The Fractured Realms – land comprising of many territories known as States, was a land at war. Skirmishes between States were frequent, with the two largest – Imperium and Avalon – both vying for supremacy and dominance over the Fractured Realms. In an ever-changing landscape, smaller States band together, form alliances, betray one another and more in order to either ingratiate themselves to larger States, or to simply survive in the volatile climate. Absolutely any space could become a battlefield in the blink of an eye, and oftentimes, they would become graveyards shortly afterwards.
In one such graveyard, a small group of people known as Vultures was making its way through a decently sized battlefield. These people were known for picking the bones of battlefields just a few hours after the conclusion of the skirmish, moving in quickly and looting the corpses of weapons, armour, watches – anything that could either be sold, repurposed or melted down and sold as scrap. The term Vultures was both apt, and derogatory, and as a group, they were looked down upon by soldiers and many others. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and the group focused on navigating through the bodies quietly and quickly. A rather harsh wind blew through the battlefield, and the rattles of the clothes and equipment of the Vultures ended up being drowned out by the howling wind.
“It’s crazy how quickly we got here, isn’t it? We definitely are the first ones here!” A youngish sounding Vulture remarked.
“Yeah, but that means we’re digging through the pockets of corpses that are still a little warm.”
“Yeah – especially these ones that are buried under a fucking mountain of corpses.”
“Warm or not, dead is dead. Just focus on getting as much as you can from these buggers so we can get outta here before a larger group arrives.” An old, gruff sounding man ordered.
The rest of the group promptly shut up and continued scavenging. The remainder of the work was done in relative silence, with the most noise coming from the cargo being placed into the carts that the Vultures had brought with them. They worked quickly, but the more time that went by, the more frantic their pace became. After an unspecified amount of time, alarms in the pockets of all the Vultures went off, vibrating something fierce. Immediately after the alarms were switched off, the Vulture with the gruff voice spoke.
“Whatever you have in your hands right now, pull it out and toss it onto a cart NOW! We can’t afford to take any more time!”
Everybody promptly followed the instruction, and whatever was in their hands was immediately tossed into the cart. One of the Vultures appeared to be struggling with something, causing most of her fellows to run up to her in a hurry.
“What the Hell, dude? Time’s up!”
“Yeah, I know that! But look at these damn boots? These things are of such fine make, I’d be an idiot to leave them behind!”
“You’d also be an idiot for getting us all killed over a single fuckin’ boot!”
“Yeah, but if you help me pull them both out, nobody is going to get killed.”
“Ugh, Nisha you idiot.”
The two Vultures then worked together and began pulling harder on the boot. The one called Nisha made a few exasperated noises before looking under the cuff of the pant leg.
“These are knee highs!” She exclaimed before looking at her fellow Vulture. “We need to pull the entire corpse out from this pile.”
“Seriously?!”
“OI! You two, what are you doing?! Didn’t I say to toss everything onto the carts so we can get the Hell outta here?!”
“Yes you did Gramps, but this corpse is wearing knee high, leather fencing boots. Of fine make.”
“…did you just say fine?” The Vulture with the grizzly voice asked.
“FIIIIIIINE!!”
“Okay everybody, get your asses over here – a body with particularly high quality merchandise is buried under a pile of bodies, and we need to take them off to get to the stuff!”
Again, after he spoke, everybody moved quickly, and within seconds, bodies were being tossed every which way. They weren’t even being checked as the goal was to get to the corpse buried under them. A few moments later, the body they had been trying to uncover was finally freed from the corpse mountain. Everybody took a second to look at the body, and they all grimaced and cringed to varying degrees. This body had been absolutely decimated, with an almost uncountable number of stab wounds, bullet holes, and lacerations. In spite of the body being in such poor condition, the face was surprisingly untouched, although blood had flowed from the mouth rather profusely. The clothes he was wearing were absolutely soaked in blood, and it was hard to make out what the original colour of the clothing was. While everybody was trying to keep it together, the one Nisha called Gramps crouched down and started looking the body over closely.
“Everything this corpse has on it is incredibly valuable.”
“Really Gramps?”
“This equipment is just… look, I can’t explain right now, let’s just take as much off of him as we can and get going.”
The group set about stripping the corpse in silence, as most of them battled their own stomachs. Nisha noticed something glinting in the corpse’s hand, and she tried to pry the hand open.
“…this hand is surprisingly warm.” She said to herself more than anything.
“What was that?”
“Nah, I just said this hand is surprisingly warm.”
She managed to open the hand just as she repeated the line, and as she reached for the pocket watch that was inside, Nisha felt something clamp around her wrist like a vice. She yelped and tried to pull her wrist away, but the grip was firm and seemingly unbreakable. This didn’t deter her however, and she continued to try and yank her hand away. She suddenly heard some kind of wet, gurgling sound and she looked down at the body to see the chest heave, and fresh blood begin to flow from the wounds – especially around the chest area. Her own chest was heaving rapidly as she panicked. As if compelled by some force, Nisha then looked at the corpse’s face, only to find that his eyes were not only wide open, but so too was his mouth. He was clearly breathing, and in spite of the plethora of injuries, this corpse was in fact NOT a corpse – but rather a living, breathing (somewhat) person, who appeared to have taken offense at Nisha trying to pocket his watch. Nisha screamed and despite her cowl covering her mouth and muffling the scream, it was still loud enough that somebody had to cover her mouth further.
After a few seconds, Nisha wasn’t the only one freaking out as everybody saw that he was now conscious. Blood spurted out from both the wounds and his mouth, and whatever this guy was trying to say was completely drowned out by the gurgling. The freaking out continued for a little while longer, until the one called Gramps grabbed the wrist of the not-so-dead guy.
“Let go of his watch, Nisha!” He boomed, and once she did just that, the grip on her wrist immediately loosened.
The soldier caught the watch in his hand, which then plopped down onto the ground and clenched tightly. There was a moment of uncertainty as the soldier continued to breath heavily.
“Holy shit! He’s alive, Gramps!” One of the Vultures shouted, clearly stating the obvious. “What do we do?!”
“Would you quiet down!” Gramps boomed back. “I’m trying to think!”
Everybody kept quiet, and allowed the man time and space to think. He stood with his arms crossed, and while he tried to look calm, it was clear that a great many thoughts were running through his head. He did however come to a conclusion quickly, and looked at two of the larger members of his team.
“We’re taking this guy and we’re stuffing him in the Apparel cart – under the armour!”
“What?! We’re taking him with?!”
“I’ll explain on the way back to the village. For now, you two quickly move the armours and open that compartment.”
The two Gramps was talking to quickly nodded and moved, before he looked at Nisha, who was still breathing like she had just run a marathon or something.
“Nisha – you are the most skilled at the Healing Arts amongst us – do whatever you can to try and keep this guy breathing.”
“H-HUH?!”
“You heard me! I know how badly he is wounded, but he was able to survive this long without kicking the bucket, so it’s not unthinkable that he’d be able to survive longer with a little assistance. Hurry.”
Nisha groaned as she held her wrist, before looking down at the soldier. His eyes were now closed, but the severely pained expression on his face coupled with the jolts and twitches of his body only made her cringe more. Nisha then reached deep inside her studded coat, rummaging around for a few moments before pulling out a box. She pulled her glove off and opened the box before removing a small Totem from it. She stabbed the Totem into the moist ground next to the soldier, and left the box open, before pressing her hands together and beginning to recite or chant something. She was chanting so quickly, it sounded as though she was just making noise, however both her hands and the box were enveloped in a yellow light, before sheets of paper flew out of the box. They all floated in the air in front of Nisha, and she split her hands before pursing the index and forefingers of her right hand together. She then began swishing her fingers around in what to the untrained eye would look like random patterns, but to those familiar with the Healing Arts, Nisha was actually creating Healing Talismans. Her hand was moving as quickly as it possibly could, and a symbol continued to appear on every single square of paper. Once the final piece of paper had the symbol on it, Nisha pressed her hands together again, however this time, she interlocked all her fingers except both sets of forefingers and index fingers. They glowed again, and the Talismans all shot towards the soldier, sticking to his skin and covering him. The symbol on all the papers then glowed simultaneously, pulsing every few seconds.
“Nice, Nisha!” Boomed the Vulture that had been with her since she discovered the boot.
“Thanks, Nikhil.” Nisha said as she exhaled deeply and put her glove back on.
While Nisha was busy healing the soldier, the two larger fellows had already cleared the armour away and opened the compartment that had been mentioned before. They both picked the soldier up and after being told a few times to be careful with him by Gramps, they carefully placed him inside, and then sealed the compartment. They promptly put the armour and the like back in the cart, and after a few more logistical issues were sorted out, everybody hopped into metal carriages that were propped up on the mounts that also pulled their carts along and went on their way. The hard skinned, six legged, horned workhorses known as Rankto were the mounts of choice for these Vultures, and with a snort and strange, throaty call, the three Rankto convoy set off.
Gramps, who was riding the Rankto in the middle of the group, got on the radio and spoke.
“Listen guys, we took a little bit longer than I would have liked, so just to be safe, we’ll go through the Tunnels. Slow and steady until we get there, keep the noise to a minimum. We’ll speak again once we reach the mountain.”
Gramps’ orders were acknowledged, before everybody went silent. Despite being large and lumbering, the Rankto were almost unnecessarily quiet as they moved, and the carts had been fitted with special wheels that barely made any noise on the terrain. The weather itself also helped them remain unseen and unheard, with the cloud cover being incredibly dark, and the wind howling. The region of Qhu, a territory within the state of Zuka, was notorious for the density of its clouds, the poor light levels at sea level, and the flesh rending winds that could strip a body and leave only bones within a matter of hours. The Vultures were completely wrapped in special outfits developed by them and other local tribes which protected them from most of the harsh weather conditions down at sea level. Even the Rankto had protective clothing for their faces.
The journey to the mountain became more perilous the longer it dragged on, with massive, multi-coloured lightning streaks darting across and illuminating the sky, the wind became more violent, rain, sleet and hail all peppered the ground below. Around an hour after setting off, the group reached a cliff face. Gramps got back on the radio and spoke.
“Alright everybody, Runes at the ready.”
A few seconds later, the others confirmed that they were ready.
“Activate Runes on my mark… and, mark!”
Those within the carriages in possession of the Runes activated them simultaneously, and after a few seconds, the ground began to rumble. The brighter the Runes glowed, the more exaggerated the shaking became until a section of the cliff face split and opened, exposing a cave entrance.
“Let’s move people! These shitty weather conditions might provide the perfect cover, but they also make things just that bit more difficult!”
The convoy moved into the tunnel with speed the lumbering Rankto didn’t appear to have at all. The beasts powered their way through the wind and pelting rain – clearly trying to enter the tunnel as quickly as possible. The reason for this became apparent soon, as the rumbling began again, only this time, it was caused by the opening starting to close. The Rankto made some strange, nasally groans as they pushed hard, and despite it being a strenuous task, all of them did end up making it rather comfortably. That said, it wasn’t long after they all crossed the threshold that the rocks slammed close with a loud and violent thud. The group then slowed its pace a bit, as if to allow the mounts to have an easier trip back to the village after having battled against the elements for so long while lugging about the heavy cargo. There was a bout of radio silence, which was broken by Nisha.
“Okay Gramps, don’t you think it’s about time you told us why I had to use ALL of my Talismans on somebody who’s probably going to be dead by the time we get back to the village?”
“Agreed. If this was about his equipment, we could have finished him off there and then tossed him in the cart.” Somebody else chimed in on the radio.
“Look, the equipment that man has on his person is already reason enough to bring him along. In fact, the equipment is why I wanted to save him as well. As somebody who served in the Imperial Army for years, I have seen a lot – including the arms and armour of Nobility and Military big shots. That man’s equipment is of the highest quality, like the kind of stuff Generals get kitted out in! If for example, that man really is a General or something, then keeping him alive brings about a shit ton of opportunities. We can nurse him back to a certain level of health and send him home for a reward, we can check to see if other States have bounties for his head and hand him over to them… shit, we can even sell him to the Tevarnier Slavers for a high fee – especially considering how if he is a General, he’s combat trained. Slave Fighters are highly coveted in many States, so—”
“Wait a minute, Gramps!” Nisha boomed. “What are you even talking about?! Handing him over for a bounty? Selling him to slavers?! What are you—”
“Our village is a poor one, you silly girl!” Gramps boomed back. “We are a village of Vultures – Scavengers! We have no great Military might, we struggle to grow enough crops to trade, pay our taxes, and then still have food left over to feed the village. Shit, we face so many fucking hardships, we need to make money as and when we can! I’ll do anything to make sure that we survive, do you understand me?! Even if that means I have to sell some nameless soldier from a fucking battlefield!”
Gramps slammed the receiver down hard and evidently, that was the end of that. Silence descended on the group, with only the sounds made by the Rankto and the carts providing any sort of respite from the quiet. Due to the group moving slower than when they were outside, and the fact that they were climbing, progress through the tunnel was slow. All in all, it took close to an hour for the convoy to reach the end of the tunnel, at which point, the Runes were raised once again and that entire process was repeated. When they emerged from the tunnel, it was as if they were in a different world entirely. Far from the stench of blood, the deadly weather conditions, poor light and more, to sunshine, gentle breezes, a semi-arid landscape that was had smatterings of animal and plant life, as well as the stupendous view of the Crown; a series of mountain peaks in which most of the inhabitants of not only the Territory, but the State itself resided. With the bases of all five mountains being below the clouds which were the cause of the terrible weather, the mountains were all so tall that once the clouds had been bypassed, people were able to function and above all else, eke out a living. The convoy moved towards one of the smaller peaks to the right, which meant they moved through a number of small villages. As they rode through each one, the reactions they received were less than warm. In fact, they were downright cold, and in some cases, disrespectful. Children that were playing on the gravel roads and streets were pulled back by their parents, people who were working their fields or herding their livestock would stop what they were doing to stare, scoff and even spit on the ground. Slurs such as filth and trash were unashamedly spat in the direction of the group as they would make their way through the villages, however everybody just kept going without even looking at the people on the ground or paying any attention to the treatment they were getting.
After another hour or so had passed, the convoy was close to reaching their own village. They passed through yet another village, and as they did, a man in his mid to late fifties stood at the end of the road leading through the village. He had a hoe in his hand, and a large hat on, and despite being middle aged, his body showed signs of muscle tone and development that was unachievable by simply working fields. He looked up at the Rankto Gramps was riding and scoffed.
“Did you have fun picking at the bones of the fallen, Mason?”
“We all do what we must to survive, Greygor.” Gramps responded after having stopped the convoy and wound down a window in his carriage. “I trust nothing serious happened while we were away?”
“Nothing worth mentioning.” Greygor responded as he snorted and looked to the side. “That said, the idiotic Lord of this Territory has been grumbling about his dissatisfaction with our tithe as the communities living on his Prong. He’s been threatening to visit those villages with more impressive economies to demand more, so you and yours should be careful, Mase.”
“Appreciate the heads up, Grey. Come by the village tonight if you can, I’ll buy you a single bottle of Ale.”
“Just the one? Cheapskate.”
“You drink like a fish!” Gramps boomed. “I’ll never forget that night in Zastra, you bastard. Anyway, we’ll talk later.”
The group set off again and no more than half an hour later, and some three quarters of the way up the Prong, they all arrived in the village. The group was greeted with smiles and cheers for the first time since beginning the trek up the mountain, and those inside the other carriages opened windows, hung out of said windows and waved happily at everybody. While the village was small and definitely a village, it was in a much better state than most of the other villages they passed through. In general, the infrastructure was superior to the others, they had more fields of crops, more livestock and it was more or less a mini town as opposed to a rural village. That said though, it still wasn’t some kind of idyllic place to live. The Rankto all stopped at a certain place, at which point everybody disembarked from their carriages. Children, parents and significant others came rushing to greet those family members who had been part of the expedition, while able young men and women came to assist with the removal of the carriages, and the emptying of the carts. An old woman with long grey dreadlocks and a gnarled branch with what looked like a Totem tied to it approached the group as they greeted those who came to meet them. She was dressed in red and white robes, which appeared to be entirely too baggy on her, yet at the same, fit her just right. She used the staff as a walking stick, and it clacked loudly on the hard turf below, prompting everybody to stop and look at her. They all quieted down and bowed their heads as they greeted her.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Elder.” Some exclaimed.
“Healer.” Others said.
“Didi.” Mason greeted without a bow.
“Mason, you whelp.” Didi scolded as she reached him and tapped her staff on the top of his head. “You still can’t greet me with respect?”
The two village Elders stared at each other in silence, while the other Vultures began to remove the protective layers that they were wrapped so tightly in. As that was happening, Didi stared at Gramps with a somewhat different look in her eyes.
“…what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…no reason in particular… it’s just that I heard something interesting earlier.”
“Is it about that idiotic Lord Andre?”
“The Spirits told me that you’ve brought a soldier back with the intention of selling him to the Slavers.” Didi said, without beating about the bush.
The happy conversations came to an abrupt end as everybody turned around and looked at Mason, who just sighed and rolled his eyes.
“So Nisha told you, huh?”
“No, like I said, the Spirits—”
“I didn’t say anything, Gramps! Don’t be absurd! I mean sure, Granny and I can communicate across long distances and stuff, but w-w-why would I even tell her anything? It’s n-n-n-not my place to—”
“Silence, you simple girl!” Didi scolded, before looking at Mason.
“Even if Nisha hadn’t stammered herself into oblivion, it still would have been obvious that it was her who blabbed.”
“L-L-Like I told you, the Spirits—”
“You’re a Healer, you old hag – not a Witch Doctor. You can’t communicate with Spirits.”
Silence descended upon those gathered as Didi and Mason stared at each other.
“I’ll listen to your plan in detail a little later, Mase. For now, let’s check to see if the slave has not yet become a corpse during the journey back here.”
“Oh right!” One of the hefty fellows who carried the soldier into the cart exclaimed, as if having completely forgot about him.
The carts were in the process of being emptied, and at the behest of Mason, everybody moved over to the Armour Cart. With everybody helping out, the task was finished fairly quickly. The secret compartment was opened, and everybody stepped back once they saw the Talisman covered body laying in there. The Talismans themselves were all soaked with blood and made a wet, squishy sound as the two large men picked the soldier up and carried him out from the cart. Didi’s eyes grew wide for a second, before she tapped the bottom of her staff on the ground. One of the three Tomes she had hanging from her waist floated up out of its holster and suddenly opened. Pages from the Tome rapidly flew out towards the two large men, before creating a sort of stretcher beneath the bloody body.
“Set him down on that. Your giant hands will only serve to rip that man to pieces.”
The two set him down as gently as they could, yet it still sounded like a sack of potatoes being tossed on the ground venomously, causing Didi to glare at the two. She then turned around and walked off in a huff, with the stretcher floating behind her.
“Nisha, follow along!” She barked, before looking towards Mason. “You too, Whelp.”
The pair did just that, with Gramps grumbling and mumbling something about being a ‘grown ass man’ or the like. The group ascended towards a large house with a thatch roof, which had all manner of medicinal reagents both growing in an impressive garden, and hanging from rafters, overhangs and almost any elevated space that was free. As they walked in, they were met by a young woman who was dressed similarly to Didi.
“Teacher, Grandpa Mason, welcome back.” She said with a slight bow.
“Go wash your hands and join me in that room, Nathalie.”
The look on Didi’s face was such that, Nathalie didn’t even hesitate. She nodded and scurried off, while Nisha just shook her head slowly.
“Not even a greeting for her sister.”
“Stop that grumbling and go wash yourself as well!” Didi snapped, prompting Nisha to leap a little bit and run off after Nathalie.
The Talisman stretcher wafted on its own towards that room, and Didi gestured for Mason to follow after her. They entered a room which was absolutely covered in Talismans, from the floor to the ceiling. It was a wooden cottage, but no wood could be seen. In fact, there were so many Talismans, that they even overlapped each other, as if battling for space. The stretcher had placed itself on a table within that room – which incidentally, was also covered in Talismans – and by the time Didi and Mason arrived, the soldier was ready to be checked. Didi looked at the blood-soaked Talismans and a grim expression came over her face. She raised her staff high in the air, and without a word being uttered, the Talismans that Nisha had placed on the man started to fly off with incredible speed. They were a blur of red, and after a few seconds, they had all been removed. They floated up in the air for a little while, before the old woman directed them towards a bucket of water, placing them all in the bucket. The water turned red almost immediately, and after looking at the soldier for only a second, Didi’s eyes baulked.
“How is this even possible?” She asked nobody in particular as she raised her staff once again.
What remained of the man’s clothes began undo themselves and he was raised off of the stretcher as a few Talismans with a different symbol to the ones that were placed on him by Nisha. His clothes were pulled off of his body until he was left floating in his underwear. Blood dripped from the near uncountable number of wounds on his body, and Didi stared with her eyes bulging and mouth agape as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“…how is this person still alive?”
The absolute shock on her face prompted Mason to place his hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her daze and causing her to look around as the soldier floated back down to the table. She leaned her staff against the table and placed her hands on the body, and as they roamed all over it, the look on her face became more and more pronounced until she pulled the bloody hands away. Just as she did, Nisha and Nathalie entered the room, both dressed in their outfits that matched Didi’s.
“Girls, there is no time to waste – if we are to save this man, we must act now!”
“Yes, Master!” They both answered before running to her side.
“Mason!”
“Yes?!”
“Get out!”
“Understood!” Mason boomed as he saluted Didi, before flying out of the door.
For the next few hours, the three women worked on saving the soldier. Nisha was constantly bringing in herbs, plants, pastes and salves, as well as bringing in buckets of fresh water and tossing out whatever water Didi had thrown things in. Nathalie, being the senior student and older sister, was helping Didi with the Healing procedures, and there was always a batch of Talismans somewhere in the room that was glowing at any given moment. While the Healers busied themselves with trying to keep the soldier from dying, Mason sat in a seating area within the house. Other than the instructions given by Didi and the ambient sounds of their work echoing throughout the house, it was rather silent in there. Mason looked as though he was deep in thought. He remained both still and silent as the hours went by, and eventually, after it was now dark and people had retied to their own houses, the old Healer emerged from the darkness and plopped herself down on the bench next to Mason. She let out a deep and tired sigh, slumping into a fatigued heap. Mason looked at her with a smile on his face and chuckled a bit.
“…haven’t seen you look this spent in quite a while, Granny.”
“Yes, well it’s been entirely too long since I was last made to work this hard, Whelp. That man… I’m not sure who or what he is, but normal isn’t it. Countless fractures and breaks on ALL of his limbs, cracked skull, broken jaw, fractures on his spine, his ribcage is in pieces, I lost count of how many holes and lacerations there are on his flesh, he’s lost so much blood, it makes absolutely no sense for him to still be alive. Nisha’s Healing efforts probably helped some, but still… there are oddities about that man.”
“Oddities?”
“Yes… for example, there are signs of his own body trying to… close all of his wounds prior to Nisha’s Healing.”
“…wait, what?”
“You heard me.” Didi said with another sigh. “Talented as that girl is, she wasn’t the sole reason he survived. That man’s body appears to have innate Healing capabilities. Even as the girls and I worked, it felt like there was a slight boost to what we were doing.”
“Innate Healing? Is he of the Inyanga Clan?”
“I couldn’t tell you, Mason.” Didi said as she shrugged. “But whatever he is, I’m not sure if the Healing ability is a gift or a curse. To survive after having damn near all of your internal organs punctured as many times as he did, and all the breaks… that pain must have been, and will continue TO be unbearable. I’m not sure if he will survive, and even if he does, once he feels just how destroyed his body is, I’m not sure he will want to.”
“Well that isn’t really up to him, now is it?”
“Excuse me?”
“That man, whether he likes it or not, he is going to recover, and we are going to sell him off. Not only is he a soldier, but he has Regenerative capabilities? As a Warrior Slave, he will fetch an extremely high price.”
“Oh, that’s right. You want to sell somebody who is in the physical condition that he is in? Goodness me. That man might have to live the rest of his life as a cripple, and you want to make money off of him?”
“I want to make money off of anybody if it will benefit our village, Granny! This nameless fuckin’ soldier is nothing but a source of income for us. The crops have been poor this season, wild animals have been eating our livestock, we’ve barely had any rain… if we are to trade and barter our way through the remainder of the season, AND pay the tax, we have to make as much money as we can in order to survive!”
Didi spent a moment or two looking at Mason in silence, before shrugging again.
“…do what you want, Mase.”
“Is that man’s equipment still there?”
“The regular clothing is in tatters, but the coat he was wearing had some things in it that you might want to look at.”
Mason nodded as he stood up, and as he moved, Nisha and Nathalie came around the corner and gave him tired looking nods before joining Didi on the bench.
“…so how were my Talismans, Granny?”
“Terrible.” The old lady scoffed as she waved her hand dismissively. “I’m surprised they didn’t kill that man.”
“Awww…” Nisha pouted.
Mason chuckled ever so slightly as he made his way to the room the soldier was in, and he walked in to find the man wrapped in bandages that had the ‘Recovery’ symbol written all over them – Talismanic Bandages. He looked like a mummy, and if it wasn’t for the slight heaving of his chest, anybody would have mistaken the man for a corpse. The smell of both blood and medicinal herbs was strong, and it was as if both odors were fighting for supremacy. Mason ignored the smell and walked over to the table, where the bloody coat had been folded up. The coat itself was made from special materials that, obviously provided an armour buffs on the coat. Even a former foot soldier like Mason who had the most rudimentary understanding of the Smithing Arts could see just how amazing and above his pay grade just this coat was. It was blue, adorned with gold trim and quite large. Mason rummaged inside the coat and pulled out some yet another fancy bit of hardware – an 8-piece sword holster. Much like the coat, it was made from some high-grade materials and was also sticky with blood. Lastly, he raised the coat up and shook it, as it felt a little heavier than Mason thought it had any right to be. Four broken swords fell out and landed on the ground with considerable thuds. They were so heavy in fact, that they damaged the floor, large, heavy, solid looking gold guards of what looked to have been fencing sabres at some point dug into the Talisman covered wood floor, and Mason just looked at them in silence. He bent over and tried to lift at least one of the broken swords up, but failed miserably. Unbeknownst to him, there were three sets of eyes watching him as he fumbled his way through the examination of the gear, and when he failed at lifting the sword, an audible crack which emanated from his back caused two of the three people watching to burst into rapturous laughter.
“Huh?!” Mason boomed as he turned around to see Didi and her disciples watching him.
Nathalie and Nisha were full on laughing, while Didi just shook her head.
“You old fool.” She admonished as she turned around. “Go home before Maria comes over here and drags you there by your ears… again.”
“Hush, you old hag.” Mason said with a chortle before struggling to his feet.
The struggle was so real in fact, that he had to grab hold of the table and pull himself up, but once he was upright, he moved freely. He looked at the nameless soldier once more before turning around and leaving the room. After saying his goodbyes, Mason stepped out the house, only to see a woman standing at the gate of the house next door, looking at him.
“Maria…”
As he walked towards his wife, Mason suddenly became very aware of the fact that he hadn’t eaten or slept in longer than he could remember, and he became hungry, tired and thirsty all at once. As he reached his wife, he saw that she was holding a tray with some food and something to drink on it and he smiled properly for the first time in ages.
“Welcome home, Mason.” She said with a smile, which he reciprocated, before they both went inside the house.
The next day, sorting and documenting of the haul began, and Gramps paid special attention to the weapons. He was looking to see if any more broken swords like the ones that fell out of the coat the previous night. His gaze and his focus were such that those who were actually doing the sorting felt uncomfortable, but he didn’t care about that. In fact, he ended up joining in and searching as well, and after sorting and recording all of the weapons, there were no others like the soldier’s broken blades. Later in the day, Mason went to go see if the soldier had died yet, only to find that Didi was out of commission because she too tried to lift a sword and threw her back out.
The next few days followed the same pattern of the regular everyday schedule being followed, coupled with walking on eggshells while expecting Lord Andre to arrive and waiting for the nameless soldier to die. Mason checked on the man daily, and it really did seem like no progress was being made. On the sixth day since returning with the soldier, a visibly annoyed Gramps entered the Healer’s house.
“Oh my.” Didi, who was sipping on some kind of lime coloured tea with her disciples exclaimed. “You didn’t even knock this time. What ever could be bothering you, Whelp.”
“You know what’s bothering me!”
“Yes, yes, progress has been slow, he looks exactly the same, when is that man waking up, yes?”
“No! Well, actually… yes! Wait, what?”
Mason had been completely thrown off by Didi’s reaction to his entrance, and had to take a moment to recalibrate his thoughts and his feelings. Didi and the girls all tried to stifle their laughter, but failed to, prompting the former soldier to snap at them.
“Oi! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“I wouldn’t dream of doing so, Mason.” Didi said with a snort, before looking at Nathalie. “I said it would happen before the week was over, so I believe you girls owe me—”
“What?! You three BET on this happening?!”
“Of course we did. Your impatience continues to astound me to this day, Mason.” Didi chided as she sipped on her tea.
“How can he NOT be awake yet? We need to see if he will be of any use when we sell him!”
“How can you expect somebody who was as injured as he was to even wake up, let alone in less than a week! Have you forgotten everything I said to you? That man has injuries that will require a year, maybe even years to fully heal, and you expect him to be awake in a matter of days?! Idiot!”
Didi’s staff flew in from nowhere and bashed Mason on the head, causing the two apprentices to burst into hysterical laughter, which was promptly brought to an end as the staff bashed the both of them on the head as well.
“Don’t laugh at your elders!” Didi barked at them before looking at Mason and standing up. “Follow me.”
Gramps, who was still rubbing the top of his head, glared at Didi for just a second before following her to the room where the soldier was still in. He had not been moved or touched beyond Didi checking to see if his body had made any significant healing progress – which it hadn’t. The sabres were also still in the floor, and the Healer appeared to glare at them, as if swearing to get her revenge on one in particular. The girls had also followed her, and all four of them were present in the room. They all looked at the mummy like soldier in silence, and after close to a minute, Didi looked at Mason with a single raised eyebrow.
“You see? There’s been no change, and he’s still unconscious. Happy now?”
Mason scowled as he looked at the soldier, but sighed and shrugged his shoulders, seemingly conceding to Didi.
“…uh, actually, I’m quite awake.” An unfamiliar voice said, breaking the silence that had filled the room.
Every single eye in that room baulked for just a second, before they all started exchanging gazes, looking at one another with desperate expressions on their face.
“It wasn’t me!” Didi exclaimed.
“Me neither!” Gramps replied.
“It couldn’t have been me – that was a man’s voice!” Nisha boomed.
“Grampa, when did you start doing accents?” Nathalie asked.
“I told you, it wasn’t me!”
“…it was me.”
There was yet another bout of silence as all gazes zeroed in on the soldier who was completely wrapped in the Healing Talismans.
“…I’m awake, and also quite hungry. But it’s dark, its particularly hot under this weird, tight blanket and I can’t move – I’m rather confused.”
“HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!” Didi absolutely boomed before rushing forward and starting to undo the bandages around the soldier’s head and neck.
What was usually a graceful procedure done with the staff had descended into something akin to a child tearing at a wrapped gift. Around half a minute of frantic unwrapping later, the soldier’s face was exposed and lo and behold, his eyes were wide open and they stared directly at the ceiling.
“Well… at least now I can actually see.” He said before gingerly looking at Didi. “Oh, hello there.”
Didi said nothing and just pressed her hands firmly against his body. She shut her eyes and as her hands roamed all over his body, the soldier just lay there with his eyes wide open, as if trying to figure out just what was going on. Didi continued to fondle and grope him until her hands came to a complete stop and her eyes opened wide once again.
“…how is this possible?” She asked nobody in particular.
“What’s going on, Granny?!” Mason asked as he approached her.
“…how is this possible?”
“How is what possible?” Nisha asked.
“…how is this possible?”
“Yes, you’ve already said that!!” Mason snapped.
“Don’t you shout at me in my own house!” Didi snapped back before looking at the soldier again. “This man… almost all of the breaks have… fixed themselves?”
“…what?”
“The clean breaks, the bones that have shattered, all of them have… come back together like they were glued.”
“Wait, what? You’re bullshitting me, right?”
“Nathalie, Nisha…”
The girls quickly reached down and began assessing and examining the soldier much like Didi had, except they were far gentler with it. They weren’t as skilled at it as Didi, so it took a bit longer however by the time both were done, they looked at Gramps and nodded simultaneously. As soon as they did that, everybody looked at the soldier once more and found that the look on his face had changed somewhat.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you done now?”
“…d-done?” Didi asked.
“Yes, well, whatever that groping was hurt more than I can articulate, so I’m kind of in fear for my life if the old man with the moustache is supposed to have a turn as well.”
“…a turn?” Mason asked as he too looked at the soldier, who looked directly at Gramps with unblinking eyes.
“I would prefer it if you didn’t have a go. Being fondled by calloused old man hands with finger moustaches isn’t really my idea of a good time.”
Gramps suddenly grabbed a chair and raised it high above his head before fixing to smash it down on the soldier’s head. Didi immediately scrambled to stop him, while the girls burst out into absolute hysterics.
“You punk, my fingers do NOT have moustaches!” The old man roared as Didi struggled to keep him contained.
“They don’t? You could have fooled me, Moustache Man.”
“You little—”
“Mason! Have you already forgotten the entire purpose of bringing this man here?”
“No, but!”
“But nothing! Besides, what kind of Healer would allow violence in her house? Especially violence against a person she healed, huh?”
Mason looked at the soldier with his jaw clenched, before taking a deep breath and setting the chair down.
“You need to understand the situation that you are currently in. You aren’t here as some kind of honoured guest or some shit. You’re here to recuperate while we decide what exactly to do with you. The extent to which you recover will determine what happens next, but you aren’t here to relax and have a restful vacation after your exertions on the battlefield, is that clear? You’re a captive, but not quite a captive! A… uh…”
“Captive adjacent.” The soldier said with a slight nod.
“…huh?”
“Kind of like a captive.” Didi explained with a roll of the eyes.
“It seems you at least understand the long and short of the circumstances.” Mason said with a cough and a nod. “Now, what is your name, soldier?”
“Is it not proper etiquette to offer up one’s own name when asking for the name of another?”
“Hmph, so it seems that fancy accent does come with some manners after all. My name is Mason, but everybody around here calls me Gramps. These three all worked tirelessly to save your life when we brought you back, and they are Didi, Nisha and Nathalie.”
“So you three kept me alive? Thank very much, I sincerely appreciate the effort you all went through to do so.”
“Hmph, it’s a Healer’s job to heal people – no need for thanks.” Didi snorted.
“Excuse me, but I certainly would like some thanks.” Nathalie said as she looked at her teacher.
“You shush.” Didi retorted before looking back at her patient. “And who might you be?”
“Who am I, huh? That’s a very good question.”
Everybody stared at the soldier as they waited for him to continue speaking and above all else, actually ANSWER the question. The silence became stifling as the wait dragged on, and eventually, both Mason and Nisha lost patience, stomping their respective right feet on the ground.
“What is this?! Answer the question! Who are you?! What is your name?!” Gramps boomed, causing the soldier to look at him with a startled look on his face.
“…did you think I was being sassy with you when I said that was a good question?” He said before smirking uncomfortably. “I regret to inform you that I have been trying to recall my name and my identity since regaining consciousness, and I have nothing.”
Once again, silence filled the room as everybody looked at one another, before all staring at the soldier.
“…what do you mean you have nothing?” Gramps asked. “Are you trying to say that you…”
“Have no clue who I am, and have no memories of anything at all? Pretty much.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely.” The soldier nodded.
“…aren’t you being a little too casual about this?” Nathalie chimed in.
“Shouldn’t you be panicking? Hyper-ventilating? Looking concerned at the very least?” Didi asked.
“What’s the point in panicking? Will losing my composure somehow result in my memories returning?”
“Well no, but—”
“Then what’s the point? I’m already in enough pain, I don’t need to do things to aggravate said pain. Besides, I’m still hungry, so maybe my focus should be on that right now.”
“I call bullshit!” Mason yelled. “Is there a person alive who can be this fuckin’ calm after discovering that he has amnesia?! Absolutely not! He’s lying to try and worm his way out of here.”
“Unfortunately, I find myself agreeing with that point of view.” Nathalie said with a nod.
“Me too. Agreeing with this idiot kind of hurts though, doesn’t it?” Didi said as she looked at Nathalie.
“Yeah, it kinda does.”
“I’m seriously gonna toss you two to the Sand Sharks…” Gramps said through gritted teeth.
“…no, he’s not lying.” Nisha said as she looked at the soldier.
Her eyes had not shifted from him for the longest time, and at some point, she clutched her wrist.
“When I tried to take his pocket watch, do you remember how this man grabbed my wrist and started saying something?”
“I remember you freaking out like he was a ghost or something.” Gramps said as he smirked at an embarrassed looking Nisha.
“We all thought he was dead! It would have been strange if I didn’t react like that! Anyway, I just thought of that moment, and now that I think of it, he kept asking me who he was. Who he was, where he was… stuff like that?”
“Are you being serious, Nisha?” Didi asked suspiciously.
“She’s not lying.” The soldier chimed in. “She really did scream and panic – I thought she was going to crap herself. I remember that much.”
“Oh, so that you remember?!” Nisha boomed as her cheeks reddened.
The growling of a stomach interrupted the conversation, and everybody started looking around at each other.
“That was me. I believe I mentioned my hunger quite a few times.”
“That’s true.” Didi said as she turned around. “Just wait a bit, I’ll fix you something to eat.”
The Healer exited the room and returned a few minutes later with a bowl of cornmeal porridge. She looked at Nisha and handed her the bowl.
“Feed him.” She said curtly before turning around and walking off.
“What? Why must I feed him?”
“Because he is YOUR patient, isn’t he? The first Talisman that touched his body was yours, so he is your responsibility. Nathalie, Mason, I need your help with something.”
The old woman flew out of the room again along with Nathalie. Mason glared at the soldier, however after hearing Didi bark his name again, he flew out of that room about as quickly as he could, leaving Nisha and the soldier alone. She looked at him as if she was afraid to approach him, but she eventually did. She started to feed him, and the soldier kept quiet and just ate. Meanwhile outside the room, Didi looked as though she was seriously struggling to come to terms with just how rapidly that man had healed. She had quite the furrowed brow and when Mason turned the corner and joined them in the lounge, Didi stomped over to him and grabbed the lapels of his shirt.
“Mason, I don’t know who or what that man is, but he is dangerous. We need to get him out of this village sooner rather than later.”
Mason, who was still startled from having his clothes grabbed so suddenly, had to calmly and gently pull the surprisingly strong old fists off of his clothes. He looked at Didi and nodded slowly, before looking over at Nathalie.
“Do you think he’s dangerous as well, Nat?”
“Absolutely.” Nathalie said with a nod. “The reason why Master is so concerned, is that the Talismans that have been set up in there, Tal, Er, Ru, Na, Su, all of them, they’ve all been depleted.”
“…huh? What does that mean?”
“It means that somehow, that man’s body used all of the Magic within the Talismans to rapidly heal his body and completely depleted them – all of them.” Nathalie explained.
Mason, who was evidently still confused, looked at Didi, whose wrists he was still holding.
“She’s saying his body used our Talismans as a power source to accelerate his own healing.”
“…oh. Is that impressive?”
“It’s absolutely insane, Mason. Talismans only activate under certain conditions, because they are purpose built. For somebody to forcefully activate them and use them for whatever they please is difficult enough, even for the conscious. But for somebody who was not only unconscious, but also on the verge of death to do that, to THAT many Talismans… I fear that if we replace them, he will heal to a point where he’ll be a massive problem.”
“How so, Didi?”
“Oh come now, you were a soldier – just use your common sense! Go through your memories of the battlefield, and try to recall how many stab and gunshot wounds it took to kill the strongest person you’ve ever seen die.”
“I don’t know, maybe five swords, a few bullets, musket stabs….”
“That man had so many, the girls and I weren’t even able to count them all, Mason – and trust me, we tried to, many, many times. His internal organs were all ruptured beyond belief, and the mere fact that he still had a pulse was unbelievable enough. Anyway, the point I am trying to make is this – there were soldiers on that battlefield who likely devoted everything they had into killing that man. You found him buried under a mountain of bodies and yet, he’s still alive. If you are to… sell him, do so quickly – lest we discover why those who went to such lengths to kill that soldier, failed to.”
Didi looked at Mason with quite the expression of concern, before gently pulling her wrists away and walking off. Meanwhile, Nisha had entered the Healing Room again and was carrying a steaming bowl of something on a small tray. She sat down near the soldier’s head, and looked at him as she stirred what was in the bowl.
“…that looks hot.” He remarked as he stared at the ceiling.
Nisha did not respond and just continued to stare at him in silence. After she finished stirring, she scooped up a spoonful and presented it to the soldier, who looked at both the spoon, and then Nisha’s face. They stared at each other in silence, before the soldier eventually opened his mouth and accepted the spoon.
“…it’s hot.” He said after swallowing.
Nisha just scooped up some more and presented it to him again, only this time, the soldier blew on it for a considerable amount of time before accepting it into his mouth. They repeated this process a lot, and Nisha did not say a word the entire time. When the bowl was empty, the Healer’s Apprentice stood up and left the room, leaving the soldier alone.
“…I wonder what that slop was.” He said to himself more than anybody else.