The cavalrymen were gathering. Like streams joining a river, they kept coming from every corner of the village toward the road at its entrance. The warhorses' hooves had churned the ground into mud. Dark sludge made a mess of the place, swallowing feet and hooves deep. The impatient horses shifted uneasily, eager to leave this wretched spot, but their riders held the reins tight and kept them under control. Not a single hoof strayed into the fields beside the road.
Several wagons stood protected in their midst, piled with sacks of grain and smoked meat. There were no vegetables or fruit that would spoil easily. It was standard food for a marching army.
These elite cavalrymen were all waiting for their general's order to set out. Their mail face guards, freshly treated with grease, hid every expression. Silent as statues, they gave off an unsettling sense of discipline.
"You've surprised me, Doctor."
The scar on Tesolys's forehead had been stitched so neatly that it did not look frightening at all. Instead, it looked like an unusual decoration, showing the care of the person who had made it. He was smiling at the young woman standing at the village entrance.
"I thought you'd be eager to see me leave. The others in the village must feel that way... They're all hiding in their houses. But you've been waiting here since early morning. Have you come to see us off?"
Talina puffed out her cheeks a little.
"You left too early yesterday, and your cavalrymen wouldn't let me see you... Take all these herbs. The wound on your forehead could still get worse. Just boil them in water and drink it. They can help prevent illness too... And take these clean white cloths. You need to change the dressing on your wound every day. Otherwise, it could easily start to rot in the damp forest air..."
The doctor gave Tesolys instructions with an almost nagging persistence, stuffing packet after packet of herbs and other things into his hands. For a moment, Tesolys had the strange feeling that he was some great hero who had saved this village, and she was thanking him for it.
In fact, they had frightened everyone in the village half to death yesterday. Some of them must have lain awake all night, afraid the soldiers would suddenly burst into their homes and kill them all. Such things happened everywhere, especially in this forest. From time to time, bandits or armies would wipe out an entire village.
"Aren't you afraid of me, Doctor? You were so frightened yesterday that even your fingers were shaking. Why did you decide to bring me these things today?"
Tesolys accepted her gifts without hesitation and put them into his saddlebag as he asked the question. Whatever the young woman asked for, he would agree to it at this moment.
Talina could not help smiling when she saw the imperial general accept her things. At his question, she answered without the slightest hesitation, almost by instinct.
"Because you're my patient."
"Huh?!..."
Tesolys let out a surprised sound. He had not expected that answer, but the young woman went right on talking.
"If I didn't give you these herbs and the things you'll need afterward, you could easily die of an infection. What would be the point of treating you, then? A doctor's duty is to keep people alive. If someone can't do that, they can't call themselves a doctor, especially when it's within their power...
"Besides, my lord, you're a good person. You look fierce, but didn't you spare Biso yesterday? You're already kinder than any of the other nobles. What do I have to be afraid of?..."
Tesolys watched her with interest until she stopped her flow of words and looked at him uneasily, wondering if she had said something wrong.
Tesolys was hiding the trace of shame he felt. His hasty assumptions and judgments embarrassed him deeply, but none of it showed on his face. Looking at this young woman who liked to ask rhetorical questions, he suddenly leaned down and brought his head close to her ear.
"I owe you an apology, Doctor... And a word of advice. Leave this place as soon as you can. People will be coming after us soon. We've done our best to remove our tracks nearby, but you've helped us. That could easily get you into trouble... Those people may not be trustworthy, so be careful. It would be best to leave today... I wanted to take you with us, but you'd be in even greater danger traveling with us."
The warm breath against her ear had made her blush, but Tesolys's words suddenly made her nervous. What he did next even left her a little flustered...
Tesolys reached out and rested his hand on her waist, where there was a hard blade hilt.
"Whichever town you go to in the Empire, just show them this blade and you'll get help... Don't draw attention to yourself. Set off as soon as you can... We'll clear out all the bandits along the way. If possible, wait for me in Labufia..."
He straightened up at once, waved to the doctor, and gave the order to move out. Yet he could not help recalling the soft feel beneath his hand a moment earlier...
This girl really wasn't like a Hols woman...
* * *
The Empire's finest warhorses walked along the forest roads, breathing hard. The roads here were not narrow. Trade flourished in the nearby towns, and the merchants coming and going had long since widened the roads through the forest to a good size. Even large armies could move along them without difficulty.
The armor plates on their bodies rubbed together with a faint but constant sound. Every soldier was silent. They were survivors, avengers, and men trying to stay alive... No one knew where the pursuing Hols troops had reached. The only way to be safe was to get to the nearest imperial town. They feared no Hols army, but if one attack after another slowed them down, the enemy's main force might catch up with them. Then it would be hard to escape.
Dozens of scouts, wearing only light mail, spread out into the surrounding forest to check the road ahead for the main force. Fully armored cavalrymen guarded the supply wagons at the rear.
The warhorses' strength was too precious to waste, so they had bought five packhorses in the village to pull the heavy wagons. This grain was not only food for the men. It was also vital to keeping the warhorses strong. On grass alone, these precious animals would grow thin at an alarming rate and lose their powerful build.
They passed unhindered through one stretch of forest after another, letting the thin mist settle on their oiled armor. Without a word, they moved quietly through the mist like a legion of the dead, ready to harvest the lives of the living... Or take bloody revenge on those who had brought about their deaths...
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