Elin-17

Elin saw Tusha smile. He couldn't discern the nature of that smile. It wasn't like winning a game, meeting a pretty woman for the first time, nobles raising their glasses in unison, or a murderer knowing they'd escaped judgment. If he had to describe it, he could only say it was like a doctor confidently telling a patient, "I'll cure you soon." Elin didn't understand why Tusha would express such emotions. "I, Elin Tias, am the one who can defeat Tusha; what I can do, Jorgen may not be able to. At least that's what I said in front of her. But I haven't done anything, just let others arrange soldiers and then felt I could sit back and reap the rewards. I never thought the other side would have a strategy, just assumed I could win, and even told Niace not to force the pursuit of Tusha. Tusha might be lying. If someone really monitored her for so long, my men couldn't have missed it. I have to find a way to verify it. But what can I do? Time. No time. No chance, I can't even look away. She has to survive... I do too."

"Earlier you said Lawrence burned all the data, is that true?" Tusha said.

"Yes, at least that's what Prince Galin told me. I don't think he needed to..."

"I didn't ask for your opinion. I just need you to answer the questions, I don't need you to judge for me. Understand?"

"Got it."

"What does MI7 plan to do with this research?"

"Abandon it. No dissemination allowed."

Lawrence began to make a fuss again, which made Elin very irritated. He pulled the iron chain forward suddenly, and Lawrence fell to his knees.

"This guy now looks like a sick wild dog," Tusha said.

"Yes."

"Hey, I didn't ask for your response. But you're cooperative, MI7 likes that term, and so do I. Do you know how your troops are currently deployed?"

"I don't know. But they probably have had enough time to reach their designated positions. I can't be sure, maybe a little short."

"How will they deal with our people, especially me?"

"Try to capture, but safety comes first. If there's an extremely urgent situation, they'll shoot you immediately with arrows."

"Shoot arrows? You're here too. That means your life isn't important to them."

"Of course not as important as the Tolkar sword. Moreover, the emergency situations we predict mainly involve you killing me."

"So have you discussed any other scenarios?"

"Not in detail, but as long as I'm alive, I can give them orders with secret gestures at any time. Prince Galin can do the same."

"Are you afraid of Galin ordering his soldiers to shoot you to keep the sword, along with me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. Galin would be happy to kill both of us."

"Do you want to live?"

"I do."

Tusha was silent for a while. He glanced down the slopes on both sides and scratched the side of his neck. Elin didn't know if this was the expression Tusha was considering. Although he couldn't check behind him and in the bushes, Elin understood that others must have been suspecting what was happening here for a while. In the eyes of others, since Tusha raised the sword for Galin to identify, the situation hadn't changed at all. They only knew the two were talking. Elin understood that the longer the stalemate lasted, the more likely Galin would attack regardless of his life, and even if he got the sword back, Galin would still have reason to suspect him. The tribes in the distance behind Tusha had been secretly conversing for a while now.

"Elin, how about this? You leave Lawrence to me, and I give you the sword. When handing the sword to Galin, you kill him."

"No."

"You said no?"

"If I do that, even if I escape, Glocara will die. Maybe by your men, maybe by the prince's, but she won't survive. If I agree, the result will be worse than refusal."

"All right, all right," Tusha waved his hand as if dusting off dirt. "Don't worry, I didn't intend for you to do that. I just wanted to see if your brain could still function. Listen, Elin, here's what you need to do. First, hand me that iron chain, then I'll attack you, and you mustn't dodge. Don't worry, I won't kill you. After taking the hit, roll down this slope naturally, I know Section Seven people are good at pretending. That's it."

"...What?"

"Very good, this reaction means you understand. You've failed enough today, don't mess up such a simple thing."

Elin didn't speak, just held onto the iron chain tightly. He saw Tusha turn his head and gaze to the west. There was nothing there except wilderness and distant mountains.

"Elin, I really don't get it. Why do humans like horses?" Tusha frowned. "I... don't know. Maybe because they run fast and can carry things, probably."

"That's true. But they can't climb mountains, and they often kill their owners because they kick wildly when startled. Our raptors are much better, agile and not picky eaters. Humans know horses have all these flaws, yet they still insist on keeping them. I really don't understand."

"Tusha, I don't understand..."

"There's a place to the west called Nordved. I'm sure you've heard of it. It used to be a farm, now it's a small village. You see, it's surrounded by mountains, yet people still want to keep horses. Find that horse, Elin. It's the only one there, so it's not difficult. Also, tell Jorgen..."

"Tell him what?"

"Never mind. Just do as I say now."

When Tusha approached and reached out his left hand, Elin could only hand over the iron chain because he had no room for thought. Tusha grabbed the chain and yanked it, pulling Lawrence over to his side. Lawrence's face slid across the ground, emitting muffled cries of pain. Tusha raised the Tolkar sword, plunged it into Lawrence's head, pulled it out, and then swung it towards Elin. Even if Elin wanted to avoid, he couldn't. The blade passed before his eyes. The Tolkar sword was somewhat blunt, but it was no problem for killing, as Tusha had already proven. A gash extended from the center of Elin's chest to his abdomen, with some of Lawrence's blood and brain matter splattered on it. Tusha lifted his right foot and kicked Elin's side. Elin fell down because he recalled Tusha's words, didn't stop his body from sliding down the slope, and even pushed the ground with his hands upon landing. He rolled a few times, protecting his face, before stabilizing himself with his legs. Then, he lifted his head.

Tusha laid the Tolkar sword flat on a half-human-height large rock, with half of the blade hanging outside. He drew out his short axe and struck it vertically. The sound of the blade breaking echoed. Then, Tusha slowly raised the remaining half of the Tolkar sword until everyone understood what had happened.

Elin looked towards Galin's side. From this position, he couldn't see what was happening there, but he believed Galin had completed a predetermined task. A series of noisy sounds erupted from Elin's right side. He turned towards it and saw the archers who had reached their designated positions, just as planned. A plan that shouldn't have succeeded. Many arrows were released from the bows.

The first arrow landed near Tusha's feet, perhaps hitting Lawrence's corpse, Elin couldn't see clearly. The second arrow struck Tusha's arm. After the third arrow hit, Tusha threw away the Tolkar sword, with many arrows grazing his side in between. The eighth arrow hit Tusha's right eye. He used both hands to pull out the arrow, which was connected to his eyeball, and then looked at Elin. Whether Tusha was smiling or not, Elin didn't know, nor did he know after which arrow hit Tusha fell down. He knew nothing. He saw blood dripping from the arrowhead. Soldiers rushed forward, enemies either fled or resisted, all of which Elin witnessed, but he knew nothing. Blood slipped from the wound on his chest to his fingers. The cold, hard feeling of the iron chain still lingered between his fingers.

At dusk, Glocara sat on the edge of the bed, head lowered, palms pressed against her forehead. The cigarette had already burned out, long ago. She regretted not buying a few more. She heard the sound and looked up. Elin was back. She quickly stood up, saw Elin's chest wrapped in a bloody bandage, and didn't embrace him.

"Are you okay?" she said. "Are you okay?"

Elin didn't answer. Glocara approached him, looking into his eyes.

"Tell me, Elin. Tell me what happened. Is this wound from Tusha? It's okay if you don't want to talk now, since you're back..."

Elin placed both hands on Glocara's shoulders, but his fingers hung curvedly without touching her skin. He didn't look into her eyes.

"Elin, speak. Why aren't you talking? What have you done?"

"I haven't done anything," he said. "I haven't done anything."

Glocara tried desperately to glean something from Elin's eyes, but to no avail. She never remembered this man's eyes being so lifeless, like a swamp covered in thick fog.

Niaes entered.

"Niaes," Glocara said, "What's going on? He won't talk."

"Sorry, we...," Niaes didn't finish, turning to Elin instead. "Elin, you need to go. Interrogate the prisoners, it should be your job."

"Okay. I'll go. Glocara, wait here. I'm back. I'm safe. You're safe too. That's all you need to know right now." He kissed her briefly and said, "Now I'll find out what he's done. I'm going, wait for me."

Glocara touched her lips. That kiss felt as desolate as accidentally bumping into rotten bark. She sat back on the edge of the bed.

Elin and Niaes left the tent. Elin rubbed his face with both hands, clearing his throat.

"It wasn't easy to leave some prisoners with Galin," he said.

"Yeah."

Elin said this because Galin didn't allow them to keep Tusha's body. He ordered it to be chopped up.

"I hope you can record the interrogation process in detail," Niaes said.

"Aren't you coming along?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

Niaes paused for a moment, then said, "The prince... wants me to return to Stromgarde with him now. He won't let me take anyone with me. Not even the sword."

"What does he want to do?"

"He didn't say. I only know that the Tolkar sword broke, and I... failed."

Elin frowned at her. Looks like Galin's plan for tonight won't be a wedding, he thought. Niaes avoided his gaze, forcing a smile.

"I'll be fine. You focus on your work. If you need anything, just say it, my people will help you."

"Okay."

"Take care."

"You too."

Elin walked towards the building where the prisoners were held.