Chapter 26 Kalmia
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kalmia
Alex
Coughing, Alex dragged herself up the sandy bank of the river.
She was freezing, her limbs aching from the icy waters.
Her body was riddled with bruises from the rocks she’d slammed into.
Luckily, she had managed to hold on to her pack, even though it had weighed her down.
It now felt like a boulder, pulling her back towards the water.
Giving one final push, she managed to climb over the edge of the embankment.
Exhausted, Alex flopped on the ground, chest heaving, cradling her right arm to her body.
Blood still oozed from the gash, but she didn’t think she would need to suture the wound.
She pulled her dagger free and sliced off a piece of her tunic, quickly wrapping it around her forearm and across her ripped leathers.
She inspected her side wound next, prodding it gently with her fingers.
The cuts burned from where the beast had clawed her, her tunic shredded, but the bleeding had stopped.
She wouldn’t need to bind that one, but infection was still a worry.
She would have to deal with that possibility later.
After a few minutes, she groaned, rolling onto her knees, her body protesting the movement, and used the tree in front of her to help pull herself to her feet.
She couldn’t just stay there on the edge of the water; she would freeze from the plummeting temperatures if she didn’t find cover and quickly. She knew where she was, thank the Gods.
She had made it to the Kalmia Province. Finding the dirt road that led into the town of Brookshire would be easy enough, as it followed along the river.
She thanked Fari that she remembered her way around each province so well.
Adjusting her pack, Alex started walking, each step causing pain to radiate through her body, her head pounding from the exertion.
Before too long, Brookshire came into view.
A small whimper escaped Alex’s lips, as it was taking all her energy to stay on her feet.
A small inn sat on the outskirts of the town like a glowing beacon of warmth.
It was a shabby building, only two floors high, with peeling paint and shutters askew.
The aroma of cooked meats and stale ale permeated the air, enticing her to come inside for a bite.
There were open stables tucked behind the inn, filled with a few horses lazily munching on hay.
Exhaustion made her steps sluggish, her legs trembling from the effort.
Struggling as she was, she was barely able to pull the door open, sighing in relief as the warmth from inside cascaded over her.
Entering, she approached the attendant, who looked none too welcoming.
The burly man sized her up in a single sweeping glance.
“I need a room for a few nights,” Alex said, her voice cracking from misuse.
The man looked at her skeptically before speaking, his gruff voice deep in tenor. “Do you even have the coin to pay?”
Annoyed with his assumption and too tired to be polite, she clenched her teeth and bit out the words.
“No, I thought you looked like a kind soul who might take pity on a helpless woman.” He let out a sudden guffaw, startling Alex.
She took a step back, reaching underneath her wet cloak for her dagger.
“Here,” he boomed, causing Alex to wince. “If you are brave enough to sass me, then you deserve a room for the night. Second floor, third door on the left.”
Reaching out, she took the offered room key, digging in her pack for the coin needed. “Thanks, but I always pay my way.”
The man simply nodded, resuming his officious stance.
Alex opted to bypass food; she needed sleep and warmth more. Dragging herself up the flight of stairs, she found her room easily enough. Making quick work of the lock, Alex staggered inside, letting her pack slide from her shoulders.
After ensuring that the room was secure, she began peeling her wet clothes from her body, draping them over the small chair in the corner of the room.
Everything in her pack was soaked too, but she would worry about that later.
Walking naked to the bed and crawling beneath the blankets, shivering, she let sleep pull her under, praying to Fari that she would warm up soon.
Alex’s eyelids no longer felt scratchy. That was the first thing she noticed upon waking. The second thing was that she must have slept for a very long time and desperately needed the washroom.
Alex couldn’t remember her body needing this long to recover before, but it had been a while since she’d nearly frozen to death, starved, poisoned herself, been attacked by some sort of beast, and then plunged into water so damned cold her heart stuttered at the memory.
Strike that, pretty sure those last two were new events to add to her collection.
She had hoped that Kiel and Fari were looking down on her during her travels but it seemed more likely Sindu had cracked an eye and was having a grand time. After seeing to her needs, she used the tiny washbasin to rinse the remaining sleep from her eyes and face, before changing into her leathers.
The inn wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was warm, and the food was edible.
Finding her coin bag, wet and waterlogged, at the bottom of her pack had been a Godsend, though she hadn’t had to spend anything as of yet.
That first morning, she had woken to the pounding of the burly barkeep that she’d seen the night before.
The woman had barged in like she owned the place, which technically she did, and made Alex bathe and eat before gathering her dirty laundry to be washed and mended.
She had also rebandaged all of her wounds, applying a generous amount of salve to stave off any infection.
Alex hadn’t had the brain power to even think to ask any questions, not that she would’ve answered them anyway.
She’d made a feeble attempt to grab her coin bag to offer payment, only to have her arm knocked to the side, shooing her offer away.
Alex wanted to argue but the energy it had taken to bathe, eat, and change had her collapsing back into bed again.
The small room had a square window looking out over the town, and she could tell from the angle of the sun that she had slept until mid-day…again. As if the thought triggered her body, her stomach rumbled in answer.
With her mind and thoughts clearer than they had been in days, Alex tried to sort out a timeline as she dressed.
She would stay only one more night; she couldn’t afford more than that in more ways than one.
No mountains stood in her way on her journey to the Brynn Province, at least, and there she could count on at least one person for aid and answers.
Stepping into the hallway, she moved towards the stairs before heading down into the smell of baked bread, ale, and stew.
Yes, she was indeed on the road to recovery.
The downstairs dining area held only a handful of patrons.
Given the time of day, most were out working in the fields, tending to their crops or families.
Rivka had adored Kalmia for its simple love for people and obvious dedication to family.
Alex didn’t quite see the appeal. Although Kalmia was a mostly kind and quiet province, it always smelled faintly of animal shit.
But she couldn’t deny that the weather was milder and that the landscape was pretty.
Alex sat at the same table she’d been sitting at for the past two days. A steaming bowl of some kind of stew, a hunk of bread, and a pint of ale were placed unceremoniously in front of her.
“Well now, that’s more like it.” The stocky woman who had barged into her room that first morning stood next to her, hands on her hips, a hint of a smile on her mouth.
“We all had bets on when you’d start looking alive again.
It looks like I won. Balthis thought you’d need another week, ha! Shows how much that man knows.”
Alex smiled up at the woman, appreciating her direct approach and no nonsense nature. “I won’t deny I had my own doubts,” she answered the woman.
Not exactly a lie, but the laugh that burst from the woman’s belly had her relaxing in her chair. The conversation had garnered attention from some of the other patrons, and while Alex didn’t mind the company of the barmaid, she wasn’t exactly in the mood to entertain.
Her eyes slid across the way, ready to throw her best “stay the fuck away” glare, when her gaze landed on a face ringed by auburn hair and startling golden eyes.
The look faltered as he raised his pint in her direction.
Alex found herself raising hers in response.
She shook her head and turned back to her meal.
The uniform he wore was a familiar gray lined in red, worn but in good condition.
He was from Brynn then. She covertly stole another look.
Handsome face, a soldier’s honed muscular body, tall and lean.
Alex found herself hoping he’d look up, setting those golden irises on her again, but he just continued his discussion with the man to his left.
Shrugging, she turned back to her food, needing to plan. She had to take stock of what little was left in her pack, to see if the remaining coin could buy her supplies for the travel to Brynn, and get that message out to her battalion. That would need to be tackled right after lunch.
Lost in thought, Alex didn’t realize he’d approached before he was standing directly next to her. “May I join you?” His deep voice rang with confidence.