May had learned more about Biyu this last week than she had in the month before this. That included what made Biyu furious. It made her angry, too. A man turned to goop in the blink of an eye with no ceremony, no emotion. Her Master had blurred that part out to reduce the impact. Biyu was kind, just like May knew she was.
Everyone around her waited for her to debrief. "So far, only three ogres. There is a Wizard. Best guess, he is trying to make more ogres. He is staying in an old Wizard's tower in an overgrown thicket. He's the one that controls the ogres."
The Knights grumbled their consternation.
"Dammit, a Wizard? If he's making ogres, he's no joke. Why couldn't the asshole just experiment on himself like all the other dumbasses?" one Knight demanded.
"Master is pissed off. She's just about ready to swear an Oath to put him down, whatever it takes."
That quieted everyone. "Is she going to kill him?" another Knight asked.
"No. Not yet. She's moved up to the ridge to keep a watch. She'll resume normal check ins. So, morning, evening, and two hour intervals between. We can assume the villagers will die, and she thinks the ogres will raid more villages before we can assault them," May said.
"How likely is he to make more ogres?" asked High Marshall Alfred. May found him a very pragmatic man.
"Probably low. She blurred bits of the memory, but he had a magic circle and a peasant man. Turned him into sludge and bones in an instant." She shivered. "Only three ogres so far, though."
"Only three," a Knight grumbled. "Like that's a small number. No ogre mages?"
"They have abilities, but no speech or signs of intelligence."
"Can she poison them?" asked Sir Stuart. Not a question she would expect from the taciturn man, but poison was one of those tools a man like him scowled at until it became the best solution. He'd scowl and complain about it afterwards too, she bet.
"She promised not to engage. Observation only. If you want her to try, I will ask. Don't think she'll do it," May answered.
"She'd kill the villagers," a Knight said.
"She'll kill villagers who are either going to die, or be turned into monsters. It'll be a gentler death, with the right poison. It can even be called a kindness," High Marshall Alfred challenged.
"Our banners won't be there for a week. Those people are dead, and if Lady Biyu can accomplish this it will save a lot of lives. Will she be able to deal with killing people?" a Knight from the Order's logistics group asked.
"If she could rescue the villagers, that would be one thing, but… from what I know of her, she will not kill innocents," May said.
Anya, who was here for various reasons, none of which had to do with expertise in a military campaign, spoke up. "As a Healer, I can say that there is a vast difference between having a patient die on you, and… let's say, 'helping them along'."
High Marshall Alfred prepared to argue, but Lady Chelsea preempted him. "If the ogres are immune, and I think we all assume the Wizard will be, then there's no point. It could lead to her being caught and killed, which makes it irresponsible, and stupid, too. Not to mention the villagers would die in vain, giving the enemy need to attack yet another village, AND let him know that he has been discovered. Nothing about it is an acceptable or appropriate risk, since the most likely outcome is that he'll have more time to prepare for us."
"Can she see the people die from the ridge? From what the Wizard is doing?" a Knight, a woman who had been silent until now, asked.
May shook her head. "I don't think so."
"That's good. Watching something like that day after day has to take a toll."
"When the fighting starts, the Wizard will be distracted. If she can get access to the top of the tower and go down… she has a chance to get him while we're busy getting our asses kicked by the ogres," one of the Knights suggested.
"If Master or I can kill the bastard, that would make us very happy," May said.
"If Lady Biyu can at least distract the Wizard while we're fighting, that'll take away support for the ogres. That's a good idea," the High Marshall said.
"Low chance of success. A Wizard will have a number of defenses on himself. Once battle is joined, he will go on alert. Lady Biyu is more likely to die than kill the man," another Knight stated.
"She can work on a plan while on observation. Even if they wouldn't work, she'll be able to present them to us as an exercise. And if she has a good idea, we can let her do it," May said.
Lady Chelsea gave May a dirty look, but didn't say anything. Anya gave her a similar look. They were already going to have a talk in private about this 'technique' of Biyu's, she was sure.
"Which would she prefer. Keeping safe, or letting her take a huge risk that might take the bastard out?" a Knight asked May.
"If she wanted to be safe, she'd be here. She wants to do meaningful thing. I think she… she should have a chance to do some of the things she wants to."
Again, Anya gave her a look that promised they would be having a long conversation. May knew Anya's attachment to Biyu was selfish, but that meant she had every reason not to betray her trust. That didn't mean was her place to be telling secrets like that. Besides, even she knew she didn't know the whole story yet.
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A few days had passed, and Biyu remained on her ridge observing. She wished she had a companion with her. It was not just the fact that she could use help keeping watch, but she missed having people to spend time with. Since she arrived in the Elf village, she had always had a companion of some sort. Indu, Hak, May, and Anya. After years alone in a room, she knew loneliness for perhaps the first time in her life. Or maybe she had been lonely in her room, but simply had no way to recognize it? Her memories of her youth was just a long smear of time, broken up by small changes.
Her reconnaissance did not reveal any other ogres, and the ones she knew of rarely left the tower, except to sweep up more villagers and pilfered supplies. The Wizard never left. Neither did any of the villagers.
Most of the time things were quiet, but the silence would be broken with screams or shouts of terror or pain before they cut off to oppressive silence. Biyu kept her peace, aware of the fact that she lacked the power to save them. She did not tell May, but she was still having vivid nightmares.
Twisted fire eyed shadows shrieked, cajoled, and demanded she help them kill the Wizard. Awaking after a nightmare, she was not scared or anxious, but full of their rage and the desire to see the shades demands met. She continued worshiping Lord Nightmare to spare her from further dreams with promises of offerings when she arrived in West Pass. A grand feast in his name that she could scarcely afford, with animals slaughtered and roasted upon his altar. If Lord Nightmare heard, he refused her entreaties. She had none of the foods Lord Nightmare was said to enjoy on hand, nor an icon she could give obeisances to, so she hoped those were the reasons he did not hear her. Eventually, she ceased her requests and reluctantly bore the nightmares.
Something more philosophical was bothering her as well. Did she want to save the people? Yes. Did she want to kill the man responsible? That… that was what she really wanted. Not because it would save the people, though it was tempting to prop that up as a justification. No, the desire to kill him felt right. And it grew by the day. A part of her wondered, should she feel bad that killing the man responsible was more important to her than saving the victims of his evil? Should she be worried there was something wrong with her? Trying to put it out of her mind, she still found herself wondering if she suffered some form of madness.
Was this what she wanted to do? Her Domain? To wander the land looking for the worst of people and kill them? Did she want to become strong enough that she could judge who must be sent to her Hell like a living incarnation of lost Arkiss, the Advocate of Vice?
That kind of judgment was too grand, and ultimately she could not trust herself with it. But, if she were to become Defender Elderwoods, judgment of criminals would be expected of her. Even as a lesser child, she could still be granted a manor of her own, and would be expected to hold court. Death was a high punishment, and the Empire had strong proscriptions in place for meting it out. While she was fine with judging this man, an isolated murderer of villages, would she take another person's words for who she should damn to her Hell? Was that the kind of person she wanted to fill her Hell? To have with her for eternity?
Biyu considered the Treasure Hunters. They could give her the information she needed if that was what she wanted to do. That required money, and she needed to have confidence in them. She did not want to kill an honest man doing horrific things when there were no good choices. Stories were full of people forced to make impossible choices. That sounded like punishment enough without her denying them the Heavens. Let Arliss give them the Litany of Vice and Virtue to judge them.
Biyu.
Yes, May?
I'm in a cart again. We're on the march. We'll be there in about five days. Please inform us if the ogres leave. We have forward scouts, but we'd like the extra forewarning.
Will do. Currently, all foes are in the tower. There have been two raids since I have come here, not including the group that had been taken when I made my way here. Current count of people taken: 133.
It's not your fault, Biyu.
Biyu sighed. Am I a bad person if I care more about killing the man than I do about saving the people?
You know you can't save them. It would be fine if you wished you could… but, I think your way of thinking is fine. Focus on what you can do… eventually. Or, is there something… May trailed off, not finishing the thought.
I… will tell you a secret. You know that I am something like a god…
May radiated her excitement.
I am a demon.
Excitement twisted to fear at the word. That petered out to furious thought, and the communion ended as May was distracted by her own thoughts. Biyu felt a panic surging up at May's disappearance, a fear that she would be left alone. Tentative relief filled her when May returned.
That is why you had Lady Chelsea do the rites that time… is that why you wanted to kill the Goblins?
Denying Goblins the Heavens seems a moot point, Biyu replied carefully. Yes. I do not want to deny innocent souls the Heavens.
There was nothing from May for a long moment, and Biyu felt her worry grow as the silence extended. So, you are a heroic demon?
Biyu felt relief before surprise replaced it. I do not think demons can be heroic.
Do you desire to kill the Ogre Maker for his power?
I… I want to take the power I used for your blessing, all my power, and curse the man. I want to make it so that the world becomes his enemy. So his last moments are utter torture… but, the idea of his power becoming mine, to use what he was to kill others like him… I want that. It feels poetic.
There was a long pause. You can have my blessing, if it helps. I'm only coming to keep in contact with you. No point sending someone other than a Knight into a fight against an ogre. I guess I need the blessing to talk to you?
If you were a cultist, it would not be necessary. A blessing should still improve it. I do not know. I cannot commune with you when I am fighting. Maybe right before the assault? You distract him by fighting his ogres, and then I curse him. He becomes weaker and tries to kill me, leaving the ogres without his support, Biyu said.
A feeling of agreement. I will say you needed to end the technique to focus. Biyu? Keep some power for yourself, okay? And when we're done, a better technique to talk through!
Biyu tried to send the feeling of humor, but she only felt relief. The communion ended.
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Biyu reported enemy action. The tower had begun to glow after the ogres charged out of it and down the path. Biyu tossed a stone at the tower, and it went through the glow to clatter against the wall. Next, carefully, she moved to the tower. Touching it did nothing, and she climbed the tower to the top. From there she was able to stand on the tower, passing through the glow harmlessly. She waited, peeking over the top to see what she could. In the distance, she saw hints of flame. Biyu made a decision, and she connected to May to let her know she was withdrawing the blessing now. May informed her that a contingent of the Knights would be rushing to her aid once they could bypass the ogres.
Biyu crafted a curse. This was something she had practice with, but she only had limited experience using curses of any strength. The curse should cause magic to fail, that was the core of her wish, along with making her target queasy and disoriented. There was no technique, just mana to realize her wish by poisoning the man's mana pool with her own to interfere with his spell casting. It would be like bumping into someone while they were trying to balance on a wall. Simple, but effective.
With the curse completed, she stalked down the stairs. She kept low, her eyes searching for threats. There was a room full of cages with people in them. Living people looked out of the bars with dead eyes. Biyu cursed. She had avoided scouting the tower too much, concerned she would be detected by the Wizard. With the prisoners above her target, she worried they would cry out for rescue and warn the man.
Biyu put on her mask, something she had not needed to wear while on the ridge. With her mask making a fearsome face, she thought they would assume she was with the Wizard. She said a quick prayer to the Dragon Gods before she continued down the stairs. Whether the villagers saw her or not, they said nothing. Biyu breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the next staircase down.
On the next floor, there were more cages. There was also the Wizard, scowling over a projection of the distant fight. She could see the Knights and their soldiers fighting, their axes and swords aflame and their armor flashing in the sun along with the war hammers of an Order Biyu did not recognize.
The eyeless green ogre had its arms butchered so that it may as well be dismembered, but Red seemed to be holding its own. Yellow was eating someone. It would spit mucus, and the people it fell on would scream and pull off their own armor only for their skin to peel away with it. Spears failed to pierce the ogres' hides, and she could even make out the Stone Circle knights throwing up walls to funnel the ogres to where they wanted them.
Biyu flung her curse. The man flinched hard as the curse landed, and he threw his head around trying to find the one who would dare. Biyu checked, and the curse had indeed attached to him. In fact, the projection suddenly shattered, and the man gave her a dire scowl as he found her.
"You vermin! I am doing the will of our great god Gillas! When I figure out the secret of ogre crafting, I will present the Emperor with the mightiest army ever created to subjugate the north! Not even the Trolls will stand against them! So why do you small-minded bastards keep trying to stop me? First the ministries, now a bunch of Knights!?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
In a rage, he threw up a hand, and she could feel the power as he tried to cast magic. The spell formed, Biyu's curse pulsed, and the spell collapsed. The stream of fire he summoned sputtered into hot sparks, and there were screams as the villagers in the cages pressed into the depths of their cages. A few of them landed on tinder, puffing out wisps of smoke that turned into flames.
Biyu readied her posture while she waited for the sparks to stop. The man glared at his hand before she flung herself at him. The man waved a hand, an amulet activated… and the wall of protection that he tried to invoke spasmed and exploded. Biyu felt herself thrown across the room, her back slamming into a cage hard enough to send her head reeling.
She shook her head, trying to stand up and look around. The Wizard was smacking his robes as he climbed back to his feet on the other side of the room, the fabric disintegrating. Her lips pulled into a grin. The curse proved double-edged, but she would take it. Throwing herself at him again, she coated her blades with [Envenom].
Biyu wished she had kept a bit more of her magic for herself instead of investing it into the curse, but she had to be sure the Wizard was hampered in his casting. Her body was bruised, and her head hurt worryingly.
"What did you do to me, you little shit?" demanded the Wizard, stalking towards her. He had a knife now, his body almost naked. His face was full of naked rage.
"I cursed you," Biyu replied honestly.
The Wizard tried a small spell. Bolts of electricity sprayed from his fingertip. They were weak, but one of them still jolted her. The strike of the long slender knife jabbed into her armor, but he did not puncture her chain armor as she punished him with a slash at his forearm. The man cried out in pain, and stared at her as he felt the poison burning his wound.
The smell of rot filled the room as a purple, blotchy thing slowly rose up over the stairs. It had patches of hair all over its body, but its flesh sloughed off its bones.
He sneered at her. "I bet you thought my ogres were all out fighting your army. Fool! My rot ogre will surely make your death painful. What do you think it feels like, to have your flesh rot on your bones?"
Biyu went for the Wizard again, engaging in a series of stabs and slashes as the creature dragged itself up the stairs. The villagers whimpered in their cages, hiding from the fire, fight, and the rotting former villager coming up the stairs.
Biyu's headache started to settle as she fought, even as the smoke choked her. The man had several slashes, but while she could feel her poison pulse within him, he failed to slow down. She was tempted to try a stronger poison, but she would have to use the power she had laced into her body for that. The Wizard was powerfully empowered, and she needed her body empowered to match him. Fortunately, he did not know how to fight, not like she did. That would not matter if he landed a lucky blow.
The ogre arrived while she tried to get past the Wizard's lackluster defenses for a killing blow. Its jaw hung loosely, and its tongue stretched out like a half yard tentacle as it tried to grab her. Biyu skipped back from the thing and gashed the tip of its tongue. She could feel the poison in the strike dissipate. The thing was immune.
Well, she had expected that the ogres would be resistant.
Biyu considered her options. The Wizard had to die. Everything else was secondary. She kept in motion, putting the Wizard between herself and the ogre, before she lunged at him for another exchange. She scored more shallow cuts, then let him stab into her chest. The blade bit into her chain, but it was stopped before it could cut her. Biyu threw herself forward, grappling the Wizard, and shoved past the ogre and onto the stairs.
Together, the Wizard and Biyu rolled down the stairs, struggling and fighting viciously as they did. The man bit, kicked, and even spat in her eyes, while Biyu tried to slide her blades into him. They grappled and tumbled further down the stairs. The purple death suddenly crashed down on top of them. It was a fetid heap of living, rotted flesh. Some disgusting liquid got into her mouth, forcing her to spit it out. Long nails tore at Biyu, but for an ogre the thing was weak. The muscles were as rotted as they appeared, and nails scraped over her armor.
By luck, it managed to cut her thigh and she felt its power burn into her flesh. Where she was cut burned with pain, and the poison in her blades snuffed out as all her energy went to invoking [Heal Self]. It was effective in reducing the speed of the rotting, but the pain remained. Thanks to the abuse from the Elves, she was used to fighting through pain.
Biyu was at a disadvantage, so she took a risk. A risk Lady Chelsea would call stupid. The Wizard was fighting and struggling with her, and she was sure she could kill him before he could cast a spell. She broke the curse. Power flooded her body, and she smashed her forehead into the man's face to distract him. Blood splattered as the man's nose broke. She repeated the headbutt as she felt the rot ogre pawing at her skin, seeking to pierce her. With her power restored, [Heal Self] made her almost immune to the rot.
The man screamed in rage and frustration, and he started casting again. Biyu forced her sword into him. The angle was bad, but she still slid it into his ribs. The man's scream of rage turned into one of pain as she carved him.
Then the creature, the ogre, frustrated at the Wizard being in the way, gripped him and tore the man apart. Biyu scrambled, trying to get away, as viscera landed on her. Her leg was nearly useless, the rot having devoured it despite her best effort. New wounds were painful, but they did not rot away. Still, her empowerment was struggling to keep her damaged body effective. With the Wizard dead, she released her [Envenom] technique. Only then did she realize, despite being ripped apart, that she had not gotten the man's soul. She cursed, and hoped the man was dead even if the soul was not hers to claim. For now, she needed to get away from the ogre before it killed her.
Biyu went for the stairs in a slow motion chase. The creeping ogre slapped limbs and dragged after her, while she crawled up the stairs on three limbs. Her leg, trailing after her, got caught, and rotted bone broke as she made her way up, leaving the limb behind. They went past the prison floor, and the villagers here were screaming as well. They cried out as smoke filled the floor from below. She pass them without giving them a glance and went up to the next floor, noticing she was managing to increase the distance between her and the ogre.
Maybe the tower burning down would kill the new ogre. It probably would, most things died to fire. That was why it was a popular aspect. But, she did not want the people to suffer that horrible fate. She said a prayer to the kinder gods for them, but continued to the next floor up.
On the top of the tower, she crawled to the edge and threw herself out into the treetops. She fell through the upper branches, but was able to catch herself on the lower ones. Pain flared in her body as she looked up at the ogre. The mass dangled over the edge, looking for purchase with its malformed limbs as it tried to follow her.
Biyu crawled along a branch, going as fast as she could. The ogre fell, but unlike her, it crashed through the canopy to the ground. Looking down, she saw the ogre's body had splattered. As she watched, it pulled its scattered limbs back together. When it had reconstructed itself, it moved to the trunk of the tree she was in and started trying to crawl up.
Biyu took the brief reprieve to take stock of the situation. She was stuck in a tree. Her mobility was limited by the loss of her leg. Biyu wished it had been an arm instead. She was in pain, but it was manageable.
Biyu focused on [Heal Self], and used it to neutralize the last of the rot in her body and close the wound. It was cruder than a technique tailored for the purpose, but it worked through brute force and the expenditure of mana. She inspected herself for foreign magics other than the minor blessing of her patron, then she selectively modified the reinforcement in her body. Biyu checked on the ogre, which was having trouble climbing up the tree. It did not have to. As she watched, the leaves darkened and curled. The bark weakened and peeled away. Mushrooms and toadstools grew along its length. Fluffy molds flowered from it. The pungent smell of rotting wood filled her nostrils beneath the mask.
Cursing, Biyu moved along the branches and went for the next tree before it could rot out from beneath her. She wondered if she would be better off hopping along the ground. Moving faster than the thing should be easy enough, but where to? How far would it follow her?
Was the damn Wizard dead?
Biyu looked for a sturdy straight branch in her new tree, and snapped it off. It would do for a crutch. She checked on the ogre. It was slapping along the ground to her tree. She forced herself along the branches before making a controlled fall when she had what she was judged was a safe distance from the rot ogre. Her landing was rough.
Biyu forced herself back to her feet and hobbled towards the tower using her makeshift crutch. The glow was gone from the tower, she noticed. That was promising. She entered, wary of another ogre ready to jump her. The bottom floor just had old crates from abandoned supplies with grass or moss growing on them. She looked back at the thing, and she was certain it managed to speed up. Crawling back up the stairs, she was faster this time. An empty floor. Another empty floor.
Finally, she was back in the room. The fire had died out on its own, thankfully, though the room was full of smoke and choking peasants. The man was torn in half on the ground, his entrails still connecting the two halves. He was not dead. The man even grinned at her, and released a spell he had been holding. A chunk of stone flung at her, and she fell onto her side to dodge it.
Biyu threw herself across the floor until she straddled the half-dead man's torso, and plunged her dagger at his eye. He resisted, his hands gripping her wrists. He started casting again. She struck him with her mana, just enough to interrupt the spell. The blade sunk lower. She heard the scraping of the ogre on the stairs. That would be her time limit.
Screams and cries begging for mercy came from above and around her as they watched the struggle and heard the creeping horror. The scent of blood, bile, poison and fire filled her nose. She burned mana into the empowerment in her arms, draining it from the rest of her body. The man screamed obscenities at her. Two spells were quick cast. She interrupted both. The blade got lower, and she pushed a little more power into her arms. The man spat at her. His power entered her body, and she struggled. He cast again, the magic in her disrupting her own attempts to block his casting. Flames sparked to life. Her face felt hot. The spell completed. She ducked aside. The man lost his grip as she jerked. The blade plunged down.
Biyu's head lit aflame despite the dodge. She held her breath. The magic did not dispel. The blade slammed into the man's skull, the nose, and delved in. The skull cracked. Blood spilled. The Wizard's magic in her body slackened. The Wizard finally died. Biyu struggled not to breath in the flames, the mask screaming in her mind even as it fought to protect her face.
The magic fire dissolved leaving the mundane flames, and she managed with effort to put it out. Power entered her. More power than any other soul she had taken. Needing power, she started to convert it while fending off the exhaustion she felt from the struggle. Her power was almost expended. The fetid beast was almost on this floor. She could no longer run. Watching it crest the top of the stairs, she sat in a daze.
Biyu heard the people for the first time. Some begged for help. A handful demanded she flee. Most just cried in terror. Biyu watched her death approaching. She wished she could talk to May again. Anya deserved an apology, and she was sorry she could not give it. Did the soldiers defeat the ogres? What would the ogre do once it finished its master's last task? Devour the villagers?
Biyu forced herself to crawl again. Her body was burning inside and out. She wondered if her face was ruined. That would be nice. In a staggering crawl, she headed to the stairs where the rot ogre was. Down, not up. Hoping to at least lure the ogre away, she let herself fall over the edge of the stairwell to the stairs below the ogre. Maybe, if it was outside the tower, it would wander away. It did not seem very smart. Before, she could not save the people. The man had to die, or any rescue was doomed. Now, she could try to save them in a small way, by luring it out of the tower.
Biyu rolled and crawled down the stairs as quickly as she could. Behind her, she heard a noise. She ignored it. No hoping. No thinking. Just move. That was all she had to do. All she had to worry about. All she could worry about.
Suddenly hands grabbed her, and she was dragged. Fearing the creature had grabbed her within the tower, she struggled, until she made out a voice. The words were lost to her, but realizing it was a person, she did her best to warn them.
"Ogre. Behind me. Rot. Slow." Finally. It was okay to stop. Biyu let the world swim away as she fell into unconsciousness.
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Chelsea stared at the tiny woman in her arms. She had accompanied a few other Knights to take the tower and the Wizard within. The Wizard had stopped attacking, and the hope was Lady Biyu had assassinated him. May was with them, carried piggyback by Sir Stuart. She hopped down on seeing Lady Biyu, and came to fuss over her while the Knights moved to dispatche the ogre. Fire burnt away the rot, soon turning the ogre into ash.
Lady Biyu shuddered after the ogre died, and there was worry that her injuries were as grave as they looked.
"Fuck," Lily May said, staring at the woman. "Is Lady Biyu okay?" She reached out to touch her, looking into the burnt mask for signs of life.
"She'll probably be fine," said Chelsea. She cradled the tiny woman, who weighed barely anything in her arms. Healers would arrive soon, so Chelsea held her while the other Knights cleared the tower. They yelled out periodic reports, and soon peasants were escorted from the tower. More than a few stopped to look at the tiny woman. Some of them gave her prayers, their own personal hero. A few cursed her for doing so little so late, and Lily May glowered at them until they scuttled away.
More Knights would come, and this tower would likely become a new fortress. She wondered who would be awarded Defender, though she knew too few of the local families to guess. In the end, that was someone else's story.
"I should have been there to help her. To defend her," Lily May said. Her often cheerful face was uncharacteristically stoic. In fact, her skin had a pallor to it that was worrying.
"You're a commoner. All you could have done was die. What you did for us, passing her reports, that was worthy of a commendation. You did Lady Biyu proud."
Lily May crossed her arms tightly, her head cast down. "I'm Oath sworn to her. I mean, a god witnessed it and everything. So far, I'm not keeping it, not like this. This ain't enough. I have to do more." She shook her head. "I have to get stronger."
Chelsea considered the merchant guard. She wanted to say something, but she had to respect the woman's loyalty. There was nothing she could, or should, say. When Anya arrived with more Knights, she passed Lady Biyu into their care.
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Biyu awoke to a face she did not expect. Sir Stuart was sitting at her bedside, and he smiled when he saw her awaken.
"Don't try to get up," he said gently. "Your body is still in a bad way. They had to remove more of your leg, and your head is a mess. Don't try talk. Can… can we do the mind speaking thing you did with May?"
She gave her head the smallest shake she could.
"Is it something you can… no, my apologies, I won't pry into your secrets."
She nodded.
He smiled. "I hope you do trust me enough to share one day. Lady Biyu, you have my thanks. The fight was going awfully. The Wizard was casting spells while the ogres fought us. The moment you attacked the bastard, things swung our way. You were the most important person in this battle. On behalf of the Order of the Stone Circle, I thank and salute you. We will grant you honors, later, after we have had a chance to recover."
Biyu gave a nod. She would smile politely, but she could tell her face was bound in bandages. Her mask was resting besides her on the bed. She silently cast a healing blessing with her technique upon it, with a silent thanks.
"May has been waiting for you to wake up. She's taking a nap now. You were out for about a day and a half. The healers all think you can make a full recovery. The leg will take a while though." He stood up. "I'm going to get your retainer."
He left, and she could see it was dark past the tent flap.
Biyu relaxed on the cot, careful not to move around too much and agitate her injuries. In a bare few moments May was in the room with her, coming over to sit on the seat Sir Stuart had vacated.
"Sir Stuart thinks really highly of you now, Biyu," she said. There were tears in her eyes. "I wanted to hug you when we met again. We promised, ya know? But like this…"
Biyu gave her a hand, and smiling May hugged it.
"Do you want to commune? Can you bless me again? It doesn't have to be the two-way one, not now. I just want to talk to you again, ya know?"
Biyu gave the woman a minor blessing, and they communed. May cried and hugged her for a long time, and Biyu was glad to hug her back. A part of her even felt guilty for suffering these injuries, but she did not regret her decisions.
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It had been a few days, and Biyu still lacked a leg. The first priority was stabilizing and purifying the heavily wounded. Biyu's limb would be restored back at the Order compound.
Biyu's companions came to visit her one at a time. She was in a small private tent, one just big enough for the cot, a chair, and one other person if they did not mind being crowded.
Alan was proud of her, and despite her state she could tell he wanted to be closer to her in all sorts of ways. That was to say, he wanted to court her. That was the polite term. With her injuries, though, he was just polite and attentive without being overbearing. He told her he had younger siblings he had helped take care of, and he would not mind helping her out.
Sir Leon came in a few times too, but he spent most of his time chasing women. Biyu had not known he was like that, but he made a point of telling her she was not his type. In fact, that seemed to be his principal reason for visiting her. She was not sure why he felt the need to tell her that. Perhaps he wanted to preemptively turn her down? It could also be an insult, though she was too happy not to be pursued to feel insulted.
Anya's visits were surprisingly professional. She would make small talk, but she never flirted. When she inspected Biyu's body, Anya's touches were dispassionate and intentional. She even made a point of telling her when and why she had to touch sensitive areas, even more so than before. The smile she gave Biyu when Anya told her she was getting better was warm and encouraging. It made Biyu uncomfortable to see the woman who had pursued her so cheerfully acting professionally distant during a sick visit. The foreshadowed fight never materialized.
Sir Richard's visits were polite and went through all the ceremony expected of a sick visit. She felt like he was being earnest, but had no idea how to be genuine. Or, maybe because he was genuine he was ritualistic to show his sincerity? Sir Richard was a man she did not know well.
May spent most of her time with Biyu. When one person failed to visit, Biyu asked, Is Lady Chelsea well?
May looked stricken. "She saw you when you dragged yourself out of the tower. I don't know why, but she's avoiding you. All her time has been spent with the villagers. Getting them settled, being there to talk to them, and just keeping them calm before the nobles and Order decide what to do with them." She sighed. "I asked her once if she was going to visit you. She told me… that she just couldn't deal with you right now."
Biyu sighed. Perhaps it is time for us to go our own way.
"Yeah, about that Biyu. I need to go on a little personal quest. I'll be back soon! Just about a week, I think."
Oh?
"Yeah. I found someone who will help me Awaken. I need to go meet with them and do some stuff."
Shouldn't we go together?
"I was told to go alone, unarmed, and naked…"
Biyu stared at her.
"Hey, I can trust this person!"
Don't you need training on the Path? I am still learning techniques from Master.
"Huh? Well, we have this blessing-communing going, so if things change I can contact you?"
Biyu sighed. Maybe I'll stay with the Order and heal for a while then. A pause. May?
"Yes Master?"
Biyu snorted. Keep safe, and keep in touch.
"Sure. I have this improved blessing now. Call it a farewell gift!"
Biyu shuddered in laughter. A farewell that keeps you right next to me? she wheezed, and May smiled at Biyu's good humor.
After May left, Biyu finally resolved herself to do something she had yet to do. Closing her eyes, she reached out to someone she had not spoken to in a while. Her Master should hear about what she had been up to.