Carefully, they rest my body on top of the bedroll, God, even breathing is a battle. How many times have I been put in this situation already? A part of me, small as it is, begs me to just, let go.

"H-Hurry" I manage to whisper, the blood gushing out from my mouth. They throw the books away and the table is carried outside, making as much space as possible.

"Come on Boss, you have a liking to not die, are you gonna let us down now?" Jorr says with a quick laugh "Where is the witch?!" He shouts quickly leaving the tent.

My mind and sight grow weak, and things begin to just, move along time as I fight not to lose consciousness.

"Leave us, I need to be alone" I hear Morgana's voice "And you, come after I'm done, I know you..." Everything grows quiet...I can't stay awake anymore...

Pain. I wake up and scream as I feel melted iron cursing through my veins, or rather, out of it. I have never screamed with so much pain in my life. Everything around me is dark, except for Morgana's red eyes shining brightly from the shadows. I can hear her chant something, even if my screams should be everything I hear, it's like it's inside my head.

What is that? Behind her, above her, all around us. It looks like a giant but inside the tent. I don't understand! What is happening to me?! I see how green light, like some type of mist, is being sucked out from my mouth and open flesh, I'm dying? The thing has the head of a bird, but an empty circle where its beak should be, and large, twisted arms that look as if they had been bent and broken. Its body is a malformed mixture of organs, pulsating, and spilled all over the ground, are those hands trying to break free from within?

The pain strikes, somehow with even more fury and I take it all back, I want to die, let me die.

"Now, puppy, don't be boring. We are halfway there" Morgana's voice whispers in my mind. She can hear me, kill me, let me die "Oh no, I'm finishing this, I always wanted to try this spell!"

She laughs, the monster in the darkness begins to lean in, its feathery black neck stretching slowly, and then, from the pitch-black darkness of the orifice on its head comes an arm filled with holes of all sizes, stretching itself all the way to my face, opening its palm to show twenty-three fingers, and a black eye in it's middle. The pain stops.

"Another"

My eyes slowly open, was it the cold on my skin? Or the noise around me? When did I fall asleep? How long?

"Stop, this isn't funny, he was screaming all night" Enon, I recognize his voice, what is going on? Someone is laughing at him, Indri.

"He is asleep! Won't even feel it! I will keep watch outside" She then laughs so loud I would hear her even if I was at the stream "Oh no wait, he is awake"

"WHAT?!" Enon shouts and I feel a sharp pain in my leg, then, all over my body, and I can't help but start screaming and moving "Oh crap! Crap! Hold him!" Indri jumps at me and tries to hold me down but I can't stop moving "Hold him harder!"

"I ONLY HAVE ONE ARM!"

I finally see, I'm naked with what looks like many small cuts all over my body, and they ooze a purple liquid that burns and- What am I looking at? I can see my organs, the four holes are still there, and I'm still bleeding, it hurts like hell, I can't think straight!

A couple of Hobgoblins run inside, they are still quite wounded and limping, they help the siblings to stop me from shaking, God, I can see my guts pulsate, and the sensation of the wind on my exposed organs, I cry out louder than ever before. Then, Enon pours some liquid into my mouth, and it takes me a while to recognize the flavor, helped by the fact I slowly begin to feel weaker, I know I was given the sleeping poison.

And I close my eyes.

"No, we talked about this" Ah, noise once again, Lina.

"Why? It would be easy, Lina. Don't you trust me?" Andrei, they are whispering.

"No, stand back, and leave" Her voice is shaking, what is going on?

"I don't understand, why do you do this? It is us against everyone else Lina, and if we-"

"Leave" I hear someone takes a few steps back "I won't let you do this, so leave now" Lina's voice breaks.

"...You wouldn't"

"I don't know if I will Andrei, I do not know. And I DON'T want to find out, don't make me find out"

"Just tell me why. Why go this far?"

"...this is my people now, everyone, every single one of them. I can't let you do this" They grow quiet for some time, my eyes finally begin to open, and sensation slowly returns to my body, I'm warm "Don't, Andrei, Don't"

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"I know you, Lina. I know you will not harm me"

"Andrei, stay away. Andrei, don't come closer, ANDREI!" Andrei lets out a small shout and I look at them, he is now outside the tent, and I hear other feet rushing, Lina is shaking, spear in hand, and she rushes out.

"What is going on?" A hobgoblin speaks- Ah, the pain.

I look down and find myself with many furs on top of me, I want to move them away, but I can't shake away the image of my exposed organs, are they still like that? What happened? The pain grows so furiously, but it is less, much, much less than before, still, I can't stop myself from squirming and moaning as the torture resumes.

"We fought, that- Rokan is awake" Lina rushes inside, dropping the spear on the ground and kneeling next to me, quickly looking for something among the many bowls on the ground, I see the hobgoblins enter the tent, and their eyes widen in shock as soon as they see me, what are they looking at? "LEAVE! You can't see your Chief!"

Lina shouts and they quickly rush out. She finds the correct poison. Quickly she lifts my head and tries her best to hold it steady. I want to stop moving, I do, but the pain is too much. At last, she manages to feed me the poison, thank you, oh thank you. Make me sleep.

By lifting me a bit the furs fall, I can see my chest, the hole in it is quite covered by new flesh, but purple veins pulsate all around it, and each time they do a new wave of pain invades my mind. Lina begins to hush me, gently resting my head on the pillow of my bedroll, as little by little everything grows dark, the last thing that vanishes is her green feline eyes.

And as soon as I lose consciousness, I regain it. This time I only hear the whistling of a melody, I have heard it before. So by the time I open my eyes, I already know it's Lina who awaits me. She sits on the ground cross-legged and seems busy sewing something together, likely another tunic or clothes.

Once the sensation in my body returns so does the pain, but now is not enough to force my voice to come out, it still hurts as if there was a fire inside of me, but I can control myself now. I slowly sit up and Lina snaps her head to see me, a smile grows on her face for a brief moment, and she quickly kneels next to me.

"Chief, how are you feeling?"

"Like-" I notice how hoarse is my voice, and it hurts when I try to speak.

"It must hurt...you screamed a lot at the beginning, even when sleeping. We had to put a piece of leather in your mouth so you wouldn't bite your tongue off, taking it out once you stopped, or couldn't make a noise anymore" She says gently placing her hand on my chest, and pushing me down "You need to sleep"

"The camp, the others"

"...Things are fine, Jorr is guiding everyone and the palisade has been finished. We are safe now" She says with a thin smile, but I can see the lie in her words by the way her borrow deepens, something troubles her "Drink, the witch said you would soon recover, just a bit longer," She says lifting the small bowl with the sleeping poison.

"What did they do to me?" I say reaching out to hold it, noticing that now my nails are like black claws, and my arm is so thin...I don't like this.

"I don't know...but I can ask Enon, to tell you next time you wake up" She replies, pushing the bowl onto my hand and shaking me from my stupor, I hold it tightly.

"Why Enon? Where is Morgana, the witch?" I ask drinking the poison, and now that I'm not in agony, I can gag at the disgustingly bitter taste of it, to Lina's amusement.

"Sucks, I know. And the witch left. Good riddance, nobody wanted her here" She says taking the empty bowl from my hands.

Did she leave? Does this mean the deal has been called off? I let out a defeated sigh as I lean back onto the bedroll, losing Scarlett's partnership would be devastating, and that reminds me about the wagons I was supposed to get from her.

"How long has it been?"

"Since she left? A week"

"No, since the attack"

"A week and a half"

"...the map, give it to me, and ink," I say sitting up again "Fast" I order and Lina obeys, quickly reaching for one of the chests and bringing to me the requested objects "There is a necklace on the third chest, and clothes, tell...you go, put the necklace on, go here, ask about the deal" I manage to say as I mark her the spot "You have to be there in a week, full moon"

"The deal? To whom? What?"

"Listen, Lina, if you can't do it ask Nojus or Jorr, but besides the three of you-" The pain in my throat silences me "No one...else"

"Alright...I will do as you say" She nods, a certain determination in her eyes that put me at ease...that or the poison is taking hold of me, likely the latter as my eyelids grow heavy.

But then, a horn is blown. I know this sound, and Lina's instantaneous response to stand up and reach for her spear tells me everything I need to know. Soon shouting is heard, rushing feet of armored men, and distant howling...Dubby. I need to get up! I try to do so but the strength has already left my body, Lina notices my efforts.

"Don't. The palisades are sturdy, and it's just twilight so we can see them better, we will be fine" She says before rushing out of the tent.

I want to stand up, I want to do something...but my vision becomes obscure...and I fall asleep.

Only to wake up. This time is instantaneous, no wait for my body to react, I can feel everything. The pain is there, but no more than getting beaten with a club multiple times...to compare it with that and be relieved, I could laugh if my throat was not as sore.

Sitting up I let the fur slide down and inspect my torso, I have lost weight, that much is clear. And there are no signs that I was ever wounded. Looking around I see Lina sitting on the ground, her head hanging, asleep. I suppose they must have told her to guard me or tend to me, I have to thank her and whoever was in charge of that order.

I stand up, and the noise of the fur falling to the ground awakes her. But something is off, my head is heavy, and something- What do I have on my back?

"Chief!" Lina rushes to her feet and helps, putting my arm around her shoulder and keeping me on my feet "Careful, you are still weak" She mumbles, shaking her head to wake up properly. This is weird, it feels almost like...I'm taller, I reach a bit above her chest now.

"What happened to me?" I take a hand and reach for my forehead, the hammering of my head beating faster as I hold on to what I know are horns.

"Just, sit down for a moment, I have to bring Enon," She says guiding me to the stool and helping me to sit down, in doing so I feel great pain as I sit on my arm, except that can't be "Sorry," She says before leaving the tent fast.

I look behind me and see a black tail, long and slim, moving around. My tail. Quickly, I reach for a nearby bucket of water and place it right in the beam of the morning sun that pierces through the gap in the entrance of my tent, and see my reflection. Focusing on the pair of thin, black, arched horns protruding from my forehead.