[Chapter 6 - The Twins and the Wolf]

Twenty eight in total, all armed to the teeth.

It was no wonder they had taken over this village with ease.

I found the keys fastened to the belt of the unnamed raider, slotting into the cell door with a satisfying click.

The prisoners quickly filed out, and the serration of the Eickhorn made short work of the ropes which had bound several of their arms.

Some greeted me with tears, others with a cautious gratitude or a fearful silence.

It was a weird feeling, to have that many eyes all upon me at once, trying to gauge what they could of my character, and of my foreign clothing.

“The weapons.” I was the first to speak, my audience attentive, wary of my every word. “Take them with you. If there are others, you know what to do.”

Murmurs of understanding rippled through the crowd.

They soon headed upwards, the ones in front taking the swords that lay discarded across the floor.

Their voices changed to ones of hushed disbelief as they soon caught sight of the corpses I had left behind.

I turned to follow, but the sight of the two who remained stopped me in my tracks.

A child, hunched over in the far corner of that now empty cell. Besides him a girl, her hair equally as white as his.

She lay motionless against the cold stone floor, head propped up atop a pillow made haphazardly of straw.

Bruises covered every conceivable inch of her exposed skin; her tunic had done little to mitigate the hits inflicted upon her.

He held her hand in his own, sobbing quietly as he knelt next to her.

My gazed panned upwards, resting upon the charred skin which marked the base of his neck.

A brand, burned into flesh, shaped into the image of a broken column.

“Slaves, brought here by the bandits.”

I turned to see a man standing at the foot of the stairs, his body raked with cuts too numerous to count.

“They were here before us. The bandits tortured them for sport.” He threw a look of pity towards the girl. “She said she’d take the beatings. Her’s and her brother’s. They… They did a number on her last night.”

The sight tore at my heart.

A sympathy perhaps, invoked by my own grief at the discovery of my brother’s death.

The very same reason I was now here.

The boy looked up as I approached. Eyes of red and blue, dulled by the tears which streamed down his face.

His arms were thin, he could not have been younger than fifteen, yet his build was vastly smaller than it should have been.

An expression of false bravado quickly took his features, replacing his grief as he moved himself between the girl and I. Arms raised defensively, his manner wary of my intentions.

One which softened to a look of surprise when I drew the vial from my vest.

His eyes gazed at it in shock, and he did nothing to stop me as I walked past.

I knelt there next to her, hand placed beneath her nose.

She was still breathing.

It was faint, almost imperceptible, but definitely, fortunately, still there.

Tipping her chin back with one hand, I flicked open the cork with the other, pouring the contents into her mouth.

Vin had written about these with great interest.

Health potions, a magical cure-all to even the harshest of injuries. They made the antibiotics in my bag seem almost useless.

Yet if they had one flaw, it was that the healing process they commanded was not a pleasant one.

Bones regrew and mended, flesh and sinew sewing itself back together.

To call it painful was a gross understatement. Sometimes it hurt more to heal than to sustain the injury in the first place.

But here, in this moment, we had no choice.

As if to emphasize this, a stream of numbers flowed out. Green this time, healing.

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+13, +21, +16

A splutter, blood drawing from her mouth. Steam emanating from the open wounds as she writhed out in pain. Her teeth were gritted, tears trickling from eyes still shut, a sudden opening of the mouth to scream and then-

She relaxed. Her chest rising and falling.

She was breathing, she would be fine.

***

Morning came abruptly, as did the girl who barged through my door.

The villagers had offered a bed amongst their homes, an offer I had declined under the pretense of wanting to further clear out the manor.

In reality I did not trust them enough to be as vulnerable as to sleep in a room they provided, even if I had rid them of the bandits.

Instead I occupied the master bedroom, the one atop the manor house.

The adrenaline had long since faded, in its place remained only the realisation of how exhausted I truly was.

And so I emptied the room of its inhabitants, gently propping the owner against the wall of the great hall downstairs.

As for its unwelcome guest, I simply threw him over the bannisters.

The sheets were still stained with blood, but as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

My dreams however did not go undisturbed.

I was there again, back on that hill, the grass bathed in the warm glow of the morning sun.

But this time, the door was no longer alone.

Three figures crowded round, all clad in full armour. Their huge stature was made more imposing by the frog helms which shielded their face.

Behind them flowed capes of purple, adorned with intricate design spanning the entirety of the fabric, emblazoned in the middle with a single gold flame.

Inquisitors.

I whirled around.

Besides me lay a wolf, floating in the air much like I was. Four eyes bore the sides of his face, golden irises regarding the scene before him with a sense of bemusement.

They’re after you.

“You’re-,” I hesitated, struggling to find the right words to say. “You were in the vial. You gave me their language.”

His eyes drifted lazily towards mine.

A smirk, and then his gaze reverted back to the group below.

One had knelt, their black gloves placed gently against the base of the frame.

I opened my mouth, questions forming upon my tongue, but before I could utter a word a cold voice interrupted me.

“Fifteen hours, he’s near.”

The knight had stood up, rubbing the dirt between her fingers.

Her companions watched her, waiting for her next remark.

It soon followed.

“Northwards.” Her head turned. “We’ll meet them soon.”

Better wake, little pup.

The wolf again, almost a purr.

Time to run.

***

I woke again with a start.

Shit.

I had just come here, into a world I knew nothing of, and already people were after me.

Shit. SHIT.

I slid myself off the bed, rushing to clasp on the armour I had taken from Ansgar that morning.

In contrast to my hurried demeanour, the room was warm, lit by the lazy morning glow which shone through the glass windows to the side. It was comforting.

At least, as comforting as it could be with the blood still staining the floorboards.

I paid it no heed, too focused on getting ready to leave.

Anywhere but here.

The door slammed open behind me, and I glanced back to see a girl barge in.

One of the twins, her brother right behind her.

She looked far better than she had done last night, restored to a vastly healthier state.

The potion had worked miracles, to call it magic was not an understatement.

A fury burned in her heterochromatic eyes, one which had been restored by the red liquid in the vial.

“Why did you do that?” The words, accusatory but firm.

Her brother peeked out nervously behind, an expression more at ease than the one he had worn that morning.

“Do what?”

“The potion. Why did you give it to me?”

I ignored her, fastening the buckles as best I could. I had to go. I had no time to waste.

“We can’t afford to pay you back.”

“I didn’t even know you had money.”

I ripped my coat from the chair, hastily folding it before stuffing it into the backpack I had taken. Beneath lay my bag, pressed to the very bottom.

If what the wolf had shown me was true, the inquisitors would find their way here soon.

I had to leave. Now.

A pair of leather gauntlets I fastened around my arms, steel plate reinforcing the lining at the back.

Another spoil, taken from the raiders.

Like Ansgar’s cuirass, it was a tad large, but the straps helped alleviate this issue.

A fur cloak now hid the pouch at my waist, within which I had slid my handgun. To my belt, I had strapped a sword. A bastard variant, its hand-and-a-half weight surprisingly light in my hands.

The twins watched as I dressed, a worried curiosity evident in their eyes.

“Are you leaving? The guys outside, they were talking about hosting a feast.”

“A feast? They still have food to spare?”

“Just uh-, enough. To celebrate you at least.”

I grunted in response. “Doesn’t matter, I need to go.”

I had scavenged what food I could, items which would not spoil easily and had not been drenched by the blood and wine which smothered the manor floor. Coupled with the rations I had brought, it would be enough.

“Take us with you.”

I stopped, turning my head to look at them. Two teenagers, barely even fifteen.

They would be nothing but a hindrance, their eyes alone enough to draw attention in a crowd.

As if to protest, she quickly followed up.

“I can fight, and he- he can read.”

A glance at her knuckles confirmed this. They were swollen, calloused from countless punches thrown.

“Please.” Her voice broke slightly. “We have nowhere else to go.”

People were a liability. My brother’s death was a testament to that.

Yet doing things alone would be vastly difficult.

If I wanted revenge, I would need authority. Power and influence to get close to the people responsible.

And to do that I needed people.

People I could trust.

“We’ll swear it. An Oathsworn Contract.” She spoke before I could even form the words on my mouth, answering my question as if reading my mind. “We’ll vow to never harm you in any way.”

She’s right. The wolf, his voice a murmur in my mind, a rasp softened by drowsiness.

Words which corresponded with my gut feeling. And yet.

How could I trust it?

The girl answered for him.

“We’ve been marked.”

Pulling back the neck of her shirt, she revealed the same symbol scorched into her flesh.

“If we go against our vow, we’ll die.”

Her eyes seemed to search my face, looking for any expression which might hint at what I would ask.

“Why?” Was my response. “Why would you go so far for a stranger you have only just met?”

She lowered her eyes. Her fear was more evident now, wrought from a powerlessness that had been branded onto her.

“You… saved me. Without wanting anything in return. Few people would do that.”

She glanced at her brother, her gaze softening for a moment.

“You gave us another chance. And we-” A slight quiver, subtle but there. “We have no one else.” Her eyes turned to look at me once more. “We need you.”

I pondered her words.

It would make my task ahead much easier to have company. To have two people besides me, who could not betray me even if they wanted to. Two that had grown up and lived in this world, even if as slaves.

They searched my face for an answer, both gazes firm and defiant. But behind, I could see a hint of pleading within.

Fuck.

I looked away.

“The nearest city. Grab what you need, we’re leaving.”

“Northgaard!” Her brother had rushed past, not even hiding the smile that lit up his face. “We’ll go there.”