Sheyric gapes at the sight. The captives are dressed in rags. When he catches a glimpse at a woman's face on top of the pile of bodies; he notes her sunken eyes and protruding cheekbones. They all look exceptionally pale, even in the dark. Utterly discarded from head to toe.
Most notably is the absence of Kazor.
Slowly, Sheyric steps over the dead guard and strides across the room to the captives, cringing at the creaking floorboards. They cower further into the corner, but the same woman on the top of their pile inches closer to him. Her brown hair is matted against her face.
"Firyah," she croaks, eyes panicked.
Sheyric puts a finger to his lips, signally her to stay quiet, and squats down level to her. "We'll get you out," he whispers.
The other captives heads' rise with interest.
"Now," he continues softly. "Where is Kazor?"
She shakes her head wildly. "He'll kill us if I tell."
Sheyric looks over his shoulder to find Glennic taking the weapons from the guard's body, then back at the woman. The desperation in her face hurts his heart.
"Glennic," he says. "Help me get them out."
The woman stands up immediately and nudges the other captives with her bare foot. Only one of them gets up, an adolescent with a gash across his cheek that looks inflamed. Sheyric tries to pry a large man out, only budging to swat him away.
Another woman moves away from him and runs to the boy with the gash on his face, embracing him with crackling laughs. They look very similar, with dulled olive skin and tall figures. Mother and son, possibly. A young man that could only be compared to looking like a youthful Ailpein stands next with a limp.
Sheyric escorts them out of the caravan, leaving Glennic- who has a whole new array of weapons on his belt- to deal with the hulking man staying there. It takes a while to get them all down the steps. It's possible they haven't properly walked in ages, so he allows time.
They all squint up at the sun with broad grins as Sheyric mounts the horse. All of them are covered in wounds and bruises in various stages of healing. The young man's calf looks to be inflamed; whatever the source is, it's causing the limp. The boy's cheek also looks red with a minor infection and fresh. Vaeic, still looting the corpses a few yards off, looks up at the new group with obvious surprise.
"What happened to you lot?" He asks the first woman.
She clutches the edges of her tattered dress. "Punishments from Firyah. He called us lucky to be kept alive."
He nods. He was treated similarly in his first few days in Florithe, assuming they weren't forced into slavery or some other atrocity. "They never released you after he died?"
"No. We were barely watched over in the first place, so they just gave a few drivers to wheel us around permanently. There used to be a lot more of us in there," she trails off, shuddering. "I'm Yeva, by the way."
He nods again, noting her Tandic accent. "You'll all be safe here, Yeva. Kazor is the only evil nobleperson left... and he'll be dealt with soon." The people of Tandu are very peaceful; what did she do to upset Firyah?
She shrugs, as if unsure of his promise. She has a right to that. What he didn't add is that he isn't confident anymore. How can he be sure about none of his fellow nobles being evil, if they all act like high and mighty Kazor?
Sheyric looks over his shoulder to the caravan. Glennic is finally walking out, guiding the man at his side. He has to do a double-take.
The man is extremely tall, and almost disproportionation without muscle mass. But it's the dusty blond hair and beard that gives it away.
"Therin..."
His head snaps up, immediately contorting with shocked recognition. They slowly approach each other, processing the encounter.
Therin isn't dead. Firyah didn't send with to some field to rot in. He's here. Maybe not as imposing or visibly cheerful, but here. His longer hair is ragged and is in overall poor shape, but his aqua eyes seem bright. His face has faint scars littering it- from when the Ildful in the forest attacked the two of them.
Sheyric surprises himself by pulling him into a hug first.
He laughs when Therin constricts him in his arms and rocks side to side like he used to. He's never laughed at anything the brute's done before.
"I missed you," Therin says, pulling away. His flat voice sounds dead compared to what it was.
Sheyric can only give a shaky grin, ignoring the lump in his throat. "You get to live with everyone else again."
"They rebuilt the village?"
"Welcome to Raencalia."
"W-"
Thundering hoofbeats coming from behind Sheyric interrupt whatever he was about to say. Vaeic storms across from him a moment later and faces Therin, eyes darting over every feature of his with deep intensity. He smiles and giggles girlishly. Like his old self.
Her expression softens ever so slightly. "Moron."
He laughs again and follows as she gets back onto her horse. Sheyric gets onto his as well and nods to Yeva and the rest of the former captives to follow. Glennic hurries up to him.
"What about the whole Kazor thing?" he asks, picking at the loose threads of the embroidery of his uniform jerkin.
"This is more important."
He nods and leads along the mother and son. Until now, Sheyric hasn't noticed Leiea walking right towards the group, obviously in shock. He stops the horse to wait as she runs up to Therin. They're close to everyone else anyway, and Lorietta in particular looks repulsed.
Therin sweeps Leiea up into a bear hug, lifting her a bit off the ground. She beams being let down from his grip, but it falters seeing the captives surrounding her. Instead, it's replaced with determination, and she waves for them to join the group.
Ryn is clutching the inches-thick wrapping around his calf, his face pale. Hania looks rather normal, with his neck wrapped up well, but it's already bleeding through. They watch Ceicy rush to the boy with the infected cut with strips of fabric slung over her arms.
Lorietta approaches Sheyric from the opposite side. It's unnerving to see her walk without some sort of skirt on.
"Is that the boy that used to pester you when we were younger?" she asks. They both watch Therin run up the small hill to rejoice with Ryn and Hania.
He nods. "I'm surprised you would remember something so peculiar from the village. I thought you've blocked everything out by now."
Still fixed on Therin, he laughs when the brute embraces Ryn the same way, the latter stumbling back with impossibly wide eyes. Sheyric waits for Lori to respond, only to find her already back with her horse, brow furrowed.
YOU ARE READING
Anew- Book 2
Fantasy- - - l don't want to talk about the worst side of things.- - - The time since Firyah sent Sheyric away to Florithe from what was left of his home had been a strange one. He rose up to be a sort of a noble to the people, and the old king's supporte...
