Without another word, the Ancient One waved her hand, and a golden portal swirled into existence behind her. two other sorcerers in their deep robes stepped forward, and leaving. Barton, still unconscious in his cage, was slowly lifted by magic and pulled toward the glowing gateway.
Natasha clenched her fists but remained still. There was no alternative—if they wanted any chance at saving him, they had to trust the Ancient One. Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, a silent show of support.
"We will do everything in our power to restore him," the Ancient One assured her before stepping through the portal herself. The other sorcerers followed, and within moments, the gateway collapsed, leaving behind only shimmering embers of golden light.
A heavy silence settled over the room, but the moment didn't last long.
"You insult the Ancient One, speak to her with disdain, and yet stand here expecting our aid?" Mordo said as he hadn't left with the others. "You owe her an apology."
"Apology? For what? Speaking the truth? And don't attach my name with the rest of the folks here. He is not my friend and nor do I know him. His life and death doesn't bother me." Avallac'h said. He might have lost his magic temporarily but definitely not the arrogance.
"Your arrogance is remarkable. I do not take kindly to those who show disrespect to my master." But Mordo didn't forget the first disrespect.
"And I do not take kindly to those who believe themselves above reproach simply because they wield power under a different name," Avallac'h countered, as he could easily tell that although her magic wasn't steered to the dark side but the power she carried was the darkest of them and this person was supposedly the guardian of humanity.
Liam sighed. He could already see where this was going. Mordo took another step forward, his hands clenched into fists.
"Then perhaps I should remind you that respect is not given freely—it is earned." Mordo said.
"Do you intend to lecture me like a child? Or are you actually going to act on this righteous anger of yours? Boy I am older than your ancestor." Avallac'h said.
That was all the provocation needed.
Mordo swung.
The punch came fast, aimed straight for Avallac'h's jaw. But despite his weakened state, the elven sage moved with an almost unnatural grace, twisting his body just enough for the attack to graze his cheek instead of landing cleanly. He countered with a swift jab to Mordo's ribs, but the sorcerer barely flinched before retaliating with a forceful shove.
Avallac'h stumbled slightly.
"You seem like you rely too much on your magic," Mordo growled. "Without it, you're just an arrogant elf with no real power."
"And you? Without your master's teachings, you're just another man swinging blindly in the dark." Avallac'h said.
Mordo lunged again, this time with a feint followed by a brutal strike toward Avallac'h's abdomen. The elf barely managed to block, but the force of the hit sent him staggering back a few steps.
Ciri, watching from the side, had seen enough. With a flicker of movement, she vanished and reappeared between them in a blink, using her Elder Blood abilities to intervene before things escalated further.
"That's enough," she snapped.
"You're lucky I used only my fists," Mordo muttered. "If it were up to me, I'd have blasted you with magic."
"Then it's fortunate that it wasn't up to you." Avallac'h said. With that, Mordo turned sharply and strode away and left, opening a portal.
"You really don't know when to back down, do you?" Ciri said. "We are not in your home." Avallac'h didn't reply and instead looked at Liam who now seemed and even looked very different from what he had seen at the Continent.
His missing limb had now regenerated into rainbow colors and even his eyes, seemed to holding a power that he had never seen before. If the smell of Aen Elle was lingering during his time in the Continent, then at the moment, he thought that Liam was an elf himself.
This really surprised him and even Ciri. And Liam like always had to give them a rundown of why his abilities worked like that. Of course Avallac'h refused to believe that their worlds could be treated as some trial worlds by some of so called Gods.
Liam didn't mind his words at all but he did advice not to step out of line because at his home, he himself was enough to take on Eredin and his whole army and come out victorious. Avallac'h hardly believed that but it didn't matter because Fenrir was here.
And as expected Fenrir was the focus of everyone once he was here. Everyone held him, especially Triss and Keira as they had met him before. Liam had already brought Elie and suffice to say Fenrir now playing with Elie.
While they were doing so, Pepper had arrived and told them they were welcome to stay here for the rest of their stay here. She also noticed that Tony was very tensed and unhappy but didn't ask immediately.
Geralt was the only one said who suggested that they should return back since Barton was taken care of, but was shut down by the rest as they wanted to explore this magical place. Liam didn't mind being in this place for sometime. Ciri wanted to look around the place and do some shopping along with the girls here.
Natasha meanwhile had left the group and said she would leave for the HQ of SHIELD of Washington along with Steve, leaving Liam alone with Vesemir and Geralt. These two looked too much out of place and Pepper had asked someone to come in and give them proper outfit for the place they were in which the two didn't reject.
They had seen the quality of the clothes before and thus they wouldn't say no to good things. Vesemir and Geralt were both surprised beyond words and though Yennefer had seen the pictures in the mobile, she was still very much moved by the place here.