Mum gave Mason a small, soft smile. "Alright. Rowan, I'll need you to help me hold your father's arm still." Mum said, all business once again. She looked at the axe Mason held and grimaced. "This won't be a sterile operation, but it will have to do until we can get to proper medical care."
I went over to where Da sat. His trembling had gotten worse, and he was holding his eyes shut. The blood from his wound had trickled down over his hand and turned dark and sticky. I suppressed a shudder.
Don't think about it.
Mum knotted up a small piece of bandage and put it between Da's teeth to bite onto. I grabbed hold of his bloodied hand. Mum wrapped her arms around Da's shoulders and tensed. We both looked to Mason and gave him a nod.
"It'll take at least two hits," mum told him.
Mason's face was pale, his jaw clenched tightly. He adjusted his grip on the axe handle and hefted it onto his shoulder. He shifted his feet. He swung the axe up, and then down onto the inside of Da's elbow. It connected with a thud that didn't seem loud enough. Blood splattered, hitting the table, my arms and Mason's shirt. Da jerked in his seat and let out a low pained groan. Mum and I held him tightly as Mason pulled the axe free. Blood leaked from the axe head and soaked into Mason's shirt as he once again sat it on his shoulder. Another swing and hit. It was done.
I pulled Da's now disconnected forearm off the table and let it fall to the floor with a wet thud. Mum released Da and got to work, pouring the alcohol over the bloodied stump of arm and wrapping it with gauze and bandages. Da was slumped against the table, the piece of bandage still clenched between his teeth.
Mason held the axe with one hand, its bloodied head scraping against the floor. His eyes seemed to be unfocused. He brought one hand up to his mouth and convulsed.
Oh shit.
I quickly searched the room and found an empty bucket, shoving it into Mason's hands. He grabbed it, dropping the axe to the floor and started heaving while I rubbed his back. Once he was done, I set the bucket aside and we both sat at the table. Mum had wiped up the worst of the blood, red still stained where it had pooled near Da.
We all sat there for quite some time, the silence stretching between us occasionally punctuated by a demon outside. Eventually, that too stopped, but none of us were willing to speak first. Da was slumped in is chair, pale and sweating but still conscious somehow.
Loud knocking jolted us from our reverie, all of us spinning to look to the door.
"It's me," Grace's voice called from outside.
I jumped up from my chair and rushed to open the door. Grace stood there, illuminated by the grey dawn light, haggard and covered in grime, but unscathed. I moved away from the door as she stepped into the room. Without a word, she walked straight up to Da and gently moved the stub of his arm and lifted the bandage to peer beneath it. No sign of the demon's corruption remained. With a sigh of relief, Grace reset the bandage and moved away from Da.
"Grace," Mason said, worry creased over his face. "What happened out there? How did the demons get in? Was there anyone else hurt?"
Grace lent against the wall next to the door, setting her bow aside to rub her face with one hand. "Two sections of the Wall fell last night," she told us. "The same two sections that fell last time. Thankfully there was a unit from the Lycan Guard nearby that were sent by the Duchess to investigate the frequency the Wall was needing repair, and they helped us hunt down all the demons that had broken through.
The Wall had fallen again? But Da had only repaired it just yesterday. And the barrier stone was supposed to stop the demons coming into this area, was it failing?
"Grace, was anybody else injured?" mum asked quietly.
There was a long, heavy silence where we all stared at Grace. She wouldn't meet our eyes, and clenched and un-clenched her fists a few times before finally opening her mouth to answer.
"They... Jason and Louise. The demons got to them before we could," she told us.
Mum gasped. I brought a hand to my mouth while Mason stared at Grace with a growing look of horror. Da dropped his face down into his remaining hand. Jason and Louise had been the couple that ran the farm nearby to us, and were refugees just like us. They had been expecting their first baby soon. Oh Gods.
"They're not..." I couldn't finish my sentence.
Grace finally looked at us. "They're dead," her voice hitched at the end, and she looked away once again.
No one spoke. My eyes burned with the threat of tears, and I kept my hand over my mouth. I was certain I'd vomit if I moved. Louise had been one of the sweetest people I'd ever met. Often she'd bring us baked goods that she'd made herself. Her and Jason had been so happy when telling us they were pregnant. No, it can't be.
Mum was sobbing softly. Mason and Da were staring off into space, both looking grave.
Another knock at the door broke through the silence. Grace opened it to reveal Michael, another member of the Deadwall Guard. A large bruise went across one of his cheeks and down his jaw, mud was splattered over his leather armour and through his short dark brown hair. He glanced over us before focusing on Grace.
"Captain Strykar is here," he said, voice croaky with exhaustion. "He wants to speak to everyone here." Michael then looked back at us, pausing when he saw Da's bandaged stump of an arm. "I'll need all of you to come outside," he eventually finished.
Grace gestured for us to follow her, and all of us levered ourselves out of our chairs and filed outside behind her. The sky had lightened for a new day. The usual cacophony of bird song that celebrated the sun seemed oddly muted. The crumpled heap of a demon lay not ten feet from the guard house, arrows protruding from its chest, body already crumbling away. Five men I hadn't seen before all stood next to horses nearby.
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Four of the men wore fine leather chest armour over long red tunics, leather gloves covering their hands. Black breeches were tucked neatly into sturdy leather boots. Two of these men carried long spears, one a bow, and the last a sword and buckler. The outline of a howling wolf was carved into each of their chest pieces.
The last man towered above the other four by at least a head. Though he also wore a long red tunic, his was trimmed with swirls of gold thread along the hem. His chest piece was polished steel, intricate spikes of fire magic circles inlaid with gold decorating it. He also wore leather gloves and boots, but his had buckles of fine silver. A longsword with a gold pommel was buckled to his waist. Alongside his sword hung a small glass lantern with a little flame flickering inside it.
Grace walked up to this man and gave a salute. "Captain Strykar," she said. "Guardswoman Grace of the Deadwall sir. With me are survivors from a nearby farm, originally refugees from Arbor that settled here."
Captain Strykar regarded us, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He seemed young for a captain, probably not much older than me. His olive skin was devoid of wrinkles, a scar cut a notch in his left eyebrow and disappeared beneath his wavy black hair near his temple. After a moment, he looked back to Grace.
"Your report of the night's events, Guardswoman?" he asked in a low voice.
Grace launched straight into what happened, voice flat but professional. When she came to describe Da being hit by a demon, the Captain's gaze flicked over to Da's bandaged arm, but otherwise remained expressionless. Once Grace had finished her report, Captain Strykar remained silent, one finger tapping against the hilt of his sword. The men who had come with him murmured quietly amongst themselves.
I was tense, waiting for the man to speak. His name was the same as that of the ducal family that governed this land, the Duke and Duchess Strykar, so he must be somehow related. Plus he had been given a high position amongst an elite guard despite his young age. He must be a noble. I glanced at Mason, who flicked a look back at me with his jaw clenched. We knew. This man could decide to kill Da for the mere risk that he'd turn into a demon, according to the law the royal family handed down once the Deadlands were overrun with demons. We wouldn't have the rights to stop him.
The Captain turned to us, clasping his hands behind his back as he addressed Da. "You have previous military experience, yes?" he asked.
Da seemed surprised, but nodded. "Yes sir," his voice was raspy, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I served as a member of the Palace Guard in the Arbor Kingdom before it fell."
The Captain gestured to one of his men, who stepped forward and handed him a bundle of fabric. He unwrapped the fabric, revealing Da's short sword that he'd dropped during the night. Deep gouges ran across it from the claws of the demon, and black blood had dried over it.
"This will be yours then?" the Captain asked.
Da nodded. "Yes sir. I brought it with me when we fled Arbor. Palace guard standard issue."
Captain Strykar said nothing. After wrapping Da's sword back into the fabric he handed it back to the guard before regarding Da for a moment.
"We'll take you to Crosset," he said, mentioning the village nearby that sat alongside a river. "They have a doctor there who will be able to see to your arm. You will need to remain there under observation for at least three days to ensure the corruption hasn't spread." He then looked to mum. "Your wife is welcome to join you, of course. However I will need the cooperation of your children to repair the Wall. No other earth magus are in the area, I'm afraid."
Da glanced over at me and Mason before inclining his head. "Yes sir, I appreciate your consideration," he said.
Everything began to happen quickly then. Horses that had been tied to a post nearby were brought forward and readied. Michael was instructed to take mum and Da to Crosset using his and Grace's horses - Mum and Da would share a horse. Grace would remain at the guard house with one of Captain Strykar's men. Mason and I were to repair a section of damaged Wall each, and two of the Lycan Guard would accompany each of us.
Mason was paired with a dark skinned man holding a spear and a tanned man with the bow. I was with a pale man with ruddy brown hair who held the other spear, and Captain Strykar himself.
It's probably just as well. Mason can't be trusted to hold his tongue around a noble, so this way he has less chance of being arrested for saying something stupid.
The spearman came up to me and introduced himself as Jayce. "You'll be riding with me, miss," he told me as he brought his horse to a standstill next to me. I was about to take his offered hand and climb onto the horse when I paused.
"Wait, Captain Strykar," I called, looking to where he already sat astride a large black horse of his own. "We don't have any circles on us."
The Captain pursed his lips and frowned. "Is your farm far from here?" he asked. "We can go there first so you may equip yourself."
"It's not far," I replied, scratching the back of my neck. "But... The demon that attacked our house was a caster. It would be a miracle if anything in the house survived."
Captain Strykar seemed surprised. Most fire demons, and most fire magus, couldn't create their own fire, and instead manipulated a pre-existing fire. The exceptions were the casters, magus strong enough to create their own fire on demand. If one of the casters were turned into a demon, they retained that ability. All elements had their versions of casters, with the exception of the air magus whose element was always around them. For an earth magus, a caster did not need to be in physical contact with a plant or seed to manipulate it, however we could not spontaneously create a plant from nothing.
Grace cleared her throat, gaining our attention. "Actually, we have a pair of arm braces with earth circles on them," she said, handing me one. "They were left here by a guard who retired." She went to Mason and handed him the other.
The arm brace was made of thick sturdy leather, with some scratches and notches scattered over it. The intricate loops of the earth magic circle carved into the leather were still intact. This would work. I quickly secured it to my arm, pulling the straps tight. It had obviously been made for a person with larger forearms than me, but it wouldn't fall off at least.
That done, I climbed onto the horse and settled in behind Jayce. Mason was doubled with the spearman from his group. We set off in opposite directions - Mason's group following the wall east, and mine going west. The sun had risen over the horizon by now, and showed the Deadwall in all its hulking glory.
The Wall was made from huge interwoven vines that rose up to the height of five buildings. Each thread of vine spanned three meters in diameter and were harder than solid stone. No leaves grew from it, and the outer bark was a dull greyish-green. It was built from a unique plant from my home country known as an Iron Vine, and could not be grown without earth magic.
Da had told me that he and a few other earth magus had been able to save a few of its seeds before fleeing the destruction of Arbor. Upon reaching the country we now lived in, the Kingdom of Ardere, the Iron Vine seeds were possibly the main reason we were permitted to settle here.
It didn't take us long to make it to the breach in the Wall. It actually wasn't far from where our farm bordered onto the Wall. The hole was wider at the ground than it was at the top, spanning the width of four men at the base and narrowing to little more than a crack at the top. Two more of the Deadwall guard stood at the breach, each holding bows and watching the other side carefully. I dismounted once Jayce pulled the horse to a stop, and went straight up to the ruined vines.