Headed by a Snake

Zenon grimaced as his gaze passed over Tycondrius and Karodin both, "What... what should we do now? Optio?"

Tycon shook his head, "We still have to return-- unless a powerful enough mage magically appears to help us."

"Ahem," The sound of a man clearing their throat put the trio on edge, and they naturally took outward defensive positions.

"Whoa! Hold on!" A hooded mage in black-and-silver robes appeared in a gout of silvery flames, "I'm an ally!"

⟬ Photios, Iron-Rank Human Silver Pyromancer. Guild Brazen Guard. ⟭

"You're alive!" Zenon cheered, "Thought we lost you, man!"

"Haha, yeah..." Photios grinned somewhat awkwardly, "I wasn't sure I was gonna make it, to be honest."

Tycon narrowed his eyes, somewhat relaxing his guard but not re-sheathing his sword. The Pyromancer had arrived alone. His group lay dead upon the frozen lake. Something had happened... but the presence of Photios would factor well into their mission's completion.

"You've excellent timing, Mister Photios. I pray you have enough mana to assist me and Librarian Zenon with the final seal..."

...

The Brazen Guard collective gathered at the war camp to rest and recuperate. After the reactivation of the fourth seal, Bannok had severed the head of the enthroned giant with his battleaxe. Footman Victorius told him about it in grisly detail.

He made it sound like he was there alongside the Gold-Rank Weaponmaster.

There was a high degree of embellishment in his tale, but the results were undeniable. The Brazen Guard was vict-- was successful.

There were more casualties incurred. Photios' entire group was annihilated, save himself. The Snowy Village adventuring company lost a third of their members, with most of the remaining too injured to participate in further encounters.

The Stormbrands, of course, did not disappoint even when comparing levels of failure. One of theirs was also killed, their corpse strewn about in pieces over the frozen lake. Unfortunately, it was neither Reaver Tancred nor Cleric Occam.

The Brazen Guard hosted an internal auction for the spoils... most of it mundane and worn weaponry, dropped by the various undead. Tycon was granted priority... but chose to default to the Gold-Rank guild. A cache of basic arms and armor would always remain useful in a company of their size.

...and there was nothing of immediate value to be claimed.

Word was passed that the Brazen Guard would rest for two suns. There were more than enough adventurers to continue, after all. During the downtime, Hunter Felinus' scouts, as well as some volunteers were to patrol deeper into the dungeon, reporting on their findings.

That was fine. It allowed Tycon the time to train his charge.

...

They did not teach magic at the military academy in Silva. Everything Athena Vanzano had learned, she did on her own... and with perhaps a bit of assistance from her loyal footman, Tanamar. It was quite impressive, especially considering the girl had nearly killed him with an incanted ⌈Ice Beam⌋ a few weeks prior.

Tycon patiently explained basic magical concepts, the young lady's frost-blue-haired head greedily soaking up the information. As always, she proved a diligent student, the questions she asked granting him confidence that she well-understood the material.

Some of the mage-initiate's inquiries, (while slightly off-topic,) pushed the boundaries of Tycon's knowledge. He provided what theories he could... but magic, at its core, was not so easily explained, even by one as handsome and intelligent as himself.

At the lake mouth was a majestic waterfall, its sheer size dwarfing both the Dire River Eel and the Throned Giant. With the magic of the lake undone, in a few short bells, the waterfall again resumed its flow. The torrent crashed upon the large rocks below, the force easily enough to pulverize a Bronze-Rank.

With the amplified ambient frost mana in that area, Athena discovered that she gained the ability to levitate... slightly. Her excitement turned to horror as Tycon assigned the young lady her latest training.

Three wispy spheres of Athena's condensed mana slowly rotated around her as she floated above the icy waters. Four was her limit. Three allowed her to keep her levitation mostly stable...

Still, Yin Body or not, a lapse in concentration would find her very cold and very miserable.

Athena's ability to sustain her spells would see an improvement... or she'd be greatly inconvenienced by drowning or the hypothermia that would set in afterward.

Tycon calmly observed their surroundings, ever vigilant for signs of danger. The forest was still quite haunted, but Athena would remain safe even if he was her only guardian.

Zenon accompanied them for a while. The Centurion's spells, in particular, held the distinct divinity of his Eternal Flame, rending the forms of ghosts as easily as the flesh of men. Where he went off to from there, Tycon did not know. It was likely that the events of the battle weighed on his mind.

Post-battle was an excellent time for introspection.

Scouts traveled near the falls in small teams of four, often stopping to gawk at the floating Vanzano's magical appearance. They would come by to relieve their boredom with idle talk before ultimately returning to their duties, foraging for wood and hunting furred animals.

Having Athena handle a fourth sphere was too easy. Instead, he sharpened the young lady's concentration by inviting passersby, as well as the members of Team Athena, to hold thoughtful conversations with her.

Victorius did well to help. The blonde footman reminisced about his past glories and shared inside jokes that Miss Athena was privy to.

Tycon slightly lamented that Centurion Zenon had gone elsewhere. He would perform an excellent job distracting Athena, speaking about his favorite gladiators or the history of some obscure adventuring company. The levitating Vanzano would not be able to escape... though as polite as the young lady was, she'd probably prove perfectly receptive to the elevated gentleman's tedium.

For whatever reason, Tanamar's presence made Athena fail fantastically. When his eyes fell upon her in wonder, she seemed to panic. With her concentration broken, she crashed into the waters. The noble hero that was Tanamar immediately leapt in to save her.

Though Tycon couldn't identify how, Footman Tanamar was most certainly at fault.

One of Karodin's team members, a Bronze-Rank Adept, came by and dried Athena's hair and training clothes with magic. The fellow even helped Tycon build a fire and an improvised formation helped protect it from the domineering frost mana that suffused the environment.

The young lady was more resistant to hypothermia than he'd originally estimated. Conversely, her misery was worse from her failures combined with her damp clothing. Thus motivated, the training continued.

Following that event, Tycon chased Tanamar away with his blade-whip. It was good to challenge Miss Athena... but it seemed that that fellow's presence had too powerful an effect.