Chapter 26: Repairing The Shield Barrier
Ashera Valhorn is at the fort of the high elves, monitoring the defensive reconstruction efforts after the battle with Circe.
She expected the witch Hecate to come hot at her trails the moment she had Hecate's old weaving loom and spellbook stolen from Hecate's great and imposing Palace.
She knew that if she sent a high elf to infiltrate Circe's Palace, she'd be exposed straight away, so she had the assistance of the woodland elves, who are good at sneaking around and disguising themselves aside from being expert hunters, trackers and rangers among the elven race.
Most of all, the woodland elves know nature magic, are familiar with the woodlands of RPG Fantasia like the back of their palms, and can easily sneak behind enemy lines undetected.
So, she enlisted the help of the woodland elves through the woodland elf Galadriel.
The woodland elf didn't have a hard time finding and sneaking into Circe's Palace, as Ashera sent a male high elf named Sinnar Larethlock, who happened to be fluent and well-versed in rune magic and could get animals to do his bidding through animal telepathy.
Sinnar was assisted by an elite female wood elf named Duzkoth Nightbranch,who had both the powers of a dark elf and a wood elf thanks to her mixed heritage.
Both Ashera and Galadriel knew that sending an entire squad mixed with woodland elves and high elves was too risky, so they decided to send 2 elite elves to infiltrate Circe's Palace instead.
The two elves returned from their mission safe and sound, successfully bringing back Circe's weaving loom and spellbook.
Just as Ashera predicted, it didn't take long for Circe to find out who ordered the theft, and came right at the doorstep of the high elves.
She knows that this is only the beginning, and Circe will find a way to get back at her sooner or later.
But she is more than prepared and ready for a fight, and she couldn't wait to try out new and improved spells she had been hiding as her trump cards as a result of experimental mixing of Circe's witchy spells and the combination magic of high elven runes, celestial magic, arcane magic, and eldritch magic.
She knew that Circe might have already found out the identities of the elves who stole the spellbook and the weaving loom, and will use her witches to sniff out where the two elves are hiding for the time being.
I know what you're thinking of doing right now, Circe. Goodluck trying to smoke out the exact location of the two elves and your oh so treasured weaving loom and spellbook. It won't be an easy task for you and your witches. Maybe someone allied to you has them. Maybe not. I made sure of it to give you a tough time. You can exhaust yourself and your witches climbing up and down the floors of the tower in your search, for all I care. You will eventually tire out, and give up, because it's like searching for a needle in the haystack.
Ashera smirked at the thought, knowing full well that everything is all worth it in the end.
She was a close friend and ally of the dragon god Orochi, and Satsuki's father.
She did everything in her power to back the Gamer Guild headed by Satsuki behind the scenes, until the day Satsuki disbanded the Gamer Guild and went solo.
She still continued to back those who stayed loyal to Satsuki, even until Satsuki's death, but gave the betrayers a hard time.
With Noctis entering the fray, she'll throw her support to Satsuki's younger brother.
She knew that Circe was one of the main reasons why the Gamer Guild ceased to exist, and the death of Satsuki.
Ashera was satisfied at the fact that she inflicted a payback on Circe for the part Circe did on disbanding the Gamer Guild, and the death of Satsuki.
But it was a costly payback, as it meant that she now had to repair the broken rune shield, and cleanse the area of the dark energies left behind the fleeing demons earlier, when she turned the situation around, and won the battle by surprise.
She took comfort in the fact that she now knew Circe's spells, having her assistant put everything from Circe's spell book into a scroll she hid in the most secure part of the fort of the high elves, which is the treasury.
The doors of the fort are locked with combined runes of high elven magic, arcane magic, and advanced celestial spells that jumbled together into a puzzle.
To make matters more difficult, the chest locks are enchanted so that only those approved by the elders of the high elves can open the lock if they have the keys, which Ashera always carries around with her.
If an intruder managed to pry open the treasury doors, he/she will still have a hard time trying to open the locked chests.
After her assistant was done copying the spell book and making fake replicas of the spell book and the weaving loom, Ashera had the original spellbook and the weaving loom sent and hidden away in an undisclosed location only known to her, switching the hiding places every 24 hours.
She decided to add another layer to the shield runes from the witchy spells she learned, straight from Circe's spellbook.
She shook those thoughts off from her mind, then went outside the fort to inspect how the reconstruction of the magical shield barrier is faring.
She joined the other high elves who are busy with the reconstruction efforts of the magical shield barrier.
She helped them and took the lead, making their jaws drop with powerful advanced level spell upgrades and modifications to the runes of the magical shield barrier.
She knew that she had to continue wowing the high elves, who admire leaders who are smart, clever, and strong, and use those qualities to lead them.
She knew that the high elves preferred a leader who showed through their actions that they are capable, and that the high elves expected from her the qualities shown by her late father, who died a heroic death in a battle against the goblins.
She also knew that she must constantly win the approval of the High Elven Council, who are noble-blooded high elves older than her, and personally handpicked by her father, for the High Elven Council often controlled the opinions of the lesser high elves.