“Two broken ribs, my left arm is a purple mess, the generator from the shield is burnt, and my breastplate is scrap metal. All things considered, the damages were surprisingly light.” Uther evaluated the outcome of the fight as I bandaged his arm. He was in a very good mood.
After the fight, we returned to the broken palace. We found ourselves in one of the unoccupied rooms near the entrance, which still had a roof and could only be considered clean in comparison to the general state of the ruins. A strong smell emanated from the herb concoctions I used to treat bruises.
“You took the brunt of a minotaur charge on your shield. Just your arm not being broken is a miracle.” I finished wrapping the bandage and started to pack the salve flasks, tweezers, and scissors back into my bag. “Try not to move your wrist. If you can keep your arm in a sling, that’s even better. As for the ribs, there’s not much we can do here. Avoid moving too much and take a deep breath from time to time. Unfortunately, I have nothing for pain with me.”
I turned to the other patient and said, “And you, sir, need to rest for a couple of days and take care of your head until it is all healed up. That means no fights!”
The minotaur, that was sitting next to Uther with a bandage on his head, replied “yes ma'am”.
I closed my bag and stood up as Garaktinur entered the room. “That was entertaining,” he commented in high spirits to no one in particular. He stopped in front of Uther, evaluating him. “You are not a bodyguard,” Garaktinur spoke in Imperial, not as a question or an accusation, but as an affirmation.
At that point there was no reason in hiding that from Garaktinur, so I just confirmed with a nod and explained.
“He is really protecting me, so this is not exactly a lie. But you are right, he is not just a bodyguard.” I bowed my head. “This is my master, prince Uther Dimetres of Central. He was the one tasked with the negotiations”.
Uther stood up and offered his hand, a gesture that Garaktinur reciprocated. There was no talk between the two, just an acknowledgement. I think whatever Garaktinur wanted to know about Uther had already been said in the arena.
“Do you think this will really be enough to make your village follow the treaty?” I asked Garaktinur with a little quiver in my voice.
“Yes, a show of strength is very effective. Individuals are complicated, but a group is simple, easily manipulated by emotion. You can explain something until your throat bleeds, and none will care, but show something that move their hearths, and you can make them do whatever you want.”
It was true that I had not spent much time with Garaktinur, but if I closed my eyes to listen to him speak, I would probably picture him as a member of the Academy or a councilman from the castle, never as an orc boss.
“Where did you lean all that?” I inquired a little perplexed.
“My father taught me, as his father taught him, and so on, back to the first of our clan, born under the hungry void of the Abyss’s eye. It is my deepest shame that this chain will end with me.” He let a silent movement of his lips and a downcast look in his eyes escape, just for a moment, and then he continued, “If any of that knowledge could be of use to you, I would be relieved if you would have it.”
“I am honored” I replied to him.
"If that is so, I have one last piece of advice: You have a kind heart, and for that, I am glad the Gods chose you instead of someone like the man in red armor. However, never let that kindness become a shackle for your actions. The ultimate purpose of any form of power is to inflict pain, death, and destruction. Having power without the will to inflict harm is just a bluff, and someone will call that bluff sooner or later.”
“If you want peace, you must be capable of doing terrible things." I quoted what he had said earlier, speaking more to myself than to him. I don’t know if I agreed with him, but his words had left an impression on me, an uneasiness.
In the end, there were no formalities, no signed documents, and much less certification by the Guild. The most official record we had was a piece of paper where I noted the general terms of the treaty so we wouldn’t forget.
It was far from an ideal agreement, just a few concessions from each side to avoid a major conflict. It was the first agreement with monsters that Central had approved, marking a new path for everyone. Would it work in the long term? I had no idea, but I hoped it would, as na?ve as that may sound.
With the negotiations concluded, we left the next morning.
***
We returned through the forest, feeling a bittersweet satisfaction akin to cleaning the hall after a party. We had done what we came to do; the anxiety and anticipation were gone, but there was still some anticlimactic work ahead.
The first day of the return trip was uneventful, the orc hunters accompanied us part of the way and we reached the cabin in the middle of the afternoon without any incident.
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We ate some fruit and fish that the hunters had given us that were not exactly tasty but still better than travel rations.
At night I slept in Uther's arms. We were too tired to do anything else, but the closeness and the feeling that I did a good job made this the best night of sleep that I had in months, smelly mattress and all.
I was proud of myself, a sentiment that was almost alien to me. I helped Uther resolve the problem in Silver Lake with the bonus that nobody, monsters or humans, had died. That wasn’t something that had happened to me or imposed on me, but something I wanted to do, and I did.
It was not like I expected that all my fears and trauma would just go away, but I did get a little more confident.
We continued travelling the next day and things went well until late afternoon, when we were almost at the edge of the forest.
In the middle of the trail there was an improvised camp with three men.
“So, you two are not dead,” said Captain Ectar, as if disappointed, the moment he saw us. He was accompanied by two of the scouts, who sat around a small fire they were using to heat water for coffee.
“Were you expecting us to die?” asked Uther faking outrage as he approached the group.
Ectar shrugged in the midst of packing his things. “It was your plan to go alone into a forest full of monsters, not mine.”
Uther laughed. “What are you doing here?”
"We have been waiting here for you these past few days. I estimated that you would reach this point by nightfall. The wargs have been very active around here, there are tracks everywhere. I wanted to offer protection at least on this last leg to ensure that our escort wasn't a complete waste," Ectar said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Then he added, "Your Highness," as if doing so would make everything he said so far extremely polite.
“Let me grab your backpack, Your Highness, we can rest for a few minutes before going back to camp” one of the other scouts proposed, extending his hands.
Uther was tired, but I was exhausted, and it showed. So, he agreed with the scout and handed the backpack to him.
The scout grabbed Uther’s arms.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement.
I turned my head just enough to see Captain Ectar drawing a dagger, poised to strike Uther's back. I had no time to warn him, but my change in expression, combined with his battle instincts, made Uther twist his arms and push back the scout, breaking free from the grip. He sidestepped just in time to avoid a killing blow, but not enough to avoid being stabbed.
The other soldier at his side tried to capitalize on the confusion and stroke with his sword. Uther was already alert and blocked the attack with the same movement that he used to unsheathe his blade.
Uther assumed a battle stance and I did the sensible thing in that situation, which was screaming.
What is happening? I tried to make sense of things, paralyzed by the sudden turn of events.
“I told you we should have used the poison” one of the soldiers complained to Ectar, sword drawn and moving to circle Uther.
One soldier turned towards me, poised to grab me as a hostage.
“No!” screamed Ectar, but it was too late.
The moment the man took his eyes off Uther, his fate was sealed. Uther plucked the dagger from his side and, with a swift motion, threw it at the man coming towards me.
The dagger hit his neck with a precision that seemed almost magical. The man managed to take two staggering steps before collapsing.
“Idiot…” mumbled Ectar.
“Gift, run!” ordered Uther, the side of his shirt displaying an expanding red stain.
I snapped out of it and ran blindly into the forest, branches hitting my face, my steps wobbly due to the uneven moist ground.
But I knew I could not go far.
The problem was that I was already exhausted from the trip. Even with the adrenaline surge, I wouldn't be able to outrun them if they chased me. So, I hid behind a thick tree, afraid that the sound of my heart was so loud that it would betray my position.
“So, are you not going to attack, traitor scum?” I could still hear Uther.
"Why? I'm not the one bleeding, Your Highness," Ectar replied sarcastically. "I can just wait for you to pass out. Then I'll get that woman of yours and let my men take turns with her until she dies. So, if you want to avoid that, you'd better hurry up."
I was trembling, breathing fast, but I needed to know what was happening. So, I reluctantly poked my head from behind the tree.
Ectar and the other soldier were flanking Uther at a safe distance, both on guard.
If Uther decided to attack any one of them, the other would be at his back. In a normal situation that would be manageable, but Uther was without his shield, and he was already badly hurt. The red stain in Uther’s shirt was getting bigger and his left arm was immobile at his side. Probably the throw had worsened the injury he got from the minotaur.
Maybe there was something I could do…
I could not fight at all, so any direct intervention would just be me throwing my life away. It was better than the prospect of been captured by them, but it was not what I was aiming for.
I moved again behind the tree, and as I touched the ground, I felt something different from the mushy leaves and moist soil. It was a rock, just a regular rock, about the size of an apple. I grabbed it, feeling its weight in my hands. It was heavy, but not too heavy.
That gave me a terrible idea.
Against every self-preservation instinct I had, I crouched low and crept back to the fight, trying to remain concealed. It wasn't much different from how I had retrieved wounded people or body parts during the siege.
Both opponents were focused on Uther, and I don’t think they would believe me crazy enough to return, so I was able to get near without being detected.
I tried to remain calm, controlling my breath, and waited for an opportunity.
It arrived as Ectar was circling Uther and for a moment that put me on his back.
I steeled myself, stepped from the bush I was hiding and threw the rock with all my strength, which was not much.
The rock described a lazy arc and, more by luck than skill, hit Captain Ectar in the head. If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, it might have caused a lump or minor bleeding. But he was wearing one, so there was no real damage, only the sound of metal being struck.
That was my goal.
By reflex, Ectar turned his head to see what had happened, giving Uther the opening he needed. Uther dashed two steps forward. He used his sword to block the movement of Ectar’s right arm. One more step and he was inside his opponent’s guard.
With one clear stroke, half of Uther’s sword penetrated his adversary's thorax, straight into the heart. There was no time to retrieve the sword, so Uther let go of it, turned, and twisted Ectar’s weapon arm. Uther grabbed Ectar’s sword before it even left his grip, just in time to parry the strike from the soldier behind him.
He stepped forward, and with the returning movement of the sword, slashed his opponent’s throat in a gush of blood.
And then the rock I had thrown hit the ground.