by Michael Sisa
“Money is the law,” said Big Bun. “As a merchant, it hurts my pride that my client’s been locked up here because of my mistakes. Like I’ve told you before, you’ll be under the protection of my caravan until you reached Blackstone Town. I’ve failed as a merchant. Forgive me.”
Mikael’s eyes momentarily widened upon seeing Big Bun bowing his head to him. He disliked this fat man because of his greed for money, but it seemed that he, too, have his pride and convictions.
Mikael shook his head. He still had his act as a serf to play. “It’s fine, honorable Sir. I totally understand.” He stood up and pretended to wobble. Big Bun immediately grabbed his arm and helped him stand.
“Are you alright?” said the merchant. “Damn it. This is really hurting my pride. What a blunder.” He shouted at the guards, “Prepare the bath and make a sumptuous feast! Now!”
The guards stiffened. “Yes, Sir!”
“And you—” Big Bun said to the guard next to him. “Lead me to where my brother is.”
“Understood!”
***
Since Big Bun was the brother of the Head of the Merchant Guild, everyone immediately heeded his orders. Although Mikael was under the guise of a serf, several servants assisted him in taking a bath. After his body was cleansed, he was immediately led to a room inside the Merchants Guild. A sumptuous feast enough for a dozen men had been already prepared.
Upon seeing this, Mikael’s stomach grumbled. Despite being a knight, eating nothing but stale bread for several days made him unconsciously salivate.
“Please eat to your heart’s content.” A servant led him to a seat.
Mikael sat down and began eating to his heart’s content. The food prepared here were almost comparable to the ones prepared in Behemoth City’s Castle.
The door of the room opened and several men entered. Big Bun was among them. After looking at the fat man next to Big Bun, Mikael immediately knew that he was the brother and the Head of the Merchant Guild. Their semblance was so high that it was uncanny to even mistake them as strangers.
“Is that the serf locked up by my men?” said Big Mona, haughtily. Unlike Big Bun, he looked at Mikael condescendingly. “You still haven’t changed, little brother. I do understand that he’s a client, but to think that you’ll allow him to partake in our little feast.”
Big Bun frowned. “This is my pride as a merchant. He paid. And I promised him that I’ll take him back to his old man. I will not go back on my word, big brother.”
Big Mona arrogantly waved his hand as he sighed. “Fine. I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
The two sat down, together with the men that arrived with them. Mikael silently listened as he ate. After following their discussions, he learned that the men sitting in this room were all prominent merchants of the Lion City.
He could feel the discontent of the merchants around him. They surely did not like having a mere serf sharing a table with them. But since Big Bun himself allowed Mikael to partake in this feast, they did not even dare spout a single word about it.
“I’m glad you survived that incident.” Big Mona spoke, his mouth still full of meat. “When I heard the news, I immediately mobilized my personal army to rescue you. Thank God the Commander of the garrison’s smart enough to immediately escape. I plan on giving him a reward later.”
Big Bun frowned. “I don’t even want to remember that incident. I’ve never been so close to death in my entire life. I’m just glad that those monsters come out only during a full moon. Otherwise, this City would have been reduced to rubbles long ago.”
Mikael could still vividly remember everything. The tens of thousands of monsters coming out of the lake. The humanoid wolf standing at its center. Once he gets to Blackstone Town, he would write a report about it to the King.
“Ah, I’ve heard of a peculiar news, brother,” said Big Bun. “Is it true that you visited the Lord’s Castle? That you personally met that damnable Valcres?”
The hatred within Big Bun’s voice was apparent. Back in the Capital, Mikael heard from Big Bun that the Lord of this City had a weird fetish for beastmen meat. It was among the things he decided to investigate and include in his reports later.
Big Mona paused. His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t like to, but it’s not like I have a choice. Bun, have you heard of the Bloodstone before?”
“Of course,” said Big Bun. “It’s the dream of all Alchemists. The ultimate potion capable of healing even the gravest of wounds. But that thing is a mere legend. It’s impossible to create a miracle drug of such quality.”
Big Mona sipped from his goblet. He breathed in. “If I do things right, I might get my hands on that thing.”
Everyone in the room froze, including Mikael. The claim of Big Mona was preposterous.
“W-What are you talking about?” Big Bun stuttered.
Big Mona paused and looked at the merchants. “Everyone of you here are my trusted comrades.” He momentarily looked at Mikael but quickly averted his gaze, as though dismissing the presence of a mere serf. “All of you have been with me even when we were mere upstarts, merchants without any power or background. I trust that all of you will keep this a secret.”
Big Mona took out a small vial from his pocket and placed it on top of the table. “This here is a potion comparable to the one created by the Master Herbalist and Alchemists in the Capital.” He momentarily paused. “No, it’s even better than that.”
“Its vial is different from those kept in the King’s Castle.” Big Bun noticed. “Are you telling us that a different group made that thing?”
“Exactly,” said Big Mona. “This potion is capable of healing cuts in a matter of seconds. And I’ve just gained the formula on how to create this one – en masse.”
Everyone held their breaths.
“T-Then we can compete with the Capital! We’ll easily gain enough power to rival the Merchant Guild in Behemoth City!”
“Please order us to immediately procure the materials, Sir!”
“That’s right!”
Big Mona slammed his fist on the table. Everyone quieted down. “This thing’s nothing but garbage when compared to the real thing.”
“Real thing?” said Big Bun.
“That’s right.” Big Mona nodded. “If I successfully help that damn brat in defending his town from those beastmen, I’ll be getting my hands on the Bloodstone.”
Although Lark called the promised medicine a middle-grade potion, Big Mona was sure that it was the legendary Bloodstone. After all, only a bloodstone could display healing power far greater than this potion he currently held in his hand.
Big Mona continued with his story. According to him, the Lord of Blackstone Town requested him for a thousand soldiers to help repel the invasion of beastmen. It was a peculiar request, since according to their intel, the Valley of Witches had yet to fall in the hands of the United Grakas Alliance. As long as Alexander was alive, the beastmen would be unable to penetrate the Eastern Region of the Kingdom.
But the peculiarity of the request did not matter to the merchants. What mattered was the reward. And if the reason behind the request was indeed true, then they would also benefit from it. After all, Blackstone Town was close to Lion City. If the beastmen had indeed managed to penetrate that far into the Kingdom’s territory, then it would only be a matter of time before they targeted Lion City.
As Mikael listened to the conversation, his interest of Lark Marcus grew. That young noble single-handedly stirred up these merchants, and now, he was requesting for a thousand soldiers to repel the invasion from United Grakas Alliance.
Could he actually do it? Judging by the story, it seemed that the army of beastmen numbered more than ten thousand.
And there was also the fact that Lark Marcus was the one who gave the recipe for the healing potion to Big Mona. Where did he get it? Did he steal it from the Herbalist Association? From the Capital?
There were so many questions that needed an answer.
That
young noble was dubbed as incompetent by all other nobles and competitors for the throne. Even his daughter, Elaine, believed that Lark Marcus had the least possibility of winning the competition for the throne.
Mikael’s instinct was screaming at him that there was something wrong with the rumors.
“So, what happened with the meeting with Valcres?” said Big Bun.
Big Mona grinned. “It took me some sacrifices, but I managed to convince the damn bastard. He’ll be lending me eight hundred soldiers. For the remaining two hundred, I’ll personally provide it by hiring the small mercenary guilds in the City.”
“You bribed him with beastmen meat, huh?” Big Bun conjectured.
“Close enough.” Big Mona nodded. “But that alone wouldn’t be enough.” He grinned. “I gave him an offer he wouldn’t be able to refuse. Who would have thought that that event in the past would have its use? Amusing.”
Big Bun seemed to have understood what his brother was saying. “That thing, huh? He wouldn’t be able to refuse you if you told him that. As expected of my brother.”
The two laughed, and the rest of the merchants joined in. Mikael could not believe his luck that he was allowed to partake in this feast, giving him the perfect opportunity to eavesdrop in such important topics. He could already see the reaction of the King once he reported these findings
Big Bun looked at him. “Mikael.”
Mikael acted afraid and lightly lowered his head. “Sir?”
“Good news,” said Big Bun. “The army will depart tomorrow morning. You can come together with them towards that place. And since it’s a promise, I’ll personally come with you and take you to Blackstone Town. You’ll see your old man soon. How about it?”
Mikael meekly replied, “I’m really grateful, Sir.”
Chapter Sixteen
Stone and his men relentlessly made their way back towards the Main Army’s Camp. They continued slapping the reigns of the Burrcats, not bothering to stop to recuperate even for a while. Unlike the optimistic Kael, he did not believe those beastmen stood a chance against the humans. There was no way they’ll be able to win against those numbers, now that Commander Azura was gone. The best course of action now was to go back and report this incident to the General. Although this may seem cowardly, this was his task as the Captain of the Scouts.
“Captain, can’t we rest for a bit?” Molith complained. She was huffing as she desperately clung to her mount. For some reason she could not explain, strength kept seeping out of her entire body.
Stone noticed it too. Even he was finding it hard to keep moving onward, as though an invisible force was sucking away his mana. If this went on, he would eventually lose consciousness and collapse.
“We’re not stopping,” said Stone. He slapped the reigns, the burrcat neighed, and they sped up through the plains. The grasses swayed westward from the assault of the wind. “We need to reach the main camp as soon as possible and report everything to the General.”
There was something peculiar about that town – about those humans.
Damn it. If only Commander Azura listened to me. If only I didn’t tell him that the Human Commander is probably stronger than him. Then maybe…
Stone regretted the fact that they did not wait for the reinforcements to arrive. The additional one thousand beastmen would have made a tremendous impact in the outcome of the battle. Against such number, the previous tactic of surprise ambush, using only a handful number of soldiers in the middle of the forest, would have been near impossible to successfully pull through.
So in the end, your foolishness was your bane, Commander.
Stone clicked his tongue. Dead men tell no tales. He had to live and fully recount the details of this battle.
“Salith!" A shout reverberated.
Stone looked back and saw that his men stopped in their tracks. And he immediately saw the reason why. Salith was lying on the grass-carpeted ground, her chest rising and falling down repeatedly. She kept clutching her chest, her body squirming every now and then. He pulled the reigns of his mount and halted.
“Salith!” Molith jumped down her mount and crouched next to her twin sister. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
Salith turned over and vomited on the ground. “Go on without me. I’ll stay here and rest.”
Stone approached his men. He crouched down and touched the chest of Salith. He frowned. He turned to the two remaining beastmen. “Tell me, are you two experiencing it too? The sensation of your mana being slowly pulled out of you.”
The two beastmen momentarily widened their eyes. The description of their Captain was spot on.
“Yes.” They both bobbed their heads.
Stone groaned. He realized that all of them have been poisoned. But how did their enemy do it? He racked his brain but could not find the reason how.
“We’ll make camp here,” he said finally. “I’m not sure what kind of poison those humans used on us, but one thing is sure – it’s continuously sucking away our mana.”
Stone took out a vial from his pouch. Molith stared at it.
“Make her take a sip of this thing here,” said Stone.
Molith froze. “B-But Captain! That’s a paralyzing potion!”
Stone nodded. “Exactly. This thing blocks the flow of mana in the body of those who drinks it. It’s the same paralyzing potion I gave that old man before. The poison inflicted on us sucks away our mana. If this is true, then this paralyzing potion should temporarily halt the progression of the disease. It won’t cure it, but it’ll make us last until we arrive at the Main Camp.”
The theory of the Captain made sense. As expected of the Captain of the Scouts – he immediately formulated a solution to the problem despite not knowing the exact poison inflicted on them.
Molith’s hands shook as she helped Salith take a sip from the vial. Seconds passed and turned into minutes. The effect of the paralyzing potion became apparent. Although Salith was unable to move, the symptoms from before had significantly lessened somewhat.
It seemed that the mana blocking effect of the potion counteracted the poison inside Salith’s body. Molith sighed in relief upon seeing this.
“Thank you, Captain,” she said.
Stone looked at the sky. It was already dusk. Although he still wished to move back to the main camp, the current circumstances did not permit him to. He was trying his best to not show it, but he could also feel the effects of the poison inflicted on them. He did not wish to take the paralyzing potion as temporary antidote, since it would slow him down tremendously. He decided to save it as last resort.
“Pitch the tent.” He said to Molith and the other beastman. “I’ll prepare our meal.”
“Understood!”
Despite their sluggish movements, the three started to move.
Stone made campfire and started roasting the tiny piece of meat jerky they have left. He mixed it with the remaining water from his flask and made a soup. This was the last food they have remaining. Unfortunately, aside from the birds that have been hovering above them for quite some time now, there were no animals around. Stone wished the Gods would at least provide them with a hunt – even a rabbit or a frog would suffice.
Inside his mind, he cursed the damnable humans for burning the rations down. Resisting the unknown poison would have been easier with a full stomach.
While they were eating their meal, Molith asked Stone, “Captain, once we get back to the main army…” She paused after almost swallowing her next words, “We’ll be executed, wouldn’t we?”
Stone stared straight at her eyes. He could see the fear inside. He decided to be honest to the lizard. “Most probably, Yes.”
Although they fled the battle for the sake of reporting back, it was still an act punishable by death. Stone already knew the outcome of his decision the moment he decided to flee from that nightmare.
“But worry not, Molith,” said Stone. “I will ask the General to spare the three of you. After all, it was my de
cision as your Captain that made you flee that battlefield.”
Stone’s subordinates immediately protested. They almost dropped the bowl of soup they held in their hands.
“I won’t allow that!” shouted Molith. “It’s obviously the fault of Commander Azura! Why should the Captain be executed because of that musclehead’s—”
“—Enough!” interjected Stone. “The rules of the Third Legion are absolute! As long as the General receives my message, I don’t mind being executed afterwards! This is my pride as the Captain of the Scouts!”
Molith seemed not convinced. Stone reiterated, “Listen. We’re still not safe until we reach the main army. Those humans are probably searching for us even now. In the event that I die, it’ll be your duty to pass on what we’ve found out about those humans. Make sure the General does not take them lightly. Don’t let him make the same mistake as Commander Azura. Do you understand?!”
Molith willed back the tears from her eyes. Unable to utter a word, she simply nodded her head once.
Stone finally sighed in relief upon seeing it. He wished that his body would last longer. He wished it’ll be able to keep going at least until they reached the main army. Even now, he could feel his mana leaking out of his body.
The symptoms are really similar to Magic Poisoning. But it doesn’t make sense. How did those damnable bastards poison us?
Several questions kept popping inside his head, but he was unable to answer all of them.
He noticed that all of his men have fallen asleep already. They were probably greatly affected by the poison, more than he thought. He wryly smiled. “I guess I’m tonight’s watch.”
Stone gently carried the sleeping members of his team inside the tent. Looking at them, he felt like a father. If he had a child, would it be like this?
Stone smiled.
Upon getting out of the tent, Stone heard the chirping of birds above. He frowned. He was sure those things were the same birds from before.