"This one's dead."

Gitaut didn’t know tact, humans weren't the same to him as they were to me. On a positive note, we managed to save the lives of ten knights, with the last one in Lambert's hands. Two of them were already dead when the golems brought them in, and one of them bled out regardless of their expert healing magic. The crossbows were more powerful than I thought, but who knows how many lives they saved among the Lesser Racest just now?

"Nati, can you give me one more healing potion?" Lambert asked, sweating heavily. He spent the last hour doing difficult surgeries, all inside his mind, using complex spells on the soldiers. I could not imagine, how tiring it must have been. I was mentally drained after just thirty minutes of trying to read that memory crystal Fenna gave me.

"Here you go. If you need more, I'll have to grab them from your room though." I noted, handing it over. We were also out of bandages, the two of them did everything possible to save them all. I started to see them in a different light, thinking I could try learning from them.

"That one should do, I'm almost done, thanks." Lambert shook his head, then closed his eyes again to concentrate. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever cast spells, however simple, on my own. The court wizard never finished his training and Gitaut was also a dropout. At least one did magic by himself, while the orc had no choice but to become a shaman. "The liver was punctured."

"Want me to take over?" Gitaut offered. "The spirits said they are willing to treat one more, but you'll have to offer them a majestic meal."

"I'm nearly there, but you are welcome to help." The wizard answered. While the rivalry between him and Omerta seemed natural, the air between these two felt rather awkward. Or maybe it was just me, I felt strange around them so far, but again, I tried to change my attitude towards them. "Can you see to the bleeding?"

At least I wasn't about to throw up. Spending a month in another world was rough on my stomach in more ways than one, but if anything, I started to get used to seeing blood and was closer to doing magic than ever. The crystal was still in my pocket, feeling warm against my thigh. If I thought about it hard, it showed me similar images the Goddess and Omerta projected into my head when they helped me.

I still struggled to remember any of it, but I could call on those, as long as I had this crystal. I couldn't wait to try it out, but the time wasn't right. I needed to rest and find a calm, quiet place. That just wasn't going to happen today.

"You got it," Lambert noted, almost as if he answered my thoughts but talked about the bleeding instead. The shaman managed to stop it, wiped the sweat off his face, and stretched his back. "I think he will survive now, but I'm done for the day, I need to meditate."

"And cook. The spirits are looking forward to it." Gitaut claimed, acting more natural than I have ever seen him. Until he noticed that I was still there, and his entire stance changed for the worse. "I um, think we all did a great job."

But as fate would have it, it was still not time for us to rest. I heard the guards yelling on the walls, and a moment later, an enormous beast flew over our heads. I thought it was a dragon, but it didn't have arms. Its skin was rough and dark orange, with spikes growing out of its spine, from its head to the end of the tail. My heart almost stopped, thinking we were under attack, but I saw the creature riding on its back. It was tiny, compared to the beast, a goblin.

"Help!" He yelled as he landed next to us. "There is a huge battle going on at the crossroads. The lizardmen completely overran us."

I couldn't believe it when I saw the other person they carried. It was multiple times larger than the goblin, but I couldn't see them first since they were tied to the beast in a vertical position.

It was Hana, the largest of the orcs, and they were severely wounded.

"What the hell happened?" Charlotte rushed to the scene, unfazed by the gigantic monster. "Hana, are they still alive?"

"Barely, Omerta had me bring them back and ask for help." The goblin claimed. He reminded me of Dioneras, but It was the first time I saw him. "They fought the Elder and lost. Now with the help of the wyverns, we managed to disable their shamans, but most of the company got wiped out. We need to buy some time until we can evacuate."

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"I'll go." Gitaut surprised me, announcing it confidently. He helped take down the wounded orc, climbing on the back of the wyvern himself. He only hesitated for a moment. "Can you treat him?"

"I'll do my best." Lambert nodded, looking as if he tried to gather the very last of his strength, and rolled back his sleeves. Kneeling next to the orc, he shook his head. "He's not looking great, but it's still not too late."

"Sir Avalon." The dwarf yelled before they could take off. "I'm not a fighter, but you experienced what my Nightmares can do. What do you say, should I ride them into battle, to give you an opening?"

"Sir Gomel, that's exactly what we need, but I can't guarantee your safety. Are you sure?" The goblin asked, the wyvern already flapping its wings. "I won't refuse any help and will offer a reward for every volunteer. We are on our last legs."

"Let's take one of the carts with the crossbowmen." The leader of the hunters joined in as well. "These humans won't dare to come back anytime soon. Omerta is still out there. If Hana wakes up and realizes that we didn't help her, they will surely strangle us to death."

"What do you say, Gitaut?" Charlotte intervened. A small force was already gathering in the courtyard, yet that would leave us vulnerable. "If the humans retreated, I don't mind, but we can't leave the village open."

"I don't sense them anymore." The shaman shook his head. "It seems like they got orders to pull back. They might have been a diversion if they fought the Elder at the crossroads. It's hard to understand how she controlled the lizardmen's swarms though."

"Fine, take some of the men with you, Sir Gomel, and help them evacuate, but make sure you all return in one piece." The chieftain gave the order. The wyvern took to the sky too, and they rushed to put those amazing horses in front of a carriage. "I'll stay here to keep an eye on things. Maybe that one is the diversion after all."

In a few minutes, the men eager to battle all left. We were left alone in the courtyard again with Lambert and the wounded Hana. They weren't looking good, their skin was almost white from all the blood loss, and the court wizard was also beyond tired at this point.

"Can you apply pressure here and here? There is no time to grab more bandages." He asked me, and I hurried to help. It seemed like every little could affect the outcome. The gentle giant was very close to death. "The hell could have caused these wounds. Thought this guy's indestructible."

"Can't you save them?" I asked, getting worried. If only I could transfer him some of my mana. I knew I had a lot but couldn't use it yet, maybe if he did that telepathy thing that worked for Omerta… But no, the spell itself would have been cast by me. And a complex surgery was way above my pay grade. My mind wandered to the crystal.

"I don't know yet, he might be too far gone." Lambert was sweating, doing his best. But I couldn't help but correct him.

"It's them. Or her. Hana was always upset if we referred to them as a man." I noted. I felt devastated if I considered this could be their end. I only knew the gladiator for a month, but we spent a lot of time together. Back in my world, I died so young, I never lost a loved one. I didn't have many friends, and Hana felt like one, the first I made here, and we were the same in a sense. That's what they said at the very least, my tears started to roll down my face.

"Right, them. If only I had one more healing potion." The wizard said, looking up to me. "Can you go and grab one from my room?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a minute." I jumped up, with my voice shaking. I ran as fast as I could. Fortunately, the embassy was right next to us, the door open, and I rushed up the stairs, heading to the left where the magicians had their rooms side by side. I've never been in Lambert's room, but as soon as I opened the door, I spotted a dozen potions lined up on his desk. I grabbed as many as possible without dropping them and was on my way back. Barely saw from the corner of my eyes when something flew by his window. My vision was blurry from the tears.

By the time I reached the entrance, it was all too late. I didn't even hear the voices, there were no battles. It was completely one-sided.

The golems were torn to shreds. The homunculus was missing both of its legs. I was only gone for a minute, but the devastation was huge. In the middle of the courtyard, a stone statue stomped on the helpless chieftain. The few remaining guards fired their crossbows at its spread-out stone wings in vain. It was the same gargoyle the Elder used to escape after I first used magic. I wounded her that time.

It was all thanks to Omerta's help, but she was nowhere to be seen. Her brother was at the mercy of the blonde woman, she held Lambert by his hair, laughing hysterically. Nobody could go anywhere near her. She had one of her legs placed squarely on top of the dying orc, her face distorted by a devilish smile.

"You played right into my hands. I get to enjoy revenge on this cursed brute, and even my favorite toy is here too." She shouted while the others tried to run into cover. "Nobody can stop me from killing him now. Not even you, Goddess. Ahahah. Those terrified eyes. I thought I should fear you, but you aren't a threat, are you?"

Goddess? I only wished she was here. I wondered, where she could disappear for so long. But I was on my own. Completely alone.

"L-let them go!" I yelled, but the truth was. My feet were already rooted into the ground. I was shaking, my mind screamed to run.

I dropped one of the healing potions, and as I tried to catch it, I only managed to slap my thigh. I could feel the crystal inside my pocket. Omerta wasn't here, but I wasn't exactly defenseless.