Chapter Twenty-Three #4
“I don’t think you are.” Ruth plucked the vial and ladle from her hands and called for Ulyseon and Garrow, who were standing guard at the tent’s entrance. “You should get some sleep, my lady. Rovar, Livakion, please escort her ladyship to her tent.”
“Th-That won’t be necessary!” Maxi protested. “I can’t be the only one resting…while everyone else is working, so—”
“Didn’t you heal three people today with magic?” Ruth arched an eyebrow.
Maxi pressed her lips together. She had, in fact, healed five people. Ruth was unaware of the additional two because she had done it while he had gone to see Duke Aren. Ruth glared at her before adamantly pointing to the entrance.
“It is customary for one to rest after magic use. Try to rest for half a day.”
“But, Ruth…you tend to the patients…and you’re looking for a way to break S-Sir Hebaron’s curse. If anyone needs rest, it’s—”
“You need not worry about my health, my lady. I’m already caring for it like a precious jewel.
” Ruth scowled as though he found her stubbornness annoying.
“You, however, are neglecting yourself. You would indeed be an inconvenience if you were to drag dozens of servants with you everywhere, refusing to lift a finger, but overworking yourself like a slave is no different. I sometimes find it hard to believe you are a daughter of the House of Croyso.”
Stung by his words, Maxi sullenly turned away from him. “I-I understand. I will rest, as you wish.”
“Please do not allow her ladyship out of the tent for the rest of the day,” Ruth instructed Ulyseon.
After throwing Ruth one last glare, Maxi made her way back to Riftan’s tent.
She doubted she would be able to rest. Yet, as if putting her assumption to shame, her eyes grew heavy the moment she laid her head on the pillow.
She rubbed her throbbing temples for a while before lying on her side and pulling the thin blanket over her head.
She must have fallen into a deep slumber, as the next thing she knew, someone was shaking her awake. It took a moment for her to come to her senses. Just how long had she been asleep? Maxi was blinking vacantly when Ulyseon’s urgent voice penetrated her foggy thoughts.
“My lady! You must get up! We have to get away from here at once.”
“Wh-What?” Maxi groggily looked up at the squire in surprise.
Ulyseon urged her into a sitting position. “There is no time to explain. We must hurry!”
Maxi stumbled out of bed and followed him out of the tent. At that moment, a loud noise pierced her ears.
Her eyes widening, Maxi looked toward the commotion.
Armed knights were fighting what looked like large lumps of black mud near the southern gate.
Screams rang out all around them as panicked people ran about the camp in confusion.
Maxi instinctively took a step back, wide awake with horror.
Had the entire world shifted during the short time she had been asleep?
“What on e-earth is happening? Why are there m-monsters inside the castle?”
“Curses! Ghouls sprang up from the ground. The monsters must have created a mass of undead and buried them here,” Ulyseon shouted angrily as he pulled Maxi’s arm.
Maxi’s eyes grew even wider. “B-But when—”
“I’ll explain later, my lady. We must get you to safety first.”
He sprinted through the cluster of tents, and Maxi scampered behind him, panting. Just then, a hand shot up from the ground and grabbed her ankle.
Maxi screamed in terror. The damp, icy hand with protruding black bones latched on to her leg and yanked it backward.
Shrieking, Maxi frantically tried to kick free.
As the ghoul clawed its way out of the ground, Ulyseon whirled around and cut off its arm.
The severed hand, however, remained clamped to Maxi’s ankle.
Her body racking with sobs, she shakily pried off the dismembered hand and flung it away. It was such a terrible sensation that she thought no amount of washing would rid her of it.
As she feverishly scrubbed where the ghoul had touched her skin, Ulyseon drew her close behind him. “Stay close, my lady!”
Only then did she realize that multiple ghouls were crawling out from the ground.
Ulyseon swung his sword at the half-rotten corpses sluggishly digging themselves out of the earth.
A bluish glint flashed from his sword, and in an instant, he had lopped off three ghoul heads.
Maxi watched in horror as the ghouls fumbled over the ground in search of their severed skulls.
Ulyseon yanked her arm. “This way, my lady! It should be safer atop the ramparts.”
There was nothing she could do but sprint behind the squire. Ulyseon cut down the ghouls as they ran, and they were out of the chaos before they knew it.
He quickly led her up the ramparts. “The undead keep springing up, but you should be safe up here, my lady. If any of them climb the stairs, I will slay them at once.”
Barely managing to reach the watchtower, Maxi clutched the battlement as she tried to catch her breath. Though she felt dizzy, being on the wall gave her an unobstructed view of the unfolding chaos below.
About half of the barracks had collapsed, and agitated horses ran amok through the camp. Armed knights yelled as they stabbed the emerging ghouls with long spears. It was a scene from hell.
“Wh-What about…the others?”
Ulyseon pointed. “Mage Ruth is over there, my lady. You mustn’t worry. Ghouls are not that powerful. There are many accomplished knights here as well as high priests, so it shouldn’t take long to exterminate them.”
Maxi was barely listening as she frantically scanned the commotion.
What of Hebaron and Garrow? And what about Idsilla and the other female clerics?
Would they all be safe amid such pandemonium?
She was desperately searching the camp for a familiar face when a loud explosion reverberated behind her.
Maxi whirled around. The magical devices had been activated, and double barriers shot up in front of the ramparts. Beyond them, an army of trolls clad in black armor marched toward the city. Ulyseon let out a suppressed groan, running a hand over his shocked face.
“How in the devil are they coming from the south…?”
He turned and swiftly picked up a long kopel propped in the corner of the watchtower. Sticking his head over the battlement, Ulyseon blew into it. The sonorous blare rang out over the camp—an alarm signaling an external invasion. Maxi felt every hair on her body stand on end.
“Don’t be scared, my lady,” Ulyseon said firmly. “I will protect you at all costs.”
Seized by panic and fear, Maxi was unable to comprehend his words. The young man’s determined voice was like smoke blowing through her ears. The sudden uproar was beyond her ability to cope. Maxi clutched her forehead as she tried in vain to regain her sense of reality.
Ghouls causing mayhem within the city. An army of trolls converging on the city walls.
She was trapped in a nightmare.
Didn’t the coalition army drive all the trolls north? And just how long have those ghouls been buried here?
She suddenly came to a bone-chilling realization.
Ulyseon had said that it was the monsters that created the undead.
That could only mean that they had buried the ghouls during their initial capture of Eth Lene Castle.
Was their retreat from the city a ruse to draw the coalition army into Eth Lene?
If that was the case, why now? Why did they not ambush the city while the knights were still here?
The monsters might have been waiting for the perfect opportunity. The city currently held enough food to sustain an army of fifteen thousand men for a month and a half. If the monsters were to take all of it, even the coalition army would not be able to last.
Maxi hugged her shoulders as a chill coursed through her entire body. At that moment, she heard Garrow’s voice calling from below the wall.
“Uly! We’ve lured the ghouls to one spot! Bring her ladyship down now!”
Peering over the edge, Maxi saw five or so soldiers gathered at the foot of the stairs. Ulyseon led her by the arm once more as they dashed down the stone steps. When Maxi finally managed to stagger back to ground level on trembling legs, Garrow and the soldiers promptly encircled her.
“The female clerics and patients have been evacuated to the north end of the camp,” Garrow informed her. “You should also take shelter until everything settles, my lady.”
Supporting her with a firm hand, Garrow briskly strode on. Maxi hastily tried to keep up. As they passed through the dizzying commotion, Maxi saw knights with spire-shaped lances and soldiers carrying spears ten kevettes tall.
Keeping their formation, the knights drove the ghouls to a single spot.
Maxi found it reassuring to see their side fall into ranks with such cool precision despite the abruptness of the ambush.
If they could defend the walls until the coalition army’s return, they could protect the provisions as well as the lives of everyone in the city.
“This way! Hurry, my lady!”
Maxi had been distracted by the skirmish when she heard Garrow’s urgent voice. Snapping to attention, she dashed across the bumpy ground. It was vital for her to get to safety to avoid becoming a hindrance to the fighting men.
Gathering her skirt in one hand, she sprinted across the chaotic city square. They ran north for a while, finally stopping at the large storage tent. Soldiers guarded the entrance.
Entrusting Maxi to the soldiers, Garrow said, “The clerics have cast a barrier around the tent. The ghouls won’t be able to get in.”
Inside, Maxi glanced around at the sacks of grain piled into a mountain. When she spotted the female clerics huddled on the floor at the innermost end of the makeshift shelter, she ran straight to them.
Idsilla bolted to her feet. “Lady Calypse! You’re safe!”
Maxi gasped with relief. “I-Idsilla…are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but…S-Selina isn’t here.”