A helping hand

"Are you all OK?" Hera asked as she helped the people responsible for the supplies to come out from under the carriage, two beastmen and one dwarf.

"Yeah. Thanks for that," the bear beastwoman smiled, her clothes covered in dirt.

"No worries," the Empress glanced under the cart, "But you really shouldn't hide there in the future."

"What else were we supposed to do then? We are not fighters!" the dwarven woman yelled, her nerves still raw from the ordeal.

Hera didn't let herself be phased. She was dealing with new people, and she might as well continue the new version of her. The Ophidianite version, "Hide somewhere else, run, or next time make a better carriage. Look at those beams and the suspension. If the monsters tried to jump on top of the cart, you would turn into minced meat." 

They all looked to where the Empress pointed. Just like she said, the cart's undercarriage was a mess of beams, jagged parts, and pointy tips. It was made in such a way to help it move around more freely, being able to trigger some of those parts to clear debris, snow, and other obstacles. 

"D-d-did," the bear beastwoman stared.

"J-j-just," the beaver beastmen continued.

"A-a-a-almo-mo-mo-" the dwarven woman tried to go on, but Hera just sighed.

"I'll talk to you when you can finish a sentence," she wasn't trying to be mean, but the people behind her were injured; these three were just scared. It was clear who the priority was. "How are they looking, Daskka?" 

'Not great. I can at most keep them steady for a while, but every time they move, things get worse,' the snake replied in the Empress' mind.

"Can you all just stop moving?! Daskka, the mist, is trying to help, but she is not a proper healer. Not for this kind of thing," Hera snarled at the wounded. During the rampage, she realized that people with injuries in a battle would obey the directions of the healers better if they were being aggressive. Kindness seemed to freak people out a bit more. Maybe they thought that if someone was speaking softly, it meant their wounds were too serious, and they were about to die.

After that small outburst, the people stopped shifting so much and just stood there for a moment, waiting.

"OK, now stay like that. My team's healer is coming. Actually," Hera turned around, "Nimbus. Go grab Neria and bring her here," she put out her hand. The Sentinel didn't say anything, just nodded and took a knee in front of her. Kissing the back of the Empress, he had to receive five million mana and the quest and turned into his griffon form again, running back to the rest of the team.

"Who are you?" the blond girl asked.

"Hera Quetzaveth," the Ophidianite replied, "I did introduce myself earlier, right? I said it out loud, not just in my head."

"No, I mean, yeah, you did. Just…. That answers so little. What are you? A new intelligent MAZE species? Are all of you part of a new species?" the girl asked again; this time, the other members of this team were also paying attention. The ones who were able to do so, at least. The elven man was still on the ground, and the other man was curled up in a ball, groaning and trying to stop throwing up. Leaving only the three humans. The blond girl, the short-haired woman, and another man whom Hera had barely noticed before. He was holding the pieces of a broken bow and had some large cuts on his arms and legs. 

"That's not entirely correct," Viper scratched his cheek.

"I'm part of an intelligent MAZE species that most people have yet to come in contact with," Hera pointed to herself, then gestured to her court, "They are part of my legacy."

"You have a legacy? That's why you are so strong," the man holding the bow said.

"The rest of my team would be able to deal with this pack just as easily. The only reason I rushed ahead was because of numbers," the Empress explained. 

"What level are you?" the girl asked.

"40, and thank you for asking. People have been just using their Ob-" Before she could finish the sentence, a notification appeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have been Observed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

She glanced back to the man with a bow, expecting it to be him, but he was just confused, shifting to the short-haired woman; she also seemed to not be the one responsible for that. The elf and the other man were not even looking at her. Shifting her head to the right, she noticed how the dwarven woman who jumped when their eyes met. That was enough for everyone to understand what was going on. And even the injured team glared at her. 

"Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the short-haired woman asked.

"Not really," Hera glanced at her, "From my point of view, I see three humans who tried to attack a supply cart from the Alliance in a time of war but bit more than they could chew," the Empress didn't really believe they were members of the guild, but trust wasn't something she could just give to any human. It was one thing to find them in the Cinderspire Citadel, a place where the Alliance sent people. Another to find them in the middle of nowhere, with no information about other teams that could be in the same vicinity.

"Wait, no! That's not what happened! We sent the message in the Alliance network; how would we be there if we were on the side of the guild?" the short-haired woman gasped.

"You could get a tablet from one of the people who actually were here to protect the supplies." 

"Actually…" the bear beastwoman spoke up, but Hera simply raised one finger, her black claw glistening in the sunlight.

"I'll be with you in a moment," the Empress' commanding tone made a few of her court members go wild. Despite Hera's insistence that this was just a quirk of the legacy, the blades all enjoyed seeing their ruler act the part.

"Our name!" the blond girl replied, "We have a team name. It should be available to anyone who has access to the network."

Hera nodded, "OK, that is true. What is the name of your team?"

"It should be 'Beyond the Scale - Willful Blades," the girl replied.

Hera stared at her for one more moment before saying, "I'm going to pull up my tablet to check that. Vulcan, if they try anything, show them your full face," it was an empty threat, and all the court knew, but the people in the area were not privy to that information. 

Forge just smiled, showing more of his teeth and doing his best to seem intimidating, which wasn't hard considering the daemonic features of his face.

The Ophidianite quickly pulled Milla's chat and asked about this team. The reply came almost immediately, showing that the harpy was already waiting to hear about the S.O.S., "OK, the name is right. What is the name, role, and level of the members?" Hera asked.

The blond girl started speaking, "I'm Katarina, Level 22 fighter. Jessica, level 21 hunter. Harold, Level 24 hunter. The elf is Javier, a level 23 healer, and the triton who is curled up in a ball is Mack, a level 25 mage."

Hera double-checked the information not just on the tablet but also by using her [Observe] since that was the most secure way to learn someone's name. All the data matched, with the exception of Katarina's level. According to Milla, she should still be level 21. But there were a few bodies in the middle of the pack, meaning that they might have killed a few monsters, which could explain that difference. 

"OK. I believe in you. And I'm sorry for doubting," the Empress finally said.

"No, that's OK. I completely understand. I think I would think the same thing if I were you," Katarina replied. 

"Kat! Why are you saying that? No one treated us like this before," Jessica protested.

Hera sighed. She understood where the human was coming from. Her own self from the past would likely find the same situation unfair. If she was still a human during this time of war, she would also be trying to help the Alliance. And she would be the one hearing people doubt her intentions.

"No one? Really?" Hera squinted. More than anything, people who were living in the cities wouldn't be trustful of the humans. Not at first. 

"Well… some people did, but not the ones who were also helping the Alliance," Jessica huffed.

"That's because they knew we were coming and who or what we are," Harold replied.

With a smile, Hera nodded, "Yeah. If people warn us about you, that's OK. My team was in a rampage, and there were humans around. But everyone knew about them. Well, not every single individual since we were thousands, but that we had humans helping us."

"But then… wouldn't you be worried that there were some spies in the mix? If it was such a large group," Katarina asked.

"We had to trust the Alliance and that they wouldn't send anyone who could be a potential danger there," Hera glanced back. Nimbus was already getting closer, and she could even hear Neria's voice in the wind, screaming like she was in a roller coaster, "There are times when blind trust is our only option. Whenever it isn't, you shouldn't give it away so easily. Also, that's my healer. She might be able to help you. Daskka, can you still hold on?"

"For a little bit. I'm using a lot of mana for them. Some of those wounds are too old for me, and I'm more used to your body than to theirs," the herald replied.

"How so? You should be used to that," the Ophidianite didn't say the full sentence to avoid mentioning her change of body.

"I don't know. I think that when you ascended, the knowledge I had about your body shifted to match the new version. We need to ask Tara about it later," Daskka replied.

"Yeah, let's do that." 

"Hum… can I ask a question?" Katarina raised her hand.

"This is not a class. You can ask what you want. I just might not answer," Hera replied, turning towards the human.

"Who are you talking to?" 

"The snake, well. The mist that is healing your friends. She is actually a snake, and this is just one of her forms made to heal. Apparently, the reason she is struggling so much is because your body is very different from mine."

"Is that your pet?" Harold asked.

"She's a friend. But it's a construct. Part of an item that is bound to me. We can talk, and she can talk with my legacy, but other people can't understand her." 

Nimbus stopped beside them, and Hera went over to help Neria. The triton was shaking and seemed pale. Quickly grabbing her fan, the Ophidianite did her best to help the healer.

"Thanks. Fuck, Nimbus is fast now. This is so stupid. He didn't say anything just grabbed me and ran. What is going…" Neria looked to the side and instantly went into first aid mode, "Daskka, give me space. Your mist messes with my healing. What happened to them? Skip the story. I'm asking how they got these wounds and effects."

Jessica and Harold started explaining while Katarina was still talking with Hera, asking about where she came from and the usual 'wow, you are a new species' questionnaire. Neria worked fast, and in less than two minutes, Jessica, who had a large wound on her stomach, was already stabilized, and so was the elf. He was no longer delirious because of the toxin the Myradion Chieftain infected him with. The triton, on the other hand, was a bit more of a problem. 

"Hera, can you make your poison target other poisons?" Neria asked.

"Yeah. I've done that before. But it still hurts whoever is poisoned."

"Don't make it super potent, that I can outheal the damage. That is the quickest way to get this out of him."

Without arguing, the Ophidianite prepared a poison needle and flung it at Mack, where Neria was pointing to.

"What the hell are you doing!" Jessica got up, but she moved too quickly, and her wound opened up again.

"Saving a friend. Now shut up and stay quiet. I'm nodding you again until he is fine," Neria didn't even look away from the other triton.

Noticing the words, Hera walked closer and crouched beside Neria to better control the poison. At the same time, she asked the rest of the court to stop the humans from trying to stop them, "Do you know him?" she turned to her teammate. 

"Yeah. I used to babysit this little shit. I can't believe he is a healer now," Neria had a sad smile on her face. 

Both of them focused and continued working for a couple of minutes before the Empress cleared all the poison inside the man. However, more appeared from his stomach.

Just as she was about to mention it, Neria gasped, "Macky, you are a fucking idiot!" she slapped him on the back of his head.

"What?" Katerine tried to rush over, but Livy gently stopped her.

"I always told this dipshit to stop trying to eat everything he sees. He has a magical tapeworm. It usually only gives him the shits, but since his life was in danger, the adrenaline in his body made it go wild. Now, the tapeworm is trying to push out of his body. Macky, choose. Do you want to eat shit or throw up through your ass? If you don't pick one, I'm making you do both."

The triton struggled to come up with an answer, but he eventually managed to mumble, "Mouth. Acid ass is worse." 

"Good call," Neria's hand was enveloped in water, and she slapped the man's back with all her strength. The water suddenly disappeared inside him. There was a pause, and then Mack started retching. He coughed repeatedly, throwing up more, including some blood, which made Hera worry, but Neria didn't seem fazed. After about two minutes, he threw up this almost meter-long white creature that was spasming. 

"Burn it!" Neria started rubbing the man's back, who passed out on top of his vomit.

Hera used her fire spray spell to kill the creature before turning back to the rest. Everyone was a bit spooked, but aside from that, they seemed OK. In the distance, Vash was starting to get closer, which meant the team should get here soon. Then, they could continue dealing with all this mess.