. Do you understand?” Agnes tried to explain it as best as she could.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t a good teacher because Martha only had more questions. Deirdra and Magant did too.
“So, if she met me, you, and Deirdra, she would have three powers?” Martha asked, astonished.
Agnes slapped her forehead with an open hand. She didn’t understand how someone could not know such simple things.
“Ughh, no!” she exclaimed. “Wanda can only copy one power. At least for a while. She can’t copy them forever, only for a certain amount of time. When that’s over, she can copy another. Do you understand?”
Martha nodded, not wanting to upset her sister. Although she still had many questions, she preferred to leave them for later.
“Alright! Since you have a journey ahead, go to bed, and tomorrow you’ll set off,” Agnes said.
The group was surprised by Agnes’s command. After their ordeal, they should rest for at least a few days, but at the same time, they understood the seriousness of the situation.
“Agnes. I don’t want to overburden your hospitality, but we’re starving,” Martha said quietly.
“Don’t you know where the kitchen is? I won’t cook for you; take care of yourselves,” Agnes replied, outraged.
“Oh, I’ll sleep in the bedroom, you can spread out blankets on the floor in the living room,” she added.
Polski 
English