《The Silencing of Esteria》Chapter 7
Advertisement
The villagers carried the unconscious man to Kinic’s house.
Not bothering to knock, they pushed into the treatment room that occupied the whole first floor of the house and lay the man on a table as Toland hastily cleared it.
“Kinic!” shouted Rin up the stairs.
Toland hurried over to the dying fire, grabbed the bucket of water beside it and set the kettle to boil.
“Kinic!” shouted Rin again, this time he heard the sound of boots hitting the floor.
Kinic hurried down the stairs, pulling a jacket on.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he ran, “I was only going to close my eyes for a moment…”
Then he saw the man lying on the table.
“Horo’s beard,” he breathed and took off his jacket again.
“I need some water to wash the…” he started before Toland handed him the kettle.
“Right, thank you.”
Kinic then washed his hands with the remaining water and set to work. Gently undoing the bandages, washing the wound and then with a spool of thread began delicately tying off exposed arteries.
“Toland,” Kinic said as he worked, “Find the bullwort and some herdgrus, mix them with a few drops of anaregia and then place them under his tongue. Do not let him swallow it.”
Toland nodded and went off to find the items from the shelves of ingredients.
The men watched in silence as they worked, huddled around in a semi-circle.
The girl slid between the men and took up a place next to the bench, looming over Kinic.
“Will he live?” she asked so quietly Toland thought he might have imagined it.
“I… Maybe… He has lost a lot of blood, but judging by his condition he got help very quickly so his odds are better for it…”
Advertisement
He took his eyes off the man’s leg for a second to glance up at the unfamiliar voice and stopped dead.
He looked at her dumbstruck, her sapphire eyes locked with his.
The village of Hinswirth was on the western most edge of the Kingdom of Esteria, the Aravengali mountains were considered inhospitable, unclaimed territory and as such were the perfect border between Esteria and the Kingdom of Anglave. The villagers had never been further east than the small market town of Dunlun, as such they had never seen anyone from the royal family, or even seen a picture of them. This far from a city it was even rare to see a coin than might have had a stamped imprint depicting the king.
But Kinic knew, and his brain could come up with no reasonable explanation for why Katrina, first princess of Esteria, only child of King Telagash and heir to the throne, was stood in his house in her nightclothes in the middle of the night.
Toland had mixed the herbs as instructed, and using a small spoon placed the reddish-brown liquid under the unconscious man’s tongue.
“How?” asked Kinic.
The villagers shifted uncomfortably, unsure as to why Kinic was looking at this girl so strangely and not wishing to interrupt his work.
Toland glanced up too, but when he realized Kinic wasn’t talking to him, he returned to administering to the unconscious man.
The girl met Kinic’s stare for a second, then gestured to the man, “Please, continue.”
Kinic shook his head clear and nodded, returning to administering to the wounds.
After Toland had administered the herbs as best he could, he used the spoon to push down on the man’s tongue, keeping the mixture in place.
Rin took off his coat and placed it around the girl’s shoulders then said to the rest of the villagers, “We should leave these three to it, we should return to the watch.”
Advertisement
The men grumbled their assent and Kinic’s house, clearly unhappy that they would not find out how two mysterious strangers in their night clothes found their way to their hill in the dark this night.
After another hour of work Kinic sat back in his chair, satisfied that he could do no more.
Katrina looked at him expectantly.
“I think he will live,” Kinic sighed and washed his hands of blood.
She nodded.
“Thank you. I… I have no coin, I…”
Kinic held up his hand, “There are no coins out here, this land is harsh and cold, if we kept ledgers of favors owed and debts incurred we would have died out long ago.”
She nodded again and placed her hand on the man’s chest, grabbing ahold of a clump of his shirt.
“Nevertheless,” she said, “I will see you repaid, I swear it.”
It was Kinic’s turn to nod.
“Is there any of the mixture under his tongue left?” he asked of Toland.
Toland took a moment to check, then nodded.
“Take it out and throw it away then, its done its job.”
Toland did as he was told and then washed his hands as well.
Then the front door burst open again, this time the villagers were carrying Duglan Ir Shan and Herdru in. Both had massive wounds on their chests and faces, broader and deeper than any wound even a mighty two-handed broadsword could inflict.
“Horo’s pale…” Kinic began and caught himself before he said the next phrase in front of a princess.
The villagers lowered the stricken men onto the other tables in the room and Kinic began fussing over them.
The villages gathered around the two men, looking at them with awe.
“They did it, Kinic,” one of them said, “The crazy fools… We ran, but these two. Well mainly Herdru… But… its out in the village square now, dead.”
“The wolf?” Kinic replied.
The men nodded.
“Herdru killed it, stabbed it through the neck. Its blood was black, Kinic, black as tar. The direwolf is dead.”
Advertisement
- In Serial484 Chapters
Digging To Survive: I Can See Hints
After being awakened from their slumber, billions of people found themselves dispersed in various sealed crypts. Surrounded by earth, they each had only a shovel. They had to dig their own tunnels in order to advance to the next crypts. Nobody could predict whether it was a crypt full of supplies or monsters ahead! Klein was also forced to join in the digging, but he could see hints. [Dig further and you will end up in magma.] [It’s not a bad idea to dig to your right. After you enter the crypt, dash for four meters and stab the underground creature in slumber to death with a spear.] [A baby lamb is awaiting you on your left.] While everyone else was still exploring cautiously, Klein was already loaded with supplies and was dominating the underground world. While the rest were still stressed over their next meal, Klein was already trading with others with his leftover food…
8 1197 - In Serial521 Chapters
Defiance of the Fall
Zac was alone in the middle of the forest when the world changed.The whole planet was introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System… or God. A universe where an endless number of races and civilizations fought for power and dominion. Zac finds himself stuck in the wilderness surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse. Alone, lost and without answers, he must find the means to survive and get stronger in this new cut-throat reality.With only a hatchet for his weapon, he’ll have to seek out his family before the world collapses… or die trying.
8 1283 - In Serial1317 Chapters
Medical Master
He was the youngest guru of martial arts as well as the perfect Mr. McDreamy of the most girls. He had mysterious absolute touch, clear-sighted observation ability and various outstanding talents. But now, he was just an ordinary freshman in University of Jiangjing Chinese Medicine, who wanted to learn Chinese Medicine, see patients, and get into a relationship with a girl in a low-key way. However, in a Mid-Autumn Festival party, he was forced to put on a performance, which shocked the whole audience. The shiny and wonderful university life began from then on. In the university, he met a beautiful and smart School Beauty Jiang Miaoyu who shook his heart slightly. But the road of love was never smooth, even to a perfect hero. He also met a kind and friendly teacher Dr. Shen who discovered his excellent technique and gave him a chance to practice. Besides, his three lovely and interesting roommates were indispensable in his life, although sometimes they looked a little awkward. But this young hero’s life was not always full of happiness without a hitch, some trouble still appeared from time to time. The domineering and imperious President of the Students’ Union Li Qingshi purposely made difficulties for him repeatedly. The stubborn and hardworking martial arts practitioner Chen Cong often challenged him in different ways. Just because of these extraordinary personalities around him, this young hero’s road of struggle looked so amazing…
8 551 - In Serial53 Chapters
Who Says This OL Can't Become A Splendid Slime!?
A journey that began with a simple wish, taken horribly out of context. 'Ah, I wish that I could change my life. I wish for something truly exciting to happen.' Follow our heroine as she surmounts increasingly difficult odds! As she battles with heavy topics such as 'Is it really safe to eat this?', 'How am I supposed to slay a wyvern!?', and the ever-popular 'Does this shade of pink make my slime look fat?' "For the record, I've never asked that last question you bastard narrato—" Follow her as she traverses the world and seeks out her destiny! Thrown into the world with nary a leg to stand on, what will our gelatinous heroine do next? Will she become a savior? Or this world's very own Demon King!? "Wouldn't you mean Queen? Aside from that, please stop talking like I'm not here." But at the end of the day, there is one foe that she just may never slay. Despite all her efforts, will she be able to overcome the barrier that is ... her marital status!? "Alright, I'm going to Devour you too." We hope you enjoy the thrilling conclusion! "It really isn't that exciting. Please don't expect too much."
8 367 - In Serial130 Chapters
Incursions
This blurb concerns Incursions book 1: Incarceration. If you could buy superhuman abilities, but they might kill you—or worse—would you do it? Ten years ago, in a world not so different from our own, people with powerful abilities appeared. The new powers were dangerous, dangerous to acquire—dangerous to have—dangerous to wield. World governments raced to find and eradicate the abilities and those who possess them while using the media to rule by fear. Whereas corporations sought to exploit the abilities for profit. Raz Owens was living the dream - a rising star at a job he enjoys, a girlfriend he loves, but it all comes crashing down when Raz disregards his late father's advice. He is pulled into a chaotic underworld of clandestine labs, shadow organizations, and super-powered criminals. Used as a human test subject in a place where few survive the day, he must last long enough to escape. His only advantage? A power that seems nearly useless—a heads-up display. Contains: monsters, violence, death, dismemberment, gamelit, superpowers, superpower consequences, good guys, bad guys, good guys who might be bad guys, bad guys who think they are good guys, good guys that might go bad, bad guys that might turn good, guns for hire, competence, incompetence, continence, incontinence, conspiracies, and some of what I just said wasn't true. This story is written in third person limited POV. That means you can expect to know many of the thoughts and inner dialog of one character, and only see the actions of other characters. This POV does include scenes without the main character, and thus the reader can and will know things the main character does not. Further, this means characters act on what they know, which is almost always less than the reader knows. Something else to know. These books do not hold your hand. If you're reading it and thinking "Gosh, why aren't 'they' doing some 'obvious' thing." Bad news. You probably missed something that explains exactly that. If you're seeking a light read that doesn't ask much of you as the reader, you're invited and very welcome to come on in, but this might not be the story for you.
8 145 - In Serial23 Chapters
Rain Sabbath
Weeks before graduating highschool, Marie Weiss encounters the transfer student Felix Conti; a strange boy claiming to be on a research mission in the oceanic town of Sapphire Isle. In the following days, strange phenomena occur in alarming intensity. Monsters stalk the night, shadows come to life, and an invisible storm looms on the horizon. Out of everyone, Marie has the most reason to worry. No town is big enough for two witches, after all. Updates every Saturday at 5PM EST. Note: This is the first draft. Expect some fumbling and numbling and fiddly dunwhoozithowers here and there. Apologies in advance.
8 129