Chapter 074:
When the sun was sinking low when everyone in the caravan stopped to make camp to the side of the forest path in a small clearing. Judging by some ash and charcoal lying in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a small ring of stones, this was a relatively well used stop. In order for them to make good time they didn't stop for lunch and barely stopped to refill their water supplies. Anton was glad that they were finally stopping. His back and butt was sore from riding on his horse, everyone else seemed to be dealing with it better. If Kal or Verona were feeling tired or sore they were toughing it out.
As the Bebbezar merchants started to prepare the night's dinner, while the Bandit Hunters secured the perimeter, it left Anton and the two girls with not a lot to do. Before he could offer to help with dinner Verona flew out of nowhere, crashed into his side and hugged him deeply. Kal, looking in the opposite direction, reached for her dagger to stop the perceived threat. She had already drawn the blade and turned before she realised who it was.
“Don't do that.” Kal grumbled as she folded her arms and growled at Verona. “I though you were attacking him. If I'd been closer...”
“Sorry.” Verona said to both of them. “I got a bit carried away there. Those brightly coloured people, the Bebbezarian people, do like to talk. And talk. But it was all very interesting.”
“Did you find something out?” Anton asked, rubbing her head.
Verona nodded and took a step back. “I think I did. But tell me what you found out first.”
Anton and Kal told Verona everything they had found out. She was a little disturbed to hear about the casual racism towards Beast-kin. Thankfully she didn't hold it too much against them.
When they were done Verona shook her head and sighed. “That's disappointing. They're all so fluffy and squishy.” Anton saw one of her hands clenching at the air, Kal groaned and moved closer to Anton. “Well, the one I know is very squishy. I don't know why they would hate that. But, whatever. Although...It seems that you managed to find out more than I did.”
“You were gone for most of the day.” Kal said, slightly cocking her head.
Verona chuckled. “What can I say? They love to talk about nothing.”
“Duran's wife stopped him from doing that. I’m guessing that it might have taken all day to get that much information out of him otherwise.”
Anton looked towards the center of their small encampment. He could see Duran and Eluria, still in their brightly coloured clothes, preparing food for the nights meal. They seemed quite in love, despite the hardships they were fighting. Perhaps it made it stronger. His eye wear drawn to an armoured Bebbezar soldier kneeling in the center of the encampment, a sheathed sword and large shield resting on the ground nearby, swearing repeatedly as they desperately tried to light a fire with two pieces of flint. They were struggling and only becoming more incensed with every passing moment. Apart from the struggling soldier everyone else seemed to be doing well.
“Should we try and help out with dinner?” Verona asked. “I'm sure that we can do something other than look important...Like I'm sure the nobles of Graterious do.”
She looked to Kal who lightly shrugged. Kal probably wouldn't know how the nobles of Graterious would act, though if Qaiviel was anything to go by Verona's assumption wouldn't be too far off the mark. They approached the Bebbezar merchants as they continued to prepare the food. Duran rose his head up and smiled, his hands were lightly stained by the preparation of the food and he resisted the temptation to wipe his hands on his bright clothes.
“Anton, Lady Verona and Lady Kal.” he began. “Do you require something?”
“We were wondering if we could help out with dinner in any way.” Anton said. “We're kind of standing around doing if we're not helping.”
“We cannot ask something like that of you.” Duran smiled.
“You're not asking.” Verona replied. “We're asking.”
Duran, just as he was about to open his mouth again, received a light jab to his side from Eluria. He glanced to her and back to them, slowly nodding. “Well...If you truly wish to help then I suppose that you could help cut up some of the potatoes.” Duran motioned with his elbow to a small pile of the uncut vegetables.
“We'll be glad to help.” Anton said.
The Bebbezarian's regarded Kal with some suspicion, more about the cloth wrappings covering her fingers, so she decided just to pass them the uncut potatoes. That left Anton and Verona to help cut up the vegetables in silence. When they were nearly done something poked him from behind.
“Excuse me.” came a young voice. Anton turned to see a young woman from the Bebbezar merchant caravan standing behind them with an empty metal pot. She was a head shorter than Anton and wore the bright blue, yellow and red clothes of their people, though without any ornate armour. She had the same dark red hair as the rest of the Bebbezarian's, and a soft face that seemed to be a mix between Duran and Eluria. She looked quite pretty and smiled sweetly at Anton. Duran smiled as he became aware of her presence. Was she their daughter?
Before Anton could ask anything Duran perked up and laughed. “Ah, you haven't met our daughter yet, have you?” the man asked. Anton shook his head. “This is Sancha de Yscar.”
“Hello.” she bowed her head. “Thank you for saving us from those bandits.”
“It wasn't a problem.” Anton said. “We would have come to your aid even if we planned to part immediately.”
Verona peered around Anton to look up at Sancha. “Did you come with your parents all this way?”
Sancha nodded. “I did...It's been quite a journey.”
“I bet.” Anton said. “I know this might be a little presumptuous of me to ask but do you think that your troubles will follow you this far?”
All three looked a little awkward but eventually nodded. “I don't think so.” Duran said. “We are as far away as we can get before we leave the Shattered Kingdoms. And that's a very dangerous journey to make. No to mention expensive.”
“That's the last of them.” Kal said, handing the last potato to Verona. She carved through the vegetable with ease. Anton wondered if she wanted to use her blood power to make things quicker. The crystallised blood didn't leave any stains.
“Thank you, Lady Verona.” Sancha took all the potatoes and shovelled them into the metal pot. Her eyes stopped when she saw Kal. “Um...Lady Kal.” she glanced at her father and mother. “Can I ask why you wear the mask?”
Kal's mask twitched towards Anton before looking back at Sancha. “I...I burned myself, very badly when I was young.”
Sancha looked rather horrified, her face twisted into an apology. “I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm sorry to have asked and make you remember.”
Kal shrugged. “It happened a long time ago. I try not to think about it.”
Sancha made an awkward smile and bowed her head once. A shout came from the center of the encampment. Sancha frowned and looked up at the Bebbezar soldier crouched down over the unlit fire, still striking at what appeared to be flint in a desperate attempt to get a fire lit. Even though Anton couldn't hear the words being spoken, but just by their body language, the guard was becoming increasingly angry and frustrated.
“How much longer is she going to take?” Eluria sighed as she looked up at the back of the struggling guard. Anton felt a little embarrassed that he first thought the guard was a young man. The guard had nearly all their skin covered with armour or clothing, and had a helm that covered at least the side of their face. He was glad that he hadn't said anything about that soldier yet.
“She doing fine.” Duran replied, a smile still on his face. “Some of that wood is a little bit wet, so it's going to take a bit to get a fire started.”
“She'd better hurry up.” Sancha grumbled as she placed the metal pot onto the wooden table. “I want to eat before darkness, this time.”
Anton caught Verona looking up at him, a silver eyebrow raised. He wished he knew what she and Kal were thinking.
“I can get it started.” Anton said.
“Lightning Mage, Anton.” Duran began, as if to punctuate the point he was making. “Forgive me for saying this but we would like a fire and not just a charred hole in the ground.”
Verona chuckled. “You don't even know the half of what he can do. Or the both of us for that matter.”
The Bebbezar merchants looked at Anton in surprise but kept quiet. If Verona was making it up they would soon find out. Anton gave Verona's hand a light squeeze, and then Kal's, before heading towards the struggling Bebbezar guard. He approached gingerly, as he really didn't know what to say, and he could make out her words better.
“Fucking piece of shit.” she grumbled in a deep woman's voice, somewhere between Verona's and Kal. “This is why I said to get the expensive stuff. But those two fucking idiots said to get this because it's cheaper. Stupid...Fucking idiots.” She shook her head as she continued to try and strike a spark. “It's all well and good for them to say to get these but they're not the ones that have to get it working every night. Stupid...”
“Um..Excuse me?” Anton said, standing a few paces behind and to the side.
The guard stopped, her body jumping underneath the bright clothing, and looked back towards him. She looked different to the other Bebbezar merchants he had seen. His first thought that entered his mind that she was a bit of a tomboy. Her face was a little more square than the others, her skin a little bit darker, about a third of the way between Verona's and Kal's skin. A deep scar ran horizontal over her nose, a few smaller ones randomly scattered over her face. The metal helm hid her hair but Anton could tell that it was kept very short. A pair of grey eyes, with large flecks of purple scattered throughout, stared back at him in a strange level of fear.
“Oh...Sorry. Um...” she remained squatting infront of the small pile of wood as she stammered, her leather gloved fingers nervously twitching at the pieces of flint. “Lightning Mage, Anton. I...” She shook her head and began to try and light the fire again. “I'm just having a bit of trouble getting this started. It won't be too much longer.” Anton moved closer to the fire and squatted down next to her, she stopped and looked towards him. “I know you've probably been hearing this all day, but thank you for saving our lives. I never thought we would have to fight so many villains like that.”
“It wasn't a problem. And we would help again, people preying on innocents like that doesn't leave a good feeling in my stomach.” she gave him an odd look but returned to attempts to light the fire. “Though I thought that you were handling them very well. You had been fighting for some time before we arrived and you looked like you were holding your own.”
She chuckled. “We did alright but we were terribly outnumbered. I didn't realise these lands had such terrible problems with the predations of bandits.”
“Neither did I.” Anton replied. She frowned, black eyebrows drawing down on her eyes.
She shook her head instead of asking whatever her question was, returning her attention to the small pile of wood. “Well, unless you can make these better...” she held up the pieces of flint. Anton didn't know what flint was supposed to look like but something about it looked a little off. “You're just going to be watching me struggle, and then watching them yell at me.”
An involuntary twitch of her head motioned behind them. Anton turned his head enough to peek out the corner of his eye. Verona and Kal were speaking with Sancha and Eluria, Kal appeared to be actively participating, which was nice to see. Both Bebbezar women were keeping their attention divided between his women and the back of the guard next to him.
“Well, I might be able to help there.” Anton said.
She raised a brow, was about to say something before shaking her head again. “How? You've got some powerful and quick lightning magic, sure, but I think that might be a little much to start a fire here without smashing apart the wood and making big holes in the ground. And you must have used so much mana to save us, so you can't just just use it so flagrantly.”
I could find out more about what mages are supposed to be like, perhaps what they are like in Bebbezar. Sounds like they don't have the anywhere near the mana supply I have. I must find more about mages...and this gem in my hand. Nobody's asked about it, I guess the magic puts all questions to rest.
Anton smiled and held out his hand infront of the wood. He formed the smallest fire ball he could. The small ball of fire bust into life infront of his hand, barely an inch wide. The guard gasped at the sight, her grey and purple flecked eyes darting up to him. She wanted to say something but watched the tiny source of heat float just past his hand. With a small amount of mana he pushed the fire ball into the wood. It exploded on contact, but it was so small that it only lit a few pieces of wood. The guard shook her head, to shake off her surprise, and moved the lit pieces of wood to concentrate the flame. When she was done, and the flames were rising and spreading throughout the rest of the wood, she looked at him with deep concern. “How...How...How can you do that?”
Anton smiled. “I know quite a few tricks.”
The guard shook her head as she closed her eyes. She picked up the pieces of flint and stuffed them into a small leather bag on her hip.
“Well, thanks for your help.” she said as she stood up. Anton was a little surprised at her height, her eyes were just a bit higher than his. “I would have been there all night with these pieces of crap. They were fucking idiots to get those.” She thrust out her leather gloved hand towards Anton. “Name's Cetina de Yscar.”
Anton shook it, a strong and firm shake. She didn't try to crush Anton's hand in the process.
“Anton. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cetina.” Anton said.“So what does that make you to Duran? Are you his daughter?”
Cetina mumbled something, her lips barely moving, but she blinked and smiled towards him, one that looked more than a little forced. “I'm his daughter. And Sancha's been adopted into the family when Eluria married my father.”
“Okay...I though you might be.” Anton looked more closely at her features on her face. “Your eyes have some purple in it and everyone else has a dark red hair and yours appears to be black. Nothing like Eluria or Sancha.”
Cetina frowned and ran her gloved hand over the rim of her helm. She frowned when she didn't feel any hair sticking out.
“Your eyebrows.” Anton said, if only to stop her confusion. “They're black.”
“Yeah.” Cetina chuckled and unfastened her helm. Underneath her black hair was kept very short, barely more than a few centimetres. What was most surprising was the hair at the front. A few patches of deep blue hair grew out of her short fringe from the middle of her head to left side of her temple, a tiny patch growing just above her right ear. It didn't seem to be dyed as it travelled all the way to her roots. At seeing Anton look closely she flushed a little and scratched at them, an awkward look on her face.
“You're right. I don't have their hair colour. I got this from my mother's side. She came from beyond the Qaiviel Kingdom, so that's why I've got this. Doesn't make the most popular girl, but...”
Anton looked at Eluria. She said something to Sancha and carried over the metal pots. Verona and Kal were now talking to Duran. Judging by Verona's face, and the way Kal's shoulders dropped, he guessed that Eluira wasn't stopping Duran from starting one very lengthy conversation.
“Yeah. She's not my mother. I...” Cetina let out a long, near silent, sigh as they approached.
“It shouldn't take this long to get a fire started.” Eluria said, a sternness to her voice. “All it took was for someone to lean over your shoulder to actually get it done.”
Anton turned to Cetina. She caught his eye, it flickered down for a second, something hidden deep within, before she fought back another sigh and looked to Eluria. “I'm sorry.” Anton saw her gloved hand brush against the leather pack where she stored the flint pieces.
“Go get the rest of the food and the metal stands.” Eluria said dismissively. Anton looked over at the table. There was quite a bit of it left, far more than what both women were carrying. Not to mention the metal stand, which Anton guessed they would hang the metal pots from, looked to be quite heavy as well. Did they want her to bring both at once?
Cetina opened her mouth the speak but shut it tight. He saw some of the muscles in her neck tense as she nodded and walked away, her fists curled tight in anger.
That's just a bomb waiting to explode in a rage. Something wrong is happening here.
Sancha shook her head and made sure that Cetina was out of earshot. “Don't worry about her. She always messes things up if she's left on her own. I kind of feel sorry for her. She can swing a sword though.”
She looked to her mother, Eluria had no change on her face as she looked to the fire. Now it was producing a generous amount of heat, more than enough to cook their food over. She placed the pot on the ground and looked towards Cetina. She had decided to ignore the food for now and take the metal stand first.
“Won't she hurry up?” Eluria said, Anton felt that it was more person talking to a servant rather than a step-daughter, if that was what she was.
Yeah, something kind of bad is happening here. I know it really doesn't affect our larger plan but I want to know.
“What's up with her, Cetina?” Anton asked, deciding to start on something relatively neutral.
“She's as ditzy as ever.” Sancha flashed him a smile. Anton felt that he had seen that sort of smile before, but couldn't quite place it. Fake. The polite and honest attitude of under a minute ago was gone.
“She's Duran's daughter from a previous marriage.” Eluria spoke softly and without emotion. All of the warmth and kindness he saw directed at Duran was gone. “A giant mistake...”
“She seems kind enough.” Anton said, watching Cetina slowly walk towards them, some of the food in her spare hand. She seemed to be struggling a little under the weight. However she persevered.
“She's just a pain most of the time.” Sancha ran her hand through her hair, flicking it out in an attempt to be seductive. If Anton was honest she was pretty, but her words were poisoning his image of her.
Anton looked at Eluria who apparently shared the sentiment of Cetina.
Well, Cetina's got a pretty shitty life here. I couldn't stay in a place like this. Maybe she feels that she's got nowhere else to go?
Cetina arrived, mumbling an apology, and struggled to arrange the metal stand while she held the wooden plate of food. Neither member of her family moved to her aid. Anton let out a mental sigh and moved forward to relieve Cetina of the plate. When his hands touched the plate, and tried to lift it, Cetina's eyes snapped up to him. First it was of deep concern and even worry before it softened. She mumbled a thanks as Anton took the plate off her hands, allowing her to get the metal stand set up properly. He caught Sancha looking quite annoyed at Anton. The moment she thought he was looking it instantly changed back.
Great. I'm sure she'll get it for this, somehow.
When Cetina was finished, giving the metal stand a final shake to make sure it was steady, she didn't even get a thanks as Sancha and Eluria hooked the metal pots over the fire.
Eluria glanced towards Cetina. “Go take care of the Ix.”
Cetina, Anton was sure, was about to say something but held back. She glanced at him before walking towards the idly grazing Ix beasts. With her gone Eluria regained the warmth and attitude she had when they first met. She smiled warmly at Anton, one that made Anton feel a little ill about her duality.
“Dinner will be ready in a little bit.” she said in her normal warm voice. “We'll take it from here. We have some wine from Seocuria that we would be glad to share.”
I'm sure Kal would be delighted to know where it's from. I wonder if it's pressed by feet there, or if it's only picked by the Beast-kin, or not at all?
“Thanks.” Anton replied as friendly as he could. “I'll ask Duran about it.”
Both women smiled at him, Sancha's eyes raking over his body, before turning back to the cooking food. Anton returned to Verona and Kal, still being to talked to by Duran. It seemed that he hadn't stopped talking since he left.
“Lightning Mage Anton.” Duran said, his voice full of enthusiasm. “Your...women, are most fascinating.”
Verona shot him a look, one that said that neither of them had actually spoken a word.
Are they fascinating because they haven't stopped you speaking?
“They are.” Anton slipped in between Verona and Kal, his hands resting on their hips, their hands quickly entwining with his own. Duran chuckled at the sight. He smiled and looked back to his wife and daughter talking as other Bebbazar guards and a few Bandit Hunters gathered, drawn by the smell of cooking food. “Oh, Eluria said something about some special wine?”
Duran snapped his fingers and hurried away to the back of one of the carts far away from where they stood. It left Anton alone with both girls. Kal pulled on his shirt with her free hand.
“Who were you talking to before?” she asked.
Anton turned to see if there was any anger or jealousy with him speaking to another woman. Judging from the way her hands and body felt she didn't appear jealous. That couldn't be said for the teasing pinch coming from his other side.
“That was Cetina.” Anton replied, glancing to Verona as well. Her face was teasing but instantly changed. Now she was listening intently. “From what I understand she's the daughter of Duran with a previous wife. And Eluria and Sancha are the new family. And that doesn't appear to be sitting too well with them.”
Verona glanced up at Anton before taking a few steps to the side. He could feel her discomfort as she looked through a gap in the carts to the idly grazing Ix creatures. Anton moved, with Kal still at his side, to look as well. Tending to the beasts, all alone, they could see the Cetina moving between them. A nearby Bandit Hunter glanced at her but otherwise ignored her as she continued to move between the large reptile beasts. It was the way that she looked at the Ix that made Anton feel quite sad, that she was envious of the lives the Ix lived, that they had a better existence than her.
“She looks so sad.” Verona said, shaking her head and returning to his side. She thumped her head on his leather armoured chest. “After loosing nearly everything, wouldn't they pull together? So they can get back what they lost?”
“Not necessarily.” Kal said, her mask facing the visibly sighing Cetina. “It might have made things worse. They might have just ignored her before. But when things got worse they might have decided to place blame on her. Even though, because of her isolation, she wouldn't have much opportunity to-”
“Make things better?” Verona cut Kal off. “And continued to pick on her when it didn't get better?”
Anton bitterly smiled. “It's a possibility. But we couldn't know for sure unless we ask them all. But...”
“But it might not be our problem to deal with.” Verona sighed. “Atros was pretty bad as well before you arrived. Even though it might be shitty...Why has she got good armour then? It's looks to be pretty strong iron, even if it's rather plain.”
Kal grumbled uncomfortably, scratching her elbows. “A gift...A hollow gift to try and make up for the terrible things they do to you. To allow themselves to keep doing it because of its material worth.”
All three went silent as Anton held Kal tight, Verona holding her hand. He heard her suppress a sniffle underneath her mask. A clothed hand reached up to try and wipe it away but only touched the mask. “Sorry. I just remembered something really, really, bad...”
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“There's nothing to be sorry about.” Anton said.
Kal made a sound like she about choke up into a cry, so Anton wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her into a big hug, her head resting on the crook of his neck. He slowly stroked her back as he felt her body become weak and rest into his.
“Oh dear, am I interrupting something?” Anton turned his head to see Duran approaching, two large glass bottles full of red wine. Verona's eyes darted between them before she chuckled nervously.
“No. We're fine.” Verona said. She glanced past him to Cetina, still tending to the Ix, but turned her full attention to Duran. “Our journey hasn't always been easy.”
Duran nodded. “I can appreciate that. We too have been through some harsh times. I think that you will like this. We don't have enough of it to sell to make a good profit, so we might as well share it with our benefactors.”
Verona took the bottle, staring at the red liquid within. She looked back at Kal, who finally freed herself from his grasp and gave him a final weak pat on his shoulder, and her mask.
“Um...Kal doesn't want to take her mask off in the presence of others. That's going to make eating a little difficult, the same with drinking.”
Duran nodded, looking between Kal's mask and the bottle. “Wait just a moment, I have an idea.”
Anton watched him walk into the distance and picked something off the ground. He moved close to Cetina but barely gave her a glance. The issues here ran deep. When he returned he had a large reed like piece of grass in his hands. Most importantly it appeared to be hollow.
“I do not know if this will fit the Lady's aesthetics but it's the best that I can do with what little we have. This way you can just suck the wine up without having to remove your mask. At least that's the plan.” Duran said, handing the reed to Kal. She took it was some hesitation and inspected it closely.
Kal nodded. “Thank you. I'll give it a go.”
Duran chuckled, puffing out his chest. “I'm glad to be of help. Though I know that it'll be tens of thousands of these little things before I even come close to paying all three of you back.” He looked around them towards the fire in the middle of the encampment, waving towards them. “I think dinner will be ready in a few more moments. Let me get a few mugs for us and I shall lead the toasts to you three.”
Duran bowed lightly and walked towards the growing group. Anton didn't miss the brief look that Cetina gave them, quickly averting her eyes and returning to her duties.
---[]---
The meal laid out infront of Anton was quite impressive; a selection of cooked meat that looked near identical to the rabbit meat that Kal caught for them every night, cooked potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and some nuts. A good hearty meal. Verona sat on his right, Kal on his left, on small empty crates near a cart. Everyone, bar a few Bebbezar guards and Bandit Hunters remaining on watch, had gathered around for the food. Duran stood in the middle of the encampment and loudly, and repeatedly, gave his thanks to the Bandit Hunters and themselves for saving them. After the fifth time Eluria had to stop him. He was already getting quite stuck into the wine. Anton didn't ask if it was made by Beast-kin but Kal had drunk it without a care. That thought, whatever it was, had rattled her a little. Drink would help her forget and push it back down, if that's what she wanted. They had also made sure that Kal was hidden when she ate. It was a difficult affair but Kal managed to wolf down the food as they shielded her face from view. Undignified it may have been but nobody knew her real identity, nor did anyone question why she ate the way she did. That left Anton and Verona to eat like normal, though he could feel that Kal wanted to be just like them and enjoy the food. Once they arrived in Porswea they would have some privacy once at an Inn.
Slowly the guards and Bandit Hunters rotated themselves so their companions could eat and they could relieve their fellows. There was one person that Anton had not seen yet.
“There she is.” Verona nudged Anton.
Cetina, who had only just came back from taking care of the Ix, had a small plate of food and looked around nervously for somewhere to sit and eat. There didn't seem to be somewhere for her to sit, she shrugged and walked slowly towards the back of one of the caravan carts.
“Hey!” Verona said, waving until she caught Cetina's attention. “We've got a seat for you here.”
Cetina hesitated until Verona motioned for his crate to be joined to Kal's so they could have all three crates joined together, leaving one left for her. There weren't any people from Bebbezar near them, the few Bandit Hunters were more interested in their food than the people around them. Anton briefly wondered what sort of food they ate normally. Judging by their faces it wasn't good.
“Can I?” Cetina asked tentatively.
Anton nodded, pulling Verona close so there was more than enough room. Cetina smiled and took her seat. Anton saw her hesitate at the last moment but still took her seat. She sighed as the weight was taken off her feet.
“Cetina?” Verona asked, finally finishing picking at the remains of her rapidly eaten meal. “My name's Verona.” she offered her hand for Cetina to shake. It took a second but she decided to take it. “And this is our good...” Verona coughed awkwardly. “Ah...Kal. This is Kal.”
Cetina nodded at Kal, which she returned. With nothing more being said they returned to their meals. Anton noticed that Cetina kept her her shoulder raised towards them, like she wasn't that comfortable being near them. Before Anton could say anything Verona beat him to it.
“Do they always treat you like crap?” she asked.
Anton nearly spat out a piece of hot potato at her words, Kal appeared to be struggling as well.
Didn't think you would go in so direct, Verona.
They all looked towards Cetina. She stopped eating, her eyes loosing focus and looking beyond the plate. Slowly she picked up a bit of food and began to eat again.“Does it matter?” she said quietly.
“Of course it does.” Verona said adamantly. “Just because this is our first time meeting you doesn't meant that it's alright for us not to say something when it's clearly wrong.”
Cetina sighed lightly and continued eating, continuing to look into nothing.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Anton asked. They were under no obligation to help any of them but Verona was right, they couldn't just ignore this. Especially when it was so prominent and they would be travelling with them for many more days. He wondered what the treatment was going to be like in the morning. Nothing good.
Cetina swallowed the piece of food in her mouth before putting the plate on the grass. Anton noted that it was a little bit smaller than everyone else's.
“No...No.” she said quietly.
“When did it start?” Kal asked.
Cetina shook her head. “When dad married Eluria. About a season later it got really bad and then it's been like this ever since.”
“Why haven't you left?” Anton asked.
“I don't know anything else.” Cetina rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, hanging over the edge of the crate. “This is all I can really do. I can't read and everything else I know is what I've managed to overhear.” she clinked her sword again. “This is all I know.”
“Then why not join a mercenary group?” Kal asked. “I know that the Red Company would hire anyone, so long as they've got enough money to join.”
“I've thought about it. But...I don't have any money. I've never had any money.”
Anton looked at the sword. “What about selling-”
Anton received an angry glare from Cetina. “I'm never going to sell this. Never.”
A cheer from the center caught their attention. Duran and Eluria were cheering at something one of the Bandit Hunters had just told them. Anton glanced around, there were some people that he couldn't see.
“Where's your...half sister, Sancha? Or Virgil for that matter?” Anton asked. “He might know somewhere where you could work. I'm sure I saw him a moment ago?”
Cetina chuckled, a devious smile on her tomboy face. “She's working right now. Very hard. And I'm sure he is too.”
She began to gyrate her hips while badly intimating moans. Verona chuckled at the sight. “We've barely known Virgil for little more than a day. And they're already humping?”
Cetina pointed to a caravan cart on the far side of their enclosure. It was the only one with it's cloth drawn tight and shut. He shook her head and began eating again.
“I'm surprised she didn't do it to you.” Cetina gave a glance to Anton, her eyes only daring a momentary connection. “I don't know what she gets out of it but she seemed like she was interested.”
“I thought she was looking at me like that.” Anton felt two hands pinch very hard on his side. He winced before he could placate both girls, though he had to pinch both of them on the butt in return.
“And she acts like she's the queen of virtue.” Cetina grumbled. “Always with her sweet voice and fake fucking smiles...” Cetina raised her hands. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't be trying to drown you in my problems. I just don't get many chances to speak to other people like this.”
“I can't imagine you do.”
Cetina nodded. “I do get to speak with other people but not that often. Mainly the other guards, sometimes, and any workers when I'm helping load and offload goods. People that my sister and adoptive mother won't speak to.” she nodded her head weakly. “I did manage to get a few words out of those Beast-kin when we were in Seocuria. Didn't think they could actually speak.”
Kal snapped her head towards her. “Was that when you went through Seocuria?”
“Yeah. We picked some up, to move from plantation to plantation. Good money, I was told.” Cetina shook her head. “I know they're meant to be bad creatures...but they just looked so sad.”
Kal softened her stance, her shoulders drooping a little. Before anything more could be said Cetina snapped her head towards the Ix. They were behaving a little odd, their large heads darting around as they shuffled about. They were snorting quite loudly and quickly becoming more agitated. The Bandit Hunters and the Bebbezar guards present tried their best to calm the beasts but it was having no effect.
“Something's got them spooked.” Cetina perked her head up, scanning into the distance.
Kal stood up and sniffed at the air. Though there weren't holes in the mask to allow her to breath just through her nose there were more than enough gaps to allow air through. She pointed her head towards the south, to where the agitated Ix were looking.
“Anything?” Verona asked, standing up as well and lowering her spear.
“I can't smell anything.” Cetina said.
Kal raised her hand to her, taking another deep sniff. “If it weren't for this...I can smell something like rotting meat and shit...A hint of old stagnant mud underneath.” Kal shrugged at Anton. “I don't know what that means.”
“Ghlotsm.” Cetina said, putting down the plate and drawing her sword and shield. “We've had to fight these things before. But there were a lot more of us then.”
“You lost people?” Verona asked.
Cetina shook her head. “No. But we were in a caravan of over a hundred people. Some people from the other caravans lost some people though.”
Verona smirked at Cetina. “Did your sister bed half the caravan?”
Cetina suppressed a smile as she looked towards where Kal was staring. Now they could hear some rustling in the far distance, the Bandit Hunters there were starting to look a little worried.
Anton turned to the lightly revelling crowd. “Everyone! We've got Ghlotsm coming at us. Get your weapons!”
It took a moment for his words to register, followed by a flurry of movement as Bebbezar guards and Bandit Hunters dived for the weapons and armour. Food and drink were knocked over as they ran about in a confused panic. Anton saw the flap on the closed caravan open and a dishevelled Virgil emerge, desperately pulling his pants up. A few seconds latter Sancha, in a similar state of undress, crawled out.
“Seems you were right about Virgil and your sister.” Anton said to Cetina. She glanced back and smiled at Anton, quickly turning her attention south.
“What's a Ghlotsm?” Verona asked, receiving an odd look from Cetina. “We've been away from other people for some time.”
She frowned between all three of them, her face full of disbelief. “I find it hard to believe that. There's no way you wouldn't have seen one before.”
“Humour us.” Verona smirked at her, finally Cetina cracked into a smile.
“They're little grey creatures, white eyes and loose skin. About the same size as a Green Goblin. I haven't had to fight Goblins for some time but I'm sure that they're more dangerous.”
A man ran towards them from behind. It was Virgil, still trying to put on the last of his armour. “Sorry about that.” he stopped to the side of Kal. “Got a bit distracted there.”
Verona chuckled, Kal even shook her head a little. “Sounds like it.”
Virgil ignored it and unsheathed his sword and brought out his small wooden shield. “You said Ghlotsm, right?”
Anton nodded. “We think so.”
He scanned the woods, his face contorting into a frown. He let out a sharp whistle to bring the Bandit Hunters back to the relative safety of carts. The Bebbezar guards followed, some brought the Ix beasts inside the cart caravans. They might be able to use the carts as some sort of shield against these creatures.
“Fuck. Well, at least I'll die with my head clear.” Virgil said, catching Anton's sideways glance. “That sister of yours knows what she's doing.”
Cetina groaned and shook her head.
Virgil chuckled again. “I've had better though. A lot better. Didn't think I'd get some before we got to Porswea. But that's poor consolation for all of us though. This part of Graterious has been shit for all of us.”
Anton looked into the forest. It was hard to see anything clearly more than a few meters in. He thought he saw something move at the extreme edge of his vision but he couldn't be sure.
Just giving us three night vision wouldn't be the best use of my magic. Not to mention is would use heaps of my mana, and I don't have any Karak fruit with us. Better to use something a bit more direct that'll help everyone.
Anton held up his hand and formed a small fireball, making it as bright as possible, and pushed it above them. Everything burst into light and clarity, as if it was day, like a small floodlight had been lit. Many people gasped at Anton using magic other than lightning, the only new person that didn't look stupefied by Anton's magic was Cetina. Some tried to ask Anton what was happening but their attention was instantly drawn by movement in the distance.
Moving throughout the forest, forming a semi-circle around them, were hundreds of small grey and white creatures. They darted from one tree to the next, barely exposing their bodies for more than a fraction of a second but it was enough for Anton to build a picture in his mind. Cetina was right about their general description, like a white goblin with loose skin, but it didn't do these creatures justice. The Ghlotsm, if that's what these creatures were, were barely a meter tall. The head was not the deformed human head, like a goblin, but just devoid of features. A large, rounded head bobbed about on top of a small and solid looking frame. The eyes were two small sunken white pits, the nose was non-existent and the lips were gone as well, showing rows of yellow and chipped teeth. Loose flaps and rolls of skin hung off it's head and neck, like every creature had been grossly overweight and lost it all in an instant. The rest of the body was relatively more taught and muscled than most of the Goblins bar the Blacks', though there were still lost of flaps of loose grey skin over its' body. Perhaps there was so much for survival so they could loose skin and not get their organs damaged. Their hands ended with vicious claws that looked like it could easily rend its way through flesh and have a good go at leather or even steel. Unlike the Goblins these were completely naked, though it was hard to tell if it was a male or female. Anton guessed, from the lack of breasts, that these were the males. Either that or they laid eggs.
Thankfully there were almost fifteen open meters from the last tree to the closest cart. They would have to expose themselves before they could attack, not that it appeared to be worrying them.
“You going to light up the forest?” Verona asked. “I know you easily could.”
“I'd prefer not to.” Anton replied. “Remember how much of it was burned down last time?”
Verona nodded, a small smile on her face, as she remembered what happened to the Accursed Forest that formed the border between Qaiviel, and Maxill, and Atros. Anton hoped that Nithroel wasn't too annoyed about that and he didn't want to provoke her anymore by destroying this forest. He still hadn't received a gods' dream even though he had sent the mana. Just another reason, albeit a small one, to make it through tonight.
“You can do that?” Cetina asked. Anton turned and smiled. He didn't answer but she took it as yes.
More and more of the Ghlotsm creatures emerged through the forest. They only made it to the final trees before the clearing, hanging at the back and peering around. They acted like they couldn't see the bright fireball above him. Either that or they could see in some way that Anton didn't expect.
“Alright.” Virgil whistled again to his Bandit Hunters. They pulled out their bows and moved behind the carts for cover, those without moved in-between the gaps, followed by the Bebbezar guards.
“What are you doing?” came a voice from behind. Anton turned around to see Sancha, her face still flushed from her recent activity with Virgil, wearing the bright Bebbezar colours. He couldn't see any armour or weapons on her, and judging by the way her clothes moved, there was no armour underneath. “Move forward with the other guards.” she said to Cetina.
Cetina shrugged and moved forward and took a position next to a Bandit Hunter. He glanced to his side and said nothing. Nobody was going to begrudge an extra sword and shield at their side.
“Honestly, that girl.” Sancha shook her head and moved close to Anton. “Can you protect us?” Anton noticed that she pushed her arms together and raised her chest to accentuate her breasts. Verona shook her head and sighed.
“You should get a weapon too.” Anton said to her flatly. “Probably a spear, so you can fight from the safety of the carts. And some armour, if you want to survive this.”
Sancha shook her head. “You just need to protect us. But I don't fight.”
“You need to fight if you want to survive.” Verona said. “If you don't help we'll all be dead.”
“Anton can protect us. Right?” she reached out and held his arm. Anton shrugged her off and Verona pushed her away with a heavy shove.
“Keep your rotten and disgusting body away from him. You...” Verona frowned and shook her heard. “Idiot.” Verona pulled on his sleeve. “I'll need some blood.”
Before Sancha could retort, Verona lowered her spear and ran the edge on Anton's hand. Sancha gasped as Verona's body began to glow red. She collected the blood and Anton healed the wound by chanting the prayer in his head. Sancha looked stunned at him, so too did the other Bebbezar merchants and guards, even Cetina, as they looked at Verona's red glowing form.
“What are you?” she asked in a terrified whisper, her hands shaking. “What monsters...”
Verona looked up at Sancha, a mischievous grin forming underneath her glowing eyes. She raised her hand and rubbed her hairline. “Listen...You've got a little something there. Just there. You should deal with that before you try and hold somebody else's man.”
Sancha, seemingly distracted from Verona's glowing form, reached up and touched her hairline. When she touched her hair she recoiled in horror. Verona only shook her head, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth while Sancha was flickering between flushing and turning white in embarrassment.
Verona was on the verge of bursting into laughter. “Next time you do that you should make sure that you don't get that in your hair. And if you do, make sure you don't walk around like you're someone important. It really shows up in this light, and kind of makes you look like a slut. Fucking idiot.”
Sancha turned and ran away, holding her head down in shame. Virgil started laughing and shaking his head, wiping away a tear from laughing so hard. He seemingly didn't care that it was his fault, nor had any lingering attachment. Even Cetina was holding back laughter.
“Ah...Dumb fucking idiot.” Verona said. “I'm taking it they haven't attacked yet? While we were dealing with that?”
Anton nodded his head. He had been keeping his attention divided between the growing Ghlotsm attackers and the scene happening behind them. Now there were were several hundred of them and they were only continuing to grow in number.
“How does anyone survive with this many of these creatures roaming the forests?” Anton asked aloud.
“Because they live in cities and villages with walls.” Virgil replied. He hadn't even looked back once after Sancha ran away. “Even Soulthour's wall would be enough to make them think twice. And they aren't brave enough to attack that many people, as badly armed as they are. But us out here...We aren't so lucky.”
“Why weren't you attacked before?” Kal asked.
“Because if this many turned up we would have ran off by now.” Virgil replied. “Not this time.”
“I'll try and take down as many as I can with lightning.” Anton said. “How many do we have to kill before they break?”
“They won't break.” Cetina said, taking a glance back. “Even if there's only one they'll still try and attack once they get like this.”
Not even the Goblins are that crazy. I wonder how they reproduce? If they need human women to do it quickly? Perhaps they do lay eggs...self fertilised perhaps?
“The girls' right.” Virgil nodded towards Cetina. “It'll only be one of us that makes it through this.”
Anton could see the end of their numbers, no more were coming through the forest. Hundreds. They were going to try and overwhelm them in a single attack.
“Okay. Here we go.”
As Anton raised his hand he heard Kal ready her bow beside him. He formed as many lightning bolts within him as he felt comfortable. Without warning he fired the bolts into the forest, the twisting and writhing blue arcs striking the exposed Ghlotsm in their loose skinned faces. They screeched as the lightning struck their bodies and flung them back, some burned limbs flying into the air. Before Anton fired another barrage something stopped him. Many of the Ghlotsm he struck struggled to rise back up. They were wounded, most of the flesh on their bodies were charred and torn, many missing some of their limbs or seemingly blinded by the attack, but they weren't dead.
“What?” Anton said out loud.
The Ghlotsm glanced around, anger drawing on their disturbing faces. Sharp claws scratched at the wood. Kal squeaked in distress as her hand reached for Anton's for assurance, Verona looked up at him in surprise and concern.
I put quite a bit of mana into that attack. Less mana easily killed those bandits and goblins...Those giant rabbits, the Thumpers. They had that flesh that inhibited magic. Do they have that?
He fired another lightning bolt volley at the Ghlotsm. This time, those that were struck already died instantly, now completely torn apart, and the bolts wounded the other Ghlotsm. “Verona. Magic doesn't seem to work as easily against them. Be careful.”
Verona nodded furiously. “Got it. What about normal weapons?”
Kal drew back her bow and fired. The bow twanged lightly, the arrow finding an unharmed Ghlotsm looking around a tree and felling it was a single hit.
“Not bad, Kal.” Verona formed the blood into shards. “So normal weapons work. That's good. Guess that's why everyone's still alive.”
The Ghlotsm screeched, a quick and looping rhythm, and charged. It reminded Anton of the Goblins when they attacked, but this was even more frantic. Every Ghlotsm ran as fast as they could, their muscles straining to propel them across the grass, clawed hands flailing wildly about to attack.
Anton stopped his marveling as Kal, and every Bandit Hunter, fired their arrows and felled a few charging Ghlotsm. The archers readied another volley as Anton summoned lightning bombs and threw them over the heads of the defenders. Those were more successful than the lightning bolts, their explosions throwing their small bodies about and causing more damage. It also physically slowed their attack as they needed a few moments to resume their charge.
The first Ghlotsm reached the carts and dived underneath. A Bandit Hunter thrust his sword down into the head of the Ghlotsm, Anton heard the skull breaking as the creature went limp. Another dived over the top at Cetina, it's clawed hands and feet moved it effortlessly up the wooden cart. She raised her large metal shield as the Ghlotsm threw itself at her. Her shield ringed with a dull reverberation as the Ghlotsm broke a bone, or two, before bouncing back and onto the cart. She didn't hesitate and thrust her sword into its head, instantly killing it but embedding her sword into the wood. She kicked on the dead Ghlotsm's chest hard and wrenched her sword free just as another lunged at her from the top of the cart. Cetina used her backward momentum to her advantage, throwing her shoulder back and her body into a spin, keeping the sword close to her body to not strike the Bandit Hunter next to her. She turned to face the creature and sliced the lunging Ghlotsm's head in two. Another Ghlotsm dove from underneath the cart, she dispatched it with a simple downward slash.
“Bloody hell.” Anton said, throwing out more lightning bombs.
Cetina glanced back at Anton, a boyish smile on her blood speckled face, then resumed her stance. More and more Ghlotsm started to clamber over the carts and caravans and past the few defenders. Verona directed her shards at those that made it past the soldiers. Her blood shards slowed as they penetrated the flesh of the Ghlotsm. She had to make visible effort to wrench them free. Fighting these things was a bit difficult for the magic users. Kal, on the other hand, was dispatching them with accurate shots like she was a machine gun. However there were so many Ghlotsm that they were being pushed back towards the central fire. Anton was having to fire several lightning bolts to kill each one instead of firing once and moving onto the next target. Verona too was having a bit of a problem with their magic inhibition. Neither of them could use their powers most dangerous forms as there were too many people present and they didn't want to destroy everything in sight.
“Fall back!” Virgil yelled, slamming his small shield into a Ghlotsm and breaking its face. “Don't get separated.”
Anton slowly started to back up, noticing that Cetina wasn't retreating with them. Was she waiting for an order from a family member that wasn't going to come?
“Cetina!” he yelled. “Come on!”
She glanced back, a strange lack of comprehension before he waved her towards them. As she nodded he fired off a bolt next to her head, striking and incapacitating a Ghlotsm about to attack her as she ran to their side. Now they were a few meters back from the carts as the Ghlotsm continuing their frenzied attack. Anton didn't know if anyone had been killed yet but he knew it wouldn't be long. A Bebbezar guard didn't retreat fast enough and became isolated. The Ghlotsm attacked him from both sides as he desperately swung his sword for his life but he couldn't fend them off. Their claws tore through the loose bright clothes and into his flesh between the armor, stabbing and tearing over and over. The man screamed as blood spurted out as more Ghlotsm began to crawl over him while his body began to crumple. Anton fired a few lightning bolts, being very careful to not hit the man, and Verona threw a wave of blood crystals over him to throw the Ghlotsm off him. Cetina and another Bandit Hunter ran forward and dragged him back.
He was bleeding profusely but he was still alive. Anton knelt down and mumbled a healing prayer so that he wouldn't die. Once the mana left him the wounds were still raw but the blood had stopped flowing. Nobody noticed as they were still fighting for their lives. He turned his attention back to the Ghlotsm attack. There were many dead and they appeared to be running out of numbers. Anton let off a series of lightning bombs around the defenders. Now there were less than a hundred Ghlotsm left.
“Do not give in now, friends!” a deep voice yelled out, Anton quickly identified as Duran. “The enemy are on their last breath!”
The defenders gained a tiny bit of morale as they could see the end in sight. Seemingly the same couldn't be said for the Ghlotsm, still attacking like there was no limit to their numbers. The last Ghlotsm finally fell a few moments later, a short thrust by Virgil skewering the creature in its neck and body. It took a few moments before they realised that they were all dead. There was no cheer this time, no matter how much Duran and a few of the Bebbezar guards tried to encourage them. Most of the defenders just slumped to the ground in relief. They had survived the night.
“Is anyone wounded?” Anton asked. “Or did we loose anyone?”
“None of us are dead but we've got quite a few wounded of ours.” Virgil said. He used his sleeve to wipe away the Ghlotsm blood covering his face.
“I'm afraid that I must say that some of us are wounded too.” Duran said. “Cowardly little creatures. A shame that they decided to attack us this night.”
Kal slumped to the ground next to Anton, desperately holding onto his shoulder to slow her fall. All of the strength left her so she crumpled onto the ground, her breath hard and ragged.
“What's wrong?” Anton asked, holding her hand. It was trembling a little and felt weak and limp despite her best efforts.
Kal shook her head, gripping his hand back. “My back hurts. And it's like I've lost all my strength. I'm not wounded but it feels like I'm back at the plantation.”
Verona crawled towards them, a deep look of concern on her face. Anton laid his hand on Kal's back and tried to search through Kal's body for any sign. Just below her neck he found it, the small grain of sand lodged along her spine. He brushed up against it and bounced a little but it snapped back.
“I've...Have I?”
Anton nodded. “Yeah. You've got what Shawn and Joclyn had.”
Kals' breathing began to increase. She didn't want to go through the pain that both of the children went through. Verona moved closer and held Kal's other hand, Kal appeared to appreciate it and rested her head on Verona's shoulder.
Verona turned to Anton. “I'll...I'll take care of her.” she slowly stroked Kal's back. “Go help the others. We'll get Kal through this once everything else has settled down.”
Anton gave Verona a kiss, one which she returned greedily. He gave Kal a kiss on her hand, one which elicited a very weak chuckle from her. Verona pulled Kal closer as Anton stood up and looked for the wounded. They weren't too hard to find. He moved to the man that looked the closest to death. It was a Bandit Hunter, most of his body torn to bloody shreds and leaking copious amounts of blood. The few people present that knew some sort of first aid had ignored the man to work on the others. Anton didn't blame their decision, and neither did the dying Bandit Hunter who kept a stoic face as life slowly left him. They all knew that he was not salvageable without serious help. Magical help.
Here's hoping that they don't get to freaked out by this.
Anton placed his hand on the Bandit Hunter's leg. He, and the people around him, looked oddly at his action. “Please don't struggle.” It appeared that the Bandit Hunter thought he was being told that it was over for him. Anton coughed deeply. “Tethra, Goddess of Prayer, heal this man so he will not die.”
As he spoke the words aloud a small fraction of his mana left him. The blood flow ceased and the wounds began to heal over, life returned to the man’s eyes. Deep cuts and wounds knit themselves together and the red wounds became pink and tender. Now he wasn't going to die at least. Again he was annoyed that he hadn't tried using the prayer power in this way before. He pushed such thoughts away, there was nothing that dwelling over it could do.
“What...” a woman to his side said quietly. Anton turned and saw Eluria staring at him in disbelief. “What did you just do?”
Right. They follow the Church of the Holy Father. The forces of Qaiviel, like Hemiskr, kept quiet because they knew how much trouble they were in and that we were necessary to beat back the invasion. Seeing their friends kept alive should quell any concern. But I shouldn't push it.
Anton smiled back warmly. “What I can to keep these men alive. Now, who else is badly wounded?”
Eluria, still startled by what Anton had just managed to do, gestured to the other men lying wounded. Anton shuffled to each of them and recited a healing prayer aloud. He didn't shout it out, just in case it would truly offend them, and kept it under his breath. Each prayer was a little different in volume which seemed to have a slight difference in the amount of mana used. However it seemed the most important thing that was that it was said aloud. He was sure that the wounded would be a little offended if they found out that he was using them as part of a test.
“Is that everyone?” Anton asked as he stood up. He surveyed the scene. Nobody was going to die from injuries but they were all staring at him. “I didn't miss anyone?”
“N-No. Lightning...” Duran stammered out. He rubbed his eyes as he shook his head. “How did you do that? I didn't think that you were a healer of the Holy Father. Especially after being away from people for so long...”
Anton shook his head. “I am not versed in that belief.”
“Then...How...” Duran looked to his wife. “I...It doesn't matter. After saving all those people that were only a few moments from prematurely embracing the love of the Holy Father I don't have anything to object to.” He bowed his head. “Thank you for help once again.”
“Indeed.” Virgil added. “What other tricks do you have? I thought that the fire was a bit much. But this...”
Anton bowed his head to both men. “It wasn't a problem to help. Virgil, do you think that any more Ghlotsm will attack tonight?”
“No.” Virgil replied flatly. “Not tonight.”
“Good. My companions and I need some privacy.”
Duran looked to one of the covered caravan carts. “Certainly. We can rough a few nights until we reach Porswea. You can use that cart. I'm afraid it's the best that we can do for our continuous saviours.”
The cart that Duran pointed to was the one that Virgil and Sancha had emerged from. He had no desire to be inside of that cart after it had been so recently used.
“Is there another one?” Anton asked, not giving his reason why. He heard Cetina and Virgil chuckle behind him. Anton did his best to keep a straight face as Duran studied him for the reason.
Finally Duran shrugged and gestured towards the another covered cart. “It matters not. You can use whichever cart you wish. Our humble goods are at your disposal.”
“Thank you.” Anton moved back to Verona and Kal. The others said nothing as he walked past, like he was an existence that was somehow beyond their comprehension. He had just healed people with seemingly a murmur, bringing back a man that was almost certainly going to die. He hoped that they would give them some space, and not try and find his Charm that would normally allow him to use such magic. Kal had calmed and relaxed a little when he arrived and now she just looked tired. She rested on her hip as Verona held one of her hands. He knelt down to her. “How are you feeling?” he gently rubbed her shoulder. Her body was much warmer than normal.
Kal held his hand and turned her mask to him. “Alright. I...I just really feel tired. I want to sleep, even though...”
“We'll get through it.” Anton said, wrapping his arm around her waist and lifting her up. Kal seemed more than willing to rest her weight on his body.
“Is she alright?” Cetina asked. She looked at them all with some concern.
“She's fine.” Anton replied. “Just a bit tired. That was very impressive what you did. I haven't seen someone use a sword and shield like that before.”
Cetina smiled, her face reddening a little in the glow of the fire. “Thank you, Anton. I hope that you get better soon, Kal. Verona.”
Kal nodded at Cetina and gave her a tiny wave. Verona smiled and said something to Cetina when he was out of hearing range. She quickly ran after them and took the other side of Kal.
“Will it happen tonight?” Verona whispered to Anton.
Anton looked at Kal. “I don't know. But we'll be right there for you Kal, no matter what.”
Kal nodded and squeezed his hand in return as they hopped into the covered cart.