Gwen woke up, got dressed, and started the rounds she would always do to check on the outpost. Clan Ewan, which had been there for almost a week, had integrated smoothly with the squad already on Bustrun. Galle himself had helped Gwen achieve Meta Form but wasn't particularly helpful besides that since his main sphere was Lava, something either of the girls could do once they reached level three of the Arcane sphere. When she finished her rounds, she got coffee and found Tana in the Command Center.
"Good morning. I brought you coffee how you like it," Gwen smiled, "Anything on the scanners?"
Tana took the cup, "Thanks for this. No, nothing on the scanners. How's everything going in the camp?"
"Calm and productive," Gwen replied, "We've got the second floor of the barracks done, well at least the first one. You want five of them, right?"
"Yep. We should be able to house about a quarter of the army permanently. Too bad when they get here, there won't be anything to do," Tana grumbled.
"Are you complaining about the lack of action?" Gwen giggled, "We should enjoy it while it lasts."
Tana moaned, "But Nephenee has already had two ships land! I'm ready to go kick some butt."
"That's why we're training. Innes and Nephenee have had only minimal combat because Emory's been dealing with the big fish herself," Gwen emphasized, "The faster we get stronger, the more help we can be. Have you picked a second sphere at least?"
"I think either Metallurgy or Succession. When Emory wakes up, I'll ask her to bring one of those two and work on whichever one she brings. Speaking of Emory, do you think we should tell Ninian about her condition? She seems strangely interested in Emory," Tana suggested.
"Why do you think that is? Because I agree with you; she does seem particularly interested in Emory," Gwen admitted, "Then again, they're both incredibly powerful. Maybe she's just on threat watch. Whatever the reason, we probably should tell her. I'll go in a little bit."
They chatted a little more about the outpost, the incoming forces, and the training to be done while they finished their coffee. Afterwards, Gwen left the room, grabbed cold weather gear, and set off for Ninian on a motorcycle. Due to the frigid climate, the normal off-road tires had been swapped for a track of sorts, making it drive more like a snowmobile than a bike. The drive over the frozen tundra was a rather flat and uneventful trip, made worse by the long distance Gwen had to drive. Finally, after two hours through the frozen wasteland, Gwen arrived near the water's edge and got off the bike. Moments later, Ninian's blue hair rose first from the water's edge, though strangely, she wasn't the least bit wet.
Ninian charmingly greeted Gwen, "Hello! Welcome to my work site. Your name was Gwen, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Gwen cautiously bowed, "How are things going for you this fine day?"
"Just fine. I've achieved a little breakthrough earlier today, but it's challenging given the temperature of this place. But, anyway, I doubt you're here for a social visit. What did you come to tell me about?" Ninian asked directly.
"The Apleem landed on one of our other planets with a specialized scout ship and a team led a Laxtros," Gwen started hesitantly, "Emory and a couple Elandrian helped the team there deal with them, but she overextended herself and is in a coma right now."
Ninian raised an eyebrow, "From magik poisoning, I assume? Do you know what stage she made it to before she stopped?"
"Yes, ma'am, from magik poisoning," Gwen nodded, "I think they said she just started stage four when the Apleem retreated. The Elandrian gave her an injection that is supposed to help."
"Interesting. I didn't know they had made such strides in magik. How long has she been in a coma?" Ninian folded her arms as she stared down at Gwen.
Gwen coughed, "Today is the fourth day. They said the medicine should reduce the time from a month to a week."
"That girl just can't stay away from danger, can she? I'll go check on her myself tomorrow. Thank you for telling me about her," Ninian pursed her lips, "I see she gave some of her power to you as well. How are you doing learning it?"
"Fine. Slow but steady. It's an amazing gift that she gave us," Gwen answered quickly.
"Us? So, she gave some to Tana as well?" Ninian questioned, "Well, if you or she needs some tips or help learning it, please let me know. I'll happily help you nurture that power she left you."
Gwen looked shocked, "Thank you for your offer. Anyway, I better get going. See you later, Miss Ninian." Ninian waved goodbye before jumping back into the water. Still a little shocked by her offer, Gwen stood next to her bike for a few minutes before she shook off the confusion and started it up. While she traveled back to the outpost, she came up with every reason she could think of for Ninian's sudden offer.
It's not that Ninian was mean or rude to the humans; it just seemed like she couldn't care less about them. So, to suddenly offer to personally help Gwen or Tana with their training wasn't just odd but completely out of place with the rest of her actions. Furthermore, she hadn't offered to help before they were Hexbloods, only after. Having grown up with a secret parent, Gwen felt uneasy about the situation to say the least. Of course, there was another angle Ninian could be working on. It could be that Ninian was trying to get on Emory's good side due to fear. After all, everyone had warned Emory not to face a Laxtros until she had two spheres, yet with only one sphere, she had caused the Laxtros to retreat. With that much power, it was very possible Emory could defeat Ninian.
All these thoughts continued to run around inside Gwen's mind as she arrived at the outpost. They overwhelmed her as she ambled around the area until Tana and Galle ran into her by the barracks.
Galle called out, "Gwen! Are you okay? You look like you're in a daze."
"Yeah, just trying to figure out Ninian," Gwen mumbled as she turned to Tana, "She said she would help you and I if we needed any help with the Arcane sphere."
"Just like that? She's been completely apathetic towards us since our first encounter with her and now she's offering help. She's a strange one. Why do you think she's doing it now?" Tana wondered.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Gwen sighed, "She somehow knew Emory had cast Contract without me even telling her, but after I told her you had the Arcane sphere as well from Emory, her tune changed. She also said she would visit Emory tomorrow. Except I didn't tell her where she was, and Ninian didn't ask."
Galle scowled, "This Ninian must know where Emory is then. The question we need to be asking is how."
"I agree. Nephenee said one of the Elandrian has been staying by Emory's side since she collapsed; maybe we should try calling them," Tana added calmly, "Someone visiting Emory out of the blue sounds suspicious."
"I'll give them a call right away, assuming they pick up," Gwen nodded as she pulled the link stone from her pocket and gripped it tightly in her hand. She concentrated on reaching Emory for a few minutes until the stone lit up green.
"Hello, this is Gwen, one of Emory's friends," Gwen said in her mind, "Who am I speaking to?"
Soren replied, "My name is Soren, and I'd like to believe I'm one of her friends as well. As I'm sure you know, she hasn't woken up yet."
"You must be the Elandrian with her. I actually called for you, not her," Gwen explained, "I don't know if she's told you, but we encountered another powerful being on our planet named Ninian."
"Athos mentioned encountering another Ancient. What's up? Although, I have to warn you that I don't think I could take her on if she's turned against you," Soren mentioned.
"No, it's not that at all. At least I don't think she has," Gwen paused, "I told her about Emory's condition, and she said she's going to visit Emory tomorrow."
Soren took a deep breath, "I'll be on my guard. I'm hopeful she will come to help given her previous history with Emory. Thank you for letting me know."
The link stone returned to its original cloudy color, indicating the call had ended. Gwen gave the rock a funny look before she shrugged and put it back in her pocket. "He said he would keep a watch out for Ninian," Gwen relayed to Galle and Tana.
"Why did you shrug?" Tana asked, "Did he say anything else?"
Gwen shook her head, "I got his name was Soren. He didn't seem too worried."
"Well, he is an Elandrian after all," Galle commented, "Maybe he doesn't need to be worried. They're way stronger than we can imagine."
"I don't think so. He started off by saying that he didn't think he could beat Ninian," Gwen wrinkled her brow.
"Still, Ninian seems to show some positive interest in Emory," Tana countered, "And she offered to help us. If she knows we're linked to Emory, it doesn't make sense to offer that and also attack Emory. I think we just need to leave it in their hands and focus on what we can do here."
Gwen smirked, "How you going to blow off some steam? Cut up some ice blocks?"
They all had a little laugh as they walked back to the training area. At the end of the day, Tana was right; it made more sense that Ninian would be going to help than harm.