Chapter 14

“Luchs!” Aria scrambled over to the fallen knight on the ground with Karios in her grasp, the point of impact leaving a small crater in the sand around them. Roark and Levin stood nearby, watching on. Luchs’s eyes opened as looked down at the man in her arms, who had yet to do so. Laying him flat on the desert ground, the knight placed a hand against his chest and lowered her ear to his mouth. Aria’s eyes glanced over the man’s body. The bottom of his long coat was in tatters, the thick leather armor on his chest covered in slashes and holes from stabbings. The arms of his jacket had blood splatter on them, but a cursory glance told her it wasn’t his. His face has dirt all over it, probably from the explosion. His sword was nowhere to be found.

“He’s breathing but it’s barely there,” Luchs concluded before looking up at the top of the cliff. “We can’t stay here. I’ll carry him on my back. We need to move.”

“Where?” Roark asked, Levin still leaning on his shoulder. “It’s just sand!”

“Away from the cliff,” Luchs shook her head. “Ormain is at least a day away walking south.”

The group moved slowly, with Roark up front with Levin once the axe-wielding Blessed recovered. Luchs lagged behind at the back, holding Karios’s unconscious body in a piggyback fashion, his arms limp around her neck. The heat was nigh unbearable, the sun over them in a clear sky with no hope for shade. The few rocky outcrops were barely taller than a doorway, and they already agreed to wait for larger shade to start drinking from their waterskins. Aria was envious of the birds that soared above them, free to move about in the sky so quickly.

“There, up ahead!” Roark pointed out a large rock jutting out of the ground off to the left, perfectly positioned to provide ample shade with the way the sun was bearing down, if only for a few hours. The group slowly made their way over, effectively collapsing into the coolness of the shade. Luchs, with Levin’s help, carefully lay Karios down in the sand.

“He’s still out,” Luchs shook her head. Her eyes met Aria’s knowingly. “Princess, your healing Light, could you-?”

“That’s right,” Roark nodded. “You used it to heal up your arm back in Soren. Could you do that to Karios?”

“Yes, I’ve healed others before,” Aria nodded. “But those were shallow cuts or something I knew was hurt. I don’t know where exactly he’s injured!”

“Try his chest?” Levin asked. “Luch’s said his breath was still light.”

Aria nodded, scooting forward to kneel by Karios’s side. With a deep breath, both hands were illuminated in her gold Light, and with Luch’s suggestion, placed them against the older man’s chest. The leather chestpiece was rough and warm against her skin, but she ignored it and focused on pouring the same Light energy she’d been training with into healing Karios in some way.

One minute passed. Five minutes. Thirty. Sand shifted around them with the rare breezes that soothed them in the shade. Aria’s gaze was fixed on Karios’s placid sleeping face that remained unchanged despite the Light. He was in an explosion, right? Aria thought. She recalled the time she ran through the Outer Ring during the siege of Carnissia. The same purple explosions rocked the building and streets, each impact sending an incessant ringing in her head from their proximity. She slowly raised one hand up to his temple and held it there for a moment, only until her Light began to wane and the breath she didn’t know she was holding rushed out of her mouth.

“Princess!” Luch’s hand caught the smaller girl from falling forward. Aria’s forehead was covered in sweat from exertion as the knight pushed her shoulder back to sit up and regain balance. “That’s enough. We can’t have you collapse on us as well.”

“Sun’s starting to go down a bit,” Levin noted, the shadow of the rock getting longer. “Should we wait for night or keep moving?”

“We shouldn’t be far from the nearest outpost,” Luchs shook her head. Aria turned to her knight, confused. “There should be a small village nearby, if my memory serves correct. I’ve been here before, escorting trade packages to Ormain’s trading posts.”

“But not to Ormain proper?” Aria asked. Luchs’s grimace told her her answer. “That’s right. Father had a disagreement with their king. Of course it wouldn’t be so simple.”

“King Denatur of Ormain is a proud king, like Lord Arenos was,” Luchs said. “The salt and minerals from this land are invaluable to everyone, not just Carnissia. If we can appeal to him, somehow, I believe we can regain his favor and have his aid in taking back our home.”

“And if he rejects us?” Levin asked this time. “What then?”

“We keep trying,” Aria answered. “We need his help, and Forgeros won’t just stop at Carinissia. Lord Grishom would turn to Ormain and Lusinaria next, naturally. Who’s to say he wouldn’t?”

“Then let’s get going.” Roark nodded, rising to his feet and brushing sand off his pants. “Luchs, I’ll carry Karios for now. You lead.” As organized, the group began to move again, with Luchs up front and Roark carrying the swordsman at the rear. Levin and Aria passed a waterskin between themselves, only taking small sips to keep enough left for everyone.

The sun finally lowered to the horizon, casting orange-gold hues over the sand as they traversed through the desert. It was another hour of silent walking when a small circle of buildings hewn out of stone, the same stone that Aria had seen in the various outcrops on their travels. It made sense; there were no trees in the desert as far as she saw.

“I believe this outpost is called Ormido,” Luchs said. “It’s the last stop for Ormanians and first stop for Carnissians. There should be an inn here. I have enough gold.”

Gold. Something Aria herself hadn’t thought of since she left home. Karios must have some gold on him, she remembered him giving some to Roark in Gaoal for the now-abandoned camping supplies. She hadn’t brought any jewelry with her as she didn’t exactly have the mind to grab any on her way out of the castle. In the matter of her own gold on these travels, what could she do?

The group finally reached the short walls of the village, thankfully confirmed to be Ormido by a small wooden sign simply stuck into the sand. The walls of the village were also made up of the same stone, though this time it looked like one large, long continuous stone stretched around the perimeter of the village with no clear entrance. Before Aria could even ask, there was a soft rumble in the ground before them, and a section of the wall slowly lowered to the ground. From the small gap emerged a man with dark skin and short black hair, donning leather armor over a light fabric robe.

“Most travelers don’t come in this late,” the guard said, his voice deep as he held his hand up to greet them. “Especially no Carnissian soldiers. Why do you come here?

“Carnissia has been attacked,” Luchs answered bluntly. “We’ve only just made it out from the Forgerosi attacking the smaller towns. We’re trying to get to Ormain.”

“So the reports from King Denatur are true, Carnissia has fallen,” the guard replied solemnly. His light brown eyes cast over from Luch’s armored form to Roark and Levin’s wary gazes, then Aria’s tired face. “And a noblewoman, it seems. Not too many golden-eyed Carnissians come this way.”

“She’s my charge,” Luchs answered immediately, stepping in front of the princess. “I’m to protect her and return her to Carnissia when it becomes safe again.”

“I see,” the guardsman simply nodded. “We haven’t had many traders from Carnissia lately, that may be why.”

“You’ve received messenger birds from us?” Levin asked. The guard shook his head.

“The birds go to Ormain,” the tall man answered. “Whatever we need to know gets forwarded to us with any outgoing traders. Same with the other outpost villages along the way.”

“Can we stay the night?” Aria asked this time, stepping out from behind Luchs and pointing to the unconscious Karios on Levin’s back. “We have an injured man with us, he needs to rest as much as possible.” The guard’s eyes widened at the sight. Aria supposed he hadn’t noticed the burden.

“The inn here has limited space, two rooms at best,” he finally relented, stepping back to allow them passage past the walls of the village. “The inn is immediately to your right. They won’t have food right now, but will let you refill your water if you need.”

“Thank you, sir!” Aria gave a shallow bow in thanks as the rest made their way to the in. “Thank you very much!”

“Do know that you will be watched, girl,” the guard warned, freezing Aria in her steps. “Very rare to see foreigners here, let alone nobles. Be careful. Stay close to your friends. Cause no trouble.”

“We will be careful, I promise!” Aria assured before briskly taking off after Luchs and the boys. Was this village so dangerous? It was a fraction the size of Bantai, with half as many buildings, Aria estimated. Was it because it was close to the border? The princess shook her head of those thoughts as she caught up to the group as they arrived at the inn where Luchs was already speaking with the innkeeper through the front window.

“The guard said you could refill our waterskins?” Levin asked, raising the three near-empty vessels for the tired-looking lady to see.

“We have a small well behind the inn,” the innkeeper nodded.

“Levin, stay here and help her refill the water,” Luchs nodded. “We’ll lay Karios down and try to settle in.”

The first room was small, about seven paces wide. The bed was enough for a single person to lay down, with a bedframe that appeared to be made of woven strips of wood. The sheets were thin, though in this hot climate it felt appropriate. Roark lay Karios down carefully on the bed before sitting down in the opposite corner of the room, only steps away from the.

“I’m going to check the other room and remove my armor,” Luchs said. “Aria, can you try your Light again?”

Aria nodded and approached Karios’s side again, her hands alight in golden aura once more. Like she tried earlier, she kept one hand on his chest and one touching his temple. Steady breaths, Arianetta, she thought to herself. Focus on just this, and keep breathing. Fatigue had already begun to set in, especially with a day spent running from danger, jumping off a cliff, and traversing a desert, it was all so much. Aria shook her head and refocused her mind with a deep breath.

“Do you feel anything… different?” Roark asked. “Like how do you know it’s working?”

“I-I don’t know, Roark, I’m sorry,” Aria admitted, her gaze still on Karios’s face. “It’s not like a papercut or a pain in my own body. I can’t tell at all if what I’m doing is working. If he was awake, I’m sure he’d tell me.”

“Okay,” Roark said softly. After a beat, and the soft humming of Aria’s Light pressed against the swordsman, he spoke up again. “Thank you for this.”

“Of course,” Aria shot a small smile before looking back at the task at hand. “But give me a proper thanks when the man is walking again.”

Levin eventually joined them with three full waterskins, allowing them to take a quick sips of one before setting them aside. Roark let him know the same uncertainty Aria has spoken of, but the Wind Blessed simply nodded in understanding.

“It’s the best we can do right now,” he said.

Luchs returned, her armor finally off to reveal a linen shirt and trousers. She still had her armored boots on, though it was unlikely she had brought any alternate shoewear in the mess of all this, Aria supposed.

“How goes it?” the knight asked, moving to stand next to Aria, observing Karios’s unchanging expression.

“I don’t know,” Aria answered, feeling the sweat build up on her forehead once more. “I’m not sure what else we can do for now.”

“Then that’s all we will do,” Luchs replied, lifting a hand to cover Aria’s and breaking the princess’s concentration. “Come, get some rest. We can try again in the morning. Boys, I trust you’re capable of protecting Karios?”

“Of course,” the twins said in unison with pride. Two sets of green eyes looked back at Luchs’s red eyes with determination. Levin spoke up to add, “If anything, we’ll make enough noise to wake you up. You’re just next door, anyway.”

Aria let Luchs pull her away, though not without one more glance back at the incapacitated swordsman. He still hadn’t shifted at all since she started using her Light on him. Luchs tugged on her arm once more.

“He’ll be there in the morning,” she assured. “We can try again before we leave.”

“Okay,” Aria said, letting her guardian bring her into their own tiny accommodations. Luchs had designated her own space on the floor, offering the bed to the princess. “Luchs, a question.”

“Yes, your Highness?”

“Was this a mistake?”