Chapter 47

Year 163 – Fall – Quintus Mensis – 16th day

Avem, town of House Kalator, land of the Vale

The first rays of the sun revealed the horrors of the night. Butchered corpses, severed hands, and lacerated necks were upholstering the street. Rotting blood was still flowing out of the many corpses, staining the dirt with a red tint. Lanaya had left to find Egmond in front of the Valmai castle. The other members of the Silver Lining were sleeping in the southern fort, recovering from their tempestuous night. Nelis was sitting on the drawbridge, facing the east to admire the rising sun, when he noticed a face he hadn’t forgotten hooked to the river shore.

Nelis whispered – “Psst! Owen! Wake up.”

The cook slowly opened his eyes and closed them again.

Owen – “Yeah?”

Nelis – “There’s the girl in the water.”

Owen – “I’m sorry, I don’t have that sort of tea.”

Nelis went toward his friend and shook him. The man fully opened his eyes and pushed him back.

Owen – “What are you doing?”

Nelis – “The girl is on the river shore. I think she’s breathing!”

Owen – “I know . . . War is horrible . . .”

Nelis – “You don’t get it. It’s the same girl from the woods.”

Owen – “You’re sure it’s her? I’ve seen many people from the East, and they all look alike.”

Nelis – “Look at her hand, the same burns.”

Owen – “You mean she’s the one who attacked you last night?”

Nelis – “I don’t know, it could be, but Lanaya had wanted to recruit her. So, I can’t let her die like that.”

Owen – “Fine, fine. Get in the water, and I’ll bring both of you up the drawbridge.”

Nelis – “About that . . .”

Owen – “I’m not going in. Not at this time of year.”

The two of them looked at each other in the eyes while thinking.

Nelis – “We wake someone else?”

Owen – “You read my mind.”

Nelis – “Psst, Radomil! Wake up.”

The man opened his eyes and looked at the two standing in front of him.

Nelis – “We have a mission for you.”

Radomil – “I don’t like that look in your eyes.”

Owen – “I’ll give you a larger portion today if you do it.”

Radomil – “I’m listening.”

Nelis – “We need you to bring us a wounded girl. Easy, right?”

Radomil – “Where’s the trap?”

Owen – “No trap.”

Radomil – “Ok, then . . . Where is she?”

Nelis – “She’s just over there.”

Radomil – “What do you mean, over there?”

Aberfa – “Keep quiet! We’re trying to sleep!”

Owen – “Sorry.”

Nelis – “Let’s get near the drawbridge.”

The three of them walked a little further from their sleeping companions.

Radomil – “So, where’s the girl in question?”

Nelis – “Over there.”

Radomil – “I’m not going in the water.”

Owen – “Why?”

Radomil – “I’ll get cold! Why don’t you go there yourself?”

Owen – “I’m not the one who saw her.”

Radomil – “Why doesn’t Nelis do it then?”

Nelis – “I need to heal her wounds. I can’t do that if my hands are shaking from hypothermia.”

Radomil – “So, what do we do? Do we wake someone else?”

Aberfa – “Will you shut up?”

The three of them turned around and looked at the huntress aiming at them with her bow.

Aberfa – “One of you will go into the water and let us sleep.”

Radomil – “Which one?”

Aberfa – “I don’t care, but I won’t hold this arrow eternally!”

Nelis – “Alright! Alright! I’ll do it.”

The huntress then lowered her arrow and went back to sleep.

Owen – “We won’t forget your courage.”

Radomil – “I’ll pray for you.”

Nelis – “Shut up, both of you . . . Just drag me out fast!”

Nelis then took off most of his dry armour and jumped into the water.

Nelis – “Oh shit, it’s awful!”

Radomil – “Breathe slowly. You’ve got this!”

Nelis swam toward Vatra and listened to her pulse.

Nelis – “She’s still alive!”

Owen – “Good, now bring her back!”

He grabbed her by under her shoulder and swam backward toward the drawbridge.

Owen – “Give me her arm.”

Nelis – “No, she has a severe wound on the waist; you could aggravate it. Grab my arm and bring both of us at the same time.”

Radomil – “We can’t do this; we’ll fall.”

Nelis – “Then go wake someone else. I’m not injuring her even more. Quick! It’s cold!”

The two of them looked toward their sleeping companions, and Owen walked toward the huntress.

Owen – “Aberfa?”

Aberfa – “What . . .”

Owen – “We’d need a third hand to pull Nelis from the water.”

Aberfa – “The two of you can’t do it?”

Owen – “He’s holding an injured girl, so we need to pull the two of them at the same time.”

Aberfa – “Ahhh, fucking shit . . . Fine! I’ll do it.”

Nelis – “HEY! I’m freezing over here!”

Aberfa – “Alright, let’s bring him out.”

Nelis passed his right arm under her shoulder and around her body. Owen, Aberfa, and Radomil grabbed his other arm and pulled both of them all the way up to the drawbridge. Nelis quickly equipped his armour to regain some heat.

Nelis – “Aberfa, I’ll need your help to pull off her clothing.”

Radomil – “I can do it if she wants to sleep.”

The huntress looked at him with knives in her eyes.

Radomil – “It was just a joke.”

Owen – “Help me start a fire. We’ll boil some water.”

Radomil – “Sure.”

Nelis and Aberfa were pulling off Vatra’s drenched clothing.

Aberfa – “Her wound’s deep.”

Nelis – “She’ll be fine.”

Aberfa – “How are you so sure?”

Nelis – “She’s the girl we found half-dead in the woods.”

Aberfa – “She didn’t leave the Vale?”

Nelis – “She’ll need some dry clothing, though.”

Aberfa – “All of our clothing is north of Avem at the camp.”

As they kept on pulling her wound, they noticed her veins were dark around her heart.

Aberfa – “You’re sure she’s fine?”

Nelis – “I’m not so sure, but again, she’s been in cold water for hours now and her pulse is low. It might be hypothermia.”

Nelis added some salt to her wound. He placed some aloe in the wound and sewed her skin back together with a linen thread. He then looked in his healing pouch and grabbed the remaining linen bandages he had. He covered the wound and made three turns around her waist before attaching both ends together.

Nelis – “Ok, so open up your cloth and hug her skin-to-skin while I find her something dry.”

Aberfa – “You wouldn’t dare.”

Nelis – “Unless you’d rather run across town. She’s suffering from advanced hypothermia as we speak. When I said her pulse is slow, it means it could stop. She’s a tough girl, but I wouldn’t bet on that to keep her alive.”

Aberfa – “Fine. I’ll heat her up. Bring me new clothing as well.”

Nelis walked through the main road. The Kalator were still breaching the castle gate. About a hundred soldiers were on standby near the war council, as most of the others were pilling the dead by hundreds on the main road.

Atilos – “Place them over there, and we’ll set them on fire.”

Seeing her companion, Lanaya walked far from the council.

Lanaya – “Is there a problem?”

Nelis – “I’m going to get some dry clothing.”

Lanaya – “You fell in the water?”

Nelis – “You remember that girl we saw in the woods?”

Lanaya – “Yeah . . .”

Nelis – “She’s the one who tried to pass by us last night. I found her unconscious on the river shore not long ago.”

Lanaya – “So, you healed her?”

Nelis – “Only her external wound to the waist, but she seemed to have some strange internal wound.”

Lanaya – “What do you mean?”

Nelis – “I don’t know if it’s just due to her prolonged hypothermia, but the blood around her heart is abnormally dark.”

Lanaya – “You think you can heal her?”

Nelis – “I’ll try to once she has heated up a bit, but her wound is deep. She won’t be able to move much until next year.”

Lanaya – “Good! While you’re up north, can you ask Alphael and two of his men to come here so that he can inspect the livestock?”

Nelis – “Do you hear yourself talking?”

Lanaya – “Calling them slaves won’t change their fate.”

Nelis – “True, but it will remind us our hands are dirty.”

Lanaya – “I know it well enough, but it’s a necessary sacrifice.”

Nelis – “I’ll go seek Alphael.”

Lanaya – “Good job of retrieving her from the river.”

Nelis left to the north. When he finally came back south, the door had been breached, and the citizens were being enslaved.

Nelis – “How many slaves survived?”

Lanaya turned around and smiled.

Lanaya – “More than 300!”

Nelis – “Alright! I retract my words. Maybe bringing that trader was a good idea.”

Alphael – “Maybe?”

Nelis – “The transaction is not completed yet!”

Lanaya – “How are Petra and Jurren doing?”

Nelis – “Jurren’s fine, but Petra has a fever. Sleeping in the dirt isn’t helping.”

Lanaya – “I’ll find us a few houses to stay in by noon.”

Nelis – “Owen’s preparing the meal if you want some.”

Lanaya – “I’ll be fine. Make sure everyone’s awake and ready to work; we’ll need their arms today!”

Nelis – “I’ll bring them all north by the time you need them!”

Lanaya smiled at him for a moment before turning toward Alphael and his guard.

Lanaya – “Come with me.”

All three of them followed her inside the castle wall.

Alphael – “Your right hand seems quite reliable.”

Lanaya – “What is it with both of you today? Did you make peace or something?”

Alphael – “I don’t think a lack in agreement necessarily leads to a lack in acknowledgement.”

Lanaya – “That’s quite humble for a slave trader.”

Alphael – “It’s funny that you mention that cause I used to be quite arrogant in my youth, but entering the slave trade made me realise how anyone can fall, no matter how great they are. Once we hit the ground, we are all equal.”

Lanaya – “Don’t tell me that crap. We both know certain slaves are kept in high dignity solely due to their names.”

Alphael – “It all depends on the owners.”

As they entered the castle hall, Ludger stopped them.

Ludger – “Lord Egmond is looking at the many slaves currently. Once he has chosen his new belongings, he’ll let you take a look at the rest to set their prices.”

Alphael – “We’ll wait here then!”

Lanaya – “I need to talk to him now.”

Ludger – “You’ll have to wait nonetheless.”

Lanaya – “It’s for the sake of a wounded companion.”

The priest of Aya looked at her with a sardonic smile.

Ludger – “He asked not to be interrupted.”

In a fraction of a second, Lanaya grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought him closer before whispering to his ear.

Lanaya – “The life of my companion is on the line, so if you intend to step in my way, you’d better be ready to put yours on the same line.”

She pushed him back and looked at him with a forced smile.

Lanaya – “So, I’ll ask again. I need to talk to Egmond now.”

The priest was still feeling goosebumps on his back when he answered with a shaking tone.

Ludger – “Go ahead . . . I’ll . . . be waiting here with the trader.”

Lanaya then passed by him and snapped her fingers next to his ear, making him startle.

Lanaya – “You’re getting old, Ludger!”

She kept walking until she reached the new king of the North. He was looking at a few girls tied together.

Lanaya – “It seems the North is yours now.”

Egmond – “It would also seem you interrupted me. Did Ludger forget his task, or did you hurt him?”

Lanaya – “He’s doing just fine, and he’s waiting with my trader. I came for another matter.”

Egmond – “If you say so. While you’re here, you might as well help me.”

Lanaya – “To do what?”

Egmond – “I intend to keep 20 whores for the town. Therefore, I need to dismiss three more from among them, but at this point, they are all pretty and I don’t know which ones to toss aside.”

Lanaya – “Why don’t you ask them? I’m sure they’d be glad to choose for themselves.”

Egmond – “Alright, what did you want?”

Lanaya – “I want two houses for the winter, and I want to use them now so that I can take care of my wounded companions.”

Egmond – “Can’t give you that. There are not enough houses for my army. A part of them will need to go back north, so I can’t just give houses like that. I’ll give you one.”

Lanaya – “There’s no way we’ll fit in one house.”

Egmond – “There are a few large houses in the northeast of town. Go find the largest one there and take it. Let’s say it’s your gift for your help in the battle!”

Lanaya – “I can take the largest?”

Egmond – “It needs to be a house, which means neither the temple nor the garrison.”

Lanaya – “Thank you. I’ll be taking my leave then.”

Egmond – “Yeah, do that.”

An hour later, Egmond came to encounter the slave trader.

Egmond – “Alphael, my friend.”

Alphael – “It’s a pleasure to see you, king of the North.”

Egmond – “We have 312 slaves at your disposal. Are these numbers in your ability to buy?”

Alphael – “They are indeed, but I’ll have to inspect the livestock before I can give you an honest price.”

Egmond – “Be at ease. You’ll have plenty of time.”

Alphael – “I am eager to see them.”