Book Two - Chapter Nine

It was obvious the next village was in sorry shape the moment they reached the outskirts. The first house they saw was little more than a pile of shattered and scorched black wood. A sea of ash beside it might have once been a field, in the midst of being cultivated, but it was desolate and lifeless now.

There was no smell, and not so much as a wisp of smoke. Whatever had destroyed this place had occurred some time ago. Unless it was the work of motomancy, a Blade in particular, that was. Then it could have happened an hour ago for all Lusya knew. She could not see any corpses, but it was possible they were simply hidden from view.

“What happened here?” Ander asked.

“Considering the scale of the destruction, it is likely that it was an attack of some kind,” Lusya said.

Ander scowled. “You don’t think it’s the same bandits, do you?”

“It could be.”

“Do you think everyone’s okay?” Ariya asked.

Her gaze stayed glued to the house as they passed, no matter how much she had to turn her head. She even turned around in her seat to keep watching it for a while. Her expression was pensive and dismayed, though there was no reaction worth worrying about in her Malice.

“I do not know,” Lusya said. “You should not focus so much on the destruction.”

Ariya nodded and faced front again. “Okay.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Ander said.

“Liar,” Ariya muttered as she righted herself in her seat.

He recoiled as if the words had struck him, then chuckled and scratched his head. “I guess you caught me. But that doesn’t mean they’re hurt. We just can’t know, like Lusya said.”

“I know,” Ariya said with a roll of her eyes.

“Right.” Ander shifted his focus to Lusya. “Because Lusya doesn’t lie, right?”

Ariya must have informed him of that. Lusya would have to speak with the child later about telling Ander her faults. The smiles had been one thing. Lusya was only aware of that because Ander had brought it up. She did not want it to become a habit. They still did know Ander’s full intentions.

“I do not know how,” Lusya said. There was no good way she could think of to mislead him on the matter.

“That might be the first time anyone’s ever said that,” he said. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

Ariya cocked her head and blinked twice at him but said nothing.

“Out of curiosity,” he said. “What do you know about lying?”

Lusya tilted her head and blinked. “The concept is quite simple. One simply says something untrue, and I am capable of doing that.”

“So, you do know how to lie, then?”

“Correct,” she said. “I do not know how to lie well. I do not know how to employ the tricks of a skilled deception, and so I avoid lying at all.”

He raised an eyebrow and gave her a so-called knowing grin. “That, uh…That makes more sense. I get it now.”

They traveled onward. The next two buildings they encountered were intact, but the one after was in a similar state to the first. Then the one after that, and the next. As they moved into a closer grouping of homes, it became clear that those untouched were the exception, rather than the rule.

Plenty of buildings were in ruins. Even many of those that were not had prominent holes in the walls or roofs. Some had the doors ripped clean off the hinges. Others bore prominent scorch marks climbing up the wall. Those with no damage could have been counted on one hand, with fingers to spare.

“I’m stopping here,” Ander said, pulling back on the horses’ reins. “We should get out and survey the area on foot.”

Lusya nodded in agreement. Though she cared little for the village, it would be wise to gather information. Who or whatever did this could still be in the area. There was nothing that qualified as a threat in her detection range, but they could have been just outside. Even if not, making themselves aware of a potential threat was wise. Whether the culprit was strong enough to be a physical danger to her or not, being prepared would not hurt.

“Ariya, close your eyes,” Lusya said as she helped Ariya down.

“Yes, Lusya,” Ariya said.

“Good call,” Ander said. “Let’s look around, preferably for people.”

Lusya could sense several mortals in the area, though fewer than she would have expected, even from a village of this size, but she couldn’t well say that. As in Mirewood, the area was thick with Malice, and she was comfortable calling the Malice of most of the mortals elevated. Given the scenery, that was not surprising.

They walked through empty—save for rubble and debris—streets. They were heading toward some mortals anyway, so Lusya made no attempt to direct their path. As they walked, one more thing began to fill the streets: corpses.

Some were whole, some were little more than an arm. Some were almost pristine, while others had been burnt beyond all recognition. Men, women, children. Human and tiransa. The culprit had not discriminated. Lusya carefully guided Ariya so that she did not touch any of them.

“What’s that smell?” Ariya asked, plugging her nose with her free hand.

“It is nothing you need concern yourself with,” Lusya said.

There was nothing much she could do for the stench. Burnt and rotting flesh had already tainted the air with their foul miasma and would do so for some time yet unless someone moved the corpses. She was just lucky Ariya was not familiar with it.

After several minutes of walking, they rounded a corner and happened across their first mortal. A human woman with pink, tear-stained cheeks sat amidst the rubble of a ruined home, cradling and rocking a small, unmoving bundle of cloth. Getting closer made it clear what was wrapped within: a tiny corpse, so burnt it was scarcely recognizable as such.

Lusya and the others stopped in front of the woman. She gave no sign of acknowledging their presence. She did not seem to acknowledge much of anything. Her eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing, refusing to focus on anything, even her dead child.

“What happened here?” Lusya asked.

The woman did not respond. She did not look at Lusya even for a second. It was as if the words had not reached her at all, but there was little chance of that. Lusya knew her voice tended to be quiet, but it was not so quiet someone a few feet away could not hear her with no other noise in the way.

“Is someone there?” Ariya asked.

Ander waded into the sea of ash and wood and knelt before the woman. “Hey, is there anything we can do? If you’ll talk to us, we might be able to help.”

The woman gave no indication she had heard. Ander waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing. He sighed, stood, and shook his head at Lusya.

“I don’t think she’s ready to talk,” he said as he returned. “And I don’t think we’ll get anything out of pushing her.”

Lusya had heard of this condition. Trauma shock, it was called. She did not think it was well understood in general, and she had little personal experience with it, only having seen it in soldiers she had fought and the occasional citizen in the aftermath of a battle. She had never paid it much mind in either case, so she had no basis to dispute Ander’s judgment. Interrogations were not her specialty to begin with, and she doubted she could conduct an effective one on such an unresponsive subject with Ander and Ariya present.

“Very well,” she said. “We will continue our search.”

The next mortal they encountered was another human, a man this time. Like the woman, he was in the middle of a home’s wreckage, and he seemed about as cognizant than her. He lay flat on his back, looking up at the clear blue sky. It was rather nice weather for the aftermath of a disaster.

He refused to speak or move. At a glance, it would have been easy to think him dead, were it not for the steady rise and fall of his chest. He would shift his gaze to make eye contact when spoken to, if the angle allowed him to do so without moving anything else. As soon as the speaking stopped or the speaker moved out of his field of view, however, his eyes went right back to the sky.

Next was a tiransa man who ran in the opposite direction as soon as he saw them, screaming, “Stay away, stay away!” He was followed by a woman who scurried into a relatively unscathed home and slammed the door shut the moment Ander tried to speak to her.

“They are not very helpful,” Lusya said as they walked past the house.

Ander sighed and nodded. “I can’t really blame them. Something pretty bad must have happened here.”

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Ariya asked. It was not a plaintive request, just a curious one.

“We have encountered four people who refuse to speak with us,” Lusya said.

“Oh. Was one of them the screaming guy?”

“Yes.”

Ariya seemed satisfied with the explanation and went quiet again. They resumed their search. If they did not find anything or anyone useful soon, Lusya was going to declare the search a lost cause and leave.

It was not much longer, however, before they found a group of just over a dozen humans and tiransa sitting in a rough circle on the ground outside a house. The building was in good condition, compared to most of the others. The door was missing and there was a hastily patched hole in the wall, but otherwise it was intact.

They did not seem to be doing anything in particular. Some sat there, engaging in hushed conversation. A few were passing around a bottle and taking turns drinking from it. Most seemed content to watch one of the first two groups in silence.

One of the tiransa men looked up from the ground as Lusya and the others approached, though he was tall enough that he ended up looking more or less straight ahead. The others took note and turned to look at Lusya and the rest as well. All conversation came to a halt in an instant. Although their eyes were wide and wary, and they refused to make a sound, none of this group fled as Lusya’s approached. However, some were inching away, or preparing to leap to their feet.

“We’re not here to fight, there’s no need to be afraid,” Ander said, holding up his hands, palms open. “We just want to ask you some questions, if that’s okay. We’re not going to hurt anyone.”

He made a point of looking at Lusya for some reason. She did not see any reason she would have harmed these people unprovoked.

“We’re nice,” Ariya added.

The tiransa man eyed Ander suspiciously. After a moment, the man sighed and settled back down. “Fine. Not like there’s anything left for us to lose if you’re lying anyway.”

The others followed his lead and relaxed. They remained tense, eying Lusya and the others with open suspicion, but they no longer seemed about to flee at any moment. Ander settled down as part of the circle, but Lusya chose to remain standing.

“My name is Ander Lindun. This is Lusya and Ariya.”

“Hello,” Ariya said cheerfully.

The tiransa man nodded in greeting. “Rocktiv.”

Ander waited a moment, looking at the others in the circle. They declined to introduce themselves.

“So, what happened here?” Ander asked. “Demons? Bandits?”

“It is unlikely any demon would be bold enough to destroy a town under the current circumstances,” Lusya said.

Even low-ranks were smart enough to know that was foolish. It wasn’t as if demons left mortals alone between Demon Kings, but they did try to avoid anything so audacious. There were exceptions to almost every rule, of course, but destroying settlements was a good way to shoot to the top of the Sacred Knights’ priorities.

The tiransa man, apparently the de facto leader of this group, nodded. “The girl’s right. It wasn’t demons. Just a bunch of thugs.”

“This is unusually bold for bandits too,” Ander said. “What happened, exactly?”

“They showed up one day and set up camp in our town,” the man said. “They said that if we cooperated, they’d take a few of us and some money and leave the rest of us be. Of course, some of us, fools that we were, decided that wasn’t something we could accept.” He sighed and waved an arm, gesturing broadly at the wreckage. “And the result is what you see.”

“That’s horrible,” Ander said. “To think they’d do something like that…”

Bandits and the like harassing entire small villages wasn’t unheard of. If a couple dozen former soldiers banded together, they were plenty capable of shaking down a tiny town where no one knew how to fight. Of course, even in such cases, this level of destruction was uncommon. Much like with demons, causing too much trouble would paint a target on their backs.

“Even accounting for casualties, there are too few people here,” Lusya said. “What happened to the rest?”

The man let out a heavy sigh. “A lot got taken in anyway. You must have passed Merka on the way here, right? Her husband got taken, on top of everything else. She’s been like that ever since.” Lusya assumed he was talking about the near-catatonic woman. “She eats when we give her food, but other than that…Anyway, a lot of the rest ended up leaving. It’s gonna be an ordeal for us to fix this place up, so I can’t blame them. They might even be the smart ones. Maybe the rest of us just aren’t bright enough to move on.”

Ander scowled. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to…” He glanced at Ariya. “…stay here.”

The man let out a joyless chuckle and shook his head. “No, not ready to give up just yet. Just catching our breath, I guess. Still deciding if we’re gonna try to salvage this place or leave.”

“I guess that’s fine. Can you tell me anything more about the bandits?”

“What would be the point of that?” the man asked.

“We might not look it, but we’re pretty strong,” Ander said. He gave a muted grin and an unnecessary flex of a bicep. “I’d like to keep an eye out for them in the future, and I need to know what to look for.”

The man sighed. “Not sure how much I can tell you. There was maybe a dozen of them. They fought like nothing I’ve ever seen. They made it sound like there was more of them somewhere else too.”

“I see,” Ander said. “Anything else?”

“One thing,” the man said with a nod. “They…the group that attacked us, at least, was led by a woman. Her I remember. She was a little taller than your friend here, with light brown hair. Stronger than any of the men, too.”

That was unusual. Few martial forces, legal or otherwise, had woman in high positions. The Sacred Knights were an obvious exception, where motomancy served as an equalizing force. Elsewhere, common wisdom held that women were weaker than men. A woman might have been a great warrior, but that general perception, its veracity aside, meant few were afforded the chance.

Of course, things were different in a less formal context. Many groups of bandits were little more than a loose association of brutes. However, Lusya doubted those conditions favored the advancement of women much.

“Was she a reltus?” Ander asked.

The man shook his head. “No, human as they come.”

Ander scowled and crossed his arms, contemplative.

“Lusya, my legs are getting tired,” Ariya said.

They had walked longer than this many times. Was the carriage degrading her stamina? Perhaps, but it was too soon to draw a conclusion. Ariya’s endurance had always been enigmatic and inconsistent. More observation was needed.

“We will sit,” Lusya said. “Your eyes will remain shut.”

“I know.”

Lusya helped Ariya sit down and sat beside her.

“Did the bandits show any particular interest in children?” Ander asked.

That was right, the ones who had attacked Mirewood had mostly taken children. It was possible this was the same group.

“They did,” the man said, nodding. “They were obviously taking people to sell as slaves. They were happy to take anyone, but it was obvious who they preferred. There’s a school of thought among slavers that children sell better. They’re easier to mold.”

Ander frowned, eyes narrowing. “I won’t ask how you know that.”

The man cleared his throat loudly but did not respond. A wise choice. Lusya did not know the exact state of slavery in Ander’s native Nordhem. Even in places where it was common and accepted, however, slavers themselves were rarely seen in a favorable light. She did not quite understand that. She had heard people discuss buying a slave as one might buy furniture, then curse slavers in the same sentence. The same was seldom done for any other variety of merchant. Mortals were confusing. Demons weren’t much better.

“Did you see which way they were headed after…?” Ander asked, trailing off.

The man shook his head. “I didn’t. I was buried under rubble and barely conscious.”

“I saw,” another, human man said, sitting a bit straighter. “They went northeast.”

“They keep going north,” Ander muttered to himself. He nodded at the human man. “Thank you.”

The human man did not reply. He seemed to shrink back into himself, and his gaze fell into his lap and refused to move again.

“When was this?” Ander asked, turning his attention back to the tiransa man.

The man sighed and shook his head. “Who knows? We haven’t been keeping track of time much. But I figure it’s been about a week. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less.”

“Recently, then.”

“I think that’s all anyone’s going to be able to tell you,” the tiransa man said. “It all happened too fast. We had our hands full trying to stay alive, let alone learn anything about them.” He groaned. “If only we’d just agreed to their terms…”

“I’m not sure how much better that would’ve been, and you couldn’t have known just how dangerous they were,” Ander said. “And you’ve told me plenty.” He sighed and looked around. “I wish there was something we could do to help here but…I don’t think any of us knows how to build a house.”

“I do not,” Lusya confirmed.

“Me neither!” Ariya said.

“We’ll be going, then. All we’d do is be a burden,” Ander said as he stood. “Best of luck to all of you.”

Lusya followed suit, standing with Ariya. Lusya cared little about troubling the village, but it was clear there was nothing for them here regardless. A devastated town had no resources to offer, and the inn was doubtful to be operating if it even still stood. And, of course, it would be difficult to stay here without ruining Ariya.

Before they left, Lusya paused and looked to the tiransa man. “I have one more question.”

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Did you see any signs this woman was using motomancy?”

The man shrugged. “I wouldn’t know what to look for there. All I know is she was strong. Threw me around like a kid’s toy.”

“I see,” Lusya said. “It is likely, then.”

There couldn’t have been many human women capable of manhandling a grown tiransa man with physical strength alone. Even among the stronger relti, that was no doubt rare.

“If you say so,” the man said.

“I do,” Lusya said. “Farewell.”

She turned and started back toward the carriage with Ander and Ariya in tow.

“I think we should go find those bandits,” Ander said. “They’re probably still in the area.”

“That is not necessary,” Lusya said.

“But if they’re hurting people…” Ariya said.

“The search area is still too large,” Lusya said. “They could have covered plenty of ground and gone in any direction in a week, and none of us are trackers. We cannot undertake such tasks if we are to complete our mission.”

Ariya sighed and hung her head. “Yes, Lusya. I understand.”

“Our mission will be far more impactful than this anyway,” Lusya said. “Helping these people is redundant.”

Perhaps, “moot” would have been more accurate, but the point was the same.

Ariya hummed in thought. “I still think we should, but I guess you’re right.”

“I don’t know what your mission is, but I still don’t think it’s right to let people suffer now,” Ander said. He hesitated to continue, staring at Lusya, then clicked his tongue and scowled. “Besides, if they keep attacking towns, it could cause trouble for us too. Even if no others get it that bad, they might not be in any shape to house or resupply us.”

Lusya could appreciate his attempt to appeal to her self-interest. Especially since he seemed somehow uncomfortable doing so, for reasons she could not guess at. However, his argument was not persuasive.

“That may be true,” she said. “However, we only have one point of reference at the moment.” Mirewood had been harmed, but still more than capable of accommodating them. “If it continues to be a problem, I may be in favor of eliminating them. However, we do not know that. If they went due east after the villagers lost sight of them, it is unlikely they will be a problem again.

“They may also remain in the south of Ostia. In that case, we are capable of making it out of their territory, even if they have targeted every village we visit.” Ariya gasped. “Unlikely as that is, unless they are in fact targeting us, which also seems doubtful.”

Ander frowned. “Waiting for a problem to get worse before you solve it is a good way to get burned.”

“Perhaps,” she said, “but attempting to solve a problem where there is none is a good way to waste energy. If we encounter one more settlement that has been significantly impacted, I will consider addressing the issue.”

They arrived at the carriage, and Ander climbed onto the driver’s seat.

He sighed. “I really just can’t let this go. How many people are we leaving to their fate here?”

“If you want to confront them, you are welcome to do so,” Lusya said. “I will retrieve my supplies and we will part ways here. You may be late to your destination, but that is none of my concern.”

He stared at her, teeth gritted, in silence. His attachment to this impromptu travel group still perplexed her. Ariya had been understandable. She was a child. They were fickle by nature, and she was dependent on Lusya to survive.

The same was not true of Ander. He was the same age as Lusya. He had been traveling alone for some time before meeting her. For all he often seemed foolish, he also seemed plenty capable of surviving alone. Maybe he was more starved for companionship than he had made it seem. That was not a sentiment she could understand, but it was an explanation.

Or perhaps he was not confident in his ability to confront the bandits alone. He had been counting on her aid and was uncertain what to do without it. Maybe he was infatuated with her. Maybe something had scared him out of traveling alone before they had met. There were too many possibilities for her to know.

Finally, he groaned. “No, you’re right. I’ll stick with you guys. But I’m holding you to what you said. Now, let’s go.”