Quinn
I left the security control room a few minutes later, reminding them to fetch me if anything needed my attention, and returned to my routine work at the health clinic. Yes, it was a Sunday, but doing the secondary health checks on the residents was important, especially since those who haven't yet had theirs were quite impatient for their eyes and status examination, hence, it extended to the weekend.
Even though I heard absolute crickets from the security control room, or even Uncle Colt or Mark, I wasn't worried, at least not too much, because I knew Aldric was very capable. He was a God when it came to battles, plus Vicky would alert me if anything was wrong. Hence, I lost myself with checking patients' blood, eyesight, and status until three in the afternoon when Vicky's voice came through.
My lady, Lord Aldric has reunited with Lord Juan, and he has eradicated the horde of night trolls. He and the soldiers are on their way back to the lodge. They should arrive late tonight.
I sighed in relief and said, "Thank you for letting me know."
Pleasure.
Now that the last group of the family was done for the day, and the snowstorm earlier had disappeared, replaced by a now clear blue sky, I decided to go outside and get some fresh air. Norsewood was extraordinary in that way. One minute it was dark and gloomy with gusting wind and snow and the next, the sky was clear and as blue as a summer's day.
Outside the lodge was noisy with shrieking and laughter, with the children, in their thick jackets, fur hats, and boots, playing chase or tag or throwing snowballs at each other while a small bunch of adults watched. On the other side, I saw Grayson driving the snowblower, clearing the lodge of a thick blanket of snow from this morning's storm. Gosh, he was already an expert at driving the machine.
"My lady," he greeted when he spotted me.
"You're doing great," I said.
He chuckled. "Thank you."
I turned on my heel and headed toward the children, noting that Jonah, Leo, Max, and Josh were among them. They were throwing paper airplanes, and I wondered how they came to learn of that game. Probably from one of the children's movies they'd seen.
"Hello, boys," I said.
"Hello," they replied in unison.
Max said, "We're competing to see who can make their airplane fly the farthest."
"Really?" I said. "Who's winning."
"Me," Jonah said. "Because I'm a Templeton."
"I'm a Templeton, too," Leo said. "And I beat you three times."
"Only three," Jonah said. "So it's three out of ten."
Suddenly, there was a loud boom, and I jolted. What the heck was that?
"It's the men doing their earth magic again!" one of the children shrieked in delight. "Let's go watch."
Men doing their earth magic? Were they implying that the men who were blessed or had affinity with earth magic were practicing outside? But of course, with earth magic, it was impossible not to train using real soil.
Jonah and company rushed off with the other kids and adults, and curious, I followed them. It was a good five minutes' walk and hidden away due to the field of thick trees. We came to a stop, and I widened my eyes in pleasant surprise. Before us on a plot of land were about thirty or so men, Robert, David, Kent, and Derek among them, summoning magic circles, which glowed with the signs, symbols, and scripts turning, and controlling dirt. With the way they shaped the earth, I believe they were experimenting on building a foundation for the woodwork department and plowing the soil for planting for the agriculture department. How nifty. Didn't that just mean they didn't need to do it manually? Of course, I could always create a machine for them, but this... Wow!
"My lady," Robert said when he saw me.
I went closer and said, "How long have you been doing this?"
"Training with earth magic? Only a couple of days," he said. "We put forward a request for a site we could use to train, and Lord Norsewood suggested this plot of land. It's a good distance away from the lodge so we won't cause any disturbance."
I nodded in understanding. Then I asked, "Can you do anything else with the earth magic?"
For the next hour, I watched the men perform some very intricate magic, making earth castles and buildings as well as various cute animals and such to please the children. There was a lot of cheering, and by the time we left when late afternoon arrived, the place was packed with sculptures.
The evening flew by quickly, and that night, I as well as Mark, Eden, Sara, Uncle Colt, and many others waited impatiently outside when the news came from the security department of the rescue team's return. In the distance, I saw them—a group of men on horsebacks and three carriages with drones flying above flashing bright light, one in front, one in the middle, and one at the back of the row. I didn't know whose idea that was, but he was certainly a genius to use the drones like that to light their way during the darkness. Of course, the lamps on the carriages helped, too.
They came to a stop at the front of the building, and I rushed up to Aldric, who got down from his steed. His eyes on me, he said, "We've returned."
I mutely nodded and then threw myself into his arms. "Indeed, you've returned," I said as I felt him kissing my forehead.
When I moved back, it was to see a man behind Aldric, one I hadn't met before who looked so much like Aldric, sporting gold-blond mane. Yes, Mark looked like Aldric, but he was not as big nor was he as shredded as Aldric. But this one, who no doubt must be Juan, the youngest Templeton, was almost a replica of Aldric. Almost. His face, unlike Aldric, had that boyish charm to it. Needless to say, he was very handsome.
Juan wasn't looking at me nor any of his other siblings who were surrounding him, not especially at Eden who was bawling her eyes out while hugging him, nor Sara who was fussing over him like a mother hen. No, he was staring at the lodge with lights shining brightly from the windows of the five-story building. He looked shocked, stunned, and very dazed.
"Juan! Juan! You're unharmed. You've returned," Eden said, touching his face here and there. "Juan! Look at me." She turned to me. "Quinn, do something. He's not paying attention. Is he in shock like we've learned from the health course? He must be very injured and traumatized."
I worked on hiding my amusement and said, "I think he is shocked, Eden, but not from any injury or trauma."
"Am I dreaming?" Juan said softly, breathlessly. "What in heaven is this building in front of me? Have I died and gone to the higher realm?"
Sara slapped him on the shoulder, hard, not that it did much to move him because he was simply so powerfully built. "Don't talk nonsense," she said. "It's just the lodge. You're making people worry. Now snap out of it and let's go inside so Quinn can look at you." She grabbed his wrist and all but dragged him toward the door, with Juan still staring up at the building and looking around him in a stupor.
I turned to see Liam coming up to me, and out popped a little furry animal from beneath his jacket. I widened my eyes and said, "Oh my! A squirrel. You've made a new friend?"
Liam said, "He was with Juan. Apparently, his name is Red and he's the one who guided Juan out of the dungeon and through the alps."
"Dungeon? What dungeon?" I asked.
Aldric said, "We'll have a meeting regarding that tomorrow. There are civilians needing rescue, Quinn, and we must get moving as soon as possible. Their lives are depending on us."
I nodded, and we headed into the lodge.