3 Chapter 3 – Last Chance

Year 1, Spring, Second Month, First Week.

‘-- For an Assistant (first level Alchemist), the most important material is the magic ink. The ink will conduct the energy through the drawings. Basically, you can make it from any material capable of conducting magic. However, the most common and effective conductive material is blood. --’

Karl was paying close attention to Master AI’s teachings and couldn’t help but be shocked when he heard about the blood.

‘-- Like blood, the sap from plants is also a good conductive material. Since plants do not absorb many different things, their sap is easier to process than blood. --’

When he heard that sap is also an option, Karl sighed in relief.

‘-- Be aware that, like blood, the inks from different plants have different performances for different tasks and different processing methods. For now, you should focus on a simple LQ (low quality) white grass magic ink. The grass grows in abundance everywhere and its processing is simple. --’

Karl continued to plow and prepare the earth while listing to Master AI’s teachings.

In Caiset, each family was given a patch of soil to grow crops, but they also had to help in the common fields, which would be used to feed the orphans, elders without a family, sick villagers, and the Chief’s family.

Karl was an only child, so it was his job to take care of his family’s fields and represent them in the common fields every five days.

The annual tribute paid to the cities would always be very high. So, all the adults had to work hard to meet the demand, while their own fields could only be left in the care of the youngsters.

The food consumed by the nobles was specially infused with magic properties. So, the resource fields had to be built using a special technique, which made them expensive and their harvest limited. On the other hand, the food available to the commoners would come from regular fields.

***

Around noon, a big commotion started at the village entrance.

Elder Said was checking on a villager that had a fever during the night and couldn’t get up to work this morning. The villager’s house was very close to the village entrance, so she easily heard the commotion.

Said went out to check the disturbance, picking up a small frightened girl that had fallen outside the hut. The trembling girl pointed to the three mounted Guards cursing in the entrance. The Captain saw that an elder was present and thus said with clear disgust:

“Since you saw that I’m here, quickly send one of these small beasts to call the Chief. If you delay my business, don’t blame me for ending your miserable life right here.”

The old healer didn’t dare to respond. She only lowered her head to acknowledge the order before sending the children to call the Chief.

The sick villager also heard the commotion and dragged his body outside, concerned for his young daughter who was crying earlier. When Horacios saw the villager, he was filled with rage and disgust, thinking that he was skipping work at the fields.

“Your filthy slave, hiding from work in the middle of the day... Let me teach you a lesson!”

The enraged Captain kicked the villager several times, while he pleaded for mercy. Elder Said also begged him to stop, while the children cried and hid.

Soon, the villager coughed blood and stoped pleading.

Knowing the villager was dying, Said tried to stop the assault by holding the Captain’s shoulder and reason with him. Horacios was outraged to be touched by a lowly villager. He stopped kicking and moved to teach the elderly woman a lesson, completely disregarding her age.

He was planning to give her a good slap, so he put some weight behind the attack.

Chief Omero had just arrived to receive the Guards and saw the captain attacking the elder. Moving faster than was expected of a man his age, he brought his hands around Said and pulled her out of attacking range by positioning himself to receive the slap in her place. The slap/punch hit his back and he fell to the ground crying with pain.

Horacios was confused at how his attack ended up hitting another person. He didn’t see the Chief beforehand and couldn’t understand how he had moved so quickly, or precisely.

Chief Omero didn’t waste this lapse and got up explaining:

“Oh, great one! This lowly servant begs your forgiveness. Elder Said is our healer, if she dies the village would face trouble in preparing the tributes. Please punish this old fool in her place.”

The Captain sneered but remembered he would be punished if the tributes didn’t meet the quota. Although the nobles wanted the villagers to fall a little behind, if the tribute was a lot less he would be held accountable. Soon, his rage decreased and he couldn’t care about them.

“Since you know your place, I’ll not dirt myself with your filth blood. The Royal Mages passed an edict… From this year forth, the tributes have to increase by 30 percent.”

Seeing the Chief’s despair expression, Captain Horacios smiled triumphantly and added:

“The Royal Mages are truly magnanimous. If the village can’t complete the tribute, the difference can be paid with other resources…”

They didn’t wait for an answer and quickly left. Elder Said checked and confirmed the death of the sick villager. The mood was dark. With the edict, more would soon follow him.

***

Considering their harsh life, after 50, one was already considered an elder. Even so, not a lot of villagers would survive until this age, and the ones that survived would not live much longer. The oldest person in Caiset was 74 years old and was probably gonna die in the next few years. Presently, Caiset only had 40 elders.

The villagers’ life was very miserable, so the elders had to help with some tasks. They would do all sorts of odd jobs around the village, like taking care of children, fixing things, cooking, looking after the sick, crafting tools, making straw cloths. Although they weren’t very knowledgeable, some crafts were passed down to the younger, like healing, cooking, and crafting.

“... not possible! We’re already starving and we have delayed the marriages because we don’t have time and materials to build new huts. How can we work more?” An old elder said in a grave tone.

“We know, but if we don’t give them enough, they’ll take children as compensation. Don’t forget about what happened to Rose’s daughter…”

“Chief, we have to think of a solution, this increase is too much… Maybe the elders should start working again, even if we get sick...”

“No... That’s impossible Marlen! Even if we could work, our help wouldn’t be enough and who would look after the children and prepare the food?”

Omero observed in silence while the elders continued to complain and throw in solutions. Some interesting ideas were brought up, but their current predicament wasn’t good. He looked at Marlen and Bill with a heavy heart.

The wrinkles on his face hid his worried expression. He had just been attacked, but his old bruised body held well against the mistreatment. To the villagers, he was like a strong foundation stone, and if he had openly shown fragility or despair, things would become really chaotic.

He remembered the signs too well. First, they would corner the villagers with unbearable orders. Soon, people would start dying and the children would be taken. It wouldn’t be long before… Omero pushed his worries to the back of his mind and decided to finish today’s meeting. He stood e signaled with his right hand, making everyone quiet.

“Let’s finish the meeting… I’ll inform the workers this evening when they arrive, later you can talk with your families and think of solutions. Giving in to despair won't help us. ”

The Elders stood up and left, some still complaining. They were still afraid but the Chief’s actions calm them a little.

Two elders stayed, their old faces also hid their expressions. Like Omero, besides concern, they also felt anxious. Something they expected for a long time was now happening.

“So, in the end, it’s happening... Do you think it’s a war again? With which country this time?”

“It shouldn’t be the Democracy... Maybe it’s the Sandines pushing the borders again.”

“Hmm... We made a decision, but we have to protect the children, Katlyn finally recovered...”

“We know Marlen! I lost more than anyone… But this time we’ll do something before it’s too late...”

“I agree, but I’ll not just calm them down and help the Serions suck the villagers’ lives.”

“No one is asking you to. We just need to be careful, even the Guards in the Tower are enough to finish the village...”

***

Later, when the workers returned from the magic fields, Chief Omero was waiting for them at the village entrance. The sun was setting and there was a strange silence on the scene.

The villagers realized that something was wrong, but they didn’t dare to guess what. Chief Omero started by talking about the dead villager.

First, a woman cried and other villagers helped to console her, but soon, everyone held sad and helpless expressions on their faces.

Omero would disperse any spark of breaking down by being firm and reassuring, but he wouldn’t lie saying that they would be fine.