Chapter 78

Year 163 – Winter – Septimus Mensis – 5th day

Avem, town of House Kalator, land of the Vale

What began as a seasonal winter storm in the Kalator’s sight turned out to be a disastrous blizzard. During the wedding night, the snow piled up, and in the morning, nearly two feet of snow were covering the town. The wind was still strong, but it didn’t end there. The snowstorm was so wild people could barely see a hand’s reach ahead of them while walking outside. Gathering wood and charcoal, the Kalator were isolated in their homes.

A war council had been organised to attest to the problem.

Ludger – “The gods are angry!”

Egmond – “They have nothing to do with it!”

Trygve – “I’ll have to side with Ludger on this one. A blizzard right after a wedding is . . .”

Lanaya – “Is what?”

Trygve – “It is unsettling, to say the least.”

Atilos – “Tell me, Lanaya. That skin of yours, it seems quite pale, like the snow. Why is that?”

Egmond – “Stop this right now. We are not here to find a culprit. This is a blizzard. It happens. We need to focus on protecting our people from the cold.”

Varok – “I agree with Egmond. The priority is our people.”

Egmond – “How many of our soldiers have caught colds during the night?”

Atilos – “Two of my men.”

Amund – “Thirteen of mine, one of them has been frostbitten on one of his ankles. We might need to cut his foot.”

Trygve – “At least two of mine have been frostbitten. A few more are sick.”

Nelis – “I can heal them.”

Ludger – “I’ll try to heal them.”

Nelis – “You’ll try?”

Ludger – “You claim you can heal someone without having even witnessed his wound. I’d rather be honest.”

Nelis – “Frostbite and cold aren’t that hard to treat. If you know how to heal it, you simply shouldn’t fail to heal them.”

Ludger – “If the frostbite is too deep in the flesh, his flesh will dry, and he might still lose his leg.”

Nelis – “That depends on how you proceed.”

Egmond – “Enough! Nelis, what do you suggest to heal the frostbitten?”

Nelis – “I’ll need access to the forge to create steam.”

Egmond – “Can’t you do it here? Inside the hall?”

Nelis – “I need a lot of steam. It would damage the walls.”

Ludger – “We need wet cloths, not steam.”

Lanaya – “Nelis is a much better healer than you’ll ever be. If he says we need steam, then we need steam.”

Ludger – “How dare you!”

Egmond – “Let’s not start a fight. Why the steam?”

Nelis – “We need to maintain the warmth of the area, but not too hot. We need the air to be wet, or their flesh might dry out as it heats back up. The steam will keep their flesh moistened.”

Egmond – “And why wouldn’t a wet cloth do the task?”

Nelis – “Because it would only protect the surface area from drying out. Too dense water will stop the skin from breathing. Steam will get inside the skin more easily than dense water.”

Varok – “I also have a man who’s frostbitten and one who caught the flu. With this many sick and wounded, we should split the task.”

Ludger – “Egmond, who will heal the frostbitten?”

Lanaya – “It will be Nelis.”

Atilos – “He wasn’t asking you.”

Egmond – “No, but unless I say otherwise, you’ll have to follow her words as my own. Ludger, you’ll take care of those with a cold.”

Atilos – “Tsk . . .”

Ludger – “You’ve changed, Egmond.”

Egmond – “Oh no, I haven’t. All of what I am and have always been doing has been done for my people, and it is still the case. We’ll need to dig the snow out of the town before it piles up even more. I want 300 brave men to help in that matter. I’ll give them five Utos each.”

Varok – “Understood.”

Amund – “Some houses have really bad isolation, and the fire can’t warm my men up. Tomorrow, I’ll have even more frostbitten if this storm continues. We need to move them.”

Egmond – “Lanaya, Trygve, and Amund, you’ll bring more charcoal and wood to each house. Then bring the sick inside the temple. As for those whose houses aren’t warm enough, bring them here. We’ll make them a warmer bed inside the town hall. That’s all for now. You may all dismiss.”

As they were leaving, Egmond interrupted them.

Egmond – “Ludger! Atilos! I’d like you two to stay.”

Lanaya – “Should I stay as well?”

Egmond – “No. Go help Trygve and Amund; they’ll need your strength.”

As soon as the door closed, Atilos spoke.

Atilos – “You shouldn’t let her control you like she did.”

Egmond – “I thought you were smarter than that, Atilos. I knew Ludger would get mad, but I expected better of you.”

Atilos – “What do you mean?”

Egmond – “You think she’s using me? You think I’m that dumb? We intend to take Rock Eden within the end of next year. Since its creation, for centuries, it has been besieged by the East and by the Ponterona before them. It has been besieged by mercenaries and burglars, by organised armies and barbarians, yet it has never fallen.”

Ludger – “Then why attack them?”

Atilos – “We are stronger than any of those he mentioned. Although I don’t quite get where he is going either.”

Egmond – “We can take it, but we won’t be just facing Rock Eden. We’ll be facing the entire Union.”

Atilos – “Haven’t you sent Bjarne to develop an alliance with House Edeltraud?”

Egmond – “I have, but we’ll need as many allies as we can get.”

Atilos – “And she is that ally?”

Ludger – “But why marry her? She is evil!”

Egmond – “The last thing we want is for her and her band to side with Rock Eden. They have more gold than I could ever offer her. But she has a lust for power, which I can see in her eyes. So, I’m giving her something Rock Eden wouldn’t dare do. It doesn’t matter if Nelis or you heal the frostbitten. What matters is that I show her she has power. Besides, with her in my bloodline, my lineage will get stronger than ever before.”

Atilos – “She isn’t that strong.”

Egmond – “You think you could win in a duel against her?”

Atilos – “All I’d need is one good arrow while she isn’t looking.”

Ludger – “Not if she wears her armour and fights against us. Egmond is right.”

Egmond – “Besides, in the event that we could win with her being our enemy, how could we even siege Rock Eden if her witch casts our men aflame? Even Ludger is afraid of him.”

Ludger – “You should be afraid of him, too. He is a threat, and you’re playing with fire by marrying her.”

Egmond – “Anyhow, she is now my wife and will forever be, so you better get used to it. Oh, and if one of you ever insults her again in front of me, I’ll let her choose your punishment. I won’t send you to jail now because I need you, but be careful the next time you try to insult her. You may dismiss.”

Ludger – “The Egmond I know wouldn’t dare punish a priest!”

Egmond – “You’re correct. I wouldn’t, but if you want to have a voice in the war council, keep your tongue in its place!”

Ludger – “The dreams you had? Have you forgotten about them?”

Egmond – “You told me they were not a prophecy.”

Ludger – “What if I was wrong? What if it was a warning against her?”

Egmond – “She looks like a shadow to you? What does it do if her name is the name of an angel? She didn’t choose it any more than I’ve chosen my own!”

Ludger – “No, but . . .”

Egmond – “I’ve had enough! Go heal the sick. It’s an order.”

Ludger then left the room, filled with anger.

When Nelis arrived at the forge, followed by Tally, Jurren, and Owen, he pushed the door open in a rush and looked inside.

Nelis – “VATRA?!”

She raised her head and looked at him, worried.

Vatra – “Yeah?”

Nelis – “Phew . . . When there’s a storm outside, always tell a few people where you’re going.”

Vatra – “I’m not a kid. I know what I’m doing.”

Nelis – “If you had not been in the forge, I would have searched everywhere. If you don’t tell them for yourself, tell them for me.”

At that moment, Tally, Jurren, and Owen entered the forge.

Vatra – “Oh god . . . You really were worried. I’m sorry . . .”

Nelis – “I was.”

Nelis looked behind him and saw the three other members closing the door.

Nelis – “They were not searching for you, but I was worried. Anyway, we came here to do something, and we might need your help.”

Vatra – “What?”

Nelis – “What were you doing?”

Vatra – “I was using the grindstone to sharpen my dull blade. Why?”

Nelis – “We’ll need to turn this room into a sauna.”

Vatra – “Oh, I see . . . Well, I suppose it can be done, but we’ll have to find a room for the tools or they’ll rust. Why would you want to do that?”

Nelis – “We have a few frostbitten men, and I need warm steam to heal them.”

Vatra – “Really? Who?”

Nelis – “I don’t know. Some random soldiers in the Kalator army. They’ll bring them here in an hour or so. We need to prepare the room.”

Vatra – “Alright, let’s . . . Where can we move the tools?”

Nelis – “I haven’t asked. Jurren, go find a trolley and a large cover. We’ll fill the trolley with tools, and the cover will protect them from the snow.”

Vatra – “I guess it could do the job. Eh . . . How about storing them inside the carpenter’s workshop instead? It’s just a few houses down the street.”

Nelis – “Yeah, I guess we could do that.”

Owen – “So . . . We just throw them in the workshop hallway?”

Nelis – “Throw is a little of an overstatement, but yeah. Let’s store them in the hallway.”

An hour later, the forge had been emptied, and eight beds had been laid in a row. A few racks covered by curtains had been set around the beds to prevent any stream of cold air coming from the door from reaching the wounded. Owen was preparing a large pot of meat-based stew. Tally was cutting white willow barks into small pieces to infuse them into cups of hot water. A few rocks had been placed inside the furnace. Once they were hot, Vatra moved them into a pile and poured water into them. A large mist of steam rose in the air.

Nelis – “The air is still too dry. We’ll need at least four times this.”

Vatra – “It won’t be long.”

Using a large tong, she placed the stones one by one back into the furnace.

Jurren – “Do you still need me, Nelis?”

Nelis – “Fill the bucket back with snow and place it near the furnace. Then, go to the rest of our band and check if they need anything.”

Shortly after Jurren left, the first wounded arrived, carried by two of his friends.

Nelis – “Place him there, on the bed! Good! We’ll take care of him.”

Soldier 1 – “How long will they stay there?”

Nelis – “Until the storm stops. Once their skin is reheated, a part of it might turn to necrosis, so their skin will be more vulnerable than usual to the cold air.”

Soldier 2 – “We’re with you, Brandon!”

Brandon – “You’d better pray for me!”

Soldier 1 – “We will!”

As the wounded’s friends left, Vatra heated up the furnace using the bellow.

Nelis – “Brandon, is it?”

Brandon – “Yeah.”

Nelis – “Where are you frostbitten?”

Brandon – “On my foot!”

Nelis – “I’ll need you to lay your foot there and not move it. The reheating process is long and painful, so we’ve prepared food and a medicinal drink to reduce the pain.”

Brandon – “You’re not going to do witch things with rituals?”

Nelis – “No, I’m going to heal you, not raise you from the dead.”

Brandon – “You can do that?”

Nelis – “Let’s hope I won’t have to try . . .”

Vatra was looking at Nelis from the corner of her eyes. Nelis laid the man’s foot on a pile of folded drapery and pulled a jar from his bag. He opened it and grabbed some ointment with the tips of his fingers. He applied it over the wound and rubbed it gently until the skin absorbed it.

Nelis – “Tally, have you finished cutting the willow bark?”

Tally – “Almost!”

Nelis grabbed a cup of hot water and added a few cuts of white willow bark. He stirred the liquid in the cup and gave it to the wounded.

Nelis – “It tastes like bad tea. But it will help with the pain, so drink it all.”

During the rest of the day, 14 more wounded arrived at the forge. Space was lacking, so Nelis installed a few hammocks from their own home inside the forge.

As the day was coming to an end, most wounded were already sleeping.

Nelis – “Tally, Vatra, you can leave for tonight. It should be fine.”

Tally – “What about you?”

Nelis – “I’ll stay to make sure they’re alright.”

Tally – “Alright! See you tomorrow!”

As Tally was about to cross the door, she looked at Vatra.

Tally – “You’re coming?”

Vatra – “I’ll stay a little longer.”

Tally – “You do you!”

As Tally left, Vatra looked at Nelis. He smiled at her and looked back at the wounded. Vatra grabbed a cup of tea and joined him. The two of them were sitting against the wall near the closed window. They could feel the cold breeze furrowing their neck.

Nelis – “So . . .”

Vatra – “Eh . . . Yeah . . . I wanted to talk about the other day.”

Nelis – “I’m listening.”

Vatra – “I think I do love you. The thing is . . . I’ve made a promise to someone I think I also loved.”

Nelis – “And where is that person now?”

Vatra – “In the afterworld, waiting for me.”

Nelis – “Were you married?”

Vatra – “No, nothing happened. He died before anything could happen, but we made a promise to meet each other in the world beyond.”

Nelis – “I see.”

Vatra – “That’s why I froze the other day. I . . . I feel torn.”

Nelis passed his hand behind her shoulder and pulled her toward him.

Nelis – “If you want to wait and reserve yourself for him in the afterworld, I find it quite honourable. But, you see, if the afterworld is like the tales tell it to be, a man like me who dishonours every god will most likely never reach it. So, once you’ll get there, if you do get there, you won’t have to choose between him and me.”

Vatra – “So, you’re saying that since he isn’t there, I should just give up on him?”

Nelis – “No. But if he truly loved you the way you seem to believe, would he really wish you to be lonely until your last day?”

Vatra – “I don’t know . . .”

Nelis – “Then listen to your heart, and eventually, you’ll know.”

Vatra – “So, you’re truly staying for the night?”

Nelis – “I have to be here in case the steam runs low. I’ve seen you do it. It doesn’t seem as hard as forging. I think I’ll be fine.”

Vatra smiled at him for a few seconds and kissed him on the cheek before getting up. Nelis looked at her in shock.

Vatra – “It’s not a yes! It’s to motivate you to pass the night!”

Nelis – “I’ll take it without complaint!”

Vatra – “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nelis – “See you in my dreams!”

Vatra laughed and shook her head off as she left the forge.