Chapter 76 - The Talk

For a long time, Drake just stood there and watched the old man mourn the deaths of his daughter and granddaughter. When the tears finally stopped coming, the man just stared at nothing, eyes empty.

Sighing, Drake turned to the woman wearing an apron. A cook, maybe. Regardless, she was the only one not trying to look away from him.

"I will take the survivors of the gang to the police. Whenever you feel you can, make for the city. And... Do what you must with your dead."

The woman nodded slowly, and the workers got up. They looked with hatred at the three surviving criminals, and that made Drake hurry up to leave, least they lynched them.

The gangsters showered him with curses as he ruthlessly threw them on top of their Yscalents, tied as they were. One growl from Kniivar, however, and they shut up. The gruesome way the small Ifere killed their friends scared them more than bullets.

When they got back to where Drake confronted the four criminals who had chased the Rootler, he discovered that the woman wasn't where he had tied her, only a torn rope remaining around the tree. She was, however, a few meters away, face on the ground, struggling to unbind the rope around her hands. Drake was pretty sure she would have drowned in muddy water if he arrived a little later.

"You bastard! I'm going to carve your eyes out and..."

She spat curses at him, mouth full of dirt, but Drake did little more than throw her an amused glance. For once he didn't dislike the noise of the storm.

"Where the f*ck you takin' us?"

He didn't give an answer. It wasn't the kind of question that deserved one. Instead, he just continued riding towards the city he came from, he and his procession of prisoners and Yscalents without riders.

-------------------------

Drake had to admit that he loved making an entrance. Seeing the stunned faces of the police officers as he arrived with his captives was priceless. Unnecessary, maybe, but worth all the trouble he would have to explain it. He might be a bit of a show-off. So what? He felt like he earned it.

The eyes of the citizens are on him as he rides towards the police station, but Drake doesn't care. He doesn't exactly like the attention, but after everything he had been subjected to, it doesn't bother him either.

Already waiting for him in front of the police station, under an umbrella held by an assistant, was an overweight man wearing the uniform of a police captain. Drake nodded to him and dismounted.

"Got some clients for you, chief."

"I see that. What did they do? And who are you to arrest them?"

Thankfully, the captain wasn't one of the obnoxious morons he had come to expect to find. As he questioned Drake, he already motioned for his subordinates to take the four criminals away, and gestured for DRake to follow him inside the police station, where they could get out of the rain.

"They were attacking one Calduk Farm, a few kilometers away from here. Killed six people, including the owner's daughter and granddaughter."

"Jess and little Nora?! She was just a child..."

The officer's expression changed when he heard Drake. The same happened to the cops, who were now pushing the prisoners along the corridors with a lot less care. It seemed like the two women had a good reputation around here. Besides, no one would be gentle with monsters who killed children.

"I know. I didn't matter for them, though."

"Bastards!"

"Take care with these four. Especially the woman. She is the most dangerous of the lot."

The captain nodded. He didn't ask how Drake had arrested them, or what happened to the rest of their gang, if there was one. The wounds two of the criminals had spoke for themselves.

"I'm grateful you could cover for our negligence. With this damned war so close to here I've been forced to split my forces more than I am comfortable with. Still, I can't be everywhere, and some stubborn old folk like Calduk refused to leave their properties."

It was Drake's turn to nod. The police was obviously understaffed and unprepared. Not only that, the army was usually the ones responsible for what happened in the wilderness, but they obviously had bigger problems to deal with. That gave Drake an idea.

"Say, captain... what do you think about giving me a map of the region and a list of farms, houses, and anywhere you think is vulnerable to scumbags like these? I could check on them, and help if it's needed. And if I'm too late..."

It was a bold request, but somewhat reasonable. If it was before today, the captain would have refused immediately, and maybe even arrest Drake. Now, however, that they had a living example of what could happen - would happen... He sized Drake up.

"Who are you anyway?"

"A scout of the Menoraz Army. General Lilac is aware of the problems you and the other police departments are facing, and appointed me to help. I wasn't supposed to intervene yet, but... I couldn't just stay on the sidelines and watch it happen, could I?"

It was a white lie. If it would convince the captain to support his actions, and allow him to do as he wished, Drake didn't mind bullsh*tting a little. As for the last sentence... it helped add an official tone to his lie.

It worked. The officer stared at him for a moment before nodding seriously, and shaking Drake's hand. He didn't even ask him to stay and finalize the procedures with the new prisoners. With a friendly nod, Drake left the police station, going for the same hotel he had stayed before. In the corner of his vision he saw two cops leaving in wagons pulled by Tezars. They were probably going to assist the people of the farm, and bring back the bodies.

...

There was a definite look of surprise on the receptionist's face when Drake opened the door to the hotel. Maybe a little fear, even. He shrugged it off, and, after getting a room - the same one from two days before - he took a hot bath and fell asleep.

It was a short and disturbed sleep. When he woke up, Drake couldn't remember what he dreamed, but he was drenched in cold sweat. Shaking a bad feeling away, he took another bath, and left his room.

When he got to the reception, he discovered, to his surprise, that there was a cop waiting for him. The policewoman was chatting with the receptionist, but as soon as the elevator's doors dinged, she turned to him.

"Boss told me to give you this."

Without saying much, she pushed a stack of papers to him. On it were names and locations, as well as indications on how to get to these places. Giving it a quick glance, Drake nodded.

"Thanks. Did the people from Calduk Farm arrive? How are they?"

"This... They got here during the night, bringing the... The corpses of Jess, Nora, and the others. Old Calduk is still shaken. I dunno if he will ever recover."

The cop hesitated for a second, then shrugged. She wasn't on the station when Drake came in bringing the attackers of the farm, but she heard about it. It shouldn't be a problem to tell him that.

The receptionist stared at them, probably trying to process their conversation. She had heard about the attack on Calduk Farm, but that was all. She didn't know the details, such as... Who had died.

Neither Drake nor the policewoman stopped to explain. He just grabbed the list, nodded once more to the cop, and left the hotel. He felt bad for the victims of the attack. He really did. But staying there wouldn't help anyone, and if there was the slightest chance someone else might receive the same fate, he had to warn them.

Cold rain pouring over him, sharp winds threatening to blow him off his mount, and the deafening noise of thunder - or were those explosions? - in his ears. This was how Drake spent the next week in the wilderness.

--------------------------

Not very far from where the young adventurer was, the war had stopped. It wasn't over, no. Not even close, in fact. But it did stop. Soldiers from both sides faced each other warily, eyes bloodshot, ready to throw themselves at the slaughter again. And, in the middle of them were two women.

General Isabella Lilac of the Menoraz Army and General Bloodborn of the Lapidum Army stared at one another intently. They didn't care about the rain falling on them, or how the ground was covered in red mud. At this moment, they only cared about the person in front of them.

"Isabella."

"Bloodborn."

There was tension in the air, and one could almost see sparks flying as their two gazes met. What else could happen when the commanders of two armies met in the middle of a war that had already claimed tens of thousands of lives?

Suddenly, General Lilac sat down, uncaring for the mud and blood staining her uniform, and propped her back against what once was a mortar. General Bloodborn raised an eyebrow, and laughed loudly, also finding somewhere to sit - in her case the carcass of a metal-type Ifere.

"This certainly is an interesting situation, isn't it, Lilac?"

"Indeed. Never thought I would have to see your bald head so soon after the last border skirmish."

"Hahaha! Still the same sore loser, I see."

"Screw you."

After that, the two women lapsed into silence again, not willing to discuss the reason behind the truce they unanimously called.

They didn't like each other, that's for sure. But they didn't hate one another either. Instead, they felt deep respect for the general sitting in front of them. For the best part of the last three decades, they had been enemies, rivals. Sometimes they lost, sometimes they won, but not once did they manage to kill the other.

One shouldn't be fooled by how amicably they were behaving now. If they had the chance, neither of the generals would hesitate to murder the other, for the good of their kingdoms. But that chance wasn't now. And so, they talked.

"I've never seen a storm like this."

"Hah! I have. Once."

General Bloodborn scoffed, and General Lilac raised an eyebrow, waiting for a follow-up. The Lapidum combatant looked at the grey sky.

"Many, many years ago. I just don't know what a son of Unda is doing here."

General Lilac's eyes widened in surprise, and then caution. She knew the woman in front of her didn't lie, but it was still quite unbelievable that an Old One was there, and a son or daughter of Unda, the Mystic Ifere of Water, nonetheless. They rarely left their oceans and lakes, and there was neither nearby.

"Are you sure?"

"So says my intel. Settled down in a mountain two hundred kilometers deep into Lapidum, and appears to be sleeping. Everywhere in a three hundred kilometers radius of that f*cker is raining like the sky is falling."

General Lilac chuckled. Few people in this world dared to curse at an Old One, but General Bloodborn was one of them. She was pretty much fearless.

"You should be careful. If this one can affect such a huge area, it might strike you down with lightning."

"Bah! As if you wouldn't be happy if that happened."

"I never said that."

General Bloodborn glared fiercely at General Lilac, but the older woman only had a small smirk on her face. The mighty Lapidum commander harrumphed coldly.

"Why did you invoke parley? It's not your style."

"Why did you accept it?"

Once again, General Bloodborn growled, making the scar on her face ripple. She hated receiving another question instead of an answer. Still, she controlled her temper.

"I guess... This war feels wrong. Rushed. We have been preparing for years, and planned on launching the attack only six months from now. One day, outta nowhere, that old dog Marcus says we have to attack immediately. That f*cked us."

General Lilac nodded slowly. Menoraz wouldn't deserve it's place as one of the twelve kingdoms if they didn't even notice Lapidum was preparing to launch an offensive on them. The fact they did it ahead of time caught Menoraz Kingdom by surprise as much as it did to General Bloodborn.

As for the fact that the fierce general was referring so rudely to her own king, General Lilac couldn't care less. She didn't like her ruler either. That was another thing the two old opponents had in common. They fought for no king or queen, but for their homes, which was why they were destined to be enemies till one of them died.

"You are right. And I will be damned if there isn't a good reason behind it. But what?"

General Bloodborn shook her head. She didn't have an answer either.

"A reason, hum? I wouldn't put it past King Marcus to do it out of spite, but... Not this time. Pray tell me what you will do when you uncover this secret, Isabella."

"Oh? And why would I do that?"

"Because a secret so huge must affect all twelve kingdoms, mustn't it? And we both know you would rather share such a secret than let it sink into the unknown. Isn't that right, oh Dreaded Angel of Menoraz, Isabella the Slayer?"